Weekly Current Affairs (8th to 14th March 2023) Part - 1 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

International Women’s Day: Women in Armed Forces

Context: Recently, on the occasion of International Women's Day, Group Captain Shaliza Dhami has been selected to take over the command of a frontline combat unit in the Western sector (facing Pakistan).

• She will be the first woman officer in the IAF to command a missile squadron in the Western sector.

What are the Key Points about International Women’s Day?

About: It is celebrated annually on 8th March. It includes:

• Celebration of women's achievements,
• raising awareness about women's equality,
• lobbying for accelerated gender parity,
• fundraising for female-focused charities, etc.

Brief History:

• Women’s Day was first celebrated back in 1911 by Clara Zetkin, who was a German. The roots of the celebration had been in the labour movement across Europe and North America.
• However, it was only in 1913 that the celebrations were shifted to 8th March, and it has remained that way ever since.
• International Women's Day was celebrated for the first time by the United Nations in 1975.
• In December 1977, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions.

Theme:

• The theme for International Women's Day, 2023, according to the United Nations is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality” and it aims to emphasize the importance of technology in bringing gender issues to light.

What is the Status of Women in Armed Forces?

Background:

• The Indian Air Force started inducting women fighter pilots in 2016. The first batch had three women fighter pilots who currently fly the MiG-21, Su-30MKI and Rafale.
• Women officers have started taking command of various Army units in arms and services including Engineers, Signals, Army Air Defence, Intelligence Corps, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps and Electronics and Mechanical Engineers.

Current Statistics:

• There are 10,493 women officers serving in the armed forces, the majority in the medical services.
• The Indian Army, being the largest of the three services, has the largest number of women officers at 1,705, followed by 1,640 women officers in the Indian Air Force, and 559 in the Indian Navy.
• In January 2023, the army deployed a woman officer, Captain Shiva Chouhan, on the Siachen glacier for the first time.
• In February 2023, the army began assigning women officers to command roles outside of the medical stream for the first time.
  • Around 50 of them are set to head units in operational areas under the Northern and Eastern Commands responsible for guarding India's borders with China.
• The Navy has also started inducting women officers on frontline ships, earlier a no-go zone for women officers.
  • Many of them have been posted in the sensitive northern and eastern commands of the Army.

What are the Concerns Related to Gender Equality?

Global:

• UN Secretary General stated that Gender equality is growing more distant. On the current track, UN Women puts it 300 years away.
• According to the UN, legal restrictions have kept 2.7 billion women from accessing the same choice of jobs as men.
• As of 2019, less than 25% of parliamentarians were women.
• One in three women experience gender-based violence.

India Specific:

• According to CMIE data, as of December 2021, while the male LFPR was 67.4%, the female LFPR was as low as 9.4%.
• Even if one sources data from the World Bank, India’s female labor force participation rate is around 25% when the global average is 47%.
• In the Global gender gap index (which measures progress towards gender parity), India slipped to 135th place in 2022.
  • However, recently the WEF has agreed to make changes in criteria for Global Gender Gap Reports by taking into account the participation of women at panchayat level to rank countries in its future reports. It will better India’s position at the global level.
• As per the data compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), of which India is a member, women represent just 14.44% of the total members of the Lok Sabha.
• According to a 2018 study by the International Labour Organization (ILO), more than 95% of India’s working women are informal workers who work in labour-intensive, low-paying, highly precarious jobs/conditions, and with no social protection.

What are the Challenges for Women in Armed Forces?

Societal Issues:

• Composition of male officers, predominantly drawn from a rural background, with prevailing societal norms, troops are not yet mentally schooled to accept women officers in command of units.
• Society has low acceptance for the women officer who had been caught as a prisoner of war by an enemy country.

Physiological Challenges:

• Motherhood, childcare, psychological limitations are vital factors, which have a bearing on the employment of women officers in the Army.
• It is a challenge for women to meet these hazards of service owing to prolonged absence during pregnancy, motherhood and domestic obligations towards their children and families especially when both husband and wife happen to be service officers.

Family Issues:

• Armed forces require sacrifices and commitment beyond the call of duty by the entire family of service personnel involving separation and frequent transfers, affecting the education of children and career prospects of the spouse.

National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)

Context: Recently, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has been facing allegations of irregularities in its functioning.

What is NAAC?

About:

• Established in 1994, it is an autonomous body under the University Grants Commission (UGC) responsible for assessing the quality of higher educational institutions in India.

Functions of NAAC:

• Through a multi-layered assessment process, it awards grades ranging from A++ to C based on parameters such as curriculum, faculty, infrastructure, research and financial well-being.

Allegations:

• The former chairperson of NAAC's executive committee resigned after alleging that malpractices were leading to questionable grades being awarded to some institutions.
• An inquiry commissioned found irregularities in the IT system and allocation of assessors.
• The inquiry also highlighted that nearly 70% of experts from the pool of around 4,000 assessors have not received any opportunity to make site visits.
• As of January 2023, out of the 1,113 universities and 43,796 colleges in the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), 2020-2021, only 418 universities and 9,062 colleges were NAAC-accredited.

What are the Current Accreditation Criteria in India?

Criteria:

• Currently, only institutes that are at least 6 years old or from where at least two batches of students have graduated can apply for accreditation, which is valid for 5 years.

Accreditation Mandate:

• Accreditation by NAAC is voluntary, though many circulars have been issued by the UGC urging institutions to undergo assessment.

Efforts to Expedite Accreditation:

• The UGC launched a scheme named 'Paramarsh' in 2019 to mentor institutes aspiring to get accredited.
• NAAC explored the possibility of issuing Provisional Accreditation for Colleges (PAC) to one-year-old institutes.
• The National Education Policy (2020) has set an ambitious target of getting all higher educational institutes to obtain the highest level of accreditation over the next 15 years.

What are the Other Challenges in India’s Higher Education System?

• Limited Access: Despite efforts to increase access to higher education, many students from marginalised communities still face barriers to entry, including financial constraints and lack of educational opportunities.
  • Especially, the number of students in the Persons with Disabilities category dropped in 2020-21 to 79,035 from 92,831 in 2019-20.
• Gender Inequality: Women continue to face significant barriers to accessing higher education in India, including social and cultural biases and a lack of support systems.
  • According to All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), 2020-2021, the female enrolment in higher education programmes was 49% of total enrolments in 2020-21.
• Employability Issues: Despite having a large number of graduates, many students in India struggle to find employment due to a lack of practical skills and industry-relevant education.
  • Also, India lags behind many other countries in terms of research output, and there is a lack of a research culture in many higher education institutions.

Way Forward

• Promote Digital Learning: The use of digital technology can help make education more accessible, cost-effective, and efficient.
  • Institutions should invest in digital infrastructure and provide training to students and faculty to adapt to new technologies.
• Increase Accreditation: The accreditation process should be made more transparent and accessible to encourage more institutions to seek accreditation.
  • The government should also ensure that the accreditation process is fair and free from corruption.
• Promote International Collaborations: International collaborations can help improve the quality of education and research in India.
  • Institutions should partner with foreign institutions to exchange knowledge, expertise, and resources.

UN Treaty on the High Seas

Context: Recently, the UN (United Nations) members agreed on a High Seas Treaty to ensure the protection and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.

• It was agreed during talks led by the UN during the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) in New York, the US.
• The treaty is yet to be formally adopted as members are yet to ratify it. Once adopted, the treaty will be legally binding.

What are High Seas?

About:

• According to the 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas, parts of the sea that are not included in the territorial waters or the internal waters of a country are known as the high seas.
• It is the area beyond a country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (that extends up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coastline) and till where a nation has jurisdiction over living and non-living resources.
• No country is responsible for the management and protection of resources on the high seas.

Significance:

• The high seas account for more than 60% of the world’s ocean area and cover about half of the Earth’s surface, which makes them a hub of marine life.
• They are home to around 2.7 lakh known species, many of which are yet to be discovered.
• They regulate the climate by playing a fundamental role in planetary stability by mitigating the effects of climate change through its absorption of carbon and by storing solar radiation and distributing heat around the globe.
  • Therefore, they are fundamental to human survival and well-being.
• Moreover, the ocean provides a wealth of resources and services, including seafood and raw materials, genetic and medicinal resources, air purification, climate regulation, and aesthetic, scientific and cultural services.

Threats:

• They absorb heat from the atmosphere, are affected by phenomena like the El Nino, and are also undergoing acidification — all of which endanger marine flora and fauna.
  • Several thousand marine species are at risk of extinction by 2100 if current warming and acidification trends continue.
• Anthropogenic pressures on the high seas include seabed mining, noise pollution, chemical and oil spills and fires, disposal of untreated waste (including antibiotics), overfishing, introduction of invasive species, and coastal pollution.
• Despite the alarming situation, the high seas remain as one of the least-protected areas, with only about 1% of it under protection.

What is the High Seas Treaty?

Background:

• In 1982, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), was adopted, which delineated rules to govern the oceans and the use of its resources.
• However, there was no comprehensive legal framework that covered the high seas.
• As climate change and global warming emerged as global concerns, a need was felt for an international legal framework to protect oceans and marine life.
• The UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) decided in 2015 to develop a legally binding instrument within the framework of UNCLOS.
• Subsequently, the IGC was convened to frame a legal instrument on BBNJ.
• There were several hold-ups due to the Covid-19 pandemic, hampering a timely global response. In 2022, the European Union launched the High Ambition Coalition on BBNJ to finalize the agreement at the earliest.

Key Features:

• Access and Benefit-sharing Committee:
  • It will set up an access- and benefit-sharing committee to frame guidelines.
  • The activities concerning marine genetic resources of areas on high seas will be in the interests of all States and for the benefit of humanity.
  • They have to be carried out exclusively for peaceful purposes.
• Environmental Impact Assessments:
  • Signatories will have to conduct environmental impact assessments before the exploitation of marine resources.
  • Before carrying out a planned activity, the member will have to undertake processes of screening, scoping, carrying out an impact assessment of the marine environment likely to be affected, identifying prevention, and management of potential adverse effects.
• Consent from Indigenous Community:
  • Marine resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction that are held by indigenous people and local communities can only be accessed with their “free, prior and informed consent or approval and involvement”.
  • No State can claim its right over marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
• Clearing-House Mechanism:
  • Members will have to provide the Clearing-House Mechanism (CHM), established as part of the treaty, with details like the objective of the research, geographical area of collection, names of sponsors, etc.
• Funding:
  • A special fund will be established as part of the pact which will be fixed by the conference of parties (COP). The COP will also oversee the functioning of the treaty.
• Significance:
  • The treaty is significant in achieving the 30x30 target set at UN CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) COP15 under which the countries agreed to protect 30% of oceans by 2030.

What are the Other Conventions related to Seas?

• Convention on Continental Shelf 1964:
  • It defines and delimits the rights of States to explore and exploit the natural resources of the continental shelf.
• Convention on Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas 1966:
  • It was designed to solve the problems involved in the conservation of living resources of the high seas, considering that because of the development of modern technology some of these resources are in danger of being overexploited.
• London convention 1972:
  • Its objective is to promote the effective control of all sources of marine pollution and to take all practicable steps to prevent pollution of the sea by dumping of wastes and other matters.
• MARPOL Convention (1973):
  • It covers pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes.
  • It lists various forms of marine pollution caused by oil, noxious liquid substances, harmful substances in packaged form, sewage and garbage from ships, etc.

Way Forward

• National governments still need to formally adopt and ratify this agreement to enable the treaty to enter into force.
• Everyone in the global community across all sectors must act together – for our own sake, as much as for that of ocean life – to celebrate, implement and monitor the effectiveness of the new High Seas Treaty.
• Without a doubt, better protecting the high seas and imposing careful management of marine resources will in turn mitigate the cumulative impact of activities bearing a potentially heavy toll, such as shipping and industrial fishing, in the virtuous circle of a sustainable blue economy that benefits people and nature alike.
• It is high time the ocean gets the protection it is due.

Glacial Retreat

Context: Recent studies on Himalayan glaciers show that the variability in retreat rate and mass balance in different sectors of the mountain range is primarily linked to topography and climate.

• However, variable retreat rates of glaciers and inadequate supporting field data make it challenging to develop a coherent picture of climate change impact.

What are the Factors Influence Glacial Dynamics?

• A team from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (Uttarakhand) studied two glaciers with different characteristics, the Pensilungpa Glacier (Ladakh) and the Durung-Drung Glacier, (Ladakh) for a comparative study of glacier fluctuations between 1971 and 2019.
  • They quantitatively evaluated the influence of the debris cover on the loss of ice mass in summer and on the terminal recession of glaciers.
• Their study confirms that the glacier retreat rate is controlled by climate change and the topographic setting and morphology of the glacier.
  • They also found that the thickness of the debris cover significantly alters the glacier response to climate forcing.
• Other factors such as snout geometry, glacier size, elevation range, slope, aspect, debris cover, as well as the presence of supra and proglacial lakes also influence the heterogeneous glacial dynamics.

What is Glacial Retreat?

• About: Glacial retreat refers to the process of a glacier shrinking or receding in size over time due to a decrease in ice accumulation or an increase in ice melt.
• Causes: This can be caused by a number of factors, including rising global temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, or changes in the geography of the surrounding landscape.
• Impacts: As a glacier retreats, it can lead to a number of significant environmental impacts, including changes in water availability, alterations to local ecosystems, and increased risk of natural disasters such as floods and landslides. In addition, the loss of glacial ice can contribute to rising sea levels, which can have significant impacts on coastal communities and ecosystems around the world.