Current Affair 1:

Gig Economy

 

Origins Of Gig Economy: Not important for exam, read once origin.

The word 'gig' was first used by jazz musicians in the early 1900s to refer to live performances where the musicians were paid per show. Then during the great depression in the 1930s, because the economy was flailing and the unemployment rate in the United States was peaking at 25%, workers accepted whatever jobs they could find and this difficult time made gig work a necessity. This was followed by the 1940s when most abled young people were called into the army, the workforce was severely depleted and the opening of big corporates provided for many temporary jobs to fill this gap in the workforce.

At the moment

Gig work has been around globally for more than a century and while the exact numbers around the global gig economy are obscure, Mastercard's 2019 study estimated the global gig economy to grow by 17% (from $204 billion in 2019) in 2023.

Current status of Gig economy in India.

The gig economy has played and continues to play a vital role in the Indian economy which mostly works on personal networks and word-of-mouth recommendations across rural and urban areas.

1. From maids to daily wage labourers to construction workers, India has had a largely informal, unorganized sector for the longest time.
2. 40% of the freelancing jobs globally go to Indians (in 2019) and while the pandemic had initially upended economic activity, India's gig sector is set to expand at least twice as much as the pre-pandemic estimates as per this ASSOCHAM report.
3. And the present pool of Indian gig workers is estimated to be approximately 15 million, which will most likely reach 350 million by 2025.
4. The ASSOCHAM report also points out that India's gig economy will grow annually at a compound growth rate of 17% and will be valued at approximately $455 billion.
5. And globally, as per this report, 43% of businesses surveyed have indicated plans to limit their workforce due to advancement through technology integration, and 41% planned to expand the use of short-term contractors for task-specific work.

These numbers are imperative to comprehend the urgency to implement the Code on Social Security, 2020 at the earliest so that whatever little benefits it offers to this huge underappreciated workforce can be claimed by them.

Provisions On Gig and Platform Workers in Code on Social Security, 2020

A notable feature of the Code is that it extends the protection of welfare measures to 'gig workers', 'platform workers' and 'unorganized workers'.

The Code defines "gig worker" as a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of traditional employer-employee relationship (Section 2(35). This will cover those who work as delivery persons for online food delivery platforms, e-commerce sites etc.

Every unorganized worker, gig worker or platform worker shall be required to be registered under the Code provided that the person has completed 16 years of age. Aadhaar number is mandatory for such registration.

Role of aggregators:

The Code states that schemes for gig workers and platform workers may be funded through a combination of contributions from the central government, state governments, and aggregators.

Employees State Insurance

ESI is applicable to every establishment in which ten or more persons are employed other than a seasonal factory. Gig workers, unorganized sectors and plantation workers are also brought under the purview of ESI.

National Social Security Board

The Code envisages a National Social Security Board to be formed by the Central government which shall recommend the Central Government on framing suitable schemes for different sections of unorganized workers, gig workers and platform workers and it shall also monitor such social welfare schemes,

Current Affair 2:

Solar Geoengineering'

 

Geoengineering is conventionally split into two broad categories:

The first is carbon geoengineering, often also called carbon dioxide removal (cdr). The other is solar geoengineering, often also called solar radiation management (srm), albedo modification, or sunlight reflection. There are large differences.

Now, lets see both the terms:

Carbon geoengineering seeks to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which would address the root cause of climate change — the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In the chain from emissions to concentrations to temperatures to impacts, it breaks the link from emissions to concentrations.

Solar geoengineering seeks to reflect a small fraction of sunlight back into space or increase the amount of solar radiation that escapes back into space to cool the planet. In contrast to carbon geoengineering, solar geoengineering does not address the root cause of climate change. It instead aims to break the link from concentrations to temperatures, thereby reducing some climate damages.

Different Technologies:

There are several proposed solar geoengineering technologies. These include marine cloud brightening, cirrus cloud thinning, space-based techniques, and stratospheric aerosol scattering, amongst others.

 

Marine cloud brightening would attempt to brighten marine clouds to reflect more sunlight back into space.

Cirrus cloud thinning would attempt to reduce the thin, high-altitude cirrus clouds to emit more long-wave radiation from the earth to space.

Space-based technologies would attempt to reflect a small fraction of sunlight away from the earth by positioning sun shields in space.

Lastly, stratospheric aerosol scattering would introduce tiny reflective particles, such as sulfate aerosols or perhaps calcium carbonate, into the upper atmosphere, where they could scatter a small fraction of sunlight back into space.

Current Affair 3:

Sustainable Agriculture Policy Action Agenda

 

The Policy Action Agenda for the Transition to Sustainable Agriculture sets out pathways and actions that countries can take to repurpose public policies and support to food and agriculture, to deliver these outcomes and enable a just rural transition¹.

It also sets out actions and opportunities for other stakeholders (international organisations, food producers, financial entities, researchers, civil society and others) to channel their expertise, knowledge and resources in support of this agenda.

It was signed at COP26 Glasgow, United Kingdom.

Other commitments of India at COP 26 related to agriculture:

1. India’s pledge of Panchamrita (five-fold strategy) to fight climate change, announced during the 26th Conference of the Parties (CoP26) at Glasgow, Scotland, has caught global attention.
2. The country’s new commitments include reaching 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil fuel energy capacity by 2030; producing 50 per cent of energy requirements via renewable energy sources by 2030;
3. a reduction of 1 billion tonnes of carbon by 2030; reducing the carbon emission intensity of the GDP by 45 per cent by 2030; and most importantly, achieving the target of net-zero emissions by 2070.

 

Current Affair 4:

Tonga eruption

 

Recently, a volcano erupted in the southern Pacific Island of Tonga, which triggered Tsunami waves around the Pacific. It is an Undersea Volcanic Eruption consisting of two small uninhabited islands, Hunga-Ha’apai and Hunga-Tonga.

Where is Tonga?

Also see other islands near Tonga:

Current Affair 5:

What are 'Formosa Bonds'?

 

A Formosa bond is a bond which is issued in Taiwan, but is denominated in a currency other than the Taiwan dollar.

Few days back, SBI issued 'Formosa bonds' to raise $300 million at an interest/coupon rate of 2.49 percent denominated in 'US Dollars'. The bonds will be listed on Taipei Exchange (TPEx) in Taiwan, Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd (SGX-ST) and India International Exchange IFSC Ltd (India INX).

 

 

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