Current Affair 1:

The recent report of NITI Aayog – “India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy: Perspectives and Recommendations on the Future of Work”,

NITI Aayog  identifies a gig worker as a person who engages in income-earning activities outside of a traditional employer-employee relationship. These workers are classified into:

1. Platform-based
2. Non-Platform based

Platform workers are those whose work is based on online software apps or digital platforms. Meanwhile, non-platform gig workers are generally casual wage workers mostly engaged in conventional sectors. NITI Aayog’s study report focuses on the gig workers who are platform-based.

Gig-workers constitute 1.5% of the total workforce in the country as per 2020-21 estimates

As per the report, it is estimated that there are about 68 lakh gig workers in India in 2019-20. This includes both principal & subsidiary gig workers. Usual Principal Status (UPS) are those who spend most of the year as gig workers and Usual Subsidiary workers (USS) are those who spend a shorter period of the year.

Another important noticeable trend is the shift from unorganized sector to organized sector. During the period 2011-12 to 2019-20, the share of gig-workers in the unorganized sector fell from 74.1% to 62.4%. A major portion of gig workers is now part of organized sector. It increased from 25.9% in 2011-12 to 37.6% in 2019-20.

The highest number of Gig workers are in the Retail trade, followed by Transportation

Now, also see:

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 scheme.

Current Affair 2:

NITI Aayog- WFP Report on Take-Home Ration (THR)

Government’s think-tank, NITI Aayog recently launched a report titled ‘Take Home Ration-Good Practices across the State/Union Territories’, in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP).

 

Basic introduction from report:

The National Nutrition Mission (NNM), popularly known as POSHAN Abhiyaan (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment), has recently placed a renewed focus on the supplementary nutrition provided under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme.

The Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) under ICDS was conceptualized in order to fill the gap in nutrition among children under the age of six years as well as pregnant and lactating women (PLW).

SNP is delivered to more than 9 crore beneficiaries registered at Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) through two modalities – Hot-Cooked Meal (HCM) and Take-Home Ration (THR).

The THR programme aims to provide supplementary food products to children aged 6 to 36 months, and to pregnant and lactating women, for use in their homes.

The THR programme takes up a major share of the ICDS budget with the Central and State Governments spending more than ₹ 13,500 crore (about $2 billion) annually on it.

Given the programme’s broad reach across most communities in the country, and since it targets beneficiaries within the crucial first 1000-day window of opportunity, it is important that policymakers strive to improve nutrition for the millions of beneficiaries who consume THR.

Current Affair 3:

New material discovered can convert infrared light to renewable energy

Source Link

News:

Scientists have discovered a novel material that can emit, detect, and modulate infrared light with high efficiency making it useful for solar and thermal energy harvesting and for optical communication devices.

Electromagnetic waves are a renewable energy source used for electricity generation, telecommunication, defence and security technologies, sensors, and healthcare services. Scientists use high-tech methods to manipulate such waves precisely -- in dimensions that are thousands of times smaller than the human hair, using specialized materials. However, not all the wavelengths of light (electromagnetic waves) are easy to utilize, especially infrared light, since it is difficult to detect and modulate.

For infrared light applications, intelligent and cutting-edge materials are required which can enable excitation, modulation, and detection at desired spectral range with high efficiencies. Only a few existing materials can serve as hosts for light-matter interactions in the infrared spectral range, albeit with very low efficiencies. The operational spectral range of such materials also does not cover industrially important short wavelength infrared (SWIR) spectral range.

In a significant development, researchers from Bengaluru’s Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology (DST) have discovered a novel material called single-crystalline scandium nitride (ScN) that can emit, detect, and modulate infrared light with high efficiencies.

Current Affair 4:

Odisha tops state ranking for implementation of National Food Security Act

Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal released the ‘State Ranking Index for NFSA’ 2022 during a conference of state food ministers on food and nutrition security in India.

This “State ranking Index for NFSA” attempts to document the status and progress of implementation of NFSA and various reform initiatives across the country, post consultation with states.

It highlights the reforms undertaken by States and UTs and create a cross-learning environment and scale-up reform measures by all states and union territories.

The Index for ranking the states and UTs is built on three key pillars which covers the end-to-end implementation of NFSA through TPDS. These pillars are: i) NFSA— Coverage, targeting and provisions of the Act, ii) Delivery platform, and iii) Nutrition initiatives.

The current version of the Index measures the effectiveness of NFSA implementation majorly through operations and initiatives under TPDS (Targeted Public Distribution System).

Ranking:

About NFSA,

The National Food Security Act, 2013 was notified on 10th September, 2013 with the objective to provide for food and nutritional security in human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity.

1. Priority households are entitled to 5 kgs of food grains per person per month, and Antyodaya households to 35 kgs per household per month. The combined coverage of Priority and Antyodaya households (called “eligible households”) shall extend “up to 75% of the rural population and up to 50% of the urban population”.

1. For children in the age group of 6 months to 6 years, the Bill guarantees an age-appropriate meal, free of charge, through the local anganwadi. For children aged 6-14 years, one free mid-day meal shall be provided every day (except on school holidays) in all schools run by local bodies, government and government aided schools, up to Class VIII. For children below six months, “exclusive breastfeeding shall be promoted”.

1. Every pregnant and lactating mother is entitled to a free meal at the local anganwadi (during pregnancy and six months after childbirth) as well as maternity benefits of Rs 6,000, in instalments.

1. The Central Government is to determine the state-wise coverage of the PDS, in terms of proportion of the rural/urban population. Then numbers of eligible persons will be calculated from Census population figures.

1. The identification of eligible households is left to state governments, subject to the scheme’s guidelines for Antyodaya, and subject to guidelines to be “specified” by the state government for Priority households.

1. The Act provides for the creation of State Food Commissions. Each Commission shall consist of a chairperson, five other members and a member-secretary (including at least two women and one member each from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes).

The main function of the State Commission is to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the act, give advice to the states governments and their agencies, and inquire into violations of entitlements (either suo motu or on receipt of a complaint, and with “all the powers of a civil court while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure 1908”). State Commissions also have to hear appeals against orders of the District Grievance Redressal Officer and prepare annual reports to be laid before the state legislature.

1. The Centre should provide all possible resource and funds to prevent scarcity.

1. Obligation of Local Authorities:

1. Food security to people living in hilly areas:

 

 

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