Addapedia Odisha | Daily Current Affairs | 27 March 2024 | Download PDF

• The International Labour Organisation (ILO) recently released the India Employment Report 2024, shedding light on the country’s employment landscape. 
• The report highlights grim employment trends, sectoral imbalances, and pervasive informal sector dominance.

Key Findings:

Deteriorating Employment Indicators (2000-2018)

• India witnessed a decline in crucial labor metrics, reflecting a challenging employment scenario.
• Youth unemployment remains a significant concern, with nearly 83% of the unemployed population comprising young individuals.
• The proportion of unemployed educated youth almost doubled from 35.2% in 2000 to 65.7% in 2022, signaling a skill-job mismatch.

Slight Improvements Amid Economic Distress (Post-2019)

• Key labor market indicators like LFPR, WPR, and UR showed a slight improvement after 2019, but their sustainability remains questionable.
• Sectoral Imbalances and Informal Sector Dominance
• Despite higher growth in non-farm employment, the sector struggles to absorb workers adequately, leading to underemployment.
• Informal employment persists, engaging nearly 90% of the workforce.
• Contractualization is on the rise, with a small percentage of regular workers benefitting from long-term contracts, contributing to job insecurity.

The report underscores the need for addressing systemic challenges, aligning skills with job market demands, and promoting formal sector growth to foster a more robust employment environment in India.

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has approved the establishment of Bima Sugam—an online insurance marketplace—for purchasing, selling, and servicing insurance policies, as well as settling claims.

About:

• Bima Sugam is an e-commerce platform for insurance companies to sell their products.
• It will onboard all companies offering life and non-life insurance products under one roof.
• Bima Sugam aims to provide an ‘end-to-end’ digital journey for policyholders, including buying insurance policies, renewals, claim settlements, portability, and grievance redressal.
• The marketplace serves as a one-stop solution for all insurance stakeholders, promoting transparency, efficiency, and collaboration across the entire insurance value chain.

A recent study conducted by scientists in Portugal has uncovered a subduction zone beneath the Gibraltar Strait between Spain and Morocco, which could potentially lead to the Atlantic Ocean’s gradual disappearance in the distant future.

Key Findings:

• The study has revealed that the African plate is slowly pushing beneath the Eurasian plate, initiating a process that may take an estimated 20 million years to reach its final stage.
• The African plate is currently in the early stages of subduction beneath the Eurasian plate, causing a gradual narrowing of the Gibraltar Strait.
• As the process continues, a new subduction system called the “Ring of Fire” will form in the Atlantic.
• The Ring of Fire will initially extend approximately 125 miles and could eventually grow to over 500 miles in length, ultimately resulting in the closure of the Atlantic Ocean.

Ring of Fire:

• The “Ring of Fire” is a chain of tectonic plates that collide with one another at their junctions.
• Subduction zones mark the areas on Earth where two crustal plates meet, with one sliding beneath the other, causing significant geological changes over millions of years.
• While this geological process is extremely slow, taking place over millions of years, the study offers fascinating insights into the potential future geography of our planet and the powerful forces that shape it.

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has decided to delist 18 centrally protected monuments previously categorized as “untraceable.” 
• These monuments will no longer receive conservation, protection, or maintenance from the ASI, and activities near them will be exempt from certain restrictions.

Reason for Delisting

• • The ASI has opted to delist these 18 monuments due to their assessed lack of national importance. Some notable monuments affected by the delisting include:
• Kos Minar No.13 at Mujessar village in Haryana
• Barakhamba Cemetery in Delhi
• Gunner Burkill’s tomb in Jhansi district
• A cemetery at Gaughat in Lucknow
• The Telia Nala Buddhist ruins in Varanasi

About:

• The ASI is responsible for protecting and preserving monuments and archaeological sites of national importance. 
• This duty is mandated by acts such as The Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904, and The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (AMASR Act).

The Union environment ministry recently announced the Captive Elephant (Transfer or Transport) Rules, 2024.

Key points:

Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972

• • Elephants, both wild and captive, are categorized as Schedule 1 species under the WPA, prohibiting their capture or trade.
  • Section 12 of the WPA permits the translocation of Schedule I animals for specific purposes like education, scientific research, and population management without harming wild animals.
  • Captive elephants, due to their historical roles, fall under a special category but are subject to strict transfer rules.
  • Section 40(2) of the WPA mandates written permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW) for the acquisition, possession, and transfer of captive elephants.
  • An amendment in 2021 allowed elephant transfers for religious or other purposes.
• The Captive Elephant (Transfer or Transport) Rules, 2024, detail procedures for intra and inter-state transfers.
• State and UT CWWs have authority to approve or reject such transfers, considering factors like the owner’s ability to maintain the elephant and its welfare.
• Transfers require the elephant’s genetic profile in the MoEFCC’s electronic monitoring application.
• Transfer applications must be submitted to the deputy conservator of forests (DCF), who conducts inquiries and verifications before forwarding to the CWW for approval or rejection

• A symposium called ‘Konarka Manthan’ was organized by IIT Bhubaneswar, inaugurated by National Monument Authority Chairperson Kishore Kumar Basa.

Key points:

• The temple’s innovative use of locally available materials, including stones and iron beams, was highlighted by archaeologists and heritage conservationists.
• The symposium focused on the architectural brilliance of the Sun temple at Konark and was attended by experts in the field.
• National Monument Authority chairperson emphasized the importance of exploring the mysteries behind ancient monuments like the Sun temple to create a new collective memory.
• ASI technical core committee chief discussed Kalinga architecture and structural design concepts in ancient Odisha, emphasizing the use of corrosion-resistant materials in the Sun temple’s construction.
• IIT Bhubaneswar is conducting research on the manufacturing of iron beams used in the Sun temple, aiming to analyze their socio-economic impact on the local community.

• Development economist Satya S Tripathi emphasized the need for Odisha government to incentivize farmers to adopt environmentally friendly farming practices to combat climate change.
• Tripathi spoke at the Centre for Youth and Social Development’s (CYSD) Foundation Day lecture on “Odisha @2036 – Leveraging Pathways to a Green Economy Transition.”
• He emphasized learning from tribal communities, who practice earth-friendly agricultural methods that not only reduce carbon footprints but also ensure food security and sustainable livelihoods for all species on the planet.

Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA) Initiative in Odisha

• India is committed to reduce emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% by 2030 as per its Nationally Determined Contribution.
• The CRA initiative focuses on empowering small and marginalized farmers in tribal-dominated areas, with 83% being women and 72% belonging to indigenous communities.
• Key components include promoting mixed and intercropping, sustainable agronomic practices, soil conservation, crop diversification, local seed production, green manure and bio inputs, renewable energy and irrigation, livestock promotion, and ethno-veterinary practices.

• Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), with its mining operations in Odisha’s Angul, Jharsuguda, and Sundergarh districts, has set a new benchmark in the coal sector by becoming the first company to achieve a production of 200 million tonnes (MT) in a financial year.

Key points:

• Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) is a significant coal-producing company in India, operating as one of the eight subsidiaries of Coal India Limited. 
• Established in 1992, MCL was carved out of South Eastern Coalfields Limited with its headquarters at Sambalpur, Odisha.

• World Theatre Day raises the importance of theatre arts, how they play an important role in the field of entertainment and the changes that theatre brings to life

About:

International Theatre Institute (ITI) was initiated in 1961 to celebrate World Theatre Day across the world and the value and importance of theatre. The goals of World Theatre Day, as with International Dance Day are:

• • To highlight the importance of art forms around the world.
• To make people aware of the importance of the value of art form.

• • To enable the dance and theatre communities to promote their work on a broad scale. To make opinion leaders aware of the value of these forms and support them.
• To enjoy the art form for its own sake.

Theme:

• The theme for World Theatre Day 2024 is ‘Theatre and a Culture of Peace’.

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