International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Celebrated every year on 11 February, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science is observed by the United Nation to promote the full and equal access and participation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

More about the day

1. It will be the eighth International Day of Women and Girls in Science and the theme is IDEAS (Innovate, Demonstrate, Elevate, Advance, Sustain).
2. The aim is to build a bridge between the international community and women in science through linking their knowledge and expertise and its applications in a systematic, critical way for the 2030 agenda and its 17 global goals.
3. This year, the focus is on the role of women and girls and science as relates to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including— SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and SDG17 (means of implementation).
4. This year, the aim is to connect the international community to women and girls in science, strengthening the ties between science, policy, and society for strategies oriented towards the future.
5. The United Nations will showcase best practices, strategies, applied solutions in addressing SDGs challenges and opportunities.
6. It will also include a science workshop for blind girls and a session from the blind fellow scientists on “Science in Braille: Making Science Accessible.” This workshop and session will be held for the first time.
7. As per the United Nations, “gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls will make a crucial contribution not only to economic development of the world, but to progress across all the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well.”

History

1. On 14 March 2011, the Commission on the Status of Women adopted a report that aimed to encourage the participation of women and girls in education, training and science and technology; moreover, focusing on the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work.
2. On 20 December 2013, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on science, technology and innovation for development, in which it recognised that to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, they should have full and equal access and participation in science, technology and innovation. It is imperative for women and girls of all ages.

Lithium ‘inferred’ in J&K

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has established “inferred” lithium resourcesof 5.9 million tonnes in Salal-Haimana area of Reasi District of Jammu and Kashmir. These resources have been established as part of the “Reasi Sersandu-Kherikot-Rahotkot-Darabi ” mineral block, where prospecting has been on-going since 2021-22.

More about the news:

1. Under the United Nations Framework for Classification for Reserves and Resources of Solid Fuels and Mineral Commodities (UNFC 1997), the stage of prospecting is categorised as ‘G4’ when it entails reconnaissance surveys, a fairly advanced stage of prospecting.
2. The finds in this case are learnt to include bauxite (the ore for aluminium) and rare earth elements, alongside lithium.

About the findings:

1. The new find is categorised as “inferred”, one of three categories that mineral resources are subdivided into, in order of increasing geological confidence.
2. The “inferred” mineral resource is the part of a resource for which quantity; grade and mineral content are estimated only with a low level of confidence based on information gathered from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes.
3. They are limited or uncertain quality, and also of lower reliability from geological evidence.

4.    The lithium find in J&K, in inferred terms, is also comparatively small, considering that proven reserves in Bolivia are 21 million tonnes, 17 million tonnes in Argentina, 6.3 million tonnes in Australia, and 4.5 million tonnes in China.

Status in India:

1. The country currently imports all its lithium needs. The domestic exploration push, which also includes exploratory work to extract lithium from the brine pools of Rajasthan and Gujarat and the mica belts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
2. It comes at a time when India has stepped up its economic offensive against China — a major source of lithium-ion energy storage products being imported into the country.
3. India is almost entirely dependent on import of these cells and the move to ink sourcing pacts for lithium is seen as another salvo in the front against imports from China, the major source of both the raw material and cells.
4. India is seen as a late mover as it attempts to enter the lithium value chain, coming at a time when EVs are predicted to be a sector ripe for disruption.
5. The 2023 is likely to be an inflection point for battery technology, with several potential improvements to the Li-ion technology.
6. Over 165 crore lithium batteries are estimated to have been imported into India between FY17 and FY20 at an estimated import bill of upwards of $3.3 billion.
7. The GSI has found lithium reserves in Jammu and Kashmir for the first time and that it has established lithium inferred resources in Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district of J&K.

Why is this significant?

1. This is part of a concerted domestic exploration push for the alkali metal, a vital ingredient of the Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), laptops and mobile phones.
2. The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), an arm of the Department of Atomic Energy, had earlier conducted preliminary surveys that had shown the presence of lithium resources of 1,600 tonnes in the igneous rocks of the Marlagalla–Allapatna region of Karnataka’s Mandya district.

3.    The AMD has been carrying out exploration, both on surface and some subsurface exploration, to augment lithium resources in the potential geological domains of the country.

Flashback:

1. According to the Ministry of Mines’ approved annual Field Season programme (prospecting plan), the GSI takes up different stages of mineral exploration.
2. They are reconnaissance surveys (G4), preliminary exploration (G3), and general exploration (G2) as per the guidelines of UNFC and the Minerals (Evidence of Mineral Contents) Amendment Rules, 2021 (Amended MMDR Act 2021) for augmenting mineral resource for various mineral commodities, including lithium.
3. Lithium can be extracted in different ways, depending on the type of the deposit, generally either through solar evaporation of large brine pools, or from hard-rock extraction of the ore.
4. In India, there is some potential to recover lithium from brines of Sambhar and Pachpadra areas in Rajasthan, and Rann of Kutch, Gujarat.

Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy

Ahead of her scheduled participation in the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in March in New Delhi, Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly made a quiet bilateral visit to the capital this week. It was to draw a line under the bitterness that has dogged their relationship over the last few years — and Canada’s freshly minted Indo-Pacific strategy.

More about the news:

1. The Ministry of External Affairs said the two Ministers “expressed interest in deepening collaboration across domains and look forward to the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA).
2. India welcomed Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy; it shared a vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
3. The Canadian side discussed strengthening the economic partnership, advancing security cooperation, facilitating migration and mobility, and growing our strong people-to-people ties.
4. They discussed furthering Canada-India cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, due to India’s growing strategic, economic, and demographic importance making it a critical partner for Canada in the Indo-Pacific.
5. For India, Canada can be a reliable supplier of critical minerals, a strong partner in the green transition and a major investor.

Embrace of Indo-Pacific:

1. Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy was released last November, amid domestic and international calls for Ottawa to join the US-led alliance against China and stand for the “shared interests and values” of Western democracies.
2. Canada, 20 percent of whose population originates in the Indo-Pacific region, is the last G7 nation to embrace the concept of the Indo-Pacific; it has been more comfortable earlier with “Asia Pacific”.
3. From last year, a series of steps signalled a change in Canada’s China policy, including a sudden tightening of investment rules to prevent Chinese state companies from taking control of its critical minerals and mines industry.
4. The Trudeau government suggested the basis for this decision was an assessment of threats to national security. It also banned Huawei 5G. Canada’s Parliament passed a resolution to declare China’s treatment of its Uighur minority as “genocide”.

Features of the strategy

1. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy is informed by its clear-eyed understanding of this global China, and Canada’s approach is aligned with those of our partners in the region and around the world.
2. China remains Canada’s main export destination. So cooperation is necessary to address issues such as climate change and health and the Chinese economy “offers significant opportunities for Canadian exporters”.
3. In short, Canada is saying it will both “unapologetically” defendits national interest and cooperate with China when required.
4. The strategy contains a funding commitment of US $1.7 billion over five years, spread over infrastructure projects through the US-led G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, US $403 million for an enhanced military presence including a third frigate in the Indian Ocean, and expanded participation in regional military exercises.

Five objectives are outlined:

1. To promote peace, resilience and security;
2. Expand trade, investment and supply chain resilience;
3. Invest in and connect people;
4. Build a sustainable and green future;
5. Be an active and engaged partner to the Indo-Pacific;

Religious Excommunication of Members

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court referred to a larger Bench of nine judges a series of petitions challenging the authority of minority community leaders to excommunicate their members.

Excommunication case: A quick backgrounder

• On November 1, 1949, the Bombay Prevention of Excommunication Act (now repealed) was enacted, which sought to prevent the practice of excommunication prevalent in certain communities.
• Excommunication has led to the deprivation of legitimate rights and privileges of its members and in “keeping with the spirit of changing times and in public interest”.

What is Excommunication?

• The law defined excommunication as the “expulsion of a person from any community of which he is a member, depriving him of rights and privileges which are legally enforceable by a suit of civil nature”.
• It invalidated excommunication of any member, “notwithstanding anything contained in law, custom, usage” for the time being in force.

Issues with Excommunication

• Discriminatory: Excommunication is a serious and permanent punishment that can have a negative impact on a person’s life.
• Loss of identity: It can lead to a person feeling isolated, ostracized and excluded from the religion and community.
• Social boycott: It may also lead to feelings of guilt, shame and alienation. Furthermore, it can lead to a loss of faith and a sense of mental despair.

How did the matter reach the Supreme Court?

• A cleric of the community challenged the constitutional validity of the Act, stating it violated fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution under:

1. Article 25 (Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion) and
2. Article 26 (Freedom to manage religious affairs)
3. It was submitted that the power of excommunication was part of the management of community affairs in matters of religion.
4. The cleric also held that the power to excommunicate is not absolute or arbitrary.

What has been happening in the matter more recently?

• A Constitution Bench of the SC held in 1962 that the cleric’s position is an essential part of the community and the power to excommunicate is to enforce discipline and preserve the denomination, not to punish.
• A challenge to the 1962 judgment was filed in 1986.
• While that petition was still pending, the Maharashtra Protection of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2016, was passed.
• The 2016 Act prohibits the social boycott of a person or a group of persons, and terms it a violation of fundamental rights.
• The Act describes a social boycott as “inhuman”, and defines 16 types of social boycott — including preventing members of a community from having access to facilities including community halls, burial grounds, etc.

What exactly did the Supreme Court say now?

• A Constitution Bench said that the 1962 judgment needed a relook.
• The court held that the consideration was needed mainly on two grounds: Balancing the rights under-

1. Article 26(b) — right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs in matters of religion — and
2. Article 21 — whether the practice can be protected under Article 26(b) when tested on the touchstone of constitutional morality.

The Role of Labour Unions/Trade Unions in Emerging Sectors

 There have been many reports of layoffs in the last few months, especially in emerging sectors.

• Lay-offs have been taking place not only in India but in major economies like the U.S. too. Large, medium and small enterprises as well as start-ups have let go of dozens or even thousands of workers.

About Labour Union/Trade Union:

History of Trade Union Movement in India

• In 1870, the first labour organization Working Men’s Club was founded in Calcutta by Sasipada Banerjee. He also published in the journal ‘Bharat Sramajibi‘.
• In 1875, Sorabjee Sharpoorji Bengalee of Mumbai organized the labour agitation in Bombay against the appalling conditions of workers, especially women and children.
  • Thus, the first organized labour agitation was organised by S. Bengalee.
  • It results in the formation of the first factory commission in the country in 1875.
• In 1875, Narayan Meghaji Lokhande was the first to represent the grievances of the Indian working class before the Labour Commission of Bombay.
• In 1890, M Lokhande set up the first association of Indian workers the ‘Bombay Mill-Hands Association‘ in Bombay.
• In 1897, the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants of India was established.
• In 1920, the All Indian Trade Union Congress (AITUC), the first trade union on an All-Indian basis, was formed.
  • The four founder fathers of AITUC were Lala Lajpat Rai, N. M. Joshi, Joseph Baptista, and Diwan Chaman Lal.
• In 1926, British Government in India passed the Trade Union Act of 1926, which was the first labour enactment to legalize the formation of the Labour Union in India.
  • In 1928, Girni Kamgar Union organized the Bombay Textile Mills strike under the communists.
• In 1947, Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) was formed as the labour wing of the Indian National Congress (INC) with the efforts of Sardar Vallabbhai Patel and Gulzarilal Nanda.
• In December 1948, the Indian Federation of Labour (IFL) merged with Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) and formed United Trade Union Congress (UTUC).
• In 1955, Jan Sangh (now Bhartiya Janta Party) also established its labour wing known as Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), founded by Dattopanti Thengdi.
• In 1970, the Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU), affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), was formed with T. Ranadive as its first president.

Major reasons for the lay-offs:

• Impact of COVID-19 pandemic
• Changes in business strategy
• Automation and technology advancements
• Re-evaluation of company goals and priorities
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Financial difficulties
• Frequent changes in government policies and regulations
• Decreased investment
• Decreased demand for goods and services
• Increased competition

The Amazon story:

Labour Union in Amazon:

• Amazon workers at the warehouse at Staten Island called JFK8 succeeded in forming the Amazon Labour Union.
• Amazon reacted by filing numerous objections with the National Labour Relations Board, the federal body that protects the rights of private sector employees to join together.
• On the other hand, employees at the warehouse near Albany voted overwhelmingly against unionisation in October 2022 as many of them were sceptical of the bargaining power of a union vis-à-vis a giant like Amazon.

In India:

• Amazon shut down Amazon Food and Amazon Academy.
  • It retrenched workers in the Indian facility in a gradual manner.
• The Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner in Bengaluru served a notice seeking information from the company.
  • But it is well-known how seriously employers, especially multi-national corporations (MNCs), take labour departments; they ignore conciliation meetings more often than trade unions.

Importance of Labour Unions in Emerging Sectors:

• Job Security and Protection against Mass Lay-offs:
  • Labour unions play an important role in advocating for job security and protecting workers against mass layoffs, particularly in emerging sectors where layoffs may be more widespread.
• Support for Re-employment and Career Development:
  • Labour unions can provide support and resources for re-employment and career development for workers who have been laid off, helping them to find new job opportunities and secure their financial future.
• Negotiation of Severance Packages:
  • Labour unions can negotiate with employers to provide adequate severance packages for workers affected by mass lay-offs, helping to mitigate the financial impact of job loss.
• Collective Bargaining Power:
  • By pooling their resources and bargaining power, labour unions can negotiate with employers to secure better wages, benefits, and working conditions for workers, making them less vulnerable to layoffs and more able to secure their financial future.
• Advocacy for Workers’ Rights and Protections:
  • Labour unions can use their voice and influence to advocate for workers’ rights and protections against mass lay-offs, working to prevent layoffs and ensure that workers are treated fairly and equitably.

Landmark Cases About Trade Unions In India

All India Bank Employees’ Association v. N.I.Tribunal

• The case laid down the rights of members of trade unions that are covered under the fundamental right to freedom of expression and speech under Article 19(1) (c).
• However, the court ruled that Article 19(1) (c) does not include a right to achieving all the goals for which the trade union was created.
• The ruling also ruled that adequate industrial legislation can govern or restrict trade union strikes.

Balmer Lawrie Workers’ Union, Bombay and Anr. v. Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. and Ors

• The SC’s underlying assumption was that a recognised union represents all workers in a particular industrial project or industry. In the MRF United Workers case, this matter was also mentioned.

Kalindi and Others v. Tata Locomotive and Engineering Co. Ltd

• The Supreme Court concluded that there is no right to representation unless it recognises it through its standing orders.
• In Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. v. Maharashtra General Kamgar Union and Others, the decision was upheld.

Way Forward:

• Labour unions play a crucial role in emerging sectors by advocating for the rights and interests of workers.
• In industries such as technology and renewable energy, where working conditions and job security may be uncertain, unions provide a voice for employees and negotiate fair wages, benefits, and working conditions.
• Historically, the role of trade unions in India was mostly limited to collective bargaining for economic reasons.
• On the other hand, trade unions currently play an important role in employee welfare, cultural programmes, banking, and medical facilities, as well as raising awareness through training and education of trade union members.
• Despite a few recent events that can mainly be classified as one-off situations, most trade unions have succeeded to create a climate that allows for a constructive conversation between workers and employers about whatever requests they may have.
• Furthermore, Indian trade unions have ensured that a forum exists to support better industrial relations, industrial growth, and productivity improvement over time.