One Earth, One Health — Advantage Health care India 2023” 

 

News: The sixth edition of One Earth, One Health — Advantage Health Care India 2023 was inaugerated by PM Modi.

 

About News:

• PM said India’s goal is to make healthcare accessible and affordable, not only for our citizens but for the whole world.

• India’s traditional healthcare systems held a lot of answers to stress and lifestyle diseases and called for an integrated, inclusive and institutional global response to healthcare challenges.

• He further said lack of illness was often equated with good health but India’s view of health did not stop at lack of illness. Being free of diseases was just a stage on the way to wellness and the goal was wellness and welfare for everyone and physical, mental and social well-being,

 

India calls UN system ‘anachronistic’

About the News:

• Another year of meetings on reforming the United Nations like expansion of the Security Council  coming to a close in June.

• In its speech at UNSC ( at a session convened by Russia that called for a discussion on how to make multilateralism effective “by defending the UN Charter”), the Indian Permanent Representative, Ruchira Kamboj  called the UN Charter “anachronistic”, adding that it has failed in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war, terrorism and climate change.

• She called expanding the Security Council’s permanent membership and hit out at the “veto power” given to the “P-5” of the U.S., the U.K., France, Russia and China.

•  India also called for an urgent review of the UN Charter from 1945, citing Article 109 that had said a “review conference” must be held within a decade of the original charter being adopted.

 

Significance:

• This is the first time India has specifically criticised giving the veto to the P-5, clarifying its stand that in any expansion of the Security Council, the veto must be given to all members, or none.

•  It is a reflection of India’s frustration at the slow pace of the Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) process, as well as its determination to keep UN reforms at the top of the global body’s agenda even though India is not in the Security Council this year.

 

IGN process:

• It began in 2008 is now in its 15th year, and though a draft text of the reforms proposed was presented in 2015, there is little indication that negotiations on the basis of a text will begin in the near future.

• She also called for “clear attribution of groups and member states” or naming those who oppose expansion for specific countries, indicating the “United For Consensus” group that includes Argentina, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan and Turkey.

• In june last and next IGN session will be held where national statements of various countries will be “webcast” live for the first time .

 

Rajasthan Bill on Gig Worker

 

Gig Economy: Gig industry is approximately of an estimated eight million people employed in an industry built on the back of the smartphone revolution, “gig” work has become a major source of jobs for youth in India. 

 

Why Gig Economy is brewing in India?

• Informal labour and unemployment have defined the nature of the jobs market in the last decade, the gig economy has been a beneficial outlet of employment.

• Youth and migrant workers seek a ready and quick means of securing finances and flexible hours.

• It act as an option for informal workers who have used gigs for moonlighting.

• Increasing  smartphone use and a reliance on apps for daily needs and purposes, the gig economy is expected to flourish in terms of usage and opportunities. 

 

Issue:

• Increased competition among platforms and the availability of a cheap labour force have led to a lowering of incentives for gig workers even as their workload and uncertainty of work hours have increased significantly relative to pay, which has also become insufficient for many. 

• Despite the gig workers are not recognised as “workers” but partners by most aggregating platforms they lack any social security or related benefits due to them as “workers”, working conditions have become increasingly harsh in an industry that is no longer a fledgling one. 

 

Rajasthan Platform-based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Bill, 2023, 

• It envisages a “welfare board” that will design welfare policies and hear grievances of gig workers on a piece rate basis. 

• The board is expected to work towards a social welfare corpus which will be financed by a cess on the digital transactions made by consumers on the platforms that utilise the gig worker labour. 

 

Global example: Platform workers in the transport sector in Thailand and Malaysia use the same model to benefit from health and accident insurance as well as social security that is financed by a deduction of 2% for every ride.

 

Triple Test for Surrogacy

 

News: The Karnataka High Court has evolved “triple tests” for considering the plea of a couple to have a child through altruistic surrogacy. 

Petition: A 57-year-old employee in a government college in Bengaluru, and his 45-year-old wife. The petitioners, who lost their only child in a road accident in 2022, sought to have a child through altruistic surrogacy.

 

Issue:

• Kartanatka High Court has suggested “iron out the creases” in the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, which prohibits men above 55 years to have a child through surrogacy.

• As per the act “surrogate mother should be genetically related” to the couple who wants to have a child through surrogacy, as per the court this “defeats both altruism and logic”. 

• “Altruistic surrogacy should mean, surrogacy by an outsider. Therefore, the provision [genetically related] runs counter to the philosophy or principle behind the enactment,” the court said.

 

Triple test

• the High Court has evolved the triple tests which the petitioner-husband has to pass to become eligible to become a father through surrogacy.

  • genetic test, 

  • physical test, and 

  • economic test  

 

Mahandi Water Dispute

 

News: Water experts and political leaders in Odisha have accused Chattisgarh over  released of water and mislead the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal led by former Supreme Court Justice A.M. Khanwilkar

 

About the News:

• According to Water Resource Department of Odisha, Chhattisgarh has opened 20 gates at Kalma Barrage through which 1,000-1,500 cusecs of water is flowing into Mahanadi in Jharsuguda district is rare as Chhattisgarh hardly releases water during non-monsoon season.

• Engineer in Chief said gates were opened keeping the scheduled visit of Justice Khanwilkar this week.

• Chhattisgarh has built several barrages restricting flow of water in the lower catchment (Odisha). The non-availability of water in Mahanadi during non-monsoon season has affected rabi crops and reduced drinking water availability.

•  When Chhattisgarh faces floods in the upper catchment area during monsoon, it opens gates without any intimation to Odisha, but is reluctant to release water during non-monsoon season

 

Mahandi Water Disputes Tribunal 

On a complaint by Odisha with the Ministry of Jal Shakti Mahandi Water Disputes Tribunal was formed in March 2018 under Section 3 of the lnter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act. The tribunal has been asked to submit its report by December 2025.

 

SC order on Economic Sensitive Zone

News: The Supreme Court modified its June 2023 judgment to have mandatory eco-sensitive zones (ESZ) of a minimum one kilometre around protected forests, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries across the country. It earlier said that this 1 km zone will act as a shock absorber.

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Issue: On this judgement the Centre and several States, including Kerala, had returned to the court seeking modification of the June 2022 judgment, saying the judicial direction affected hundreds of villages on the peripheries of forests.

 

Present Order of ESZ:

• The purpose of declaring ESZs is not to hamper the day-to-day activities of the citizens. 

• If the direction as issued is continued, it would certainly hamper the day-to-day activities of the citizens residing in ESZs. 

• However, the court made it clear that “mining within the national park and wildlife sanctuary and within an area of one kilometre from the boundary of such national park and wildlife sanctuary shall not be permissible”.