GS Analyst
Daily Current Affairs

India has signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with a group of four European countries that are not members of the European Union.

1: Dimension- Significance of the deal for India

• Investment opportunity: The deal with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) will see investments in India of USD 100bn (£77.8bn). The investments do not cover foreign portfolio investment.
• Major range of investment: Under this deal, India will lift most import tariffs on industrial goods from the four countries in return for investments over 15 years. The investments are expected to be made across a range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, machinery and manufacturing.
• Better market access: The agreement enhances market access and simplifies customs procedures making it easier for Indian and EFTA businesses to expand their operations in the respective markets.
• Boost to Make in India: The agreement will give a boost to Make in India and provide opportunities to young & talented workforce. The FTA will provide a window to Indian exporters to access large European and global markets.
• A show for UK: The announcement comes as the UK and India have been holding negotiations over an FTA for the last two years. In the last two years, India has signed trade deals with Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

2: Dimension- Major Take-aways

• For the first ever time in the history of FTAs, a legal commitment is being made about promoting target-oriented investment and creation of jobs.
• EFTA is offering2% of its tariff lines which covers 99.6% of India’s exports. The EFTA’s market access offer covers 100% of non-agri products and tariff concession on Processed Agricultural Products (PAP).
• India is offering7% of its tariff lines which covers 95.3% of EFTA exports of which more than 80% import is Gold. The effective duty on Gold remains untouched. Sensitivity related to PLI in sectors such as pharma, medical devices & processed food etc. have been taken while extending offers. Sectors such as dairy, soya, coal and sensitive agricultural products are kept in exclusion list.

In a study conducted to assess the number of children aged six-23 months who have not consumed any food over a 24-hour period, India has disturbingly ranked high. With 19.3 per cent of children classified as 'zero-food,' India ranked third globally, following west African countries Guinea (21.8 per cent) and Mali (20.5 per cent).

1: Dimension-Scope of the problem

• India has by far the highest number of 'zero-food' children at 6.7 million (67,00,000), accounting for almost half of all 'zero-food children' across 92 countries in the survey.
• The problem of such extreme food deprivation is severe among children in U.P.
• The states of Uttar Pradesh (28.4%), Bihar (14.2%), Maharashtra (7.1%), Rajasthan (6.5%), and Madhya Pradesh (6%) account for nearly two-thirds of the total zero-food children in India.

2: Dimension-Root cause of the issue

• Alongside poverty and marginalisation in economic backgrounds, it’s rapid urbanisation and nuclearised families that have contributed to such a large number of ‘zero food children’ in the India’s most populous State.
• Women from underprivileged economic backgrounds work to sustain their families, resulting in their having insufficient time to complement breastfeeding for children above six months of age
• Most women are not aware of the government’s schemes (e.g.,- Poshan Abhiyan targeting holistic development and adequate nutrition for children, pregnant women and mothers, and primarily focused on children in the 0-6 years age group)

There is need to introduce solid or semisolid foods to a child's diet -- as breastfeeding alone is not sufficient to provide children with nutrition, which, in turn might hinder their growth and development.

A recent study of app-based workers shows they work long hours for low pay, with no social security, creating a loop of issues for them.

1: Dimension- Scope of the problem

• Overburdened with work: Almost a third of app-based cab drivers work for over 14 hours a day, while more than 83% work more than 10 hours and 60% work over 12 hours.
• Social disparities: Over 60% of the drivers from Scheduled Castes and Tribes working for over 14 hours a day, while only 16% from the unreserved category work such long hours.
• Income disparities: There exists income disparities and these income disparities further exacerbate the already existing social inequalities and perpetuate cycles of poverty and distress within these communities.
• Risks: Due to the demanding work hours, the drivers are physically exhausted, and exposed to an increased risk of road traffic accidents, especially due to the ‘10-minute delivery at the doorstep’ policy of certain e-commerce platforms.
• Additional stress: The lack of social and job security creates additional stress and leads to potential health issues.

2: Dimension-Rules in developed economies

• UK Supreme Court: In 2021, in a landmark judgment, the UK Supreme Court classified Uber drivers as ‘workers’ under the UK Employment Rights Act 1996, thus entitling them to various benefits like paid holidays and minimum wages.
• Dutch High Courtalso handed down a similar ruling, stating that the legal relationship between Uber and the drivers meets all the characteristics of an employment contract, making them entitled to workers’ rights under local labour laws.
• The Superior Court of Californiastruck down a 2020 ballot measure known as Proposition 22 that excluded gig workers from labour laws by declaring them ‘independent contractors’.
• Germany’s Temporary Employment Actprovides for equal pay and equal treatment of gig workers.

3: Dimension- Required measures

• There is need of stronger social security for app-based workers.
• The government needs to exercise oversight on the fairness of algorithms and mechanisms used by platforms to monitor such workers.

The Union government has chosen to constitute the most-recent National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) by ensuring the presence of at least one member from the Madiga community, one of the most populous Scheduled Caste communities in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. 

Who are the Madigas?

• The Madiga community is a Telugu caste, mainly living in the southern states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. However, Madigas also live in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Odisha.
• The community has historically worked in handicraft, leatherwork, tannery, and agriculture.
• The Indian government categorises the community within the SC category.
• There are various sub-castes within Madigas.
• As per the 2011 census, the Madiga community in the undivided Andhra Pradesh (before the creation of Telangana in 2014) constituted more than 48 per cent of the SC population. 

The government plans to implement a new highway toll collection system based on the global navigation satellite system.

What is the new proposed highway tolling system?

• The global navigation satellite system uses a large constellation of satellites to provide more accurate location and navigation information to users globally as compared to the GPS alone.
• The new system’s implementation will involve an On-Board Unit (OBU), or a tracking device, fitted inside a vehicle whose location can be mapped using
• The co-ordinates of the entire length of the country’s national highways will have to be logged with the help of digital image processing, and software will be used to assign the toll rate on a particular highway, calculate the toll amount for a vehicle as per the distance travelled by it and then deduct it from a wallet linked to the OBU.
• The system will additionally have gantries, or arches mounted with CCTV cameras, at various points on a highway for enforcement purposes.
• These will capture an image of the vehicle’s high security registration plate and cross verify if a road user is trying to trick the system by either removing the tracking device or travelling without an OBU onboard.

There are an estimated 7,396 golden langurs in India, the latest survey of the primate has revealed. 

• Gee's golden langur (Trachypithecus geei), also known as simply the golden langur, is an Old World monkeyfound in a small region of Western Assam, India and in the neighboring foothills of the Black Mountains of Bhutan. 
• Adult males have a cream to golden coat with darker flanks while the females and juveniles are lighter. 
• It has a black face and a long tail up to 50 cm (19.69 in) in length. 
• It lives in high trees and has a herbivorous diet of ripe and unripe fruits, mature and young leaves, seeds, buds and flowers.
• The average group size is eight individuals, with a ratio of several females to each adult male. 
• The entire distribution range of the species covers the Manas Biosphere Reserve and all fragmented forests in the western part of Assam.
• The previous population estimation in 2008-09, recorded 6,000 golden langurs in India.

1. Import Tariff: Import tariffs are taxes charged by the customs authority on the importation of goods into a country.
2. Foreign portfolio investment: Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) is securities and other assets passively held by foreign investors, allowing individuals to invest overseas.
3. Global navigation satellite system: The global navigation satellite system is a term used to refer to any satellite-based navigation system, including the United States’ Global Positioning System(GPS).
4. Processed agricultural products (PAPs): PAPs are non-agricultural food and drink items made out of agricultural products.
5. Social security: Social Security in India includes a variety of statutory insurances and social grant schemes bundled into a formerly complex and fragmented system run by the Indian government at the federal and state level. 
6. Zero-food children: They are those between 6-23 months who had not consumed any animal milk, formula, solid, or semisolid food in the last 24 hours.