Report by Lancet on Child Marriage
Key Findings:
– The prevalence of child marriages in girls is concentrated in four states, namely Bihar (16.7%), West Bengal (15.2%), Uttar Pradesh (12.5%), and Maharashtra (8.2%), collectively contributing to over 50% of the total headcount burden.
– The incidence of girl child marriages has increased in six states, including Manipur, Punjab, Tripura, and West Bengal.
Additionally, eight states witnessed a rise in boy child marriages, such as Chhattisgarh, Goa, Manipur, and Punjab.
– State Disparities: Although some states have made significant progress in reducing child marriage prevalence among girls, challenges persist in states like West Bengal.
– Alarming Increase in West Bengal: West Bengal has experienced a concerning surge in child marriages, with a 32.3% rise in headcount, translating to more than 500,000 additional girls being married as children.
– Persistent High Rates: The survey indicates that in West Bengal, 41.6% of women aged 20-24 years were married before turning 18, a statistic consistent with the National Family Health Survey-4. In contrast, the nationwide average for this age group is 23.3%.
Policy Interventions in West Bengal
Kanyashree Prakalpa Scheme: A conditional cash transfer initiative designed to promote education and discourage the occurrence of child marriages among teenage girls.
Rupashree Prakalpa: A cash incentive program for girls’ marriages, occasionally conflicting with the goals of Kanyashree.
Challenges in Addressing Child Marriage
- Educational Advancements vs. Child Marriage: Despite a surge in the enrollment of girls in schools across West Bengal, there hasn’t been a proportional decrease in child marriage rates.
- Literacy and Child Marriage Association: Certain districts with high literacy rates haven’t witnessed a decline in child marriage rates, suggesting the presence of intricate underlying factors.
Migration and Social Norms: Migration patterns and societal norms play a role in sustaining child marriage, as families tend to marry off their daughters before relocating for employment.
Implementation of Laws and Regulations
Lackluster Law Enforcement: Enforcement of existing laws, such as The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006, is notably weak in West Bengal compared to other states.
Proposed Revisions: Ongoing efforts aim to increase the legal age of marriage for women to 21 years, with the bill currently under review by a Parliamentary Standing Committee.
UNICEF’s Perspective:
- UNICEF considers child marriage a “violation of human rights” and recognizes its detrimental impact on the development of both girls and boys.
- Rooted in Gender Inequality: Child marriage often originates from deep-seated gender inequality, disproportionately affecting girls who bear the brunt of this harmful practice.
- Strategic Importance for SDG 5: Ending child marriage is deemed crucial for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, which aims to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” by 2030.
SDG 5.3 Target: SDG target 5.3 specifically focuses on “eliminating all harmful practices, such as child, early, and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.”
India, Saudi Arabia ink Haj agreement
Context: Strengthening their diplomatic relations and prioritizing the welfare of pilgrims, India and Saudi Arabia have recently entered into the Bilateral Haj Agreement for the year 2024.
Saudi Arabia:
- Location: Positioned in West Asia, Saudi Arabia dominates the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, boasting a vast land area of approximately 2,150,000 square kilometers (830,000 square miles). This makes it the fifth-largest country in Asia and the largest in the Middle East.
Borders: Bordered by the Red Sea to the west, Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north, the Persian Gulf, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast, and Yemen to the south.
- The Gulf of Aqaba in the northwest acts as a natural boundary, separating Saudi Arabia from Egypt and Israel
- Capital: The capital city is Riyadh.
- Ecoregions: Saudi Arabia features five distinct terrestrial ecoregions, namely the Arabian Peninsula coastal fog desert, Southwestern Arabian foothills savanna, Southwestern Arabian montane woodlands, Arabian Desert, and Red Sea Nubo-Sindian tropical desert and semi-desert.
Red Sea Crisis: Effects on Indian and International Trade
Introduction
Since November, the Red Sea, an essential maritime route through the Suez Canal, has faced security threats due to attacks by the Houthi militia in Yemen, impacting cargo ship safety.
Alternative Route
Consequently, there has been a substantial shift in cargo routes, with vessels opting for the longer Cape of Good Hope route. This alteration has repercussions on global trade, leading to increased expenses.
About Red Sea
The Red Sea is situated between Africa (Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti) and Asia (Saudi Arabia, Yemen). It connects to the Indian Ocean through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden, spanning approximately 2,250 km in length.
Its width varies from 355 km at the widest point to 20 km at the Strait of Tiran. The central median trench reaches a maximum depth of about 7,254 feet (2,211 m).
Noteworthy features include being one of the world’s saltiest bodies of water and hosting a diverse ecosystem with extensive coral reefs.
Climate
The region has a generally hot and arid climate, with the surrounding desert and high evaporation rates contributing to its high salinity.
Economic Importance
The Red Sea serves as a crucial shipping route, and its borders contain significant petroleum deposits, making it an oil-rich region.
Impact on Indian Trade
Shift in Shipping Routes
Following the attacks, approximately 90% of India’s western hemisphere cargo is redirected through the Cape of Good Hope.
Contractual Implications
The impact on consignments varies based on the type of buyer-seller contract, resulting in some shipments being delayed due to increased freight costs.
Freight Cost Surge
Freight costs have surged significantly, reaching up to six times their previous levels in some cases. This affects all consignments, especially low-value, high-volume cargo and perishables.
Implications for India’s Imports
Increased Import Costs
The prolonged transit time and the crisis may lead to more expensive imports, necessitating improved inventory management.
Effect on Fuel Prices
The crisis could impact plans to reduce fuel prices in India, given the nation’s high dependence on crude oil and petroleum product imports.
Tanker Market Dynamics
Despite increased freight rates for affected routes, there hasn’t been a widespread rerouting of tankers.
Global and Indian Response
UN and US Stance
The UN has condemned the Houthi attacks, and the US is seeking additional support for ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian’ to ensure safe sea lanes.
India’s Monitoring
The Indian government is closely monitoring the situation, with the Commerce Secretary discussing potential impacts with officials and trade bodies.
Sector-Specific Impact
Commodities Most Affected
Industries such as chemicals, plastics, and petrochemicals are severely impacted due to their inability to absorb freight hikes.
Alternatives for High-Value Goods
For high-value, low-volume commodities, airlifting is an option, but most affected goods are large in volume.
Conclusion
Continued Uncertainty
The situation in the Red Sea poses ongoing challenges for global and Indian trade, with no immediate resolution in sight.
Adaptation and Monitoring
Businesses and governments are adjusting to these changes, focusing on monitoring developments and mitigating impacts.
Long-Term Implications
This crisis highlights the vulnerability of global trade routes to geopolitical conflicts, emphasizing the need for diversified shipping strategies.
Mayurbhanj’s Red ant Chutney
Context:
The indigenous people of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district have been granted a geographical identity tag for their Similipal kai chutney, which is made using red weaver ants.
The Red Ant Chutney:
- This savory chutney is renowned in the region for its medicinal properties and is considered crucial for the nutritional well-being of the tribal community.
- Scientists from OUAT Bhubaneswar conducted an analysis of the red weaver ants, revealing the presence of valuable elements such as proteins, calcium, zinc, vitamin B-12, iron, magnesium, potassium, sodium, copper, and amino acids.
- Consumption of these ants is believed to enhance the immune system and provide protection against diseases.
- Many indigenous residents of Mayurbhanj district venture into nearby forests to gather kai pimpudi (red weaver ants).
- Approximately 500 tribal families depend on collecting and selling these insects, as well as making and selling chutney from them.
- The process involves collecting red weaver ants along with their eggs, cleaning them, and then preparing the chutney by blending salt, ginger, garlic, and chilies.
- The resulting hot chutney has a pungent and sour taste, making it appetizing.
Medicinal Properties:
- Trials involve creating a medicinal oil by immersing the ants in pure mustard oil. After a month, this concoction is utilized as a body oil for infants and is believed to be effective against rheumatism, gout, ringworm, and other ailments among the tribal population.
- The local inhabitants also incorporate the ants into their diet to maintain fitness and strength, preparing soups and various other forms.
- It is recognized as a functional ingredient for addressing health issues such as stomach ache, dysentery, cold, fever, and is even known to naturally improve appetite and eyesight.
Nature’s Architects:
- Red weaver ants establish colonies with multiple nests in trees, constructing nests from leaves stitched together with silk produced by their larvae.
- They predominantly inhabit trees like mango, sal, jambu, and jackfruit, creating nests resilient to wind and impermeable to water.
- Kai’s nests vary in shape from single small folded leaves to large nests consisting of numerous leaves, measuring over half a meter in length.
- Kai families comprise three categories of members: workers, major workers, and queens.
- Workers and major workers are predominantly orange, with sizes ranging from 5-6 millimeters for workers to 8-10 millimeters for major workers.
- Queens are larger at 20-25 millimeters and have a greenish-brown color. They feed on small insects and invertebrates but do not sting, delivering a painful bite while secreting irritant chemicals.
Ecological Functioning:
Recognized as bio-control agents, red weaver ants play a crucial role by preying on various arthropods entering their territory, serving as an alternative to chemical insecticides. They provide protection to a variety of tropical crops against insect pests.
Availability:
Indigenous to Mayurbhanj, red weaver ants are abundant in the jungles of every block area in the district, including the Similipal Tiger Reserve.
Application for GI Tag:
The application for the geographical identity tag was submitted in 2020 for registration under Class 30, as per sub-section (1) of section 13 of the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
Geographical indications assign products to their place of origin, ensuring quality and distinctiveness.
These indications are protected under Articles 1 (2) and 10 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, as well as Articles 22-24 of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
Reduction in Dietary Variety with an Emphasis on Biodiversity
Introduction
- In spite of the global focus on promoting biodiversity, there is a growing uniformity in the world’s diet, where staples such as rice, wheat, maize, and sugar now account for more than half of the global calorie intake.
- This trend is reflected in supermarkets, which offer a limited variety of vegetables, indicating a decline in dietary diversity.
Dietary Diversity and Concerns
- Enhancing nutritional quality, a diverse diet that includes various food groups is crucial.
- However, the widespread practice of monoculture, where a single crop is extensively grown, has led to a decline in agricultural biodiversity.
- Additionally, the environmental impact of importing diverse food groups from distant regions is both expensive and ecologically taxing.
Contributors to Nutritional Variety in India
- Significant contributions to India’s nutritional diversity come from small-scale farming and agroforestry, practiced by smallholder farmers, shepherds, and tribal communities.
- These practices result in a diverse array of local vegetables and crops, varying regionally.
Examples of Nutrient-Rich Local Varieties
- In South India, nutrient-rich options include leafy greens like Green Amaranth and Leucas, along with starchy tubers like East Indian arrowroot. In Central India, edible flowers and oil-rich seeds from the Madhuca or Indian butter tree, as well as Khejri pods, add variety to local cuisine.
- Northeast India, despite facing a decline in indigenous Jhum cultivation, still offers dietary diversity through diverse crops grown on the same land.
Jhum Cultivation: A Diverse Agricultural Practice
- In contrast to modern agriculture, Jhum cultivation in Northeast India involves growing multiple food crops together, providing dietary diversity.
- Unfortunately, there has been a significant reduction in Jhum cultivation areas, with a shift towards monoculture crops such as areca nut, black pepper, and rubber.
Consumer Influence and Choices
- Consumer preferences play a crucial role in determining the availability and cultivation of diverse, wild food varieties. Encouraging diversity by incorporating lesser-known fruits like wood apples and Jamuns into diets can enhance nutritional quality and support small growers.
Conclusion
- Awareness of the importance of dietary diversity is essential for nutrition, environmental sustainability, and the support of small-scale agriculture.
- Embracing local, diverse food options can enrich diets and contribute to preserving agricultural biodiversity, aligning with global efforts to emphasize biodiversity.
