Menstrual leave

• Menstrual leave for workers and students across the nation was the subject of a PIL that the Supreme Court declined to consider since it was a matter of policy.
• During a hearing on a case about menstrual leave, the Supreme Court of India instructed the petitioner to contact the Ministry of Women and Child Development to develop a policy.

Facts of the Petition:

• In accordance with Section 14 of the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961, the petitioner asked the Supreme Court to order the government to establish guidelines for awarding menstrual pain leave to working women and students.
• Inspectors are appointed under Section 14.
• According to this law, authorised governments may designate such officers and specify the local boundaries of jurisdiction in which they must carry out their duties.
• The petitioner emphasised that a number of nations, including the United Kingdom, China, Wales, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea, Spain, and Zambia, currently offer some sort of menstrual discomfort leave.
• The Petitioner stated that the various provisions of the 1961 Act acknowledge and respect the motherhood and maternity of working women.
• The very first stage of maternity, the menstrual period, has been knowingly or unknowingly ignored by society, the legislature, and other stakeholders in society, with the exception of a few organisations and State governments, despite numerous provisions under various laws and policies to take care of women in difficult stages of her maternity.
• The only States that permit menstrual pain leave are Bihar and Kerala.

About menstrual/period leave:

• Any rules that permit workers or students to take time off while they are dealing with menstruation pain or discomfort are referred to as menstrual leave. It describes employment practises that permit both paid and unpaid leave, as well as downtime for rest.

Indian examples include:

• Zomato announced a 10-day paid vacation break per year in 2020; Swiggy and Byjus have since done the same.
• Only Kerala and Bihar's state governments have given women access to menstruation leave.
• In 1992, the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led government of Bihar implemented a policy providing employees two days of paid menstruation leave each month.
• Kerala has announced that students enrolled in its department-accredited universities are entitled to menstruation and maternity breaks.

Worldwide examples:

• Together with a number of other sexual health rights, Spain became the first nation in Europe to offer paid menstruation leave to employees.
• Since the concept gained popularity among labour unions in the 1920s, Japan added menstruation leave to its labour laws in 1947. Employers are currently prohibited from asking women who are going through difficult times to work at certain times under Article 68.
• A policy that was initially adopted in Indonesia in 1948 and revised in 2003 states that employees who are experiencing menstrual pain are not required to report to work on the first two days of their cycle.
• Workers in the Philippines are allowed two days of menstruation leave in month

The Value of the Menstrual Leave Policy:

• It is crucial to comprehend the effects of such legislation as more and more states and nations throughout the world take steps to recognise and defend women's rights to menstruation leave.
• These policies enable workers to take a few days off during their cycle if necessary, and employers are making sure that everyone in the office is aware of them.
• This is a crucial step in realising that everyone's health requirements should be taken into account at work and giving them the tools they need to take care of themselves.
• Also, it plays a crucial role in fostering an environment where everyone feels at ease discussing their health requirements and being transparent about their menstrual cycle.
• Menstrual leave is more than simply a matter of personal comfort; when women are given the time and space to attend to their particular requirements during their cycle, they are more likely to stay in their positions, freeing up time and money for employers.
• Policies governing menstrual leave can improve workplace equity and establish an environment where employees respect and communicate with one another. Employers are required to acknowledge the significance of such policies and seek to ensure that they are applied in an equitable and fair manner.

What legislative actions are being taken in relation to menstrual leave?

Efforts Made in the Past:

• Menstrual leave and menstrual health products laws have been introduced in parliament, but so far they have not been successful.
• Examples include the Women's Sexual, Reproductive, and Menstrual Rights Bill from 2018 and the Menstruation Benefits Bill from 2017.
• Access to free menstrual health products and the Right to Menstrual Leave for Women Bill, 2022.
• The proposed Law intends to expand the benefit to students and offers three days of paid vacation for menstruation for women and transwomen.
• According to studies cited in the bill, close to 65% of girls who missed school because of their periods claimed it had an effect on their daily school activities.

Orangutans

Four police officers in Chennai were recently suspended for helping orangutan smugglers.

About orangutans:

• With arms far longer than their legs, orangutans—the largest arboreal mammals—are exceptionally well suited to living in the trees. They have long, curled fingers and toes on their feet, as well as grasping hands. They lack an external tail that may be seen and have recognisable fingerprints.
• From southern China to the Indonesian island of Java, orangutans once roamed the jungles of south-east Asia. Only two islands remain where they can be found today: Borneo and Sumatra.
• In just the last 60 years, the population of orangutans has decreased by about half as their forests have vanished.

Native Habitat:

• Both the Malaysian and Indonesian portions of the island of Borneo are home to orangutans, as is the Indonesian island of Sumatra. These are primarily arboreal creatures that inhabit the forest's bottom to canopy at all levels.
• From peat swamp woods close to the shore to upland forests about a mile (1.6 kilometres) above the sea, there are many different habitats.
• Orangutans have migrated up the mountainside as humans have occupied their former home at lower elevations.

Difference between male and female orangutans:

• Both sexes have fatty neck sacs, which in adult men grow to be very enormous.
• Compared to adult females, adult males have deeper chests and much longer body hair.
• The huge cheek pads that males generally grow also show their genetic fitness and accentuate their extended calls.

Size:

• Wild adult males weigh between 170 and 220 pounds, (77 and 100 kilograms) whereas wild adult females range between 80 and 120 pounds (36 and 54 kilogrammes).
• Zoo animals typically weigh 50 to 100 pounds (23 to 45 kilogrammes) more because to the constant availability of high-quality food.

WHY ORANGUTANS MATTER SO MUCH:

• Since they assist in dispersing seeds, orangutans are referred to as the forest's gardeners. they consume fruit from the trees, which releases seeds that cause the forest to grow. In particular, the bigger seeds that are not dispersed by smaller animals.
• The Bornean and Sumatran rainforests would be very different without that seed dispersion, which would have an impact on all the creatures that inhabit or use those jungles.
• The orang-jungle utan's provides food, water, money, and environmental protection to the inhabitants of Borneo and Sumatra.

Threats:

• Populations and ranges have drastically declined as a result of human activity.
• Poaching (for bushmeat and retaliation for eating crops), habitat destruction and deforestation (for palm oil farming and logging), and the illegal pet trade are all threats to the wild orangutan population.

Population decline and IUCN status:

• In total, there were probably more than 230,000 orangutans a century ago, but based on updated geographic range estimates, the Bornean orangutan is now estimated to be about 104,700 and is classified as Endangered, while the Sumatran orangutan is about 7,500 and is classified as Critically Endangered.
• Tapanuli orangutan: In November 2017, it was revealed that a third species of orangutan existed. The Tapanuli orangutan is the most endangered of the great apes, with fewer than 800 individuals remaining.

Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) 2023

190 nations, including India, took part in GBBC 2023 during February 17–20.

More on the news:

• It is an annual event that unites bird watchers, students, and nature lovers together to count the birds they spot nearby their homes, places of employment, or educational institutions.

Key Findings:

• During the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) 2023, West Bengal recorded the most species (489), followed by Uttarakhand (426), Arunachal Pradesh (407), Assam (397) and Karnataka (371). With 349 and 325 species, Tamil Nadu and Kerala took the eighth and ninth places, respectively.
• Kerala had the most bird checklists, according to the Bird Count India (BCI). Second and third place went to Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
• BCI is an unofficial alliance of organisations and entities that collaborates to advance our collective understanding of bird populations and dispersion.
• GBBC 2023, an annual event that gathers bird enthusiasts, students, and wildlife enthusiasts together for counting birds they see around the areas they live, work, or study, included India among the 190 nations that took part.
• India's birds are thriving in a variety of environments, including urban and rural areas. India uploaded the second-highest number of checklists after the United States of America and the third-highest number of species of any country thanks to a notable rise in involvement across the whole nation.

About The GBBC:

• The GBBC was the first online citizen-science initiative (also known as community science) to gather data on wild birds and to show results in almost real time.
• It was established in 1998 by the Cornell Institute of Ornithology and National Audubon Society. The GBBC is organised in India by Bird Count India.
• After inputting data into eBird, the largest biodiversity-related citizen research (community science) initiative in the world, in 2013, it became a global effort.

Asia Bird Count:

• The goal of the informal cooperation known as Bird Count India is to improve the general public's understanding of the range and population of birds.
• It supports the recording and monitoring of bird populations in India, including those maintained by individuals, small groups of students or birders, and extensive national initiatives to map species distribution and abundance.

Moscow halts the New START

The final major military deal between Russia and the United States, known as New START, has recently been confirmed to be suspended.

The New START: What Is It?

• The original "Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty," also known as START-I, was signed between the US and the then-USSR in 1991 and went into effect in 1994. It carries the term START.
• After expiring in 2009, START-I, which set a cap on the number of nuclear warheads and ICBMs( intercontinental ballistic missile ) each side may have at 6,000 and 1,600, respectively, was superseded first by the SORT (also known as the Treaty of Moscow) and later by the New START treaty.

New Start:

• The "Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms," known as "New START," went into effect on February 5, 2011, and set new, independently verifiable restrictions on nuclear weapons with an intercontinental range.
• The primary restrictions on strategic offensive weapons set forth in the pact had to be met by the two nations by February 2018 and they had to adhere to those limits for the duration that the treaty was in effect. Thereafter, the deal was extended by the US and the Russian Federation through February 2026.

What Effects Does the Suspension Have?

• If the pact is suspended, it might be more challenging for the US to keep track of compliance.
• If Putin went further and ceased routine reporting and data exchange on nuclear weapon movements and other relevant developments, it would be a major blow given that Russia has already suspended mutual inspections of nuclear weapons installations and participation in a bilateral consultative panel.
• The action is "essentially symbolic," and it's likely that Russia made the declaration to put pressure on the US to approach it about ending the war so that Russia could choose the conditions under which it did so.