Cyclone Sitrang

• Cyclone Sitrang impacted Bangladesh by slamming into low-lying, highly inhabited areas.
• The first tropical cyclone of the 2022 post-monsoon season, Sitrang, was given its name by Thailand.
• The last storm to hit the Bay of Bengal in October in 2018 was Titli.

What are the Tropical Cyclones?

• A tropical cyclone is a powerful circular storm with low air pressure, strong winds, and heavy rain that develops over warm tropical waters.
• The eye, a center region with clear skies, warm temperatures, and low air pressure, is a defining characteristic of tropical cyclones.
• Typhoons in Southeast Asia and China are equivalent to hurricanes in the North Atlantic and eastern Pacific. In the southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean region, they are known as tropical cyclones, and in north-western Australia, they are known as Willy-willies.
• In the northern hemisphere, storms move counterclockwise, while in the southern hemisphere, they move clockwise.

Tropical storms can form and intensify under the following conditions:

• a sizable sea surface that is warmer than 27 °C.
• the Coriolis force is present.
• The vertical wind speed varies very slightly.
• a weak low-pressure area or low-level cyclonic circulation that already exists.
• system of upper divergence above sea level

What Causes Tropical Cyclones to Form?

Three stages can be used to categorize the tropical cyclone development cycle:

Stage of Formation and Early Development:

• A cyclonic storm forms and begins to develop when heat and water vapour from the warm ocean are transferred to the air above it, mostly by evaporation from the sea surface.

Mature Stage:

• Due to convection and condensation of rising air above the ocean's surface, it facilitates the creation of large vertical cumulus clouds.
• The air rises in ferocious thunderstorms at the mature stage of a tropical cyclone and tends to spread out horizontally at the tropopause level. Air moves downward more quickly due to convection once it has spread out, which creates a positive pressure at very high altitudes.
• When subsidence is induced, air warms up through compression, creating a heated "Eye" (low pressure centre). A concentric pattern of extremely turbulent huge cumulus thundercloud bands is the defining physical characteristic of a mature tropical cyclone in the Indian Ocean.

Modification and Decay:

• A tropical cyclone starts to lose strength as soon as its source of warm, moist air starts to wane or is suddenly cut off, as measured by its central low pressure, internal heat, and extremely fast speeds.

Women's Representation in Parliament

• In New Zealand, the percentage of women in the legislature recently surpassed 50%.
• The Inter-Parliamentary Union reports that New Zealand is one of 12 countries worldwide that can say that by 2022, at least 50% of their parliaments will be made up of women.
• New Zealand was the first country to grant women the right to vote in 1893.
• Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Rwanda, and the United Arab Emirates are more countries.
• Around 26% of lawmakers worldwide are female.

The Indian Scenario of women in Parliament

According to data gathered by the IPU, of which India is a member, women make up 14.44% of all Lok Sabha members.

According to the Election Commission of India's (ECI) most recent data:

• 10.5% of the Parliament's total MPs are women as of October 2021.
• With a national average of a pitiful 9%, the situation for women Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in all state assemblies in India is much worse.
• Women's representation in Lok Sabha has not even risen 10% in the past 75 years of independence.
• India dropped from 117 following the 2014 election to 143 as of January 2020 in the Inter-Parliamentary Union's global ranking of women's parliamentary representation in terms of electoral representation.
• India is now ahead of Sri Lanka and behind Pakistan (106), Bangladesh (98), and Nepal (43).

What causes the low representation, and why?

Sexist attitudes:

• Women have historically been tasked with managing home chores.
• Women should be encouraged to step outside of their preconceived roles and take part in national decision-making.
• Politics is a competitive field, just like any other field. At the end of the day, they are also up against female politicians.
• Many politicians worry that if there is a woman's reservation, their seats might be alternately allocated for female candidates, denying them the opportunity to even run for office.

Political education is lacking:

• Education affects women's social mobility. Formal education, such as that offered at educational institutions, fosters leadership chances and instills crucial leadership abilities.
• They are unaware of their basic and political rights since they do not comprehend politics.

Work and Family:

• Due to the unequal allocation of household care duties, women spend significantly more time than males caring for the home and children.
• In addition to putting in time and effort during pregnancy and childbirth, a woman must continue to do so until the child has to be taken care of by her parents.

Political networks are lacking:

• For all newcomers, but particularly for women since they frequently lack insider information or political networks, the lack of transparency in political decision-making and the undemocratic internal processes provide a problem.

Insufficient resources:

• Women in India struggle to gather money and support to grow their political constituencies because of their limited representation in the inner structures of the political parties.
• Political parties do not provide enough financial backing for women to run in elections.
• They must comply with the rules that are placed on them and carry the weight of society due to social conditioning.
• The number of female candidates who are considered and nominated for office is directly and indirectly influenced by public opinions, as well as how many of them actually win in a general election.

Unfriendly Environment:

• In general, political parties do not provide a supportive environment for women. Women must fight hard and deal with a variety of challenges in order to have a place in the party.
• Politics has become more violent recently. Women are no longer active in politics due to a major increase in crime, corruption, and insecurity.

What actions is the government taking?

The Women's Reservation Act2008:

• It suggests amending the Indian Constitution to reserve one-third of all seats in the Lok Sabha, the country's Lower House of Parliament, as well as in all state legislative bodies, for women.

Reservation for Women in Panchayati Raj Institutions:

• Article 243D of the Constitution mandates that not less than one-third of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election and the total number of offices of Panchayat chairpersons be reserved for women. This guarantees the participation of women in Panchayati Raj Institutions.

The Committee on Empowerment of Women:

• It was established for the first time in 1997 during the 11th Lok Sabha of the Parliament with the goal of enhancing women's status.
• Regardless of their political inclinations, the Committee members are supposed to collaborate for the empowerment of women.

Way Forward

• The equal engagement of all segments of society in mainstream political action is urgently needed in a nation like India, hence suitable steps should be done to encourage it.
• The Women's Reservation Bill, which asks for reserving 33% of seats in Parliament and all state legislative assemblies for women, must be approved by all major parties.
• There is a pool of women who have served as sarpanches and members of municipal bodies for more than three decades and have expertise with local government.
• They are eager to participate more actively in state legislatures and Parliament.
• In order for the recognised political parties to continue to be recognised by the Election Commission as political parties, it is necessary to put into practise the ECI's proposal to make it mandatory for them to ensure that a minimum agreed-upon percentage of women vote in State Assembly and Parliamentary elections.

Read Also: Women Transforming India Awards

Explained: Self Reliant India

The Prime Minister recently emphasised the importance of promoting indigenous products and self-sufficiency.

More on the news

• Self-sufficiency:Promoting indigenous products and self-sufficiency is important for prosperity, and by adopting them, one can keep India's traditional art, culture, and civilisation alive.

About Vijay Vallabh Surishwar, a Jain saint:

• The Prime Minister was speaking at a gathering to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Jain saint Vijay Vallabh Surishwar.
• The Union Culture Ministry organised the event.
• A commemorative postage stamp and coin honouring Acharya Surishwar were also released as part of the celebration.
• Historical significance: The Prime Minister stated that Acharya Surishwar's insistence on peace and harmony could be seen even during the horrors of Partition.
• He noted that during the freedom struggle, Mahatma Gandhi followed the Jain gurus' path of "aparigraha," or renunciation.

What exactly is self-reliance?

• Self-reliance is defined as an individual's, a household's, or a community's social and economic ability to meet basic needs (such as protection, food, water, shelter, personal safety, health, and education) in a sustainable and dignified manner.

India's potential for self-sufficiency:

The labour force:

• Self-sufficiency is dependent on increasing the income and productivity of the majority of the labour force.
• There are two approaches to this.
  • To begin, incentivize farmers to shift away from grain-based farming and toward cash crops, horticulture, and livestock products.
  • Second, shift the workforce away from agriculture and toward manufacturing.
• India can only become self-sufficient if it takes advantage of its best endowment — 900 million working-age people with an average age of 27 — and appropriates its demographic dividend, as China did.

Position in the world:

• India is in a unique position at a time when all other manufacturing behemoths — Japan, the EU, the US, and even South Korea and China — are ageing in lockstep.
• Most of these countries have exited low-end labor-intensive manufacturing, and countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, Mexico, and others have taken their place.

Development and research:

• State-funded R&D, including basic research, by PSUs, research institutions, and universities must be significantly increased, far exceeding the current paltry 1% of GDP.

Education:

• Finally, India's meagre public expenditure on education must be significantly increased (as opposed to current privatisation trends, which would only reduce access), including in skill development.
• Without widespread access to high-quality public education, no country has achieved self-sufficiency.

Initiatives by the government to promote self-sufficiency:

Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan:

• The vision of new India is the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, or Self-reliant India campaign.
• The goal is to make the country and its people self-sufficient in all aspects.
• Aatma Nirbhar Bharat is built on five pillars: economy, infrastructure, system, vibrant demography, and demand.
• The Finance Minister announced government reforms and enablers in seven sectors as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan.
• In this regard, the government implemented several bold reforms, including agricultural supply chain reforms, rational tax systems, simple and clear laws, capable human resources, and a strong financial system.

Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana:

• Its goal is to increase job creation and reduce the socioeconomic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Features: Under ABRY, the Government of India credits both the employees' share (12% of wages) and the employers' share (12% of wages) of contribution payable for a period of two years, or only the employees' share, depending on the employment strength of the EPFO registered establishments.

Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana:

• The goal is to improve India's critical healthcare network in both urban and rural areas.
• Create an IT-enabled disease surveillance system by connecting laboratories at the block, district, regional, and national levels.
• The Integrated Health Information Portal will connect labs.
• Features:
• To assist 17,788 rural Health and Wellness Centers in ten 'high focus' states, as well as to establish 11,024 urban Health and Wellness Centers.
• It supplements the National Health Mission.
• Exclusive Critical Care Hospital Blocks with a population of over five lakh.

Make in India:

• According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the programme, which aims for self-sufficiency or being 'aatmanirbhar,' has significant accomplishments across 27 sectors, including strategic sectors such as manufacturing and services.
• Make in India, the Government of India's flagship program that aims to:
  • Encourage investment,
    • Encourage innovation,
    • Improve skill development,
    • Keep your intellectual property safe.
    • Make India a digital country.
    • Develop positive relationships with various countries.
    • Make available employment opportunities.

Make in India" had three stated goals:

• to increase the manufacturing sector's annual growth rate to 12-14%;
• To add 100 million new manufacturing jobs to the economy by 2022;
• To increase the manufacturing sector's contribution to GDP to 25% by 2022. (later revised to 2025).

Startup India

• Startup India was launched in 2016 as a call to the nation's innovators, entrepreneurs, and thinkers to take the lead in driving India's sustainable growth and creating large-scale employment opportunities.
• More than 65,000 startups had registered on the entrepreneurial portal.
• Of these, 40 recently achieved 'unicorn' status, bringing the total to 90 as of today.

Read Also: Gross Domestic Product vs Gross Value Added