Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) – Annual Report [July 2018 – June 2019]

Introduction

 Considering the importance of the availability of labour force data at more frequent time intervals, National Statistical Office (NSO) launched the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in April 2017.

Objective of PLFS

The objective of PLFS is primarily twofold:

1. to estimate the key employment and unemployment indicators (viz. Worker Population Ratio, Labour Force Participation Rate, Unemployment Rate) in the short time interval of three months for the urban areas only in the Current Weekly Status (CWS)
2. to estimate employment and unemployment indicators in both usual statuses (ps+ss) and CWS in both rural and urban areas annually.

This is the second Annual Report being brought out by NSO on the basis of the Periodic Labour Force Survey conducted during July 2018-June 2019.

Sample Design of PLFS

• The sampling design remains the same as during 2017-18, that is, a rotational panel sampling design in urban areas.
• In this rotational panel scheme, each selected household in urban areas is visited four times, in the beginning with First Visit schedule and thrice periodically later with a Revisit schedule.
• The scheme of rotation ensures that 75% of the first-stage sampling units (FSUs)1 are matched between two consecutive visits.
• There was no revisit in the rural samples.
• For rural areas, samples for a stratum/sub-stratum were drawn randomly in the form of two independent sub-samples.
• For rural areas, in each quarter of the survey period, 25% FSUs of annual allocation was covered.
• In view of these changes, the PLFS estimates are not comparable with the results of the Employment Unemployment Survey (EUS) of 2011-12 and earlier years.
• Villages and urban blocks are the smallest area units taken as first-stage sampling units (FSU) in rural and urban areas respectively.

Sampling method

The number of households surveyed was 1,01,579 (55,812 in rural areas and 45,767 in urban areas) and a number of persons surveyed was 4,20,757 (2,39,817 in rural areas and 1,80,940 in urban areas).

Conceptual Framework of Key Employment and Unemployment Indicators: The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) gives estimates of Key employment and unemployment Indicators like the Labour Force Participation Rates (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR), Unemployment Rate (UR), etc.

These indicators are defined as follows:

1. Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): LFPR is defined as the percentage of persons in the labour force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population.
2. Worker Population Ratio (WPR): WPR is defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population.
3. Unemployment Rate (UR): UR is defined as the percentage of persons unemployed among the persons in the labour force.
4. Activity Status- Usual Status: The activity status of a person is determined on the basis of the activities pursued by the person during the specified reference period. When the activity status is determined on the basis of the reference period of the last 365 days preceding the date of the survey, it is known as the usual activity status of the person.
5. Activity Status- Current Weekly Status (CWS): The activity status determined on the basis of a reference period of the last 7 days preceding the date of survey is known as the current weekly status (CWS) of the person.

Wajre Urban Forest model

• This year’s theme for World Environment Day  is ‘Biodiversity’. In view of the prevalent situation due to COVID-19 pandemic the ministry will be holding virtual celebrations of World Environment Day on this year’s theme theme with focus on Nagar Van (Urban Forests).
• In Pune city on the forest land of 40 acres a forest has been developed.
• More than 65000 trees, 5 ponds, 2 watch towers have been established, with many trees growing up to 25-30 feet.
• Today, the forest is rich in biodiversity with 23 plant species, 29 bird species, 15 butterfly species, 10 reptiles and 3 mammal species.
• Not only the Urban Forest project is helping maintain ecological balance, but also provides the Punaikars a good walk way and a place to be for the morning and evening walkers.
• The Wajre Urban Forest is now a role model for the rest of the country.

Steps taken by Navy to protect ocean ecology

Indian Navy has voluntarily implemented all six schedules of International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) regulations.

All Naval ships have been fitted with MARPOL compliant pollution control equipment such as :

1. Oily Water Separators (OWS) and
2. Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) for treating waste generated onboard.

Further, to ensure upkeep of harbour waters, accelerated bioremediation technology has also been developed through Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL), Mumbai.

• In efforts to reduce carbon footprint, measures have been brought in force for a steady increase in utilisation of e-vehicles such as e-cycles, e-trolley and e-scooters.
• As a long term strategy, it is being planned to gradually reduce the usage of fossil-fuel based vehicles during working hours through use of e-vehicles or bicycles.
• To promote the same, units observe ‘No Vehicle Days’ regularly and the concept of a ‘Vehicle Free Base’ is also being introduced in some Naval establishments.          
• Reduction of overall power consumption through a progressive induction of energy efficient equipment.
• Substantial efforts have yielded a near-complete transition from conventional lighting to more energy efficient solid-state lighting.
• Use of capacitor banks to maintain high power factor, use of transparent acrylic sheet roofs to harness natural light, SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) based electricity metering for effective monitoring, use of occupancy sensors, sky-pipes and turbo-ventilators in workshop floors, to name a few.
• 24 MW of Solar Photo Voltaic projects are at various stages of implementation in the Navy’s shore establishments.
• All Naval units have adopted aggressive waste handling processes for collection, segregation and subsequent handling as per GoI Green norms.
• An Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility (ISWMF) is being setup at Naval station, Karwar, which includes a centralised waste segregation plant, Organic Waste Converter (OWC) for wet waste and a facility to handle dry/ unsegregated domestic waste.
• Green Initiatives of the Navy have also been augmented by afforestation and plantation drives.
• In the past one year, over 16,500 trees have been planted which would mitigate an estimated 330 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide.
• Community participation has played a major role in implementation of these initiatives.
• To foster a sense of responsibility towards the environment, various mass participation events such as mass ‘shramdan’, coastal cleanship drives etc are organized regularly.
• Further, a trophy introduced to recognise the unit adopting best green practices for the year, has proved useful in encouraging units to embrace Green initiatives.

Overall, Indian Navy has maintained a steadfast focus towards sustainable future while integrating energy efficiency and environment conservation within its operational and strategic roles.

Limited Liability Partnership

About:

• What is it? LLP is an alternative corporate business form that gives the benefits of limited liability of a company and the flexibility of a partnership. Hence LLP is called a hybrid between a company and a partnership.

Legislation in India

All limited liability partnership is governed under the limited liability partnership act of 2008. The Corporate Affairs Ministry implements the Act.

LLP vs Traditional partnership firm:

• Under a “traditional partnership firm”, every partner is liable, jointly with all the other partners and also severally for all acts of the firm done while he is a partner.
• Under LLP structure, liability of the partner is limited to his agreed contribution. Thus, individual partners are shielded from joint liability created by another partner’s wrongful acts or misconduct.

LLP vs a Company:

• The internal governance structure of a company is regulated by statute (i.e. Companies Act, 1956) whereas for an LLP it would be by a contractual agreement between partners.
• The management-ownership divide inherent in a company is not there in a limited liability partnership.
• LLP will have more flexibility as compared to a company.
• LLP will have lesser compliance requirements as compared to a company.

IEM (Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum)

Context

• Applications for IEM/IL under the I(D&R) Act, 1951 are currently accepted through the IEM portal at https://services.dipp.gov.in.
• Through this portal, applications for acknowledgement of IEM – Part A (for the establishment of business) and IEM – Part B (upon commencement of commercial production) are filed online by entrepreneurs of prescribed industrial undertakings.

(1) What is an IEM (Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum)?

• Industrial undertakings exempted from the requirements of Industrial Licensing under I (D&R) Act, 1951 are required to file information relating to the setting up of industries known as IEM (Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum).
• This is filed online by filing details as per 'Part A' of IEM through portal G2B.

(2) Whether all industries are required to file IEM?

• All industrial undertakings exempted from the requirements of industrial licensing under I (D&R) Act, 1951 and having an investment of Rs 10 Crore or above in the 'manufacturing sector and Rs. 5 Crore or above in the 'services sector, including Existing Units, New undertaking (NU) and New Article (NA), are required to file an IEM, i.e. "Form IEM" in the prescribed format 'Part A'.

The Urban Learning Internship Program (TULIP)

• Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of  Housing & Urban Affairs, and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have jointly launched an online portal for `The Urban Learning Internship Program (TULIP)’ - A program for providing internship opportunities to fresh graduates in all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Smart Cities across the country.

About The Urban Learning Internship Program (TULIP)

• TULIP is a program for providing fresh graduates with experiential learning opportunities in the urban sector.
• TULIP has been conceived pursuant to the Budget 2020-21 announcement by Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman under the theme ‘Aspirational India’.
• The announcement read as follows: “The Government proposes to start a program whereby the urban local bodies across the country would provide internship opportunities to fresh engineers for a period up to one year.” 

Importance of TULIP

• Such a program will help reap the benefits of India’s demographic dividend as it is poised to have the largest working-age population in the world in the coming years.
• General education may not reflect the depth of productive knowledge present in society. Instead of approaching education as ‘doing by learning,’ our societies need to reimagine education as ‘learning by doing.’
• TULIP would help enhance the value-to-market of India’s graduates and help create a potential talent pool in diverse fields like urban planning, transport engineering, environment, municipal finance etc. thus not only catalyzing the creation of prospective city managers but also talented private/ non-government sector professionals. 
• TULIP would benefit ULBs and smart cities immensely.
• It will lead to the infusion of fresh ideas and energy with the engagement of youth in the co-creation of solutions for solving India’s urban challenges.
• More importantly, it will further Government’s endeavours to boost community partnership and government- academia-industry-civil society linkages. 
• Thus TULIP- “The Urban Learning Internship Program” would help fulfil twin goals of providing interns with a hands-on learning experience as well as infusing fresh energy and ideas into the functioning of India’s ULBs and Smart Cities.
• This launch is also an important stepping stone for the fulfilment of MHRD and AICTE’s goal of 1 crore successful internships by the year 2025.
• The digital platform powering TULIP enables discovery, engagement, aggregation, amplification and transparency.
• Technical support for the platform shall be anchored by AICTE and the programmatic non-technical support shall be anchored by MoHUA.
• A Steering Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary, HUA including Chairman AICTE and other officials from MoHUA and AICTE has also been constituted to review the progress of the program on a periodical basis.

Way ahead

• MoHUA would reach out to State Governments to help boost internships in their cities. It will undertake capacity-building initiatives in partnerships with State Governments to enable the participation of ULBs and smart cities under TULIP.
• As States & UTs have a deeper understanding of the regional challenges and opportunities at the urban level, they can effectively implement TULIP by matching their needs with skills developed through such internships.
• State Governments/Union Territories are also urged to explore scaling up TULIP to parastatal agencies/ State Financial intermediaries and other organizations/ agencies related to urban development in their respective jurisdictions.

World Environment Day

• World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5 every year to spread awareness, and encourage people to take steps to protect the environment across more than 150 countries.
• This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, this day will be celebrated via its first-ever online campaign. Even though the day might be subtle in exposure as compared to previous years, digital celebrations will not lessen its significance.

World Environment Day 2020 theme

• The theme for Environment Day this year is "Celebrate Biodiversity" as there has never been a more important time to focus on this issue than now, with 1 million plants and animal species on the brink of extinction.
• According to the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP): "2020 is the critical year for national commitments towards preserving and restoring biodiversity as the UN Decade (2021-2030) on Ecosystem Restoration is intended to massively scale up the restoration of degraded and destroyed ecosystems."
• This year, World Environment Day will be hosted by Colombia in South America in partnership with Germany.
• For the last year's Environment Day, the host nation was China and the theme was "Beat Air Pollution". 
• This theme was chosen as air pollution killed around 7 million people annually.

World Environment Day History

• This day was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 on the first day of the Stockholm Conference (June 5) on the Human Environment which resulted in discussions on the integration of human interactions and the environment.
• After two years of discussions and deliberations, World Environment Day was first celebrated in 1974 with the theme "Only One Earth." The idea of different countries hosting World Environment Day began in 1987.

MARPOL Treaty

International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships

• MARPOL is one of the most significant international marine environmental conventions.
• The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) is the main international convention covering the prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes.
• The MARPOL Convention was adopted on 2 November 1973 at IMO. The Protocol of 1978 was adopted in response to a spate of tanker accidents in 1976-1977.
• The current convention is a combination of the 1973 Convention and the 1978 Protocol, which entered into force on 2 October 1983.
• The Convention includes regulations aimed at preventing and minimizing pollution from ships - and currently includes six technical Annexes:

1. Annex I: Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Oil
2. Annex II: Regulations for the Control of Pollution by Noxious Liquid Substances in Bulk
3. Annex III: Prevention of Pollution by Harmful Substances Carried by Sea in Packaged Form
4. Annex IV: Prevention of Pollution by Sewage from Ships
5. Annex V: Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships
6. Annex VI: Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships

• In 2011, IMO became the first international regulator for a transport sector to adopt globally binding energy efficiency requirements, which apply to all ships globally, regardless of trading pattern or flag State, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping.

International Maritime Organization

• The International Maritime Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations.
• IMO is responsible for measures to improve the safety and security of international shipping and to prevent pollution from ships.
• It is also involved in legal matters, including liability and compensation issues and the facilitation of international maritime traffic.
• It was established by means of a Convention adopted under the auspices of the United Nations in Geneva on 17 March 1948 and met for the first time in January 1959.
• It currently has 174 Member States.

GAVI

Context

Prime Minister Addresses the virtual Global Vaccine Summit 2020. India has today pledged 15 Million US Dollars to Gavi, the international vaccine alliance.

GAVI(Global Vaccine Summit)

• The virtual Global Vaccine Summit was hosted by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in which over 50? countries - business leaders, UN agencies, civil society, government ministers, Heads of State and country leaders participated.
• India’s civilization teaches us to see the world as one family and during this pandemic it had tried to live up to this teaching.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India did so by sharing the country’s available stocks of medicines with over 120 countries, by forging a common response strategy in its immediate neighbourhood and by providing specific support to countries that sought it, while also protecting India’s own vast population.
• Referring to Gavi, he said it is not just a global alliance but also a symbol of global solidarity and a reminder of that by helping others we can also help ourselves.

Steps were taken by India to vaccinate

• Prime Minister said that one of the first programmes launched by his government was Mission Indradhanush, which aims to ensure full vaccination of the country’s children and pregnant women, including those in the remote parts of the vast nation.
• He said in order to expand protection, India has added six new vaccines to its National Immunization Programme.
• Prime Minister elaborated that India had digitized its entire vaccine supply line and developed an electronic vaccine intelligence network to monitor the integrity of its cold chain.
• These innovations are ensuring the availability of safe and potent vaccines in the right quantities at the right time till the last mile.
• India is also the World’s foremost producer of vaccines and it is fortunate to contribute to the immunization of about 60 per cent of the World’s children.
• Prime Minister said India’s support to GAVI is not only financial but that India’s huge demand also brings down the Global price of vaccines for all, saving almost 400 Million Dollars for GAVI over the past five years.