India Justice Report 2025: Gender Inequality in the Courts
1. Syllabus Relevance
- GS-II (Polity and Governance): Structure, organization, and functioning of the Judiciary; Mechanisms, laws, institutions, and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of vulnerable sections.
- GS-I (Society): Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and remedies.
2. Context
- The India Justice Report (IJR) 2025 highlighted alarming statistics on gender inequality within the Indian judiciary, noting that only 14% of High Court judges and a mere 3.1% in the Supreme Court are women.
- This severe under-representation is not just a social issue but a structural flaw that impacts the quality of justice delivery and the perspectives considered in judicial pronouncements.
- The news underscores the immediate need for judicial and institutional reforms to ensure the judiciary mirrors the diversity of the population it serves.
3. Main Body: Multi-Dimensional Approach
- Structural and Institutional Barriers:
- The Pipeline Problem: The lack of adequate representation often begins at the level of judicial entrance exams and lower courts, where the number of women candidates or successful recruits is disproportionately low.
- Patriarchal Collegium System: Historically, the process of elevating judges through the collegium system has been criticized for lacking transparency and potentially perpetuating historical biases against women.
- Attrition and Work-Life Balance: The demanding, often grueling schedule of a legal career, combined with societal expectations of caregiving, forces many competent women to leave the profession prematurely.
- Hostile Work Environment: Reports of gender insensitivity, lack of adequate facilities, and instances of sexual harassment in some courts and chambers further deter women from pursuing long-term careers in law and judiciary.
- Impact on Justice Delivery and Jurisprudence:
- Lack of Diversity in Viewpoints: Gender-specific issues (e.g., sexual harassment, domestic violence, rape law) are best adjudicated by a Bench with diverse perspectives, which is currently lacking.
- Confidence in the System: The under-representation of women judges erodes the confidence of women litigants, making them feel less understood or fairly heard by an overwhelmingly male Bench.
- Judicial Precedents: The lack of women’s voices can result in a perpetuation of traditional, often patriarchal, interpretations of law, particularly in family law and criminal justice cases.
- Symbolic Value: Increasing women’s representation sends a powerful symbolic message about gender equality and meritocracy within a fundamental pillar of Indian democracy.
- Global Comparisons and Best Practices:
- International Benchmarks: Many developed nations and common law jurisdictions (e.g., Canada, Australia) have achieved near gender parity in their apex courts, setting a benchmark for India.
- Affirmative Action Debates: The discussion often shifts to whether an explicit policy of reservation or preferential consideration for women in judicial appointments is necessary, similar to other civil services.
- Mentorship Programs: Successful global models utilize formal mentorship and sponsorship programs to guide talented women advocates toward judicial careers.
4. Positives and Negatives, Government Schemes
- Positives (of Increasing Representation):
- Better Justice: More diverse Benches lead to more well-rounded, sensitive, and context-aware judgments.
- Role Models: Creates powerful role models for young women aspiring to join the legal profession.
- Efficiency: Women judges are often perceived as being less prone to delays, potentially improving the disposal rate of cases.
- Negatives (of Reform):
- Merit vs. Representation: Critics of reservation argue that any affirmative action risks undermining the principle of judicial merit, which is essential for maintaining the judiciary’s independence and integrity (though this is a contested view).
- Resistance to Change: Deep-rooted institutional and cultural biases within the bar and the bench resist any rapid change to the established norms of appointment.
- Government Schemes/Initiatives in Focus:
- All India Judicial Service (AIJS) (Proposed): A proposed service that aims to democratize judicial appointments, potentially helping to introduce diversity through a centralized, merit-based selection process.
- Special Recruitment Drives: Some states have initiated special drives to encourage and fast-track the appointment of women in lower judiciary positions.
5. Way Forward
- Mandatory Quotas: Introduce a non-negotiable, time-bound minimum percentage (e.g., 33%) of women in the recommendation process for High Court and Supreme Court appointments, initially via the Collegium.
- AIJS Implementation: Urgently implement the All India Judicial Service to create a transparent, standardized system for entry into the judiciary at the grass-roots level.
- Infrastructure and Support: Ensure basic infrastructure, such as separate washrooms, child-care facilities, and a robust anti-sexual harassment mechanism (POSH Act implementation), is available across all court complexes.
- Data-Driven Monitoring: Mandate the annual publication of gender statistics across the entire judicial pipeline (law schools, bar councils, lower courts, high courts) to monitor progress and identify bottlenecks.
6. Conclusion
The India Justice Report 2025 provides a statistical indictment of the judiciary’s failure to achieve gender equity. Rectifying the historical under-representation of women is not merely a matter of fairness but a prerequisite for strengthening the judiciary’s legitimacy and sensitivity. The implementation of structural reforms, combined with affirmative action, is the only way forward to ensure a truly inclusive and equitable justice delivery system.
7. Practice Mains Questions
- Question 1: The abysmal representation of women in the higher judiciary poses a challenge to the constitutional ideal of justice. Critically analyze the reasons for this under-representation and suggest concrete reforms for the Collegium system. (250 words)
- Question 2: Discuss the potential impact of a diverse bench on jurisprudence, particularly concerning gender-sensitive issues. Should the government introduce mandatory reservation for women in judicial appointments? (150 words)
Supreme Court Ruling on Retroactive Age Limits under Surrogacy Law
1. Syllabus Relevance
- GS-II (Polity and Governance): Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation, Judiciary, Health.
- GS-II (Social Justice): Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Reproductive Rights.
2. Context
- The Supreme Court delivered a significant ruling on the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, stating that the Act’s age limits will not apply retroactively to couples who began their fertility treatment, such as freezing embryos, before the law came into force.
- The case centered on couples who had initiated the process in good faith but found themselves ineligible under the stringent new law’s age restrictions after its enactment.
- This judgment protects the reproductive autonomy and legitimate expectations of individuals already undergoing complex medical procedures.
3. Main Body: Multi-Dimensional Approach
- Legal Principle and Constitutional Law:
- Rule Against Retrospectivity: The judgment upholds the fundamental legal principle that laws should ordinarily operate prospectively and not punish or frustrate actions taken legally before the law was enacted.
- Article 21 (Right to Life and Liberty): The ruling implicitly reinforces the expanded scope of Article 21, including the right to reproductive choice and autonomy, as the State cannot unfairly truncate a medical process already underway.
- Legitimate Expectation: The Court recognized the petitioners’ legitimate expectation that their medical procedures (like freezing embryos) would culminate in a birth under the existing, less restrictive legal framework.
- Surrogacy Law: Objectives and Criticism:
- Act’s Objectives: The Surrogacy Act, 2021, aims to regulate the process, banning commercial surrogacy and allowing only altruistic surrogacy (where no monetary payment is made to the surrogate mother, other than medical expenses).
- Restrictive Provisions: Critics argue that the Act is overly restrictive, limiting the process only to married heterosexual couples of a specific age (between 25-50 for women and 26-55 for men) and only allowing the use of self-gametes.
- Impact on Choices: The restrictive nature of the law potentially denies access to surrogacy for single parents, live-in partners, LGBTQ+ couples, and those who need donor gametes, infringing on their fundamental rights.
- Medical and Ethical Dimensions:
- Cryopreservation: The ruling specifically addresses the status of cryopreserved (frozen) embryos, recognizing them as tangible assets linked to the couples’ reproductive future.
- Medical Timelines: Fertility treatments are time-sensitive. The ruling acknowledges that abruptly halting the process due to a new law causes not just legal harm but severe emotional and medical distress.
- Altruism vs. Exploitation: The debate remains on whether the outright ban on commercial surrogacy truly eliminates exploitation or merely drives the practice underground, where exploitation is even less regulated.
4. Positives and Negatives, Government Schemes
- Positives (of the Ruling):
- Protection of Rights: Offers immediate relief and protection to a small, vulnerable group of couples who were caught in the transition between the old and new laws.
- Legal Consistency: Reaffirms a key principle of administrative and constitutional law regarding retrospectivity.
- Reproductive Autonomy: Upholds the right of choice, ensuring that years of medical effort and investment are not wasted.
- Negatives (of the overall Surrogacy Act):
- Exclusion of Groups: The Act remains highly exclusionary, creating legal hurdles for many individuals and couples who cannot biologically conceive but are excluded from altruistic surrogacy due to marital status or sexual orientation.
- Global Brain Drain: The ban on commercial surrogacy risks driving the entire fertility industry, including skilled doctors and surrogates, to less restrictive countries.
- Government Schemes/Initiatives in Focus:
- National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board: The Act mandates the establishment of this national board to oversee and regulate all ART and surrogacy clinics, ensuring ethical practice.
5. Way Forward
- Comprehensive Review: The government must undertake a comprehensive review of the Surrogacy Act’s restrictive provisions, particularly those concerning marital status and the use of donor gametes, to align the law with Article 21.
- Clarity on Transition: Ensure clear, unambiguous guidelines for all future health-related laws regarding the transition period, protecting individuals who have initiated long-term medical processes.
- Regulate, Not Ban: Shift the regulatory philosophy from a blanket ban on commercial surrogacy to one of stringent regulation, focusing on the ethical treatment, fair compensation, and legal protection of the surrogate mother.
- Financial Redressal: Develop a legal framework for financial redressal or compensation for couples whose medical procedures are rendered void due to restrictive, non-retrospective laws.
6. Conclusion
The Supreme Court’s ruling on the Surrogacy Act’s age limits is a victory for the principle of non-retrospectivity and protects the reproductive rights of specific couples. However, the ruling underscores the deeper need to reform the overall Surrogacy Act, 2021, to make it more inclusive and ethical, ensuring that the pursuit of parenthood is not arbitrarily denied by rigid legislation.
7. Practice Mains Questions
- Question 1: Analyze the Supreme Court’s judgment regarding the retroactive application of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021. In what ways do the restrictive provisions of the Act challenge the right to reproductive autonomy under Article 21? (250 words)
- Question 2: Discuss the ethical dilemma posed by the ban on commercial surrogacy. Does altruistic surrogacy eliminate exploitation, or does it merely obscure it? (150 words)
India Justice Report 2025: Gender Inequality in the Courts
1. Syllabus Relevance
- GS-II (Polity and Governance): Structure, organization, and functioning of the Judiciary; Mechanisms, laws, institutions, and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of vulnerable sections.
- GS-I (Society): Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and remedies.
2. Context
- The India Justice Report (IJR) 2025 highlighted alarming statistics on gender inequality within the Indian judiciary, noting that only 14% of High Court judges and a mere 3.1% in the Supreme Court are women.
- This severe under-representation is not just a social issue but a structural flaw that impacts the quality of justice delivery and the perspectives considered in judicial pronouncements.
- The news underscores the immediate need for judicial and institutional reforms to ensure the judiciary mirrors the diversity of the population it serves.
3. Main Body: Multi-Dimensional Approach
- Structural and Institutional Barriers:
- The Pipeline Problem: The lack of adequate representation often begins at the level of judicial entrance exams and lower courts, where the number of women candidates or successful recruits is disproportionately low.
- Patriarchal Collegium System: Historically, the process of elevating judges through the collegium system has been criticized for lacking transparency and potentially perpetuating historical biases against women.
- Attrition and Work-Life Balance: The demanding, often grueling schedule of a legal career, combined with societal expectations of caregiving, forces many competent women to leave the profession prematurely.
- Hostile Work Environment: Reports of gender insensitivity, lack of adequate facilities, and instances of sexual harassment in some courts and chambers further deter women from pursuing long-term careers in law and judiciary.
- Impact on Justice Delivery and Jurisprudence:
- Lack of Diversity in Viewpoints: Gender-specific issues (e.g., sexual harassment, domestic violence, rape law) are best adjudicated by a Bench with diverse perspectives, which is currently lacking.
- Confidence in the System: The under-representation of women judges erodes the confidence of women litigants, making them feel less understood or fairly heard by an overwhelmingly male Bench.
- Judicial Precedents: The lack of women’s voices can result in a perpetuation of traditional, often patriarchal, interpretations of law, particularly in family law and criminal justice cases.
- Symbolic Value: Increasing women’s representation sends a powerful symbolic message about gender equality and meritocracy within a fundamental pillar of Indian democracy.
- Global Comparisons and Best Practices:
- International Benchmarks: Many developed nations and common law jurisdictions (e.g., Canada, Australia) have achieved near gender parity in their apex courts, setting a benchmark for India.
- Affirmative Action Debates: The discussion often shifts to whether an explicit policy of reservation or preferential consideration for women in judicial appointments is necessary, similar to other civil services.
- Mentorship Programs: Successful global models utilize formal mentorship and sponsorship programs to guide talented women advocates toward judicial careers.
4. Positives and Negatives, Government Schemes
- Positives (of Increasing Representation):
- Better Justice: More diverse Benches lead to more well-rounded, sensitive, and context-aware judgments.
- Role Models: Creates powerful role models for young women aspiring to join the legal profession.
- Efficiency: Women judges are often perceived as being less prone to delays, potentially improving the disposal rate of cases.
- Negatives (of Reform):
- Merit vs. Representation: Critics of reservation argue that any affirmative action risks undermining the principle of judicial merit, which is essential for maintaining the judiciary’s independence and integrity (though this is a contested view).
- Resistance to Change: Deep-rooted institutional and cultural biases within the bar and the bench resist any rapid change to the established norms of appointment.
- Government Schemes/Initiatives in Focus:
- All India Judicial Service (AIJS) (Proposed): A proposed service that aims to democratize judicial appointments, potentially helping to introduce diversity through a centralized, merit-based selection process.
- Special Recruitment Drives: Some states have initiated special drives to encourage and fast-track the appointment of women in lower judiciary positions.
5. Way Forward
- Mandatory Quotas: Introduce a non-negotiable, time-bound minimum percentage (e.g., 33%) of women in the recommendation process for High Court and Supreme Court appointments, initially via the Collegium.
- AIJS Implementation: Urgently implement the All India Judicial Service to create a transparent, standardized system for entry into the judiciary at the grass-roots level.
- Infrastructure and Support: Ensure basic infrastructure, such as separate washrooms, child-care facilities, and a robust anti-sexual harassment mechanism (POSH Act implementation), is available across all court complexes.
- Data-Driven Monitoring: Mandate the annual publication of gender statistics across the entire judicial pipeline (law schools, bar councils, lower courts, high courts) to monitor progress and identify bottlenecks.
6. Conclusion
The India Justice Report 2025 provides a statistical indictment of the judiciary’s failure to achieve gender equity. Rectifying the historical under-representation of women is not merely a matter of fairness but a prerequisite for strengthening the judiciary’s legitimacy and sensitivity. The implementation of structural reforms, combined with affirmative action, is the only way forward to ensure a truly inclusive and equitable justice delivery system.
7. Practice Mains Questions
- Question 1: The abysmal representation of women in the higher judiciary poses a challenge to the constitutional ideal of justice. Critically analyze the reasons for this under-representation and suggest concrete reforms for the Collegium system. (250 words)
- Question 2: Discuss the potential impact of a diverse bench on jurisprudence, particularly concerning gender-sensitive issues. Should the government introduce mandatory reservation for women in judicial appointments? (150 words)
Ruling on Retroactive Age Limits under Surrogacy Law
1. Syllabus Relevance
- GS-II (Polity and Governance): Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation, Judiciary, Health.
- GS-II (Social Justice): Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Reproductive Rights.
2. Context
- The Supreme Court delivered a significant ruling on the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, stating that the Act’s age limits will not apply retroactively to couples who began their fertility treatment, such as freezing embryos, before the law came into force.
- The case centered on couples who had initiated the process in good faith but found themselves ineligible under the stringent new law’s age restrictions after its enactment.
- This judgment protects the reproductive autonomy and legitimate expectations of individuals already undergoing complex medical procedures.
3. Main Body: Multi-Dimensional Approach
- Legal Principle and Constitutional Law:
- Rule Against Retrospectivity: The judgment upholds the fundamental legal principle that laws should ordinarily operate prospectively and not punish or frustrate actions taken legally before the law was enacted.
- Article 21 (Right to Life and Liberty): The ruling implicitly reinforces the expanded scope of Article 21, including the right to reproductive choice and autonomy, as the State cannot unfairly truncate a medical process already underway.
- Legitimate Expectation: The Court recognized the petitioners’ legitimate expectation that their medical procedures (like freezing embryos) would culminate in a birth under the existing, less restrictive legal framework.
- Surrogacy Law: Objectives and Criticism:
- Act’s Objectives: The Surrogacy Act, 2021, aims to regulate the process, banning commercial surrogacy and allowing only altruistic surrogacy (where no monetary payment is made to the surrogate mother, other than medical expenses).
- Restrictive Provisions: Critics argue that the Act is overly restrictive, limiting the process only to married heterosexual couples of a specific age (between 25-50 for women and 26-55 for men) and only allowing the use of self-gametes.
- Impact on Choices: The restrictive nature of the law potentially denies access to surrogacy for single parents, live-in partners, LGBTQ+ couples, and those who need donor gametes, infringing on their fundamental rights.
- Medical and Ethical Dimensions:
- Cryopreservation: The ruling specifically addresses the status of cryopreserved (frozen) embryos, recognizing them as tangible assets linked to the couples’ reproductive future.
- Medical Timelines: Fertility treatments are time-sensitive. The ruling acknowledges that abruptly halting the process due to a new law causes not just legal harm but severe emotional and medical distress.
- Altruism vs. Exploitation: The debate remains on whether the outright ban on commercial surrogacy truly eliminates exploitation or merely drives the practice underground, where exploitation is even less regulated.
4. Positives and Negatives, Government Schemes
- Positives (of the Ruling):
- Protection of Rights: Offers immediate relief and protection to a small, vulnerable group of couples who were caught in the transition between the old and new laws.
- Legal Consistency: Reaffirms a key principle of administrative and constitutional law regarding retrospectivity.
- Reproductive Autonomy: Upholds the right of choice, ensuring that years of medical effort and investment are not wasted.
- Negatives (of the overall Surrogacy Act):
- Exclusion of Groups: The Act remains highly exclusionary, creating legal hurdles for many individuals and couples who cannot biologically conceive but are excluded from altruistic surrogacy due to marital status or sexual orientation.
- Global Brain Drain: The ban on commercial surrogacy risks driving the entire fertility industry, including skilled doctors and surrogates, to less restrictive countries.
- Government Schemes/Initiatives in Focus:
- National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board: The Act mandates the establishment of this national board to oversee and regulate all ART and surrogacy clinics, ensuring ethical practice.
5. Way Forward
- Comprehensive Review: The government must undertake a comprehensive review of the Surrogacy Act’s restrictive provisions, particularly those concerning marital status and the use of donor gametes, to align the law with Article 21.
- Clarity on Transition: Ensure clear, unambiguous guidelines for all future health-related laws regarding the transition period, protecting individuals who have initiated long-term medical processes.
- Regulate, Not Ban: Shift the regulatory philosophy from a blanket ban on commercial surrogacy to one of stringent regulation, focusing on the ethical treatment, fair compensation, and legal protection of the surrogate mother.
- Financial Redressal: Develop a legal framework for financial redressal or compensation for couples whose medical procedures are rendered void due to restrictive, non-retrospective laws.
6. Conclusion
The Supreme Court’s ruling on the Surrogacy Act’s age limits is a victory for the principle of non-retrospectivity and protects the reproductive rights of specific couples. However, the ruling underscores the deeper need to reform the overall Surrogacy Act, 2021, to make it more inclusive and ethical, ensuring that the pursuit of parenthood is not arbitrarily denied by rigid legislation.
7. Practice Mains Questions
- Question 1: Analyze the Supreme Court’s judgment regarding the retroactive application of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021. In what ways do the restrictive provisions of the Act challenge the right to reproductive autonomy under Article 21? (250 words)
- Question 2: Discuss the ethical dilemma posed by the ban on commercial surrogacy. Does altruistic surrogacy eliminate exploitation, or does it merely obscure it? (150 words)
Siddi Tribal Community Achieves 72% Literacy under PVTG Focus
1. Syllabus Relevance
- GS-II (Social Justice): Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population; Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Education.
- GS-I (Society): Social empowerment, particularly of tribal communities.
2. Context
- The President of India recently lauded the Siddi tribal community, categorized as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), for achieving a remarkable literacy rate exceeding 72%.
- The Siddi community, of African descent, primarily resides in parts of Gujarat, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, historically facing extreme marginalization and low socio-economic indicators.
- This news highlights the success of targeted government interventions and community efforts in overcoming historical barriers to education and social development.
3. Main Body: Multi-Dimensional Approach
- Understanding PVTGs and Their Challenges:
- Definition: PVTGs (formerly Primitive Tribal Groups) are a sub-classification of Scheduled Tribes (STs) identified by specific criteria: pre-agricultural level of technology, stagnant or declining population, extremely low literacy, and a subsistence level of economy.
- Historical Marginalization: The Siddi community’s history of being brought to India as slaves, combined with their isolation, led to systemic exclusion from mainstream education and economic opportunities.
- Socio-Cultural Barriers: Language differences, cultural resistance to modern schooling, and the need for children to contribute to the family’s subsistence economy are traditional hurdles to literacy.
- Success Factors and Intervention Models:
- Dedicated Schemes: The success is attributed to the implementation of targeted welfare schemes specifically designed for PVTGs, focusing on accessible, residential educational facilities.
- Incentivization: Providing financial incentives, scholarships, free books, and uniforms helped overcome the economic burden of education for poor families.
- Community Mobilization: The critical role played by local NGOs, community leaders, and the appointment of teachers from within the community, ensuring cultural sensitivity and trust.
- Residential School Model: The establishment of ‘Ashram Shalas’ (residential schools) near Siddi settlements, which provide a conducive learning environment away from the economic pressures of home, was key.
- Impact on Socio-Economic Development:
- Economic Empowerment: A high literacy rate is directly correlated with better vocational training, non-traditional employment opportunities, and higher income levels, breaking the cycle of poverty.
- Health and Hygiene: Education leads to better awareness of health, nutrition, and hygiene practices, improving the overall health indicators of the community.
- Political Participation: Higher literacy empowers the community to understand government schemes, engage effectively with political processes, and advocate for their rights, leading to better governance outcomes.
4. Positives and Negatives, Government Schemes
- Positives (of the Success):
- Model for PVTGs: The Siddi success story provides a replicable model for other low-literacy PVTGs across India, showing that targeted intervention works.
- Social Integration: Increased literacy facilitates better social and economic integration of the community with the mainstream society while preserving cultural identity.
- Upliftment of Women: Education often empowers women within the tribal community, leading to better child-rearing and health outcomes.
- Negatives/Challenges Remaining:
- Quality of Education: While the literacy rate is high, the quality of education and skill development required for 21st-century jobs remains a challenge.
- Infrastructure Gaps: Many settlements still lack all-weather roads, consistent electricity, and access to digital infrastructure, limiting educational continuity.
- Cultural Preservation: There is a constant tension between integrating into mainstream education and preserving the unique African cultural heritage and language of the Siddi community.
- Government Schemes in Focus:
- Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs): A Central Sector Scheme that funds state-specific projects for the holistic development of PVTGs.
- Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS): A major initiative to provide quality middle and high-level education to ST children in remote areas.
5. Way Forward
- Digital Literacy Focus: Move beyond basic literacy to focus aggressively on digital and financial literacy to make the community competitive in the modern economy.
- Vocational Training Integration: Link the EMRS and Ashram Shalas curriculum directly with modern vocational skills (e.g., IT, tourism, specialized craft) to ensure employment readiness.
- Cultural Mapping: Invest in anthropological studies and local educational materials to document and preserve the Siddi community’s unique language and traditions while promoting education.
- Private Sector Partnership: Encourage Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding from the private sector to adopt PVTG villages for long-term health, education, and sanitation infrastructure development.
6. Conclusion
The Siddi community’s journey to a 72% literacy rate is a testament to the power of targeted development policies and the resilience of human aspiration. This achievement serves as a significant milestone in India’s commitment to inclusive growth, demonstrating that dedicated efforts can bridge historical disparities and unlock the potential of the most vulnerable sections of society.
7. Practice Mains Questions
- Question 1: Define Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Analyze the key intervention strategies that contributed to the Siddi community achieving a high literacy rate and suggest measures to replicate this success among other PVTGs. (250 words)
- Question 2: Discuss the role of education in the socio-economic and political empowerment of marginalized communities. What are the challenges in balancing modernization with the preservation of unique tribal cultures? (150 words)
Labor Rights Violations and Related Issues in India
1. Syllabus Relevance
- GS-II (Governance and Social Justice): Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections; Issues relating to poverty and hunger, Social empowerment.
- GS-III (Economy): Industrial policy and its effects on industrial growth, Infrastructure.
2. Context
- A series of fatal industrial accidents across India has reignited serious concerns regarding the weakening of worker safety standards and labor rights.
- The context involves concerns over the practical implications of the new Labor Codes, with critics arguing they have diluted key worker protection measures, leading to a rise in accidents and precarious working conditions.
- This news highlights the ethical and economic challenge of pursuing rapid industrial growth at the expense of human safety and dignity.
3. Main Body: Multi-Dimensional Approach
- The Labor Code Debate and Dilution of Protection:
- Industrial Relations Code: The relaxation of rules regarding lay-offs, retrenchment, and closure for businesses with up to 300 workers (up from 100) is feared to have reduced workers’ bargaining power and increased job insecurity.
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (OSHWC): While aiming to unify 13 existing laws, critics argue the OSHWC allows for greater flexibility for employers, potentially compromising rigorous safety inspections and compliance.
- Definition of ‘Worker’: Ambiguity in defining who qualifies as a ‘worker’ versus a ‘contractor’ or ‘gig worker’ has excluded a vast section of the informal workforce from statutory benefits and safety nets.
- Causative Factors for Accidents and Violations:
- Enforcement Lacunae: State-level labor inspection machinery is often weak, under-resourced, and subject to political pressure, leading to rare and superficial inspections.
- Contractualization of Labor: The growing trend of hiring through contractors (contractualization) means the primary employer bypasses responsibility for safety, wages, and social security benefits.
- Target-Driven Culture: In high-growth sectors (manufacturing, construction, mining), unrealistic production targets often prioritize speed over safety, encouraging workers to take dangerous shortcuts.
- Lack of Training and Equipment: Workers, especially migrant and transient labor, often receive inadequate safety training and are forced to work with outdated, poorly maintained equipment.
- Social and Economic Consequences:
- Informal Economy Vulnerability: Over 90% of India’s workforce is in the informal sector, with no social security, health insurance, or organized voice, making them the primary victims of these violations.
- Poverty Cycle: Fatalities or serious injuries push already poor families into deep debt and chronic poverty due to loss of the main earner and high medical costs.
- Global Reputation: Repeated reports of labor violations and unsafe workplaces risk damaging India’s reputation as a responsible global supply chain partner, potentially impacting international trade and FDI.
4. Positives and Negatives, Government Schemes
- Positives (of Labor Code Intent):
- Simplification: The consolidation of over 40 complex laws into four codes was intended to simplify compliance for businesses, encouraging formalization.
- Social Security Extension: The Codes aim to extend social security benefits (ESI, PF) to gig and platform workers, a significant step forward.
- Negatives (of Implementation):
- Safety Dilution: Fear that the ‘ease of doing business’ mandate has overridden the ‘ease of living’ for workers, leading to compromised safety standards.
- Right to Strike: Critics argue the Codes have significantly constrained the right to strike, undermining workers’ most powerful tool for collective bargaining on safety and wages.
- Government Schemes in Focus:
- E-Shram Portal: An initiative to create a national database of unorganized workers, facilitating the delivery of social security benefits to the informal sector.
- Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY): Provides accidental death and disability cover at a low premium, acting as a minimal safety net for workers.
5. Way Forward
- Strengthen Inspection: Transform the Labor Inspectorate from a punitive body to a facilitator of compliance, utilizing technology (randomized inspections, GIS mapping) and mandatory, transparent safety audits.
- Zero Tolerance for Fatalities: Introduce stringent, time-bound legal accountability for owners and managers in cases of fatal accidents, including severe financial penalties and criminal prosecution.
- Mandatory Safety Training: Make comprehensive, multilingual, and certified safety training mandatory for all contractual workers before deployment on site, with regular refresher courses.
- Tripartite Safety Councils: Establish permanent, empowered Tripartite Safety Councils at the state level (including government, employers, and trade unions) to continuously review safety standards and investigate accidents independently.
6. Conclusion
The industrial accidents and labor rights violations signal a critical failure in prioritizing human capital over economic growth. While the rationalization of labor laws is a welcome step, its implementation must be strictly monitored to ensure it does not compromise worker security. India must commit to a model of ‘Safe Business, Sustainable Growth,’ where the right to life and dignity of the worker is the absolute first priority.
