Contents
- World Day against Child Labour
- Sahakar Mitra: Scheme on Internship Programme by NCDC
- NHAI: first ‘Fully Digital’ construction sector organisation
WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOUR
Focus: GS-II Social Justice, Prelims
Why in news?
On the World Day against Child Labour on June 12, 2020 the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) in collaboration organized a National Stakeholder Webinar on “COVID-19: Protect Children from Child Labour, Now More Than Ever”.
World Day Against Child Labour
- The World Day Against Child Labour is an International Labour Organization (ILO)-sanctioned holiday aiming to raise awareness and activism to prevent child labour.
- This World Day against Child Labour in 2020 focuses on the impact of COVID-19 crisis on child labour.
The crisis can push millions of vulnerable children into child labour.
State of Child Labour in the World
- Already, there are an estimated 150+ million children in child labour, 70+ million of which are in hazardous work.
- Almost one in ten of all children worldwide are in child labour.
- While the number of children in child labour has declined by 94 million since 2000, the rate of reduction slowed by two-thirds in recent years.
- The Africa and the Asia and the Pacific regions together account for almost nine out of every ten children in child labour worldwide.
- Africa ranks highest among regions both in the percentage of children in child labour and the absolute number of children in child labour. Asia and the Pacific ranks second highest in both these measures.
- While the percentage of children in child labour is highest in low-income countries, their numbers are actually greater in middle-income countries.
Child Labour and Legislations in India
- As per the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, amended in 2016 (“CLPR Act”), a “Child” is defined as any person below the age of 14.
- The CLPR Act prohibits employment of a Child in ANY employment including as a domestic help. It is a cognizable criminal offence to employ a Child for any work.
- Children between age of 14 and 18 are defined as “Adolescent” and the law allows Adolescent to be employed except in the listed hazardous occupation and processes which include mining, inflammable substance and explosives related work and any other hazardous process as per the Factories Act, 1948.
- The Constitution of India prohibits child labour in hazardous industries (but not in non-hazardous industries) as a Fundamental Right under Article 24.
- In addition to the constitutional prohibition of hazardous child labour, various laws in India, such as the Juvenile Justice (care and protection) of Children Act-2000, and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Abolition) Act-1986 provide a basis in law to identify, prosecute and stop child labour in India.
SAHAKAR MITRA: SCHEME ON INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME BY NCDC
Focus: GS-II Social Justice
Why in news?
Sahakar Mitra: Scheme on Internship Programme (SIP) was launched by Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare.
Highlights of the Sahakar Mitra Scheme
- In the series of initiatives by National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), the new scheme called Sahakar Mitra: Scheme on Internship Programme (SIP) will provide the young professionals an opportunity of practical exposure and learning from the working of NCDC and cooperatives as a paid intern.
- NCDC has also introduced a complementary scheme to promote start-up cooperative ventures.
- Sahakar Mitra would also provide an opportunity to professionals from academic institutions to develop leadership and entrepreneurial roles through cooperatives as Farmers Producers Organizations (FPO).
- Under the scheme, professional graduates in disciplines such as Agriculture and allied areas, IT etc. will be eligible for internship.
- Professionals who are pursuing or have completed their MBA degrees in Agri-business, Cooperation, Finance, International Trade, Forestry, Rural Development, Project Management etc. will also be eligible.
National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC)
- The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) is a Statutory Corporation set up under NCDC Act in 1963.
- The objectives of NCDC are planning and promoting programmes for production, processing, marketing, storage, export and import of agricultural produce, foodstuffs, industrial goods, livestock and certain other notified commodities and services on cooperative principles and for matters concerned therewith or incidental thereto.
- The Corporation under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
NHAI: FIRST ‘FULLY DIGITAL’ CONSTRUCTION SECTOR ORGANISATION
Focus: GS-III Industry and Infrastructure, Prelims
Why in news?
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) under Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has gone ‘Fully Digital’
Details
- With the launch of unique cloud based and Artificial Intelligence powered Big Data Analytics platform – Data Lake and Project Management Software NHAI becomes first construction sector organisation to go ‘Fully Digital’.
- The entire project management work flow of NHAI is transformed from manual to online portal based, wherein the complete project execution operations including ‘workflow with time lines’ and ‘alert mechanism’ have been configured.
- All project documentation, contractual decisions and approvals are now being done through portal only.
- The Data Lake will bring revolutionary changes to NHAI with benefits like No delays, Quick decision making, No question of missing records, Work from anywhere/anytime.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
- The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is an autonomous agency of the Government of India.
- NHAI is a Statutory Body, was created through the promulgation of the National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988.
- The function of NHAI is to develop, maintain and manage the national highways and any other highways vested in, or entrusted to, it by the Government of India.
- The NHAI is also responsible of the toll collection on several highways.
- NHAI signed an MoU with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the North East Centre for Technology Application and Research (NECTAR) in 2016 that allowed the use of spatial technology for highways monitoring.
- The NHAI has the mandate to implement the National Highways Development Project (NHDP). The NHDP is under implementation in Phases.
- NHAI has mandated development of about 27,500 km of national highways under Bharatmala Pariyojna Phase-I.
