The report is released by World Economic Forum (WEF). 

• It is based on the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI) which annually benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity based on 14 indicators across four key dimensions.

Key findings

Global 

• Among 146 countries, Iceland, Finland, Norway, New Zealand, and Sweden are the top five countries.
• The share of women in parliamentary positions has shown an almost uninterrupted positive trajectory since 2006.
• At the current rate of progress, it will take 134 years to reach full parity. 
• Women constitute 28.2% of the STEM workforce and 47.3% of the non-STEM workforce. 

India 

• Overall, India was ranked 129^th(ranked 127 in 2023), and 5^th in South Asia after Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
• Saw small declines in Educational Attainment and Political Empowerment while Economic Participation and Opportunity slightly improved.
• Shares of women are high in primary, secondary and tertiary education enrolments. 

Recommendation

• Achieving gender parity by 2030 would require a collective investment of $360 billion per year. 
• Targeted interventions and ensuring equitable access to emerging technological competencies are needed.
• Businesses need to have effective diversity, equity and inclusion policies and upskilling. 

NOTE: Gender Inequality Index (GII), released by UNDP, is also a composite metric of gender inequality based on three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market.

The report reveals severe child food poverty (CFP), defined as children’s inability to access and consume a nutritious and diverse diet in early childhood (first five years of life), globally.

Key findings

• Prevalence: ~27%children live in severe CFP, globally.
  • In India, 40% of children suffer from severe CFP (2^nd highest burden in South Asia after Afghanistan).
• Poor Diet: Unhealthy foods are becoming entrenched in children’s diets replacing nutrient-rich foods. 
• Income and CFP:  Severe CFP affects children in both poor and non-poor households, indicating income is not the only driving factor.
• Causes: Growing inequities, conflict and climate crises, combined with rising food prices, the overabundance of unhealthy foods, harmful food marketing strategies and poor child-feeding practices.

Recommendations

• Strengthen data systems to assess the severity of CFP. 
• Transform food systems to make nutritious foods accessible, affordable and desirable option for feeding young children.
• Leverage health systems to deliver essential nutrition services, including counselling on child feeding. 

India’s initiative

• Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 focuses on maternal nutrition, infant and young child feeding norms, etc. 
• Introducing millets in Mid-Day Meal Scheme (renamed as ‘PM Poshan’ scheme).

Measurement of CFP To meet the minimum dietary diversity for healthy growth and development, children need to consume foods from at least five out of the eight defined groups.

• Twenty fifth anniversary of International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention No. 182 was observed recently.
  • Convention No. 182 deals with “worst forms of child labour” and is the first ILO Convention to be universally ratified.
  • India ratified it in 2017 along with convention No.  138 which deals with minimum age of employment.

Prevalence of Child Labour in India

• As per census 2011, 10.1 million children (3.9% of total child population) are working, either as ‘main worker’ or as ‘marginal worker’.
• Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh constitute nearly 55% of total working children in India.
• Child labour mostly persists in agriculture, household industries, roadside dabas, etc.

Reasons for Child Labour in India

• Poverty forces families to rely on their children’s labour to make their ends meet.
• Lack of quality education increases the likelihood of children entering the workforce prematurely.
• Disasters, conflicts and mass migration lead to economic instability and disrupt families exposing children to labour.
• Demand for Cheap Labour in various industries such as agriculture, domestic work.
• Lack of stringent legislation and enforcement of laws.

The report, released by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), is themed around ‘food systems for healthy diets and nutrition’. 

• Key findings
  • Climate change and biodiversity loss can have complex and interconnected effects on diets, affecting food availability, diversity etc. 
  • More than two billion people, many of them in Africa and South Asia, cannot afford a healthy diet.
  • Around 38 percent of the Indian population ate unhealthy foods
  • As a result of poor diet, 16.6% Indians suffer from malnutrition (2021).
• About IFPRI: Established in 1975, it is a research center of the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers.

The brief was released by the World Bank. 

Key highlights

Remittance 

• Remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) reached to $656 billion. 
• Top five recipient countries: India ($120 billion), followed by Mexico, China, Philippines, and Pakistan. 

Migration

• Top destinations Countries: US, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and UK. 
• Largest origin countries: (18.7 million emigrants) followed by Ukraine, China, Mexico and Venezuela. 
• Largest migration corridor: Mexico to US.