News In Shorts

Report offers a comprehensive overview of the gender landscape in India across key areas like population, education, health, economic participation, and decision-making.

Key Highlights from Report

• Sex Ratio at Birth: Between 2014-16 and 2018-20, sex ratio in urban areas (910) has surpassed that of rural areas (907).
• Health: Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) declined from 122 in 2015-17 to 97 in 2018-20. 
• Education: Literacy rates in India reached 84.7% for males and 70.3% for females in 2017 with Kerala having the smallest gender literacy gap, while Rajasthan having the highest.
• Economic Participation: Female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increased significantly from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 41.7% in 2023-24.
  • Financial Inclusion: Women own 39.2% of all bank accounts and contribute to 39.7% of total deposits. 
  • Leadership roles: Women held 28.7% share in board of directors in FY25, up from 26.7% in FY20. 
• Political Participation: Female voter turnout varied over the years, reaching 67.2% in 2019 but slightly declining to 65.8% in 2024. 
• Violence against Women: Nearly one-third (31.9%) of married women aged 18-49 in India experience spousal violence, with the highest rates in Karnataka (48.4%), Bihar (42.5%) and Manipur (41.6%).

AI Kiran, an initiative to empower women in Artificial Intelligence, has been launched.

About AI Kiran

• Objective: To foster a vibrant AI community where women can thrive as innovators, changemakers, and leaders.
• Led by: Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India.
• Focus Areas: It highlights contributions of over 250 women driving advancements in AI across critical sectors such as education, healthcare, 

About KIRAN Scheme

• The Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN) Scheme was launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST)
• Aim: Promote gender equality in science and technology by supporting and empowering women in the field.

IMF released “World Economic Outlook (WEO): A Critical Juncture Among Policy Shift” Report.

• Apart from growth projection, the report also highlights demographic shifts and Silver Economy.
• Report also recommends policies favouring healthy ageing enabling participation of older individuals in labour force. 

Key Observations

• Economies worldwide are aging rapidly: Due to declining fertility and rising life expectancy crossing their demographic turning point and shifting from demographic dividend to demographic drag. 
  • The average age of the world’s population is projected to increase by 11 years between 2020 and the end of the century.
• Healthy Ageing: Alongside increase in longevity, the functional capacity of older individuals has improved over time. 
  •  70 year old in 2022 had the same cognitive ability as a 53 year old in 2000. 

Benefits of Healthy Ageing

• Impact on Global GDP Growth: Healthy aging is projected to add 0.4% point to global average GDP growth over 2025–50. 
  • The contribution from India would be large as the share of workers aged 50 and older is to grow faster in that period. 
• Impact on Labor Force Participation: Targeted health policies enable older workers to increase their labor force participation rates. 

Policy Recommendations on Healthy Ageing

• Comprehensive Approach: Combining pension reforms, training, workplace adaptations, with health-oriented interventions to increase effective retirement ages.
• Reducing labor force participation gaps: Fostering higher female labor force participation through improved work-life balance, affordable childcare, etc., to counter demographic headwinds.