Content
- Social scourge
- India moves towards unlocking nuclear energy
Social scourge
Why in News ?
- India marked one year of the Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat Abhiyan with a 100-day nationwide awareness drive to eliminate child marriage.
- India is committed to ending child marriage by 2030 under the UN-SDGs, but incidence remains uneven across States and socio-economic groups.
Relevance
- GS-1: Social issues, gender inequality, demographic transitions.
- GS-2: Welfare delivery, law & policy, child protection institutions.
Practice Question
- “Despite legal prohibition, child marriage in India persists as a structural socio-economic problem.” Analyse with evidence and suggest multi-sectoral reforms.(250 Words)
Trend — Facts & Data
- Child marriage among girls (15–19 yrs)
- 47.4% (2005–06) → 23.3% (2019–21) — decline but still significant.
- State-wise high prevalence (women 18–29 yrs)
- West Bengal, Bihar, Tripura → highest levels.
- Close behind: Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Telangana, MP, Rajasthan.
- Poverty & education correlation (UNFPA–NFHS insights)
- 40% of girls in the lowest wealth quintile married below 18
- vs 8% in the highest quintile
- 48% of girls with no education married before 18
- vs 4% among girls with higher education
- Population scale implication: Even a 1-percentage-point prevalence equals millions of affected girls in a country of ~146 crore.
Why Child Marriage Persists ? — Structural Drivers
- Economic precarity & poverty → dowry expectations, early marriage as risk-mitigation.
- School dropouts & weak infrastructure → lack of toilets, unsafe transport, distance to schools.
- Gender norms & social pressure → control over female sexuality, early “security” for girls.
- Migration, disaster-prone & conflict-affected regions → heightened vulnerability.
- Documentation & age-proof gaps → weak enforcement.
- Failure of incentives to translate into behaviour change (e.g., cash-linked schemes not embedded in social ecosystems).
Legal & Institutional Framework
- Prevention of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006 — central statute.
- National Crime Records Bureau trends →
- Low reporting, infrequent application, low conviction rates.
- Interaction with POCSO
- Stringent provisions leave no space for consenting adolescents,
- leading some girls to avoid formal systems and seek unsafe alternatives.
Consequences — Evidence-linked Outcomes
- Maternal & child health risks
- Early pregnancy → higher maternal mortality, anaemia, low-birth-weight infants, neonatal mortality.
- Education & inter-generational poverty trap
- School discontinuation → reduced lifetime earnings, limited agency.
- Violence & autonomy deficits
- Increased exposure to domestic violence, control, and social isolation.
- Macro-development loss
- Girls Not Brides estimates: 9 of 17 SDGs cannot be achieved without ending child marriage.
Why Progress is Uneven — Policy–Practice Gap ?
- Cash incentive schemes ≠ social norm change
- Example: West Bengal — incentive-linked education support yet high incidence.
- Weak local enforcement ecosystems — child protection units understaffed.
- Limited community engagement — behaviour change not institutionalised.
- Urban–rural and intra-State disparities remain large.
What Works — Evidence-Based Interventions ?
- Keep girls in school → infrastructure + safety + scholarships + transport.
- Universal, verifiable age documentation (birth registration).
- Norms-based community mobilisation — parents, religious leaders, peer groups.
- Livelihood pathways for adolescent girls — skilling, life-skills, digital access.
- Strengthened enforcement + social care, not punitive-only approaches.
- Converged mission mode — PCMA + ICDS + education + health + police + panchayats.
Way Forward
- Targeted focus on high-burden districts with micro-plans and real-time dashboards.
- School retention architecture — safe transport, toilets, bridge courses, hostel facilities.
- POCSO–PCMA harmonisation with adolescent-friendly justice processes.
- Trained Child Marriage Prohibition Officers & case-tracking systems.
- Community-based surveillance & social protection for at-risk households.
- Outcome-linked evaluation instead of input-driven schemes.
Prelims Facts
- NFHS decline: 47.4% → 23.3% (2005-06 to 2019-21).
- High-burden States: West Bengal, Bihar, Tripura (+ Jharkhand, AP, Assam, Telangana, MP, Rajasthan).
- Strongest correlates: Poverty + low education.
- Flagship law: PCMA 2006; enforcement remains weak.
- SDG link: Ending child marriage critical to at least 9 SDGs.
India moves towards unlocking nuclear energy
Why in News ?
- The SHANTI Bill/Act (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India) marks the most significant reform since the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.
- It seeks to open the nuclear sector beyond state monopoly, create a licence-based pathway for private participation, and set up a stronger regulatory architecture.
- Aim: unlock firm, clean baseload power needed for energy transition and industrial growth.
Relevance
- GS-2: Government policies, regulatory institutions, PPP in strategic sectors.
- GS-3: Energy security, climate commitments, infrastructure, technology, PPP economics.
Practice Question
- Nuclear power offers India firm clean energy, yet progress has remained slow. How far can private participation and regulatory reform unlock the sector? Discuss.(250 Words)
Nuclear Energy & India’s Power Transition
- Firm, dispatchable clean power, unlike intermittent renewables (solar/wind).
- High capital cost, low operating cost, long asset life.
- Critical for:
- climate commitments and net-zero pathways
- energy security and import reduction
- supporting 24×7 industrialisation and green hydrogen
- Current challenges:
- high upfront cost
- safety perceptions
- waste management
- financing and liability risks
What the Reform Seeks to Change ?
- Break six decades of state monopoly in nuclear energy.
- Provide a credible, licence-based participation route for private players.
- Create a clear regulatory framework separated from operator roles.
- Encourage private capital, manufacturing and services across the supply chain.
Key Elements Highlighted in the Article
- New regulatory clarity — strengthened Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
- Private participation permitted in:
- manufacturing components
- supplying systems and services
- EPC and balance-of-plant activities
- Distinction between:
- strategic activities (retained by public sector)
- commercial/ancillary activities (opened for private sector)
- Focus on:
- safety culture
- liability clarity
- bankability of projects
- predictable tariffs
Civil Liability & Risk Allocation — The Central Issue
- Existing issue: Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010
- supplier liability (Section 17(b)) deterred private supply chains
- Reforms attempt to:
- reduce ambiguity on who carries liability
- align more closely with global practice
- make risk insurable, quantifiable, contractible
Economics of Nuclear Power — Why Government Role Remains Critical ?
- High capital cost of nuclear → requires:
- sovereign guarantees
- viability-gap funding
- long-term offtake arrangements
- Nuclear energy remains administered-price, capital-heavy power.
- Without policy support, discoms cannot absorb expensive baseload power.
Opportunities Created by the Reform
- Unlocks:
- private investment in reactors & supply chains
- domestic manufacturing ecosystem
- localisation and Make in India
- project execution capacity
- Enhances:
- energy security
- decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors
- technological innovation and skilled jobs
Hard Work Ahead — What the Article Warns About ?
- Regulatory certainty must be robust and independent.
- Contract design must ensure:
- balanced risk sharing
- enforceable obligations
- clarity on default and compensation
- India must:
- align liability norms with insurability
- avoid older problems of stalled or litigated projects
- ensure safety and public trust
- Need for:
- transparent tariff frameworks
- predictable procurement policies
- strong state capacity to enforce PPP contracts
Governance & Institutional Risks
- Weak contract enforcement can derail nuclear PPPs.
- Overlapping jurisdictions between regulators can create uncertainty.
- Land acquisition, evacuation infrastructure, and public acceptance remain binding constraints.
Strategic & Security Dimensions
- Certain activities remain sovereign/strategic by design.
- Private role will likely expand in:
- construction
- manufacturing
- operations & maintenance under regulation
- Strategic control remains with the Union government.
Environmental & Climate Linkages
- Nuclear offers:
- zero direct emissions electricity
- reduced dependence on coal baseload
- But also entails:
- long-term waste management
- decommissioning costs
- stringent safety management
Prelims Pointers
- SHANTI reform linked to unlocking nuclear energy sector.
- Earlier backbone law: Atomic Energy Act, 1962.
- Key friction historically: nuclear liability regime & supplier liability.
- Nuclear energy: high capital cost, low variable cost baseload.
