In POCSO judgement, Supreme Court bats for promoting sex education

News:

• The apex court delivered a landmark judgement which held that watching and downloading child pornography are offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
• The apex court set aside the Madras High Court ruling that said mere downloading and watching child pornography was not an offence under the POCSO Act and the IT Act.
• The top court delivered its verdict on a plea challenging the Madras High Court order.

Introduction:

• Stressing the need to address misconceptions around sexual health, the Supreme Court said promoting a comprehensive understanding of the benefits of sex education was essential for reducing the incidence of sexual crimes in the country.
• The apex court said in India, the misconceptions about sex education were widespread and contributed to its limited implementation and effectiveness.

Apex court on promoting sex education:

• Many people, including parents and educators, hold conservative views that discussing sex is inappropriate, immoral or embarrassing.
• This societal stigma creates a reluctance to talk openly about sexual health, leading to a significant knowledge gap among adolescents.
• It is of paramount importance that we begin to address misconceptions around sexual health, and promoting a comprehensive understanding of sex education’s benefits is essential for improving sexual health outcomes and reducing the incidence of sexual crimes in India.
• This is especially crucial given India’s growing population.
• Supreme Court said one prevalent misconception was that sex education encourages promiscuity and irresponsible behaviour among youth.
• Critics often argue that providing information about sexual health and contraception will lead to increased sexual activity among teenagers.
• However, research has shown that comprehensive sex education actually delays the onset of sexual activity and promotes safer practices among those who are sexually active.
• Supreme Court said one common belief was that sex education was a “Western concept” that does not align with traditional Indian values.
• The bench said this view has led to resistance from various state governments, resulting in bans on sex education in schools in some states.
• This type of opposition hinders the implementation of comprehensive and effective sexual health programmes, leaving many adolescents without accurate information.
• This is what causes teenagers and young adults to turn to the internet, where they have access to unmonitored and unfiltered information, which is often misleading and can plant the seed for unhealthy sexual behaviours, court said.
• The apex court said there was also a misconception that sex education only covers biological aspects of reproduction.
• Court said effective sex education encompasses a wide range of topics, including consent, healthy relationships, gender equality and respect for diversity and addressing these topics was crucial for reducing sexual violence and promoting gender equity.
• The bench noted that despite some of these challenges, there are successful sex education programs in India, like the ‘Udaan’ programme in Jharkhand whose success highlights the importance of community involvement, transparency and government support in overcoming resistance and creating a supportive environment for sex education.
• Positive age-appropriate sex education plays a critical role in preventing youth from engaging in harmful sexual behaviours, including the distribution and viewing of CSEAM (child sexual exploitative and abuse material), court noted.
• Court observed that positive sex education focuses on providing accurate, age-appropriate information about sexuality, consent, and respectful relationships.
• The bench said research indicates that comprehensive sex education can significantly reduce risky sexual behaviours, increase knowledge, enable healthy decision-making, reduce misinformation, delay sexual debut, decrease the number of sexual partners and increase contraceptive use.
• The research done in India has shown the need for comprehensive sex education programmes.
• A study of over 900 adolescents in Maharashtra found that students not exposed to scientific literature on reproductive and sexual health were more likely to initiate sex early, court noted.
• Court said comprehensive sex education programmes teach youth about the importance of consent and the legal implications of sexual activities, helping them understand the severe consequences of viewing and distributing child pornography.
• Referring to some provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the bench said, “Since, one of the salutary and avowed objects of the POCSO was the deterrence of offences of child sexual abuse and exploitation, thus, as a natural corollary, the obligation of the appropriate government and the commission under the aforesaid provisions will also entail imparting of sex education and awareness amongst the general public, children as well as their parents and guardians, particularly in schools and places of education”.
• The bench said it was the collective responsibility to ensure that victims of child pornography receive the care, support and justice they deserve.
• “By fostering a compassionate and understanding society, we can help them find their path to recovery and regain a sense of safety, dignity, and hope,” it said.

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) – Annual Report [July, 2023 – June, 2024]

Key findings:

• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in usual status for persons of age 15 years and above was 60.1% during July 2023 – June 2024.
• The same for male and female was 78.8% and 41.7% respectively.
• Overall LFPR in usual status for persons of age 15 years and above has increased from 57.9% during July 2022 – June 2023 to 60.1% during July 2023 – June 2024.
• LFPR for female of age 15 years above in usual status has increased from 37.0% during July 2022 – June 2023 to 41.7% during July 2023 – June 2024.
• For male of the same age group LFPR in usual status increased from 78.5% to 78.8% during the same time span.
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in usual status for persons of age 15 years and above was 58.2% during July 2023 – June 2024.
• The same for male and female was 76.3% and 40.3% respectively.
• WPR in usual status among female of age 15 years and above has shown an increase from 35.9% during July 2022 – June 2023 to 40.3% during July 2023 – June 2024.
• The overall WPR among persons of the same age group in usual status has increased from 56.0% during July 2022 – June 2023 to 58.2% during July 2023 – June 2024.
• Unemployment Rate (UR) in usual status was 3.2% for both male and female of age 15 years and above during July 2023 – June 2024.
• While the same for male has shown a marginal decline from 3.3% during July 2022 – June 2023 to 3.2% during July 2023 – June 2024, among female it has increased from 2.9% to 3.2% during the same time span.

About Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS):

• Considering the importance of availability of labour force data at more frequent time intervals, National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) launched Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in April 2017.
• The objective of PLFS is primarily twofold:
• To estimate the key employment and unemployment indicators (viz. Worker Population Ratio, Labour Force Participation Rate, Unemployment Rate) in the short time interval of three months for the urban areas only in the ‘Current Weekly Status’ (CWS).
• To estimate employment and unemployment indicators in both ‘Usual Status’ (ps+ss) and CWS in both rural and urban areas annually.
• Six Annual Reports covering both rural and urban areas giving estimates of all important parameters of employment and unemployment in both usual status (ps+ss) and current weekly status (CWS) have been released.
• These six Annual Reports are brought out on the basis of data collected in PLFS during July 2017- June 2018, July 2018-June 2019, July 2019-June 2020, July 2020 – June 2021, July 2021-June 2022 and July 2022-June 2023.
• Now the seventh Annual Report is being brought out by NSSO on the basis of Periodic Labour Force Survey conducted during July 2023-June 2024.

Key Findings of PLFS, Annual Report 2023- 2024:

Estimates of key labour market indicators in usual status:

Increasing Trend in Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons of age 15 years and above:

• In rural areas, LFPR increased from 50.7% in 2017-18 to 63.7% in 2023-24 while for urban areas it increased from 47.6% to 52.0%.
• LFPR for male in India increased from 75.8% in 2017-18 to 78.8% in 2023-24 and corresponding increase in LFPR for female was from 23.3% to 41.7%.

Increasing Trend in Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for persons of age 15 years and above:

• In rural areas, WPR increased from 48.1% in 2017-18 to 62.1% in 2023-24 while for urban areas it increased from 43.9% to 49.4%.
• WPR for male in India increased from 71.2% in 2017-18 to 76.3% in 2023-24 and corresponding increase in WPR for female was from 22.0% to 40.3%.

Decreasing Trend in Unemployment Rate (UR) for persons of age 15 years and above:

• In rural areas, UR decreased from 5.3% in 2017-18 to 2.5% in 2023-24 while for urban areas it decreased from 7.7% to 5.1%.
• UR for male in India decreased from 6.1% in 2017-18 to 3.2% in 2023-24 and corresponding decrease for female was from 5.6% to 3.2%.

Estimates of key labour market indicators in Current Weekly Status (CWS):

Increasing Trend in Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for persons of age 15 years and above:

• In rural areas, LFPR increased from 48.9% in 2017-18 to 58.9% in 2023-24 while for urban areas it increased from 47.1% to 50.8%.
• LFPR for male in India increased from 75.1% in 2017-18 to 77.5% in 2023-24 and corresponding increase for female was from 21.1% to 35.6%.

Increasing Trend in Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for persons of age 15 years and above:

• In rural areas, WPR increased from 44.8% in 2017-18 to 56.5% in 2023-24 while for urban areas it increased from 42.6% to 47.4%.
• WPR for male in India increased from 68.6% in 2017-18 to 73.8% in 2023-24 and corresponding increase for female was from 19.2% to 33.8%.

Decreasing Trend in Unemployment Rate (UR) for persons of age 15 years and above:

• In rural areas, UR decreased from 8.4% in 2017-18 to 4.2% in 2023-24 while for urban areas it decreased from 9.5% to 6.7%.
• UR for male in India decreased from 8.7% in 2017-18 to 4.8% in 2023-24 and corresponding decrease for female was from 9.0% to 5.0%.

Important terms:

• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): LFPR is defined as the percentage of persons in labour force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population.

• Worker Population Ratio (WPR): WPR is defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population.
• Unemployment Rate (UR): UR is defined as the percentage of persons unemployed among the persons in the labour force.
• Activity Status- Usual Status: The activity status of a person is determined on the basis of the activities pursued by the person during the specified reference period.
• When the activity status is determined on the basis of the reference period of last 365 days preceding the date of survey, it is known as the usual activity status of the person.
• Principal activity status (ps) – The activity status on which a person spent relatively long time (major time criterion) during 365 days preceding the date of survey, was considered the usual principal activity status of the person.
• Subsidiary economic activity status (ss)- The activity status in which a person in addition to his/her usual principal status, performs some economic activity for 30 days or more for the reference period of 365 days preceding the date of survey, was considered the subsidiary economic activity status of the person.
• Activity Status- Current Weekly Status (CWS): The activity status determined on the basis of a reference period of last 7 days preceding the date of survey is known as the current weekly status (CWS) of the person.

NBFC sector remains resilient under scale-based regulations framework: RBI bulletin

Context:

• Amid SBR transition NBFC sector witnessed double-digit growth in credit, adequate capital and lower delinquency ratio: RBI Bulletin

Introduction:

• The non-banking financial companies (NBFC) sector in India continues to demonstrate resilience within the scale-based regulations (SBR) framework, improving in asset quality and diversifying its funding base, said Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials.
• And at the end of December 2023, the sector maintained double-digit credit growth, adequate capital levels, and a low delinquency ratio, the RBI officials said in an article ‘Peeling the Layers: A Review of the NBFC Sector in Recent Times,’ published in the September 2024 edition of the RBI Bulletin.

More on the article:

• Since the introduction of SBR in October 2022, the performance metrics for NBFCs have shown significant positive trends.
• The asset qualities have improved as per the article.
• “While the gross NPA (GNPA) ratio of upper layer NBFCs is lower than that of middle layer, the latter maintained adequate provisions to account for their riskier loan portfolio, thereby bringing their net NPA (NNPA) ratio below that of NBFCs-UL,” the authors said.
• The gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio has decreased significantly, falling from a range of 4.4% for [Govt. NBFCs] and 10.6% for [Non- Govt NBFC] in December 2021 to 2.4% for [Govt. NBFCs] and 6.3% for [Non- Govt NBFC] by December 2023, reflecting improved asset quality and risk management within the sector.
• As per the article, there has been a consistent rise in profitability, evidenced by improved return on assets (RoA) and return on equity (RoE).
• As of December 2023, NBFCs have demonstrated robust credit growth, adequate capital, and low delinquency ratios, signaling a resilient financial landscape.
• Moreover, the extension of prompt corrective action (PCA) norms to government-owned NBFCs is expected to fortify the sector further.
• These regulations aim to enhance financial discipline and risk management.
• “Under the PCA framework, capital and asset quality are the key areas for monitoring the health of NBFCs, and will become applicable for government-owned NBFCs from October 1, 2024.
• With adequate capital and low NNPA at end-December 2023, these NBFCs are comfortably placed,” the authors said.
• In light of rising risk weights on bank lending, NBFCs are increasingly diversifying their funding sources to reduce dependence on bank borrowings.
• This strategic shift is crucial for maintaining financial stability.
• The article also highlights robust growth in secured retail credit, particularly in gold loans, vehicle loans, and housing loans, alongside continued expansion in the industrial and service sectors.
• Going forward, NBFCs need to remain mindful of the rapidly evolving financial landscape and the emerging risks and challenges, especially in the domains of cyber-security and climate risk, the authors have cautioned.
• ”The assurance functions namely, risk management, compliance and internal audit, play a crucial role in maintaining the robustness and resilience of both the financial entity and the overall financial system,” they said.
• In light of their growing role in the Indian financial system, it is incumbent upon NBFCs to proactively identify and manage risks and bolster their assurance functions to ensure that the NBFC sector maintains a sustainable growth trajectory, they added.
• The RBI has identified several major NBFCs as part of the upper layer under the SBR framework.
• As of now, except for Tata Sons, all companies in the upper layer list, including Bajaj Housing Finance, Aditya Birla Finance, L&T Finance and even Tata Capital, have complied or initiated steps to comply with the listing requirement, the officials said.