September 18, 2025

Current Affairs

Women’s Economic Empowerment Index

Context: India aspires to become a $30 trillion economy by 2047, but women who constitute nearly half the population contribute only 18% to the GDP. Their invisibility in data makes gender-disaggregated data crucial for inclusive growth.

Relevance of the topic:

Prelims: Gender budgeting, WEE Index (Uttar Pradesh)

Mains: Role of gender data in inclusive growth, governance reforms, women’s economic empowerment.

Almost 196 million employable women in India are outside the workforce. The biggest barrier to women’s economic empowerment is not merely the lack of opportunities but their invisibility in data. Without gender-disaggregated data their participation gaps across education, skilling, employment, and entrepreneurship will remain stalled.

Women’s Economic Empowerment Index:

The WEE Index was recently launched by Uttar Pradesh. It aims to track the impact of government schemes on women's economic participation across all 75 districts of the state.
It is India’s first district-level tool to track women’s participation across five economic levers:
- Employment
- Education and skilling
- Entrepreneurship
- Livelihood and mobility
- Safety and inclusive infrastructure
The index shifts focus from participation numbers to structural barriers that limit women’s empowerment. E.g., Data showed women dominate skilling enrolments but remain very low in entrepreneurship due to poor access to credit.

Why Gender Data is Needed?

Inclusive Growth: Inclusive economic growth cannot occur if half the population remains invisible in policy datasets. Gender-disaggregated data ensures women’s contribution is measured, valued, and integrated into growth strategies.
Making Gaps Visible: Without a gender lens, existing indices on health, economy, and infrastructure mask inequities. Data reveals critical drop-off points such as high female dropout rates after Class 12 and post-graduation, or the gap between skilling enrolment and entrepreneurship.
Catalyst for Reforms: Visibility of inequities prompts departments to act. E.g., In Uttar Pradesh, data on low female representation among bus drivers and conductors, led to new recruitment strategies and women-friendly infrastructure such as women’s restrooms in bus terminals.
Shifting beyond Participation Rates: Gender data helps track retention, leadership roles, re-entry into work, and quality of employment, not just surface-level participation. It highlights systemic barriers such as limited access to credit for women entrepreneurs despite high skilling enrolments.
To improve Gender Budgeting: Gender budgeting is often confined to welfare schemes or finance departments. True gender budgeting requires applying a gender lens to every rupee spent in sectors like education, infrastructure, energy, and housing, and this is only possible if robust gender-disaggregated data exists.
Guiding Policy and Investment: Data makes it possible to design district-wise gender action plans, guiding budget allocations and infrastructure priorities.

A robust framework such as the WEE Index can be replicated and scaled in other states as well. It can help the states translate intent into implementation: turning data into district-wise gender action plans that guide budget allocations, infrastructure priorities and programmatic reforms.

Also Read: Budgeting for a gender-inclusive ‘Viksit Bharat’

INS Androth: Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Watercraft

Context: The Indian Navy has received an indigenously-built anti-submarine warfare ship that is expected to boost its maritime prowess against the backdrop of China's growing forays into the Indian Ocean.

Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about INS Androth; Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Watercraft.

INS Androth: 2nd Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Watercraft

INS Androth is the second of the 8 anti-submarine warfare-shallow watercraft (ASW-SWC).
- INS Arnala (named after the historic Arnala coastal fort in Vasai, Maharashtra), the first ASW-SWC was commissioned in June 2025.
Built by: Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Kolkata.
The name ‘Androth’ is derived from the Androth Island in the Lakshadweep archipelago.

Key Features of INS Androth:

Measuring 77 meters in length, Arnala-class ship is the largest Indian Naval warship powered by a Diesel Engine-Waterjet combination.
Advanced shallow water SONAR enables effective submarine detection and engagement in littoral zones.
Equipped with state-of-the-art lightweight torpedoes and indigenous anti-submarine warfare rockets (ASW rockets).

Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Watercraft:

The ASW SWCs are part of a Rs 12,500 crore programme to build 16 shallow water anti-submarine warfare vessels under two contracts awarded in 2019.
- GRSE is building 8 vessels, while Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) will build the other eight.
- The vessels from GRSE will form the Arnala-class. The CSL-built ships will be classified as Mahe-class.
The ASW-SWC ships are being inducted into the Navy to strengthen its anti-submarine and coastal surveillance capabilities.

Significance

Strengthen India’s maritime defence: The vessels are designed to safeguard India’s coastline and shallow waters against any threats. E.g., Guard against increasing presence of submarines in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), including regular deployments by Chinese and Pakistani naval assets.
Self-reliance in defence manufacturing: The ship has over 80% indigenous content and is a testament to growing domestic capabilities and reducing dependency on imports.

The naval ships mark a critical phase in India’s naval modernisation, bolstering Navy’s ability to counter existing and emerging underwater threats and strengthen its presence in strategically sensitive waters.

Anticipatory Bail under the SC/ST Act 1989

Context: The Supreme Court in Kiran vs Rajkumar Jivaraj Jain quashed the Bombay High Court order granting anticipatory bail to an accused of caste atrocities reaffirming the statutory bar under the Section 18 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989.

Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: About Anticipatory bail and SC/ST Act 1989.

What is Anticipatory Bail?

Anticipatory bail is a pre-arrest legal safeguard provided under the Code of Criminal Procedure (now Section 482 of BNSS) allowing a person to seek bail in anticipation of arrest for a non-bailable offence.
It is preventive in nature and distinct from regular bail, which is sought after arrest.
It was recommended by the Law Commission of India to protect citizens against arbitrary or mala fide arrests.

The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 explicitly excludes the application of Section 482 of BNSS which provides for anticipatory bail.

Why is Anticipatory Bail barred under SC/ST Act 1989?

Parliament introduced this bar to protect victims from intimidation, harassment, and coercion by accused persons after registration of cases.
The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of this bar in multiple judgments, holding that it does not violate Article 14 (equality before law) or Article 21 (right to life and liberty).
Offences under the Act are treated as a distinct class because they are rooted in systemic untouchability, caste oppression, and social exclusion.

In Kiran vs Rajkumar Jivaraj Jain (2025):

The Supreme Court quashed anticipatory bail granted by the Bombay High Court terming it a manifest error and jurisdictional illegality.
It held that courts cannot conduct a mini-trial at the bail stage and must only check for a prima facie case.
The ruling reinforced that the SC/ST Act is a substantive shield to protect dignity and security of vulnerable groups.

Judicial Precedents:

State of M.P. vs Ram Krishna Balothia (1995), the SC upheld the validity of Section 18 emphasising the need for strong deterrent measures.
Vilas Pandurang Pawar vs State of Maharashtra (2012), the Court reiterated that anticipatory bail is statutorily barred when a prima facie case under the Act exists.
Prathvi Raj Chauhan vs Union of India (2020), the Court clarified that anticipatory bail may be considered only if no prima facie offence under the Act is made out, but not otherwise.