MAINS Current Affairs includes Women-Led Development and Gender Justice & Low-Pressure Systems and Uneven Monsoon Rainfall in India

Social Justice

1. Women-Led Development and Gender Justice

Context: The National Commission for Women (NCW) organised a consultation focusing on women’s property rights and their access to social and economic justice.

• The discussion highlights the importance of ensuring that women can exercise their legal rights, obtain ownership of assets and participate meaningfully in economic and social development.

About Women’s Empowerment and Women-Led Development

• Women’s Empowerment: It refers to creating conditions in which women can exercise their rights, access resources, make independent decisions and participate on an equal footing in social, economic and political spheres.
• Women-Led Development: This approach views women not simply as recipients or beneficiaries of government welfare programmes, but as active decision-makers, contributors and leaders who shape institutions, communities and the economy.
• Ensuring women’s access to property and productive assets is an important component of empowerment because ownership can strengthen their economic independence and decision-making capacity.

Distributive Justice vs. Compensatory Justice

Constitutional and Legal Framework for Women’s Property Rights

1. Constitutional Provisions

• Article 14: Guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of the laws, providing a constitutional basis for equal treatment of women.
• Article 15: Prohibits discrimination on grounds including sex.
  • Article 15(3): Empowers the State to make special provisions for women and children.
• Article 300A: Provides that no person can be deprived of property except by authority of law.

2. Important Legal Provisions

• Hindu Succession Act, 1956: Its amendment in 2005 granted daughters equal coparcenary rights in Hindu joint family property, strengthening their position in matters of inheritance.
• Hindu Marriage Act, 1955: Forms part of the legal framework governing marriage and related rights, with implications for women’s legal and economic position.
• Special Marriage Act, 1954: Provides a statutory framework for civil marriages and related legal matters.
• Laws relating to maintenance and inheritance have also contributed to strengthening women’s legal position concerning property and economic security.

Judicial Intervention

1. Air India Statutory Corporation v. United Labour Union (1996)

• The Supreme Court highlighted the role of the Preamble and Articles 38, 39 and 46 in promoting an egalitarian social order.
• The judgment recognised distributive justice as a fundamental constitutional objective aimed at restructuring the economic order and reducing social and economic inequalities.

2. Consumer Education and Research Centre v. Union of India (1995)

• The Supreme Court emphasised the importance of socio-economic and distributive justice in protecting the right to life and human dignity under Article 21.
• The judgment reinforced the broader principle that meaningful equality requires attention to the socio-economic conditions affecting individuals.

3. Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020)

• The Supreme Court affirmed that daughters possess equal coparcenary rights by birth in Hindu joint family property, just like sons.
• The ruling strengthened women’s inheritance rights and clarified their entitlement to equality in ancestral joint family property under the Hindu Succession Act.

Challenges to Women’s Property Rights

1. Patriarchal Social Norms

• Women are frequently expected to surrender their inheritance in favour of male relatives.
• Family and community pressure can discourage women from claiming their lawful share of property.
• Social expectations may prioritise male ownership and control over family assets, even where legal provisions provide for equality.

2. Gap Between Legal Rights and Actual Ownership

• The existence of statutory protections does not automatically ensure that women acquire or retain property.
• Women may face difficulties in exercising effective control over land, inherited assets and other productive resources.
• Consequently, legal equality may not translate into equivalent economic independence or decision-making power.

3. Barriers to Accessing Justice

• High litigation costs and lengthy judicial proceedings can discourage women from pursuing inheritance claims.
• Limited access to legal aid and procedural complexities create additional obstacles.
• Dependence on family members may further restrict women’s ability to challenge the denial of their property rights.

Government Initiatives for Women’s Empowerment

1. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP)

• Seeks to address gender-biased sex selection and improve the survival, protection and education of the girl child.
• Promotes greater recognition of girls and challenges discriminatory attitudes towards them.

2. National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)

• The legal services framework provides eligible women with access to free legal aid and assistance.
• It helps women pursue their rights before courts and other legal forums, including in disputes involving property and inheritance.

3. Mission Shakti

• Implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Mission Shakti is an umbrella programme aimed at strengthening women’s safety, security and empowerment.
• It operates through two components:
  • Sambal: Focuses on women’s safety and security.
  • Samarthya: Focuses on women’s empowerment.

4. NAVYA – Nurturing Aspirations through Vocational Training for Young Adolescent Girls

• Launched in 2025, NAVYA focuses on girls aged 16–18 years under PMKVY 4.0.
• It seeks to prepare young women for emerging employment opportunities through vocational training.
• Areas of training include:
  • Digital marketing.
  • AI-enabled services.
  • Environmentally sustainable occupations.

5. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)

• Provides maternity-related financial assistance to eligible women.
• Under the scheme, the stated benefits are:
  • ₹5,000 in two instalments for the first living child.
  • ₹6,000 for the second child, if the child is a girl.

6. Vigyan Jyoti Scheme

• Encourages girls studying in Classes IX to XII to pursue education and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
• Support includes mentoring, laboratory exposure, workshops and guided academic assistance.
• The initiative seeks to reduce barriers that discourage girls from entering scientific and technical fields.

Way Ahead

1. Effective Enforcement of Existing Laws

• Priority should be given to implementing existing property and inheritance laws effectively.
• Timely resolution of property disputes is essential to ensure that women can exercise their legal entitlements.
• Greater attention should be paid to the gap between formal legal rights and their actual implementation.

2. Strengthening Legal Literacy

• Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Panchayati Raj Institutions and local legal services authorities can work together to spread awareness about women’s rights.
• Awareness programmes should explain inheritance entitlements, property documentation, legal procedures and available remedies.
• Community-level outreach can help women understand and assert their rights with greater confidence.

3. Improving Access to Justice

• Expand access to legal aid and community-level legal assistance.
• Simplify procedures for pursuing property and inheritance claims.
• Introduce time-bound grievance redressal mechanisms to reduce delays and procedural burdens.
• Strengthen support systems that enable women to seek legal remedies without undue dependence on family members.

Conclusion

Women-led development requires more than welfare assistance; it requires women to possess the rights, resources and decision-making power necessary to shape their own lives. Effective enforcement of property and inheritance laws, stronger legal awareness and accessible justice mechanisms can help bridge the gap between legal equality and actual ownership. Securing women’s economic rights is therefore an essential step towards gender justice and inclusive development.

Geography

2. Low-Pressure Systems and Uneven Monsoon Rainfall in India

Context: Recent analysis highlights that prolonged activity of low-pressure systems (LPS) can concentrate monsoon rainfall over specific geographical regions.

• This may lead to extreme rainfall events in certain areas even when India experiences an overall seasonal rainfall deficit.
• It demonstrates that monsoon performance depends not only on the total rainfall received but also on its temporal distribution, geographical spread and intensity.

About Low-Pressure Systems (LPS)

• Definition: A low-pressure system is an atmospheric region where air pressure is lower than that of the surrounding areas.
• Mechanism of formation:
  • Air converges towards the low-pressure region and rises vertically.
  • As the air rises, it cools, encouraging condensation and cloud formation.
  • When sufficient atmospheric moisture is available, this process can result in rainfall.
• Origin and movement:
  • Many monsoon low-pressure systems develop over the Bay of Bengal.
  • They subsequently move inland across the Indian subcontinent, transporting moisture and influencing the distribution of southwest monsoon rainfall.
• Factors determining rainfall:
  • Availability of atmospheric moisture.
  • Degree of atmospheric instability.
  • Prevailing wind patterns.
  • Direction and speed of the system’s movement.
  • Interaction with physical features such as mountains.

About the Indian Monsoon

• Definition: The monsoon is a seasonal reversal of winds arising primarily from differential heating of land and sea and the associated pressure differences.
• It plays a crucial role in India’s agriculture, water availability, hydropower generation and overall economic activity.

Onset and Withdrawal of the Monsoon

• Southwest monsoon:
  • The monsoon season generally extends from early June to September.
  • Its onset is marked by the arrival of moisture-bearing southwest monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean.
  • These winds bring rainfall to large parts of the country.
• Withdrawal of the monsoon:
  • The retreat of the southwest monsoon generally begins in October.
  • The timing and progression of withdrawal influence rainfall patterns across different regions.
• Northeast monsoon:
  • It generally occurs between October and December.
  • It is particularly important for parts of southern India.
  • Key beneficiary regions include Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Karaikal, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema and Yanam.

Factors Influencing Low-Pressure Systems and Monsoon Rainfall

1. Monsoon Circulation

• The southwest monsoon transports moisture from the Indian Ocean towards the Indian subcontinent.
• The broader circulation determines where low-pressure systems develop, the routes they follow and the amount of rainfall they deliver.
• Changes in circulation can therefore influence whether rainfall is distributed widely or concentrated along particular geographical corridors.

2. El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

• El Niño refers to the periodic warming of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.
• It can weaken or disrupt the circulation associated with the Indian summer monsoon, potentially reducing rainfall.
• However, its effects vary across years and regions. El Niño alone cannot reliably determine the rainfall outcome of an individual monsoon season.

3. Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)

• The Indian Ocean Dipole is characterised by differences in sea-surface temperatures between the western and eastern equatorial Indian Ocean.
• A positive IOD occurs when the western Indian Ocean is relatively warmer than the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean.
• Under certain conditions, a positive IOD can partly counteract the adverse influence of El Niño on Indian monsoon rainfall.

4. Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO)

• The MJO is an eastward-moving pattern of tropical atmospheric convection.
• It influences the active and break phases of the monsoon by modifying atmospheric conditions favourable for rainfall.
• Its movement can affect the development and intensity of rainfall-producing weather systems.

5. Somali Jet

• The Somali Jet is a strong low-level wind current that crosses the equator and flows towards the Arabian Sea and the Indian subcontinent.
• It transports moisture and supports the broader southwest monsoon circulation.
• Variations in its strength can influence moisture transport and monsoon rainfall conditions.

6. Western Disturbances

• Western Disturbances are eastward-moving extratropical weather systems.
• Their interaction with the monsoon circulation can influence rainfall over northwestern India.
• They may be particularly relevant during the withdrawal phase of the monsoon, when changing atmospheric conditions can affect regional rainfall patterns.

Impacts of Prolonged Low-Pressure System Activity

1. Concentration and Uneven Distribution of Rainfall

• Persistent low-pressure systems may repeatedly transport moisture along the same geographical corridor.
• Areas along their tracks may experience prolonged or intense rainfall, while regions outside these tracks receive comparatively little precipitation.
• Consequently, heavy rainfall in some locations can coexist with a substantial seasonal rainfall deficit at the national or regional level.

2. Effects on Agricultural Productivity

• Delayed or poorly distributed rainfall can disrupt sowing schedules and the initial establishment of crops.
• Intense rainfall over a short period can cause waterlogging, soil erosion and physical damage to standing crops.
• Such conditions can reduce agricultural productivity, particularly where farming depends heavily on rainfall and drainage infrastructure is inadequate.

3. Implications for Food Security

• Uneven monsoon rainfall can affect crop yields and the availability of agricultural commodities.
• Reduced production or crop losses may place upward pressure on agricultural prices and affect farm incomes.
• Rain-fed farming regions are especially vulnerable because they have limited capacity to compensate for rainfall shortages through irrigation.

4. Disruption of Hydropower and Reservoir Operations

• Intense rainfall can generate sudden increases in river flows and reservoir inflows.
• Heavy runoff may also carry greater quantities of sediment into reservoirs.
• These conditions complicate dam operations, increase the demands on reservoir management and may disrupt hydropower generation.

5. Interaction with the Himalayas

• When moisture-laden low-pressure systems move towards the Himalayan foothills, mountain slopes force the air to rise.
• This orographic uplift can intensify rainfall in the affected areas.
• Heavy precipitation in mountainous terrain can increase the likelihood of landslides and flash floods, creating risks for settlements, infrastructure and transport networks.

Concluding Remarks

• India’s monsoon resilience cannot be assessed solely through aggregate seasonal rainfall figures. Its timing, geographical distribution and intensity are equally important.
• Prolonged low-pressure systems can create a combination of extreme rainfall in some regions and water stress in others, with consequences for agriculture, food security, reservoirs and disaster management.
• Improved forecasting of low-pressure systems, region-specific agricultural planning and better water-resource management are essential to address the risks associated with increasingly uneven rainfall patterns.

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