ULLAS Literacy
Date: 9-06-2025
Mainspedia TOPIC: ULLAS program for literacy
GS Paper II – Governance
- News Context: Goa and Mizoram declared “fully literate” under ULLAS, following Ladakh (first UT in June 2023).
- ULLAS (Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society): Also known as New India Literacy Programme, launched 2022 by Ministry of Education (Centrally Sponsored, runs until 2027).
- Goal: Empower 5 crore adults (15+ years) with foundational literacy, numeracy, and life skills (digital, financial) by 2027.
- Full Literacy Definition: Achieving a 95% literacy rate, including reading, writing, numeracy, comprehension, and life skills. Aligns with NEP 2020 and SDG Target 4.6 (by 2030).
- Implementation: Uses door-to-door surveys to identify learners, volunteers (students, youth, citizens) as educators, NCERT materials (local languages), and a mobile app.
- Assessment: Learners take Functional Literacy Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT) and are certified by NIOS upon passing.
- Status: Over 2.43 crore learners registered, ~1.03 crore certified since March 2023. National average pass rate ~90%. High participation from women (>70% in several states).
- Achievements: Ladakh (2023), Goa (99.72%), and Mizoram (98.2%) declared fully literate based on ULLAS training/assessment or PLFS data.
- Challenges: Elderly participation, state-wise performance disparities, accurately tracking non-literates.
- Significance: Modern, technology-enabled adult education initiative aligning with national (NEP 2020) and global (SDG 4.6) goals for inclusive development.
UMEED Portal
- UMEED portal (Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development) launched by the Government of India.
- Acts as a centralized digital platform for real-time registration, verification, and monitoring of Waqf assets nationwide.
- Requires mandatory registration of all Waqf properties within six months, including geo-tagging and detailed documentation.
- Why News: Aims to ensure greater transparency, accountability, and public participation by making Waqf data digitally traceable and accessible.
- Why News: Designed to streamline administration, curb misuse, and empower beneficiaries by ensuring fair utilization of community-owned assets.
- Why News: Aligned with the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, implementing its reforms for improved governance and management of Waqf properties.
Satellite Internet
- Elon Musk’s Starlink has received a key licence from India’s Department of Telecommunications. Why: This clears a major regulatory hurdle for launching satellite internet services in the country.
- Starlink is now the third company to get a Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence in India. Why: Shows market entry alongside existing players like OneWeb and Reliance Jio.
- India will allocate spectrum for satellite communication administratively, not through auction. Why: This decision is based on the technical challenges of auctioning shared satellite spectrum and supports Starlink’s stance.
- Once spectrum is allocated, Starlink can begin commercial rollout. Why: Spectrum is required to offer the service.
- The service is expected to significantly expand internet access, particularly in remote and underserved regions. Why: Traditional internet infrastructure is difficult to deploy in these areas.
- Starlink is a satellite internet constellation by SpaceX using low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. Why: Its goal is to provide high-speed internet globally, especially where traditional broadband is limited.
- Administrative allocation is preferred for satellite internet in India. Why: Because spectrum for satellite services is shared globally, making auctioning technically unfeasible, unlike mobile services where exclusive rights are needed.
MagIC Microscopy
- MagIC Microscopy introduces a method to study biological molecules using cryo-EM even at extremely low concentrations. Why: Traditional cryo-EM requires high sample amounts, preventing research on rare or difficult-to-purify samples.
- It uses magnetic beads to bind to target molecules and magnetic fields to concentrate them. Why: This bypasses the need for high overall sample concentration, making previously inaccessible molecules visible.
- Enables analysis of samples up to 100 times more dilute. Why: Opens new avenues to study rare biological complexes, transient states, or proteins expressed in tiny amounts.
- Reduces the total amount of sample required and speeds up data collection. Why: Makes structural biology research more cost-effective, less resource-intensive, and faster.
- Broadens cryo-EM’s application range for drug discovery, vaccine development, and understanding fundamental biology. Why: Provides crucial structural insights into molecules previously impossible to image at high resolution.
- Represents a major step forward in overcoming a key limitation in structural biology. Why: Expands the power of cryo-EM to a wider array of important biological questions and samples.
Boost India Apparel Exports
- India’s apparel sector contributes significantly to employment (45M) and GDP (2.3%) but has a low (3%) and stagnant share in global trade, with recent exports declining (-2% AAGR) against a $40bn 2030 target. (Why: Highlights the sector’s potential and current underperformance gap).
- The fundamental constraint is lack of scale; over 80% are fragmented MSMEs compared to competitors’ large, vertically integrated export factories preferred by global buyers for volume, consistency, and cost. (Why: Explains why India struggles to compete internationally).
- Case studies like Shahi Exports show large-scale (100k+ employees, $1bn+ revenue), integrated operations can succeed ethically in India, demonstrating the need for more such models. (Why: Provides proof of concept and a strategic direction).
- Reforms are needed in capital access & affordability (subsidies, tax holidays) because India’s high capital cost (9%) and thin industry margins (~4-5%) hinder global competitiveness. (Why: Financial barriers need addressing).
- Labour reforms (rationalising laws, revising overtime, linking MGNREGA funds, expanding SAMARTH skilling) are crucial to ease formal hiring, improve scalability, and address labour costs (~30% of production), boosting job creation, especially for women/youth. (Why: Rigid labour framework and skill gaps limit formal growth and employment).
- Infrastructure development via designating specific PM MITRA parks as apparel hubs, ideally located near labour sources (like UP, MP), is needed to reduce logistics costs and support decentralised, inclusive industrialisation. (Why: Improves efficiency and reduces regional inequality).
- Export-focused incentives (shifting from PLI to ELI, reorienting RoDTEP, RoSCTL) should replace domestic-output focus to directly reward firms for winning in international markets. (Why: Aligns incentives with the export growth target).
- Achieving the $40bn export goal requires bold reforms enabling large-scale, export-oriented manufacturing through targeted support for capital, labour, infrastructure, and performance-linked incentives. (Why: Summarises the necessary strategic shift).
Manipur Unrest
- Violence erupted following the arrest of Kanan Singh, a Meitei leader. Why: He was linked to previous ethnic violence in 2023, suggesting the arrest reignited existing tensions.
- Protests quickly became violent, leading to government imposing curfews and internet shutdowns. Why: These measures were implemented to control the escalating situation and prevent the spread of unrest and misinformation.
- The core issue is deep-rooted ethnic tensions between the Meitei majority and Kuki-Zomi tribes. Why: This historical divide was exacerbated by a court order favouring Scheduled Tribe status for Meiteis, which triggered fears among Kukis of marginalization, particularly regarding land rights.
- Underlying drivers include disputes over land rights, political representation, and access to government benefits. Why: These are long-standing grievances contributing to the overall instability and mistrust between communities.
- The conflict remains unresolved with periodic flare-ups. Why: Despite security measures and calls for peace, the fundamental issues and fragile communal relations persist, preventing a lasting resolution.
Aerosol Geoengineering
- Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) is a controversial climate idea involving injecting reflective particles into the stratosphere (around 20 km altitude) to cool the planet.
- Why: It aims to mimic the cooling effect of major volcanic eruptions by reflecting sunlight away from Earth, helping to reduce climate change impacts.
- A new study suggests methods to make SAI more realistic by proposing innovative ways to reduce costs and technical difficulties.
- Why: It explores optimizing materials, timing, and injection locations, noting that existing aircraft could potentially be modified for this purpose.
- Achieving significant cooling could require injecting large amounts (e.g., 12 million tonnes of sulfur aerosols over six years) at certain altitudes (like 13 km).
- Why: This scale is comparable to the cooling effect observed after the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption.
- Major risks and challenges are associated with SAI.
- Why: Potential side effects include delaying ozone layer recovery, altering global rainfall and weather patterns (potentially causing droughts or altered monsoons), and creating complex geopolitical issues.
- SAI is contentious because its effects would be global.
- Why: Any country implementing SAI would affect the entire planet, with consequences that may not be beneficial for all regions, raising ethical and governance challenges.
- While the study addresses technical hurdles, significant scientific, ethical, and governance challenges remain.
- Why: The debate continues on whether the potential climate benefits of SAI outweigh the unpredictable and potentially severe global risks.