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- Why in News?
- The Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoL&E) has released the draft “National Labour & Employment Policy – Shram Shakti Niti 2025”, envisioning a fair, inclusive, and future-ready labour ecosystem aligned with the goal of Viksit Bharat @2047.
- Key Provisions:-
- The policy focuses on key strategic priorities such as Universal and Portable Social Security, proposing a Universal Social Security Account (USSA) by integrating schemes like EPFO, PM-JAY, and e-SHRAM. It emphasizes Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) through the OSH Code, 2020, introducing risk-based and gender-sensitive standards. The MoL&E aims to act as an Employment Facilitator, strengthening the National Career Service (NCS) as a digital employment platform.
- The draft also prioritizes women and youth empowerment, targeting a 35% female labour force participation rate by 2030, and encourages ease of compliance and formalization via a single-window digital system. Additionally, it promotes technology-driven governance and green transition to create sustainable job opportunities and an integrated digital labour framework.
- Why in News?
- In a groundbreaking advancement in reproductive science, researchers have successfully developed functional human egg cells from skin cells, marking a major step forward in infertility research.
- Key Provisions:-
- This achievement uses a process known as in vitro gametogenesis (IVG), which enables the creation of gametes — eggs or sperm — in a laboratory using a person’s own genetic material.
- The team employed Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT), where the nucleus of a human skin cell was inserted into a donor egg that had its nucleus removed. A key hurdle was ensuring the reprogrammed egg had the correct chromosome count — 23 instead of the 46 found in normal cells. To achieve this, scientists developed a novel technique called “mitomeiosis,” which imitates natural cell division to discard the extra set of chromosomes.
- This breakthrough offers new hope for future fertility treatments and deeper understanding of human reproductive biology.
- Why in News?
- The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has announced the transfer of technology developed under its flagship Agrienics Programme, aimed at integrating digital innovation with agricultural growth.
- Key Provisions:-
- The Agrienics Programme is a national initiative of MeitY focused on the research, development, deployment, and commercialization of advanced technologies in the agriculture and environment sectors. Its goal is to promote smart, sustainable, and technology-driven farming solutions across India.
- The programme is being implemented by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Kolkata, which serves as the nodal agency. Through Agrienics, efforts are underway to develop IoT-based monitoring systems, AI-driven analytics, and precision agriculture tools that enhance productivity while minimizing environmental impact. The recent technology transfer marks a significant step toward bridging the gap between research and field application, empowering farmers and agri-entrepreneurs with innovative digital solutions for sustainable growth.