AMIGOS IAS Daily Current Affairs (25^th Sept 2024)

Labour Survey: Unemployment rate has not fallen

GS 3: Economy: Labour force

Why is it in the news?

• The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for July 2023 to June 2024, released by the Labour Bureau, indicates that the unemployment rate remains unchanged at 3.2%, similar to the previous year.

More about the news

• While there has been a minor increase in the distribution of workers in agriculture, the manufacturing sector has not shown job growth compared to prior years. However, the participation of women in the workforce has improved, addressing some criticism faced by the Centre regarding rising unemployment and declining female employment.
• According to the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in rural areas increased from 50.7% in 2017-18 to 63.7% in 2023-24, while in urban areas, it rose from 47.6% to 52%. For males, the LFPR grew from 75.8% to 78.8%, and for females, it increased from 23.3% to 41.7%.
• Notably, the LFPR for Muslim women rose from 15% to 21.4%, while Hindu women’s participation increased from 26.1% to 33.3%. Sikh and Christian women also saw gains, with LFPR rising from 19.8% to 26.7% and 34.2% to 38.3%, respectively.
• In rural areas, the unemployment rate decreased from 5.3% in 2017-18 to 2.5% in 2023-24, and in urban areas, it fell from 7.7% to 5.1%. The unemployment rate for males dropped from 6.1% to 3.2%, while for females, it remained at 3.2%.
• Despite these figures, experts describe the overall employment scenario as grim and criticized the report, stating, “There is no improvement in the unemployment scenario, neither in youth unemployment nor in overall unemployment.”
• Further, it is emphasized that the reported increases in LFPR and Worker Population Ratio are largely due to rising agricultural employment, which includes unpaid family labour. Moreover, the share of agricultural workers has increased for four consecutive years, suggesting a reversal in the trend of seeking non-farm jobs.
• Meanwhile, participation in the manufacturing sector remains stagnant at 11.4%, having declined from 12.8% in 2012. The construction sector’s contribution has also regressed to 12%, indicating a lack of growth and buoyancy in employment opportunities.

Inadequacy of BMI as a health measure

GS 3: Science and Technology: Predicting health risks

Why is it in the news?

• BMI, or Body Mass Index, has long been used as a quick indicator of health, with calculations readily available online. However, its accuracy in assessing an individual’s health is increasingly questioned.
• Experts now argue that BMI fails to account for body composition—specifically the amount and distribution of fat. As a result, a new metric, the Body Roundness Index (BRI), is gaining attention for potentially offering better predictions of health risks.

Understanding BRI

• Developed by mathematician Diana Thomas, the BRI assesses how round a person is by considering both height and waist circumference.
• Unlike BMI, which is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared, BRI correlates more closely with body fat levels. Scores typically range from 1 to 15, with extremes indicating a higher risk for various health issues.

Limitations of BMI

• One significant issue with BMI is that it does not differentiate between fat, muscle, and water weight. This limitation can misrepresent the health of athletic individuals who may have high BMI due to muscle density.
• Additionally, BMI’s foundations are based on data from 19th-century Europeans, making it less applicable to diverse ethnic groups. For instance, an Indian individual and a Caucasian could share the same BMI while having different body fat percentages.

The Importance of Fat Distribution

• Experts emphasize that fat distribution is crucial for assessing health risks. Central fat, particularly visceral fat around internal organs, is linked to metabolic syndromes and chronic diseases.
• Research indicates that individuals with a normal BMI but high abdominal fat can still face significant health risks.
• Recent guidelines suggest adjusting BMI cut-offs for Asian populations, reflecting the higher body fat percentages in these groups.

Rising Obesity in India

• Obesity rates are increasing in India, with 22.9% of men and 24% of women classified as overweight or obese, according to the National Family Health Survey-5.
• Moreover, research shows that thin individuals and children are also at risk for chronic diseases, highlighting the limitations of BMI in predicting overall health.

Alternative Measurement Approaches

• Other measures, like waist-to-height ratios, have been proposed as simpler alternatives for assessing health. A waist circumference that is less than half of one’s height is considered a good indicator of health.
• However, studies have found BRI to be a better predictor of metabolic syndrome compared to BMI. Research from JIPMER Puducherry and a large cohort study in the U.S. suggests that BRI has significant predictive capacity regarding health risks and mortality.

Challenges with BRI

• Despite its promise, BRI faces challenges, particularly in measurement accuracy. Studies indicate that trained professionals can make significant errors in measuring waist circumference, and self-measurements may lead to even greater inaccuracies.
• Moreover, BRI is also a newer metric, lacking the extensive validation that BMI has.

Conclusion

• While BMI, BRI, and other health indices may be debated, experts recommend using simple measurements like waist-to-height ratios to monitor health effectively. This approach may provide a more accurate reflection of an individual’s health risks.

Understanding ‘Retractions’ in Scientific Research

GS 3: Science and Technology: Regulating Research Papers

Why is it in the news?

• According to the ‘Retraction Watch’ database, a scientist from an institute in Lucknow has accumulated 45 retractions. Additionally, another researcher at a university in Kolkata published an astonishing 300 scientific papers in a single year—nearly one per day, which is nearly impossible.
• This researcher had six papers retracted, spanning various disciplines, including chemistry and virology. Worldwide, paper retractions are becoming increasingly common, even as the issue of research misconduct intensifies in India.

About Retractions

• Retractions are formal mechanisms that remove a scientific paper from academic literature due to significant flaws. These flaws can stem from honest mistakes or deliberate manipulation.
• The academic community is generally understanding of retractions for genuine errors but is less forgiving for fraudulent material. A notable case is John Darsee, a former Harvard researcher, who had over 80 papers retracted for “inaccuracies and falsehoods.”
• High-profile misconduct has also involved Nobel laureates like Gregg Semenza, who faced 12 retractions for potentially manipulated images.

Trends in Retractions

• Between 2020 and 2022, the number of retracted papers surged—2.5 times more than in the preceding two years (2017-2019).
• Common reasons for retraction include plagiarism, image manipulation, and the involvement of paper mills. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened these issues, leading to around 10,000 retractions in 2023 due to quality and data problems—up from approximately 1,600 in 2013.
• A study found that a third of 5,000 neuroscience papers published in 2020 likely contained plagiarized or falsified content.

What is a Retraction Index?

• A journal’s retraction index measures the frequency of retractions relative to its total published articles.
• This index is defined as the number of retractions in a specified period multiplied by 1,000 and divided by the total number of published articles.
• Their research indicates that papers from high-impact journals are more likely to be retracted than those from lower-impact journals, where ‘impact’ refers to citation frequency in recent years.

Reasons for Falsified Research

• The rise of paper mills—entities that produce fake or low-quality academic papers—has contributed to the prevalence of retracted works, with links to countries like Russia, Iran, and China.
• A key driver is the pressure on research institutions to improve national and international rankings based on research output.
• The “publish or perish” culture encourages academics to boost their publication count to secure promotions, grants, and awards. PhD students may even be required to publish papers to graduate, further perpetuating this cycle.

The Impact of Misconduct

• Research misconduct erodes trust among scientists and undermines confidence in scientific literature. H.N.J. Arst noted in a 2000 article in Nature that “All honest scientists are victims of scientists who commit misconduct.”
• Retractions serve as a necessary corrective measure in science, addressing and rectifying errors.
• Reducing misconduct remains a challenge in research policy, raising questions about using AI for detection and evaluating research quality versus quantity.

Study: Beads on the ‘Moon’ suggest more recent volcanic activity

GS 3: Science and Technology: Exploring Moon

Why is it in the news?

• Scientists once believed that volcanic activity on the moon ceased about a billion years ago. However, a study published in Science on September 5 challenges this notion, indicating that the moon had active volcanoes as recently as 120 million years ago.
• This finding, based on data from China’s Chang’e-5 mission, raises new questions for future missions like India’s Chandrayaan-4, which aims to conduct on-site sampling of lunar materials.

More about the news

• The study enhances our understanding of the moon’s surface formation, atmospheric conditions, and tectonic activity, highlighting the potential for volcanoes to create life-sustaining environments by releasing water and nutrients.
• Prior research noted volcanic signs from around 800 million years ago but lacked specific dates. Researchers led by Bi-Wen Wang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences analyzed lunar glass beads—formed by volcanic activity or impacts—to uncover these findings.
• These glass beads form similarly to tektites and volcanic rocks like obsidian. In eruptions, magma expels lava fragments that cool quickly into beads. Asteroid impacts also melt surface material, creating glassy beads.
• The primary composition includes silicon, magnesium, and iron, with trace elements like potassium, titanium, and uranium. Researchers distinguish between volcanic and impact glass beads based on their characteristics, with volcanic beads being more uniform.
• Samples from Chang’e-5, collected near Mons Rümker, were analyzed in detail. Researchers examined over 3,000 beads, assessing physical and chemical features to identify their origins. From these, 13 beads underwent sulfur isotope analysis to reveal their material origins.
• Using uranium-lead radiometric dating, scientists dated three volcanic samples to between 116 and 135 million years old.
• Though their age overlapped with that of impact glass beads, additional evidence from mineral composition and sulfur isotopes confirmed a volcanic origin. This suggests the moon may have experienced volcanic activity as recently as 116–135 million years ago.
• The novel use of sulfur isotopes for identifying materials on celestial bodies is significant, as sulfur is released during volcanic eruptions. The volcanic glass beads exhibited high concentrations of potassium, rare earth elements, phosphorus, sodium, and thorium, suggesting these minerals contributed to lunar volcanic activity by generating eruption heat.
• This raises questions about how volcanic activity continued despite the moon’s cooling interior and thickening lithosphere.
• Future Chandrayaan missions, especially Chandrayaan-4, aim to explore these mysteries further through on-site sampling of volcanic materials. They will also investigate lunar poles, where preserved ice may contain gases from ancient volcanic eruptions, offering deeper insights into the moon’s geological history.

Indian Railways to modernize ‘signalling systems’ for enhanced safety

GS 2: Polity and Governance: Modernising the Railways

Why is it in the news?

• Indian Railways has initiated an overhaul of its aging signalling systems due to concerns about many systems exceeding their recommended lifespan.
• The Railway Ministry has directed General Managers of all Zonal Railways to prioritize the replacement of signal assets that are nearing or surpassing their codal life.
• This critical work will proceed independently to avoid delays with ongoing infrastructure projects such as track doubling and the construction of additional lines.

More about the news

• To enhance the reliability and maintainability of these signalling systems, which are essential for safe train operations, the Railways has introduced a “Plan for Reliability Improvement and Maintenance Effectiveness (PRIME).”
• This plan emphasizes the importance of regular staff training and counselling on safety and maintenance protocols to uphold high standards of work quality.
• A significant concern raised by the Ministry is the frequent cable cuts along railway tracks, which have caused multiple signalling failures. These disruptions not only hinder train operations but also pose serious safety risks, potentially leading to catastrophic accidents.
• The renewed focus on safety follows several major train accidents over the past two years, including the tragic triple train collision in Odisha’s Balasore district on June 2, 2023, which resulted in 291 fatalities and over 900 injuries, with faulty signals suspected as a contributing factor.
• Additionally, two major rear-end collisions in the Waltair and Katihar Divisions were attributed to lapses in managing train operations in automatic signalling zones.
• In response, the Railways has instructed training centres to prioritize the familiarization and training of staff across all relevant departments on the new systems being implemented.