Why in News

• Women’s Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) rose from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 40% in 2025, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS).
• Policy focus is moving from participation to the quality of work, through enterprise support, credit, market access and skilling.

More on the News

• Women’s Worker Population Ratio (WPR) rose from 22.0% to 38.8%, and about 20 crore women were employed in 2025.
• About 3.69 crore registered MSMEs (38%) are women-owned, and about 48% of recognised startups have at least one woman director or partner.
• Women are nearly 70% of the direct workforce in mobile phone manufacturing and about 25% of the semiconductor workforce.
• Women’s share in STEM research careers rose to 29% in 2023-24, from 13% in 2000-01.

About the support for women-led enterprises

• Formalisation: The Yashasvini Campaign (2024) aims for gender parity on the Udyam portal by 2029. The Swavalambini pilot (2025) trains young women to start businesses.
• Credit: Women account for two-thirds of loans under PM MUDRA Yojana. Women-led MSEs get 90% cover under the Credit Guarantee Scheme, and women get 25% (urban) and 35% (rural) subsidy under PMEGP.
• Market access: Womaniya on GeM has over 2.17 lakh women-owned MSEs. Women got 5.6% of order value, against a 3% target.
• Skilling: NAVYA trains adolescent girls in non-traditional roles, and AI Careers for Women sets up 30 Centres of Excellence in women’s colleges.

About the Labour Codes (November 2025)

• 29 labour laws were merged into four Labour Codes.
• Women get up to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave, and crèches are required in establishments with 50 or more workers.
• Night shifts are allowed with consent and safeguards, and women must form one-third of Advisory Boards.

Prelims Pointers

• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) counts those working or seeking work, and Worker Population Ratio (WPR) counts those employed.
• The Yashasvini Campaign targets gender parity on the Udyam Registration Portal by 2029, and the procurement target for women-owned Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) is 3%.
• Womaniya is the women-focused initiative on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM).

Mains Angle

• Higher participation is a gain, but the real test is income, security and recognition at work.
• Formalisation, credit and market access work together to help women-led enterprises grow.
• Maternity, crèche and safety provisions in the Labour Codes can help women stay in work.

Why in News

• The Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed contracts for a dedicated communication satellite, GSAT-7C, for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Varunastra heavyweight torpedoes for the Indian Navy.
• Both contracts are with Indian firms and support indigenous defence capability.

About GSAT-7C

• It is a dedicated military communication satellite for the IAF, which improves its ability to keep reliable communications for operations.
• NSIL is a public sector company under the Department of Space, set up as the commercial arm of ISRO.
• Earlier satellites in the series include GSAT-7 (2013) for the Navy and GSAT-7A (2018) for the IAF and Army.

About Varunastra

• It is an indigenous, ship-launched anti-submarine warfare (ASW) torpedo of the heavyweight class.
• It was developed by the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), a DRDO laboratory at Visakhapatnam.
• It has advanced manoeuvring capability and can engage enemy submarines at long ranges.
• BDL is a defence public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Defence.

Mains Angle

• A dedicated satellite reduces dependence on shared or foreign communication channels, which matters for network-centric warfare.
• Anti-submarine capability is vital for the Navy in the Indian Ocean. It links to the 13–14 October note on INS Mangrol, the third Mahe-class anti-submarine craft.
• Contracts with public sector firms such as NSIL and BDL support self-reliance and domestic defence manufacturing.

Conventions and Institutions

• The 27th meeting of the G.B. Pant Society of Himalayan Environment and Development was held in New Delhi, chaired by the Union Environment Minister.
• The meeting stressed Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) and People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs), so that native villagers in the Himalayas gain from conserving biodiversity.
• It also stressed balancing nature protection with growth in the Indian Himalayan Region by 2047.
• Four publications were released, on the Bhagirathi Eco-sensitive Zone, Gangotri Glaciated System, e-PBR governance and Ramsar Wetlands of the Himalayan region.
• The Society is the governing body of the G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, based at Kosi-Katarmal, Almora, Uttarakhand.

Places

• India now has 103 Ramsar sites, with Sukhna Wetland in Chandigarh and Sauj Jheel in Uttar Pradesh added.
• The Environment Minister said this shows India’s commitment to protecting wetlands, biodiversity and local livelihoods.
• Sukhna Lake is a man-made lake in Chandigarh, created in 1958.

About the Ramsar Convention

• The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance is an international treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
• It was adopted in 1971 at Ramsar, Iran. It came into force in 1975.
• It is based in Gland, Switzerland.
• A wetland is listed as a Ramsar site if it meets at least one of nine criteria for international importance. Listing does not take away a country’s control over the site.
• Montreux Record: It lists Ramsar sites where the ecological character has changed or is likely to change. In India, Keoladeo National Park and Loktak Lake are on it.
• World Wetlands Day: It is observed on 2 February, marking the adoption of the Convention.
• India’s first Ramsar sites, Chilika Lake in Odisha and Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan, were designated in 1981.
• Domestically, wetlands are covered by the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017.