Contemporary Issues: Dowry and Unemployment for KAS, PSI

India is moving faster to become a developed country, but some major contemporary issues are blocking its way to become one. Social problems of India and contemporary issues of India have been a great step back. Such contemporary issues of India are, poverty, corruption, Unemployment and exploitation against women. You can learn about poverty and corruption in our previous blog Social Problems of India Poverty and Corruption. In this blog you will learn about the Unemployment and Dowry as a contemporary issue of India. If you are preparing for KAS, PSI, KPTCL, Karnataka PC Oliveboard has mock tests for each exam, and courses for KAS and PSI. You can visit Karnataka Exam Section in our website for More details 

Introduction

Contemporary issues of India are not only blocking the way of becoming a developed country but also they are reflecting the social injustice. There have been many measures taken to overcome contemporary issues, but as challenging as it is, to resolve certain social contemporary issues it requires support of the society. Unemployment is a debatable contemporary issue, the rate of students passing out is huge and demand for employment is low. Dowry, one of the major contemporary issues regarding exploitation of women. 

Dowry 

an amount of property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their marriage in the form of gift is considered as dowry. As time passed it became forfeit rather than a gift. Dowry system in India became one of the main reasons for exploitation of women. Dowry is a year old contemporary issue of India and Practicing dowry is a punishable crime in India, 

As defined by law, 

dowry means any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly:

1. by one party to a marriage to the other party to the marriage; or
2. by the parents of either party to a marriage or by any other person, to either party to the marriage or to any other person; at or before or any time after the marriage in connection with the marriage of said parties but does not include dower or Mahr in the case of persons to whom the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) applies.

If we look back into the system of Dowry, it was started as a way of giving gifts to the groom as a sign of her independence after marriage. But during british time, they the system of dowry mandatory and then it became the reason for violence against women. The rate of violence against women grew when it became the pricetag of groom instead of independence of women. 

After causing unbelievable violence against women, dowry was considered as a crime and social evil.There are heartbreaking cases of women who faced torture, death and assault over dowry. Though there are many legal actions against dowry, the system of dowry is still practiced. 

Dowry Prohibition Act 1961

An Act to prohibit the giving or taking of dowry, enacted on May 1st 1961.Cruelty, domestic violence, abetment of suicide and death are types of crime under dowry system in India. Under this act property, money or goods given by the parents of either party to a marriage or by any other person, to either party to the marriage or to any other person is considered as dowry. 

Dowry is considered to be a punishable offense under IPC. section 304B was added in IPC , which made dowry death a specific offense punishable with minimum sentence of imprisonment of 7 years and maximum imprisonment for life time. Dowry does not apply to gifts given without an explicit condition.

Dowry Deaths in India 

Dowry death rates are higher than any other country in India.In India, as per the National crime record bureau 8233 dowry deaths happened in 2012. This means for every 90 minutes a woman is being subjected to dowry crime.

Year	Cases Registered	Persons Arrested	Persons Convicted
2016	8455	23598	4054
2017	7634	19973	4624
2018	7621	20545	3400

Unemployment 

If we have to define the term unemployment, it is a situation in which a person is trying to find employment but is not getting any job. India is dreaming of becoming a $5 trillion economy country. Employment is a key to a healthy economy and India is facing 7.9% unemployment rate as of March 2022. To Tackle this major contemporary issue of India, the Government of India has taken many initiatives. Unemployment is not only a problem of the national economy but also the problem of every household to run their family. Covid outbreak has brought the world into a vulnerable state. 

Unemployment rate of India 2022

In regards to the unemployment rate India is doing quite well, currently the unemployment rate of India is 7.9%. The urban unemployment rate of India is 8.7% and rural unemployment rate of India is 7.5%. According to the unemployment rate provided by CMIE the unemployment rate of each state is: 

Unemployment Rate (%)
States (India)		Mar 2022
Andhra Pradesh		9.2
Assam		7.7
Bihar		14.4
Chhattisgarh		0.6
Delhi		8.9
Gujarat		1.8
Haryana		26.7
Himachal Pradesh		12.1
Jammu & Kashmir		25.0
Jharkhand		14.5
Karnataka		1.8
Kerala		6.7
Madhya Pradesh		1.4
Maharashtra		4.0
Meghalaya		1.8
Odisha		9.7
Puducherry		4.2
Punjab		7.0
Rajasthan		25.0
Tamil Nadu		4.1
Telangana		6.8
Tripura		14.1
Uttar Pradesh		4.4
Uttarakhand		3.5
West Bengal		5.6

Measures taken by the government to tackle unemployment in India 

 1. Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP): 

 2. Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP): 

 3. Training for Self-Employment: T

 4. Jawahar Rozgar Yojana:

 5. Employment in Foreign Countries:

 6. Self-employment to Educated Unemployed Youth: 

 7. Nehru Rozgar Yojana (NRY): 

 8. Small and Cottage Industries:

 9. Development of Organized Sector:

10. Employment Exchanges: 

 12. Employment Assurance Scheme: 

 13. Prime Minister’s Integrated Urban Poverty Eradication Program (PMIUPEP): 

 14. The Swaran Jayanti Rozgar Yojana:

 15. Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana:

 16. Other Programmes:

(i) Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY)

(ii) Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (Gramin Awas) 

 (iii) Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana-Rural Drinking water project. 

 (iv) Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

(v) Antyodaya Anna Yojana.

(vi) Jai Prakash Rozgar Guarantee Yojana (JPRGY). 

(vii) Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY).

Other Schemes 

1. Make in India 

2. Digital India 

3. Start-up India 

4. Smart cities 

Conclusion 

Dowry and unemployment both are major contemporary issues of India. Though there are many measures taken to overcome these challenges, they still remain as the contemporary issues of India. Unfortunately, the practice of dowry is still there in our society as an integral part of marriage and prestige. Unemployment is also an main contemporary issue of India as it is a key indicator of economic growth, attention to this issue is important. Many initiatives and schemes have been introduced to tackle this problem.