CURRENT AFFAIRS | 27 APRIL 2026
ECONOMY & LABOUR | DPSP & GENDER JUSTICE
India’s Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR) has climbed from 24.7% in 2017-18 to roughly 32.4% in 2025 — a real but slow trajectory that still leaves India trailing far behind Vietnam (68.6%), China (59.1%) and Nigeria (80.7%). A 27 April 2026 ICRIER op-ed by Ashok Gulati and co-authors in the Indian Express argues that the next big lever is the apparel sector, which generates 55 female jobs per Rs 1 crore of investment — versus 27 in autos and just 14 in steel.
The puzzle: states with the highest female labour surplus — Odisha (47.3%), Jharkhand (43.7%), UP (32.4%) and Bihar (24.7%) — have zero or only one PM MITRA mega-textile park, while industrially-saturated Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra cornered the rest. For CLAT 2027 this is a textbook Article 39(d) DPSP + Article 15(3) + targeted policy question.
Constitutional & Legal Framework
- Article 14 — equality before law (judicially extended to gender wage equity)
- Article 15(3) — special provisions for women and children (carve-out from Articles 14/15(1))
- Article 39(a) DPSP — equal right of men and women to adequate means of livelihood
- Article 39(d) DPSP — equal pay for equal work (the constitutional spine of pay-parity laws)
- Article 42 — just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief
- Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 — operationalises Article 39(d)
- Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 — 26 weeks paid leave (up from 12)
- PMKVY (2014) — skilling across 38 sector skill councils under MSDE
- Air India v Nergesh Meerza (1981) — pregnancy-based termination struck down under Article 14
Why This Matters for CLAT 2027
This is a three-axis question for the GK + Legal Reasoning paper:
- DPSP application — Articles 39(a)(d), 41, 42 link directly to women’s livelihood policy
- Centrally Sponsored Schemes — PM MITRA, PMKVY, Skill India routinely appear in factual GK
- Comparative data fluency — India vs Vietnam/China/Bangladesh on FLFPR is a CLAT favourite for passage-based questions
- State-level disaggregation — knowing Bihar 24.7% vs Odisha 47.3% rewards the careful reader
Key Facts at a Glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| FLFPR 2017-18 | 24.7% (PLFS baseline) |
| FLFPR 2025 (approx) | 32.4% (PLFS, cited by ICRIER) |
| Best comparator | Vietnam 68.6%, Nigeria 80.7% |
| Apparel job intensity | 55 female jobs / Rs 1 crore investment |
| PM MITRA parks (total) | 7 — TN, Telangana, Karnataka, MH, Gujarat, MP, UP |
| Surplus-female states with NO park | Bihar (24.7%), Jharkhand (43.7%), Odisha (47.3%) |
Mnemonic — “FLFPR FAB”
Female labour gap → Low vs Vietnam/China → Fix via apparel (55 jobs/cr) → PM MITRA parks → Relocate to surplus states (Bihar/Odisha/Jharkhand). Then add FAB: Framework — Article 39(d), Act — Equal Remuneration 1976, Benefit — Maternity 2017 (26 weeks).
Implications & The Road Ahead
The ICRIER prescription — locate the next PM MITRA parks in Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand, ring-fenced for women workers with childcare and dormitory infrastructure — is a constitutional reading of Article 39(d) read with 15(3). Without geographical re-targeting, the FLFPR will plateau around the mid-30s while Vietnam and Bangladesh continue eating India’s apparel-export share. Watch for the 16th Finance Commission to weight gender-employment outcomes in tied transfers, and the next Annual Survey of Industries for women-share data by sector.
Test Your Understanding — 10 CLAT-Style MCQs
Apply the constitutional anchors and current-affairs facts above. Each question has a detailed explanation.
Practice Quiz — 10 CLAT-Style Questions
Click an option to reveal the answer and explanation.
