GK Snapshots on 1 May 2021

5th Session of Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs held virtually

The 5th Session of Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) was held virtually from April 20-29, 2021. It was inaugurated by Rita Teaotia, Chairperson of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

• Dr M.R. Sudharshan is the current Chairman of CCSCH.

• India is the host and Spices Board of India (under Ministry of Commerce & Industry) is the Secretariat of CCSCH.

• CCSCH is the 1st Codex Commodity Committee to hold a virtual session; around 300 experts from 50 countries took part in it.

• CCSCH has finalised and recommended quality standards for four spices; cloves, oregano, basil, and ginger. The committee forwarded these four new standards to the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) for adoption as full -fledged Codex standards.

• It was also proposed to bring in ‘grouping of spices’ to cover more spices and herbs.

TRIFED signs MoU with The LINK Fund for Empowerment of Tribals

TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India ), the commercial wing of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Link Fund, an Philanthropic operational foundation for empowerment of tribals.

• The MoU was signed by Pravir Krishna, Managing Director of TRIFED & Tony Kalm, CEO & Co-founder of The LINK Fund.

• The agreement has been signed for a project titled ‘Sustainable Livelihoods for Tribal Households in India’.

Govt Amended the EDLI Scheme; Increased the Maximum Sum Assured to Rs.7 lakhs from Rs.6 lakhs

Central Government has amended the Employees’ Deposit-Linked Insurance Scheme(EDLI),1976 & named it as Employees’ Deposit-Linked Insurance (Amendment) Scheme, 2021. In line with the Amendment, the maximum sum, assured payable under the EDLI Scheme was increased from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 7 lakh.

• It was amended, in exercise of the powers conferred by section, 6C read with sub-section (1) of section 7 of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (19 of 1952).

Govt Extends Vivad Se Vishwas Deadline for Payments to June 30

The Government of India has extended the deadline for making payments under the Vivad Se Vishwas, the dispute resolution scheme, by 2 months till 30th June 2021 and also extended the deadlines for various compliance under Income Tax Act due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other deadline extensions:

• Deadline for availing of the tax dispute settlement scheme five times till March 31.

• Deadline for reopening of assessment on income which escaped the assessment under the section 148, till 30th June.

• Other tax compliance deadlines by 2 months from 30th April.

COVID-19 has increased Challenges for Countries to Manage Forests : UN Report

According to ‘The Global Forests Goals Report 2021’ released by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), COVID-19 has increased the challenges for Countries to manage forests.

• The most vulnerable segments of society, especially the rural poor and indigenous people have turned towards forests for meeting their essential livelihood needs due to the economic hardships caused by COVID-19. This has caused stress on the Forest Ecosystem.

• The report states that Climate change and Biodiversity crisis are the biggest threats to forests ecosystems besides the pandemic.

Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad represents India at G-7 Digital & Technology Ministerial Meeting

Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology represented India at the G-7 Digital and Technology Ministerial Meeting (Group of 7), which was held virtually on April 28, 2021. India attended the event as a Guest.

• The meeting was chaired by Oliver Downden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, UK.

• Theme of the meeting – ‘Building Back Better’.

Apple Launched $200 million Restore Fund to Reduce Carbon

Apple in partnership with Conservation International and Goldman Sachs launched a first-of-its-kind carbon removal initiative called the Restore Fund of $200 million, to make investments in timber-producing forest properties to remove carbon from the atmosphere and in turn generating a financial return for investors. The fund aims to remove one million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually, which is equivalent to the amount emitted by more than 200,000 passenger vehicles. A goal was set by Apple in 2020, to neutralize its own carbon emissions and those of its suppliers by 2030.

Niraj Bajaj Named The Chairman Of Bajaj Auto; Rahul Bajaj To Be Named Chairman Emeritus

Bajaj Auto has named Niraj Bajaj, the non-executive Director of Bajaj Auto as its new chairman. He will succeed Rahul Bajaj with effect from 1st May 2021. The company has also named Rahul Bajaj as Chairman Emeritus for a period of 5 years with effect from 1st May 2021.

Indian American Vanita Gupta appointed as Associate Attorney General of USA

Indian-American Vanita Gupta has been appointed Associate Attorney General of United States.With this she became the first Indian-American to serve in this role.

• Prior to this she has been the President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

• She has also headed civil rights division in the Department of Justice in the Obama Administration.

NASA ‘Perseverance’ Mars Mission – Oxygen Produced from Mars for the 1st Time

NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Rover ‘Perseverance’ landed on Mars in February, 2021. It has produced Oxygen from Mars using an instrument called ‘MOXIE’ – Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment.

• It is the 1st time that Oxygen is being produced on another planet.

• MOXIE produced 5 grams of Oxygen from Carbon dioxide which is enough for an astronaut to breathe for 10 minutes on Mars.

• It works through Electrolysis using extreme heat to separate oxygen atoms from molecules of carbon dioxide.

• The atmosphere on Mars is about 95% carbon dioxide.

• The production of Oxygen is critical to human exploration of Mars, both as a source of air for astronauts and as an essential ingredient for rocket fuel to fly astronauts back home.

Srihari Nataraj creates national record in 50m backstroke swimming

Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj won his second Gold in 50m backstroke swimming and made a national record in Uzbekistan Open Championship. This was Srihari’s third national record in the last two days as he had made a new record twice in 100m backstroke. Indian swimmers got a total of 29 medals, which comprise 18 Gold, seven Silver and two Bronze in the event.

Climate Change Activist Aakash Ranison authored an e-book titled “Climate Change Explained – For One And All”

The e-book titled “Climate Change Explained – For One And All” authored by climate activist-author, Aakash Ranison was released on the occasion of Earth Day 2021. The book is focused on topics like climate change and its effect on the lives of individuals.

International Jazz Day 2021 – April 30

International Jazz Day is annually observed across the globe on 30th April to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role in uniting people across the globe.

The year 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of International Jazz Day.

The International Jazz Day is celebrated by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also with its official partners the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz.

Ayushman Bharat Diwas 2021 – 30th April

Ayushman Bharat Diwas is annually celebrated across India on 30th April to promote affordable medical facilities in the remote parts of India.

The day aims to promote health and wellness and provide the benefits of insurance to the poor.

International Dance Day 2021 – 29th April

The International Dance Day is annually celebrated across the world on 29th April the birth anniversary of Jean-Georges Noverre, the creator of modern ballet.

The day aims to celebrate dance and its universality which unites the people across different political, cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

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