Current Affair 1:

FSSAI Amends Alcoholic Beverage Norms

 

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has introduced the ‘Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) First Amendment Regulations, 2023,’ effective from March 1, 2024.

Two important thigs here only:

1. Alcoholic beverage shall not contain any nutritional information on the label except energy content in kcal. Such declaration related to energy content shall be voluntary.
2. The regulation also defines single malt whiskey and single grain whiskey.
3. Single malt whiskey is defined as a distillate from fermented mash using malted barley, distilled in a pot still within a single distillery.
4. Single grain whiskey is obtained from fermented mash using malted or unmalted grain, produced in a single distillery.

The regulation aims to provide clarity on labeling requirements for different types of whiskies.

About FSSAI:

The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 received the assent of the President on 23rd August, 2006.

It is an Act to consolidate the laws relating to food and to establish the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for laying down science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import, to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

The Chairperson shall be appointed by the Central Government from amongst the persons of eminence in the field of food science or from amongst the persons from the administration who have been associated with the subject and is either holding or has held the position of not below the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.

Various central Acts like Prevention of Food Adulteration Act,1954, Fruit Products Order, 1955, Meat Food Products Order,1973, Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947, Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation)Order 1988, Solvent Extracted Oil, De- Oiled Meal, and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967, Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992 etc. will be repealed after commencement of FSS Act, 2006.

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is the Administrative Ministry for the implementation of FSSAI.

Solve UPSC Prelims Question on FSSAI:

Current Affair 2:

New members added to BRICS

 

We will see some basic about BRICS grouping then we will proceed to news.

1. The acronym BRIC was first used in 2001 by Goldman Sachs in their Global Economics Paper, "The World Needs Better Economic BRICs" on the basis of econometric analyses projecting that the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China would individually and collectively occupy far greater economic space and would be amongst the world’s largest economies in the next 50 years or so.
2. As a formal grouping, BRIC started after the meeting of the Leaders of Russia, India and China in St. Petersburg on the margins of G8 Outreach Summit in 2006. The grouping was formalized during the 1st meeting of BRIC Foreign Ministers on the margins of UNGA in New York in 2006. The 1st BRIC Summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on 16 June 2009.
3. It was agreed to expand BRIC into BRICS with the inclusion of South Africa at the BRIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New York in September 2010. Accordingly, South Africa attended the 3rd BRICS Summit in Sanya, China on 14 April 2011.

 

Summits: Important to know, whether India hosted Summits, how many summits.

Also, learn about New Development Bank

At the fourth BRICS Summit in New Delhi (2012), the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa considered the possibility of setting up a new Development Bank to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies, as well as in developing countries

During the sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza (2014), the leaders signed the Agreement establishing the New Development Bank (NDB).

The Bank’s membership is open to members of the United Nations.

About News:

The 15th BRICS summit from August 22-24, 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa expanded the group’s membership to a broader bloc of emerging market and developing countries (EMDC).

Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates were invited to join the bloc. Full membership will take effect on 1 January 2024.

Current Affair 3:

Importance of BLOW-FLIES

 

News:

The flies belonging to the Diptera, Calliphoridae, family are the first visitors to inhabit and colonise a dead body. Commonly known as blow flies, these flies have significant importance in accurate assessment of post-mortem interval (PMI). (The time that has elapsed since one’s death).

However, studies reveal significant differences in developmental rate of these flies according to seasonal changes such as summer, monsoon, and winter. These changes may be due to changes in humidity, rainfall, and temperature in the area and genetic variations of blow flies.

This cautions that while performing assessment of the PMI, investigators should be careful about the climatic conditions prevailing in the respective area.

This also signifies the importance of generating location specific data of forensically important fly species for accurate assessment of post-mortem interval.

Current Affair 4:

Sand Mining Framework

 

Sand is a minor mineral under Section 3(e) of the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act).

Section 15 of the MMDR Act empowers the State Governments for making rules for regulating the grant of quarry leases, mining leases or other mineral concessions in respect of minor minerals and for purposes connected therewith. Hence, the regulation of minor minerals comes under the legislative and administrative domain of the State Governments.

Further, Section 23C of the MMDR Act empowers the State Governments to make rules for preventing illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals and for the purposes connected therewith. Hence, control of illegal mining comes under the legislative and administrative purview of the State Governments.

However, the Ministry of Mines has prepared a ‘Sand Mining Framework’ in consultation with  Mining Departments of the States incorporating best practices amongst States with the objectives of sustainability, availability, affordability, and transparency in sand mining.

The ‘Sand Mining Framework’ has been circulated to all the State Governments for necessary action. Moreover, the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change has issued Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines, 2016, which, inter-alia, addresses the issues relating to the regulation of sand mining.

 

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