Current Affair 1:

India joins Executive Committee of Codex Alimentarius Commission

 

India has been unanimously elected as a member representing Asian region in the Executive Committee of Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) during its 46th meeting being held at FAO Headquarters at Rome.

Why executive committee is important?

Executive Committee is an important arm of the CAC and the member countries have a considerable interest in getting its membership. In this capacity, India would not only get an opportunity to contribute substantially in the International standard setting process for different food product categories but will also be involved in the decision-making process.

The Executive Committee supports in the management of the Commission’s programme of standards development by conducting a "critical review" of proposals to undertake work and monitors the progress of standards development.

About CAC:

The Codex Alimentarius is a collection of internationally adopted food standards and related texts presented in a uniform manner. These food standards and related texts aim at protecting consumers’ health and ensuring fair practices in the food trade

Consumers can trust the safety and quality of the food products they buy and importers can trust that the food they ordered will be in accordance with their specifications.

Members:

Currently the Codex Alimentarius Commission has 189 Codex Members made up of 188 Member Countries and 1 Member Organization (The European Union).

India is a member.

Current Affair 2:

What Is Voice over 5G (Vo5G)?

 

Voice over New radio, VoNR, or Vo5G or Voice over 5G is the method by which voice calls can be handled over the 5G network.

Voice over 5G allows voice calls over 5G networks instead of the current standard that uses 4G. In simple terms, Vo5G takes all the improvements of 5G – speed, capacity, responsiveness – and applies them squarely to voice.

Voice still plays a major part within any mobile phone of mobile communications system. Even though data is now the focus for most operators, voice is still an important element of the overall offering, and without a good voice service, many users will migrate to other operators who have a good offering.

Many of the existing 5G deployments fall back to 4G, VoLTE or even other earlier services to carry the voice links. However, as many operators increasingly need to provide voice over the 5G network, VoNR / Vo5G is becoming more important in its inclusion in the 5G network.

There are two ways for operators to leverage voice in 5G.   VoLTE: When no 5G Core is deployed, Voice for 5G users is delivered through VoLTE network (LTE Radio, EPC and IMS).   Vo5G/VoNR: When 5G Core is deployed, voice is leveraged using the 5G Core functions and IMS, while the 5G use cases are delivered by the NR and the 5G Core.

 

Advantages of VoNR

1. Using Voice over 5G New Radio, the voice calls will be able to take advantage of the lower latency of the 5G networks as well as being able to provide better sound quality.
2. It will also be possible to provide high speed data activities at the same time, as is often required for presentations, demonstrations, video conferencing and the like.
3. It is also anticipated that the improved VoNR solution could be used alongside augmented or other virtual reality services.
4. In the much longer term, Vo5G or VoNR will enable a 5G only network, i.e. a 5G standalone network, 5G SA, to provide all the services that are required of it. With 5G set to become the dominant mobile communications generation, having a first-rate voice capability is a necessity.
5. In the early deployments of 5G the network providers have used an existing 4G LTE network as the main network and then deployed a 5G network alongside it. This meant that the 5G New radio served as a secondary cell and the core technology remained the evolved packet core (EPC) of the 4G network.

 

Current Affair 3:

Methane Alert and Response System

 

The Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) is the first global satellite detection and notification system providing actionable data on very large methane emissions around the world.  Already in 2023, MARS has notified over 120 major emissions events across 4 continents to stakeholders with the power to act.​

UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory launched the Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) at COP27, a new initiative to accelerate implementation of the Global Methane Pledge by transparently scaling up global efforts to detect and act on major methane emissions sources.

MARS is a data-to-action initiative with the mission to put open, reliable, and actionable data into the hands of individuals who can reduce methane emissions. ​

MARS uses satellites to scan the globe for major emission sources and alerts countries and companies so that they can take methane action and accelerate progress supporting the Paris Agreement and Global Methane Pledge.​

The MARS initiative works in partnership with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Current Affair 4:

Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P)

 

The JETP scheme was first announced at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in November 2021.

After South Africa, Indonesia, and Vietnam, India is considered the next candidate for a JET-Partnership. Wait for updates.

 

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