Prelim Bits 08-06-2022 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

State Food Safety Index 2021-22

On World Food Safety Day (June 7), the Union Health Minister released the FSSAI’s 4^th State Food Safety Index (SFSI) for the year 2021-22.

• The State Food Safety Index (SFSI) is prepared by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
• It measures the quantitative and qualitative performance of States/ UTs on the basis of 5 parameters of food safety set by the Health Ministry.
• These parameters are,
  1. Human Resources and Institutional Data (with 20% weightage),
  2. Compliance (with 30% weightage),
  3. Food Testing - Infrastructure & Surveillance (with 20% weightage),
  4. Training & Capacity Building (with 10% weightage) and
  5. Consumer Empowerment (with 20% weightage).

• States/UTs with significant improvement in ranking during last year are,
  1. Uttarakhand in Large State Category
  2. Tripura in Small States Category
  3. Ladakh in the category of UTs.
• Related Links - Eat Right Movement, EatSmart Cities Challenge

Reference

1. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/world-food-safety-day-union-health-minister-releases-fssais-4th-state-food-safety-index/article65503350.ece
2. https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tamil-nadu-tops-food-safety-index/article65505667.ece
3. https://www.fssai.gov.in/cms/foodsafetyindex.php
4. https://www.fssai.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Report_SFSI_06_06_2022.pdf

Carbon Bombs

A group of environmentalists, lawyers, and activists have come together to identify and ‘defuse carbon bombs’.

• Carbon Bombs are the coal, oil and gas projects that have the potential to contribute significantly to global warming.
• Each of such projects will release at least a billion tonnes of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere over its lifetime.
• In total, around 195 such projects have been identified world over, including in the US, Russia, West Asia, Australia and India.
• More than 60% of these carbon bomb projects are already underway.
• They will collectively overshoot the limit of emissions that had been agreed to in the Paris Agreement of 2015.

LINGO

• The network working towards the goal of ‘defusing’ Carbon Bombs is called Leave It In the Ground Initiative (LINGO).
• Its mission is to leave fossil fuels in the ground and learn to live without them.
• LINGO believes the root of climate change is the burning of fossil fuels, and the 100% use of renewable energy sources is the solution.
• It aims to organise ground support for protesting the carbon bomb projects, challenge them through litigation, and conduct analysis and studies for the same.

Reference

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/what-are-carbon-bombs-why-environmentalists-want-them-defused-7957290/
2. https://www.leave-it-in-the-ground.org/projects/carbon-bombs/

Rogan Painting and Sanjhi Art

Indian Prime Minister gifted Sanjhi art and a wooden hand-carved box with Rogan painting to his fellow Quad leaders from Australia, the US and Japan.

Rogan Painting

• Rogan painting is an art of cloth printing practised in Kutch district of Gujarat.
• The word ‘Rogan’ comes from Persian, meaning varnish or oil.
• In the craft, paint made from boiled oil and vegetable dyes is laid down on fabric using either a metal block (printing) or a stylus (painting).
• Paint - A special paste made of castor is used in this craft.
• Castor seeds are hand-pounded to extract the oil and turned into a paste by boiling, Colored powder diluted in water is then mixed with this.
• The pastes of different colors yellow, red, blue, green, black and orange are stored in earthen-pots with water to prevent them from drying up.
• Process - Artists place a small amount of this paint paste into their palms.
• At room temperature, the paint is carefully twisted into motifs and images using a metal rod (kalam) that never comes in contact with the fabric.
• Next, the artisan folds his designs into a blank fabric, thereby, printing its mirror image. In effect, it is a very basic form of printing.
• Previously, the designs were simple and rustic in nature but with the passage of time, the craft has become more stylised and now is regarded as a high art form.

Sanjhi Art

• Sanjhi Art is the ancient art of hand-cutting designs on paper.
• This art of paper stencilling is practised across Mathura and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh.
• It is a tradition of art that originated out of the cult of Krishna.
• It was traditionally used to make ritualistic and ceremonial rangolis in temples dedicated to Lord Krishna.

Reference

1. https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pm-modi-gifts-rogan-painting-from-gujarat-to-japan-s-fumio-kishida-10165339673148html
2. https://gurjari.gujarat.gov.in/craft/rogan-painting
3. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/gond-art-painting-specimen-of-sanjhi-art-form-and-wooden-hand-carved-box-pm-modis-gifts-to-quad-leaders/articleshow/91771704.cms
4. https://cultureandheritage.org/2022/06/sanjhi-art-of-mathura-in-uttar-pradesh-the-art-of-hand-cut-paper-designs.html

Sievierodonetsk

The Battle of Sievierodonetsk is an ongoing military engagement during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, as part of the Battle of Donbas of the Eastern Ukraine offensive.

• Administratively, Sievierodonetsk falls under Ukraine’s Luhansk oblast.
• Sievierodonetsk is one of the largest cities of the Donbas region.
• It is located nearly 140 km south of the Russian border.
• It is located near the left bank of the Siverskyi Donets River, and has a population of over a lakh.
• Sievierodonetsk is a big industrial hub known for chemical works and machine-building factories.
• If the city of Sievierodonetsk falls, then it will allow Russia to control the entire Luhansk region.
• Many fear that the city could become the next Mariupol, the southern port city that was heavily destroyed before it fell into Russian hands.
• Related Links - Fall of Mariupol

Reference

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/everyday-explainers/explained-sievierodonetsk-battle-russia-7955992/
2. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/ukraine-may-have-to-pull-back-to-stronger-positions-in-sievierodonetsk-governor-says/articleshow/92076975.cms

Green Jobs

During his speech at an event to mark World Environment Day, Prime Minister mentioned India’s efforts to create ‘green jobs’.

• ‘Green jobs’ refer to a class of jobs that directly have a positive impact on the planet, and contribute to the overall environmental welfare.
• These include jobs involving renewable energy, conservation of resources, ensuring energy efficient means.
• In all, they’re aimed at reducing the negative environmental impact of economic sectors and ultimately lead to environmentally, economically and socially sustainable enterprises and economies.
• It furthers the process of creating a low-carbon economy or decarbonisation.
• Green jobs are decent jobs that:
  1. Reduce consumption of energy and raw materials;
  2. Limit greenhouse gas emissions;
  3. Minimize waste and pollution; and
  4. Protect and restore ecosystems.
• Green jobs can be created in all sectors and types of enterprises, in urban and rural settings, and in sub-national regions at all levels of economic development.

Skill Council for Green Jobs

• The Skill Council for Green Jobs (SCGJ) was launched by the Union government in 2015 under the Societies Registration Act XXI, 1860.
• Aligned to the National Skill Development Missions, it was set up to be a not-for-profit, independent, industry-led initiative.
• It is promoted by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
• It aims to help manufacturers and other service providers in India’s ‘green business’ sector to implement industry-led, collaborative skills push the country on the path to realising the potential of ‘green jobs’.

Green Jobs Initiative

• This initiative was launched collectively in 2008 by
  1. The International Labour Organization (ILO);
  2. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP);
  3. The International Organization of Employers (IOE);
  4. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
• The Green Jobs Initiative aimed at bettering placements, training and creating opportunities for individuals to work in ‘green jobs’.
• It promotes opportunity, equity and a just transition towards green economy and solutions to defining challenges such as sustainable development and climate change.
• It encourages governments, employers and workers to collaborate on coherent policies and programmes to realize a sustainable and just transition with green jobs and decent work for all.
• The project aims to support its constituents, namely government, enterprises, and workers, to move towards a socially fair transition to low carbon and green economy at national and local level.

The UNEP’s Emissions Gap report 2019 says that it is essential for greenhouse gas emissions to reduce by 7.6% per annum between the years 2020 to 2030 in order to reach the target that was set during the Paris Agreement.

Reference

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/what-are-green-jobs-pm-modi-world-environment-day-speech-7957457/
2. https://www.ilo.org/beijing/what-we-do/projects/WCMS_182418/lang--en/index.htm
3. https://unstats.un.org/unsd/envaccounting/londongroup/meeting18/LG18_28.pdf