08th JUNE, 2022

NEWS TT DAY
NEWS DAY
MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (MOHFW) RELEASES FSSAI’S 4TH STATE

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FOOD SAFETY INDEX (SFSI)
On occasion of World Food Safety (WFS) Day, MoHFW has released Food Safety and
Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) SFSI 2021-22.
Theme for WFS Day, 2022, was ‘Safer Food, Better Health’.

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SFSI is a dynamic quantitative and qualitative benchmarking model that

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provides an objective framework for evaluating food safety across all
States/UTs.
Five parameters of food safety are Human resources and institutional
data, compliance, food testing facility, training and capacity building and
consumer empowerment.

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Key findings
Tamil Nadu topped Index, followed by Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Among smaller States, Goa stood first, followed by Manipur and Sikkim.
Among UTs, Jammu and Kashmir topped, followed by Delhi and Chandigarh. About FSSAI

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It is an autonomous body under the
Other steps taken to ensure food safety Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

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It has been established under the Food
Eat Right India Movement to usher in a 'new food culture' in the country
Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which is a
which is both safe and healthy for consumption.
consolidating statute related to food safety
Diet4Life to help people understand about metabolic disorders. and regulation in India.

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Blissful Hygienic Offering to Go (BHOG): Encourage Places of Worship to adopt and maintain food safety and hygiene.
Heart Attack Rewind: Mass media campaign of its kind – will support FSSAI’s global target of eliminating trans-fat in India.

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CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF (CDS) POOL WIDENED: RETIRED AND 3 STAR OFFICERS ELIGIBLE
The Ministry of Defence has amended the service rules of the armed forces to:
Make all serving and recently retired three-star officers - Lt General, Air Marshal and Vice Admiral - under the age of 62 eligible for

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the post of CDS.
The Government can also extend the service of the CDS for such a period as it may deem necessary subject to a maximum age of
65 years.
In 2019, the Cabinet Committee on Security (headed
About Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) by PM), gave nod to creation of CDS post with General
Bipin Rawat as the first incumbent from 01 January,
CDS, a major military reform, is the highest-ranking officer of 2020.
armed forces and the single-point advisor to Government in the
The post has been vacant since his death last year.
matters of armed forces.

He is the Permanent Chairman of Chief of Staff Committee (CoSC) and work for greater synergy among the armed services and
optimise the resource utilisation.
The need for single point professional military advice to the political representatives was first highlighted by the Kargil Review
Committee under K. Subrahmanyam. Later,
The Naresh Chandra Task Force (2012), and D.B. Shekatkar Committee (2016) also recommended a one command structure.

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INDIA LOOKS FORWARD TO JOINING THE NUCLEAR SUPPLIERS GROUP (NSG): MINISTRY OF
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (MEA)
NSG was set up in response to India's (non-nuclear weapon state) own nuclear test in 1974, to prevent the proliferation of
nuclear weapons by curbing exports of nuclear equipment.
It is one of the 4 Multilateral Export Control Regimes (MECR). India is a member of the other 3.
NSG is a group of nuclear supplier countries.
Currently, it has 48 Participating Governments (PGs).

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Membership to NSG would ensure greater access to nuclear state of the art
technology, reduction on fossil fuel for energy, etc.
Other MECRs
Australia Group (AG): It is an informal association of member states that aims to

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minimize risk of proliferation of chemical and biological weapons.
Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR): It is an informal political

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understanding among states that seek to limit proliferation of missiles and
missile technology. GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES SINGLE
Unlike all NSG participants, India is not a
Formed in 1987 by G-7 countries. party to the Treaty on the NODAL AGENCY DASHBOARD OF
It is not legally binding. Non-Proliferation of nuclear weapons,

Wassenaar Arrangement (WA):

which India considers to be discriminatory. PFMS
Ministry of Finance launched the Single Nodal

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Established in 1996, it is a voluntary and non-legally binding export control
Agency (SNA) dashboard of the Public
regime.
Financial Management System (PFMS) to
It has 42 members. ensure effective leveraging of technology in
public finance.
MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION (MoCA) LAUNCHES

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The initiative forms part of PFMS reform
NATIONAL AIR SPORTS POLICY (NASP) 2022 that was initiated in 2021 with regards to
how funds for Centrally Sponsored

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NASP is aimed at providing a safe, affordable and sustainable air sports
Schemes (CSS) are released, disbursed, and
ecosystem in the country.
monitored.
Its vision is to include India among the top air sporting nations by 2030.
SNA model
Eleven air sports including Aerobatics, aero modelling and rocketry,
ballooning, parachuting, paragliding and para-motoring etc. will be promoted. The SNA model requires the states to

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notify an SNA for each Centrally Sponsored
Objective of NASP, 2022 Scheme (CSS) which will open a unique

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Enable bank account at a commercial bank
adoption responsible for all transactions related to
of the implementation of the particular CSS.
international Now, the SNA dashboard is launched as a
good system to track the transfer of funds to

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practices in states for centrally sponsored schemes
safety and the utilization of funds by central
including but agencies.
not limited to,
The system would help cut down on the
air sports
interest expenditure as money would be
infrastructure, equipment, operations, maintenance and training.
released at the stage where it is needed.
Enhance participation and success of Indian sportspersons in global air
sports events. By providing data on unspent balances
for CSS, state government departments
Promote design, development and manufacturing of air sports equipment can now rationalize their proposal for
in India in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. the fund released.
Governance structure
Glossary
NASP 2022 covers 11 different air sports and provides a four-tier CSS are those schemes that are implemented by the
governance structure (refer infographic) with Air Sports Federation of state government but sponsored by the central
India (AFSI) as the apex governing body. government with a defined shareholding. Eg-
National Health Mission
ASFI shall be an autonomous body under MoCA. In Budget 2022, 130 CSSs spanning all ministries
have been revamped into 65 schemes.
It represents India at Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), PFMS is a web-based online software application
headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland and other global platforms developed and implemented by the Office of
related to air sports. Controller General of Accounts to facilitate a sound
public financial management system for the government.
FAI is world governing body for air sports.
ELECTION COMMISSION (EC) PLANS PILOT PROJECT TO LOOK AT REMOTE POLLING
FOR MIGRANT VOTERS
EC said that a committee will be set up to examine the issues of migrant voters, including exploring possibilities of remote voting
after consultations with all stakeholders.
Remote voting refers to a mechanism that allows electors to vote from locations other than polling stations assigned to their
registered constituencies — either within the country or even abroad.
India accounts for over 400 million internal migrants, with an estimated 120 million circular migrant workers.
Internal migrant workers do not enroll as voters in their place of employment since they find proof of residence hard to provide.
Present and proposed Voting means for Migrants
Circular Migration is defined as a
Currently, postal ballots are the only method for persons outside their voting temporary move from, followed by a
constituency but it is available to some like service voters. E.g . Army personnel.

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return to, the normal place of residence,
One Nation One Voter ID is a proposed solution to ensure ballot portability, helping for purpose of employment.
people who are unable to exercise their voting rights such as NRIs, migrants etc.
The model of an Aadhaar-linked electronic voting system that would enable electors to cast their votes from any part of the
country.

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ALSO IN NEWS

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Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs participated in the 2nd BRICS Finance Ministers and
Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting under the BRICS China chairmanship.
BRICS nations comprise Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
BRICS have vowed to deepen financial cooperation and customs cooperation and Contingent
Reserve Arrangement (CRA),

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CRA operationalised in 2016, as a measure to provide short-term liquidity support to the
BRICS members through currency swaps to help mitigating Balance of Payment crisis situation and
further strengthen financial stability.

The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog completed the 5th addition of AIM-iLEAP

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program on ‘Innovations in Audio-Tech’.
AIM, setup in 2016, is Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of

Atal Innovation Mission-
Innovative Leadership for
Entrepreneurial Agility and
Profitability (AIM-iLEAP)
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innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
AIM-iLEAP is an initiative by AIM in partnership with Startup Réseau - a leading startup accelerator
and operator.
It provides the much-needed access to industry, markets and investors to tech start-ups
through a series of Enterprise and Investor Demo Days.

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HP became the first state in the country to give a nod to drone policy.
It envisions creating holistic drone ecosystem built upon foundation of Governance and

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Reforms Using Drones (GARUD).
India has witnessed 34.4% surge in number of drone or UAV start-ups between August 2021 and
February 2022.
The Union Budget 2022, aimed to boost the Indian drone industry as the budget includes ₹120
Himachal Pradesh (HP) crore Production Linked Incentive(PLI) scheme for the drone industry, intended to boost

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Drone Policy 2022 domestic manufacturing and ban of imported drones.
Green Jobs
Green jobs refer to a class of jobs with direct positive impact on the planet, and contribute to
the overall environmental welfare.
They are aimed at reducing the negative environmental impact of economic sectors and
furthering the process of creating a low-carbon economy. E.g. jobs in renewable energy, waste
management etc.
Carbon Bombs
Terms in News Carbon Bombs are the coal, oil and gas projects with potential to contribute significantly to
global warming by releasing at least a billion tonnes of CO2 emissions over its lifetime.
India ranked at 180th with a score of 18.9 EPI in EPI 2022.
EPI, a biennial index, was started in 2002 as Environmental Sustainability Index.
Prepared by World Economic Forum (WEF) in collaboration with Yale Center for
Environmental Law and Policy and Columbia University Center for International Earth
Science Information Network.
Environment Performance EPI ranks 180 countries on climate change performance, environmental health, and ecosystem
Index (EPI) vitality.

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 German Development Cooperation and ITHCP have contributed total of €47.5 million for tiger
conservation in Asian countries.
Initiated in 2014, ITHCP or ‘Tiger Programme’ is grant-making initiative which contributes to
Global Tiger Recovery Programme (GTRP), global effort to double tiger numbers in wild by 2022.
Integrated Tiger Habitat GTRP consists of 12 large-scale projects in Tiger Conservation Landscapes across Bangladesh,
Conservation Programme Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Nepal and Myanmar.
(ITHCP)
Department of Science and Technology launched the Self Certification Portal for the Geospatial
Data and Maps for India.
It is developed in collaboration with National Informatics Centre.
In 2021, government liberalised the geospatial data by releasing the new Guidelines for acquiring
and producing Geospatial Data and Geospatial Data Services including Maps.
Geospatial Self It replaced the process of prior approvals, security clearances, and other restrictions for the

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Certification Portal collection, storage, publication, and/or digitization of Geospatial Data and Maps, with
self-certification.
France is set to sign a U.S.-led multilateral agreement called the Artemis Accords.
The program aims to return humans to the moon's surface by 2025 with the help of U.S. allies and

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private companies.
The accords are built on broader principles of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.

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It includes an array of principles designed to promote peaceful uses of space, from establishing
safety zones around future moon bases to sharing scientific data with other countries.
Artemis Accords
The United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada have signed the accords, with France set to become the
7th European state.
The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have renewed the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), for Grand Challenges India originally signed in 2012.

Grand Challenges India
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Grand Challenges India is a partnership framework for the DBT, Biotechnology Industry
Research Assistance Council and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
It intends to boost innovation and research to develop affordable and sustainable solutions to
improve health, in India.

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The Home Minister inaugurated the NTRI in New Delhi.
It will work as a premier national level institute and nerve-centre of tribal concerns, issues and

National Tribal Research
Institute (NTRI)
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matters in academic, executive and legislative fields.
It will provide policy inputs to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and State Welfare Departments with
studies and programs to showcase tribal cultural heritage under one umbrella.
It will collaborate and network with other institutions and monitor projects of Tribal Research
Institutes (TRIs), Centres of Excellence (CoEs), etc.

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Recently, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) excavated an almost 2,000 years old mound
outside the Robert Clive House.

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Robert Clive captured Calcutta, commanded the East India Company at the Battle of Plassey
(1757).
Another British Administrator, Job Charnock was popularly believed as founder (till 2003, after it was
Kolkata ruled by Calcutta HC that he is not the founder) of Kolkata (erstwhile Calcutta) from three villages-
Sutanuti, Gobindapur and Kalikata in 1690.

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