What’s in Today’s Article?

• Why in the News?
• About Food Waste Index Report
• Key Highlights of the Food Waste Index Report 2024
• About United Nations Environment Programme
• Six Areas of Concentration of the UNEP
• Governing Body of the UNEP

Why in News?

Households across the globe wasted over one billion meals a day in 2022, according to the Food Waste Index Report 2024.

About Food Waste Index Report

• Started in 2021, the Food Waste Index measures food waste at retail and consumer level (households and food service).
• It is jointly authored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), a U.K.-based non-profit.
• Objective: To catalyze essential action towards reducing food waste and achieving UN’s Sustainable Developmental Goal (SDG 12.3).
  • SDG 12 seeks to “ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.”
  • Target 12.3 calls for cutting in half per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level, and reducing food losses along production and supply chains (including post-harvest losses) by 2030.
• The report defines food waste as food and the associated inedible parts removed from the human food supply chain.

Key Highlights of the Food Waste Index Report 2024

• In 2022, the world wasted 1.05 billion tonnes of food.
  • This amounts to one fifth (19 per cent) of food available to consumers being wasted, at the retail, food service, and household level.
  • That is in addition to the 13 per cent of the world’s food lost in the supply chain, as estimated by FAO, from post-harvest up to and excluding retail.
• Most of the world’s food waste comes from households.
  • Out of the total food wasted in 2022, households were responsible for 631 million tonnes equivalent to 60 percent, the food service sector for 290 and the retail sector for 131.
• Households waste at least one billion meals a day.
  • On average, each person wastes 79kg of food annually.
  • The equivalent of at least one billion meals of edible food is being wasted in households worldwide every single day, using a very conservative assessment on the share of food waste that is edible.
• Temperature and Food Waste Correlation.
  • Hotter countries appear to have more food waste per capita in households, potentially due to increased consumption of fresh foods with substantial inedible parts and lack of robust cold chain.
• Urban-Rural Disparities.
  • Middle-income countries display variations between urban and rural populations, with rural areas generally wasting less.
  • Possible explanations include greater diversion of food scraps to pets, animal feed, and home composting in rural areas.
  • The report recommends focusing efforts to strengthen food waste reduction and circularity in cities.
• G20 Role in Food Waste Reduction.
  • Only four G20 countries (Australia, Japan, UK, and USA) and the European Union have food waste estimates suitable for tracking progress to 2030.
  • An additional two G20 countries have suitable household estimates (Canada, Saudi Arabia), with Brazil’s estimate expected late 2024.
• Food waste must be addressed at both individual and systemic levels, including targeted efforts in urban areas and international collaboration among countries and across supply chains.

United Nations Environment Programme

• The UNEP was established in 1972 at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, popularly known as the Stockholm Conference, as it was held in Stockholm, Sweden.
• Objective:
  • To provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
• It uses its expertise to strengthen environmental standards and practices while helping implement environmental obligations at the country, regional and global levels.
• Six Areas of Concentration
  • UNEP re-organised its work programme into six strategic areas as part of its move to results-based management.
    • Climate Change
    • Post-Conflict and Disaster Management
    • Ecosystem Management
    • Environmental Governance:
    • Harmful Substances - UNEP strives to minimise the impact of harmful substances and hazardous waste on the environment and human beings.
    • Resource Efficiency/Sustainable Consumption and Production:
• Governing Body
  • The UN Environment Assembly is the governing body of the UNEP.
  • It was created in 2012 to replace the governing council.
  • It currently has 193 members and meets every two years.
  • Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya

Q1) Who publishes Global Hunger Index?

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a peer-reviewed report, published on an annual basis by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe. The GHI is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels, reflecting multiple dimensions of hunger over time.

Q2) What is the difference between malnutrition and malnourishment?

Malnutrition is an imbalance between the nutrients your body needs to function and the nutrients it gets. It can mean undernutrition or overnutrition. You can be malnourished from an overall lack of calories, or you might have a protein, vitamin or mineral deficiency.

Source: World wastes 1 billion meals a day, says U.N. report | UNEP 

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• Measures to curb money power
• Why EC takes measures to curb money power?
• What are the rules for carrying cash and other items?
• What happens after a seizure?

Why in news?

Recently, a video of Tamil Nadu police seizing Rs 69,400 from some tourists went viral on social media.

While the money was later returned to the couple in question, the incident has brought to limelight the Election Commission’s (EC’s) stringent rules for carrying cash and other items around elections.

Measures to curb money power

• Strict vigil on the movement of cash, liquor etc.
  • Before each election, the Election Commission provides clear directions to the police, railways, airports, the Income Tax department, and other enforcement agencies.
  • They are instructed to closely monitor the movement of cash, liquor, jewellery, drugs, and gifts—anything that could be given out during the polls.
• Appointment of expenditure observers
  • EC also appoints expenditure observers for every district, alongside static surveillance teams and flying squads.
  • The flying squads comprise a Senior Executive Magistrate as the head, a senior police officer, a videographer, and three or four armed police personnel.
  • These teams are provided with a dedicated vehicle, a mobile phone, a video camera, and necessary documents required for seizing cash or goods.
• Role of surveillance teams
  • Surveillance teams put up check posts on roads, video graphing the entire checking process.
  • Their location is changed frequently to maintain an element of surprise.
  • While check posts are supposed to be set up from the date of announcement of polls, the final 72 hours before polling will see enhanced enforcement.

Why EC takes measures to curb money power?

• The EC’s efforts are meant to keep an eye on campaign expenditure by candidates. This is done to provide a level playing field to the candidates contesting elections.
  • The ruling governments have an advantage before elections when it comes to publishing advertisements that disturb the level playing field.
• Campaign expenditure by candidates is capped at:
  • For Parliamentary Constituencies
    • Rs 95 lakh per constituency in bigger states, and Rs 75 lakh per constituency in smaller ones.
  • For Assembly Constituencies
    • Rs 40 lakh per constituency in bigger states, and Rs 28 lakh per constituency in smaller ones

What are the rules for carrying cash and other items?

• Rules for Airports
  • According to EC instructions, the CISF or police at airports must immediately inform the Income Tax Dept if anyone is carrying cash exceeding Rs. 10 lakh or more than 1 kg of bullion.
  • The Income Tax Department will then verify the situation according to tax laws and take action if a satisfactory explanation is not provided.
  • This means that cash or bullion can be seized till verification is completed, in order to ensure that it is not related to any political party or candidate.
• At check-posts controlled by the surveillance team
  • At check-posts, if over Rs. 10 lakh cash is found in a vehicle without any suspicion, it will not be seized.
  • Instead, the Income Tax authority will be informed for necessary action.
• Rules for vehicle carrying a candidate, or his/her agent or party worker
  • If a vehicle with a candidate, agent, or party worker has more than Rs. 50,000 cash or items like drugs, liquor, arms, or gifts worth over Rs. 10,000, they will be confiscated.
  • If any suspicion of a crime arises during checking, the seizure will follow the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and an FIR will be lodged within 24 hours.

What happens after a seizure?

• Seized cash/items are returned
  • In case any cash or other items are seized, authorities are meant to return them if they are not related to any candidate or a crime.
    • Once seized, the money will be deposited as instructed by the Court.
    • A copy of the seizure of cash exceeding Rs. 10 lakhs will be sent to the Income Tax authority handling the matter.
• Grievance redressal committee
  • A district-level committee will look at grievances in order to avoid inconvenience to the public and genuine persons.
  • The Committee shall suo-motu examine each case of seizure:
    • where no FIR/complaint has been filed, or
    • where the seizure is not linked with any candidate, political party or election campaign.
  • Moreover, it shall take immediate steps to return any cash seized.

Q1) What is Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)?

The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is a 1973 Indian law that governs the administration of substantive criminal law. It came into force on April 1, 1974. 

Q2) What is Election Commission of India (ECI)?

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a permanent constitutional body that manages elections for the country's Parliament, state legislatures, President, and Vice President.

Source: Travelling with cash during polls? Here are the Election Commission rules to keep in mind | Election Commission of India | The Hindu

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• What is Bird Flu?
• What is H5N1 Bird flu?

Why in news?

Since 2020, a highly pathogenic type of bird flu, H5N1, has been spreading across the globe, posing an existential threat to birds and wildlife. The virus has infected birds in more than 80 countries (as of December 2023).

In January 2024, the Executive Director of Health at the Wildlife Conservation Society said that H5N1 has infected over 150 wild and domestic avian species around the globe as well as dozens of mammalian species.

Bird Flu

• About
  • Bird flu, also known as avian flu, refers to an infectious viral illness that mainly infects and spreads among poultry and some wild birds.
  • There are different strains of bird flu virus, which have been circulating for a very long time among at least 100 bird species without much harming them.
• Cause of concern
  • From time to time, a form of the flu virus jumps from wild birds to poultry farms, and replicates in cramped warehouses of farmed birds.
  • It then quickly evolves into a highly pathogenic flu virus that causes a larger wave of illness and death than usual among birds.

H5N1 Bird flu

• About
  • H5N1 is a type of influenza virus that causes a highly infectious, severe respiratory disease in birds called avian influenza (or "bird flu").
  • Basically, it is a subtype of the influenza A virus.
    • Influenza A viruses are classified by subtypes based on the properties of their surface proteins.
    • There are 18 different hemagglutinin subtypes and 11 different neuraminidase subtypes (H1 through H18 and N1 through N11, respectively).
    • For example, A(H1N1) and A(H3N2).
  • Human cases of H5N1 avian influenza occur occasionally, but it is difficult to transmit the infection from person to person.
    • When people become infected, the mortality rate is about 60%.
• Origin and circulation
  • The currently circulating type of H5N1 has descended from a virus that caused an outbreak on a goose farm in Guangdong, China, in 1996.
  • The new version of H5N1 first emerged in Europe in 2020 and then rapidly reached Africa, and Asia.
  • By late 2021, it had spread to North America and in the fall of 2022, it appeared in South America.
  • In February 2024, the virus stormed through mainland Antarctica.
• Reasons behind the large-scale spread of H5N1
  • The exact factors behind the large outbreaks of the bird flu are still largely unknown. Some scientists suggest that one reason could be climate change.
  • According to studies, soaring global temperatures impact the behaviour of birds in such a way that it exacerbates the spread of the flu.
    • These birds are forced to move into new territories and mix with species that they usually don’t interact with, which possibly boosts the chances for the virus to spread even further.
  • Higher sea surface temperatures might also be at play.
    • E.g., warmer sea temperatures near northern Chile have led to a fall in the forage fish population and that has made sea lions weaker and more susceptible to disease.
• Spread of H5N1 to people
  • Almost all cases of H5N1 infection in people have been associated with close contact with infected live or dead birds, or H5N1-contaminated environments.
  • The virus does not infect humans easily, and spread from person to person appears to be unusual.
• Cause of concern
  • H5N1 infection in humans can cause severe disease and has a high mortality rate.
  • If the H5N1 virus were to change and become easily transmissible from person to person while retaining its capacity to cause severe disease, the consequences for public health could be very serious.

Q1) What is Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)?

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a non-governmental organization that aims to protect wildlife and wild places through science, education, and conservation action. The WCS was founded in New York State in 1895, and its headquarters are located at the Bronx Zoo.

Q2) What is Influenza A virus?

Influenza A virus is a pathogen that causes the flu in birds and some mammals, including humans. It is an RNA virus whose subtypes have been isolated from wild birds.

Source: How the H5N1 bird flu threatens the very existence of birds and mammals | WHO

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Why in News?
• Governor’s Role in Lawmaking and Where the Controversy Arise
• President’s Role in the Lawmaking Process of the State
• Petition of the Kerala Govt against the Governor and the President
• Situation in Other States
• Way Ahead to Reduce Conflict Between States and their Governors in the Lawmaking Process

Why in News?

The Kerala government recently approached the SC saying the President had withheld assent to 4 Bills passed by the state (but reserved by the Governor for consideration by the President) while disclosing no reason whatsoever.

This is the newest chapter in the conflict between states ruled by opposition parties, and their Governors, who are appointed by the President on the Centre’s advice.

Governor’s Role in Lawmaking and Where the Controversy Arise

• Article 200 of the Constitution states that after a Bill has been passed by the state legislature, “it shall be presented to the Governor”.
• The Governor, then, has 3 options: give assent to the Bill, withhold assent, or reserve the Bill for consideration by the President.
• For situations where assent is withheld, Article 200 states that the Governor may (as soon as possible) return the Bill together with a message requesting that the House or Houses will reconsider the Bill or any specified provisions thereof.
• If the Bill is passed again by the House or Houses with or without amendment and presented to the Governor for assent, the Governor shall not withhold assent therefrom.
• The latter part of the proviso clearly gives the state government the final say on enacting legislation.
• But it is the part saying “as soon as possible after the presentation to him”, which has led to states approaching the SC.
  • Since the article does not provide a timeline, Governors have often withheld assent to Bills for extended periods, effectively leaving them and the state legislature in limbo.

President’s Role in the Lawmaking Process of the State

• This is dealt with in Article 201. In situations where a Bill is sent to the President for consideration, the President can either give or withhold assent.
• If assent is withheld, the President requests the Governor to return the Bill to the state legislature for reconsideration.
  • The state government then has 6 months to reconsider the Bill - failing to do so results in its lapsing.
  • If the Bill is passed once again by the state legislature, it must be sent back to the President. Unlike the Governor, the President is under no obligation to give assent when assessing the reconsidered Bill.
  • This is the only situation in which state governments do not have the final say in their own lawmaking process.

Petition of the Kerala Govt against the Governor and the President

• The Kerala government’s petition terms the actions of Governor and President as “manifestly arbitrary”, i.e., an action that is unreasonable, irrational and which violates the right to equality.
• The petition argues that the decision to keep Bills pending violates Article 200 by not making a decision “as soon as possible”.
• The Governor had “subverted the functioning” of the state legislature and “rendered its existence itself ineffective”.
• The President’s decision to withhold assent to 4 of the Bills referred to her was done without giving “any reason whatsoever”.
  • This is in violation of Article 201, which states that the President is required to return the Bill with a message containing “such amendments as he may recommend”.

Situation in Other States

• The SC (last year) expressed “serious concern” at Tamil Nadu Governor’s decision to withhold assent to 10 Bills that had been enacted by the state legislature, some of which were pending since 2020.
  • Three days later, all 10 Bills were returned for reconsideration, with no reasons given for the decision.
• The SC also criticised the TN Governor for refusing to appoint K Ponmudy as the state’s Minister for Higher Education, despite the apex court staying his criminal conviction.
• The Telangana government also approached the SC (in March 2023) over the former Governor's refusal to give assent to 10 Bills that were passed by its legislative assembly.
  • She gave her assent shortly after.
• The Governor of Punjab had refused to give assent to four Bills passed by the Punjab Assembly, claiming that the Bills were passed in breach of law and procedure.

SC Ruling and Way Ahead to Reduce Conflict

• In (November) 2023, the SC held that the Governor did not have the power to “thwart the normal course of lawmaking by the State Legislatures”.
  • The phrase “as soon as possible” in Article 200 means that the Governor cannot be at liberty to keep the Bill pending indefinitely without any action whatsoever.
  • If the Governor decides to withhold assent, s/he is bound to follow the procedure provided in the Article 200.
• Though the court spelled out the obligations of the Governor in the lawmaking process, it stopped short of providing a definitive timeline for the Governor to make the decision.
  • The Kerala government has now approached the SC to address the same issue.

Q1) What are the discretionary powers of the Governor of a State in India?

The Constitutional discretion of the Governor of a state include reserving a bill for the consideration of the President, recommending the decision of the President's rule in any state, etc.

Q2) How is the governor of a state in India appointed?

The Governor of a State shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal (Article 155). A person to be eligible for appointment as Governor should be citizen of India and have completed age of 35 years (Article 157).