DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

In 5^th edition of State Food Safety Index, nearly all major states slip on food safety compared to 2019.

• It is a dynamic quantitative and qualitative benchmarking model that provides an objective framework for evaluating food safety.
• It is annual index released by FSSAI on the occasion of World Food Safety Day (7th June) since 2019
• It is based on the information submitted by States/UTs.
• Aim – To measure the performance of states on parameters of food safety.
• Parameters – Originally it had 5 but 6^th one was added in 5^th report for the period 2022-23.

Index rankings – It is based on the groupings like large states (20), small states (8) and UT’s (8).

5^th SFSI (2022-23)

• The only parameter to record improvement was Training and Capacity Building.

According to recent ‘State of Food and Agriculture’ (SOFA) report, our current agrifood systems impose huge hidden costs on our health, the environment and society, equivalent to at least $10 trillion a year.

• Released by – Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) covering 154 countries.
• It is a comprehensive annual overview of food security which had been published since 1947.

FAO’s 3 mandate are to raise the levels of nutrition & the standards of living of people, to improve the production & distribution of all food and agricultural products and to improve the condition of the rural population.

Findings of State of Food and Agriculture 2023

• Hidden costs – 70% of the costs are due to unhealthy diets (high in ultra-processed foods) and 20% are environment-related causes.
• Attributed losses like labour productivity were particularly elevated in high- and upper-middle-income countries.
• Vulnerable – The hardest hit are lower income countries where the hidden cost is more than 25% of their GDP.
• Increased consumption of processed foods – In peri-urban, rural areas and also in African nations as well.
• It was driven by urbanisation, changes in lifestyle and employment profiles as well as increasing commuting times.
• Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity – It remained unchanged for the 2^nd year in a row covering at about 29.6% of global population but still far above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
• Hunger – 122 million more people faced hunger in 2022 than in 2019 and it also projected that almost 600 million people will be chronically undernourished in 2030

Among the 9 south Asian countries, India had the 3^rd highest prevalence of undernourishment in the total population, after Afghanistan and Pakistan. The share of undernourished people in India, however, had come down from 21.4% of the population in 2004-06 to 16.6 in 2020-22.

Recently Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), met in Nairobi for its third round of negotiations to develop an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution worldwide.

What is Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC)?

• The committee is formed to develop the instrument on plastic pollution.
• Comprehensive approach- It addresses the full life cycle of plastics, including its production, design, and disposal.

• Zero draft text- INC-3 was a make-or-break opportunity as countries came together to negotiate the ‘zero draft’ text developed by the Committee’s Secretariat, with various options for core obligations and control measures.
• UNEA Resolution 5/14- UNEA adopted a resolution to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.
• Aim-The resolution has the ambition to complete the negotiations to frame the instrument by end of 2024.
• The INC is responsible for delivering a global plastics treaty by 2025.

What is zero draft text?

It is a preliminary version of a document that contains various options for potential provisions or elements of the document.

• First draft- The text is 1^st draft of the global plastics treaty that could support progress on reducing, circulating, and preventing plastic pollution.
• Developed by- INC chair and the Secretariat
• Guidelines- The draft is based on the mandate given by the INC-2 in Paris.
• Negotiation process- The text was a good starting point for the negotiations because it catered to ambitions at all levels
  • Strong and binding
  • Moderate and flexible
  • Weak and voluntary

• Role of civil society- INC-3 saw a high participation of civil society organisations especially from the Global South that advocated for a strong and binding treaty to end plastic pollution.
• Reduce plastic production- Countries affected by plastic pollution like Kenya, Norway, and the European Union, argue that the life cycle starts at production, in order to include production in the treaty.
• Penalty- The draft contains options such as imposing a plastic-pollution fee, to be paid by plastic polymer producers.
• Fund- The draft contains the provisions like reducing the financial flow into projects with a high carbon footprint.
• Environment health- Countries will have to cut, if not eliminate, fossil-fuel subsidies and investments in environmentally disfavourable technologies such as incineration and waste-to-energy plants.
• Strong binding provisions- African group of countries and Small-Island Developing States (SIDS) played an important role for the high-impact elements in the treaty.
• Voice for human rights-They championed the voices of waste-pickers and Indigenous peoples, and approached the treaty from human-rights and public-health perspectives.

What are the challenges faced during the negotiations?

• Opposition- The negotiations was opposed by group of like-minded countries that opposed many of the upstream and ambitious measures in the text.
• Flexible measures- Opposed countries also argued to include a clause on sustainable development to protect their economic interests and investments.
• Bulk size- INC-3 did not adopt the mandate to proceed with developing the first draft of the treaty, as the draft text had tripled in size with many additions and deletions by the member states.
• Influence of industry- Fossil fuels and chemicals industry had a high presence of lobbyists at the negotiations. They object to eliminating compounds and polymers of concern and problematic and avoidable plastics, which are key in ending plastic pollution.
• Exclusion of production- Some countries argued that the life cycle starts at product design, in order to exclude production from the scope of the treaty, this would undermine the effectiveness of the treaty in tackling the root causes of plastic pollution.
• Financial provisions- The same like-minded group demanded that provisions like plastic pollution fee and financial control to be deleted altogether from the draft.
• Plastic trade- The plastics treaty is expected to plug the holes left open by the Basel Convention, any restrictions on trade is considered to be impinging on the freedom and sovereignty of nations.
• Rules of procedure- In INC-2 there was no concrete outcome in it, even as a handful of countries, including India, continued to demand consensus-based decision-making instead of a two-thirds vote majority.
• Vagueness- There is no clear cut definition for “environmentally sound management”, instead terms such as best available science and best available technology continue to be used.

• PM unveils Statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Rajkot Fort, Sindhudurg, Maharashtra recently.
• Chhatrapati Shivaji (1630-1680) was the founder of the Maratha kingdom of India.
• Victories - Shivaji’s conflict with the Adil Shahi Sultanate of Bijapur began when he was only 16.

Ashta Pradhan - He promoted the use of Marathi and Sanskrit in his courts and created an elaborate administrative system with a council of ministers known as Ashta Pradhan.

• Prime Minister recently attended the ‘Navy Day 2023’ celebrations at Maharastra.

The Indian Navy celebrates Navy Day on December 4 every year to commemorate "Operation Trident," the Navy's audacious attack on Karachi harbour during the 1971 War.

• India Internet Governance Forum IIGF’23 held recently in New Delhi.
• IIGF is an initiative associated with the UN Internet Governance Forum (UN IGF).
• IIGF, was created in 2021, and is supported by a 14-member multi-stakeholder Committees.

UN IGF is a multi-stakeholder platform bringing together representatives from various groups, considering all to be at par to discuss public policy issues related to the Internet.

• The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) bagged the “ISSA Vision Zero 2023” Award in the recently held 23rd World Congress on Safety and Health at Work in Sydney, Australia.
• “Vision Zero” is a transformational approach for prevention of accidents at work places integrating the 3 dimensions of safety, health and well-being at all levels of work.
• International Social Security Association (ISSA) is the principal international institution bringing together social security agencies and organizations of the world.

Aim - To promote dynamic social security as the social dimension in a globalizing world by supporting excellence in social security administration.

• The 4^th edition of the annual ASEAN India Grassroots Innovation Forum (AIGIF) for 2023 took place in Langkawi, Malaysia recently.
• The AIGIF is an annual program that focuses on strengthening the relationship between India and ASEAN Member States (AMS) in the fields of Science, Technology, and Innovation.

2 grassroots innovators and 1 student innovator from India won prizes in the grassroots innovation and student innovation competition respectively.

• India joins Executive Committee of Codex Alimentarius Commission during its 46^th meeting being held at Food and Agriculture Organization Headquarters at Rome.
• CAC is an international body that sets food standards established in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
• The CAC's goals are to protect consumer health and ensure fair food trade practices. It has 189 members.

The CAC is part of the joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme.