These current affairs are written in a easy to remember format and are useful for competitive exams like - UPSC Civil Services, UPPSC, BPSC, MPPPSC, State PSCs and other competitive examinations.
Drugs regulation and Scheduled Drugs
Amid, shortage of oxygen, non-availablity of Remdesivir, Tocilizumab injections, and hospital beds in the country - the Bombay High Court asked the Centre to include Remdesivir in the list of scheduled drugs and to regulate its pricing.
Both Drugs Control Act, 1950 and Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 enable the central government to issue a notification to fix rates of essential drugs during an epidemic.
The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 regulates the import, manufacture and distribution of drugs in India.
The primary objective of the act is to ensure that the drugs and cosmetics sold in India are safe, effective and conform to state quality standards.
The Drugs Control Act, 1950 regulates the pricing of drugs and allows the government to fix the maximum price of any drug.
Read More: Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940
Polity
Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897
The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 was first enacted to tackle bubonic plague in Mumbai (Bombay) in former British India. The law is meant for containment of epidemics by providing special powers to control the spread of the disease.
The Act has been routinely used to contain various diseases in India such as swine flu, cholera, malaria and dengue.
In 2018, the Act was enforced as cholera began to spread in a region of Gujarat.
In 2015, it was used to deal with dengue and malaria in Chandigarh and in 2009 it was invoked in Pune to combat swine flu.
Starting in March 2020, the act is being enforced across India in order to limit the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 during the COVID-19 pandemic in India.
Polity
Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has joined the Central Banks and Supervisor's Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) as a Member.
The NGFS is a group of Central banks and supervisors willing to share the best practices and contribute to the development of the environment and climate risk management in the financial sector, while mobilising mainstream finance to support the transition towards a sustainable economy.
The System was launched at the Paris One Planet Summit on December 2017.
Economy
Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH)
Recently, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) inaugurated the fifth session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) established under Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).
In this virtually held fifth session, CCSCH has finalised and recommended quality standards for four spices; cloves, oregano, basil, and ginger.
Read More: CCSCH
Social Issues
Global Forest Goals Report 2021
According to the United Nations' Global Forest Goals Report 2021, Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated the challenges faced by countries in managing their forests.
Global Forest Goals Report 2021 is prepared by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA)
It is draws upon 52 voluntary national reports and 19 voluntary national contributions, representing 75 per cent of forests in the world.
It provides an initial overview of progress towards achieving the six Global Forest Goals and their 26 associated targets as contained within the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2030.
The United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017-2030 was created with a mission to promote sustainable forest management and enhance the contribution of forests and trees to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The first Global Forest Goal in the Plan provides for increasing forest area by three per cent by 2030.
According to the India State of Forest Report, 2019, the Total Forest and Tree cover is 24.56% of the geographical area of the country.
Forest Cover (Area-wise): Madhya Pradesh> Arunachal Pradesh> Chhattisgarh> Odisha> Maharashtra.
Environment
Operation Samudra Setu-II
Indian Navy has launched Operation Samudra Setu-II to augment the ongoing national mission for meeting the Oxygen requirements.
Last year Indian Navy had launched Operation Samudra Setu as part of the Vande Bharat Mission and repatriated approx 4000 (3992) stranded and distressed Indian citizens from Maldives, Sri Lanka and Iran.
Defence