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"Shaphari" scheme for aquaculture products certification
In a bid t promote frozen shrimp produce, centre has started a new scheme to certify hatcheries and farms that adopt good aquaculture practices.
The scheme, called "Shaphari", is a certification scheme for aquaculture products, developed by "Marine Products Exports Development Authority (MPEDA)".
The scheme is based on the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization's technical guidelines on aquaculture certification.
It have two components - certifying hatcheries for the quality of their seeds and, separately, approving shrimp farms that adopt the requisite good practices.
In recent months, consignments are rejected because of food safety concerns due to the presence of antibiotic residue.
With, farm produce and pre-harvest testing system already in place - certification under Shaphari is a market-based tool for hatcheries to adopt good aquaculture practices and help produce quality antibiotic-free shrimp products.
Frozen shrimp is India's largest exported seafood item. Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are India's major shrimp producing States.
The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) is a statutory body established on 24 August 1972, under the Marine Products Export Development Authority Act 1972.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), headquartered in Rome, Italy was founded in October 1945 to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security.
Gov. Schemes
Remdesivir and Remdesivir API
Centre has prohibited the exports of injection Remdesivir and Remdesivir Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) in an order issued on Sunday stating that there has been a sudden spike in demand for injection Remdesivir used in treatment of COVID patients.
Remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, is a broad-spectrum antiviral medication developed by the biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences. It is administered via injection into a vein.
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, remdesivir was approved or authorized for emergency use to treat COVID‑19 in around 50 countries.
Social Issues
Tika Utsav (vaccination festival)
Calling the four days of Tika Utsav (vaccination festival), the beginning of the second big war against COVID-19, PM Modi laid stress on social and personal hygiene.
The Utsav started on 11th April, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and will continue till the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar on April 14.
Social Issues
Criminalising begging
A plea filed in SC, said provisions of the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959, which treats begging as an offence cannot sustain constitutional scrutiny.
Criminalising the act of begging put people in a situation to make an unreasonable choice between committing a crime or not committing one and starving, which violates Article 21 (Right to Life).
The government had the mandate to provide social security to everyone as embedded in the Directives Principles of State Policy in the Constitution. However, the presence of beggars is evidence that the state has failed to provide these basic facilities to all its citizen.
The Abolition of Begging and Rehabilitation of Beggars Bill 2018 had been introduced in the Lok Sabha but the bill is not passed till date.
Four states have their respective statues for criminalising begging - Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959, Punjab Prevention of Beggary Act, 1971, Haryana Prevention of Begging Act, 1971 and Bihar Prevention of Begging Act 1951.
Polity
CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI)
CSIR has divested Rakesh Kumar, Director, NEERI of his post after the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) ordered an inquiry into allegations of corruption against Mr. Kumar levelled by a former employee of NEERI.
S. Chandrashekhar, Director, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, has been given additional charge of the organisation.
Read More: CSIR-NEERI
Science & Tech