Report flags sweetened Nestle products

A recent research discovered that while Nestlé’s baby products sold in Europe did not have added sugars, those sold in Asia, Africa, and Latin America did.

Context:

• Nestlé was criticized in the report “How Nestlé gets children hooked on sugar in lower-income countries” for using varying nutritional standards in their products depending on the nation it was selling to. Additionally, it claimed that Nestlé had not disclosed the amount of sugar on the product’s package.

Key Takeaways

• A simple carbohydrate is sugar.Sugar can be found naturally in certain foods.
• The American Heart Association (AHA) states that it can be found in fruit (fructose) and milk (lactose).
• When preparing or processing food, free sugar or added sugar is added separately.
• “Adults and children reduce their daily intake of free sugars to less than 10% of their total energy intake,” according to a 2015 WHO guideline.
• The WHO recommends against introducing additional sugars to children under the age of two.
• Overindulging in sugar might result in an individual consuming more energy overall from their diet. It can come at the expense of foods having calories that are nutritionally sufficient, which would ultimately result in an unhealthy diet.
• This therefore raises the chance of developing non-communicable diseases like diabetes, obesity, and heart-related conditions.
• Tooth decay is also linked to early sugar exposure.
• According to a 2017 WHO report titled “Incentives and disincentives for reducing sugar in manufactured foods,” “the fact that sugar is a relatively cheap and abundant ingredient means there is little incentive from the supply side not to use it, but rather it is not a direct incentive to use it.”
• A food item becomes more pleasant when sugar is added, which encourages consumers to choose it over and over again.

Anti-Maoist operations

• Tuesday (April 16) saw a shootout between security personnel and at least 29 suspected Maoists in the woods of Kanker district, southern Chhattisgarh.

Context:

• In terms of the number of Maoist dead found, the operation is the biggest since Chhattisgarh was established in 2000. It is also one of the security services’ greatest achievements in the long-term struggle against left-wing extremism (LWE).

What happened in the operation?

• During the operation, security forces advanced well into the Maoist stronghold of Abujhmad, which translates to “the unknown hills.” Abujhmad is a 4,000 square kilometer area of forest land in the Bastar region of southern Chhattisgarh, mostly encompassing the districts of Narayanpur, Bijapur, and Dantewada, which is located just south of Kanker only contains a minor portion of the forest.
• Because of the challenging topography, lack of roads, and existence of LWE, 90% of Abujhmad—which is larger than Goa in terms of area—has not been surveyed by the government.
• Thus, Maoists exploit these woods as safe havens and transit routes to move between Odisha (to the east), Telangana (to the southwest), Maharashtra (to the west), and Andhra Pradesh (to the south) via the Sukma region of Chhattisgarh.

Chhattisgarh’s LWE

• The only state where Maoists are still heavily present and have the capacity to launch large-scale attacks is Chhatisgarh.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) website states that 70 districts nationwide are affected by LWE. Only 15 of these are located in Chhattisgarh.
• Eight are in Jharkhand and seven are in Chhattisgarh among the 25 “Most LWE Affected Districts.”

The “final push” made by the government against LWE

• Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are a part of the government’s “final push” against LWE.
• As a result, central forces like the CRPF have established bases farther into Maoist strongholds like the Abujhmad jungles. Over the last few years, over two dozen bases have been established in Abujhmad, and other camps have also been established in Kanker’s Rowghat jungles.

Criticism

• Critics claim that the government’s strategy for dealing with the Naxal issue is seriously flawed. The states have been approaching the problem in accordance with their perspective and political comprehension of its significance; there is no overarching strategic strategy.
• States view LWE as a national issue. Until state forces assume the lead in anti-Naxal operations and the central armed police forces play a secondary role only, the situation will not be definitively resolved.
• India’s forest cover is steadily disappearing. As a result, the tribes living in these forested areas were uprooted. Many of them turned to the Naxals after losing their land and regular source of income.

PRADHAN MANTRI UJJWALA YOJANA (PMUY)

Based on data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, the government’s flagship Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has enabled 103.3 million households to benefit from clean cooking fuel between the program’s inception and the end of 2023–2024.

Context:

• By guaranteeing access to LPG connections and lowering dependency on conventional solid fuels, PMUY has improved the lives of millions of households, as this noteworthy accomplishment highlights.

About PMUY:

• The Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOPNG) launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), a flagship program.
• Its main goal is to supply impoverished and rural people with clean cooking fuel, namely liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
• Previously, these homes relied on conventional cooking fuels like coal, firewood, and cakes made from cow dung, which had a negative impact on the environment and the health of the women.
• The candidate must be an adult female from a household with a BPL status. Women from SC, ST, and other marginalized communities are given priority under the plan.

Key features of the PMUY:

• Protection of Health and Empowerment of Women: The program’s goal is to protect women’s health and empower them by making LPG accessible. The indoor air pollution caused by traditional fuels frequently resulted in respiratory ailments.
• Reducing Deaths: The PMUY aims to lower the number of Indian deaths brought on by dirty cooking fuels.
• cash Assistance: Under the initiative, households below the poverty line (BPL) receive ₹1600 in cash assistance for each LPG connection.

ARTEMIS ACCORDS

Officially, Sweden has ratified the Artemis Accords.

Context:

• Sweden joined the Artemis Accords as the 38th nation.

Concerning ARTEMIS ACCORDS:

• The Artemis Accords are a set of guidelines for international cooperation in space exploration, especially for countries taking part in NASA’s Artemis mission.
• The United States State Department and NASA, along with seven other founding members—Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom—instituted the Artemis Accords in 2020.
• Their goal is to establish a set of shared guidelines for the peaceful exploration and utilization of space, the moon, Mars, comets, and asteroids.
• The Accords expand on the 1967 Outer Space Treaty by highlighting space as a resource that all people share, forbidding state appropriation, and promoting peaceful space utilization.

Key Commitments:

• Carry out space activities in compliance with international law and for peaceful reasons.
• Acknowledge the value of a shared exploration infrastructure to advance commercial application and scientific discovery.
• Make that pertinent space objects are registered and data shared, and promptly and transparently provide scientific data.
• Maintain cultural legacy, such as old landing spots and relics on heavenly bodies.
• Encourage the safe and sustainable use of space resources without interfering with the actions of other signatories.
• Make plans for the secure disposal of spacecraft and reduce the amount of hazardous debris produced.

Significance for India:

• India signed the nonbinding Artemis Accords in 2023, making it the 27th nation to do so.
• NASA and ISRO will work together on this, and in 2024 they will deploy Indian astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
• India has committed to adhering to the best space exploration practices and supporting a US-led coalition on space matters by adopting the Artemis Accords, which currently excludes important spacefaring nations like China and Russia.

LAKSHMANA TIRTHA RIVER

The Lakshmana Tirtha River has dried up entirely as a result of the extreme heat and drought.

Context:

• This year, the river is completely dry by early April, leaving no sign of water. The severe climatic conditions that were made worse by Kodagu’s 40% below-average rainfall in the previous year are to blame for Lakshmana Tirtha’s drying up.

About LAKSHMANA TIRTHA RIVER:

• One important river in Karnataka is the Lakshmana Tirtha.
• In the Karnataka district of Kodagu (Coorg), the Brahmagiri highlands are the source of the Lakshmana Tirtha River.
• It passes through a level terrain south of Coorg as it travels eastward.
• After a while, it merges with the Cauvery River at Krishna Raja Sagar Lake.
• The Lakshmana Tirtha River is around 180 kilometers long overall.
• Situated on the river are the Lakshmanatirtha Falls, sometimes referred to as the Irupu Falls. It is located near Kerala’s border and on the route to Nagarhole National Park.
• It is an important Cauvery River tributary.
• The Cauvery River has several notable tributaries: the Lakshmantirtha, Kabbani, Suvarnavati, Bhavani, Noyil, and Amaravati on the right bank, and the Harangi, Hemavati, Shimsha, and Arkavati on the left bank.