Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal has today said that World Food India 2019 will be the biggest gathering of all global and domestic stakeholders in Food Processing Sector. Speaking to media today she said WFI 2019 will be held from 1-4th November 2019 in New Delhi and will position India as Food Processing Destination of the World.

The Minister today chaired a meeting with various stakeholders of WFI 2019 including the associated Ministries and Departments, CEOs of major food processing companies and Industry Associations. This was followed by a second meeting with the Ambassadors/High Commissioners of leading food processing/food retailing countries. The meetings were held to discuss the investment opportunities available in India in the Food Processing Sector and to sensitize the gathering about their participation in WFI 2019. Also attending the meeting were Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Sh Rameswar Teli and senior officers of the Ministry.

The Minister informed the gathering that the second edition of World Food India is planned at a much bigger and grandeur level from 1-4 November 2019 at Vigyan Bhawan and Rajpath Lawns in New Delhi. World Food India 2019 shall consist of several top level seminars, investment opportunities, exhibitions, high level CEO roundtables, country sessions, B2B and B2G networking etc. For the year 2019, the Ministry is targeting to partner with at least 15 countries and participation from at least 80 countries. The tagline of the event will be “Forging Partnerships for Growth”

What are dead zones? Unoxygenated “dead zones” appear in waterways wherever algae are overfed by runoff from human activities such as urbanization and agriculture – a phenomenon called eutrophication.

What caused dead zone in Gulf of Mexico? The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, fueled by the nutrient-laden water spilling from the mouth of the Mississippi River, is the second-largest in the world.

It blooms every summer, when warming waters accelerate the metabolisms of microorganisms, and it is expected to get even worse as the climate continues to change.

The primary culprits in eutrophication appear to be excess nitrogen and phosphorus—from sources including fertilizer runoff and septic system effluent to atmospheric fallout from burning fossil fuels—which enter waterbodies and fuel the overgrowth of algae, which, in turn, reduces water quality and degrades estuarine and coastal ecosystems.

Effects of Eutrophication: Eutrophication can also produce carbon dioxide, which lowers the PH of seawater (ocean acidification). This slows the growth of fish and shellfish, may prevent shell formation in bivalve mollusks, and reduces the catch of commercial and recreational fisheries, leading to smaller harvests and more expensive seafood.

What needs to be done? Improvement of the purifying performance of waste water treatment plants, installing tertiary treatment systems to reduce nutrient concentrations; implementation of effective filter ecosystems to remove nitrogen and phosphorus present in the run-off water (such as phyto-purification plants); reduction of phosphorous in detergents;

rationalisation of agricultural techniques through proper planning of fertilisation and use of slow release fertilisers; use of alternative practices in animal husbandry to limit the production of waste water.

oxygenation of water for restore the ecological conditions, reducing the negative effects of the eutrophic process, such as scarcity of oxygen and formation of toxic compounds deriving from the anaerobic metabolism; chemical precipitation of phosphorous by the addition of iron or aluminium salts or calcium carbonate to the water, which give rise to the precipitation of the respective iron, aluminium or calcium orthophosphates, thereby reducing the negative effects related to the excessive presence of phosphorus in the sediments.

BPPI implements the Centre’s flagship affordable medicine scheme Pradhan Mantri Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP).

About PMBJP: ‘Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana’ is a campaign launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt. Of India, to provide quality medicines at affordable prices to the masses through special kendra’s known as Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendra. Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendra (PMBJK) have been set up to provide generic drugs, which are available at lesser prices but are equivalent in quality and efficacy as expensive branded drugs.

Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) is the implementing agency of PMBJP. BPPI (Bureau of Pharma Public Sector Undertakings of India) has been established under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt. of India, with the support of all the CPSUs.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE SCHEME: Ensure access to quality medicines. Extend coverage of quality generic medicines so as to reduce the out of pocket expenditure on medicines and thereby redefine the unit cost of treatment per person.

Create awareness about generic medicines through education and publicity so that quality is not synonymous with only high price. A public programme involving Government, PSUs, Private Sector, NGO, Societies, Co-operative Bodies and other Institutions. Create demand for generic medicines by improving access to better healthcare through low treatment cost and easy availability wherever needed in all therapeutic categories.

What is a Generic Medicine? Generic medicines are unbranded medicines which are equally safe and having the same efficacy as that of branded medicines in terms of their therapeutic value. The prices of generic medicines are much cheaper than their branded equivalent.

Outreach of generic medicines: With developments like more and more doctors prescribing generic medicines and opening of over 5050 Janaushadhi stores across 652 districts, awareness and availability of high quality affordable generic medicines has increased in the country. About 10-15 lakh people benefit from Janaushadhi medicines per day and the market share of generic medicines has grown over three fold from 2% to 7%in last 3 years.

The Janaushadhi medicines have played a big role in bringing down the out of pocket expenditure of patients suffering from life threatening diseases in India. The PMBJP scheme has led to total savings of approximately Rs.1000 crores for common citizens, as these medicines are cheaper by 50% to 90% of average market price. The PMBJP is also providing a good source of self-employment with self-sustainable and regular earnings.

Context: Climate scientists have created a history by installing world’s highest operating weather station at Mount Everest’s Death Zone, including five other automated stations on other parts of the mountain.

The weather station will record data on temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed, and wind direction. Besides, the new weather stations will also give scientists direct observations to understand jet stream, and will also help understand how the climate change is affecting the Himalayas.

The other five weather stations that are located in the Mount Everest are in Balcony area (8,430 m), South Col (7,945m) at Phortse (3,810 m), Everest Base Camp (5,315 m) and Camp 2 (6,464 m). Note: From prelims perspective, please remember the locations mentioned and their geographical positions.

Context: Eastern Himalayas, a treasure trove of Balsams, yields 20 new species.

About Balsams: Belonging to Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, these plants are highly sensitive to climatic conditions like extreme drought and extended exposure to sunlight.

Consisting of both annual and perennial herbs, balsams are succulent plants with high endemism. Because of their bright beautiful flowers, these group of plants are of prized horticultural significance.

Context: ISRO is planning to build a permanent space station for itself, possibly in the next five to seven years.

Need: ISRO would be undertaking many prolonged space exploration projects and sending many astronauts into space. Therefore, it would require a permanent station for itself. ISRO needs this facility in the context of its various space missions. NASA’s International Space Station, the only one functional right now, is slated to retire by 2025, or latest by 2028, and no replacement for it has been confirmed so far.

The Indian Space Station: A space station is an artificial satellite placed in orbit and is used as a long-term base for manned operations in space. The Indian space station would be stationed at an altitude of 400 kilometres from Earth. The proposed Indian space station would be similar to the International Space Station (ISS) but smaller in size weighing about 20 tonnes and would take another 5 to 7 seven years to construct.

What Is the International Space Station? The International Space Station is a large spacecraft in orbit around Earth. It serves as a home where crews of astronauts and cosmonauts live. The space station is also a unique science laboratory. Several nations worked together to build and use the space station. The space station is made of parts that were assembled in space by astronauts. It orbits Earth at an average altitude of approximately 250 miles. It travels at 17,500 mph. This means it orbits Earth every 90 minutes. NASA is using the space station to learn more about living and working in space. These lessons will make it possible to send humans farther into space than ever before.

How Old Is the Space Station? The first piece of the International Space Station was launched in November 1998. A Russian rocket launched the Russian Zarya (zar EE uh) control module. About two weeks later, the space shuttle Endeavour met Zarya in orbit. The space shuttle was carrying the U.S. Unity node. The crew attached the Unity node to Zarya.

More pieces were added over the next two years before the station was ready for people to live there. The first crew arrived on November 2, 2000. People have lived on the space station ever since. More pieces have been added over time. NASA and its partners from around the world completed construction of the space station in 2011.

How Big Is the Space Station? The space station has the volume of a five-bedroom house or two Boeing 747 jetliners. It is able to support a crew of six people, plus visitors. On Earth, the space station would weigh almost a million pounds. Measured from the edges of its solar arrays, the station covers the area of a football field including the end zones. It includes laboratory modules from the United States, Russia, Japan and Europe.

Why Is the Space Station Important? The space station has made it possible for people to have an ongoing presence in space. Human beings have been living in space every day since the first crew arrived. The space station’s laboratories allow crew members to do research that could not be done anywhere else. This scientific research benefits people on Earth.

Space research is even used in everyday life. The results are products called “spinoffs.” Scientists also study what happens to the body when people live in microgravity for a long time. NASA and its partners have learned how to keep a spacecraft working well. All of these lessons will be important for future space exploration.

NASA currently is working on a plan to explore other worlds. The space station is one of the first steps. NASA will use lessons learned on the space station to prepare for human missions that reach farther into space than ever before.

Key facts: ISS is the ninth space station to be inhabited by crews, following the Soviet and later Russian Salyut, Almaz, and Mir stations as well as Skylab from the US. The ISS programme is a joint project among five participating space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, and CSA.

The ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. The station is divided into two sections, the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and the United States Orbital Segment (USOS), which is shared by many nations.