G20 Presidency

• Recently the PM unveiled the Logo, Theme and Website of India’s G20 Presidency.
• The G20 Logo draws inspiration from the vibrant colors of India’s national flag, saffron, white and green, and blue.
• It comprises planet Earth with the lotus, India’s national flower that reflects growth amid challenges.
• The Earth reflects India’s pro-planet approach to life, one in perfect harmony with nature.
• Below the G20 logo is “Bharat”, written in the Devanagari script.
• This is in line with Prime Minister's vision of Jan Bhagidari during India’s G20 Presidency.
• The theme of India’s G20 Presidency is “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth One Family One Future.
• It is drawn from the ancient Sanskrit text of the Maha Upanishad.
• The theme affirms the value of all life – human, animal, plant, and microorganisms and their interconnectedness on the planet Earth and in the wider universe.
• For India, the G20 Presidency also marks the beginning of Amritkaal, the 25-year period beginning from the 75th anniversary of its independence.
• India is set to assume the presidency of the G20 from the current chair Indonesia. Italy and Indonesia, along with India, are part of the G20 troika: past, present and incoming presidencies.

Mangrove Forest

• Mangroves are a group of trees and shrubs that live in the coastal intertidal zone.
• They are natural armed forces of tropical and subtropical nations.
• They are the best option to fight against consequences of climate change such as sea level rise and increasing frequency of natural calamities like cyclones and storm surges.
• They are distributed in the tropical and sub-tropical region of the world and are found in 123 countries.
• They are among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics and account for three per cent of carbon sequestered by the world’s tropical forests.
• To sustain the blue economy, it ensures the sustainability of coastal habitats, particularly for tropical nations, at the local, regional, and international levels.
• They can grow in saline waters also and can sequester up to four times more carbon than tropical rainforests.
• The Sundarbans Reserve Forest (SRF), located in the south-west of Bangladesh between the river Baleswar in the East and the Harinbanga in the West, adjoining to the Bay of Bengal, is the largest contiguous mangrove forest in the world.

22nd Law Commission

• Recently, after two and a half years the Centre constituted the 22nd Law Commission of India with Justice (retd.) as its head.
• The Law Ministry describes the Law Commission of India as a non-statutory body constituted by a notification of the Government of India.
• The Commission makes recommendations to the Government (in the form of Reports) as per its terms of reference.
• 22nd Law Commission identify laws which are no longer needed or relevant and can be immediately repealed.
• It examines the existing laws in the light of Directive Principles of State Policy.
• The Commission have a tenure of three years from the date of publication of the Order of Constitution in the Official Gazette.

Glyphosate

• Recently the centre has restricted use of an herbicide in demand among farmers.
• Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide that can control a wide range of weeds, whether broadleaf or grassy.
• It is also non-selective, killing most plants.
• When applied to their leaves, it inhibits the production of a protein 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS).
• This enzyme, produced only by plants and microorganisms, synthesizes aromatic amino acids that are necessary for their growth.
• In India Farmers apply glyphosate on irrigation channels and bunds to clear these of weeds.
• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare issued a notification that the use of glyphosate involves health hazards and risk to human beings and animals.
• Glyphosate application has increased only with the advent of genetic modification (GM) or transgenic technology.

Green Washing

• Greenwashing is a term commonly used to indicate deceptive marketing and advertising tactics to deceive stakeholders into believing that a particular product is environmentally friendly.
• One of the major motives of green washing is to create public confusion and manipulate public opinion to sway consumer markets.
• It consists of two behaviors :
  • Suppress negative information regarding a product/activity/policy’s environmental performance.
  • Expose positive information about the environmental performance.
• For example a package containing a product may be labeled ‘recyclable’ without clear reference to whether the packaging or the product is recyclable.
• India has no specific laws to address the issue of greenwashing.
• Kyoto Protocol does not deal with green washing.