Recently Union Minister of Coal, Mines & Parliamentary Affairs has unveiled the first ever report of the country on “Critical Minerals for India”.

• Critical minerals are minerals that are essential for economic development and national security.
• Lack of availability of these minerals or the concentration of extraction or processing in a few geographical locations could potentially lead to “supply chain vulnerabilities and even disruption of supplies”.
• Critical minerals are used to manufacture advanced technologies including mobile phones, semi-conductors and fibre-optic cables.
• A mineral is said to be critical when the risk of supply shortage impact on the economy is relatively higher than other minerals.
• An expert team constituted by the Ministry of Mines has identified list of 30 critical minerals in India.
• To identify critical minerals in India 3 stage assessment process was carried out.
• The list of 30 minerals:

• India has recently been inducted into the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP), a US-led collaboration.
• India may establish a National Institute or Centre of Excellence on critical minerals under Ministry of Mines to regulate critical minerals.
• The US, UK and Canada has identified 50, 18 and 31 as critical minerals respectively.

Advantages of identification of critical minerals

• Acquisition and preservation of critical mineral.
• Reduce the import dependency as India is 100% import dependent for certain elements.

Recently India was removed from annual UN list of countries where children are impacted by armed conflict

• Children and armed conflict Report, 2023 is an annual report released by United Nations Secretary General.
• In 2022 the number of children affected by grave violations increased compared with 2021.
• According to the report the highest number of violations were committed in the
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo,
  • Israel and Palestine,
  • Somalia and Syria,
  • Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Yemen.
• The countries where “the worst deterioration” occurred were Myanmar, South Sudan, and Burkina Faso.
• There were 1,163 attacks on schools recorded and 647 attacks on hospitals which is a 112 % increase.
• According to the report nearly 2,500 children were detained.

India

• India was recently removed from the report.
• India was in the list since 2010 for the following reasons:
  • Allegations that separatist militant groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir were recruiting young boys.
  • Indian security forces in Kashmir detained young boys, accusing them to be associated with militant groups.
  • Children killed and maimed by Indian security forces, including by the use of pellets.
• The Government of India had been consistently engaged in efforts to exclude our country’s name from this ignoble list.
• An inter-ministerial meeting held in November 2021 to discuss child protection and agreed to work with the UN to strengthen the legal framework, improve capacity, and protect children from violence.
• Under the guidance and leadership of Union Minister of Women and Child Development, a road map for cooperation and collaboration on child protection issues was developed by the Ministry.
• All statutory service delivery structures like the Child Welfare Committee and Juvenile Justice Boards under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 have been established.

A recent study conducted by Global Forest Watch (GFW) reveals that Global tropical primary forest cover continued decline in 2022

• Global Forest Watch (GFW) is an online platform that provides data and tools for monitoring forests.
• It allows anyone to access near real-time information about where and how forests are changing around the world.
• Global Forest Watch (GFW) was created by World Resources Institute (WRI)
• WRI is a global research organization that works with governments, businesses, multilateral institutions and civil society groups to develop practical solutions that improve people’s lives and ensure nature can thrive.

Highlights of the study

• Tropical areas lost 4.1 million hectares of forest cover in 2022 which produced 2.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
• Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the two countries with the most tropical forest cover and both registered losses of this resource in 2022.
• The total global tree cover loss in 2022 declined by 10%.
• Primary forests are mature, natural forests that have remained undisturbed in recent history.
• Primary forest cover loss in tropical areas in 2022 was 10% more than in 2021.
• The world is not on track to meet most of its forest-related commitments.
• There is a need for reduction in global deforestation by at least 10% every year to meet the target of ending deforestation by 2030.
• To meet the target of restoring 350 million hectares (Mha) of forests globally by 2030, the world needs to increase tree cover by 22 Mha per year between 2021 and 2030.
• Despite registering some gains, the overall change in tree cover in the last 20 years was a net loss of 100 Mha.
• Ghana and Bolivia also rapidly lost their primary forest cover.
• Forest loss in the Amazon basin not only affects carbon but also regional rainfall.

India

• According to Global Forest Watch, India lost 43.9 thousand hectares of humid primary forest between 2021 and 2022, which accounts of 17% of the country’s total tree cover loss.
• The total tree cover loss in India between 2021 and 2022 was 255 thousand hectares.

Due to recent studies linking Aspartame to cancer, WHO is likely to label aspartame as "possibly carcinogenic to humans"?

Aspartame

• Aspartame is one of the world’s most common artificial sweeteners.
• It is being widely used in diet soft drinks, sugar-free chewing gum, sugar-free ice cream, sugar-free breakfast cereals, etc.
• It is a methyl ester of the dipeptide of two natural amino acids, L-aspartic acid and L-phenylalanine.
• A number of studies have repeatedly said that aspartame does not pose a risk for cancer.
• According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) aspartame is about 200 times sweeter than table sugar.
• One unit of Aspartame have more calories than one unit of table sugar.
• Aspartame is a low-calorie artificial sweetener that is sweeter than sugar.
• More than 100 studies have found no evidence of harm caused by aspartame.
• The authorities and countries which permits Aspartame includes:
  • European Food Safety Authority (EFSA),
  • WHO’s Joint Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA),
  • India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Australia and more than 100 countries.

WHO on Aspartame

• International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and Joint Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) are the groups of WHO.
• These two different WHO groups that is IARC and JECFA are currently reviewing the safety of aspartame.
• IARC assessment “does not take into account how much of a product a person can safely consume.
• Past IARC rulings have “raised concerns among consumers about their use, led to lawsuits and pressured manufacturers to recreate recipes and swap to alternatives”.

Recently Tamil Nadu Governor dismissed arrested Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji which may be constitutionally void

• The Constituent Assembly accepted the Canadian model to the election of governor.
• The governor has no security of tenure and no fixed term of office.
• According to Supreme Court the Governor cannot exercise a power that is not conferred on him by the Constitution or a law made under it.
• Supreme Court rulings have interpreted that power of the Governor primarily flows from the “aid and advice” of the Council of Ministers.
• It is the first instance of a Governor sacking an individual minister without the consent of the Chief Minister.
• According to PDT Achary, Former Secretary General of Lok Sabha the Governor can neither appoint nor dismiss a minister.