MoEF&CC launches Green Credit Program & Ecomark Scheme to Encourage Eco-Friendly Actionsi.The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) launched 2 new initiatives, Green Credit Program (GCP) and the Ecomark Scheme to encourage sustainable practices rooted in tradition and conservation and promote the ideas of ‘LiFE’ – ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ movement.
• These 2 initiatives includes India’s pro-active approach of climate change, sustainability and promotion of eco-conscious practices.
ii.Green Credit Program (GCP) was notified on 12th October 2023. It is an innovative market-based mechanism designed to incentivize voluntary environmental actions across diverse sectors, by various stakeholders.
iii.Ecomark Scheme notified on 11th October 2023 succeed the previous rules notified in 1991. It provides accreditation and labelling for household and consumer products that meet specific environmental criteria while maintaining quality standards as per Indian norms
iv.The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) notified the Green Hydrogen Standard for India which sets emission limits for hydrogen production to be considered ‘Green,’ indicating it comes from renewable sources.
About Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS):
Director General– Pramod Kumar Tiwari
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
Establishment– April 1, 1987
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NSDC & Coca-Cola India Partners to launch Super Power Retailer ProgramOn October 15, 2023, the New Delhi, Delhi-based National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), working under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has partnered with Coca-Cola India to launch the Super Power Retailer Program under the Skill India Mission.
• This will empower the retailer community in the states of Odisha and Uttar Pradesh (UP).
• The program is being piloted in Odisha.
Key People:
The partnership was announced in the presence of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE); Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO (Chief Executive Officer), NSDC; and Sanket Ray, President, Coca-Cola India & Southwest Asia.
Super Power Retailer Program:
i.Under the partnership, NSDC will also assist Coca-Cola India in expanding the Skill India Digital (SID) program by developing industry-specific training content, recruiting trainers, and providing necessary training infrastructure for a seamless learning experience.
ii.Super Power Retailer will empowerSmall and micro retailers with training to expand businesses and enhance consumer experiences.
iii.under this initiative, around 1.40 crore retailers will get 14 hours of quality retail training via Skill India Digital (SID) Portal.
• Training includes classroom sessions an app-based Learning Management System (LMS) and digital modules accessible on mobile devices.
iv.Topics cover business strategies, digital platform usage, and planning implementation.
v.These training modules will be available in multiple languages.
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Her Excellency Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania’s State Visit to India, October 8-10, 2023
President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania visited India at invitation of President Droupadi Murmu from October 8-10, 2023. The events took place at Kaushal Bhawan,New Moti Bagh in New Delhi,Delhi. She was accompanied by a high-level delegation including the Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Hon. January Makamba (MP).
• She also attended the India-Tanzania Business and Investment Forum on October 10, 2023.
• The two countries inked six agreements providing for cooperation in the digital domain, culture, sports, maritime industries and white shipping information sharing.
• The Reserve Bank of India has allowed authorized banks to open Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVA) for correspondent banks of Tanzania to facilitate transactions in local currencies (i.e., Indian Rupee and Tanzanian Shilling).
• Tanzania’s President Hassan Granted Honorary Doctorate by JNU, the First Woman to Receive This Honour.
About Tanzania
Capital – Dodoma
Currency – Tanzanian shilling
President – Samia Suluhu Hassan
Prime Minister- Kassim Majaliwa
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East Coast Sagar Kavach 02-23: Coastal Security Exercise held in AP, TN & Puducherry
A two-day comprehensive Coastal Security Exercise Sagar Kavach 02/23 was conducted in Andhra Pradesh(AP), Tamil Nadu(TN) and Puducherry(PY) from 11-12 October 2023 to assess the efficacy and robustness of the coastal security system in responds to unconventional threats from the sea.
• About 2500 personnel including from Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, State and Union Territory Administration, Marine Police, Fisheries, Customs, International Agencies, Light Houses, Ports Forest etc were engaged in the exercise.
• The Joint Operations Centre (East) in Visakhapatnam(AP) is the nodal hub to monitor all coastal security operations and exercises in area of operations.
• The exercise was carried out under the leadership of the Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar who is the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command (FOCINC (East)). He is also the Commander-in-Chief, Coastal Defence (East).
• Indian Navy ships, Coast Guard assets, and other coastal security agencies were deployed to increase surveillance in the area.
• Enhanced security measures were put in place, and Dornier aircraft and helicopters from Visakhapatnam, Chennai(Tamil Nadu), and Ramnathapuram(Tamil Nadu) conducted extensive aerial surveillance.
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Forbes’ India’s 100 Richest 2023: Mukesh Ambani Top the List with USD 92 BillionMukesh Ambani, the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Ltd. topped the Forbes India’s 100 Richest 2023 List with USD 92 Billion. Mukesh Ambani regains the ‘Richest Indian’ title after he slipped to second spot in 2022.
• With a net worth of USD 68 Billion, Gautam Adani of Adani Enterprises slipped to the second rank from the first in 2022 and Shiv Nadar of HCL Technologies ranked 3rd with a net worth of USD 29.3 Billion.
• Savitri Jindal of the O.P. Jindal Group is India’s richest woman with a net worth of USD 24 billion. She ranked 4th in the list with net worth of USD 24 Billion.
• Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of the trading platform Zerodha, is the youngest billionaire at the age of 37. He ranked at 40th position along with his Brother Nithin(44 years old) with a net worth of USD 5.5 Billion.
• NTPC Limited, formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation ranked 261st out of the top 700 companies in the Forbes “World’s Best Employers 2023” list and it is the only Indian Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) featured in the list.
About Forbes:
Forbes is a global media company, focusing on business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, and lifestyle.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Mike Federle
Headquarters- Jersey City, New Jersey, the United States of America (USA)
Founded in – 1917
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RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das receives award for A+ rank Global Finance’s Central Banker Report Cards 2023
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has received Best Central Bank Award 2023 from Global Finance Magazine in 30th Annual Best Bank Award 2023 Marrakesh in Morocco.
• Shaktikanta Das was rated as A+ in Global Finance’s Central Banker Report Cards 2023.
Other A+ rated governors:
Thomas J. Jordan, the Governor of Swiss National Bank (SNB) and Nguyen Thi Hong, the Governor of State Bank of Vietnam(SBV) were also rated A+ in Central Banker Report Cards 2023.
Central Banker Report Cards:
i.The Central Banker Report Cards is an annual publication by Global Finance magazine that grades the central bank governors of 101 key countries, territories, and districts.
ii.The grades are based on a scale from A to F, with A representing excellent performance and F representing outright failure.
iii.The grades are based on the central bank governors’ success in inflation control, economic growth goals, currency stability, and interest rate management.
iv.The Central Banker Report Cards recognize central bank governors who have developed and implemented original, creative, and tenacious strategies that have outperformed their peers.
Global Finance was founded in 1987 and headquartered in New York, United States of America(USA).
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Daniel Noboa Becomes Youngest President Elect of EcuadorDaniel Noboa, a 35-year-old businessman and a member of National Democratic Action, won the 2023 General Election of Ecuador defeating Luisa González of the Citizen Revolution Movement.
• With this victory, Daniel Noboa becomes the yougest ever President elect of Ecuador.
• Daniel Noboa is scheduled to be sworn in on 25 November 2023 succeeding the outgoing President Guillermo Lasso.
• He will serve out the term of Guillermo Lasso, which will end in May 2025.
Background:
i.Normally, the presidential terms in Ecuador is 4 years long.
ii.The outgoing President Guillermo Lasso(President since 2021) dissolved the National Assembly by decree in May 2023, during an impeachment trial and prompted an early election.
Note:
• The President is directly elected by absolute majority vote in up to two rounds. The President may serve up to two 4-year terms.
• All 137 members of the National Assembly are directly elected and serve 4-year terms.
Outcome of the Election:
i.At the run-off elections held on 15 October 2023, with more than 97% of votes counted, Daniel Noboa, a centrist, had a lead of 4% points over his left-wing rival, Luisa González.
• He received 52.29% of the total votes, against rival Luisa González’s 47.71%
ii.Following the dissolution of the National Assembly, President Guillermo Lasso now has a window of up to 6 months to govern via decree.
iii.The allotted 6-month window for governance serves as a transitional phase preceding the scheduling of new general elections.
About Daniel Noboa:
i.Daniel Noboa is the son of Ecuador’s richest man, banana tycoon, Alvaro Noboa, who himself unsuccessfully stood for elections multiple times.
ii.He entered politics in 2021, when he was elected to the National Assembly of Ecuador as a representative of Santa Elena province for the United Ecuadorian movement.
iii.He was positioned as a member of the National Assembly of Ecuador from 2021 to 2023 and chaired its Economic Development Commission.
iv.Before entering politics, he established himself as a businessman, founding his own company at the age of 18, DNA Entertainment Group, an event organising company.
v.He also served as the Shipping Director and commercial and logistics director of Noboa Corporation between 2010 and 2018.
About Ecuador:
Capital– Quito
President– Guillermo Lasso
Currency– United States Dollar (US Dollar)
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Christopher Luxon Elected as the 42nd PM of New ZealandChristopher Luxon has been elected as the 42nd Prime Minister(PM) of New Zealand. He belongs to (and the leader of) central-right National Party of New Zealand.
• He will succeed Labour Party’s Chris Hipkins who was appointed the 41st PM of New Zealand in January 2023.
About Christopher Luxon:
i.Christopher Luxon was born on 19th July, 1970 in Christchurch, New Zealand.
ii.He joined Air New Zealand as a Group General Manager in 2011 and promoted to the post of Cheif Executive Officer(CEO) in 2013.
iii.In 2008 to 2011, he has been CEO of Unilever(Canada).
Political Entry:
i.He joined New Zealand National Party in 2019 as a Candidate for Botany Downs, Auckland in New Zealand.
ii.He became Member of Parliament(MP) in 2020 by defeating Naisi Chen of Labour Party.
iii.In 2021, he became the leader of the National Party and served as Leader of the Opposition.
About the Election:
i.New Zealanders went to the polls on October 14, 2023, to elect the 54th Parliament.
• There are six parliamentary parties represented in the Parliament by 121(MPs).
• These members represent 65 general electorate seats, 7 Māori electorate seats, and 49 party list seats.
ii.The official results will be released on November 3, 2023,once overseas and special votes(20% of the total votes) have been counted.
iii.As of now, The National Party has won 50 seats and its ally, ACT party(headed by David Seymour), have won 11.
• With a one-seat majority in the New Zealand Parliament, National Party(along with ACT) will form the government.
iv.The Labour Party has only won 34 seats.
About New Zealand:
Prime Minister – Chris Hipkins
Capital – Wellington
Currency – New Zealand Dollar
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Mohammed Shami Appointed as Brand Ambassador of Puma India
Puma India has roped in Indian right-arm fast bowler fast bowler Mohammed Shami Ahmed as its brand ambassador.
• As part of this partnership, Shami will promote Puma’s shoes, clothing, and accessories through various activities and campaigns.
About Mohammed Shami Ahmed:
i.Shami made his international debut in a One Day International (ODI) against Pakistan in January 2013, bowling four maiden overs.
ii.In December 2021, he became the third fastest Indian pacer with the least number of deliveries to take 200 Test wickets.
iii.He holds the record of most consecutive four wickets in an innings in One Day Internationals.
iv.He plays domestically for Bengal and, in the Indian Premier League, for Gujarat Titans.
Noted Ambassadors of Puma:
• Cricketer Virat Kohli (India)
• Sprinter Usain Bolt (Jamaica)
• Footballers Neymar Jr(Brazil) and Sunil Chhetri(India)
• Boxer MC Mary Kom(India)
• Cricketers Harmanpreet Kaur(India) and Harleen Deol (India)
• Para-shooter Avani Lekhara (India)
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NASA’s Psyche Spacecraft was Launched to Study Metal Asteroid ‘Psyche’National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched a Psyche Spacecraft to an interplanetary transfer orbit by using SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39a (LC-39a) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States of America (USA) on 13th October 2023.
• After escaping Earth’s gravity, Psyche Spacecraft will use solar electric propulsion to accomplish its six-year journey to the asteroid called ‘Psyche’ which is orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. .
About Psyche Mission:
i.This is NASA’s first mission to study an asteroid that has more metal than rock or ice. .
ii.NASA selected the Psyche mission on January 2017, as one of two missions for its Discovery Program.
• The Discovery Program is a series of relatively low-cost missions to explore the solar system.
iii.The mission is led by Arizona State University of USA.
iv.The Psyche mission will also test a new communication technology called Deep Space Optical Communication (DSOC).
• DSOC uses lasers to encode data in photons, which are then transmitted between a spacecraft in deep space and Earth.
• DSOC will test optical, or laser, communications beyond the Moon.
About Psyche spacecraft:
i.The Psyche spacecraft is built by Maxar Technologies Inc. of USA.
ii.The spacecraft will travel to the asteroid using solar-electric (low-thrust) propulsion, following a Mars flyby and gravity-assist.
iii.It will reach the asteroid by 2029.
iv.After arriving, the spacecraft will map the asteroid and study its properties.
Equipments:
i.Psyche’s most of the telecommunications systems are manufactured by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of NASA.
ii.The spacecraft is equipped with
• Four antennas(for communication with earth),
• Multispectral imager with a pair of identical cameras and telescopic lenses (to take the picture of the surface of the asteroid).
iii.To study the chemical elements of asteroid’s surface material, it is provided with gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer.
iv.Magnetometer will look for evidence of an ancient magnetic field at asteroid Psyche.
About Psyche asteroid:
i.Psyche is a giant metal rich asteroid, discovered by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis in 1852.
• It’s named after the goddess of the soul in ancient Greek mythology, depicted as a butterfly-winged female figure.
ii.It is an irregular, potato-like shaped asteroid located at the distance ranging from 235 million to 309 million miles (378 million to 497 million kilometers) from the Sun.
• The asteroid dimension is 173 miles (280 kilometers) width and 144 miles (232 kilometers) long.
iii.It is made up of a mixture of rock and metal, with metal composing 30% to 60% of its volume.
iv.Psyche is also called as 16 Psyche, as it was the 16th asteroid to be discovered.
Why Psyche is important?
i.Psyche is made up of a lot of metal from the core of a planetesimal, which is one of the small building blocks of our solar system.
ii.It is believed that Psyche is likely a survivor of many violent collisions that were common when the solar system was forming.
iii.So, exploring Psyche will give insights into the early history of our solar system and the formation of planets.
iv.The mission aims to find whether Psyche is remnant core material, how old it is, whether it formed in conditions similar to the Earth’s core, and what its surface is like.
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Padma Vibhushan Awardee & 11th CEC of India MS Gill Passed AwayPadma Vibhushan Awardee and the 11th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, Dr. Manohar Singh Gill (MS Gill), passed away in New Delhi, Delhi at the age of 87. He was born on June 14, 1936, in undivided Punjab. He had a distinguished career as an Indian bureaucrat, politician, and writer.
About MS Gill:
i.MS Gill was a 1958 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Punjab cadre.
• He served as Agriculture Secretary of Punjab from 1985 to 1987 and later as a Union Agriculture Secretary in the 1990s.
ii.He has also served as the CEC of India between December 1996 and June 2001. During his tenure as CEC, the Election Commission of India (ECI) successfully conducted the:
• General elections to the 12th Lok Sabha in 1998 and the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999;
• 11th Presidential polls and Vice-Presidential elections in 1997; and
• Polls to assemblies in more than 20 states.
iii. He also played a major role in the introduction of Indian electronic voting machines(EVM), the replacement of the ballot box .
• EVM’s were first used in 1982 in the By-election to the North Paravur Assembly constituency in Kerala.
• EVM was developed by the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL), Hyderabad(Telangana). The Bharat Electronic Ltd. (BEL), Bengaluru(Karnataka) was co-opted to to manufacture EVMs.
iv.He joined the Indian National Congress (INC) Party in 2004 and served as a Member of Parliament (MP) – Rajya Sabha representing Punjab from 2004 to 2016.
• He held positions as Minister of State(MoS) in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports(MoYAS), and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme.
v.He has also served as the President of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation(1993-99)and Himalayan Club (1999-2005). He has also served as the as the President emeritus of Himalayan club since 2013.
Awards/Honours:
i.MS Gill was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2000 for his exceptional and distinguished services as a civil servant.
ii.He received the Nishan-e-Khalsa honour on the 300th anniversary of the Khalsa. It is a testament to his deep-rooted connections and contributions to the Sikh community.
Books:
Himalayan Wonder: Travels in Lahaul and Spiti (1972) and Tales from the Hills: Lahaul’s Enduring Myths and Legends (2014).
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Martti Ahtisaari, Former Finnish President & Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Passed AwayNobel Peace Laureate, Martti Ahtisaari, who served as the 10th President of Finland (1994 to 2000), passed away at the age of 86 in Helsinki, Finnland.
About Martti Ahtisaari:
i.MarttiAhtisaari joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland in 1965, holding various posts in the Ministry’s Bureau for Technical Co-operation from 1965 to 1972, and also served as Assistant Director from 1971 to 1972.
ii.He was also a member of the Government Advisory Committee on Trade and Industrialisation Affairs of Developing Countries from 1971 to 1973.
iii.He assumed the role of the Ambassador of Finland to the United Republic of Tanzania from 1973 to 1976, with additional accreditation to Zambia, Somalia, and Mozambique from 1975 to 1976.
iv.He first served as a member of the Senate of the United Nations (UN) Institute for Namibia between 1975 and 1976.
• He acted as UN Commissioner for Namibgia from 1977 to 1981. In July 1978 he was appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SG) for Namibia.
• He led the UN Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) in Namibia from 1989 to 1990. His first peace-making task resulted in the independence of Namibia.
• Between 1987 and 1991, he was the Under-SG of the UN for administration and management.
v.In 1994, Finland’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) nominated him to run for the presidency and he became Finland’s first directly-elected president. He held office from March 1, 1994, to February 29, 2000.
vi.Later in 2000, he founded the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), a non-governmental organisation of which he was Chairman of the Board.
• On 1 May 2021, CMI transferred all its operations to the new legal structure CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation.
vii.Between 14 November 2005 and 29 February 2008, he was a Special Envoy to the SG of the UN for the future status process for Kosovo.
Awards:
i.In 2000, he was awarded the Hessian Peace Prize for his mediation efforts to end the Kosovo War.
ii.In 2008, Martti Ahtisaari was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts.
• He played a key role in negotiating peacein in multiple countries, including Namibia, Kosovo, Indonesia and Northern Ireland.
iii.He was awarded the UNESCO Félix Houphöuet-Boigny Peace Prize in 2008 for his lifetime contribution to world peace.
Books:
Finns in the United Nations (1996); Can the international community meet the challenges ahead of us? (2009); Global Disorders: A New Global Order? (Co-author, 2014).
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Oscar & Emmy-Nominated American Actress Piper Laurie Passed Away
American actress Piper Laurie(also known as Rosetta Jacobs) was passed away in Los Angeles(LA), United States of America(USA). She was born in 1932 at Michigan, USA.
OSCAR Academy Awards
Piper Laurie nominated three times for Oscar Academy Awards of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the following movies:
• She was first nominated in 1961 for the movie “The Hustler”
• Later she was nominated for two more movies namely “Carrie,” (1976) and “Children of a Lesser God” (1986)
Emmy Awards:
i.Out of nine nominations, she received one Emmy award.
ii.In 1987, Piper Laurie won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special for her performance in “Promise”
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World White Cane Day 2023 – October 15World White Cane Day, also known as White Cane Safety Day, is annually observed across the globe on 15th October to promote accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities and to increase public awareness of the rules of conduct for the visually impaired people.
Background:
i.In 1960s, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) in the United States of America(USA) began advocating for the use of the white cane as a symbol of independence and mobility for blind and visually impaired people.
• With the effort of NFB, the United States Congress issued a joint resolution to observe World White Cane Day.
iii.The first World White Cane Day was observed on 15th October 1964 by then-US President Lyndon Baines Johnson.
What is White Cane?
i.The white cane is a critical mobility tool for blind people that has been used for centuries.
ii.Along with cane, blind people use their hearing and touch senses to navigate their surroundings and perform daily tasks easily.
iii.Over time, it has become more than just a tool, but a symbol of freedom, independence, and confidence for them.
Observance in India:
i.World White Cane Day is observed in India by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE).
• It is the nodal department which oversees the development agenda of Persons with Disabilities.
ii.DEPwD conducted activities like Awareness Programmes, Seminars & Webinars, Interviews and Rally at more than 30 places across India.
iii.A rally was also organised by National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (NIEPVD).
World Students Day 2023- October 15 World Students Day is annually observed on 15 October to commemorate the birth anniversary of the 11th President of India (from 2002 to 2007) and the Missile Man of India Dr. A P J (Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen) Abdul Kalam.
• 15 October 2023 marks the 92nd birth anniversary of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
About Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam:
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. .As an aerospace Scientist, he worked with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Awards: Padma Bhushan in 1981 for Civil Service; Padma Vibhushan in 1990 for Science and Engineering and Bharat Ratna in 1997 for Science and Engineering.
Autobiography: Wings of Fire: An Autobiography (1999)
World Food Day 2023 – October 16 The United Nations (UN) World Food Day (WFD) is annually observed across the globe on 16 October to highlight the millions of people worldwide who cannot afford a healthy diet and the need for regular access to nutritious food.
• WFD also raises awareness of hunger and action for the future of food, people, and the planet and also to ensure food security and combating hunger.
The day 16 October also commemorates the establishment of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN in 1945.
The 2023 theme of WFD is, ‘Water is Life, Water is Food. Leave No One Behind.’
• The theme highlights the basic role of water in guaranteeing food security and focuses on the need for water resources in our attempts to battle hunger and malnutrition, emphasizing the need to ensure equitable access to water resources for all.
The observance of WFD is led by the FAO. WFD is one of the most celebrated days on the UN calendar.
Background:
i.WFD was established in 1979 during the 20th session of the Conference of FAO, held in Rome, Italy.
ii.On 5 December 1980, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/35/70 and proclaimed the 16th of October of every year as WFD.
iii.The first-ever WFD was observed on 16 October 1981.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) marked WFD 2023 by launching the Eat Right Creativity Challenge (ERCC), a national-level initiative for Millets (Shree Anna). It aims to encourage the consumption of millet among school children to promote their health benefits and extend this knowledge to the wider community.