India’s population to edge ahead of China’s by mid-2023, says UN

• India is set to overtake China to become the world’s most populous country by the middle of 2023, according to data released by the United Nations. India’s population is pegged to reach 142.86 crore against China’s 142.57 crore. the data by the State of World Population Report, 2023 of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) showed. The world’s population hit the 800-crore mark in November 2022.
• Population trends everywhere point to slower growth and ageing societies. Just eight countries will account for half the projected growth in global population by 2050 — the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania — while two-thirds of people now live in a country where lifetime fertility corresponds with zero growth.
• At a time when there have been increasing calls for imposing a two-child norm in India by various political leaders, and some States such as Assam have issued an order in 2021 to bar those with more than two children from government jobs
• It called for a radical rethink on how countries address changing demographies and cautioned against use of family planning as a tool for achieving fertility targets. Global experience showed that family planning targets can lead to gender-based discrimination and harmful practices such as prenatal sex determination leading to sex-selective abortion, it says.
• Imposition of such targets can lead to imbalanced sex ratios, preferential health and nutrition for male children, denial of the paternity of girl children, violence against women for giving birth to girl children, and coercion of women to have fewer or greater numbers of children.

India’s way

• “With close to 50% of its population below the age of 25, India has a time-bound opportunity to benefit from the demographic dividend,” and that it must convert this into “economic benefits through additional investments in health, education, and quality jobs for young people — including targeted investments in women and girls.”

Demographic Dividend: Definition

• According to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), demographic dividend means, "the economic growth potential that can result from shifts in a population’s age structure, mainly when the share of the working-age population (15 to 64) is larger than the non-working-age share of the population (14 and younger, and 65 and older)".
• With fewer births each year, a country’s working-age population grows larger relative to the young dependent population. With more people in the labor force and fewer children to support, a country has a window of opportunity for economic growth if the right social and economic investments and policies are made in health, education, governance, and the economy.

Demographic Dividend in India

• India has one of the youngest populations in an aging world. By 2020, the median age in India will be just 28, compared to 37 in China and the US, 45 in Western Europe, and 49 in Japan.
• Since 2018, India’s working-age population (people between 15 and 64 years of age) has grown larger than the dependant population — children aged 14 or below as well as people above 65 years of age. This bulge in the working-age population is going to last till 2055, or 37 years from its beginning.
• This transition happens largely because of a decrease in the total fertility rate (TFR, which is the number of births per woman) after the increase in life expectancy gets stabilised.
• A study on demographic dividend in India by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) throws up two interesting facts.
  • The window of demographic dividend opportunity in India is available for five decades from 2005-06 to 2055-56, longer than any other country in the world.
  • This demographic dividend window is available at different times in different states because of differential behaviour of the population parameters.

SC Collegium recalls Orissa CJ’s transfer proposal

The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Wednesday recalled its recommendation to transfer Orissa High Court Chief Justice, S. Muralidhar, as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.

The decision comes after a nearly two-year wait for the government to respond. The Collegium had recommended Justice Muralidhar’s transfer on September 28, 2022.

The Indian Constitution on the transfer of judges:

• Article 222: It provides for the transfer of HC judges, including the Chief Justice. The President, after consultation with the CJI, may transfer a judge from one HC to any other HC and a compensatory allowance is provided to the transferred judge.
• Interpretation: The executive could transfer a judge, but only after consulting the CJI.

The Supreme Court’s view on the issue:

• The SC (in 1977) rejected the idea that HC judges can be transferred only with their consent, as the transfer powers can be exercised only in the public interest. Also, the President is under an obligation to consult the CJI.

• In S.P. Gupta vs. President of India (1981), also known as the Judges Transfer Case/the First Judges Case, the SC ruled that the consultation with the CJI did not mean ‘concurrence,’ thus giving primacy to the executive in the matter of appointments and transfers.

• However, this position was overruled in the ‘Second Judges Case’ (1993). , formed after taking into account the views of senior-most judges**, was to have primacy**.

  The opinion of the CJI

• Since then, appointments are being made by the Collegium.

The current procedure for transfers:

• The proposal for transferring a HC judge (including a Chief Justice) should be initiated by the CJI and the consent of the judge is not required. All transfers are to be made in the public interest.
• For transferring a judge other than the Chief Justice, the CJI should take the views of –
  • The Chief Justice of the court concerned, as well as the Chief Justice of the court to which the transfer is taking place.
  • One or more SC judges
• The views, expressed in writing, should be considered by a full Collegium of five – the CJI + 4 senior-most judges of the SC.
• The recommendation is sent to the Union Law Minister → the Prime Minister → the President.

Union Cabinet gives nod for ₹6,003 crore Quantum Mission

• The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the ₹6,003 crore National Quantum Mission (NQM) that will fund research and development of quantum computing technology and associated applications.
• The mission will help develop magnetometers with high sensitivity in atomic systems, atomic clocks for precision timing, communications and navigation. Fabrication of quantum materials such as superconductors, novel semiconductor structures, and topological materials for fabrication of quantum devices.
• “Four Thematic Hubs (T-Hubs) would be set up in top academic and National R&D institutes on the domains of ‘quantum computing’, ‘quantum communication’, ‘quantum sensing and metrology’ and ‘quantum materials and devices’.
• “Only six countries so far have some capability in this domain. This mission will bring India to the forefront along with them, and India can be a world leader,”

Quantum Computing

• Quantum computing is a rapidly-emerging technology that harnesses the laws of quantum mechanics to solve problems too complex for classical computers.
  • Quantum mechanics is a subfield of physics that describes the behavior of particles — atoms, electrons, photons, and almost everything in the molecular and submolecular realm.
• It is an exciting new technology that will shape our world tomorrow by providing us with an edge and a myriad of possibilities.
• It is a fundamentally different way of processing information compared to today’s classical computing systems.
• Features:
  • Different from Traditional Computers:
    • While today’s classical computers store information as binary 0 and 1 states, quantum computers draw on the fundamental laws of nature to carry out calculations using quantum bits.
    • Unlike a bit that has to be a 0 or a 1, a qubit can be in a combination of states, which allows for exponentially larger calculations and gives them the potential to solve complex problems which even the most powerful classical supercomputers are not capable of.
• Significance:
  • Quantum computers can tap into the quantum mechanical phenomenon to manipulate information and are expected to shed light on processes of molecular and chemical interactions, address difficult optimization problems, and boost the power of artificial intelligence.
  • These could open the door to new scientific discoveries, life-saving drugs, and improvements in supply chains, logistics and the modelling of financial data.

FSSAI needs an energy shot to regulate processed food

• The social media influencer drawn into the Cadbury’s Bournvita controversy has a supporter. The Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest — India (NAPi), a think tank working on nutrition policy, has issued a statement saying it stands by him.
• In January, the NAPi has filed a formal complaint with the Department of Consumers Affairs, working under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution. It alleges the ads violate the provision of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Labelling on front

• The FSSAI has been discussing the possibility of front-of-pack labelling. According to this, brands would need to put a notification indicating if a food product was high in fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS). The labelling would allow consumers to make informed choices.
• In 2020, the FSSAI looked into 1,306 product samples across 30 food companies, including dairy, confectionery, sweets and snacks. None complied with its threshold for sugar to avoid warning labels — 6 g per 100 g.
• A panel then proposed increasing the threshold arbitrarily by six times. Despite that, only 20% of products were found to be meeting the new threshold — 36 g of sugar per 100 g. The rest had over 36 g of sugar.

FSSAI

• Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is an autonomous statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSS Act).
• Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is the administrative Ministry of FSSAI.
• Headquarters: Delhi.
• FSS Act, 2006 consolidates various acts & orders that had earlier handled food related issues in various Ministries and Departments, such as–
  • Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954
  • Fruit Products Order, 1955
  • Meat Food Products Order, 1973
  • Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947
  • Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order 1988
  • Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992
• These were repealed after commencement of FSS Act, 2006.
• FSSAI was consequently established in 2008 but work within the Food Authority effectively began in 2011 after its Rules and key Regulations were notified.
• This marked a shift from a multi-level to a single line of control with focus on self-compliance rather than a pure regulatory regime.

7 Key Processes FSSAI

• Set standards of food products
• Develop safe food practices
• License food businesses
• Ensure compliance through inspections
• Test food for standards
• Train and build capacity
• Citizens Outreach

FSSAI Legislative Framework

• Highlights of the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006
  • The Act aims to establish a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards, by moving from multi- level, multi-departmental control to a single line of command.
  • The Act established FSSAI and the State Food Safety Authorities for each State.
• Highlights of Food Safety and Standards Rule, 2011. The Rules provides for:
  • The Food Safety Appellate Tribunal and the Registrar of the Appellate Tribunal, for adjudication of food safety cases.

Structure of FSSAI

• The FSSAI comprises of a Chairperson and twenty two members out of which one – third are to be women.
• The Chairperson of FSSAI is appointed by the Central Government.
• The Food Authority is assisted by Scientific Committees and Panels in setting standards and the Central Advisory Committee in coordinating with enforcement agencies.
• The primary responsibility for enforcement is largely with the State Food Safety Commissioners.

Conservationists in Sri Lanka slam plan to export monkeys to China

• Zoologists in Sri Lanka on Wednesday slammed a recent government proposal exploring the export of monkeys to China, terming it an ad-hoc, illegal, and short-sighted response to a long-standing human-animal conflict.
• The government was studying a proposal from a Chinese company to purchase Sri Lankan toque macaques, a golden brown-coloured monkey endemic to the country.
• Sri Lanka’s farmers have been voicing concern over crop damage and consequent financial losses, owing to frequent attacks by monkeys in their areas.
• The official estimates of 3 million toque macaques, Sri Lanka-based primatologist Wolfgang Dittus said that in 1977, when a large-scale enumeration was undertaken, Sri Lanka had about 6,00,000 toque macaques. “Since then, their natural habitat [forest cover] has decreased by 50 to 70 % and that would mean that the monkey population has also dropped, because their existence depends on their natural habitat. So, my estimation is that Sri Lanka currently has about 3,00,000 toque macaques. They are an endangered species”

Toque Macaque:

• It is a reddish-brown-coloured Old World monkey endemic to Sri Lanka, where it is locally known as the ''''rilewa'''' or ''''rilawa''''.
• Scientific Name: Macaca sinica
• Distribution: They are native and endemic exclusively to Sri Lanka.
• Habitat: They generally occupy three types of habitat; hence can be divided into three subspecies. These are
  • the Common toque macaque (Macaca sinica sinica), occurring in dry habitat;
  • the Pale-fronted toque macaque (Macaca sinica aurifrons), inhabiting wet areas;
  • the Hill-zone toque macaque (Macaca sinica opisthomelas), found at high elevations;
• Features:
  • The most characteristic feature of this primate is the toque-like swirl of hair on its head top.
  • Males are physically larger than females.
  • They are fitted with exceptionally long, thin tails. They have the distinction of being the smallest species belonging to the genus Macaca with the longest tails relative to their body size.
  • They are highly social animals, living in units of up to 40 individuals.
• : Conservation Status
  • IUCN: Endangered