Additional Information

• • Spices Board is the flagship organization for the development and worldwide promotion of Indian spices.
  • It is responsible for the export promotion of the 52 scheduled spices and the development of Cardamom.
  • The Board functions as an international link between the Indian exporters and the importers abroad and it has been involved in various activities which touch upon every segment of the spices sector.
• Multi faceted activities

• • Promotion of exports of spices and spice products
  • Maintenance and monitoring of quality of exports
  • Development and implementation of better production methods, through scientific, technological and economic research.
  • Guidance to farmers on getting higher and better quality yields through scientific agricultural practices.
  • Provision of financial and material support to growers.
  • Encouraging organic production and export of spices.
  • Facilitating infrastructure for processing and value addition
  • Registration and licensing of all spice exporters.
  • Assistance for studies and research on better processing practices, foolproof quality management systems, improved grading methods and effective packaging techniques.
  • Production of promotional and educative materials in a variety of media for the benefit of exporters and importers.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.

• India produces a wide range of spices and holds a prominent position in world spice production. 
• Because of the varying climates – from tropical to sub-tropical to temperate-almost all spices grow splendidly in India.
• In reality almost all the states and union territories of India grow one or the other spices.
• Under the act of Parliament, a total of 52 spices are brought under the purview of the Spices Board.However 109 spices are notified in the ISO list.
• India is the world’s largest spice producer. 
• It is also the largest consumer and exporter of spices.

Additional Information

Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)

• The Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021 provides for the constitution of a Commission for better coordination, research, identification, and resolution of problems related to air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining areas.
•  Adjoining areas have been defined as areas in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, adjoining the National Capital Territory of Delhi and NCR, where any source of pollution may cause adverse impact on air quality in the NCR.  
• The Act also dissolved the Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority established in the NCR in 1998.

Functions of the Commission:

• co-ordinating actions by concerned state governments (Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh), 
• planning and executing plans to prevent and control air pollution in NCR
• providing a framework for identifying air pollutants,
• conducting research and development through networking with technical institutions,
• training and creating a special workforce to deal with issues related to air pollution, and
• preparing action plans such as increasing plantation and addressing stubble burning.

Powers of the Commission: 

• restricting activities influencing air quality,
• investigating and conducting research related to environmental pollution impacting air quality
• preparing codes and guidelines to prevent and control air pollution, and 
• issuing directions on matters including inspections, or regulation which will be binding on the concerned person or authority. 

• The Commission will be the sole authority with jurisdiction over matters defined in the Act(such as air quality management).
  •   In case of conflicts, directions of the Commission will prevail over the orders of the respective state governments, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), state PCBs, and state-level statutory bodies.

Composition: 

The Commission will consist of: 

• a Chairperson, 
• an officer of the rank of a Joint Secretary as the member-secretary and Chief Coordinating Officer, 
• a serving or former Joint Secretary from the central government, 
• three independent technical members with expertise in air pollution, and
• three members from non-government organisations.  
  • The Chairperson and members of the Commission will have a tenure of three years or till the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier.  
• The Commission will also include ex-officio members:
  • from the central government and concerned state governments, and 
  • technical members from Central Pollution Control Board, Indian Space Research Organisation, and NITI Aayog. 
  •  It may also appoint representatives of certain ministries.

Additional Information

• There are broadly two categories of Hindu sacred texts: shruti (“the revealed”) and smriti (“the remembered”).
  • The first category is considered to be the most authoritative and consists of the 4 Vedas (Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva) and accompanying texts [Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads].
  • The second category is less authoritative and is considered to be derived from the first but more popularly known [epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata, Dharmashastras, Puranas, etc].
• The Upanishads, also known as the Vedanta – as they signal the end of the total Veda – speculate about the ontological connection between humanity and the cosmos. They serve as foundational texts in many traditions of Hindu theology and have hence attracted far more attention than the Vedas themselves.
• Dated to roughly 800-500 BC, the Upanishads discuss concepts such as transmigration, which have today become central to Hindu tradition.
• Much of the Upanishads, in fact, are concerned with the relationship between the atman, or the distinct, unchanging self of an individual, and the brahman, the ultimate reality in the universe.
• There are ten main (or principal) Upanishads:

• Esha
• Kena
• Katha
• Prashna
• Mundaka
• Mandukya
• Taittiriya
• Aitareya
• Chandogya
• Brihadaranyaka

• As per the Chandogya Upanishad, those whose conduct here has been good will quickly attain a good birth – the birth of a brahman/kshatriya/vaishya.

• The above mentioned statements refer to Kadambini Ganguly

Additional Information

• Beyond her medical career, she was an active participant in the Indian National Congress, becoming the first woman speaker at the 1889 session. There, she advocated for women’s involvement in the freedom movement, recognizing their crucial role in a unified national struggle. She understood that an independent India could not exist with half its population lacking education and agency.
• Kadambini also championed the cause of women coal miners in eastern India, working to improve their harsh working conditions. By addressing this social injustice, she indirectly weakened the colonial economic machinery that exploited these women’s labor. 
• Alongside her husband, social reformer Dwarkanath Ganguly, she established schools for girls, defying the colonial education system that often excluded women. Through promoting female education, she created a generation of women who were aware of their rights and could actively participate in the fight for independence.

Additional Information

There are multiple ways in which LGDs can be produced. 

• The most common (and cheapest) is the “High pressure, high temperature” (HPHT) method. As the name suggests, this method requires extremely heavy presses that can produce up to 730,000 psi of pressure under extremely high temperatures (at least 1500 celsius). Usually graphite is used as the “diamond seed” and when subjected to these extreme conditions, the relatively inexpensive form of carbon turns into one of the most expensive carbon forms.
• Other processes include “Chemical Vapor Deposition” (CVD) and explosive formation that creates what are known as “detonation nanodiamonds”.
• Chemical Vapour Deposition method(CVD) is commonly used in India—>In this method, a small piece of carbon is placed in a chamber, where we introduce a gas mixture containing hydrocarbons. By applying very high temperatures and pressures, we create conditions similar to those found deep within the Earth. Over a few weeks, this process transforms the carbon into diamond rough

Uses

LGDs have basic properties similar to natural diamonds, including their optical dispersion, which provide them the signature diamond sheen. However, since they are created in controlled environments, many of their properties can be enhanced for various purposes.

•  LGDs are most often used for industrial purposes, in machines and tools. Their hardness and extra strength make them ideal for use as cutters. 
• Furthermore, pure synthetic diamonds have high thermal conductivity, but negligible electrical conductivity. This combination is invaluable for electronics where such diamonds can be used as a heat spreader for high-power laser diodes, laser arrays and high-power transistors.
• Lastly, as the Earth’s reserves of natural diamonds are depleted, LGDs are slowly replacing the prized gemstone in the jewelry industry.