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1. Bhutan and China make progress in border talks - Page No.1, GS 2
2. An India-Canada bonding that is in danger of snapping - Page No.6 ,GS 2
3. Crossing a line - Page No.6, GS 2,4
4. Mitigating tragedies in the Himalayan region - Page No.7 , GS 3
5. Losses from extreme events over 31 years were $3.8 trillion - Page No.7 , GS 3
6. Food labels to have QR code - Page No. 12, GS 3

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Bhutan and China make progress in border talks - Page No.1, GS 2

• Bhutan and China held their 25th round of boundary talks on Tuesday, which has been held up since the previous round in 2016, even as Bhutan's Foreign Minister Tandi Dori met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, with both sides saying they want a deal on demarcating the boundaries "soon".
• Significantly, this was the first official visit to China by the Bhutanese Foreign Minister, and holding the long-pending talks indicated that substantive progress had been made by the expert groups of officials from both countries.

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An India-Canada bonding that is in danger of snapping - Page No.6 ,GS 2

• India is a prime origin country of immigrants to Canada, who have settled there as naturalised citizens (most holding the Overseas Citizenship of India, a life-time ndian visa or semi-dual-citizenship) as well as permanent residents (PRs) who range from investors, industrialists and business people, the highly skilled "knowledge professionals" to low- and medium-skilled "service workers".
• Apart from the settled Indian diaspora, there are "temporary visitors" who are international students, trainees, exchange scholars, tourists, and their families.
• According to the Census of Canada 2021, the country is home to over 1.86 million people of Indian origin, ie., about 5% of the country's 36.99 million population, and 5.8% of the 32 million strong global Indian diaspora. According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data, 225,940 or over 40% of 549,260 total study permits to international students were issued to Indians in 2022.
• Canada and India are not only members of the Commonwealth but also signatories to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration agreement, that was adopted at an
intergovernmental conference on migration in Marrakesh, Morocco in December 2018.
• Canada was India's ninth largest partner, with exports up to $5.3 billion. Similarly, visitors from India comprised Canada's fourth largest international air travel market.
• May 23, 1914 when the steamship SS Komagata Maru arriving in Vancouver with 376 Indian passengers was denied entry due to the colonial British laws in Canada.
• Reasonable restrictions
• Sovereignty and integrity of India
• Security of the state
• Friendly relations with foreign states
• Public order
• Decency or morality
• Contempt of court
• Defamation and
• Incitement to an offence

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Crossing a line - Page No.6, GS 2,4

• The Centre has asked all departments to deploy officers to showcase its achievements across the country down to the village level, through a roadshow titled Visit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, which will run from November 20 to January 25, 2024.
• Joint Secretaries, Directors, and Deputy Secretaries will be appointed Rath Prabharis (chariots in-charge) for the roadshow.
• the Ministry of Defence is setting up 822 'selfie points'
• India's constitutional scheme of governance envisages the separation of power among the three arms of the state - the executive, the judiciary and the legislature - and also a line of separation between the bureaucracy and the military from the political executive.

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Mitigating tragedies in the Himalayan region - Page No.7 , GS 3

• The recent glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in Sikkim wreaked havoc along the Testa river, bringing into focus the magnifying risk of climate change-induced GLOF across the Indian Himalayan Region.
• A study published in Nature this year indicates that 90 million people across 30 countries live in 1,089 basins containing glacial lakes. Of these, one-sixth live within 50 km of a glacial lake and 1 km of potential GLOF runout channels.
• In mountains, hazards often occur in a cascading fashion - heavy rainfall triggers a landslide, which may in turn cause a glacial lake outburst and more landslides downstream, and create conditions for flash floods.
• Early warning systems
• Multi-disciplinary effort
• This requires an integrated, multi-disciplinary effort across institutions. NRSC's atlases have provided high-resolution data via remote sensing, which allows for monitoring spatial change. The Central Water Commission is conducting hydro-dynamic assessments of high-risk lakes, mapping water flow, height and routing simulations using digital elevation models.

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Losses from extreme events over 31 years were $3.8 trillion - Page No.7 , GS 3

• Disaster events are not only becoming more frequent and severe but their impact is also expected to worsen. The year 2023 brought an end to the warmest decade on record, marked by unprecedented extreme weather events and large-scale disasters. These catastrophes were worsened by ongoing conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic.
• A report by the Food and Agriculture Organization titled 'The Impact of Disaster on Agriculture and Food Security' found that the frequency of extreme disaster events has risen significantly over the past 50 years. The 1970s saw approximately 100 disaster events per year. In the last 20 years, that number went up to about 400, globally.
• In absolute terms, high-income countries, lower-middle-income countries, and upper-middle-income countries reported higher losses, while low-income countries and Small Island Developing States experienced lower levels. However, when considering losses relative to agricultural value added, low-income countries suffered losses more than double those of upper-middle-income countries on average

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Food labels to have QR code - Page No. 12, GS 3

• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAl) has recommended the use of quick response (QR) codes on food products for accessibility by persons with visual disabilities, stating that this would ensure access to safe food for all, including hose with special needs.
• In a recent advisory signed by Director, Science and Standards Division, Amit Sharma, the FSSAl said that ensuring inclusive access to information was a fundamental right of citizens. "It is imperative that food products are labelled in a manner that ensures accessibility to all consumers, including those with visual impairments," the advisory read.
• The FSSAI under its Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 has comprehensively outlined the information to be included on the labels of food roducts. This includes product name, shelf life, nutrition facts, vegetarian/non- vegetarian logos, ingredient lists, allergen warnings, and other product-specific labelling requirements.
• The information is aimed at empowering consumers to make informed choices when selecting food products. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 recognis the rights and needs of individuals with disabilities, which emphasise accessibility and the promotion of health for persons with disabilities.

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