21 Apr 2021: PIB Summary & Analysis

April 21st, 2021, PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Civil Services Day
2. Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH)

1. Civil Services Day

Context:

PM wishes Civil Servants on the occasion of Civil Services Day.

About Civil Services Day:

• April 21 is observed as National Civil Services Day in India every year.
• April 21 is chosen as National Civil Service Day to commemorate the day when the first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers in 1947 at Metcalf House, New Delhi.
• In his speech, Patel referred to the civil servants as the ‘steel frame of India’.
• The Day was first observed in 2006.
• On National Civil Service Day, the central government evaluates the work of various departments.
• On this day, the government also gives awards to the best working individuals and groups.

Read more about the various civil services posts in India in the link.

2. Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH)

Context:

Fifth session of Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs under the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

About Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH):

• The Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) is responsible for elaborating standards for spices and culinary herbs in their dried and dehydrated state in whole, ground, and cracked or crushed form.
• The Committee was established at the 36th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in July 2013.
• India is the host country and the Spices Board is the Secretariat for organising the sessions of the committee.
• Since its inception, the Codex Committee has been successful in developing harmonised global Codex standards for spices and herbs.
• In its past four sessions, the committee developed and finalized standards for four spices, viz. dried or dehydrated forms of black/white/green pepper, cumin, thyme, and garlic.

Codex Alimentarius Commission:

• Set up in 1963, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body established jointly by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), within the framework of the Joint Food Standards Programme to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade.
• Codex Alimentarius:
  • The Codex Alimentarius is a collection of internationally adopted food standards and related texts presented in a uniform manner.
  • These food standards and related texts aim at protecting consumers’ health and ensuring fair practices in the food trade.
  • The publication of the Codex Alimentarius is intended to guide and promote the elaboration and establishment of definitions and requirements for foods to assist in their harmonization and in doing so to facilitate international trade.
  • The Codex Alimentarius includes standards for all the principal foods, whether processed, semi-processed or raw, for distribution to the consumer.
  • It includes provisions in respect of food hygiene, food additives, residues of pesticides and veterinary drugs, contaminants, labelling and presentation, methods of analysis and sampling, and import and export inspection and certification.
  • Codex standards and related texts are not a substitute for, or alternative to national legislation. Every country’s laws and administrative procedures contain provisions with which it is essential to comply.
• The Commission has 189 members including the European Union.
• India is a member of the Codex Alimentarius Commission since 1964.

Know more about the Spices Board in PIB dated Jan 22, 2021.

Read previous PIB here.

April 21st, 2021, PIB:- Download PDF Here