1. With respect to recently released UNICEF report on child marriage, consider the following statements:
- Incidences of child marriage was the highest in South-East Asia.
- The global target is to eliminate child marriage practice by 2040.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[A] Only 1
[B] Only 2
[C] Both 1 & 2
[D] Neither 1 nor 2
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Neither 1 nor 2]
Notes:- In 2016, UNICEF, along with United Nations Population Fund, launched a global programme to tackle child marriage in 12 of the most high-prevalence or high-burden countries: Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia.
- Progress on SDG 5.3 (eliminating child marriage) is dependent on progress in other areas, especially education, employment and poverty reduction.
- The global target is to eliminate child marriage practice by 2030.
- Incidences of child marriage was the highest in West and Central Africa where nearly 4 in 10 young women were married off before 18 years of age.
2. Why ‘Chlorpyrifos’, ‘chlorinated paraffin’, ‘dechlorane plus’, are in news recently?
[A] These are the chemicals used in bio-chemical weapons
[B] These are chemicals used to treat sewage water
[C] These are listed as Persistent Organic Pollutants by the review committee
[D] None of the above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [These are listed as Persistent Organic Pollutants by the review committee]
Notes:- The18th meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) Review Committee (POPRC-18) to the Stockholm Convention has included five more chemicals in its agenda.
- The listed chemicals include a pesticide, a flame retardant and some plastic stabilising substances.
- Listed chemicals are chlorpyrifos, chlorinated paraffin, long-chain perfluoro carboxylic acids dechlorane plus, a flame retardant and UV-328, a stabiliser used in some personal care products.
3. With respect to the ‘chlorpyrifos’, consider the following statements:
- It is a flame retardant.
- It was registered under the Insecticide Act of 1968.
- It is one of the ten pesticides banned by Punjab and Haryana governments in August 2022.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[A] Only 1
[B] Only 2 & 3
[C] Only 1 & 3
[D] 1, 2 & 3
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Only 2 & 3]
Notes:- The United Nations Environment Programme’s proposal to list chlorpyrifos as POP was resisted by India.
- India had also opposed the decision to list flame retardant dechlorane plus.
- Chlorpyrifos was registered under the Insecticide Act of 1968 since 1977 and Anupam Verma Committee recommended its review for continued use in 2015.
- China and India are among the largest producers of chlorpyrifos. Nearly 48 per cent of chlorpyrifos or 24,000 tonnes was produced in India. Globally, some 50,000 tonnes of chlorpyrifos is being used annually, according to estimates by the China Crop Protection Industry Association.
- Chlorpyrifos was approved for agricultural use in 2021, which includes its use as a pesticide against pests affecting Bengal gram, rice and cotton.
- It is one of the ten pesticides banned by Punjab and Haryana governments in August 2022.
- Chlorpyrifos is approved for 18 crops in India, while it was being used for 23 crops.
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