• Aspartame, a sweetener used in aerated drinks, is set to be declared a carcinogenic substance by World Health Organisation.
• These are also known as non-nutritive sweeteners or ‘sugar substitutes.
• It is the world’s most commonly used low-calorie artificial sweetener used in cereals, sugar-free chewing gum, low-calorie fruit juices and diet sodas.
• It is approximately 200 times sweeter than sucrose (common sugar).
• It was discovered by James M. Schlatter, a chemist, in 1965 and was introduced to replace sucrose.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved aspartame for use in some dry foods in 1981 and for carbonated beverages in 1983.
• Aspartame is a methyl ester of a dipeptide consisting of two amino acids, aspartic acid, and phenylalanine.
  • Both are naturally occurring amino acids in many protein-rich foods.
• In the body, aspartame is metabolised into its constituent components, aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and a small amount of methanol.
• Around 100 countries around the world, including India, allow the use of aspartame.

• Manipur is witnessing a rise recently in Zero FIRs.

ABOUT ZERO FIRS

• When a police station receives a complaint regarding an alleged offence that has been committed in jurisdiction of another police station, it registers an FIR, and then transfers it to concerned police station for further investigation.
  • This is called a Zero FIR.
  • No regular FIR number is given.
• After receiving Zero FIR, concerned police station registers a fresh FIR.
• It was introduced on the recommendation of the Justice Verma Committee formed at the backdrop of the brutal Nirbhaya gang rape in Delhi in 2012.
• This puts a legal obligation on the police to begin an investigation and take quick action without the excuse of the absence of jurisdiction.

ABOUT FIRST INFORMATION REPORT (FIR)

• It is the information given to a police officer in writing as per the provisions of Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
• From the point of view of an informant, the main purpose of an FIR is to set criminal law into motion.
  • While for the police, the main purpose of an FIR is to obtain information about alleged criminal activity and take necessary steps to produce the perpetrator(s) before a court.

• The Cabinet has recently approved Ratification of the Headquarters Agreement (HQA) between India and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
• Signing of HQA will provide CDRI an independent and international legal persona, so that it can carry out its functions internationally more effieciently.

PRECEDING EVENTS

• On the 28^th August 2019, the Cabinet had approved the setting up of CDRI along with its supporting Secretariat in New Delhi and also approved financial support of ₹480 crore over a period of five years from 2019-20 to 2023-24.
• On the 29^th June 2022, the Cabinet had approved recognition of CDRI as an international organization and for signing of Headquarters Agreement for granting CDRI exemptions, immunities and privileges as contemplated under Section-3 of the UN (Privileges & Immnities) Act, 1947.
  • Section 3 of the act states that premises of UN shall be inviolable. Act was also extended to several other international organisations.

ABOUT CDRI

• It is a global partnership of National Governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks, private sector, academic and knowledge institutions etc.
• It aims to increase the resilience of infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks, thereby ensuring sustainable development.
• Presently, CDRI has 31 nations (including India), 6 International and 2 Private organisations as its members.
• It was launched in 2019, by the Indian PM (supported by UNDRR) at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York.
• It is the Government of India’s second major global initiative outside of UN, after the International Solar Alliance.

• Reserve Bank of India recently released the Financial Stability Report 2023.

• It is biannual report that reflects risks to financial stability and resilience of Indian financial system.

MAJOR FINDINGS

• Indian banking system is well capitalised and capable of absorbing macroeconomic shocks over a one-year horizon even in the absence of any further capital infusion.
• Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) ratio of Scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) continued its downtrend and fell to a 10-year low of 9% in March 2023.
  • It is further expected to decrease to 3.6% by March 2024.
  • Net non-performing assets (NNPA) ratio declined to 1.0%.
• Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of SCBs rose to historical highs of 1% in March 2023.
• Remarkable credit growth in the banking sector, equally driven by the public sector banks and the private ones. Credit growth reached 15.4% , with considerable contribution from the personal loan segment.
• The aggregate deposit growth picked up pace to reach 11.8% as on June 02, 2023.
• The report describes some emerging risks to financial stability emanate from cryptocurrencies (although limited as the overall size is 0.4% of global financial assets) and cyber risks that requires special attention.
• Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has rescued 72% of the distressed assets since it came into being in 2016.
  • Average time for concluding corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRPs) that yielded resolution plans was 512 days (330 days provided in IBC).

• It is released by World Economic Forum (WEF).
• ETI benchmarks the countries on the performance of their energy systems, and also their readiness to secure sustainable energy systems.
• Sweden topped the list and was followed by Denmark and Norway.
• India jumped 20 places and is ranked 67^th out of 120 countries
• India is the only major economy with energy transition momentum accelerating across all the Index’s dimensions namely equitable, secure and sustainable transitions.
• Only 55 countries, including India, have improved their scores by more than 10% points.

ABOUT WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

• It is a Swiss non-profit foundation, founded by Klaus Schwab in 1971.
• WEF is based in Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland.
• Recognized by the Swistzerland government as the International Institution for public-private cooperation.

• The state government has decided to transfer four small hydro power projects from Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) to Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL).
• The projects that will be transferred are
  • Sai Kothi -1 (15 MW),
  • Sai Kothi-11 (18 MW),
  • Devi Kothi (16 MW) and
  • Hail (18 MW) in Chamba district.

• National Insurance Awareness Day is annually observed on 28^th June to raise awareness about Insurance which offers a layer of protection to guard in various situations and about the benefits of investing in an insurance plan.
• The current insurance penetration in India stands at around only 3.2%.

• The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced the ‘5G & Beyond Hackathon 2023.
• The primary objective of this hackathon is to identify cutting-edge ideas with an India-focused approach that can be transformed into practical 5G and beyond products and solutions.
• It is open to individuals, students, start-ups, and academic institutions across India.

ABOUT 5G

• It is the next generation cellular technology that will provide faster and more reliable communication with ultra-low latency.
• The peak network data speeds are expected to be in the range of 2-20 Gigabit per second (Gbps).
• 5G mainly works in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high frequency spectrum.

• International Day of Parliamentarism is observed on June 30^th annually, as the day dedicated to commemorating the formation of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
• Theme for 2023 is – ‘Parliaments for the Planet.’

ABOUT INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION

• IPU is an international organisation of national parliaments.
• It was established in 1889 in Paris.
• It was founded by statesmen Frédéric Passy of France and William Randal Cremer of the United Kingdom.
• It works with close co-operation with the United Nation (UN), regional parliamentary organisations, international intergovernmental organisations and non-governmental organisations.
• Headquarters– Genava, Switzerland
• Members– 179 countries including

• It is observed on June 30^th every year.
• The day aims to raise awareness about asteroid impact hazards and crisis communication actions in case of a credible asteroid threat to planet Earth.
• The day also aims to educate people about the latest and upcoming asteroid research and technology through numerous events and activities held by organisations across the globe.
• World Asteroid Day was co-founded by astrophysicist and famed musician Brian May, of the rock group Queen, B612 President Danica Remy, Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart and filmmaker Grig Richters.
• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution in December 2016, designating June 30 as International Asteroid Day.
• The date was chosen to commemorate the anniversary of the Tunguska asteroid’s impact over Siberia on June 30, 1908.

ABOUT TUNGUSKA EVENT

• It is considered the biggest asteroid impact in recorded history when an asteroid exploded a few kilometres above the Tunguska region of central Siberia.
• It flattened more than 80 million trees in seconds, over an area spanning nearly 800 square miles (2,000 square kilometres) — but left no crater.
• The explosion released energy equivalent to 185 times that was released during the Hiroshima atomic bombing.

ABOUT ASTEROIDS

• Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the sun.
• Although asteroids orbit the sun like planets, they are much smaller than planets.
• They are majorly found in Asteroid belt orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter.
• However many asteroids lie outside the main belt. For instance, a number of asteroids called Trojans lie along Jupiter’s orbital path.
• They are leftovers from the formation of our solar system.
• From being as small as 10 meters across to as huge as 530 km in diameter, asteroids have varied sizes.