Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): According to the Food Outlook report of the Food and Agriculture Organization, food imports by vulnerable countries are expected to decline in 2023. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Head Quarter: Rome (Italy). With 195 members – 194 countries and the European Union, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.
Its sister bodies are the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Reports:The State of the World’s Forests (SOFO), The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA), The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO), The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI).
Initiatives: The Codex Alimentarius Commission.Agricultural Heritage Systems of Global Importance (GIAHS).Monitors the status of Desert Locusts all over the world.The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD):Â It is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations. It was established as an international financial institution in 1977 through United Nations General Assembly Resolution 32/107 (15 December 1977) as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference.
Headquarters: Rome, Italy. It is a member of the United Nations Development Group.
Governance: Its Governing Council, consisting of representatives of more than 160 member states, is the principal decision-making body.
Functions: It focuses exclusively on rural poverty reduction, working with poor rural populations in developing countries to eliminate poverty, hunger and malnutrition; raise their productivity and incomes; and improve the quality of their lives.
Tapas Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV): It is known as Tapas-BH 201(Tactical Airborne Platform for Aerial Surveillance-Beyond Horizon 201), formerly referred to as Rustom-II.It is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle. It is being developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), DRDO. It is capable of operating at altitudes of up to 28,000 feet with an endurance of over 18 hours. It can carry a variety of payloads up to a maximum of 350 kg. It can be controlled remotely and also can execute pre-programmed flight plans autonomously with precision and flexibility. Designed to fulfil the Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, Tracking & Reconnaissance (ISTAR) requirements of the tri-services, the Tapas UAV can effectively operate in both day and night conditions. It is pre-designed to carry certain weapons and can be converted into an armed platform as and when required.
Gandhi Peace Prize: The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 will be conferred on Gita Press, Gorakhpur. It is an annual award instituted by the Government of India in 1995, It was instituted on the occasion of the 125th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi as a tribute to the ideals espoused by Mahatma Gandhi. The award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or gender. The award carries an amount of 1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item. The prize can be given to institutions, individuals and organisations. Recent awardees include Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, Oman (2019) and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (2020), Bangladesh.
