ORGANIZATION OF THE PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES (OPEC)

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent intergovernmental organization of oil-exporting developing nations that coordinates and unifies the petroleum policies of its Member Countries.
It seeks to ensure the stabilisation of oil prices in the international oil markets, with a view to eliminate harmful and unnecessary fluctuations.
It was founded on September 14, 1960.
It was the result of a meeting that took place in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
It was attended by the five founding Members of the Organization: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
It is headquartered in Vienna.
Currently, the Organization has a total of 13 Member Countries. Qatar is the last country to terminate its membership.
In its biannual meetings, oil ministers agree on production quotas for each member.
They can control production since most of the member countries have state-run oil firms.

FOREST (CONSERVATION) AMENDMENT ACT, 2023

Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 allows for the diversion of forest land for various projects, including roads, railways, and strategic national security projects, within 100 km of India’s international borders.
It amends the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.

To build forest carbon stock by raising plantations.
To make land available for developers to meet their legal obligation towards compensatory afforestation in lieu of forest land diverted for development projects.
The Amendment tries to achieve both by restricting the applicability of the FC Act and by freeing up land that is currently locked up as unrecorded forests.

The amendment primarily aims to tackle the critical issues of climate change and deforestation’s adverse effects, focusing on effective management and afforestation.
The law further aims to determine how forests can be utilised for economic gain.
As per the amendment, the forest law will now apply exclusively to areas categorised under the Forest Act, 1927 and those designated as such on or after October 25, 1980.
The Act will not be applicable to forests that were converted for non-forest use on or after December 12, 1996 and land which falls under 100 kilometres from the China and Pakistan border.
To establish security infrastructure and facilities for surveillance, the central government is authorised to construct security measures in areas up to ten hectares.
This provision also applies to areas (up to five hectares) which are designated as vulnerable.
Within these regions, the government, with the necessary approvals, can implement security protocols as described above.
Initiatives like ecotourism, safari, environmental entertainment, and more may be implemented in these areas.
The main objective of these initiatives is to improve the livelihoods of those reliant on forest resources, a goal that has drawn criticism from tribal communities and human rights activists.

In September, the Index of Industrial Production or IIP rose 5.8%, almost half the 14-month-high 10.3% growth in August.

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an index that indicates the performance of various industrial sectors of the Indian economy.
It is calculated and published by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) every month.
It is a composite indicator of the general level of industrial activity in the economy.
This index gives the growth rates of different industry groups of the economy over a specified time period.
The eight core industries of India represent about 40% of the weight of items that are included in the IIP. The Eight Core Sectors/Industries are:

World Diabetes Day is commemorated on November 14.
It was established by the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1991.
It is an opportunity to raise awareness about the impact of diabetes on the health of people.

Diabetes is a condition that occurs when the blood sugar level gets too high.
It is generally developed when the pancreas doesn’t create enough insulin or any at all, or when the body isn’t responding to the effects of insulin properly.
Diabetes can affect people of all ages.

Type 2 diabetes: The body doesn’t make enough insulin and/or the body’s cells don’t respond normally to the insulin (insulin resistance).

This is the most common type of diabetes.

Prediabetes: This type is the stage before Type 2 diabetes. Your blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be officially diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes: This type is an autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas for unknown reasons.

Up to 10% of people who have diabetes have Type 1.

Gestational diabetes usually goes away after pregnancy.

People with gestational diabetes are at a higher risk of developing Type2 diabetes later in life.

Model Prisons Act, 2023 replaces the existing 130-year-old colonial law.
It is an attempt to shift the focus from “retributive deterrence” to “reform and rehabilitation”.
The Model Prisons Act seeks to create provisions for the grant of parole, furlough, and remission to prisoners to encourage good conduct.

It aims to provide separate accommodation for women and transgender inmates, ensure the physical and mental well-being of prisoners, and focus on the reformation and rehabilitation of inmates.
It intends to bring about “attitudinal change towards prisoners” and initiate vocational training and skill development for prisoners for their reintegration into society.
It seeks to bring about “transparency in prison management”.
It includes provisions for security assessment and segregation of prisoners; individual sentence planning; grievance-redressal; prison development board; use of technology in prison administration; and protecting society from criminal activities of hardened criminals and habitual offenders. Provisions for establishing high-security jails and open, semi-open jails.
Apart from this, new measures for prisoners to video conference with courts have also been introduced.
‘Prisons’ and ‘persons detained therein’ fall under the State List.
This means that the responsibility of prison management and administration solely vests with the state government.