United States withdraws from Loss and Damage Fund
Source: Indian Express - L&D Fund, Date: 12Mar2025
The United States has withdrawn from the board of the Loss and Damage Fund, which was set up to provide financial assistance to countries affected by climate change disasters.
Loss & Damage Fund
• It is a financial mechanism that helps developing countries deal with economic and non-economic loss and damage caused by climate change.
• Established: At COP-27 (Conference of Parties) of the UNFCCC in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
Managed: World Bank (Interim Trustee for 4 years)
• A pledge of $750 million has been made for this fund by 2025.
Objective: Provide assistance to vulnerable countries
• Address and compensate for loss and damage caused by climate change, Funding humanitarian assistance immediately following a disaster
Loss and Damage Fund Board:
• The fund is governed by a board that is responsible for allocating funds, approving projects and setting policies.
The board was officially established in 2023 after its operational framework was finalised by COP-28 in Dubai.
Composition: 26 members representing developed and developing countries.
UNFCCC
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a treaty that establishes the legal framework for international cooperation on climate change. It was signed in 1992.
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the main decision-making body of the UNFCCC. Its meeting is held every year.
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India's position in the global spice market
Source: The Hindu - Spices production, Date: 12Mar,2025
Despite being the largest producer and exporter of a wide variety of spices in the world, India has a very small share in the global spice market.
A spice is a dried plant part such as seed, bark or fruit that is used to add flavor to food.
Processed value-added seasonings are mixtures of various ingredients, including spices, herbs, salt and other flavor enhancers.
India is the largest producer and exporter of spices, contributing 75% of global spice production.
India produces a wide variety of spices such as pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, chilli, cumin, coriander and saffron.
85% of the spices produced in India are consumed domestically.
• Top Spice Producing States in India:
- Madhya Pradesh
- Rajasthan
- Gujarat
- Karnataka
- Telangana.
World Spices Organization (WSO)
WSO is a non-profit organization that brings together farmers, processors, traders and consumers.
It was founded in 2011. (Headquarters Kochi, Kerala)
WSO hosts the National Spices Conference (NSC) along with the All India Spice Exporters Forum.
Focus Areas of WSO:
Promotes environmentally friendly spice farming.
Food safety and quality control ensures adherence to global standards.
Training and research - Works with Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to improve farming techniques and pesticide management.
India's share in the global spice market
Despite being the largest producer and exporter of spices, India's share in the global spice market ($14 billion in 2024) of processed and value-added spices (seasonings) is only 0.7%.
In contrast, China has a 12% market share, while the US has 11%.
Reasons for low share in spice market:
India mainly exports raw spices, while countries like China and the US dominate processed and value-added spices (seasonings).
The seasoning sector has immense growth potential.
• Currently, only 48% of India's spice exports are value-added products.
• The remaining 52% are sold as whole spices.
Goals:
• To increase value-added spice exports to 70%.
• To achieve export revenue of $10 billion by 2030 (Goal of Spices Board of India).
Emerging competitors: Vietnam, Indonesia, Brazil, China and African countries are expanding their spice production.
Spices Board of India -
• Established: 1987 under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Headquarters - Kochi, Kerala).
• It is a statutory body under the Spices Board Act 1986.
• It was formed by merging the Cardamom Board (1968) and the Spices Export Promotion Council (1960).
Functions
Export promotion To increase India's global spice trade.
Quality control - Operating testing laboratories in cities such as Kochi, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Tuticorin, Kandla and Guntur.
Farmer support Training on pesticide management, hygiene and sustainable farming.
It manages "Flavourit" which is an outlet selling premium spices directly to consumers.
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US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
Source: Indian Express - Bitcoin Reserve, Date: 12Mar2025.
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a US Digital Asset Stockpile.
US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR)
The SBR is a newly established national reserve of Bitcoin.
It is the first official Bitcoin reserve held by the government as a strategic asset.
The reserve will not be used for sale or trading, but instead It will act as a store of value for the US government.
Objectives of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve:
• Strengthening US financial resilience by holding decentralized digital assets.
Positioning the US as a leader in the global crypto economy.
Preventing premature sales of Bitcoin, which has caused taxpayers to lose more than $17 billion.
Ensuring proper management and security of seized Bitcoin holdings.
President Trump has also mentioned four other coins besides Bitcoin that will be part of the digital asset reserve: Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano.
How will the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve work?
Source of Bitcoin Holdings: The reserve will not purchase Bitcoin,
Seized in criminal or civil asset forfeiture cases by agencies such as the US Treasury Department and the Department of Justice.
Transferred from other US government agencies that own Bitcoin.
It is estimated that the US government currently holds 200,000 BTC.
Management of Reserves: The US Treasury Department will oversee the reserves.
Bitcoin Selling Policy:
• The US will not sell bitcoin from its reserves.
• Will be maintained as a long-term reserve asset similar to gold reserves.
• Unlike SBR, the US Digital Asset Stockpile will have other cryptocurrencies that can be sold.
What is a Strategic Reserve?
A strategic reserve is a stockpile of a critical resource that can be released in times of crisis or supply disruptions.
• For example, the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the largest reserve of emergency crude oil in the world, was created by an act of Congress in 1975 after the US economy collapsed following the Arab oil embargo in 1973-74.
India's Strategic Reserves
India's Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR): A collection of oil reserves that the government can use to respond to supply disruptions in the global oil market.
India's SPRs have a total capacity of 5.33 million metric tonnes (MMT) of crude oil.
Locations: Visakhapatnam, Mangalore and Padur.
Under construction: Chandikhol (Odisha) and Padur-II (Karnataka)
Strategic reserves of other countries
Canada: It has the world's only strategic reserve of maple syrup.
China: It has strategic reserves of petroleum, metals, grains and even pork products.
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