UNDP,Methane

RHODAMINE B

Why in News

The Karnataka government on Monday prohibited usage of Rhodamine B artifi cial colour in ‘gobi 

manchurian’ and ‘cotton candy’.

 Rhodamine B (RhB) is a chemical compound that is used as a dye and metal chelating reagent.

 It is also used in drugs, and the plastics, cosmetics, and silk, jute, leather, cotton, and wool industries. 

 Rhodamine B (RhB) is a chemical compound commonly employed in synthetic dyes for colouring 

silk, jute, leather, cotton, and wool, as well as in the cosmetics and plastics industries.

 Its low cost, however, also makes it a popular choice for food colouring. 

 Rhodamine B is an organic chloride salt that is green crystals or reddish-violet powder. It is soluble 

in water, alcohol, and ether, and dilute solutions are fl uorescent. 

THE DARIEN GAP

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The increasing number of people attempting to cross the treacherous Darien Gap, a stretch of dense 

jungle spanning northern Colombia and southern Panama, on their way to seeking asylum in the 

United States.

 The Darién Gap is a geographic region in the Isthmus of Darién or Isthmus of Panama connecting 

the American continents within Central America.

METHANE

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Methane emissions from fossil fuels remain high despite progress, US tops list of emitters

 Methane is the simplest hydrocarbon, consisting of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms

(CH4).

 It is fl ammable, and is used as a fuel worldwide.

 Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas.

 Methane has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over the fi rst 20 years of

its lifetime in the atmosphere.

 The common sources of methane are oil and natural gas systems, agricultural activities, coal mining

and wastes.

 Of the 120 Mt of methane that escaped into the atmosphere, around 80 Mt came from the

top 10 emitter countries.

 The energy sector, including oil, natural gas, coal, and bioenergy, contributes over a third of methane

emissions.

UNITED NATION’S HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX

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India’s ranking on the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) improved by one position in 

2022 to 134 out of 193 countries ranked compared to 135 out of 191 countries in 2021.

 Human Development Reports (HDRs) have been released since 1990 

 It’s published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

 The goal is to contribute toward the expansion of opportunities, choice and freedom.

 HDI’s indicators:

 Life expectancy at birth (Sustainable Development Goal 3),

 Expected years of schooling (Sustainable Development Goal 4.3),

 Mean years of schooling (Sustainable Development Goal 4.4),

 Gross national income (GNI) (Sustainable Development Goal 8.5).

 The country has one of the largest gender gaps in its labour force participation rate — a 47.8 

percent diff erence between women (28.3 per cent) and men (76.1 per cent).