GFRA — Why India’s rank matters GFRA: The Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) compiles the Global Forest Resources Assessment to quantify forest area, growth, and use worldwide using standardized country reports & remote sensing.
India’s position: 9th in total forest area and among the top in annual forest gain, reflecting sustained afforestation, community forestry, and agro-forestry initiatives.
Exam tip: Distinguish area rank from net gain rank; policy slogans (e.g., urban tree drives) often appear in explanations, not the headline indicator.

Codex CCSCH — What it does Codex: The Codex Alimentarius Commission sets internationally recognized food standards to protect consumers and enable fair trade.
CCSCH: The Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs drafts product standards (identity, purity, contaminants, labelling) for global spice commerce.
Why Kochi matters: New standards for vanilla, large cardamom, and coriander raise the tally of Codex spice standards and help exporters meet uniform benchmarks, reducing rejection risk in high-value markets.

India–Japan naval cooperation Scope: India’s INS Sahyadri operated near Kyushu with Japanese units such as JS Asahi and JS Oumi, practicing anti-submarine, air-defense, and replenishment drills.
Why it matters: Regular India–Japan exercises enhance interoperability, maritime domain awareness, and logistics readiness across the Indo-Pacific sea lanes.
Context: Bilateral exercises complement multilateral frameworks, signaling commitment to a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific.