- The Supreme Court has expressed displeasure over inabilities of CSIR-NEERI and PESO to find out formulae for green crackers. This comes in the backdrop of cracker factories being closed down in Tamil Nadu and about four lakh workers rendered jobless.
- Green crackers are so named because they do not contain harmful chemicals that would cause air pollution.In green crackers the commonly used polluting chemicals like aluminium, barium, potassium nitrate and carbon have either been removed or sharply reduced to slow down the emissions by 15 to 30%.
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) scientists has developed less polluting green firecrackers named as (a) Safe Water Releaser (SWAS) (b) Safe Thermite Cracker (STAR) and (c) Safe Minimal Aluminium (SAFAL).
- CSIR was established by the Government of India in 1942 as an autonomous body that has emerged as the largest research and development organisation in India.
- Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation(PESO)is the apex department to control and administer manufacture, storage, transport and handling of explosives, petroleum, compressed gases and other hazardous substances in India.It functions under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.