CURRENT-AFFAIRS

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

• The National Board for Wildlife's recent decision to postpone road expansion projects impacting the Pranahita Wildlife Sanctuary highlights increasing environmental concerns.
• About Pranahita Wildlife Sanctuary:
  • Location: Situated in the Adilabad district of Telangana.
  • Area: Encompasses approximately 136 square kilometers.
  • Landscape: Nestled within the picturesque Deccan plateau, featuring dense deciduous teak forests.
  • Rivers: The Pranahita River borders the eastern edge, while the Godavari River flows along the southern boundary. The sanctuary is also known for its ancient rock formations.
  • Topography: Characterized by hilly terrain, dense woodlands, and plateaus.
• Flora:
  • The sanctuary is home to a variety of plant species, including Dalbergia sissoo, Ficus spp., Dalbergia latifolia, Dalbergia paniculata, Pterocarpus marsupium, and many others.
• Fauna:
  • Pranahita is particularly famous for its Blackbuck population and supports a diverse array of wildlife, including over 20 species of reptiles, 50 bird species, and 40 mammal species. Notable mammals found here include tigers, leopards, rhesus macaques, langurs, hyenas, wild dogs, sloth bears, and forest cats, among others.

​​​​​​

• New York State officials have recently confirmed a case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a deer facility, underscoring the disease's effects on populations of deer, elk, and moose.
• About Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD):
  • Nature of the Disease: CWD is a progressive and fatal neurological disorder that affects deer, elk, moose, and other members of the cervid family.
  • Cause: The disease is triggered by abnormal proteins known as prions, which inflict damage on brain tissue, leading to severe neurological symptoms, significant weight loss, and ultimately death.
  • Classification: CWD belongs to a category of diseases called Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs), which also includes mad cow disease in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.
• Transmission:
  • CWD spreads among animals through bodily fluids such as saliva, urine, and feces, as well as via contaminated soil and vegetation. Currently, there is no evidence that CWD can be transmitted to humans. The disease can remain in the environment for extended periods, complicating efforts to manage its spread.
• Symptoms:
  • The onset of symptoms is gradual and may include severe weight loss, lack of coordination, drooling, excessive thirst, diminished fear of humans, and, eventually, death. Symptoms may not become apparent for as long as 16 months post-infection.
• Treatment:
  • CWD is invariably fatal for infected animals, and there is no known vaccine or treatment available.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

• During recent conservation efforts, epigraphists from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) discovered a Telugu inscription on the wall above the statue of Lord Hanuman at the 13th-century Simhachalam temple.
• About Simhachalam Temple:
  • Simhachalam Temple, originally known as the Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, is a significant Hindu temple situated in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. It is dedicated to the avatar of Vishnu known as Narasimha, depicted as a man-lion.
• History:
  • The temple was built in the 11th century by the Gajapati rulers of Odisha. Notably, Kulottunga Chola I from Tamil Nadu made contributions to the temple, as indicated by inscriptions from the year 1087. The Vengi Chalukyas of Andhra Pradesh renovated the original structure in the 11th century. Much of what we see today resulted from further renovations by Narasimha I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty in the early 13th century. The Vijayanagar ruler Krishna Deva Raya is recorded to have visited the temple in 1516, as per inscriptions found on-site.
• Architecture:

The temple showcases a harmonious blend of Kalinga and Dravidian architectural styles, with its main sanctum featuring intricate carvings and sculptures. The presiding deity, Lord Narasimha, is depicted with a human torso and a lion's face, radiating divine strength and grace. The temple also includes a stunning stone chariot drawn by horses. Inside, the Kalyana Mandapa contains 16 pillars adorned with bas reliefs illustrating the various incarnations of Vishnu. The outer walls of the sanctum feature depictions of a royal figure, believed to be King Narasimha, in different poses.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

• The recent rumors regarding a nuclear test by Iran were swiftly denied by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO).
• About the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO):
  • The CTBTO is an international organization headquartered in Vienna, Austria, established to implement the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which aims to prohibit all nuclear explosions globally. The CTBT is a multilateral treaty that was opened for signature in 1996, in which participating states commit to banning all nuclear explosions, whether for military or civilian purposes.
  • The treaty includes mechanisms for monitoring compliance, such as remote sensing and data collection. Although it has been signed by 183 countries and ratified by 164, it has yet to come into force because eight specific states among the 44 Annex-2 states—whose ratification is necessary for the treaty to be activated—have not yet ratified it. These states include the United States, China, Iran, Egypt, Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. To ensure adherence to the treaty's terms, a global network of monitoring facilities has been established, and on-site inspections are permitted for suspicious incidents.

​​​​​​

• A group of researchers studying whales has reported that the population of North Atlantic right whales increased by approximately 4% from 2020 levels, following a significant decline of about 25% from 2010 to 2020.
• These whales are migratory, spending their winters in warmer waters before migrating to polar regions for cooler temperatures in late summer. They inhabit the temperate and subpolar waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans.
• Habitat:
  • Depending on the season and hemisphere, right whales typically spend much of their time near bays, peninsulas, and in shallow coastal waters.
• Distribution:
  • They are primarily found in the coastal waters of the East Coast of the United States and Canada. There are three recognized species of right whales found in different regions globally: Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis), North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis), and North Pacific right whales.
  • These whales engage in skim feeding at or just below the water's surface, swimming slowly through clouds of plankton with their mouths partially open, then filtering the plankton through their long baleen plates.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN: Critically Endangered
  • CITES: Appendix I

​​​​​​

• Recently, the Prime Minister of India announced that over 60,000 Amrit Sarovars have been constructed across villages, leaving a lasting legacy for future generations.
• The initiative was launched on April 24, 2022, with the aim of building 75 Amrit Sarovars during the 75th year of independence as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. This project is designed to address the water crisis in rural areas of the country.
• Each Amrit Sarovar is intended to have a pond area of at least 1 acre, with a water holding capacity of approximately 10,000 cubic meters. The initiative emphasizes water conservation, encourages community participation, and promotes the effective use of soil excavated from water bodies to enhance infrastructure projects.
• This mission follows a Whole of Government Approach and involves six ministries and departments, namely:
  • Department of Rural Development
  • Department of Land Resources
  • Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation
  • Department of Water Resources
  • Ministry of Panchayati Raj
  • Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change
• There is no separate financial allocation specifically for the Mission Amrit Sarovar. The Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) has been appointed as a technical partner for this mission.