- Similipal seeks more female tigers from other regions
- Concern over the sizeable number of pseudo-melanistic tigers in its Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR)
- This is largely due to inbreeding
- The Odisha government has written to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to consider introducing female tigers from other landscapes to the reserve
- Need to increase genetic diversity in Similipal
- According to the All Odisha Tiger Estimation (AOTE 2023-24) report
- 30 tigers were found in the State’s forests
- STR currently holds the largest share of the State’s tiger population
- 24 adult tigers § STR houses all adult female tigers in the State
- A total of 13 adult tigers (seven females and six males) were found to be pseudo-melanistic in Similipal
- Approximately 37% of the tigers in STR
- Pseudo-melanism is a condition characterised by wide, merged stripes
2. 10000 genome project completed
- Department of Biotechnology (DBT) officially announced the completion of the ‘10,000 genome’ project
- It is an attempt to create a reference database of whole-genome sequences out of India
- India first sequenced a complete human genome in 2006
- Creating a database that is representative of India’s population diversity
- A key step to learn about genetic variants that are unique to India’s population groups Use it to customise drugs and therapies
- About 20 institutions across India are involved in the project
- Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad are coordinating the project
- Significance of the project
- The Indian population of 1.3 billion consists of over 4,600 population groups
- Many of them are endogamous
- These factors have contributed to the genetic diversity of the current population
- Thus, the Indian population harbours distinct variations
- Often many disease-causing mutations are amplified within some of these groups
- The main outcomes would be – To gain deeper insight into India’s population diversity To improve diagnostic methods and medical counselling
- To find genetic predispositions to disease
- To develop personalised and customisable drugs
- To improve gene therapy and throw more light on individual susceptibility to infectious disease
- The creation of biobank housing 20,000 blood samples (from which genomes were sequenced) + data archiving “exemplified” the project’s commitment to transparency, collaboration, and future research endeavours
3. Months after peace pact with UNLF, Manipur sees rise in extortion cases
- Issue – Rise in extortion cases in Manipur, India
- This is following a peace pact between the Union government and the Manipur government with various factions of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), an insurgent group in the region
- Stakeholders
- UNLF: The UNLF is one of the oldest valley-based armed insurgent groups in Manipur, involved in the ongoing conflict
- It’s described as a Meitei extremist organisation, which was declared unlawful by the Home Ministry
- Government of India: The central government is a key stakeholder, responsible for maintaining law and order, and ensuring the peace pact is upheld
- Home Ministry: They have designated both temporary and permanent camps for the UNLF cadres and are a critical stakeholder in implementing the peace pact
- Government of Manipur: The state government is also a major stakeholder, dealing with the ground realities of the peace pact and its enforcement
- Security Forces: They are involved in maintaining peace and security in the region and are directly affected by the activities of the UNLF
- Local Communities: The residents of Manipur, particularly in the valley and the Kuki-Zo areas, are stakeholders who are affected by the extortion cases and the presence of armed cadres
4. Home Secretary gets power to destroy interception
- Union government has authorised the Home Secretary to destroy interception orders
- This power was vested only with security agencies until now under the 2009 rules that were framed for regulating call intercepts
- In 2018, the Home Ministry, in a statutory order, authorised 10 agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate and the Intelligence Bureau, to snoop into communications
- These agencies were then required to destroy the intercept orders within six months
- Except when the orders were “required for functional requirements”
- The February 26 order expanded the destruction powers to the Home Secretary
- It is unclear why the Electronics and Information Technology Ministry which issued the amendment granting the Home Secretary this power acted to centralise powers for destruction of surveillance paperwork
- This comes amid intensifying surveillance on Opposition leaders, journalists, and activists
- Allegations of government surveillance to political ends is not new in India
5. India to have its own space station by 2035
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will have its own space station by 2035
- India would once again go to the moon and bring back samples from the lunar surface
- Plans for a crewed lunar mission by 2040
- An Indian is about to go to space after a gap of 40 years
- Rakesh Sharma’s was 1984 space flight aboard USSR’s Soyuz T-11 was the first time
- The ISRO also has Venus on its radar
6. Long reforms top og agenda in third term
- The third term government of Narendra Modi led cabinet to
- Reforms in all factors of production including land, labour and capital
- Along with the “21st century factor” of digital infrastructure
- This is in its pursuit to make India the world’s third-largest economy
ONE LINER
- The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati has inaugurated India’s largest RPTO
- RPTO: Remote Pilot Training Organisation
- In Collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati and EduRade
- Area of 18 acres, can simultaneously fly 9 medium class drones
