These new sorghum varieties might help sub-Saharan Africa meet nutritional needs

• The new varieties are enhanced with both provitamin A and non-provitamin A carotenoids.
• These varieties also contain a more efficient phytase enzyme, a protein that breaks down phytic acid. This improves the absorption of nutrients from the diet.
• The results show that sorghum made from the strain of this new variety can produce 32 times more provitamin A carotenoids than regular sorghum varieties.
• New healthier sorghum varieties with significant concentrations of provitamin A carotenoids increase mineral absorption.
• These sorghum lines also contained high concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoids which are important for eye health and brain development.

Sorghum

• It is also called great millet, Indian millet, milo, durra, or shallu, cereal grain plant of the grass family (Poaceae) and its edible starchy seeds.
• The plant likely originated in Africa, where it is a major food crop.
• It is the fifth major staple cereal after wheat, rice, maize and barley.
• It is cultivated worldwide in warmer climates and is an important food crop in semiarid tropical areas of Africa, Asia and Central America.
• In India sorghum is known as jowar, cholam, or Jonna. Different varieties of sorghum range in colour from white and pale yellow to deep red, purple and brown.
• Sorghum is especially valued in hot and arid regions for its resistance to drought and heat.
• It is tolerant to drought because of its root system.
• It performs better than maize during drought and occupies areas unsuitable for maize in stress-prone semiarid areas.
• It is tolerant of salinity and to some extent to waterlogging for a short period. It is sensitive to frost and to sustain flooding.
• In recent years, there has been a shift in sorghum production from the drier western production areas to the wetter eastern

Bhu-Vision: IoT-based automated soil testing & advisory platform

Bhu-Vision

• It is also known as KRISHI-RASTAA Soil Testing System.
• It has been jointly developed by ICAR-IIRR(Indian Council of Agricultural Research -Indian Institute of Rice Research) and KrishiTantra.
• This system seamlessly conducts 12 key soil parameter tests in just 30 minutes.
• It provides quick and accurate results directly to farmers and stakeholders through a soil health card on their mobile devices.

Indian Institute of Rice Research

• It was established as All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project (AICRIP) by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in 1965.
• Headquarter: Hyderabad.
• Mandate
• Basic and strategic research for enhancing rice productivity under irrigated ecosystem
• Coordination of multi-location testing to develop location specific varieties and technologies for various ecosystems.
• Dissemination of technologies, capacity building and establishing linkages

With nimble feet, clouded leopards play hide-and-seek in the forests

Clouded leopard

• It is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China.
• The clouded leopard is categorised into two species: the mainland clouded leopard distributed from central Nepal to peninsular Malaysia, and the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) native to Borneo and Sumatra.
• The mainland clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is often likened to the Ice Age sabretooth because it has the largest canines in proportion to its skull size among all cat species.
• It also has rotating rear ankles that enable it to climb down head first from trees, unlike the other felines.
• They seemed to go wherever they pleased without worrying about other predators, primarily because of their ability to climb trees, even hang upside down from large branches.
• It most often inhabits primary evergreen tropical forests and also lives in secondary forests, logged forests, dry tropical forests, grassland, mangrove swamp, scrubland, and coastal hardwood forest.
• In India, it is found in Sikkim, northern West Bengal, Meghalaya subtropical forests, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
• It is the State animal of Meghalaya.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN: Vulnerable

ISRO transfers satellite bus technology to private firm

Indian Mini Satellite-1

• It was developed by the UR Rao Satellite Centre of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
• It is a small satellite platform designed to enable low-cost access to space.
• Features
  • The IMS-1 bus weighs about 100 kilograms and can carry a 30-kilogram payload.
  • The solar arrays onboard generate 330 watts of power.
  • It comes with four reaction wheels with a 1 Newton thruster that is good for pointing accuracy with an accuracy threshold of 0.1 Degrees.
  • It was used in previous ISRO missions like IMS-1, Youthsat and Microsat-2D.
• It would enable low cost access to space by providing dedicated platform for payloads for earth imaging, ocean and atmospheric studies, microwave remote sensing and space science missions with a quick turnaround time.

India has started manufacturing 38 APIs in past 1.5 years

Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs)

• APIs are the active components in a pharmaceutical drug that produces the required effect on the body to treat a condition.
• APIs are produced by processing chemical compounds.
• In a biologic drug, the active ingredient is known as a bulk process intermediate (BPI).
• In the context of drug development and manufacturing, APIs are the key active components that interact with specific receptors or target molecules in the body to bring about the desired physiological or therapeutic response
• All drugs are made up of two core components: (1) Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API), which is the central ingredient, and (2) excipients.
• Excipients:
  • They are substances other than the drug that helps deliver the medication to your system.
  • Excipients are chemically inactive substances, such as lactose or mineral oil.
  • Some of these materials are used to help the medication remain stable and to control absorption when you take the drug.
• Example: For instance, if you have a headache**, acetaminophen is the API, while the liquid in the gel-capsule or the bulk of a pill is the excipient.**

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in rural and urban India

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

• It is a group of chronic inflammatory conditions that affect the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
• These conditions cause inflammation and damage to the lining of the digestive tract, leading to various symptoms and complications.
• The two main types of IBD are Crohn''s disease and ulcerative colitis.
• Crohn''s disease:
  • It can affect any part of the GI tract, from the mouth to the anus, but most commonly involves the end of the small intestine (ileum) and the beginning of the large intestine (colon).
  • The inflammation in Crohn''s disease can extend deep into the layers of the bowel tissue and may involve skip lesions (affected areas separated by healthy ones).
• Ulcerative colitis:
  • This type of IBD affects the large intestine and the rectum.
  • The inflammation in ulcerative colitis usually begins in the rectum and spreads continuously up the colon in a continuous pattern.
  • The inner lining of the colon becomes inflamed, leading to the formation of ulcers.
• Symptoms: It can vary in severity and may include:
  • Abdominal pain and cramping
  • Diarrhea (which can be bloody in ulcerative colitis)
  • Weight loss and loss of appetite
  • Fatigue
  • Fever
  • Rectal bleeding (common in ulcerative colitis)
  • Joint pain and inflammation
  • Skin problems
• Cause: The exact cause of IBD is unknown, but IBD is the result of a weakened immune system. Possible causes are:
  • The immune system responds incorrectly to environmental triggers, such as a virus or bacteria, which causes inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.
  • There also appears to be a genetic component. Someone with a family history of IBD is more likely to develop this inappropriate immune response.
• Treatment:
  • Although there is no curative treatment for IBD, it’s possible to reduce inflammation and address symptoms with a variety of therapies.
  • The goals of treating IBD include stopping future flare-ups and healing inflammation in the intestines, both in the lining and on a deep cellular level.
  • IBD treatments may include medications, surgery and a range of diet and lifestyle changes that help reduce inflammation and support the immune system.

Cabinet approves investment of ₹1.3 lakh crore in Bharat Net

BharatNet Project

• The National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN), launched in October 2011, was renamed the Bharat Net Project in 2015.
• It is an ambitious project of the Government of India to provide broadband connectivity to all village panchayats in the country.
• It aims to provide affordable broadband connectivity of 2 Mbps to 20 Mbps for all households and on-demand capacity to all institutions to realize the vision of Digital India**, in partnership with States and the private sector.**
• The objective is to facilitate the delivery of e-governance, e-health, e-education, e-banking, Internet and other services to rural India.
• To achieve this, the existing fibres of PSUs (BSNL, Railtel and Power Grid) were utilised and incremental fibre was laid to connect to Gram Panchayats wherever necessary.
• The entire project is being funded by the Universal service Obligation Fund (USOF), which was set up to improve telecom services in rural and remote areas of the country.
• The project is being executed by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), namely Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), which was incorporated on 25.02.2012 under Indian Companies Act 1956.

Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)

• It is a government fund established by the Government of India to provide financial support for the expansion of telecommunications and broadband services in rural and remote areas of the country.
• The primary objective of USOF is to bridge the digital divide and ensure that telecom and internet services are accessible to all, especially in areas where private telecom operators may find it economically unviable to operate due to high infrastructure costs and low population density.
• Funding Mechanism:
  • The USOF is funded through a levy on the revenue earned by telecom operators.
  • The government imposes a Universal Service Levy (USL) on the gross revenue of the telecom companies, which is a percentage of their Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR).
  • This levy is collected and deposited into the USOF.
• The USOF is managed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communications.

10 arrested for hunting, encroachment of forest land near Kuno National Park

Kuno National Park

• Location:
  • It is located in the Sheopur district in Madhya Pradesh.
  • It is nestled near the Vindhyan Hills.
• It is named after the Kuno River (One of the main tributaries of the Chambal River) that cuts across it.
• Initially established as a wildlife sanctuary, it was only in 2018 that the government changed its status into a national park.
• Kuno National Park was selected under ‘Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India’.
• Vegetation: Kuno is primarily a grassland region, though a few rocky outcrops are found here too.
• Flora:
  • Kardhai, Salai, and Khair trees dominate the forested area of Kuno National Park, which is mostly mixed forest.
  • The park has a total of 123 tree species, 71 shrub species, 32 exotic and climbing species, and 34 bamboo and grass species.
• Fauna: The protected area of the forest is home to the jungle cat, Indian leopard, sloth bear, Indian wolf, striped hyena, golden jackal, Bengal fox and dhole, along with more than 120 bird species.

Project Cheetah:

• World''s first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project.
• Project Cheetah was approved by the Supreme Court of India in January 2020 as a pilot programme to reintroduce the species to India.
• Close to 50 cheetahs will be introduced into the wild over the next five years.

Assam’s Manas Tiger Reserve 63% short of staff, activist tells Environment Minister

• It is located in the foothills of Himalayas in Assam. It is contiguous with the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan.
• It is a national park, UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, a Project Tiger reserve, an elephant reserve and a biosphere reserve.
• Flora: It contains some of the largest remaining grassland habitats in the sub-Himalayan grassland ecosystems.
• Fauna: The Park is known for its rare and endangered endemic wildlife such as the Assam roofed turtle, hispid hare, golden langur and pygmy hog.
• The name of the park originates from the Manas River, which is named after the serpent goddess Manasa.
• The Manas River is a major tributary of Brahmaputra River, which passes through the Manas National Park.

Home Minister Amit Shah to launch digital portal of Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies office in Pune

Digital Portal of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS)

• It is aimed at promoting ease of doing business in the cooperative sector and streamlining various processes.
• Objectives: Implementing completely paperless applications, ensuring automatic compliance with the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act (MSCS Act) and rules through software, enhancing the ease of doing business, enabling digital communication, ensuring transparent processing, and improving analytics and management information system.
• This project of computerization will prove particularly helpful in the registration of new Multi-State Cooperative Societies, simplifying their operations and creating a more efficient and transparent digital ecosystem.
• Features:
  • The digital portal will encompass various modules, including registration, amendment of bye-laws, annual return filing, appeal, audit, inspection, inquiry, arbitration, winding up, liquidation, ombudsman, and election.
  • It will also incorporate the recently passed amendments to the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002, and its rules.
  • The portal will expedite the processing of applications and service requests through electronic workflow, facilitating a time-bound approach.
  • It will also feature provisions for OTP-based user registration, validation checks to ensure compliance with the MSCS Act and Rules, hearing through video conferencing, issuance of registration certificates, and electronic communication, read the release.