NCLT allows Jet Airways ownership transfer to Jalan-Kalrock consortium

• What is it? It is a quasi-judicial authority incorporated for dealing with corporate disputes that are of civil nature arising under the Companies Act,2013.
• Established: It was constituted on 1 June 2016 under the Companies Act,2013.
• Committee: NCLT was formed based on the recommendation of the Balakrishna Eradi committee on law relating to the insolvency and the winding up of companies.
• Composition: The NCLT shall consist of a President and such number of Judicial and Technical Members as may be required.
• Powers:
• It is not limited or bound by the rules laid down in the Code of Civil Procedure and is guided by the principles of natural justice, subject to the other provisions of this Act and of any rules that are made by the Central Government.
• The NCLT can enforce any order that it gives in the same manner as a court would enforce it.
• NCLT has the power to scrutinize its own orders.
• The tribunal has the power to regulate their own procedure.
• National Company Law Tribunal is the adjudicating authority for the insolvency resolution process of companies and limited liability partnerships under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

Novel spray that could prevent COVID-19 infection developed

• Researchers have created thin, thread-like strands of molecules called supramolecular filaments capable of blocking the virus in its tracks.
• The key to this approach is the way that the filaments carry a receptor called angiotensin converting enzyme-2, or ACE2.
• ACE2 provides the entry point for the coronavirus to hook into and infect a wide range of human cells.
• The team''s newly developed filament, called fACE2, serves as a decoy binding site for the virus, with each filament offering several receptors for the COVID-19 spike protein to attach to, and silences ACE2''s biological functions to avoid potential side effects

ACE2

• It is a protein on the surface of many cell types and tissues including the lungs, heart, blood vessels, kidneys, liver and gastrointestinal tract.
• It is an enzyme that generates small proteins – by cutting up the larger protein angiotensinogen – that then go on to regulate functions in the cell.
• ACE2 is present in all people but the quantity can vary among individuals and in different tissues and cells.
• It is present in epithelial cells, which line certain tissues and create protective barriers.
• ACE2 is a vital element in a biochemical pathway that is critical to regulating processes such as blood pressure, wound healing and inflammation, called the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) pathway.
• ACE2 helps modulate the many activities of a protein called angiotensin II (ANG II) that increases blood pressure and inflammation, increasing damage to blood vessel linings and various types of tissue injury.

Record pilgrims at Gangasagar, West Bengal Ministers demand National Mela status

• It is known as the world’s second largest human congregation after Kumbh.
• It happens every year during Makar Sankranti.
• The mela is held at Sagar Island.
• It has been mentioned in Indian epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata, putting its existence as early as 400 BCE.
• The pilgrims after taking a dip in Ganga also visit the temple of Kapil Muni.

Kapil Muni

• Kapila or Maharishi Kapila is a Vedic sage (rishi) traditionally considered to be the original proponent of the Samkhya system of Indian philosophy.
• He is said to have lived in the Indian subcontinent, around the sixth or seventh century C.E.
• Kapila is described within the Puranas as an incarnation of Vishnu.
• He is known for teaching a process of liberation known as bhakti yoga.
• Buddhist sources present Kapila as a well-known philosopher whose students built the city of Kapilavastu
• He is not only renowned in Hinduism, but also in Buddhism.
• Kapila shared many similarities with Buddha, including an emphasis on meditation as a technique for removing suffering, belief that the Vedic gods were subject to limitations and conditions, and dislike for ritual and Brahmanic doctrines.

Sagar Island

• Sagar Island, westernmost island of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta lies in West Bengal
• It lies at the mouth of the Hugli (Hooghly) River, an arm of which separates it from the mainland to the east.

Inter-State Channakha-Korata Barrage gets environmental clearance

• Decks have been cleared for irrigating a part of the ayacut under under the inter-State Chanaka-Korata (Rudha) Barrage across the Penganga river with the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF) issuing Environmental Clearance to the project nearly four years after the process began in April 2019.

Chanaka-Korata Barrage:

• It is a Telangana-Maharashtra joint project on the Penganga river to irrigate 6,677 hectares of land.
• The project envisages the construction of a barrage across the Penganga river to irrigate an area of 6,677 hectares (5,463 hectares in Telangana and 1,214 hectares in Maharashtra).
• The gross command area of the project is 10,442.913 hectares.

Penganga River:

• Origin: It originates in the Ajantha ranges in Aurangabad district in Maharashtra.
• It is a major tributary of the Wardha River (part of Godavari river basin).
• The total length of the river is 676 Km.
• The river flows along the State border between Maharashtra & Telangana before converging into Wardha river.
• Tributaries: The main tributaries of the river are Adan, Kas, Arunavati Kayadhu & Pus.
• The famous Sahastrakund falls on this river.

The most distant star in Milky Way galaxy discovered

• Galactic halo is a nearly spherical volume of thinly scattered stars, globular clusters of stars, and tenuous gas observed surrounding spiral galaxies, including the Milky Way.
• Galactic halo is dominated by invisible dark matter, whose presence is only measurable through the gravity that it exerts.
• Only about 1% of a galaxy’s stellar mass resides in its halo, and due to this low luminosity, the observation of halos in other galaxies is extremely difficult.

Stellar halo

• It is the visible portion of a galactic halo.
• It is composed of globular clusters and field stars which have high space velocities that can take them far out of the galactic disk.
• Stellar halos may hold some of the best preserved fossils of the formation history of galaxies.

Globular clusters

• They are stable, tightly bound clusters of tens of thousands to millions of stars.
• They are associated with all types of galaxies.
• They are more densely populated, with populations ranging from tens of thousands to millions of stars.
• The intense gravitational attraction between the closely packed stars gives globular clusters their regular, spherical shape**.**

Field star

• Stars that are not connected with an astronomical object being studied but which happen to appear in the same field of view when the object is observed through a telescope. Typical examples of field stars are those that appear in the foreground of a telescopic image of a distant galaxy.
• A field star is not part of any stellar cluster such as a globular cluster or open cluster.

Flora and fauna of Great Nicobar in great peril

• It is a subspecies of the larger family of long-tailed macaques found across South-East Asia.
• This particular subspecies is distinct from its cousins in appearance, behaviour and geographical location.
• The macaque is found in only three of the Nicobar islands—Katchal, Little Nicobar, and Great Nicobar—with GNI being home to the largest population.
• Protection status
  • IUCN: Vulnerable

Key facts about Great Nicobar Island(GNI)

• GNI lies between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea in a tectonically sensitive zone. The largest of the Nicobar group of islands at 910 square kilometres.
• Great Nicobar is home to two national parks; Campbell Bay and Galathea National Parks.
• Tribal groups: The Shompen and Nicobarese tribal peoples reside on this Island.

New research uses the iKnife to give an immediate diagnosis for womb cancer

• According to the World Cancer Research Fund International, womb or endometrial cancer is the 6th most commonly occurring cancer among people with uteruses.
• The knife uses electric currents on biopsy tissue and then analyses the vapourised aerosols from the tissue in a mass spectrometer to give real-time information about activity in the tissue.
• The study noted that the knife reliably diagnosed endometrial cancer in tissue within seconds with an accuracy of 89%. This would greatly minimise the delays faced by patients who wait for a normal histopathological diagnosis.

Survey at Alappuzha wetlands hints at a decline in number of visiting waterbirds

• In the recent survey, it is revealed that Duck species sighted in previous surveys were missing this time.
• The most shocking aspect was that duck species like Northern Shoveler, Common teal and Eurasian wigeon, sighted in the previous surveys, were totally missing this time around.

Key facts about the main birds which were sighted during the census:

• Oriental darter
  • It is mainly found in freshwater rivers and ponds.
  • Conservation status
  • IUCN: Near Threat
• Cattle egret
  • Conservation status
  • IUCN: Least Concern
• Spot-billed Pelican
  • It breeds in southern Asia from southern Iran across India east to Indonesia.
  • Conservation status
  • IUCN: Near Threatened
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule IV

Centre puts Neelakurinji on the list of protected plants

• According to the recent orders, those who uproot or destroy the plant will invite a fine of ₹25,000 and three years imprisonment. The cultivation of this and its possession is not allowed,
• Neelakurinji has been included on the list when the Centre expanded the earlier protected list of six plant species to 19.

Neelakurunji

• Neelakuruj is scientifically known as Strobilanthus Kunsthaus,
• It is a shrub that grows in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in South India.
• The plant is named after the famous Kunthi River which flows through Kerala’s Silent Valley National Park, where the plant occurs abundantly.
• It is found at an altitude of 1,300-2,400 metres.
• This flower blooms once in 12 yearsas the pollination of flowers needs a longer period.
• It is mainly found in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

• This act was enacted for the protection of plants and animal species.
• Also, this act established schedules of protected plant and animal species; hunting or harvesting of these species was largely outlawed.

Let us aim to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis by 2027, three years ahead of global target

• The Lymphatic filariasis disease commonly known as elephantiasis is a neglected tropical disease. Infection occurs when filarial parasites are transmitted to humans through mosquitoes.
• This impairs the lymphatic system and can lead to the abnormal enlargement of body parts, causing pain, severe disability and social stigma.
• It is caused by infection with parasites classified as nematodes (roundworms) of the family Filariodidea. There are 3 types of these thread-like filarial worms:
  • Wuchereria bancrofti, which is responsible for 90% of the cases
  • Brugia malayi, which causes most of the remainder of the cases
  • Brugia timori, which also causes the disease.

Global Initiatives to eradicate Lymphatic Filariasis

• WHO’s road map 2021−2030: sets global targets and milestones to prevent, control, eliminate or eradicate 20 diseases
• Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF): WHO established this to stop the transmission of infection by mass drug administration (MDA) of anthelmintics and to alleviate the suffering of people affected by the disease through morbidity management and disability prevention (MMDP).