Rare leucistic Indian spot-billed duck spotted in water body near Tiruppur

Indian-Spot Billed Duck

• It is a large dabbling duck that is a non-migratory breeding duck throughout freshwater wetlands in the Indian subcontinent.
• The name is derived from the red spot at the base of the bill that is found in the mainland Indian population.
• Scientific Name: Anas poecilorhyncha
• Distribution and Habitat:
  • It is a resident throughout Pakistan and India in freshwater wetlands.
  • They inhabit both inland and coastal wetlands such as ponds, lakes, pools, streams, creeks, estuaries, tidal flats and marshes.
  • They tend to avoid very large patches of open water and prefer medium-sized wetlands with vegetation cover.
• Features:
  • It has a scaly patterned body with a green speculum and a band of white tertials.
  • It measures 55–63 cm in length and 83–95 cm across the wings, with a body mass of 790–1,500 g. Males are larger than females.
  • These are mainly grey ducks with a paler head and neck and a black bill tipped bright yellow.
  • The wings are whitish with black flight feathers below, and from above show a white-bordered green.
  • The legs and feet are bright orange to coral red. Juveniles are browner and duller than adults.
  • Feeding Habits: They mostly feed on grasses and other vegetations. Sometimes they may feed on insects.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Red Sea''s coral face new threat: Sea urchin deaths linked to mystery disease

Sea Urchins

• Sea urchins belong to a group of marine invertebrates called echinoderms, which means spiny-skinned animals.
• It includes other well-known marine creatures like starfish and sea cucumbers.
• Sea urchins are characterized by their spherical to somewhat flattened, spiny bodies, and they are found in oceans worldwide, from shallow coastal waters to deep-sea environments.
• They live on the ocean floor, usually on hard surfaces, and use tube feet or spines to move about.
• The largest urchin (known from a single specimen) is Sperostoma giganteumof deep waters off Japan.
• Features:
  • They have a globular body and a radial arrangement of organs, shown by five bands of pores running from mouth to anus over the test (internal skeleton).
  • The pores accommodate tube feet, which are slender, extensible, and often sucker-tipped.
  • They have a hard exoskeleton, or test, made up of interlocking plates or ossicles, which are often covered with movable spines.
  • From nodules on the test arise long, movable spines and pedicellariae (pincerlike organs); these structures may have poison glands.
  • Feeding:
    • They are herbivorous, primarily feeding on algae and plant material.
    • They use their specialized mouthparts, called Aristotle''s lantern, to scrape algae and other food sources from rocks or the seafloor.

Centre to cancel OCI cards over pro-Khalistan activity

Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)

• It is given to overseas Indians.
• OCI Scheme was introduced by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955, in August 2005.
• It provides long-term visa-free travel and stay in India and gives the cardholders a host of privileges normally not given to a foreign national.
• Who is eligible for an OCI card? As per the ministry''s statement, a foreign national -
  • who was a citizen of India at the time of, or at any time after 26 January, 1950;
  • who was eligible to become a citizen of India on 26th January, 1950;
  • who belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15th August, 1947; who is a child or a grandchild or a great-grandchild of such a citizen;
  • who is a minor child of such persons mentioned above**;**
  • who is a minor child and whose both parents are citizens of India or one of the parents is a citizen of India - is eligible for registration as an OCI cardholder.
• Entitlements:
  • A registered OCI is granted multiple entry, multipurpose, life-long visa for visiting India.
  • He/she is exempted from registration with the Foreign Regional Registration Officer or Foreign Registration Officer for any length of stay in India.
  • He/she is entitled to general ''parity with Non-Resident Indians in respect of all facilities available to them in economic, financial and educational fields except in matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.
• OCI cardholder is NOT entitled to:
  • OCI is not to be misconstrued as ''dual citizenship''. OCI does not confer political rights to vote;
  • to be a member of a Legislative Assembly or of a Legislative Council or of the Parliament of India;
  • to hold Indian constitutional posts such as that of the President, Vice President, Judge of the Supreme Court or High Court ;
  • He/she cannot normally hold employment in the Government;
  • to undertake any Missionary work, Mountaineering and Journalism work without prior permission of the Govt. of India;
  • OCI cardholder shall also require Protected Area Permit (PAP)/Restricted Area Permit (RAP) to visit any place which falls within the Protected/Restricted Area notified by the Government as in the case of any other foreigner.
• Renunciation of OCI:
  • If any overseas citizen of India of full age and capacity makes in the prescribed manner a declaration renouncing his overseas citizenship of India, the declaration shall be registered by the Central Government, and; upon such registration, that person shall cease to be an overseas citizen of India.
  • Where a person ceases to be an overseas citizen of India, every minor child of that person registered as an overseas citizen of India, shall thereupon cease to be an overseas citizen of India.

Philippines says Beijing installed floating barrier in contested area

South China Sea

• It is an arm of the western Pacific Ocean that borders the Southeast Asian mainland.
• Boundaries: It is bordered by China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and Vietnam.
• It is connected by the Taiwan Strait with the East China Sea and by the Luzon Strait with the Philippine Sea (both marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean).
• The South China Sea and the East China Sea together form the China Sea.
• The two major archipelagos are known as the Paracel Islands, controlled by China, and the Spratly Islands.
• Climate: Weather in the sea is tropical and largely controlled by monsoons.
• It is the second most used sea lane in the world. It is a significant trade route for crude oil from the Persian Gulf and Africa through the Strait of Malacca to Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.
• Major Ports: Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.

South China Sea dispute

• Several countries claim various parts of the sea, and these claims often overlap.
• In particular, China''s sweeping claims - which include sovereignty claims over land parcels and their adjacent waters - have angered competing claimants like Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.
• Other countries have staked claims on islands and various zones in the sea, such as the Paracels and the Spratlys.
• Nine-dash line:
  • China claims by far the largest portion of territory in an area demarcated by its so-called "nine-dash line".
  • The line comprises nine dashes, which extend hundreds of miles south and east from its most southerly province of Hainan.

India and UN Join Forces to Empower Global South with Capacity Building Initiative

India-UN Capacity Building Initiative

• The initiative is aimed at building the capacity of countries in the Global South.
• The goal is to share India''s development experiences, best practices, and expertise through capacity-building and training programs.
• It extends the success of India''s G20 Presidency, which prioritised the inclusion of voices from the Global South in the G20 agenda.
• The initiative builds upon the extensive cooperation in development and capacity building that India already has bilaterally with the partner countries.
• As part of this initiative, the UN India team and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will “partner to leverage India''s Technical and Economic Cooperation platform to share India''s development experiences and best practices across the world.
• It will also put into action the development goals established during India''s G20 Presidency, including the G20 Action Plan for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and enhancing technology and digital infrastructure.
• What is the Global South?
  • The Global South broadly comprises countries in the regions of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia (excluding Israel, Japan, and South Korea), and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), which are generally characterised by relatively low levels of economic and industrial development.

No brain, no problem: Tiny jellyfish can learn from experience

Caribbean box jellyfish

• These are barely a centimeter long and have no brain.
• It belongs to the Cnidaria phylum. (the animal group which includes jellyfish, sea anemones and coral).
• The Caribbean box jellyfish, or Tripedalia cystophora is known to be able to navigate through murky water and a maze of submerged mangrove roots.
• These gelatinous, fingernail-sized creatures are capable of learning from visual cues to avoid swimming into obstacles.
• It has a cognitive ability which is never seen before in animals with such a primitive nervous system.
• Their performance is called "associative learning" is comparable to far more advanced animals such as fruit flies or mice
• They have four visual sensory centres called rhopalia, each of which has lens-shaped eyes and around a thousand neurons which help in avoiding harm.
• They can respond to "operant conditioning” i.e they can be trained to "predict a future problem and try to avoid it."

India To Be Included in JP Morgan''s Emerging Markets Bond Index from June 2024

• India''s local bonds will be included in the Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) index of the JP Morgan.
• It is expected to reach the maximum weight of 10 per cent in the GBI-EM Global Diversified Index (GBI-EM GD).

Emerging Markets Bond Index

• It is a benchmark index for measuring the total return performance of international government and corporate bonds issued by emerging market countries that meet specific liquidity and structural requirements.
• Emerging market bonds are debt instruments issued by developing countries, which tend to carry higher yields than government or corporate bonds of developed countries.
• Total 23 Indian Government Bonds (IGBs) with a combined notional value of $330 billion are eligible.
• All fall under the category of "fully accessible" for non-residents.

Advantages of this inclusion

• This move promises increased demand for the Indian rupee, potentially buffering against depreciation.
• Lower borrowing costs can fuel essential infrastructure projects.
• Increased liquidity may foster more efficient trading conditions.

What to know about October''s ''ring of fire'' solar eclipse

Annular solar eclipse

• It is often referred to as the "ring of fire.
• This eclipse happens when the moon is at or near its farthest point from Earth in its orbit.
• The moon appears smaller than the sun in the sky and does not fully cover it, creating a striking visual effect.
• The moon appears as a dark disk superimposed on the larger, bright face of the sun, forming a glowing ring or "ring of fire."
• The path of this upcoming eclipse will span several countries in North, Central, and South America.

Types of eclipses

• Total solar eclipse: It happens when the sun, moon and Earth are in a direct line. The dark silhouette of the Moon completely covers the intense bright light of the Sun. Only the much fainter solar corona is visible during a total eclipse which is known as a Totality.
• Partial solar eclipse: It happens when the shadow of the moon appears on a small part of the sun.

19th Edition of YUDH ABHYAS Set to Commence in Alaska, USA

Exercise Yudh Abhyas

• It is an annual exercise conducted jointly by the Indian Army and the United States Army.
• Indian Army contingent comprising 350 personnel will participate in this edition of the Exercise.
• The lead battalion from the Indian side is affiliated to MARATHA Light Infantry Regiment.
• Both sides will practice a series of tactical drills to enhance interoperability in conducting UN peacekeeping operations.
• The theme is ‘Employment of an Integrated Battle Group in Mountain/ Extreme Climatic Conditions’ under Chapter VII of the United Nations mandate.
• The scope of the Field Training Exercise includes validation of Integrated Battle Groups against hostile forces at the Brigade level, Integrated Surveillance Grid at the Brigade/ Battalion level, employment of Heliborne/ Airborne elements and Force Multipliers etc.
• The Exercise will also involve exchange of views and best practices in drills on a wide spectrum of combat skills including combat engineering, obstruction clearance, mine and Improvised Explosive Devices warfare.

Other Exercises between India and USA

• Army: Vajra Prahar
• Navy: MALABAR (Multilateral)
• Air Force: Cope India, Red Flag (Multilateral)

Madhya Pradesh’s newest Ramsar wetland covered in invasive water hyacinth, threatening biodiversity

Cabomba furcuta

• It is popularly called Pink Bloom due to its massive flowering.
• It is native to central and South America which was brought to Kerala as an aquarium plant and has escaped to the wild.
• It is a submerged perennial aquatic plant that grows in stagnant to slow-flowing freshwater.
• The plant has a high natural dispersal potential due to its ability to readily fragment and spread both actively and passively.
• It requires a large quantity of oxygen for its growth and will choke water bodies and drainage canals.
• It causes decline in diversity of native aquatic plants and causes economic losses by affecting yield of freshwater fishes.

Kole wetlands

• It is the largest brackish, humid tropical wetland ecosystem located in the state of Kerala.
• Extending from the northern bank of Chalakudy River in the south to the southern bank of Bharathapuzha River in the north
• It is situated in the central Asian Flyway of migratory birds.