Bull shark that attacked fisherman was first sighting in Vaitarna river

About Vaitarna River:

• It is one of the west flowing rivers in the region North of Mumbai and South of the Tapi River.
• It originates in the Trimbakeshwar Hills of Nasik district of Maharashtra.
• It receives most of the rainfall from the South West monsoon during June to October. Almost 98% of the annual rainfall of the basin is received during this period.
• Tributaries: The main tributaries are Pinjal, Ganjai, Surya, Daharji and Tansa.
• The catchment area of Vaitarna basin completely lies in Thane and Nasik districts of Maharashtra.
• It drains an area of 2019 sq. km before it falls into the Gulf of Khambhat. 

Key facts about Bull Shark

• They’re known to be aggressive towards humans and are thought to be one of the most dangerous shark species in the world.
• Habitat: These are frequently spotted in tropical coastal areas worldwide, including shallower waters along coastlines.
• Bull sharks have a unique ability to tolerate freshwater and saltwater habitats, meaning they can sometimes be found venturing into rivers and travelling great distances upstream. 
• It reproduces through viviparity, the process in which the embryo develops within the mother’s body, leading to live birth. 
• Conservation status
• IUCN: Vulnerable

WHO launches digital health platform agreed upon in India’s G20 presidency

About Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH):

• It is a WHO-managed network aiming to amplify and align resources toward country-led digital health transformation through strengthened collaboration and knowledge exchange.
• It is a platform for sharing knowledge and digital products among countries.
• The initiative aims to achieve the following objectives through collaborative efforts:
• Assess and prioritise the country’s needs for sustainable digital health transformation.
• Increase the alignment of country-level digital health resources and unfunded priorities.
• Support the accelerated achievement of the strategic objectives of the Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020-2025.
• Build capacity and converge efforts to encourage local development, maintenance, and adaptation of digital health technologies to continuously changing needs.
• The initiative will be a network of networks with four main components:
• country needs tracker
• country resource portal (a map of resources available in a country)
• transformation toolbox that will share quality-assured digital tools
• knowledge exchange.
• GIDH will support countries in three ways: by listening to their needs, by aligning resources to avoid fragmentation and overlap, and by providing quality-assured products.
• Membership: Membership is open to all institutions engaged in digital health.

Great Nicobar: Indian president visits island as fears grow for tribe

About Shompen Tribe:

• The Shompen are one of the most isolated tribes on Earth.
• They reside in the dense tropical rainforest of the Great Nicobar Island of Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands.
• They are one of the least studied Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India.
• Though according to the Census (2011), the estimated population of Shompen is 229, the exact population of Shompen is unknown till today.
• Most of them are uncontacted, refusing all interactions with outsiders.
• They live in small groups, whose territories are identified by the rivers that crisscross the rainforest.
• They are semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers, and their main sources of livelihood are hunting, gathering, fishing, and a little bit of horticultural activities in a rudimentary form.
• Primarily, they used to hunt wild pigs, python, monitor Lizard, crocodile, sea turtle etc.
• They collect a wide variety of forest plants, but their staple food is the pandanus fruit, which they call larop. 
• Shompen speak their own language, which has many dialects. Members of one band do not understand the dialect of the other. 
• They are of short to medium stature, have a round or nearly broad head shape, narrow nose, and a broad facial profile, and distinctly exhibit Mongoloid features such as light brown to yellow-brown skin and oblique eye features.
• Shompen have nuclear families comprising husband, wife, and their unmarried children.
• A Shompen family is controlled by the eldest male member, who controls all activities of the women and kids.
• Monogamy is the general rule, although polygamy is allowed too.

NDPS | Courts Should Be Slow in Granting Bail to the Accused in Case of Recovery of Huge Quantity of Narcotic Substance From the Accused

About Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NPDS) Act, 1985:

• The NDPS Act prohibits any individual from engaging in any activity consisting of the production, cultivation, sale, purchase, transport, storage, and/or consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance.
• Objectives:
• To take measures for preventing, combating, and regulating operations relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
• To provide for the forfeiture of property derived from or used in, illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
• To implement the provisions of the international conventions on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and for all relevant matters.
• To add or omit the list of psychotropic substances.
• What are Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances?
• “Narcotic Drug” means coca leaf, cannabis (hemp), opium, poppy straw, and includes all manufactured drugs.
• “Psychotropic substance” means any substance, natural or synthetic, or any natural material or any salt or preparation of such substance or material included in the list of psychotropic substances specified in the Schedule.
• Applicability: The NDPS Act prohibits a person from manufacture/production/cultivation/ possession/sale/purchase / transport / store / consume any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance without due permission from the appropriate authorities.
• Punishment under the NDPS Act:
• The Act follows a graded system of punishment, with the punishment varying and the quantum of punishment being dependent upon whether the offence pertains to small, commercial, and intermediate quantities of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
• For offences involving commercial quantities of drugs, a minimum penalty of ten years of rigorous imprisonment is prescribed, which may extend to twenty years.
• Repeat offences attract one and a half times the penalty and, in a few cases, even the death penalty.
• By amendment to the Act in 1989, due to the serious nature of the offence, the sentence awarded under the NDPS Act became non-commutable except for the sentence awarded for the consumption of drugs. 
• Alongside these stringent provisions, the Act has procedural safeguards as follows:
• Personal search: Any person being searched has a right to be searched before a Gazetted Officer or a Magistrate (Section 50).
• Searches: Gazetted Officers of the empowered Departments can authorise Such authorization has to be based on information taken down in writing. 
• Searches can be made under certain circumstances without a warrant (from a magistrate) or authorization (from a Gazetted Officer). 
• Arrests: The person who is arrested should be informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds of his arrest [Section 52(1)].
• If the arrest or seizure is based on a warrant issued by a magistrate, the person or the seized article should be forwarded to that magistrate.
• The officer who arrests a person has to make a full report to his official superior within 48 hours.
• Immunities:
• Officers: Officers acting in the discharge of their duties in good faith under the Act are immune from suits, prosecution, and other legal proceedings.
• Addicts: Addicts charged with the consumption of drugs or with offences involving small quantities will be immune from prosecution if they volunteer for de-addiction. This immunity may be withdrawn if the addict does not undergo complete treatment.
• Offenders: Central or state governments can tender immunity to an offender in order to obtain his evidence in the case. This immunity is granted by the government and not by the court.
• Juvenile offenders: Juvenile offenders (below 18 years of age) will be governed by the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.
• Immunities to diplomats as applicable.

Last-ditch effort: Indian delegation heads to London for FTA talks

About Model Code of Conduct (MCC):

• MCC is a set of guidelines intended to regulate political parties and candidates during elections to ensure that the conduct of polls by the Election Commission of India (ECI) is free and fair.
• This is something political parties and candidates voluntarily agree to.
• Divided into eight parts, the guidelines cover dos and don’ts for electioneering as well as on publication of advertisements at the cost of the exchequer, among other things.
• The ECI ensures observance of the MCC by a political party in power and contesting candidates for conducting free and fair elections under Article 324 of the Constitution of India.
• The salient features of the Model Code of Conduct lay down how political parties, contesting candidates and party(s) in power should conduct themselves during the process of elections i.e. on their general conduct during electioneering, holding meetings and processions, poll day activities and functioning of the party in power etc.
• MCC also ensures that official machinery for electoral purposes is not misused. Further, it is also ensured that electoral offences, malpractices, and corrupt practices are prevented by all means. In case of violation, appropriate measures are taken.
• The code comes into effect from the time the EC announces the schedule of elections and will be in force till the results are announced.
• Applicability:
• During general elections to the Lok Sabha, the code is applicable throughout the country.
• During general elections to the Legislative Assembly of the state, the code is applicable in the entire State.
• During bye-elections, the MCC would be applicable in the area of the concerned Constituency only.
• Is MCC Legally Enforceable?
• The MCC by itself is not legally enforceable but certain provisions of the MCC may be enforced through invoking corresponding provisions in other statutes such as the Representation of the People Act, 1951, IPC and CrPC.

Raisina Dialogue begins today: Everything you need to know about the conference

About Raisina Dialogue:

• It is an annual conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics, which aims to address the most challenging issues faced by the world.
• It is held annually since 2016 in New Delhi.
• The conference is attended by people from political, business, media, and civil society backgrounds.
• The Dialogue is structured as a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral discussion, involving heads of state, cabinet ministers and local government officials, who are joined by thought leaders from the private sector, media and academia.
• It is organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
• The theme of the 2024 edition is “Chaturanga: Conflict, Contest, Cooperate, Create,”
• During the three-day conference, the participants will engage with each other over six “thematic pillars”. These include:
• Tech Frontiers: Regulations & Realities
• Peace with the Planet: Invest & Innovate
• War & Peace: Armouries & Asymmetries
• Decolonising Multilateralism: Institutions & Inclusion
• The Post 2030 Agenda: People & Progress
• efending Democracy: Society & Sovereignty,

Asia-Pacific region 32 years behind 2030 target on achieving SDGs: UNESCAP

About the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific:

• It is the most inclusive intergovernmental platform in the Asia-Pacific region.
• It was established in 1947.
• Mandate: To promote economic and social development in the Asian and Pacific region by fostering cooperation between its members and associate members.
• The Commission promotes cooperation among its 53 member States and 9 associate members in pursuit of solutions to sustainable development challenges.
• It is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations.
• It carries out work in areas like Macroeconomic Policy, Poverty Reduction and Financing for Development, Trade, Investment and Innovation, Transport, Environment and Development, Information and Communications Technology, Disaster Risk Reduction and Social Development etc.
• Headquarters: Bangkok, Thailand

What are Sustainable Development Goals?

• These were adopted by the United Nations in 2015as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
• The SDGs framework sets targets for 231 unique indicators across 17 SDG goals related to economic development, social welfare, and environmental sustainability, to be met by 2030.
• The 17 SDGs are integrated; they recognise that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

After 30 years, Buddha relics travel to Thailand

About Kapilvastu Relics:

• The relics were excavated from Piprahwa in the Siddharthnagar District of Uttar Pradesh, an erstwhile part of the ancient city of Kapilavastu.
• A British colonial engineer and an estate manager William Claxton Peppé discovered an inscribed casket in 1898 at the stupa site in Piprahwa.
• The inscription on the casket’s lid refers to the relics of Buddha and his community, the Sakya.
• History:
• At the age of 80, according to Buddhist beliefs, Buddha attained salvation in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district.
• The Mallas of Kushinagar cremated his body with ceremonies befitting a universal king.
• His relics from the funeral pyre were collected and divided into eight shares to be distributed among the Ajathsatrus of Magadha, the Licchavis of Vaishali, the Sakyas of Kapilavastu, Mallas of Kushinagar, Bullies of Allakappa, the Mallas of Pava, the Koliyas of Ramagrama and a Brahmana of Vethadipa.
• The purpose was to erect stupas over the sacred relics.
• Two more stupas came up — one over the urn in which the relics had been collected and the other over the embers.
• Thus, stupas erected over the bodily relics of Buddha (Saririkastupas) are the earliest surviving Buddhist shrines.
• It is stated that Ashoka (circa 272–232 BCE) being an ardent follower of Buddhism, opened -up seven of these eight stupas, and collected a major portion of the relics for enshrinement within innumerable (84000 stupas) built by him in an effort to popularise Buddhism and spread the dharma.

Tamil Nadu bans sale of cotton candy due to presence of ''cancer-causing'' chemical

About Rhodamine-B:

• It is a water-soluble chemical compound.
• While it appears green in powder form, it turns vivid fluorescent pink when it comes in contact with water.
• It is a chemical commonly used for dyeing in the textile, paper, leather, and paint industries as a colouring agent that helps in attaining the red and pink spectrum.
• "As per the Food Safety Standards Act, 2006, preparation, packaging, importing, selling and serving food items with Rhodamine-B in wedding ceremonies and other public events is a punishable offence.
• It is an industrial dye which is not allowed in food anywhere in the world as it is toxic.

Why is it harmful?

• Researchers have identified that if food containing this chemical is consumed regularly, it can cause damage to the cerebellum tissue in the brain and to the brainstem that connects the brain to the spinal cord.
• These damages can lead to functional abnormalities and can hinder human motor functioning. 
• The chemical is toxic to humans and can cause oxidative stress on cells and tissues if ingested.
• It becomes particularly hazardous when it is mixed with food products, leading to cancer and tumours over time.