For whales, study shows gigantism is in the genes

• The findings highlight the role of four genes — GHSR, IGFBP7, NCAPG, and PLAG1 — and suggest that they promote large body sizes.
• The researchers performed molecular evolutionary analysis on nine candidate genes: five genes from the growth hormone, and four genes associated with increased body size in hoofed animals. They assessed these genes in 19 species of whale.

Role of four genes:

• GHSR is a gene involved in releasing growth hormone through the pituitary gland, body weight, energy metabolism, appetite and fat accumulation. It also is associated with controlling cell proliferation and programmed cell death. Tumors essentially are formed by runaway cell growth.
• IGFBP7 is a gene involved in promoting cell growth and division. There is evidence it acts as a cancer suppressor in prostate, breast, lung and colorectal tumors.
• NCAPG, a gene associated with growth in people, horses, donkeys, cattle, pigs and chickens, is linked to increased body size, weight gain, cell proliferation and cell life cycles.
• PLAG1, a gene associated with body growth in cattle, pigs, and sheep, is involved in embryo growth and cell survival.

Whales:

• Cetaceans, the marine mammal group encompassing whales, dolphins and porpoises, evolved around 50 million years ago from vaguely wolf-like land-based ancestors that belonged to a mammalian assemblage called artiodactyls that includes today’s cows, pigs, sheep and many others.
• Basilosaurus, a toothed apex predator from about 40 million years ago, was the largest-known early whale. The baleen whale lineage dates to roughly 36 million years ago, starting modest in size.
• Blue whales can reach about 100 feet (30 meters) long, fin whales about 80 feet (24 meters), sperm and bowhead whales about 60 feet (18 meters), humpback and right whales about 50 feet (15 meters) and gray whales about 45 feet (13.5 meters).

Discrepancies in insurance disbursement baffles Barmer farmers

• It was incorporated under the Indian Companies Act 1956 on 20th December, 2002.
• The company has an authorized capital of Rs. 1500 crore and paid-up share capital of Rs. 200 Crores.
• The Company is under administrative control of the Ministry of Finance.
• It is the biggest crop insurance company in the world (20 million farmers covered).
• It is headquartered at New Delhi, India.
• It is promoted by 6 Public Sector Financial Institution General Insurance Corporation, New India Assurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company, National Insurance Company, United India Insurance Company and NABARD.:
• AIC provides weather & yield-based crop insurance schemes in over 500 districts of India.
• AIC provides insurance cover to the farmers for financial losses arising from the failure of the crop (mentioned in insurance scheme) resulting from the pests, diseases, and natural calamities.

IISF 2023: The India International Science Festival begins in Bhopal

• It is an initiative of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Science of Government of India in association with Vijnana Bharati which is a science movement with Swadeshi spirit led by eminent scientists of the country.
• It is a festival to celebrate the achievements of India’s scientific and technological advancements with students, innovators, craftsmen, farmers, scientists and technocrats from India and abroad.
• ISF provides opportunities to people and scientific fraternity in the country and abroad to come together and work together.****

IISF 2022:

• Location: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
• It is the eighth edition since its inception in 2015.
• Theme: ‘Marching towards Amrit Kaal with Science, Technology, and Innovation’
• IISF 2022 is a four day festival and will feature 14 thematic events.

Centre to send proposal to UNESCO nominating Charaideo Maidam as World Heritage site: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

• Charaideo commonly known as ‘Pyramids of Assam’ was the original capital of the Ahom Kings.
• Charaideo remained the symbolic center of Ahom Kingdom even though the capital of the kingdom moved many times.
• It was built by Chaolung Sukhapa the founder of the dynasty in about 1229 CE.
• Location: Located at the foothills of Nagaland, it’s situated at a distance of around 30 KM from the historical Sivsagar town in Assam.
• Why is Charaideo known as ‘Pyramids of Assam’?
  • It contains sacred burial grounds of Ahom kings and queens and is also the place of the ancestral Gods of the Ahoms.
  • Some 42 tombs (Maidams) of Ahom kings and queens are present at Charaideo hillocks.
  • Architecture: It comprises a massive underground vault with one or more chambers having domical superstructure and covered by a heap of earthen mound and externally it appears a hemispherical mound.

Ahom Dynasty:

• It was founded by Chaolung Sukapha , who entered the Brahmaputra valley in 1228.
• They ruled Assam for six centuries.
• The Ahoms created a new state by taking over the older political system of the bhuiyans (landlords).
• The Ahom administration was a monarchial government with democratic and aristocratic values as well.
• Ahom society was divided into clans and with the expansion of the kingdom, the clans moved and took charge of the designated territory.
• The Ahoms followed stringent travel policies to protect their motherland against the foreign invaders for inward travel.
• In the 17th century, the Ahom rule got weakened due to multiple Burmese invasions and internal conflicts.
• Ahom Kingdom was annexed by the British East India Company after the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826.

Bird watchers raise concern over ''fewer'' migratory birds in Bengal sanctuary

• It was established in 1977.
• It is also known as Deer Park.
• Location: It is located near Santiniketan in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum District of West Bengal.
• Area: 200 hectares
• Elevation: It has an average elevation of 56 meters.
• Flora: The sanctuary has dense local vegetation of Sal, Akashmoni, Sishoo, Cashewnut, Amlaki, Bahera and Haritaki.
• Fauna: The sanctuary has a deer conservation park which is home to a large number of deer including Cheethals (Spotted Deer) and the Blackbucks. Other animals include jackals, foxes and a variety of water birds.
• It is home to three large lakes which hosts a large number of migratory birds every year.

What is the Leopard 2 tank, and how could it help Ukraine against Russia?

• It is a German made main battle tank.
• Manufacturer: Developed by German weapons manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW).
• Leopard was first produced in the late 1990s for the West German army in response to Soviet threats during the Cold War.
• Range: 500km (311 miles)
• Weight: 55 tonne
• Top speed: 68 km/h (42mph).
• Other Features:
• These tanks are armed with a 120mm smoothbore cannon.
• It is also armed with two coaxial light machine guns.
• They also provide “all-round protection” for troops from threats such as mines, anti-tank fire, and improvised explosive devices
• The Leopard 2 tanks are mainly used by the German military. More than a dozen countries in Europe as well as other countries like Canada are also using these tanks.

Tourism Ministry to organize 1st Global Tourism Investors Summit from 10th to 12th April 2023

• It is organised under the aegis of India''s G20 Presidency.
• The aim of the summit is to bring together global business leaders, and policymakers to understand and explore Tourism Business opportunities in India.
• The event focused on promoting India as an investment destination for travel, tourism, and hospitality by identifying State-Specific investment possibilities and discuss avenues to promote sustainable tourism.

First G20 Health Working Group meeting in Thiruvananthapuram from Jan 18-20

• Various discussions are being held focussing on international cooperation for Universal health care, in the three-day conference.
• Discussions on strengthening medical value travel enabling easy travel to countries with low cost treatment facilities and also on holistic health care through the integration of traditional methods of treatment like Ayurveda were held.

Three priorities for the G20 Health Track:

• Priority I: Health Emergencies Prevention, Preparedness and Response (with focus on One Health & AMR).
• Priority II: Strengthening Cooperation in Pharmaceutical Sector with focus on Access and Availability to safe, effective, quality and Affordable Medical Countermeasures (Vaccines, Therapeutics and Diagnostics).
• Priority III: Digital Health Innovations and Solutions to Aid Universal Health Coverage and Improve Healthcare Service Delivery.

History:

• The G20 Health Working Group (HWG) was established under the German Presidency in 2017 to develop a shared international agenda on issues such as strengthening health-care systems, reducing malnutrition, health-crisis management and scaling up the fight against pandemics.
• India assumed presidency of the G20 on 1st December 2022.
• India is currently part of the G20 Troika comprising Indonesia, India and Brazil, marking the first time that the troika is consisting of three developing and emerging economies.

First G20 Environment Meet to Be Held in February

• The discussions at ECSWG will focus on the agenda ‘Promotion of Blue Economy along with Coastal Sustainability’, ‘Restoration of Degraded Lands and Ecosystems’ and ‘Enhancement of Biodiversity’ and ‘Strengthening of Circular Economy’.
• It is to be hosted by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).

Initiatives by Karnataka State Forest Department:

• e- Parihara, an online application that helps in processing and sanction of ex-gratia claims in cases of man-animal conflicts; thus, bringing in transparency and efficiency in the processing of claims.
• e- Gastu an Android based platform captures forest patrolling/field activities undertaken by frontline staff of the forest department, which can be visualized by supervisory officers over satellite imageries, on regular basis.
• e- timber facility provides a near real time wood stock available in government timber depots and enables e-auction facilities for timber/ other forest produce in government timber depots.
• The Geo-Spatial Forest Information System developed by the Karnataka Forest Department is a unique platform which uses Remote Sensing and GIS technology and provides spatial database of all notified forest lands in the State, providing access to the forest land notifications, village maps, forest maps and digitised notified forest at cadastral level.
• The Forest Fire Management System is a comprehensive solution for planning, mitigation and analysis of forest fire which provides forest fire risk zonation mapping, fire start vulnerability mapping, burnt area assessment along with a robust system for dissemination of active forest fire alerts to ensure that all fire incidences are addressed and mitigated in a time bound manner.

Telangana Forest department to launch two more safari tours in Amrabad Tiger Reserve

• The Amrabad Tiger Reserve which is part of the Nallamala Forest track has rich Biological Diversity with several endemic species of flora and fauna.
• This Forest tract is home to the largest number of Tigers in Telangana State.
• The hilly terrain of this Tiger Reserve with deep valleys and gorges forms the catchment of the Krishna River.
• This Tiger Reserve (ATR) is one of the largest tiger reserves in India that extends about 2611.4 Sq Km over Nagarkurnool and Nalgonda districts of Telangana State.
• This is the second-largest Tiger Reserve in terms of core area but the sixth-largest tiger reserve in terms of total area among 51 Tiger Reserves in India.
• The reserve was notified as a sanctuary in the year 1983 and after the bifurcation of Telugu States in 2014, it was declared as Amarabad Tiger Reserve.
• It lies in the three forest divisions of Amarabad, Achampet in Nagarkurnool district, and Nagarjunsagar division in Nalgonda district.
• Major reservoirs like the Srishailam Dam and Nagarjunsagar Dam are fed by the river Krishna and its several perennial streams that originate in the Tiger Reserve.