Skewed rainfall distribution drowning north, northwestern India while peninsular south remains dry

The India Meteorological Department categorised monsoon rainfall in the country as ‘normal’ as of July 10, 2023. However, 15 subdivisions in the eastern and southern peninsula have deficit rainfall.

• The July downpour that hit the northern regions of the country on July 8 and 9 highlighted the large to large excess anomalous distribution of monsoon 2023 reported till now. A combination of factors have led to this anomaly.
• In June 2023, Cyclone Biparjoy led to the western and northwestern regions of the country experiencing excess to large excess rainfall while eastern and southern India remained dry due weak monsoonal rain.
• By July, a marine heatwave brewing in Bay of Bengal pumped enough moisture to the monsoon depression or low pressure area, which moved toward the northwestern regions of the country instead of going in the north-central direction.
• In a rare occurrence, this low pressure system interacted with a western disturbance to produce extreme rainfall that the northern states witnessed on July 8 and 9, 2023.
• A western disturbance is an extratropical storm originating in the Mediterranean region and which normally brings sudden rainfall in the northwestern parts of the subcontinent, usually during the winters.
• Taking stock of all the meteorological and climatic events, 2023 has been reporting a lot of aberrations, starting with the drier western regions of the country — Gujarat and Rajasthan — having reported excess rain in June.

Kharif crops take a severe hit by intense and unprecedented rainfall across India

• A delayed southwest monsoon had earlier impacted Kharif season crops with low soil moisture. Record-breaking, heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in different regions, especially in the northwestern states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, has now dealt a crushing blow by inundating the fields of already sown crops.
• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has advised farmers to drain out excess water from their fields so that standing crops are saved from rotting. It has also asked to postpone the sowing or transplanting of paddy and sowing of other Kharif crops like maize and pulses in at least 11 states and Union territories.
• Maize and cotton crops seem to have been affected the most, with farmers staring at heavy losses.

Maize

• The predominant maize growing states that contributes more than 80 % of the total maize production are:
• Andhra Pradesh (20.9 %) > Karnataka (16.5 %) > Rajasthan (9.9 %) > Maharashtra (9.1 %) > Bihar (8.9 %) > Uttar Pradesh (6.1 %) > Madhya Pradesh (5.7 %) > Himachal Pradesh (4.4 %)
• **Temperature:**Between 21-27°C
• **Rainfall:**High rainfall.
• **Soil Type:**Old alluvial soil.
• Maize is used both as food and fodder.
• The United States of America (USA) is the largest producer of maize contributes nearly 36% of the total production in the world.
• India is the seventh largest producer of Maizerepresenting around 4% of world maize area and 2% of total production.

Cotton Crop

• It is a Kharif Crop that comes from the natural fibres of cotton plants, which are native to tropical and subtropical regions.
• The top five cotton producing countries are China, India, the United States of America, Brazil and Pakistan, which together account for more than three-quarters of global production.
• Being renewable and biodegradable, cotton is the most environmentally friendly raw material for the textile industry as compared to its synthetic alternatives.
• Cotton plants have a large growing period which can extend up to 200 days. Growing cotton starts between December and March. These plants require a relatively high temperature (21-30°C) over a long growing season.
• The cotton is not a thirsty crop as it is a xerophyte, which can grow in dry, arid environments.

Cotton production in India:

• India is the largest producer of cotton in the world and the third largest exporter. It is also the largest consumer of cotton in the world.
• Top Cotton Producing States in India are Gujarat, Maharashtra. Telangana, Andhra Pradesh.
• India is the country to grow all four species of cultivated cotton G.arboreum and Herbaceum (Asian cotton), G.barbadense (Egyptian cotton) and G. hirsutum (American Upland cotton).
• hirsutum represents 94% of the hybrid cotton production in India and all the current Bt cotton hybrids are G. hirsutum.
• Now India’s Cotton would be known as ‘Kasturi Cotton’ in the world cotton Trade.
• The pest-resistant Genetically Modified (GM) Bt cotton hybrids have captured the Indian market (covering over 95% of the area under cotton) since their introduction in 2002.
• These now cover over 95% of the area under cotton, with the seeds produced entirely by the private sector.
• India is the only country that grows cotton as hybrids and the first to develop hybrid cotton back in 1970.

Just why are tomato prices going north? Dalwai Report offers clues

• The Dalwai committee report had made many recommendations for better buying and selling of potatoes, onions and tomatoes and for the facilities of the farmers. According to the Dalwai Committee report, 58 per cent of tomatoes are sold by farmers to private traders. Processors do not buy tomatoes from farmers.
• Neither cooperative institutions nor agencies of the government show interest in this purchase. That is why the farmer is forced to sell the tomato crop to private players.
• The report of the Dalwai Committee laid special emphasis on the link between farmer income and tomato losses. The report described the tomato as a “sensitive product for mass consumption”.
• The report urged strengthening the supply chain for tomatoes. For this, Operation Green was launched, that included a scheme to deliver produce directly from the farm to the consumer. But its effect was not visible.
• According to the report and recommendations of the Dalwai Committee, issues like cold chain, modern pack houses and pooling points along with transport arrangements from the village have not been given much attention.

Major recommendations of Dalwai Committee

• Agricultural Marketing - The committee has called for placing agricultural marketing in the Concurrent list.
• This would facilitate the one-India market concept.
• Also, while cultivation is geographically limited, marketing has no boundaries which necessitates a pan-India level operation to meet the demand across the country.
• It has also recommended greater private sector participation in agri-marketing and logistics.
• State Level Measures -

1. Creation of better physical infrastructure.
2. Improved price information dissemination campaigns.
3. Reforming regulations that force farmers to sell their produce to local monopolies.

• Producer Organisations - It suggested increasing the number of farmer producer and village producer organisations (FPO/VPO).
• FPOs and VPOs could play a critical role in integrating the small and marginal farmers into the agricultural market system.
• Each FPO/VPO would cover 1,000 farmers and/or 1,000 hectares.
• It also called for amending the Companies Act to facilitate private sector shareholding in FPOs up to 26 per cent.
• Also, incentivising them by treating them at par with cooperative societies would be of help.
• Marketing system - Wholesale - The current agricultural marketing system comprises of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) which operate principal markets and their extended sub-market yards.
• It is suggested that State Governments may convert these principal and sub-market yards into full-fledged and independent markets.
• Private - While this will help improve the number of wholesale markets, the remaining requirement has to be met by promoting private markets.
• This could be done under the provisions of the proposed Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing, (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2017 (APLM).
• The committee has also urged the Union Agriculture Ministry to roll out the Model APLM Rules so that States can make the act operational.
• Rural - It suggested upgrading the existing rural periodical markets as Primary Rural Agricultural Markets for meeting the rural retail markets demand.
• It also highlighted the need for both the Centre and the States/UTs constituting special purpose vehicles to own and operate the National Agriculture Market.
• These suggestions are in line with achieving the desired market density (wholesale and rural retail markets) to build a pan-India system.
• Other recommendations - The committee has opined that small and marginal farmers would benefit from an efficient marketing system only if they have the withholding capacity.
• For this, the committee has suggested offering pledge finance i.e.post-harvest loan against produce as collateral.
• Upgrading storage godowns, including cold storages is a prerequisite to make available Negotiable Warehouse Receipts for these loans.
• The Ministry has to develop comprehensive guidelines to promote warehouse-based post-harvest loans and eNWR (Negotiable Warehouse Receipts) based trading.
• There is also a need to orient financial institutions to participate in the pledge loan system.

Dalwai Committee

• The government announced to double farm incomes by 2022 in its Union Budget 2016-17.
• In line with this it appointed an 8-member inter-ministerial committee headed by Ashok Dalwai, to consider major reforms in agriculture sector.
• It was tasked to prepare a blueprint for transition of farm policies from being production oriented to based on incomes or value addition.

FPO/VPO

• A Farmer Producer Organisation is a kind of a hybrid company between cooperative societies and private limited companies.
• The objective of the concept is to organize farmers into a collective to improve their bargaining strength in the market.
• They are owned and governed by shareholder farmers (or artisans) and administered by professional managers.

Statues depicting life of indigenous Todas, native wildlife lend colour to Udhagamandalam town

The statues are being put up as part of a beautification project, under ‘Ooty 200’, to mark the bicentenary of the first colonial expedition to the Nilgiris

The life of the indigenous Toda community as well as their culture, including the stone-lifting competition that is held in the toda ‘munds’ (villages). The beautification work is part of a number of projects being undertaken by the Nilgiris district administration as part of the ‘Ooty 200’ celebrations, to mark the bicentenary of the first colonial expedition to the Nilgiris, led by British administrator, John Sullivan.

As part of the project, statues of Nilgiris’ wildlife, including elephants and deer have also been installed near HPF. Similar exhibits, with Indian gaur also feature in garden squares and traffic islands in the town. Artists from Coimbatore were also brought to the Nilgiris to paint murals along walls and revetments on various buildings and along the sides of the road within the town.

• Toda Tribe is a pastoral tribe of the Nilgiri Hills of southern India.
• The Toda language is Dravidian but is the most unusual and different among the languages belonging to the Dravidian family.
• They live in settlements of from three to seven small thatched houses.
• They traditionally trade dairy products, as well as cane and bamboo articles, with the other Nilgiri peoples.

Toda Embroidery

• In the Toda language it is called pohor.
• The traditional Toda dress is a distinctive shawl which is called putukuli.
  • Considered a grand garment, it is only worn for special occasions like visits to the temple, festivals and finally as a shroud.
• The embroidery is done by Toda women and has distinctive red and black (and occasionally blue) thread work in geometric designs on unbleached white cotton fabric.
• It has got a Geographical Indications (GI) Tag.

IISc. scientists develop composite semiconductor for next-gen foldable phones and wearable devices

• Traditional semiconductor devices – such as transistors, the building blocks of most electronic circuits – used in display units are either made of amorphous silicon or amorphous oxides, both of which are not flexible and strain tolerant.
• Adding polymers to the oxide semiconductors may increase their flexibility, but there is a limit to how much can be added without compromising the semiconductor’s performance.
• In the current study, published in Advanced Materials Technologies, researchers have found a way to fabricate a composite containing a significant amount of polymer – up to 40% of the material weight – using a solution-process technique, specifically inkjet printing.
• In contrast, previous studies have reported only up to 1-2% polymer addition. Interestingly, the approach enabled the semiconducting properties of the oxide semiconductor to remain unaltered with the polymer addition.
• The large quantity of polymer made the composite semiconductor highly flexible and foldable without deteriorating its performance.
• The composite semiconductor is made up of two materials – a water-insoluble polymer, such as ethyl cellulose that provides flexibility, and indium oxide, a semiconductor which brings in excellent electronic transport properties.

How researchers came up with the new material

• To design the material, researchers mixed the polymer with the oxide precursor in such a way that interconnected oxide nanoparticle channels are formed (around phase-separated polymer islands) through which electrons can move from one end of a transistor (source) to the other (drain), ensuring a steady flow of current.
• The key to form these connected pathways, the researchers found, was the choice of the right kind of water-insoluble polymer that does not mix with the oxide lattice when the oxide semiconductor is being fabricated.
• This phase separation and the formation of polymer-rich islands helps in crack arrest, making it super flexible.
• Semiconductor materials are usually fabricated using deposition techniques, such as sputtering. Instead, Prof. Dasgupta’s team uses inkjet printing to deposit their material onto various flexible substrates ranging from plastic to paper. In the present study, a polymer called Kapton was used.

Plans afoot to set up first desalination plant for potable water in Puduhcerry

The Public Works Department (PWD) in Puducherry has planned to set up a one MLD (million litres per day) desalination plant on a pilot basis in the city, to overcome the depletion of groundwater sources and to meet the ever-expanding drinking water requirements of residents in the urban agglomeration limits.

Desalination Plants:

• A desalination plant turns salt water into water that is fit to drink.
  • Desalination is the process of removing salts from water to produce water that meets the quality (salinity) requirements of different human uses.
• Most commonly used technology for the process is reverse osmosis.
  • An external pressure is applied to push solvents from an area of high-solute concentration to an area of low-solute concentration through a semi-permeable membrane.
  • The microscopic pores in the membranes allow water molecules through but leave salt and most other impurities behind, releasing clean water from the other side.
• These plants are mostly set up in areas that have access to sea water.
• Advantage of Desalination Plants:
  • It can extend water supplies beyond what is available from the hydrological cycle, providing an “unlimited”, climate-independent and steady supply of high-quality water.
  • It can provide drinking water in areas where no natural supply of potable water exists.
  • As it generally meets or exceeds standards for water quality, water desalination plants can also reduce pressure on freshwater supplies that come from areas (over exploited water resources) that need protecting.
• Disadvantage of Desalination Plants:
  • Costly to build and operate desalination plants as the plants require huge amounts of energy.
    • Energy costs account for one-third to one-half of the total cost of producing desalinated water.
    • Because energy is such a large portion of the total cost, the cost is also greatly affected by changes in the price of energy.
  • The environmental impact is another disadvantage to water desalination plants. Disposal of the salt removed from the water is a major issue.
    • This discharge, known as brine, can change the salinity and lower the amount of oxygen (Hypoxia) in the water at the disposal site, stressing or killing animals not used to the higher levels of salt.
    • In addition, the desalination process uses or produces numerous chemicals including chlorine, carbon dioxide, hydrochloric acid and anti-scalents that can be harmful in high concentrations.
• Opportunities: The environmental problem can be changed into an economic opportunity as:
  • The discharge (brine) can also contain precious elements like uranium, strontium as well as sodium and magnesium which have the potential to be mined.
  • Brine has been used for aquaculture, with increases in fish biomass of 300%. It has also been successfully used to cultivate the dietary supplement Spirulina, and to irrigate forage shrubs and crops.
• Use of Desalination Plants in India:
  • It has largely been limited to countries in the Middle East and has recently started being used in parts of the United States and Australia.
  • In India, Tamil Nadu has been the pioneer in using this technology, setting up two desalination plants near Chennai in 2010 and then 2013.
  • The other states that have proposed these plants are Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.

Larsen & Toubro and Spanish defence major Nevantia join hands eyeing Indian Navy''s mega submarine acquisition programme

Project-75I

• Under this, the Indian Navy will procure six advanced conventional submarines processed through the Strategic Partnership (SP) model.
• These will be diesel-electric submarines, having advanced Air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems.
• Project 75I requires an Indian bidder to tie up with a foreign collaborator and build six conventional submarines equipped with AIP systems.
• The first submarine must have a minimum of 45% indigenisation, with the indigenous content going up to 60% in the sixth.

Types of Submarines

• Conventional or Diesel-electric submarine: They need atmospheric oxygen to run the diesel generator which in turn charges the batteries.
• Nuclear Submarine: It is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. They have considerable performance advantages over conventional submarines.

Air-independent propulsion (AIP) System

• With the emergence of submarines, there was a problem finding satisfactory forms of propulsion underwater.
• AIP is mostly implemented as an auxiliary source, with the traditional diesel engine handling surface propulsion.
• Most of these systems generate electricity, which in turn drives an electric motor for propulsion or recharges the boat’s batteries.
• A typical conventional power plant provides 3 megawatts maximum, and an AIP source around 10 percent of that. A nuclear submarine’s propulsion plant is much greater than 20 megawatts.
• Key features of the AIP system:
  • It allows the submarines to stay for longer hours in water. The submarines need to come to the surface of the water to charge their batteries. This is reduced by the AIP System.
  • It decreases the noise levels made by the submarines. This makes it hard to detect the submarines.
  • Types of AIP: Open-cycle systems, Closed-cycle diesel engines, Closed-cycle steam turbines Stirling cycle engines and Fuel cells.

7-year-old Kollam girl affected by rare Brucellosis; shifted to SIT hospital

Brucellosis Disease

• Brucellosis is a bacterial infection that spreads from animals to people.
• It is caused by various Brucella species, which mainly infect cattle, swine, goats, sheep and dogs.
• Worldwide, Brucella melitensis is the most prevalent species causing human brucellosis.
• Brucellosis is found globally and is a reportable disease in most countries. It affects people of all ages and both sexes.
• However, Person-to-person transmission is rare.
• Transmission:
  • Most commonly, people are infected by eating raw or unpasteurized dairy products.
  • Sometimes, the bacteria that cause brucellosis can spread through the air or through direct contact with infected animals.
• Symptoms: Brucellosis typically causes flu-like symptoms, including fever, weakness, malaise and weight loss.
• Treatment:
  • The infection can usually be treated with antibiotics.
  • However, treatment takes several weeks to months, and the infection can recur.

Odisha Recommends Inclusion Of ‘Kui’ Language In 8th Schedule

• Kui (also known as Kandh, Khondi, Khond, Khondo), is a South-Eastern Dravidian language spoken by the Kandha community.
• It is primarily spoken in the state of Odisha.
• It is closely related to other languages in the Dravidian family, such as Gondi and Kuvi. It was also referred to as the Kuinga language during the historical period.
• With 941,988 registered native speakers, it figures at rank 29 in the 1991 Indian census.
• Script: Kui is traditionally written using the Odia script, which is also used for writing the Odia language.

8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution:

• It lists the official languages of India.
• Although there are hundreds of languages spoken across the country, the eighth schedule recognises a total of 22 languages as the official languages.
• Languages in 8th Schedule:
  • The 22 languages now included in the eighth section of the Constitution are, Manipuri, Maithili, Kashmiri, Hindi, Kannada, Gujarati, Konkani, Malayalam, Assamese, Marathi, Nepali, Bengali, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Urdu, Bodo, Dogri, and Santhali.
  • Fourteen of these languages were originally listed in the Constitution. Sindhi was introduced in 1967, Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali in 1992, and Santali, Dogri, Maithili, and Bodo by the 92nd Amendment Act of 2003.

Massive Strange Shelf Cloud Appears In Uttarakhand''s Haridwar Amid

Shelf Cloud

• A “shelf cloud” or “Arcus cloud” generally forms along the leading edge of thunderstorms.
• It is a type of low-lying, horizontal cloud formation characterized by a clearly defined line of solid clouds.
• It is known for its distinctive wedge-shaped formation. They usually appear as a broad arc across the sky that can sometimes appear to be rotating horizontally.
• Formation:
  • Shelf clouds form when cold and dense air is forced into a warmer air mass by wind.
  • This rush of cold air often occurs in a thunderstorm’s downdraught, where cold air rushes towards the ground before spreading out to create a gust front.
  • Shelf clouds produced by thunderstorms are always preceded by a rush of dry and cold air ahead of the cloud, with rain arriving after the shelf cloud has passed overhead.
• A thunderstorm is a rain shower during which you hear thunder. Since thunder comes from lightning, all thunderstorms have lightning.
• Formation of Thunderstrom
  • Thunderstorms form when warm, moist air rises into cold air.
  • The warm air becomes cooler, which causes moisture, called water vapor, to form small water droplets — a process called condensation.
  • The cooled air drops lower in the atmosphere, warms, and rises again.
  • This circuit of rising and falling air is called a convection cell.
  • If this happens a small amount, a cloud will form. If this happens with large amounts of air and moisture, a thunderstorm can form.

T.N. Forest Department steps up vigil around Mukurthi National Park in Nilgiris to curb poaching

Mukurthi National Park

• Location:
  • It lies in the western corner of Nilgiris Plateau in the state of Tamil Nadu.
  • The park is a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It is sandwiched between the Mudumalai National Park and the Silent Valley National Park.
• The area was declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 1982 and upgraded to a National Park in 1990.
• It was established with the prime motive of conserving its keystone species – the Nilgiri Tahr.
• It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was formerly known as Nilgiri Tahr National Park.
• It is also home to Mukurthi Peak (2,554m), the fourth highest peak in the Nilgiri Hills.
• Rivers: Pykara and Kundah rivers flow through the park along with several perennial streams that originate in the park and drain into the Bhavani Puzha.
• Vegetation:
  • The majority of the landscape in the reserve is covered with shrubs and mountainous grasslands.
  • The area in the National Park which are at an elevation and experience high rainfall are covered with sholas and lush green tropical grasslands.
• Flora:
  • Along sholas, shrubs like Gaultheria fragrantissima, Helichrysum and Berberis tinctoria are found.
  • Other plants which can be seen here are Rhododendrons, Cinnamon, Mahonia, Satyrium, Raspberries etc.
• Fauna: The park houses some of the endangered wild species like Nilgiri tahr, Indian elephants, Nilgiri Langur, Bengal tiger and bonnet macaque.

Urban 20 (U20) Mayoral Summit concludes with handover

Urban 20 (U20) Summit

• It is a city diplomacy initiative launched on December 12, 2017, at the One Planet Summit in Paris.
• It provides a platform for cities from G20 countries to facilitate discussions on various important issues of urban development including climate change, social inclusion, sustainable mobility, and affordable housing, and propose collective solutions.
• C40 Cities (C40) and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) convene the U20 under the leadership of a Chair city that rotates annually, based in the G20 host country.
• This year it was chaired by the City of Ahmedabad.
• The Communique was officially endorsed by 105 cities across the world, the highest ever number of endorsements received to date for any U20 Communiqué, and more than twice the number of endorsements for any previous communiqués.
• The Communiqué has been drafted as an action agenda for the six priorities identified collectively by U20 cities which include;
  • Encouraging environmentally responsible behaviours, accelerating climate finance, championing local culture and economy, ensuring water security, catalysing digital urban futures, and reinventing frameworks for urban planning and governance.

At G20 meet, a Guinness effort to shine light on Karnataka’s Lambani craft

• Over 450 women artisans and cultural practitioners from Lambani community inhabiting Karnataka came together to create embroidered patches with Sandur Lambani embroidery, creating 1,755 patchwork pieces.

Lambani embroidery patches

• The Lambani embroidery is an intricate form of textile embellishment characterised by colourful threads, mirror-work and stitch patterns.
• It is practised in several villages of Karnataka such as Sandur, Keri Tanda, Mariyammanahalli, Kadirampur etc.
• The Lambani craft tradition involves stitching together small pieces of discarded fabric to create a beautiful fabric.
• This embroidery had also found a place in the list of products with Geographic Indication (GI) tag in the country.

Lambani People

• The Lambanis are also known as Banjaras and most of them are found in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states in South India.
• This community settled across the country with different names, have permanently abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and settled in their settlements called Tandas.
• They speak Gor Boli also called Lambadi which belongs to the Indo-Aryan Group of Languages. Lambadi has no script.
• They celebrate the festival of Teej during Shravanam (in the month of august). In this festival young unmarried Banjara girls pray for a good groom.
• Fire dance and Chari are the traditional dance forms of the banjara people.

What is Guillain-Barre syndrome? All you need to know as Peru declares national emergency amid surge in cases

Guillain-Barre syndrome

• It is a rare autoimmune disorder where the body''s immune system mistakenly attacks the peripheral nerves.
• It is more common in adults and males, but it can affect people of all ages.
• Symptoms
  • The first symptoms of Guillain-Barré syndrome include weakness or tingling sensations. They usually start in the legs, and can spread to the arms and face.
  • For some people, these symptoms can lead to paralysis of the legs, arms, or muscles in the face.
• Causes
  • It is often preceded by an infection.
  • This could be a bacterial or viral infection.
  • The most frequently associated infections include Campylobacter jejuni, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and the bacteria responsible for pneumonia and urinary tract infections.
  • It may also be triggered by vaccine administration or surgery.
• Diagnosis
  • There is no known cure for this syndrome.
  • The most commonly used treatment is intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), which is made from donated blood that contains healthy antibodies.
  • This helps calm down the immune system''s attack on the nerves.

App with live heatmaps to help reduce road fatalities

eDAR Project

• The Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) / e-Detailed Accident Report (eDAR) Project is an initiative of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Government of India and is funded by World Bank.
• Objective: The project aims to develop an Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD), to enrich the accident databases from every part of the country.
• The project would generate various types of insights by analysing the collected road accident data across the country through implementation of data analytics technique.

How it works?

• The mobile application will enable police personnel to enter details about a road accident, along with photos and videos, following which a unique ID will be created for the incident.
• Subsequently, an engineer from the Public Works Department or the local body will receive an alert on his mobile device.
• He or she will then visit the accident site, examine it, and feed the required details, such as the road design.
• Data thus collected will be analysed by a team at IIT-M, which will then suggest if corrective measures in road design need to be taken.

Evidence of superbug found in Delhi''s stray dogs

Candida auris

• It is a multi-drug resistant fungus that is capable of causing invasive infections in the human body.
• It was first identified in Japan in 2009
• The fungus has been reported in more than 40 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia.
• How is it contracted?
  • It is primarily contracted in healthcare settings such as hospitals and nursing homes.
  • It is generally thought to be spread through contact with contaminated surfaces or by person-to-person transmission.
  • The fungus can either colonize a specific region of the body, such as the skin, rectum, or mouth, without causing symptoms or it can cause severe invasive infections by entering the bloodstream or wounds.
• Symptoms
  • Its symptoms are often similar to those of other common diseases, such as fever and chills that do not go away after treatment with antibiotics.
• Treatment
  • It is resistance to multiple classes of antifungal drugs.
  • This makes treatment challenging and often requires the use of combination therapies.
  • Antifungal drugs called echinocandins are used to treat this infection;