NFRA - National audit watchdog set to expand Inspection.

• India’s leading eight auditors will be inspected this year, with the financial statements of up to 60 of their clients being scrutinized, as the national audit watchdog intensifies its efforts to improve audit quality across the country.

National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA)

• Establishing Authority: The Companies Act of 2013’s Section 132 grants the Central Government the power to establish such an authority.

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI):

• The ICAI is the largest professional body of Chartered Accountants in the world, with a strong tradition of service to the Indian economy in public interest.
• Statutory body: It is established under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 for the regulation and development of the profession of Chartered Accountants in the country.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.
• Members: The Council consists of 40 members of whom 32 are elected by the Chartered Accountants and the remaining 8 are nominated by the Central Government generally representing the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Finance and other stakeholders.
• Composition: The Companies Act requires the NFRA to have a chairperson who will be appointed by the Central Government and a maximum of 15 members.

Function:

• Ensuring Adherence to Audit Quality Standards: It inspects audit firms to verify their adherence to audit quality standards set by the Companies Act and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
• Key Areas Scrutinized: These include the audit firm’s compliance with independence norms, adherence to auditor disqualification provisions in the Companies Act, and the integrity of audit documentation.

NFRA Report:

• Transparency Through Publication: The reports are published to provide both the audit firm and the industry with insights into deficiencies in financial statement preparation and auditing practices.
• Encouraging Corrective Action: While not a disciplinary action, the regulator’s report strongly encourages audit firms and their clients to address identified deficiencies.
• Confidentiality and Detail: The inspection reports do not disclose the auditor’s business client but detail the issues found in their accounts and audit processes.

Census exercise begins in Himachal’s cold desert Lahaul & Spiti district to estimate blue sheep, Himalayan ibex.

Himalayan Ibex:

• Subspecies of the Siberian Ibex, known for its sweeping, curved horns and agility on steep terrains.
• Habitat: Inhabit high-altitude regions, typically between 3,200 to 5,500 meters above sea level, including alpine meadows, scree slopes, and cliffs.

Physical Characteristics:

• Social animals living in herds.
• Males larger than females, with long, curved horns up to 130 cm in length.
• Coat is thick and coarse, varying from brown in summer to a darker, more insulated coat in winter for warmth.
• Diet: Herbivores grazing on grasses, herbs, and shrubs, adapted to limited food resources in their high-altitude habitats.
• Distribution: Found across the mountains of India (states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh), Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan.

Conservation status:

• Listed as "Near Threatened" on the IUCN Red List
• Protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972.

Blue Sheep:

• Also known as Bharal, a species of caprid (goat-antelope) native to the high Himalayas.

Physical Characteristics:

• Robust build, body length about 115 to 165 cm.
• Males possess distinctive backward-curving horns, up to 80 cm in length.
• Dense, woolly coat with a bluish-gray color that blends well with rocky surroundings.
• Habitat: Prefers steep, rugged terrains with sparse vegetation and rocky outcrops, ranging from 2,500 to 5,500 meters in elevation.
• Diet: Herbivores primarily grazing on grasses, herbs, and shrubs, adapting diet seasonally to availability.
• Distribution: Across high mountains of Central and South Asia, including parts of China, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Pakistan.

Conservation status:

• Classified as "Least Concern" by the IUCN due to stable population and wide distribution;
• Also faces threats from habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict.
• Protected under Schedule I of the WPA, 1972.

PM Modi offers prayers at Jagannath temple in Puri

Jagannath Temple:

• The Jagannath Temple is located in Puri, Odisha.
• It is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and his incarnations as Jagannath, along with his siblings, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.

Construction and Architecture:

• The temple was initially built by Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva between 1112-1148 AD and later completed by Anangabhima Dev.
• Its construction was reconstructed starting from the 10th century by King Indradyumna of Avanti.
• Anantavarman was the first ruler of the Eastern Ganga dynasty.
• The Jagannath Temple reflects the Kalinga school of architecture, which is a variant of the Nagara school. It is noted for its high platform and the unique aspect that its shadow does not fall on the ground at any time of the day.

Cultural and Religious Importance:

• The temple is recognized as one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites, which is essential for Hindu devotees.
• It is also part of the Vaishnavate tradition''s 108 Abhimana Kshethram.

Idols and Iconography:

• The main deities, Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra, are uniquely made out of wood at this temple.
• These wooden idols are periodically replaced every twelve or nineteen years in a ritual known as Navakalevara.

Festivals and Practices:

• The temple hosts significant festivals like Devasnana Purnima and the Rath Yatra (Chariot Festival).
• During the Rath Yatra, the idols are paraded in massive, ornately decorated temple chariots.
• Worship during the Rath Yatra is uniquely conducted by Bhil Sawar, a tribal priest.

The Arab League recently called for UN peacekeeping forces in the Palestinian territories during a summit in Bahrain''s Manama.

Arab League:

• The Arab League, also called the League of Arab States (LAS), is a regional organization of Arab states in the Middle East and parts of Africa.

Formation:

• It was formed in Cairo on March 22, 1945.
• The league was chartered in response to concerns about postwar colonial divisions of territory as well as strong opposition to the emergence of a Jewish state on Palestinian territory.

Goals:

• The overall aim of the league is to promote Arab interests.
• Its main goals are to strengthen and coordinate the political, cultural, economic, and social programs of its members and to try to settle disputes among them or between them and third parties.
• In 1950, the members also agreed to provide military support to help defend each other.
• Headquarters: Cairo, Egypt.
• Official language: Arabic

Members:

• Currently, it has 22 members. The founding member states of the league are Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.
• Members who joined later are Libya, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, Kuwait, Algeria, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritania, Somalia, the Palestine Liberation Organization, Djibouti, and Comoros.
• The League regards Palestine as an independent state.
• There are four nations that were conferred observer status by the League: Brazil, Eritrea, India, and Venezuela.

Council:

• The highest body of the league is the Council, composed of representatives of member states, usually foreign ministers, their representatives, or permanent delegates.
• The League makes decisions on a majority basis, but there is no mechanism to compel members to comply with resolutions.
• Each member has one vote on the Council, with decisions binding only on those states that have voted for them.

A new study by researchers found that ferroptosis is the major cell death mechanism that underlies COVID-19 lung disease.

Ferroptosis:

• Ferroptosis is a form of regulated cell death caused by a toxic buildup of lipid peroxideson cell membranes.
• It is different from other forms of cell death, such as apoptosis.
• This type of cell death requires iron, which is why it has the name “FERroptosis.”

How does it happen?

• Lipid peroxides, which are generated through normal metabolic activities, can lead to oxidative damage to cell membranes.
• Ferroptosisis characterized by a reduction in intracellular glutathione (GSH) and decreased activity of glutathione peroxidase, so that lipid peroxides cannot be oxidized, leading to an increase in lipid peroxidation from iron.
• Our cells have powerful defense mechanisms to maintain cell survival.
• However, when our defense mechanisms become defective, unchecked lipid peroxides accumulate to toxic levels, damage membrane integrity, and kill cells through ferroptosis.
• Several studies have linked ferroptosis with many diseases, including ischemia-reperfusion and kidney injuries, nervous system diseases, cancer, and blood diseases.

What is Apoptosis?

• Apoptosis is a process of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms.
• It is a highly regulated and controlled process that occurs normally during development and aging as a homeostatic mechanism to maintain cell populations in tissues.
• For example, the separation of fingers and toes in a developing human embryo occurs because cells between the digits undergo apoptosis.
• Apoptosis also occurs as a defence mechanism such as in immune reactions or when cells get damaged by disease or by noxious agents.
• Apoptosis can be triggered by mild cellular injury and by various factors internal or external to the cell; the damaged cells are then disposed of in an orderly fashion.
• Apoptosis involves condensation of the nucleus and cytoplasm, followed by cellular partitioning into well-defined fragments for disposal.