Art and Culture 

Menhir  - Indian Express

The Mudumal megalithic menhirs in Telangana’s Narayanpet district will soon be the second UNESCO World Heritage Site in the state, after being one six Indian sites to be added to the tentative list by the World Heritage Centre in 2025.

Menhirs

• Definition: A standing or upright stone, usually tapered at the top, sculpted and placed by humans.
• Size: Typically large, with the Grand Menhir Brisé in France once standing at 20.6 m.
• Etymology: Derived from Brittonic words, Maen (stone) & Hîr (long)
• Age: European menhirs date back to the Beaker culture (Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age, 4,800–3,800 Before Present (BP)).
• India's oldest known menhirs (Mudumal): Date to 3,500–4,000 BP.
• Purpose: Likely served ceremonial functions; some were grave markers, others had astronomical purposes.
• Ancient observatory: Mudumal menhirs are aligned with summer and winter solstices. One is worshipped as Goddess Yellamma.
• Technological Ingenuity: Precision in placement shows astronomical awareness. 
• Cultural Significance: Offers insight into cultures that left no written records.

World Affairs 

Is Syria heading toward peace or more chaos? - The Hindu 

Syria has entered a three-month period of political and military uncertainty following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is seeking international legitimacy while navigating internal instability.

Syrian Government Leadership

• Interim Government: Led by Mr. al-Sharaa, leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) after the overthrow of Mr. Assad.
• HTS Rebranding: Despite militant origins, HTS claims to respect minority rights but lacks full territorial control.

Opposition Forces:

• Assad loyalists hold positions in Latakia.
• Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) operate in northeastern Rojava.

Current State of Conflict

• Syrian Arab Army (SAA): Disintegrated after Assad’s removal, but loyalist cells resist, especially in Latakia.
• Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA): Continues shelling SDF positions to curb Kurdish influence.

Israel’s Military Actions:

• Conducted 400+ airstrikes (Dec 2024) on military sites, airports, and infrastructure.
• IDF advanced into Golan Heights’ UNDOF buffer zone, violating international law.
• PM Netanyahu demands demilitarization south of Damascus to prevent "terrorist threats."

Sectarian Violence & Alawite Massacres

• Latakia Unrest: Reports of massacres against Alawite community since December.
• Casualties: 1,383 civilians killed by government-allied forces and Assad loyalists.
• HTS Denial: Mr. al-Sharaa denies state involvement, blaming misinformation linked to Russia and Iran.

Risk of Further Violence

• Economic Crisis: 90% of Syrians live below the poverty line.
• Unemployed Combatants: Former fighters remain armed, creating risk of renewed conflict.

Sanctions & Economy:

• UK and Canada easing trade restrictions on Syria’s petroleum sector and Central Bank.
• Mr. al-Sharaa seeks broader sanction relief to rebuild the economy.

Path Forward

• Drafting a new constitution ensuring minority rights and sovereignty.
• Gaining international recognition for the interim government.
• Economic recovery and preventing further fragmentation.

Economy 

Forex kitty jumps sharpest in two years - The Hindu 

In the sharpest jump in over two years, the country’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $15.267 billion to $653.966 billion during the week ended March 7, the RBI has said.

Foreign Exchange Reserves

• Definition: Foreign Exchange Reserves (Forex Reserves) are assets held by central banks in foreign currencies.
• Components: Foreign securities, gold, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), and Reserve Tranche Position (RTP) in the IMF.
• Denomination: Denominated in US dollars, the global standard currency.
• Global Context: China holds the largest foreign exchange reserves globally.
• India: RBI is the custodian of India's forex reserves.
• India’s Forex Reserves include:
  • Foreign Currency Assets (FCA) – Held in US dollar, euro, pound sterling, Australian dollar, and Japanese yen.
  • Gold Reserves
  • SDRs – Reserve currency with the IMF.
  • RTP – Reserve capital with the IMF.
• Foreign currency assets (FCA): Form the largest share of India's reserves, followed by gold.
• Importance:
  • Ensures liquidity for international transactions and manages balance of payments deficit.
  • Helps RBI intervene in forex markets to stabilize the rupee's exchange rate.
  • Prevents excessive depreciation of the rupee by selling US dollars in the market.
  • Strengthens global confidence in India's economy, ensuring smooth trade payments.

Environment 

One more tiger reserve: why India needs them, the challenges some face - Indian Express 

Madhav National Park in Shivpuri district, Madhya Pradesh, was declared a tiger reserve earlier this month, taking the tally of such reserves in the country to 58. The latest tiger reserve is spread over an area of 1,651 sq km, and currently has six tigers, including a cub.

Project Tiger

• Background: Unregulated hunting during British rule and post-Independence led to a sharp decline in tiger populations.
• 1960s: Alarm over deforestation and declining tiger numbers.
• 1969: Ban on tiger skin exports; International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recognized tigers as endangered.
• 1973: Project Tiger launched after recommendations from a task force led by Karan Singh, following the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• Objective: Maintain a viable tiger population and preserve habitat.

Initial Tiger Reserves (1973)

• Started with 9 reserves: Manas (Assam), Corbett (Uttarakhand), Kanha (MP), Palamau (Jharkhand), Ranthambore (Rajasthan), Simlipal (Odisha), Melghat (Maharashtra), Bandipur (Karnataka), Sundarbans (West Bengal).
• 2005-06: Wildlife Protection Act amended to establish National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for oversight.
• Current Tiger Distribution:
  • 2022-23 Estimate: 3,681 tigers (range: 3,167-3,925).
  • Total tiger habitat: 89,000 sq. km.
• Key Tiger Landscapes:
  • Shivalik Hills & Gangetic Plains
  • Central Indian Highlands & Eastern Ghats
  • Western Ghats
  • North Eastern Hills & Brahmaputra floodplains
  • Sundarbans
• Largest Tiger Populations (Reserves): Corbett (260), Bandipur (150), Nagarhole (141), Bandhavgarh (135), Dudhwa (135), Mudumalai (113), Kanha (105), Kaziranga (104), Sundarbans (100), Tadoba-Andhari (97), Sathyamangalam (85), Pench (77).
• Top States by Tiger Population: Madhya Pradesh (785), Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560), Maharashtra (444).
• Tiger Habitat Expansion:
  • Between 2006-2018, tiger-occupied areas increased by 30%.
  • 6 crore people live in 45% of tiger-occupied areas.
  • Only 25% of tiger habitats are in core areas, 20% in buffer zones.
• Key Threats: Socio-economic issues, insurgencies, mining, deforestation, infrastructure projects, human-wildlife conflict.

Concerns & Challenges

• 26 reserves have >50 tigers, but 27 reserves face low tiger density.
• 16 reserves had no tigers, only male tigers, or <5 tigers (2022 report).
• States with declining/static populations: Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh.
• Satkosia Reserve (Odisha): Tigers went locally extinct.

Plant species first collected 27 years ago identified as new species of the genus Uniyala - The Hindu 

A dense shrub with light purple flowers found in the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram district has been confirmed as a distinct species of the genus Uniyala.

Uniyala keralensis

• Description: Shrub species growing 1-3 meters tall with light purple florets.
• Features: Larger leaves, long petioles, and fewer lateral veins.
• Flowering & Fruiting: August to April.
• Habitat: Found in Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve (ABR).
• Distribution: Grows in open areas of western mountain slopes at 700-1,400 meters elevation.
• Population: ~5,000 plants in four subpopulations covering 250 sq. km.
• Conservation Status: Assessed as Data Deficient (DD) under IUCN Red List Criteria (2024).

Sci and Tech 

What is Elon Musk’s Starlink all about? - The Hindu

Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have signed distribution pacts with SpaceX Corp.’s Starlink service to bring satellite internet access to India. The distribution pacts are a reversal from the telecom industry’s reluctance to quickly make the Starlink service available in India without auctions for the satellite airwaves.

Starlink

• Overview: Low-earth orbit (LEO) constellation with 7,000+ satellites providing internet access.
• Working: Satellites work with ground stations to beam internet connectivity.
• Speed: Provides 100 Mbps speeds, though latency is higher than wired broadband.
• Usage: More useful in rural and remote areas than in cities with strong 5G or wired networks.

Regulatory Hurdles in India

• Statutory mandate: Requires GMPCS authorisation under Telecommunications Act, 2023 (pending).
• Security: Security clearance from Ministry of Home Affairs yet to be confirmed.
• Tapping issues: Ground stations in India need to comply with tapping and security regulations.
• Wireless spectrum allocation: Indian government may not auction spectrum like telecom signals.
• Regulatory timeline unclear: Geopolitical factors and U.S. trade pressure may influence Starlink’s entry.

Novel cancer therapy works for 73 per cent Indian patients in clinical trials: Why the Lancet report is significant - Indian Express 

The clinical trial results of India’s first CAR T-cell therapy, published in The Lancet, show that it worked for nearly 73 per cent of patients. These results come from the Phase I and II trials of the therapy, where researchers assess its safety and effectiveness against a given condition.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy

• Overview: Trains the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells.
• Usage: Specific blood cancers (acute lymphoblastic leukemia & large B-cell lymphomas) in patients who relapse/ do not respond to standard treatments.
• Development: By ImmunoAct, an IIT Bombay-incubated startup.

Lancet Study Findings

• Response: 73% response rate in treated patients.

Survival without progression:

• 6 months for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
• 4 months for lymphoma.

• Side effects: High immune activation, anemia (61%), low platelets (65%), neutropenia (96%), and fever with neutropenia (47%).

Serious complications:

• 12% experienced hyperinflammation (haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis).
• Two treatment-related deaths (one due to organ failure, another due to lung bleeding).

Working

• Patient's T-cells are collected from blood.
• Cells are genetically modified to target cancer cells.
• Modified cells are multiplied and reintroduced into the patient to attack cancer.

Significance

• First-of-its-kind therapy in India: Previously available only in USA, EU, UK, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Israel, Brazil, South Korea, Canada, China.
• Cost Comparison:
  • Global treatments cost $373,000–475,000 (~ ₹8-10 crore).
  • India’s version costs $30,000 ( ₹25 lakh), making it significantly more affordable.

Environmental mapping reveals melioidosis in Odisha peak during monsoon - The Hindu 

Globally, research on climate/environmentally driven infectious diseases has been largely biased towards vector-borne diseases like malaria, dengue, etc. Melioidosis is a bacterial infectious disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, and is primarily acquired by inoculation, inhalation and/or ingestion of soil- and water-dwelling environmental saprophytes.

Melioidosis/ Whitmore’s disease

• Overview: Bacterial infectious disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei.
• Found in: Surface water and soil, mainly in tropical and subtropical regions.
• Endemic: Southeast Asia, northern Australia, Indian subcontinent, southern China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
• High Case Fatality Rate (CFR): Ranging from 16% to 50% in endemic regions.
• Impact: Affects both humans and animals
• Transmission: Does not spread from animals to humans. Spread through contact with contaminated soil, air, or water.
• Target group: Affects adults aged 40-60 with underlying conditions; rare in children under 15.
• Symptoms: Can present as localized infection, pneumonia, sepsis, or chronic infection.
• Common symptoms:
  • Fever, headache, pain/swelling, ulceration.
  • Chest pain, cough, shortness of breath, haemoptysis.
  • Swelling of lymph nodes.
• Treatment
  • Treated with antibiotics.
  • Long-term treatment required for chronic cases.