Geography 

Musi River - Indian Express 

Context

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has issued an urgent advisory for citizens to remain indoors as heavy rains continue to lash the city, causing the Musi River to rise significantly.

Musi River

• State:Telangana.
• About: A tributary of the Krishna River in the Deccan Plateau. 
• Initial name: Muchukunda River. 
• Major city: Hyderabad.
• Origin: Anantagiri Hills near Vicarabad, Rangareddi district, 90 kilometers to the west of Hyderabad.
• 2 rivulets: Esi and Musa, which then converge into the Musi River.
• Course: It joins the Krishna River near Wazirabad in Nalgonda district after covering a distance of about 240 km.
• Dams: Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar
• Historical Bridge: Purana Pul (Old Bridge) built during the reign of the Nizams of Hyderabad.

Society 

e-shram portal - Indian Express

Context

The Ministry of Labour & Employment’s eShram portal has crossed a significant milestone by registering 300 million unorganized workers as of September 2nd, 2024. This milestone marks a crucial step in integrating unorganized workers into the social security net of India.

Economy 

Plan for the farms(Digital Agriculture Mission) - Indian Express

Context 

The Indian government has launched the Digital Agriculture Mission with a significant budget of ₹2,800 crores, aimed at modernizing the agricultural sector through the creation of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). This initiative is part of the government’s broader push to integrate digital solutions across various sectors. 

About Digital Agriculture Mission, 2024:

• Responsible Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India
• Inspired by - Inspired by the success of other e-governance initiatives like Aadhaar, UPI, and DigiLocker
• Objective: The mission seeks to transform Indian agriculture by creating a comprehensive digital infrastructure that can provide timely and accurate information to farmers, helping them make informed decisions, enhancing efficiency, transparency, and service delivery.
• Key Components
  • AgriStack: A digital repository containing various databases like the Farmers’ Registry, Geo-referenced Village Maps, and Crop Sown Registry.
    • Farmers’ Registry: Provides farmers with a digital identity linked to their land, crops, and benefits.
    • Geo-referenced Village Maps: Links land records with physical locations.
    • Crop Sown Registry: Records details of crops planted by farmers through digital surveys.
  • Krishi Decision Support System (DSS): A geospatial system integrating remote sensing data on crops, soil, weather, and water resources.
  • Soil Profile Maps: Detailed maps of soil profiles across 142 million hectares of agricultural land in India.
• Implementation Period: 2024-2026.(Initially planned for the financial year 2021-22, the mission was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic)

Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) attains Navratna Status - PIB

Context

Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI), a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has been granted the Navratna status on 30th August 2024 by the Ministry of Finance.

Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI)

• About: A Central CPSU under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
• Establishment: 20th September 2011 
• Aim: To facilitate the implementation of the National Solar Mission (NSM) and the achievement of targets set therein.
• Significance: It is the only CPSU dedicated to the renewable energy sector.
• Vision: To build ‘Green India’ through harnessing abundant solar radiation and to achieve energy security for the country.
• Functions:
  • Nodal agencies for the implementation of a number of schemes of MNRE. 
  • SECI has ventured into solar project development on a turnkey basis for several PSUs/Government departments.
  • Has a power trading license and is active in this domain through trading of solar power from projects set up under the schemes being implemented by it.

Environment 

Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) - The Hindu 

Context

Poachers recently killed two chitals in the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR).

Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR)

• Location: Pilibhit District, Lakhimpur Kheri District and Bahraich District of Uttar Pradesh along the Indo-Nepal border in the foothills of the Himalayas and the plains of the ‘terai’ in Uttar Pradesh.
• River: Gomti, Sharda, Chuka, and Mala Khannot.
• Dam: Sharda Sagar Dam is located on the boundary of the reserve. 
• Vegetation: North Indian moist deciduous type.
• Climate: Dry and hot climate.
• Flora: Sal forests, tall grasslands, and swamps
• Fauna: Tiger, swamp deer, Bengal florican, hog deer, leopard, etc.

Chital/ Spotted deer

• About: A deer species native to the Indian subcontinent
• Distribution: India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Pakistan. 
• Vegetation: Subtropical grasslands and forests
• Appearance: Slightly reddish brown with white spots on its body; only males have antlers, and their bodies are larger than females. 
• Diet: Feed on grasses, herbs, shrubs, foliage, and fruits.
• IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern

Ophiocordyceps unilateralis - Indian Express 

• About: Also known as the zombie fungus, it drains its host entirely of nutrients. It also fills the host body with spores, allowing the fungus to reproduce.
• Control: It seizes control of the mind and motor functions of its host before eating away at its body.
• Cordyceps: A genus of fungi that primarily attacks invertebrates and mainly infects insects such as ants or spiders.
• Nature: Pantropical nature and primarily infects carpenter ants.

Sci and Tech 

Next-generation sequencing to map genetic blueprint of indigenous cattle - The Hindu 

Context

The National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) is working to decode the genetic blueprints for conservation of indigenous cattle breeds using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) data and genotyping technology to establish molecular signatures for registered cattle breeds.

National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB)

• Mission: Development of sustainable and globally competitive livestock industry through innovative technology.
• Vision: To demonstrate excellence in promoting and commercializing leads in biotechnology and to produce globally competitive livestock products, pharmaceuticals and biologicals for animal health care.
• Nodal department: Department of Biotechnology (DBT)

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)

• About: A modern DNA sequencing technology that has revolutionized genomic research by allowing the sequencing of DNA and RNA much more quickly and cheaply than the previously used Sanger sequencing.

• Advantages:
  • Quick: Enables rapid sequencing of large amounts of DNA/RNA.
  • Cost-Effective: Lower cost per base.
  • Holistic: Can detect a wide range of genetic variations, including SNPs, insertions, deletions, and structural variations.
  • Scalability: Can be scaled to fit a variety of experimental needs, from small targeted studies to large genome-wide analyses.
• Human Genome Project
  • About: An international scientific research project with the goal of determining the base pairs that make up human DNA, and of identifying, mapping and sequencing all of the genes of the human genome from both a physical and a functional standpoint.
  • Launch: It started in 1990 and was completed in 2003.
  • Significance: World’s largest collaborative biological project.

Goa Shipyard launches indigenous pollution control vessel ‘Samudra Pratap’ - PIB 

Context

In a significant stride towards self-reliance in defense manufacturing, Goa Shipyard (GSL) has launched the first of two indigenous Pollution Control Vessels (PCVs) for the Indian Coast Guard. 

Miscellaneous 

Japanese anime director Miyazaki wins Ramon Magsaysay Award - Indian Express 

Context

Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award, popularly known as Asia’s Nobel Prize.