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Avani Lekhara and Mona Agarwal won the gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the Women's 10m Air Rifle SH1 at the Paris Paralympics 2024. (Photo credits: DrSJaishankar/X)UPSC Current Affairs Pointers is an initiative of UPSC Essentials to consolidate your prelims exam prep. Every Monday, take a quick look at last week’s current affairs tidbits curated specially for those preparing for UPSC, State PSC, and various other competitive examinations.
If you missed the UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | August 19 to August 25, 2024, from the Indian Express, read it here.
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— The Assam Wildlife Department has recommended forest clearance for Cairn Oil and Gas to explore oil and gas in the eco-sensitive zone of Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, citing national interest.
— The Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, previously called the Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary or Hollongapar Reserve Forest, is an isolated evergreen forest in Jorhat district, Assam, India. It was renamed on May 25, 2004.
— It is home to India’s only gibbons, the hoolock gibbons, and Northeast India’s only nocturnal primate, the Bengal slow loris.
(Source: kaziranga-national-park.com)
The only apes in India, Hoolock Gibbons are completely arboreal, monogamous and rarely venture out of the highest canopy of trees. (Source: Thinkstock)
— The forests of Northeast India are home to the country’s only apes: the western hoolock gibbon (Hoolock hoolock) and the eastern hoolock gibbon (Hoolock leuconedys).
— The western hoolock gibbon is found in all the states of the northeast, restricted between the south of the Brahmaputra River and east of the Dibang River. It is also found in eastern Bangladesh and north-west Myanmar. It is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Redlist and Schedule 1 of the Indian (Wildlife) Protection Act 1972.
— The eastern hoolock gibbon inhabits specific pockets of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India, southern China, and north-east Myanmar. It is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Redlist.
(Source: wwfindia.org)
The first batch of eight cheetahs from Namibia was introduced in India in September 2022, and the second batch of 12 cheetahs was flown in from South Africa last February. (File Photo/Representational)
— The African cheetahs brought to India as part of the world’s first intercontinental translocation of wild cats will soon be released into the Kuno National Park.
— Currently, there are 25 cheetahs at Kuno — 13 adults and 12 cubs, born at the national park. — Under the translocation project, 20 cheetahs were brought to India in two batches — eight from Namibia in September 2022 and 12 from South Africa last February — of which seven have died until this January.
— The cheetah was officially declared extinct by the Indian government in 1952.
The typhoon brought heavy rain, strong winds, and triggered floods and landslides. (AP photo)
— As Typhoon Shanshan made landfall in southern Japan, nearly 4 million people were asked to evacuate, and at least six people were killed in its aftermath.
— The storm made landfall in Kyushu on Thursday and has affected areas far beyond its center, including northern Hokkaido.
— According to a new study, Chile’s Atacama salt flat is sinking at a rate of 1 to 2 centimetres per year due to lithium brine extraction.
— Lithium brine extraction is a process in which salt-rich water is pumped to the surface and into a series of evaporation ponds to eventually obtain lithium.
— Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia form the “Lithium Triangle” and account for more than half of the world’s total lithium resources.
— Cyclone Asna has developed over the Arabian Sea. This is the second of the kind formed over the Arabian Sea since 1964. It has been named by Pakistan.
— Uttarakhand CM has handed over the charge of Rajaji Tiger Reserve to the officer who was ousted from Corbett Tiger Reserve (TR) after illegal tree felling and construction allegedly under his watch.
— It was named after the famous freedom fighter C.Rajgopalachari popularly known as “Rajaji”. The tiger reserve has spread across three major cities of Uttarakhand- Rishikesh, Dehradun, and Haridwar.
Northern bald ibis, known in German as Waldrapp. (Wikipedia Commons)
— Biologist Johannes Fritz and his Austria-based conservation group Waldrappteam have led efforts to conserve the northern bald ibis, known in German as Waldrapp, increasing its population from zero to almost 300 in central Europe since 2002.
— It is a migratory bird that was native to Central Europe until the 17th century before it became extinct due to the huge hunting pressure. It is known for its distinctive black-and-green plumage, bald red head, and long curved beak.
— It is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List.
— Partners greet each other by spreading their hair and bowing with a distinctive “chrrupp” sound, typical of Northern Bald Ibises.
— India has added three new Ramsar sites taking the total number of Ramsar sites to 85.
| Ramsar Sites | State | River | Description |
| Nanjarayan Bird Sanctuary | Tamil Nadu | River Noyyal | Home to species like the Eurasian coot, spot-billed duck, migratory bird species, and many types of herons. |
| Kazhuveli Sanctuary | Tamil Nadu | It is connected to the Bay of Bengal in the north via Uppukalli Creek. | It is the second-largest brackish lake in Peninsular India. It is home to many globally endangered species, like the black-headed ibis and greater flamingo. |
| Tawa Reservoir | Madhya Pradesh | Tawa River | It is a man-made wetland, located within Satpura Tiger Reserve. |
— India and the US have signed a Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) and Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers.
— Under SOSA, the US and India will provide reciprocal priority support to each other for goods and services that promote national defence. It is legally non-binding.
— India is the 18th SOSA partner of the US.
— The annual meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) began on August 26 in Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga.
— PIF, formed in 1971, is an intergovernmental organisation which consists of 18 member states located in the Pacific region.
— Member countries are Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
— Tamil Nadu-based startup Space Zone India, backed by Martin Group of Companies, launched its first reusable hybrid rocket, Mission Rhumi 2024 from Thiruvidanthai in Chennai’s scenic East Coast Road.
— It is the World’s first Mobile Launch of a Hybrid Rocket. It is carrying 3 Cube Satellites and 50 PICO Satellites at a maximum altitude from the mean sea level. These satellites will be collecting data for research purposes on Global warming and Climate change.
(Source: spacezoneindia.com)
The Gaganyaan mission, India’s first attempt at sending humans into space, is scheduled for next year. (Express Archives)
— ISRO’s Gaganyaan mission will carry the female half-humanoid Vyomitra (literally “space friend”). The design of Vyomitra skull, fashioned by ISRO’s Inertial Systems Unit, was finalised recently.
— The skull has been made using an aluminium alloy- AlSi10Mg.
— The Gaganyaan mission is India’s first manned space flight aimed to launch crew of 3 members (not sure on number yet) to an orbit of 400 km for a 3 days mission and bring them back safely to earth, by landing in Indian sea waters.
— ISRO will use its LVM3, earlier called GSLV-MkIII, rocket for all of Gaganyaan missions. Only three countries — the United States, Russia and China — have sent human spaceflights till now.
— The government has banned 156 fixed-dose combination (FDC) drugs.
— FDCs are medicines that have more than one active ingredient — chemical compounds in medicines that affect the body — in a single pill, capsule, or shot.
— FDCs reduce the number of pills the patient needs to take each day, and help improve adherence to the treatment. Sometimes, however, an FDC could mean that a patient ends up taking a drug that they may not need.
— The Arighaat, India’s second nuclear submarine, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 29th August at Visakhapatnam.
— The 6,000-tonne INS Arighaat will be armed with indigenously built K-15 missiles, with a range of more than 700 km.
— INS Arihant, commissioned into the Navy in 2016, was India’s first Nuclear powered submarine.
— Countries with nuclear triad capabilities: the United States, Russia, India, China, and France.
— Bird Flu has been detected in the two blocks of Odisha’s Puri district resulting in the culling of nearly 20,000 chickens.
— There are different strains of bird flu virus, which have been circulating for a very long time among at least 100 bird species.
— H5N1 is a type of influenza virus that causes severe respiratory disease in birds but has occasionally been known to jump to humans as well.
— Human infections with H5N1 were first reported in 1997 during a poultry outbreak in Hong Kong.
— A two-year-old child from Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district reportedly tested positive for polio. The case was determined to be vaccine-derived poliovirus.
— The vaccine-derived poliovirus is a strain related to the weakened version of the live poliovirus contained in the oral polio vaccine (OPV).
— India’s last reported case of wild poliovirus was detected in West Bengal’s Howrah district in 2011. India was declared polio-free in 2014.
(Just FYI: UPSC has consistently included questions on health and diseases in its examinations over the years. For instance, in 2014, a question about the Ebola virus appeared in the Prelims, and in 2017, a question about the Zika virus was featured. Therefore, it is crucial to stay updated on diseases that are currently in the news.)
Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki and his film, ‘How Do You Live’. (Wikimedia Commons/IMDb)
— The awardees of the 66th Ramon Magsaysay Awards were announced on August 31.
— The winners are Karma Phuntsho (Bhutan), Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong (Vietnam), Farwiza Farhan (Indonesia), Miyazaki Hayao (Japan), and the Rural Doctors Movement (Thailand).
— Hayao Miyazaki is considered one of the most renowned filmmakers in the history of animation. He co-founded Studio Ghibli in 1985 and is also popular for his works like “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” “Laputa: Castle in the Sky,” and “Porco Rosso,” among others.
Jagdish Tytler
— A court in Delhi has ordered the framing of charges against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, almost 40 years after the 1984 anti-Sikh violence.
— In mid-May, 1984 Indira Gandhi authorised military action at the Golden Temple to neutralise militant preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. This operation was called Operation Blue Star.
— The aftermath of Operation Blue Star led to the assassination of PM Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards leading to violence all over the country.
— In 2000, the government of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee appointed a commission under former Supreme Court judge Justice G T Nanavati to submit a comprehensive report on the 1984 anti-Sikh violence. The commission made its submissions in 2005.
— The National Sports Day is celebrated on August 29 in the memory of Dhyan Chand, the first superstar of Indian hockey, and arguably India’s first sporting superstar.
— Dhyan Singh, a prominent member of the Indian hockey team, played a crucial role in India’s first successful Olympic gold medal tally at the 1928, 1932, and 1936 Summer Olympics.
— Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday announced the creation of five new districts in the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh.
— The five new districts are Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra, and Changthang. At present, Ladakh has two districts; Leh and Kargil.
— The 35-ft Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue at the Rajkot Fort in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district has collapsed.
— The statue was unveiled on December 4, 2023, during the Navy Day celebrations in Sindhudurg, which honoured the legacy of the Maratha Navy and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s contributions to maritime defence and security.
— The statue sculptor is Jaideep Apte.
(Just FYI: The location of the place is important, considering that UPSC has asked several questions about places that were in the news, such as Aleppo and Kirkuk, in the 2018 UPSC Prelims. The best way to remember them is to plot them on a world map.)
— Avani Lekhara won Gold in women’s 10m Air Rifle standing SH 1. This is her second consecutive gold medal at the Paralympics. Avani is the second Indian after javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia to win two gold medals at the Games.
— Mona Agarwal won Bronze in Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 where Avani won Gold. It is the first time India had a double podium finish in the same event at the Paralympic Games.
Paris 2024 Paralympics – Shooting – Men’s 10M Air Pistol SH1 Final- Manish Narwal of India poses with his silver medal during the medal ceremony. (REUTERS/Eng Chin An)
— Manish Narwal won silver in the 10-meter air pistol (SH1) Para Shooting. Manish is a recipient of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award – India’s highest sporting honour.
Preeti Pal wins bronze at Paralympics 2024. (Instagram)
— Preethi Pal won Bronze in Women’s 100m T35 Athletics. This is India’s first medal from para-athletics in the Paris Paralympics.
(Just FYI: With the unpredictability of the UPSC examinations and questions like the ICC World Test Championship question 2021, you can’t be sure of anything. It is wise to know what it is and not go into too much detail.)
— Jiu-jitsu and aikido: A family of martial arts originating in Japan, jujutsu translates to “gentle art” — “ju” means “soft/ supple/ gentle” and “jutsu” means “art/technique”. Aikido is an offshoot of jujutsu. It was developed by martial artist Morihei Ueshiba in the early 20th century, which makes it among the youngest of Japan’s many martial arts.
(Note: The best way to remember facts for UPSC and other competitive exams is to recall them through MCQs. Try to solve the following questions on your own.)
A. Consider the following statements:
1. India’s first and only indigenously designed and constructed nuclear-powered submarine is INS Arihant.
2. The first submarine inducted into the Indian Navy was the Russian Foxtrot-class submarine INS Kalvari.
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
B. Which country successfully launched RHUMI-1, the world’s first mobile hybrid rocket?
(a) India
(b) United States
(c) China
(d) Russia
C. Consider the following pairs: (UPSC CSE 2010)
| Protected area | Well-known for |
| 1. Bhiterkanika, Orissa | Salt Water Crocodile |
| 2. Desert National Park, Rajasthan | Great Indian Bustard |
| 3. Eravikulam, Kerala | Hoolock Gibbon |
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Previous Weekly Current Affairs Pointers
UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | August 12 to August 18, 2024
UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | August 5 to August 11, 2024
UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | July 29 to August 4, 2024
UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | July 22 to July 28, 2024
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