• A Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)-India report has pointed out 172 incidents of seizures of red sand boa between the years 2016-2021.

ABOUT RED SAND BOA

• Scientific name-Eryx johnii
• It is a non-venomous snake species belonging to the Boidae family.
• Also called a “Two-headed snake” due to its round tail that looks like a head.
• Distribution- found across the Indian subcontinent, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and parts of Bangladesh.
• These snakes are predominantly nocturnal.
• They primarily feed on small mammals like rodents, birds and their eggs.
• The red sand boa is acknowledged as one of the most traded reptile species in the illegal trade market, due to its demand in the pet trade, as well as for use in black magic.
• The red sand boa is classified as ‘Near Threatened’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with a ‘decreasing’ population trend in most of their habitat ranges.
• Red Sand Boas are ovoviviparous(meaning that they give birth to live young instead of laying eggs)

• International Finance Corporation (IFC) has committed a record $2.97 billion (Rs 24,561 crore) across 30 projects in the financial year ended June 30, more than doubling its lending in the country.
• India remains IFC’s largest country portfolio and together with its partners, its projects are driving innovative financing and climate initiatives to deliver impact at scale.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION

• It is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector.
• It was established in 1956.
• HQ- Washington DC, USA
• It is a World Bank Group member.
  • Other institutions in World Bank Group are-
  • International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  • International Development Association
  • Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
  • International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (India is not a member).

• The Global Fund announced a deal recently with generic pharmaceutical manufacturers to significantly slash the price of a cutting-edge HIV drug.
• The agreement would make it possible to provide the advanced pill known as TLD for under $45 per person per year.

ABOUT THE DRUG TLD

• The three-in-one pill bands together the drugs tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, lamivudine and dolutegravir.
• WHO has recommended it as the preferred first-line HIV treatment for adults and adolescents since it rapidly suppresses the virus that causes AIDS, has fewer side effects and is easy to take.

ABOUT THE GLOBAL FUND

• It is a partnership set up in 2002 to battle AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
• HQ- Geneva, Switzerland
• The Global Fund raises funds on a three-year cycle, bringing longer term predictability in the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria.
• It invests over US$4 billion per year to fight infectious diseases in 120 countries.
• India joined the Global Fund as a donor in 2006, and has contributed a total US$76.5 million to date.

• An international research team has described seven previously unknown species of leaf insects, also known as walking leaves.

ABOUT WALKING LEAVES

• They are any of over 50 species of flat, generally green insects (order Phasmida or Phasmatodea) with a distinct leaflike appearance.
• They are generally brown or green, with some being somewhat speckled or having serrated edges, similar to nibbled leaves.
• Global distribution- their native range stretches from Indian Ocean islands to areas of mainland South Asia and Southeast Asia, as well as Papua New Guinea and Australia in the western Pacific.
• They prey on vegetation and like highly forested places.
• Males tend to be smaller than females.
• Their arms and legs can regenerate.
• Males are able to fly for short distances because of highly developed hind legs whereas females cannot fly.
• They’re also largely nocturnal resulting in a relative lack of movement during the day.

• The Himachal Pradesh Government has prepared a Rs 890-crore ‘disaster risk reduction and preparedness programme’ in collaboration with the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) to enhance disaster preparedness and climate resilience.
• This will include-
  • Main aim is to usher in a comprehensive approach to disaster, counter climate change.
  • Emergency operation centres will be set up in all districts.
  • Climate change vulnerability assessment for all river basins
  • Early warning systems for landslides and flashfloods
• Other initiatives include the development of early warning systems for landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, glacial lake outburst floods and dam safety.

• PM Modi extended his greetings to the public on World Sanskrit Day.
• World Sanskrit Day or World Sanskrit Diwas is celebrated on Purnima Tithi of Shravana month.
  • This year, the Sanskrit Diwas falls on August 31^st.
  • The first World Sanskrit Day was celebrated in 1969.
• The purpose of this day’s celebration is to raise awareness and advocate for Sanskrit, one of India’s oldest and ancient languages. It is the language used by scholars and saints in ancient India to pen several revered books, especially about religious teachings and philosophy.

• The Startup Guidelines for Technical Textiles – Grant for Research and Entrepreneurship across Aspiring Innovators in Technical Textiles (GREAT) has been approved.
• The guidelines focus on supporting individuals and companies to translate prototypes to technologies & products, including commercialization.
• It will be providing grant-in-aid of up to Rs 50 lakh for up to a period of 18 months.
• The textile ministry will additionally provide 10 per cent of total grant-in-aid to incubators.
• A minimum investment of 10 per cent of the funding from the incubatee in two equal instalments is mandated.
• Moreover, the textiles ministry has also given a nod to 26 institutes for upgrading their laboratory infrastructure and training of trainers in the application areas of technical textiles.

ABOUT TECHNICAL TEXTILES

• Technical textiles are defined as textile materials and products used primarily for their technical performance and functional properties rather than their aesthetic or decorative characteristics.
• Depending on the product characteristics, functional requirements and end-use applications the highly diversified range of technical textile are grouped into 12 segments. These are-
  • Agrotech (agro textiles)
  • Buildtech (construction textiles)
  • Clothtech (clothing textiles)
  • Geotech (geo textiles)
  • Hometech (home textiles)
  • Indutech (industrial textiles)
  • Meditech (medical textiles)
  • Mobiltech (automotive textiles)
  • Oekotech (Ecological protection textiles)
  • Packtech (packaging textiles)
  • Protech (protective textiles)
  • Sportech (sports textiles)

• A large flightless bird named Takahe, which was believed to be extinct decades ago, has made a comeback to the forests of New Zealand’s South Island.
• 18 of these birds were recently reintroduced into the Lake Wakatipu valley, an alpine area on the South Island, where they had not been spotted for nearly a century.

ABOUT TAKAHE

• Takahe is characterised as a flightless bird, nearly 50 centimetres in size.
• With an average length of around two feet and weighing 2.7 kg in males and 2.3 kg in females, the takahē is the largest living member of family Rallidae.
• They have been an intrinsic part of New Zealand’s ecosystem since the prehistoric Pleistocene era, as evidenced by fossil remains.
• Characteristics –
  • blue feathers on their bodies, green wings, and a large red beak.
  • legs are pink, and they have a white undertail.
• The influx of introduced animals by European settlers, including stoats, cats, ferrets, and rats, decimated their population.
• They were officially declared extinct in 1898.
• However, their rediscovery in 1948 breathed new life into their existence, and their numbers have been steadily growing since then.
• IUCN status – Endangered

• The Union Cabinet has approved the Promotion of Research & Innovation in Pharma-MedTech sector (PRIP) scheme with an outlay of ₹5,000 crore for five years, from 2023-24 to 2027-28.
• The objective of the PRIP scheme is to transform the Indian Pharma MedTech sector from cost-based competitiveness to innovation-based growth by strengthening the research infrastructure in the country.
• Ministry- Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers
• The scheme will be in two parts:
  • preparing capacity in PSUs;
  • provide support to private sector for research.
• In the first components- National Institutes of Pharmaceutical, Education & Research (NIPERs) in Mohali, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Rae Bareli, Guwahati, Hajipur and Kolkata will focus on research across categories like anti-viral and anti-bacterial drug discovery and development, medical device making, R&D in bulk drugs, novel drug delivery system, phytopharmaceuticals and bilogical therapeutics.
  • ₹700 crore fund is allocated to this part.
• The second component, targeting the private sector includes development of new chemical entity (or molecular entity), complex generics and biosimilars, precision medicines (used in stem cell technology and gene therapy), medical devices (leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning), orphan drugs (including rare diseases) and research on anti-microbial resistance.
  • Another ₹4,250 crore will be allocated under this component.

• ISRO will be launching the Aditya L1 mission on September 2^nd.

ABOUT ADITYA L1 MISSION

• Aditya-L1 will be the 1^st Indian space mission to study the sun.
• It will be launched by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
• Spacecraft shall be placed in a halo orbit about 1.5 million km from Earth around Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system.
• Objective– Aditya L1 will study the Sun’s corona, Sun’s photosphere, chromosphere, solar emissions, solar winds and flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and will carry out round-the-clock imaging of the Sun.
• The 7 payloads include:
  • Visible Line Emission Coronagraph (VLEC)
  • Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT)
  • Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS)
  • High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS)
  • Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX)
  • Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA)
  • Advanced Tri-axial High Resolution Digital Magnetometers
• Note- VELC,SUIT, SoLEXS and HEL1OS are remote sensing payloads whereas ASPEX, PAPA and Magnetometers are in-situ payloads.