• In a first-of-its-kind judgment, a sessions court in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district has ordered the payment of half of the fine amount, imposed on a convict in a chinkara killing case, to the informer as a prize for helping in the detection of crime against wildlife.

ABOUT CHINAKARA

• Scientific Name – Gazella bennettii.
• Chinkara or Indian gazelle is the State animal of Rajasthan.
• It is mostly a solitary animal, but sometimes forms small groups of 2 – 4 individuals.
• Chinkara inhabits arid areas, including sand deserts, flat plains and hills, dry scrub and light forest.
• They can go for a long time without water and can get sufficient fluids from plants and dew.
• Globally the species is found in India, Iran, Pakistan and possibly Afghanistan.
  • However, most of the global population is found in the Thar Desert of western India.
• Protection status
  • IUCN Red List- Least Concern
  • CITES– Appendix III

• India’s first Tele-MANAS chatbot was launched in Jammu & Kashmir.
• It will ensure round the clock services of health counsellors, clinical psychologists and consultants.
• The Centre had in Budget 2022 announced the National Tele Mental Health Programme of India, Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS).
• It is under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences(NIMHANS) is the nodal centre while National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHRSC), IIT Bengaluru and IIITB will provide technology support.
• A toll-free, 24/7 helpline number (14416) has been set up across the country.
• Tele-MANAS is a two-tier system.
  • Tier 1 comprises State Tele MANAS cells, which includes trained counsellors and mental health specialists.
  • Tier 2 comprises specialists at District Mental Health Programme (DMHP)/Medical College resources for physical consultation and/or eSanjeevani for audio visual consultation.

• World Investment Report was recently released by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

MAJOR FINDINGS

• Global foreign direct investment (FDI) fell 12% in 2022.
• India and ASEAN were the most buoyant recipients of the FDI, with increases of 10 and 5%, respectively.

• FDI inflows in Asia were highly concentrated, with 5 economies- India, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the UAE , accounting for nearly 80% of the total investment.
• FDI inflows were higher in developing countries compared with those in developed economies.
• Inflows in many smaller developing countries were stagnant, and FDI to the least developed countries (LDCs) declined.
• Much of the growth in international investment in renewable energy has been concentrated in developed countries.
• Annual investment deficit that developing countries face as they work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, is now about $4 trillion per year.
• The largest gaps are in energy, water and transport infrastructure.

ABOUT THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT

• UNCTAD is a permanent inter-governmental body established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1964.
• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
• Members: 195 countries
• It is responsible for dealing with development issues, particularly international trade.
• Framing policies in various domains such as trade, technology, finance, aid, and transport are the most important priorities of UNCTAD.
• The Conference usually meets once in four years.
  • India hosted the second UNCTAD Conference in 1968, at New Delhi.

• Tribesmen of Gutti Koya tribe erect stone memorials in the event of death of their three most important service providers—physician, priest and village leader
  • The Gutti Koya tribe appoints only men to these positions.
• Notably, only bodies of these three are buried by the tribe, which normally cremates its dead.
• The Koya population is concentrated in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
• They speak the Koya, which is a Dravidian language.
• They earn a living through animal husbandry and minor forest produce.

• India’s first ‘Police Drone Unit’ was recently launched by Greater Chennai City Police (GCP) for aerial surveillance over vast areas and quick detection of criminal activities.
• According to the police, a total of nine drones under three categories are available in this unit: Quick Response Surveillance Drones (6), Heavy Lift Multirotor Drone (1) and Long Range Survey Wing Place (2).
• The drones equipped with advanced surveillance technology will aid in identifying potential threats, monitoring crowd gatherings, and assisting in traffic management.

• World Zoonosis Day is observed annually on July 6^th
• World Zoonosis Day traces its origins back to 1885 when Louis Pasteur administered the inaugural rabies vaccine, marking a groundbreaking milestone in the prevention of zoonotic diseases.
• Zoonoses are infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans, either directly or through insect vectors.
• There are more than 200 identified zoonotic diseases, categorized by their causative agents: bacteria, parasites, fungi, and viruses.
• “One World, One Health: Prevent Zoonoses, Stop the Spread” is the focus of this year’s World Zoonoses Day 2023.

• The Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), in Mizoram, has called for a reunification of the Zo people in view of the continuing ethnic violence between the dominant Meiteis and the Kuki-Zomi tribes in Manipur.
• Zo peoples include all tribes of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo ethnic group spread across Myanmar, India, and Bangladesh.
• They are from same origin which is known as Sinlung.
• The group include many sub-tribes and clans such as the Chin, Kuki, Mizo, Lushei, Zomi, Paitei, Hmar, Ralte, Pawi, Lai, Mara, Gangte, Thadou, etc.
• The tribes are believed to have migrated from China through Tibet to settle in Myanmar.
• They speak a group of Tibeto-Burman languages.
• The Chin Hills, or Indo-Chin hill ranges, is a thickly forested region with an elevation of 2,100-3,000 metres in northwestern Myanmar.
  • The Hills are home to a large number of tribes that come under the Zo umbrella.
• In northeastern India, they are present in Tripura, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya and Assam.

• India chaired the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of State Council Meeting virtual Summit recently.
• The theme of India’s chairpersonship of SCO is ‘Towards a SECURE SCO’.
  • SECURE stands for S: Security, E: Economic development, C: Connectivity, U: Unity, R: Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, E: Environmental protection.

Major highlights

• Iran officially joined the SCO as the 9^th Member Country.
• New Delhi Declaration was signed by member nations to counter activities of terrorist, separatist and extremist groups, preventing spread of religious intolerance, aggressive nationalism, ethnic and racial discrimination, xenophobia
• India refused to be part of the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) of the SCO members’ economic strategy statement, mentioning “interested member states’.
• Members agreed to declare 2024 as the SCO Year of Environment.
• Statement on Cooperation in Digital Transformation to unlock full potential of digitalization across all sectors of the economy.
• India has created five new pillars and focus area for cooperation in the SCO, which include,
  • Startups and Innovation
  • Traditional Medicine
  • Youth Empowerment
  • Digital Inclusion
  • Shared Buddhist Heritage
• Earlier, Varanasi was declared first tourism and cultural capital of SCO.

• One health Priority Reasearch Agenda for Anti-Microbial Resistance was recently released by FAO, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), WHO and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) to better advocate for increased research and investment in AMR.
• The One Health Priority Research Agenda identifies three crucial cross-cutting themes:
  • gender,
  • vulnerable populations, and
• Recognizing the interconnectedness of these factors with AMR, the agenda emphasizes the need for research that addresses these themes

ABOUT ONE HEALTH

• One Health is an approach that recognizes that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment.
• Its purpose is to encourage collaborations in research and sharing of knowledge at multiple levels across various disciplines like human health, animal health, plants, soil, environmental and ecosystem health in ways that improve, protect and defend the health of all species.

ABOUT AMR

• It occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.

Note

Earlier, WHO also launched a global research agenda for AMR in human health this year.

Agenda presented a five pillar based one health approach to tackle growing threat of AMR including:

1. Transmission- focuses on understanding the transmission, circulation, and spread of AMR across various sectors, including the environment, plants, animals, and humans.
2. Integrated surveillance- enhance technical understanding and information exchange among stakeholders
3. Interventions- concentrates on programs, practices, tools, and activities aimed at preventing, containing, or reducing AMR
4. Behavioural insights and change
5. Economics and policy- addresses investment and action required for AMR prevention and control

• Researchers from IISc, Bengaluru have identified the cause of an over 3 million sq. km -wide ‘gravity hole’ – known as the Indian Ocean Geoid Low (IOGL)- in the Indian Ocean.
• At IOGL, located just south of Sri Lanka, Earth’s gravitational pull is at its weakest.
  • As a result, sea level is 106 metres lower than the global average.
• According to scientists, the IOGL likely took its present shape about 20 million years ago and will likely last millions more.
• Earth is not a true sphere — it’s flatter on both poles and bulges along the equator.
  • As a result of this and other factors such as mass of its crust, gravitational pull varies making earth’s shape irregular.
• These anomalies (due to irregularity in gravitational field) on Earth’s undulating map are known as
• IOGL is called lowest geoid anomaly on Earth.
• Researchers found that IOGL was caused by plumes of molten rock rising along the edges of Tethys Ocean bed.
  • Tethys was a prehistoric ocean that separated the mega-continents of Gondwana and Laurasia.
• Hot material from African superplume — a large section of Earth’s mantle that carries heat from near the core up to the crust — was being deflected eastwards.
• This material then ended under IOGL.
• The researchers found that ‘low density anomalies’ or the presence of lighter materials in the upper to mid-mantle (layer of Earth between the core and the crust ) below the IOGL, were responsible for the low gravity in this region.