• The Uttar Pradesh irrigation department drained out Haiderpur wetland, a protected Ramsar site that some believe to be the best upland in North India, forcing tens of thousands of migratory birds to leave the most prominent bird site in western Uttar Pradesh.
• Haiderpur Wetland is a human made wetland formed in 1984 by the construction of the Madhya Ganga Barrage on a floodplain of Ganga.
• It is located within the boundaries of Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Species: It supports species like the critically endangered gharial and hog deer (EN), black-bellied tern (EN), Indian skimmer (EN) and golden mahseer(EN).
• Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
• India has 75 Ramsar sites.

• The Himachal Pradesh government intends to make the state as the first Green Energy State by the end of 2025 by harnessing hydro, hydrogen and solar energy and switching to green products, Chief Minister said.
• He directed all the concerned departments including HPSEBL, HIMURJA, Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) and the Department of Energy to initiate action in this direction and make policy changes, wherever required.
• He said that refurbishing the present system is essential and the departments should focus on harnessing green energy in the best interest of the State. To ease the norms, the Chief Minister directed the officers to make necessary amendments to the existing power policy and open all the solar projects up to 5 MW capacity for allotment.
• The state government would also invest in solar plants and will install 500 MW solar projects during the year 2023-24, out of this, 200 MW would be installed by HPPCL for which land has been identified for 70 MW capacity and the rest of the sites will be finalized soon.
• The Department of Energy and HPPCL will identify sites in other states like Rajasthan where the land is available at discounted rates for installation of Mega Solar Plant.
• During the meeting, CM also reviewed the progress of Kishau Dam Project 660 (MW) where the water component was being financed by the Government of India and State in the ratio 90:10 respectively and the Power component to be shared 50-50 by Himachal and Uttrakhand States.
  • Kishau Dam Project is a proposed multipurpose project on River Tons ( a tributary of river Yamuna)at the border of District Dehradun (U.A.) & District Sirmour (H.P).

• The Centre on Friday notified the appointment of Justice Sabina as the acting Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
• Justice Sabina, the senior-most judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, will assume charge as the acting Chief Justice on Saturday following the retirement of Justice Amjad Ahtesham Sayed, the Department of Justice said in a notification.
• Justice Sayed retired on Friday on attaining the age of 62 years. After his retirement, the Himachal Pradesh High Court will be functioning with only nine judges against a sanctioned strength of 17.

• Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal) is a Central Sector Scheme for facilitating sustainable ground water management. It will be implemented over a period of 5 years (2020-21 to 2024-25).
• One of the main objectives of scheme is to bring about behavioural change at ground level.
• Scheme is being taken up in nearly 8350 water stressed Gram Panchayats of 7 states namely Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• It is funded by Government of India and World Bank on a 50:50 basis.
• Scheme has two components:
  1. Institutional Strengthening & Capacity Building component by facilitating strong data base, scientific approach and community participation in ground water sector.
  2. Incentive Component for incentivizing states for achievement of predefined results.
• Scheme uses a four pronged strategy:
  1. Decision support tools for ground water management,
  2. Strengthen community based institutions to foster management,
  3. Improve water use efficiency and
  4. enhance ground water recharge and Fiscal decentralisation.
• Scheme envisages active participation of the communities and panchayats in various activities such as formation of Water User Associations, preparation of Gram Panchayat-wise Water Security Plans etc.

• There is a rising demand for kewda oil from Odisha’s Ganjam region.
• Ganjam kewda (Pandanus fascicularis) oil is steam-distilled from the flower of aromatic screwpine plant and used as an aromatic in the food industry and other sectors.
• Male spike is attractive for its characteristic aromatic odour, whereas female spike is odourless and develops into a woody drupe.
• It is registered under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 by the Government of India.
• The flower is harvested from around 5,000 hectares in the district. Its oil is produced in Ganjam, Chatrapur, Chikiti and Rangeilunda blocks of the district.
• For around 200,000 people living in 220 villages of the district, it is the main source of income. The farmers and collectors receive an advance from Ganjam’s oil makers who buy the flowers from them during June to September — the harvesting season.
• An oil maker needs 30,000 flowers to extract a litre of kewda oil.
• Price of a litre of kewda oil has increased to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 4.5 lakh last year.

• A ‘Spot Bellied Eagle Owl’ (Bubo Nipalensis) was spotted for the first time in the Seshachalam forest, and for the third time in Andhra Pradesh.

 About Spot Bellied Eagle Owl

• The bold predatory bird, measuring 20-25 inches in length and weighing between 1.5 kg and 2 kg, feeds on small rodents and lizards.
• The bird makes a strange scream similar to humansand it is hence called the ‘Ghost of the Forest’ in India and ‘Devil Bird’ in Sri Lanka.
• It is a forest-inhabiting species found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia
• IUCN Status: Least Concern

Indian star tortoise faces twin challenges of habitat loss and genetic diversity, finds study.

• A recent study has revealed that genetic diversity of the species as well as habitat has suffered major losses because of rampant illegal trade.
• Rampant illegal trade has caused major losses and unscientific translocations that have resulted in genetic mixing between different populations.
• Star Tortoises, with their distinct star-like markings on the shell, are found in dry lowlands of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
• IUCN Status: Vulnerable
• Also included in Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).

• A new study published in the journal Nature Methods, has proposed a “pan transcriptome,” which combines a transcriptome and a pangenome— a reference that contains genetic material from a cohort of diverse individuals, rather than just a single linear strand.

About Pan Transcriptome:

• Using a reference genome from a single organismis not reliable and there exists considerable variation in the intra-specie genomes.
• This gave birth to the pan- genomics, which divides the genome of the specie into three parts, core genome, dispensable genome, and unique genes.
• Transcriptome represents all the RNA molecules present in a specie or in an organism.
• Building a pan-transcriptome is necessary for studying and analyzing complex genomes and variations between species.

 How it works:

• RNA’s most commonly recognized function is to translate DNA into proteins, but scientists now understand that the vast majority of RNA does not make proteins, but instead can play roles such as influencing cell structure or regulating genes.
• When evaluating an individual’s genomic data for variation, scientists compare the individual’s genome to that of a reference made up of a single, linear strand of DNA bases.
• Using a pangenome allows researchers to compare an individual’s genome to that of a genetically diverse cohort of reference sequences all at once, sourced from individuals representing a diversity of biogeographic ancestry.
• This gives the scientists more points of comparison for which to better understand an individual’s genomic variation.

• Findings are part of a recent report by UK-based privacy and security research firm Top1OVPN.

Key findings related to India

• India imposed 34 major shutdowns in 2022, significantly more than any other country in the world.
• Total cost of Internet restrictions was $184.3 million.
• Shutdowns were highly localised to specific districts, cities and even villages, and tended to be in response to civil unrest, often pre-emptively.
• Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir endured most extensive major Internet outages.

Internet Shutdowns in India

• Internet shutdown is defined as an intentional disruption of internet or electronic communications for a specific population or location, to exert control over flow of information.
• It can be caused by Internet blackouts, Social media shutdowns or Throttling (reduced speed of internet).
• Legal provisions related to Internet shutdowns in India
  • Until 2017, mostly governed under section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Indian Telegraph Act 1885.
  • In 2017, Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency and Public Safety) Rules, were notified. Despite rules, government has also used broad powers under section 144.
  • Section 69(A) of IT (Amendment) Act, 2008 gives power to block particular websites.
  • Only Home Secretary of the Union or a state can pass an Internet shutdown order to be reviewed by a committee within 5 days.
  • Under unavoidable circumstances order can be issued by an officer of rank of Joint Secretary or above, authorized by central or state Home Secretary.

• A rare orange-coloured bat, which is a “near threatened” species, has been spotted in Chhattisgarh.
• The animal, also known as the ‘painted bat’ and characterised by bright orange and black wings, was sighted at a banana farm in Parali Bodal village of the park on Monday
• The bright orange-coloured bat was seen for the third time in the last few years in the Kanger Valley National Park located in the Bastar district.
• The national park is famous for its limestone caves which also provide a suitable habitat for bats, as per experts.
• The painted bat, whose scientific name is ‘Kerivoula picta’, is a “near threatened” species and commonly seen in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, Ganvir said.
• The painted bats are aerial hawkers, which means they catch insects while flying in the air. It is often observed at the time of maize harvest
• The park, spread over an area of about 200 sq km, is rich in biodiversity and sightings of some of the rare species of fauna were reported multiple times in the past.
• These bats prefer to live in dry areas and dense moist forests. For roosting, they prefer to take shelter under banana leaves.
• The painted bat is characterised by bright orange and black wings, dense orange fur on the back and warm buff below. Their hairy face has no ornamentation or nose leaf. Their ears are large and funnel-shaped with transparent tragus.
• In India, there are about 131 species of bats and 31 of them are found in central parts of the country.

• Under the ‘National programme on Electronics and ICT applications in Agriculture and Environment (AgriEnIcs)’–  the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), in collaboration with TeXMIN, ISM, Dhanbad has developed an outdoor air quality monitoring station to monitor environmental pollutants.
• It will monitor parameters like PM 1.0, PM 2.5, PM 10.0, SO2, NO2, CO, O2, ambient temperature, relative humidity, etc.,for continuous air quality analysis of the environment.
• The new Air Quality Monitoring System (AI-AQMS v1.0) will soon be available for a wider market as the new technology is already transferred to JM EnviroLab for further commercialization and deployment in different mining and cement industries.
• (MeitY) also launched the technology for biosensing systems for the detection of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in aquatic ecosystems for qualitative and quantitative analysis of EDC content in water bodies.

About EDC:

• Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are substances in the environment (natural– air, soil, or water) or manufactured (man-made) products that interfere with the normal function of the body’s endocrine system.

The most common EDCs are-

• Bisphenol A (BPA)– used to make certain plastics and epoxy resins
• Dioxins– a byproduct in herbicide production and paper bleaching
• Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)– used in a non-stick pan, paper and textile coatings
• Phthalates– used to make plastics more flexible
• Phytoestrogens– found in plants that have hormone-like activity, such as tofu or soy milk
• Triclosan– found in some anti-microbial and personal care products
• Endosulfan – an organochlorine insecticide that caused health hazards in the state of Kerala.