• Using optical tweezers, researchers at Raman Research Institute (RRI), attempted to study structural details of Laponite, a synthetic clay.
  • RRI is an autonomous institute funded by Department of Science and Technology.
  • Laponite is a widely used raw material in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.
• Optical tweezers grab particles, atoms, molecules, and living cells with their laser beam fingers.
• They use laser light to push small particles towards center of the beam and to hold them there.
• Optical tweezers are now widely used to investigate biological systems.
• Other Applications include: Š
  • confinement and organization (e.g. for cell sorting).
  • tracking of movement (e.g. of bacteria).
  • application and measurement of small forces.
  • altering of larger structures (such as cell membranes).
• Limitation– optical tweezers are only able to manipulate very small objects and only at very short distances.
• Arthur Ashkin — who, at 96, becomes the oldest scientist ever to be awarded a Nobel Prize — is credited with having invented “optical tweezers”.

• A 9 year old full-term pregnant tigress suffering from severe constipation recently died at the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve during treatment.

About Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve

• Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve, popularly known as Darrah Wildlife Sanctuary, is spread across 4 districts – Bundi, Kota, Jhalawar & Chittorgarh in Rajasthan.
• The park is situated in a valley formed by two parallel mountains viz. Mukundra and Gargola.
• It consisits of three wildlife sanctuaries: Darrah wildlife sanctuary, Chambal wildlife sanctuary and Jaswant Sagar wildlife sanctuary.
• This tiger reserve was once a hunting preserve belonging to the Maharaja of Kota.
• It is located on the eastern bank of the Chambal River and is drained by its tributaries.
• Vegetation: Dry Deciduous Forest
• Flora: Kala Dhok or Kaladhi is the predominant species, along with Khair, Ber, Kakan, Raunj
• On higher slopes Bel, Salar, Uum and Shisham is found.
• The important fauna includes Leopard, Sloth bear, Nilgai, Chinkara, Spotted Deer, Small Indian Civet, Toddy Cat, Jackal, Hyena, Jungle Cat, Common Langur
  • Common reptiles and amphibians found are Pythons, Rat Snake, Buff-striped keelbacks, Green keelback, crocodiles, Gharial, Otter and Turtles.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority

• According to World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index, 2023, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority has a turnaround time (TAT) of just 22 hours, putting India amongst the top performers.
• TAT of a ship refers to the time vessel reports at the anchorage of a port to the time it sails out from the berth.
• JNP at Navi Mumbai accounts for around 50% of the total containerized cargo volume, across the major ports of India.
• In 2022, JNP has become the first major port of the country to become 100% Landlord port having all berths being operated on PPP model.

Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port

• Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways recently flagged off an inaugural shipment from Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata to operationalise the Sittwe Port in Myanmar.
• Port of Kolkata or Kolkata Port, officially known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Trust (Formerly Kolkata Port Trust), is the only riverine major port of India, located in Kolkata, around 203 kilometres from the sea.
• It is the oldest operating port in India constructed by the British East India Company in 1870.
• Kolkata is a freshwater port with no variation in salinity.
• The port has two distinct dock systems — Kolkata Docks at Kolkata and a deep water dock at Haldia Dock Complex, Haldia.

• Half of India’s national sports federations don’t have an internal complaints committee (ICC), as required by the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) (PoSH)Act, 2013.
• An ICC was designed to be the first port of call for any grievance under PoSH Act.
• An ICC is mandatory in every private or public organisation that has 10 or more employees.
• The ICC should consist of at least four members-
  • At least 50% should be women.
  • One should be a senior woman employee as the presiding officer.
  • One should be an external member from a non-governmental organization or a legal background.
  • The ICC members should be appointed for a term of 3 years and should undergo regular training on the POSH Act and related issues.
• Objective– making workplaces safer for women by preventing, prohibiting and redressing acts of sexual harassment against them in the workplace.
• The Act is based on Vishakha guidelines laid down by Supreme Court in 1997.
• Other key Features of PoSH Act
  • Defines sexual harassment at workplace and creates a mechanism for redressal of complaints.
  • Wide definition of aggrieved woman to cover all women, irrespective of their age or employment status and whether in organized or unorganized sectors, public or private, and covers clients, customers and domestic workers as well.
  • District Officer to constitute Local Committee to receive complaints from organisations with less than 10 workers or if complaint is against the employer itself.

• The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet, under the leadership of CM, has announced a monthly incentive of Rs 1,500 for women in the Spiti Valley.
• The incentive will be provided to all eligible women, including Buddhist nuns, above the age of 18 years.
• This initiative is called the Indira Gandhi Mahila Samman Nidhi.

• Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra recently revealed a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Mauritius.

• An integrated surveillance and firepower training exercise ‘Buland Bharat’ was conducted in the recently operationalised longest high-altitude Artillery Ranges of the eastern theatre.
• The exercise involved the synergised application of surveillance and firepower capabilities of the Artillery and the Infantry in close coordination with Special Forces, Aviation and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) deployed in West Kameng and Tawang districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
• Uninterrupted communication on multiple media was also tested at long distances.

• Defence Minister of India recently laid the foundation stone for the Maldives National Defence Forces Coast Guard ‘Ekatha Harbour’.
• The development of the Coast Guard Harbour and repair facility at Sifavaru is one of the biggest grant-in-aid projects of India.
• It is located at Sifavaru in Uthuru Thila Falhu (UTF) atoll, where India is assisting in construction of a naval dockyard.

• Following reports of two separate violent attacks in which five people were reportedly killed, the Brazilian government has pledged to expedite the removal of illegal miners from Yanomami, Brazil’s largest indigenous territory.

About Yanomami Territory

• The Yanomami territory is the largest Indigenous land in Brazil, covering an area of about 96,000 square kilometres in the Amazon rainforest.
• It is home to about 30,000 Yanomami people, who live in hundreds of villages scattered across the region.
• The Yanomami are one of the most isolated and culturally diverse indigenous groups in the world, with their languages, customs and beliefs.
• They live in large, circular houses called yanos or shabonos, some of which can hold up to 400 people.
• The Yanomami consider all people to be equal, and do not have a chief. Instead, all decisions are based on consensus after long discussions and debates.
• They speak Xirianá

• A new portal dedicated to leopards (Panthera pardus) was launched by the Cape Leopard Trust (CLT), an active predator conservation working group, on International Leopard Day (May 3) to promote and celebrate leopards worldwide.

About Leopards

• The leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the five extant species in the genus Panthera, a member of the cat family, Felidae.
• The leopard is distinguished by its well-camouflaged fur, opportunistic hunting behavior, broad diet, strength, and its ability to adapt to a variety of habitats including savanna and rainforest, grasslands, desert and semi-desert regions of southern Africa, woodlands, and riverine forests.
• Global Distribution– These cats are distributed across areas, stretching from sub-Saharan Africa to West Asia and the Middle East, reaching South and Southeast Asia and Siberia.
• The earliest known leopard fossils excavated in Europe are estimated 600,000 years old, dating to the late Early Pleistocene.
• Leopards are carnivores and their diet includes animals such as antelopes, gazelles, monkeys etc.
• Leopards attain all required moisture from their food, so they can survive without drinking water for long periods of time.
• Leopards are closely related to Black panthers which are leopards, but with recessive melanistic genes.
• Threats- habitat fragmentation, poaching for its skin and teeth, illegal trade etc
• Protection status
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable.
  • CITES: Appendix-I.
  • Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule-I.