11 June 2023

• Health: Leptospirosis cases rose with early monsoon rains in coastal states. The bacterial disease is also called "rat fever."
• Conservation: Cyclone Biparjoy continued its northward track toward the Gujarat coast while the southwest monsoon onset over Kerala was delayed.
• Infrastructure: The Cochin Fisheries Harbour announced a modernisation project under Sagarmala and PM Matsya Sampada Yojana.
• History: Archaeological findings at Orvakallu in Andhra Pradesh, depicting Mesolithic rock art, were discussed in academic circles.

GS area: Science and Technology (health), Disaster Management

Leptospirosis cases rise sharply during and after the monsoon, particularly in coastal and flood-affected areas. It is classified as an epidemic-prone disease requiring surveillance under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme.

• Causative agent: Leptospira interrogans, a spiral-shaped bacterium.
• Transmission: Contact with water or soil contaminated by urine of infected animals, primarily rats, cattle, and dogs. Floodwater that mixes with infected rodent urine is the classic transmission route.
• Common names: Rat fever, Weil's disease (in its severe form), mud fever.
• Symptoms: Fever, headache, muscle pain (especially calves), red eyes. Severe form causes jaundice, kidney failure, and bleeding.
• Diagnosis problem: Often misdiagnosed as dengue or malaria because of overlapping fever symptoms. Many cases go unreported.
• Treatment: Doxycycline or penicillin antibiotics. Early treatment is important.
• Burden: India, particularly Kerala, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, reports the highest case loads annually.

Static linkage: Health; disaster management; environment.

GS area: Geography (climatology), Disaster Management

Cyclone Biparjoy continued intensifying in the Arabian Sea and was tracking toward the Saurashtra-Kutch coastline of Gujarat. It was the strongest pre-monsoon Arabian Sea cyclone in recent memory.

• State: Classified as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm as of 11 June. IMD projected landfall near Jakhau Port in Kutch around 15 June 2023.
• Monsoon interaction: The Arabian Sea cyclone was disrupting the arrival of the southwest monsoon over northwest India by destabilising the monsoon trough.
• NDRF prepositioning: National Disaster Response Force teams were deployed in advance to coastal Gujarat districts. The NDRF is the specialised force constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
• Ports closed: Several ports in Gujarat and the ONGC's offshore platforms in the Arabian Sea were evacuated as a precaution.

Static linkage: Indian geography; disaster management.

GS area: Economy (fisheries), Infrastructure

A 7,500 crore rupee modernisation project for Cochin Fisheries Harbour was announced.

• Goal: To make Cochin a global hub for fish trade. India's fisheries exports reached 57,586 crore rupees in 2021-22.
• India's fish production: 16.25 million metric tonnes in 2021-22. India is the third largest fish producer globally and the second largest aquaculture producer.
• Funding: Drawn from PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (the 20,050 crore rupee programme for fisheries sector development) and the Sagarmala programme.
• Kisan Credit Card extension: The KCC facility was extended to fishers and fish farmers to provide working capital.

Static linkage: Economy (agriculture and fisheries); government schemes.

GS area: Art and Culture, History (prehistoric)

Researchers identified rock paintings at Orvakallu village in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh depicting a person tilling land. The pigments used were natural white kaolin and red ochre.

• Period: Mesolithic (10,000 to 4,000 BCE). Mesolithic art typically features smaller hunting scenes and naturalistic depictions of animals and human activity.
• India's rock art timeline: Upper Palaeolithic (40,000 to 10,000 BCE) art uses linear animal and human figures. Mesolithic art is more detailed and includes agricultural scenes. India's first recognised rock art discovery was in 1867-68 at Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh.
• Bhimbetka significance: The rock shelters of Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They show continuous human habitation from the Lower Palaeolithic period. The Bhimbetka paintings predate the famous Altamira cave paintings of Spain by about 12 years (the Indian discovery was made 12 years before Altamira).

Static linkage: Art and culture; prehistoric India.

• TAPI Gas Pipeline: Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India (TAPI) signed a Joint Implementation Plan. The pipeline will carry natural gas from the Galkynysh gas field in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan to Fazilka in India. The Asian Development Bank is a key funder.
• Australia World Test Championship: Australia defeated India by 209 runs in the World Test Championship Final in London in June 2023. Australia became the second team to win the WTC after New Zealand in 2021.
• Squash World Cup: Chennai hosted the Mixed Teams Squash World Cup, a best-of-five format event with 7-point games. This was a rare time a global squash event came to India.