14 May 2024

• Wildlife: Kaziranga National Park recorded its highest tourism revenue in 50 years at Rs 8.81 crore in FY2023-24.
• Biodiversity (invasive): CSIR-CCMB found the Armoured Sailfin Catfish from South America had colonised 60 per cent of Eastern Ghats water bodies.
• Space: ISRO tested a 3D-printed Reaction Control System thruster component for the PSLV, advancing additive manufacturing in space.
• Health: A study linked higher ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption to increased mortality from neurodegenerative diseases over 30 years.

GS area: Environment (Biodiversity, Protected Areas)

Kaziranga National Park in Assam recorded its highest ever tourism revenue in its five-decade history: Rs 8,81,84,161 in FY2023-24.

• Location: Golaghat and Nagaon districts, Assam, on the south bank of the Brahmaputra River.
• World Heritage Site: Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 under natural criteria.
• Tiger Reserve: Declared a Tiger Reserve in 2007 under Project Tiger. As of 2023, it had the highest tiger density of any tiger reserve in India.
• Rhinoceros capital: Kaziranga harbours approximately two-thirds of the world's population of the Indian one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). This species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
• Tourism data: Total tourists in FY2023-24 were 3,27,493, of whom 3,13,574 were domestic and 13,919 were foreign. The revenue figure reflects the park's growing popularity post-pandemic.
• Biodiversity: Beyond rhinos, the park has elephants, wild water buffaloes, swamp deer, tigers, and a rich bird life including the greater adjutant stork.

Static linkage: Protected area management, Project Tiger, UNESCO World Heritage, Indian rhinoceros conservation.

GS area: Environment (Biodiversity, Invasive Species)

CSIR-CCMB (Hyderabad) published research showing that the Armoured Sailfin Catfish (Pterygoplichthys spp.) had colonised approximately 60 per cent of Eastern Ghats river water bodies.

• Species: Pterygoplichthys is a genus of freshwater fish native to the Amazon basin in South America. Known locally in India as Rakashi fish or Devil fish.
• Entry route: Introduced into India through the ornamental aquarium fish trade. Fish released from tanks or escaped from fish farms established wild populations.
• Impact: Damages fishing nets (which cannot hold the armoured fish). Burrows into canal banks, destabilising earthworks. Outcompetes native bottom-dwelling fish species. Reduces biodiversity in invaded systems.
• Detection: CSIR-CCMB developed an environmental DNA (eDNA) based Quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay to detect the species' presence in water samples without physical capture.
• eDNA monitoring: A modern surveillance technique that detects genetic material shed by organisms into their environment (water, air, soil). It is non-invasive and can detect rare or elusive species.
• CSIR-CCMB: Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, headquartered in Hyderabad, a premier CSIR institute for molecular biology and genetics research.

Static linkage: Invasive species, Eastern Ghats ecology, biotechnology in conservation.

GS area: Science and Technology (Space Manufacturing)

ISRO successfully tested a Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster component of the PSLV's upper stage that was manufactured using additive manufacturing (3D printing).

• PSLV: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. India's most reliable workhorse launch vehicle. It has placed satellites in polar and sun-synchronous orbits with a high success rate since 1994.
• Reaction Control System: A system of small thrusters on a spacecraft or launch vehicle's upper stage used to control attitude (orientation) and fine-adjust velocity. RCS thrusters fire briefly for precise manoeuvring.
• Additive manufacturing: A manufacturing process that builds components layer by layer from digital designs, enabling complex geometries impossible with conventional machining and reducing material waste.
• Advantages: Reduces production time significantly (weeks instead of months for complex parts), enables weight reduction through topology optimisation, and decreases material waste.
• IN-SPACe: The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, established in 2020 under the Department of Space. It regulates and promotes private participation in India's space sector.

Static linkage: Space technology, manufacturing innovation, India's space sector reforms.

GS area: Science and Technology (Health)

A 30-year observational cohort study from the United States found an association between higher consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and increased mortality, particularly from neurodegenerative diseases.

• Ultra-processed foods (UPFs): Under the NOVA classification, UPFs are NOVA Group 4 foods, produced largely from industrial ingredients with little or no whole food. Examples: carbonated drinks, packaged snacks, instant noodles, mass-produced bread.
• Study finding: Higher UPF consumption correlated with higher overall mortality and specifically with greater risk of dying from neurodegenerative diseases over 30 years.
• India relevance: The ICMR-NIN dietary guidelines released in May 2024 explicitly recommended limiting UPF consumption. Rising UPF consumption in urban India is a documented public health concern.
• NOVA classification: Developed by Brazilian researchers. Group 1: unprocessed foods. Group 2: processed culinary ingredients. Group 3: processed foods. Group 4: ultra-processed foods (UPFs). FSSAI uses a related framework for packaged food labelling.
• FSSAI: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Under the FSSAI Act 2006, Section 53, misleading food claims attract penalties. FSSAI has been pushing front-of-pack nutrition labelling.

Static linkage: Food safety, public health, FSSAI, non-communicable diseases.

GS area: Health Policy

Analysis of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data found that 12 per cent of eligible Indian children aged 2-3 years had missed the double-dose measles vaccination.

• Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP): India's flagship immunisation programme, providing free vaccines against 13 diseases. Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine is included.
• Measles elimination target: India originally targeted measles elimination by 2023. The target has been revised to 2026.
• MR vaccine schedule: First dose at 9-12 months; second dose at 16-24 months.
• NFHS-5: The National Family Health Survey round 5 (2019-21) covered data on 43,000 children aged 2-3 years for the vaccination gap analysis. NFHS is conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Routine immunisation challenge: "Zero-dose" children (who have received no vaccinations) are concentrated in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan, and among the urban poor.

Static linkage: Universal Immunisation Programme, NFHS surveys, public health policy.

• G5 geomagnetic storm follow-up: Analysis confirmed the May 10-11 storm was rated G5, caused by CMEs from Solar Cycle 25 activity. It caused power fluctuations in North America and GPS degradation globally. India's IAO Hanle recorded photographic evidence of red auroras at 4,500 m altitude.
• Roundworm epigenetic memory: The Princeton University study on C. elegans showing transgenerational transmission of learned immune behaviour received wider attention. The mechanism involves piRNA (Piwi-interacting RNA) molecules that carry memory across generations through germ cells.
• India-Greece defence: Greece's defence spending grew from USD 5 billion to USD 8.4 billion between 2019 and 2022. The Piraeus port, where China's COSCO holds approximately 60 per cent stake, remains a point of strategic interest in India's Mediterranean connectivity thinking.