14 July 2024

• International: Bastille Day (French National Day) celebrated on 14 July. India has deep military ties with France through Rafale and defence cooperation agreements.
• Health: Tirzepatide approved in India for weight loss. Clinical trials showed up to 20.9 per cent body weight reduction.
• Conservation: Vulture conservation in India's tiger reserves threatened by human NSAIDs still available in veterinary pharmacies.
• UN: India abstained on a UN General Assembly resolution on the safety of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

GS area: International Relations, World History

Bastille Day is France's National Day, observed on 14 July each year. It commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris on 14 July 1789, a defining moment of the French Revolution that symbolised the end of absolute monarchy and the rise of popular sovereignty. France officially declared 14 July as its National Day in 1879.

• India-France strategic partnership: Elevated to a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. Defence cooperation is the centrepiece: the Rafale fighter jet deal (36 aircraft for the Indian Air Force, signed 2016) is the most prominent.
• Rafale for India: India received all 36 Rafale jets under the 2016 agreement. Discussions in July 2024 focused on 26 Rafale Marine jets for the Indian Navy (carrier-based variant) and a potential co-production arrangement under Make in India for a future batch.
• Other defence ties: India and France co-produce the Shakti engine for Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter. MBDA Mistral missiles are used by India. The two countries conduct regular naval exercises (Varuna) and air exercises (Garuda).
• French Revolution's broader impact: The Revolution's ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity influenced Indian independence movement thinkers including Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai.
• Enlightenment thinkers: John Locke (natural rights), Montesquieu (separation of powers), and Rousseau (social contract) shaped both the French Revolution and later constitutional democracies including India.

Static linkage: India-France relations (IR), French Revolution (World History).

GS area: International Relations, Energy

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for safety measures at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, which is under Russian control since March 2022. India abstained.

• Plant significance: Zaporizhzhia is Europe's largest nuclear power plant, with six reactors of 1,000 MW each. Its control by Russian forces while Ukrainian operators continue to work has been a persistent safety concern.
• India's abstention: India abstained along with China, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Egypt, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. Countries that voted against included Russia, Belarus, Cuba, North Korea, and Syria.
• India's consistent position: India abstains on resolutions that it sees as one-sided or likely to inflame the conflict rather than promote resolution. India maintains relations with both Russia and Ukraine.
• IAEA role: The International Atomic Energy Agency monitors the plant's safety. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has repeatedly visited and warned about the safety risks.

Static linkage: India's UN voting behaviour (IR), nuclear safety governance.

GS area: Science and Technology, Health

The Drug Controller General of India approved tirzepatide (brand: Mounjaro) for weight management in overweight or obese adults.

• Mechanism: Tirzepatide is a dual agonist that activates both GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) and GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) receptors. GLP-1 and GIP are gut hormones that regulate appetite and insulin secretion.
• Clinical results: Phase 3 trials showed up to 20.9 per cent body weight reduction over 72 weeks, substantially more than earlier single-target drugs like semaglutide.
• Original indication: Developed for Type 2 diabetes (approved for that purpose first).
• Limitation: Weight returns after stopping the medication. It is not a permanent cure.
• Side effects: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and risk of thyroid tumours in animal studies. Not recommended for patients with a personal or family history of thyroid cancer.

Static linkage: Pharmaceutical regulation (S&T), obesity and health policy.

GS area: Environment and Ecology

A study in Mudumalai and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserves in Tamil Nadu found that communities living around these reserves lack awareness of "vulture-safe" livestock practices.

• The NSAID crisis: Diclofenac, a common pain reliever for livestock, is catastrophically toxic to vultures. When vultures eat the carcass of an animal treated with diclofenac, they die of kidney failure within days. Diclofenac wiped out over 95 per cent of India's vulture population between 1990 and 2007.
• Ban and alternatives: Diclofenac was banned for veterinary use in large animals in 2006. Meloxicam was promoted as a safe alternative.
• Current threat: Despite the diclofenac ban, other NSAIDs including ketoprofen, aceclofenac, and nimesulide, which are also toxic to vultures, are still available in veterinary pharmacies and being used by farmers.
• Ecological role: Vultures are obligate scavengers. They consume animal carcasses and prevent the spread of anthrax, rabies, and other diseases that would otherwise enter soil and water.
• Conservation status: Most Indian vulture species are Critically Endangered. The Oriental White-backed Vulture population remains severely depleted.

Static linkage: Biodiversity conservation (Environment), invasive species and pollutants.

GS area: Environment, Science and Technology

The Zoological Survey of India identified a new dogfish shark species, Squalus hima, from Kerala's coast in the Arabian Sea.

• Identification method: Distinguished from related species by precaudal vertebrae count, total vertebrae count, tooth count, and fin structure.
• Commercial value: Dogfish liver oil contains squalene, used in cosmetics and being investigated for anticancer properties.
• ZSI role: The Zoological Survey of India, established in 1916, is the apex body for survey and study of India's fauna. Headquartered in Kolkata.

Static linkage: Marine biodiversity (Environment), Indian Ocean species.

• Mackenzie River: Canada's longest river at 1,738 km. Flows from Great Slave Lake to the Beaufort Sea (Arctic Ocean). Historically low water levels in summer 2024 stranded communities that rely on the river for transport.
• Dogfish shark (Squalus hima): New species from Kerala's Arabian Sea coast. ZSI identification. Liver oil has squalene.
• RTI Act: near-100 per cent disposal: The Central Information Commission reported RTI appeal pendency falling from 35,000 in 2019-20 to 23,000 in 2023-24. Over 3.02 crore RTI applications have been filed in 15 years since the Act came into force in 2005. Seven vacancies remain in the Central Information Commission (out of 11 posts), and 3.2 lakh appeals and complaints were pending as of June 2023.