News in Shorts: 18 September 2025

Pacific Angel 25

Context: India has joined the US and Sri Lanka in Pacific Angel 25, the Indo-Pacific’s largest disaster response and humanitarian cooperation exercise. 

About Pacific Angel 25

• Pacific Angel 25 was launched on September 9, 2025 at Katunayake Air Base, Sri Lanka.
• Objective: To strengthen regional preparedness for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.
• Participation: Nearly 90 US personnel and 120 Sri Lanka Air Force members are joined by troops and observers from India, Australia, Bangladesh, Japan, and Maldives.
• Significance: The exercise enhances search and rescue, medical readiness, aviation safety, and engineering support, fostering regional cooperation and crisis response speed.

Operation Weed Out

Context: Recently, DRI has seized 108.67 kg of hydroponic weed across India under Operation Weed Out.

About Operation Weed Out

• It is a pan-India crackdown on drug trafficking syndicates smuggling hydroponic cannabis into India.
  • Hydroponic weed cultivation is a process where weed is grown in a soil-free system, focusing on nutrient-rich solutions to sustain the plants
• Legal Framework: All actions are taken under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
• Broader Trend: There has been a sharp rise in hydroponic weed smuggling from Thailand into India via multiple airports.
• Significance: The crackdown supports the Government’s vision of a “Nasha Mukt Bharat” by dismantling drug syndicates and curbing narcotics smuggling.

About Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI)

• The DRI, established in 1957, is India’s premier intelligence and enforcement agency under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
• It combats smuggling, narcotics trade, commercial fraud, and economic offenses, acting as the chief agency for enforcing India’s customs laws and safeguarding national economic security.

Cheetah Relocation

Context: Recently, a female cheetah was relocated from Kuno National Park to Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary, on the third anniversary of Project Cheetah.

• The relocation is aimed at reducing stress on Kuno National Park and diversifying habitats for cheetahs.

About Project Cheetah

• Project Cheetah was formally launched in 2022, with the release of eight cheetahs from Namibia into Kuno National Park.
  • 12 cheetahs were translocated from South Africa to Kuno National Park in India in February 2023 as part of the project.
• Objective: To reintroduce cheetahs in India after their extinction in 1952, restoring ecological balance and strengthening grassland conservation.
• Authority: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) oversees the project under the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
• Progress: India now has 27 cheetahs.

About Kuno National Park

• Introduction: Declared a national park in 2018, Kuno lies in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh, initially considered for Asiatic lion relocation.
• Location: Vindhyan hills and semi-arid region of northern Madhya Pradesh, near the Chambal river basin.
• Vegetation and Wildlife: Characterized by dry deciduous forests and grasslands, the park is home to species like leopards, chinkaras, nilgai, striped hyenas, and jackals, apart from translocated cheetahs.

About Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary

• Introduction: Established in 1974, the sanctuary is located in Mandsaur district, Madhya Pradesh
  • It is around the backwaters of the Gandhisagar Dam on the Chambal river.
• Projects and Importance: Designated as a cheetah habitat (second after Kuno). Currently it has 3 Cheetahs.
  • It supports conservation initiatives like habitat restoration, prey base management, and eco-tourism development.
• Vegetation: It is part of Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forest thus here we will find trees like Salai, Kardhai, Dhawda, Tendu, Palash etc.
• Animals: Rare wildlife species like Wild Dogs (Dholes), Chinkara, Leopard, Otter, Mugger crocodile and common animals like Spotted Deer, Sambar, Gray Langur ,etc.

SPIN90 Protein

Context: Scientists at CSIR–Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, have discovered the crucial role of the SPIN90 protein in regulating cell movement and shape.

• The findings were published in Journal  Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

About SPIN90 Protein

• SPIN90 is a cellular protein involved in controlling the internal structural reorganisation of cells.
• It plays a central role in cytoskeletal dynamics, essential for cell mobility and adaptability.
• Role in Cell Movement
• • By influencing actin filament rearrangements, SPIN90 ensures efficient and directed cell movement
    • A cell’s shape is determined by a dense, branched network of actin near its membrane.
    • Actin molecules are highly dynamic and known for their ability to push against the cell membrane.
  • SPIN90 helps cells form rapid protrusions (extensions of the cell membrane) by generating a fresh meshwork of actin that pushes in the desired direction.
  • These protrusions allow cells like white blood cells to chase, capture, and destroy pathogens.
• Health and Disease Implications: Defects in SPIN90 may disrupt immune responses and contribute to diseases like cancer metastasis.

Significance

• The discovery sheds new light on the fundamental processes that govern cellular behaviour and could pave the way for a better understanding of various diseases.

Moran Community Demand for ST Status

Context: The Moran community in Assam has launched an economic blockade demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, led by the All Moran Students’ Union (AMSU).

Current Agitation

• Demand for ST Status: Morans are among six communities in Assam including Adivasi (tea tribes), Motok, Tai Ahom, Chutia, and Koch-Rajbongshi  long demanding ST recognition.

About Morans

• Introduction: The Morans are an indigenous Assamese community, historically agrarian and concentrated in Upper Assam, especially Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts.
• Ethnicity and Origins: They trace their ancestry to Assamese tribal groups and are considered one of the early settlers of the Brahmaputra Valley.
• Language: The community primarily speaks Assamese, though some traditions retain Tai-Ahom linguistic influences.

Inclusion of Communities in ST list

• Constitutional Basis: Article 342 of the Indian Constitution empowers the President to notify any community as a Scheduled Tribe, after consultation with the concerned state.
• Modalities (Guidelines): First issued on 15 June 1999 and later amended on 25 June 2002 and 14 September 2022.
  • Apply to inclusion, exclusion, or modification in the ST list.
• Step-wise Process
  • State Government/UT Proposal: Proposals must be initiated and justified by the concerned State Government/UT Administration.
  • Examination by Registrar General of India (RGI): The RGI scrutinises the proposal.
    • If not recommended, the State Government is asked to provide additional data or clarifications.
  • Examination by National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST): The proposal is reviewed by NCST, which gives its recommendations.
  • Final Decision: The final decision rests with the Union Cabinet and notification by the President.
  • Legislative Amendment: Final changes (Inclusion / removal) in the ST list require Parliamentary amendment to the relevant Presidential Order.

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