News In Shorts 03 October 2026: Buxa Tiger Reserve, Sickle Cell, GIB, AIME & GOBARdhan

Buxa Tiger Reserve

Context: A three-year-old tigress, T138, was translocated from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve and released into West Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve.

UPSC Online Courses

Tiger Augmentation and Recovery Project

• The Government of West Bengal, with support from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), has implemented the Tiger Augmentation and Recovery Project since 2018.
• The project focuses on improving habitat conditions, prey availability and other ecological requirements for tiger recovery.

About Buxa Tiger Reserve

• Buxa Tiger Reserve is located in Alipurduar district of West Bengal.
• It lies in the Dooars region of North Bengal, along the Bhutan border.
• Status
  • Buxa was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1983 under Project Tiger.
  • It was the 15th Tiger Reserve established under Project Tiger.
  • The reserve covers a total area of 760.87 sq. km, including 390.58 sq. km of core area and 370.29 sq. km of buffer area.
• Landscape
  • The reserve consists of hills, forests, grasslands and riverine areas.
  • Important rivers flowing through the reserve include the Sankosh, Rydak, Jainti and Dima.
  • Buxa forms an important part of the wildlife landscape connecting North Bengal, Assam and Bhutan.
• Flora
  • Sal forests are an important component of the vegetation in Buxa.
  • The reserve also has mixed deciduous forests, bamboo and grasslands.
  • The variation in altitude and climate supports diverse vegetation.
• Fauna
  • Buxa supports several important wildlife species, including the Bengal tiger, Asian elephant, gaur, leopard, clouded leopard, sloth bear, fishing cat and wild dog.

India-Specific Tool To Predict Sickle Cell Severity

Context: Scientists at CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) have developed an India-specific severity score to better predict the clinical severity of Sickle Cell Anemia (SCA) among Indian patients. 

About Sickle Cell Anemia

• Sickle Cell Anemia (SCA) is an inherited blood disorder caused by a mutation in the β-globin gene, leading to the production of abnormal hemoglobin called Hemoglobin S (HbS). 
  • This causes red blood cells (RBC’s) to assume a sickle shape, leading to anemia, Severe pain episodes, Organ damage, and other complications.

Need For An India-Specific Severity Score

• Limitations of Existing Scores: International severity scores may have limited accuracy in Indian patients, as they were developed using populations with different genetic and healthcare profiles.
• Distinct Disease Patterns: Indian SCA patients may exhibit different clinical patterns, including higher fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels, which can reduce disease severity.
• Differences in Complications: Complications such as leg ulcers, pulmonary hypertension, and priapism are comparatively less common among Indian patients.
• India-Specific Risk Factors: Nutritional deficiencies, infections, and environmental stressors can influence disease severity and may not be adequately captured by existing international scores.
• Improved Clinical Assessment: An India-specific score can enable better severity classification, facilitating targeted treatment and disease management.

UPSC Online Classes

India-Specific Severity Scores

• India-Specific Severity Scores are clinical tools developed to assess and classify SCA severity in Indian patients.
• ISS1 (India-Specific Severity Score 1): The first version of the India-specific score, developed by modifying the existing Pediatric Severity Score (PSS) with clinical features relevant to Indian SCA patients. It achieved nearly 83% concordance with expert clinical assessment.
• ISS2 (India-Specific Severity Score 2): The refined version of ISS1, which replaced laboratory measurements with easily observable clinical indicators. It achieved about 85% concordance and correctly identified all mild cases.

Great Indian Bustard

Context: For the first time, captive-bred Great Indian Bustard (GIB) chicks are slated for a pilot release into the wild.

• The release marks the official start of the “rewilding” phase of Project GIB, which has been under implementation since 2013.
• The birds will be radio-tagged to monitor their movement and behaviour.

About Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps)

• Native Range: The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is one of the heaviest flying birds in the world and a flagship native species of the arid and semi-arid grasslands of the Indian subcontinent.
• Ecological Importance: It is a key indicator species of the grassland habitat, meaning its survival also signals the health of those habitats.
• Distribution:
  • Over 120 Bustards are found in the desert and semi-arid landscape of Rajasthan alone. 
  • The rest survive in the wild in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.
• Reasons for Numbers to Decline: Loss of their habitat to rising farmlands in the semi-arid regions of Rajasthan, 
  • Depredation of eggs by other predators such as dogs, monitor lizards and humans,
  • Deaths due to overhead power lines– The poor frontal vision of GIBs and their inability to swerve away from overhead power lines in their flight path, owing to their large size, are two key factors in their collisions with transmission lines.
• Conservation Status:
  • Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
  • CITES: Appendix I
  • IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered

ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME) 2026

Context: The second edition of the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME-2026) began at Subic Bay, Philippines. 

About AIME-2026

• AIME stands for ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise.
• It is a maritime exercise between India and ASEAN countries.
• The second edition is being hosted by the Philippines.
• The exercise is being conducted under the theme “Anchored in Trust, United at Sea.”
• It aims to improve mutual understanding, operational coordination and interoperability among participating maritime forces.

UPSC Online Coaching

Phases of the Exercise

• Harbour Phase
  • The Harbour Phase is being conducted at Subic Bay, Philippines.
• Sea Phase
  • Participating forces will conduct coordinated maritime exercises.
  • The phase will strengthen coordination and interoperability at sea.

Indian Navy’s Participation

• India is participating with INS Sahyadri and INS Kulish.

GOBARdhan Scheme

Context: The Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas launched the GOBARdhan Scheme to accelerate the development of India’s Compressed Biogas (CBG) sector

About GOBARdhan Scheme

• The GOBARdhan Scheme (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) is a flagship initiative by the Government of India aimed at converting organic waste into biogas, Compressed Biogas (CBG), and organic manure.
• Type: Central Sector Scheme.
• Implementation Period: FY 2026–27 to FY 2035–36.
• Financial Outlay: ₹23,731 crore.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• Existing CBG Capacity: 217+ Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants had been commissioned as of August 2026, with a combined installed capacity of over 1,700 TPD (tonnes per day).
• Objective: Increase domestic CBG production nearly 10-fold to around 5 MMSCMD (million metric standard cubic metres per day), while providing greater certainty to investors and lenders.

Key Interventions Of GOBARdhan Scheme

• CBG Offtake Assurance: Maps Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants to City Gas Distribution (CGD) areas/CBG clusters and mandates CGD entities to procure CBG under the CBG Obligation (CBO). 
  • Procurement obligation: 3% (2026–27), 4% (2027–28) and 5% from 2028–29 for CNG (Transport) and PNG (Domestic).
• CBG Pricing Framework: Administered CBG price of ₹2,110/MMBtu for greater price and revenue certainty.
• Capital Assistance: Up to ₹2 crore/TPD for eligible greenfield projects, covering plant machinery, feedstock aggregation and manure value-addition equipment.
• Pipeline Infrastructure: Up to 80% support for CBG cluster–trunk pipeline connectivity and 50% for standalone plant–CGD connectivity.
• Credit Guarantee Support: Up to 85% of outstanding amount at default for eligible MSME projects.
  • Guarantee cap: ₹20 crore for general MSMEs and ₹25 crore for women-led MSMEs.
• CBG Ecosystem Challenge Fund: Supports technology development, capacity building, feedstock aggregation, district-level ecosystem development and organic manure value addition.

Click to Know UPSC Coaching Centres in India

Institutional Support

• Unified GOBARdhan Portal: A centralised digital platform to streamline applications, eliminate multi-channel processes and enhance transparency in processing and implementation.
• Single Nodal Ministry: The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) serves as the single nodal Ministry, enabling consolidated processes and digital monitoring.
• GOBARdhan Handbook: A comprehensive reference guide for stakeholders, project developers, State Governments and financial institutions to understand the Scheme and navigate its CBG interventions.

Check Out UPSC CSE Books

Visit PW Store