News in Shorts: 08 January 2026

Aleppo, Syria

Context: Fresh clashes erupted in Aleppo between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after civilian evacuations, underscoring stalled military integration efforts and rising humanitarian concerns.

About Aleppo City

• Location: Aleppo is located in northern Syria, close to the Turkish border.
• Status: It is Syria’s most populous city and its former commercial and industrial hub.
• Strategic Importance: Aleppo lies at the crossroads of trade routes linking Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and the Mediterranean.
• Conflict History: The city was a major battleground during the Syrian civil war and has witnessed recurrent clashes between government forces and non-state armed groups.
• Recent Flashpoints: The Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighbourhoods are predominantly Kurdish areas and current centres of violence.

About Syria

• Location: Syria is a West Asian country situated in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres.
  • It lies along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
• Capital: Damascus
• Borders:
  • Turkey – North
  • Iraq – East and Southeast
  • Jordan – South
  • Israel and Lebanon – Southwest
• Physical Geography:
  • Anti-Lebanon Mountains along the western frontier.
  • Mount Hermon (2,814 m) is the highest peak.
  • Euphrates River and its tributary Khabur River are major river systems.
  • Lake al-Assad is a major man-made reservoir.
  • The Syrian Desert occupies much of eastern Syria.
• Climate:
  • Mediterranean climate in western regions with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers.
  • Arid desert climate in the east.
• Significant Features:
  • Historically rich Levant region.
    • The Levant is a historical–geographical region in Eastern Mediterranean West Asia, that includes Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and parts of southern Turkey.
  • An important zone of Shia-Sunni conflicts and a core region affected by the Arab Spring movements.

Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea)

Context: Recently , Olive Ridley turtle nests found on Chennai beaches were relocated to Forest Department hatcheries amid rising carcass sightings and intensified coastal patrolling.

Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea)

• The Olive Ridley turtle is the smallest and most abundant sea turtle species, named after the olive-green colour of its carapace.
• Habitat: It inhabits warm tropical and subtropical marine waters, preferring coastal areas near estuaries and bays for nesting.
• Distribution: Olive Ridley turtles are found in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans.
  • In India, major nesting occurs along the Odisha coast, Andaman Islands, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka (the only western-coast rookery).
• Diet: They are omnivorous, feeding on algae, jellyfish, crabs, lobsters, molluscs, and tunicates.
• Nesting Practice: A unique feature is arribada, a mass nesting phenomenon where thousands of females lay eggs simultaneously on the same beach.
  • In India, major arribada sites include Gahirmatha, Devi River mouth, and Rushikulya in Odisha.
  • Each female lays about 100–140 eggs, mostly at night, between January and April.
• Conservation Status
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
  • CITES: Appendix I
• Threats: Major threats include bycatch in fishing nets, coastal development, climate change, marine pollution, illegal harvesting of eggs

Conservation Efforts in India

• Operation Olivia by the Indian Coast Guard to protect nesting turtles along Odisha’s coast
• Seasonal fishing bans and use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) to avoid bycatch.
• Protected nesting beaches like Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary
• Ex-situ conservation, including hatcheries in Chennai and Odisha.
  • NGOs such as Students’ Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN) works alongside the Forest Department in managing the hatcheries
• Scientific monitoring through flipper tagging and radio telemetry by Wildlife Institute of India.

Bio-Bitumen

Context: In 2026, India became the world’s first country to commercially produce bio-bitumen for road construction, marking a major milestone in green infrastructure.

Key Highlights on Bio-Bitumen status  in India 

• Developed by: Indigenous bio-bitumen technology jointly developed by CSIR–Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), New Delhi and CSIR–Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun.
• Demonstration Project: Successfully demonstrated through a 100-metre trial stretch on the Jorabat–Shillong Expressway (NH-40), Meghalaya.
• Target: Transition India’s road infrastructure toward clean, green, and circular economy–based highways, while reducing fossil fuel dependence and managing crop residue.
• Economic Benefit: Potential to replace 20–30% of conventional bitumen and reduce imports worth ₹25,000–30,000 crore annually, supporting Atmanirbhar Bharat.

About Bio-Bitumen

• Bio-bitumen is a sustainable alternative to conventional petroleum-based bitumen, developed using biomass and agricultural residues.
• Traditional bitumen is a black, viscous hydrocarbon mixture obtained from crude oil and acts as a binding material in road construction.
• Bio-bitumen partially or fully replaces fossil-based bitumen.

Key Features

• Renewable source-based: Produced from crop residue and biomass waste.
• Lower carbon footprint: Reduces dependence on crude oil and cuts greenhouse gas emissions.
• Performance-compatible: Suitable for road construction with binding properties comparable to conventional bitumen.
• Waste utilization: Converts agricultural waste into a value-added product.

Significance

• Environmental benefits: Helps reduce air pollution by discouraging crop residue burning and lowering emissions from fossil fuels.
• Clean infrastructure: Supports the development of green and sustainable highways.
• Economic gains: Reduces crude oil imports and enhances resource efficiency.
• Policy alignment: Advances national missions such as Waste to Wealth, Atma Nirbhar Bharat, and Viksit Bharat 2047.
• Global leadership: Positions India as a pioneer in eco-friendly road construction technologies.

India’s commercial adoption of bio-bitumen reflects a decisive shift toward low-carbon, circular, and self-reliant infrastructure development.

Dust EXperiment (DEX)

Context: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has reported the successful detection of interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) by India’s first domestically developed dust detector instrument DEX.

About Dust EXperiment (DEX)

• DEX (Dust EXperiment) is India’s first indigenous instrument designed to detect high-speed interplanetary dust particles (IDPs).
• Interplanetary Dust Particles (IDPs): IPDs are  microscopic fragments from comets and asteroids that constantly bombard Earth’s atmosphere.
  • When these particles enter Earth’s atmosphere, they form the “meteor layer” and are visible from the ground as shooting stars.
• Development: DEX is a three-kilogram instrument developed by ISRO’s Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad.
• Launch: It was launched in January, 2024, aboard the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM-3) as part of the PSLV-C58/XPoSat mission.
• Key Results: From January 1 to February 9, 2024, DEX successfully recorded multiple dust impact signals, detecting impacts roughly every 1,000 seconds. 
  • It measured a dust flux of approximately 6.5 × 10⁻³ particles per m² per second, confirming ongoing cosmic bombardment.
• Future Applications: DEX serves as a prototype for similar instruments on upcoming missions, enabling dust measurements around the Moon, in Venus’s thick atmosphere, or Mars’s thin atmosphere.

PSLV-C62/EOS-N1 Mission

Context: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is scheduled to launch the PSLV-C62/EOS-N1 Mission on January 12, 2026.

About the PSLV-C62 / EOS-N1 Mission

• Launch Details: Scheduled for January 12, 2026 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
• The PSLV-C62/EOS-N1 mission is the first launch for ISRO in 2026.
• Launch Vehicle: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
  • This is the 64th PSLV flight and a return-to-flight mission after the partial failure of PSLV-C61 in May 2025.
• Primary Payload: EOS-N1 (also known as Anvesha). 
• Secondary Payloads: Approximately 18 co-passenger payloads, including commercial and experimental satellites from Indian startups and international partners.

EOS-N1 (Anvesha) Satellite

• EOS-N1, codenamed Anvesha (meaning “exploration” in Sanskrit), is an advanced Earth observation satellite.
• It is developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) primarily for strategic and defence applications.
• Key Features: Equipped with hyperspectral imaging sensors that capture data across hundreds of narrow spectral bands (beyond visible light, into infrared and other wavelengths).
  • It also supports civilian applications like agriculture, urban mapping, environmental monitoring, and resource assessment.

All-India Tiger Estimation (AITE)–2026

Context: In January 2026, the All-India Tiger Estimation (AITE)–2026 field survey commenced in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, following National Tiger Conservation Authority protocols.

About All-India Tiger Estimation (AITE)

• The All-India Tiger Estimation is the world’s largest wildlife monitoring exercise, conducted every four years to assess tiger populations, prey base, co-predators, and habitat quality across India.
• Conducted By: It is jointly conducted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), with active participation of State Forest Departments.
• Coverage: The exercise covers all tiger reserves, tiger-bearing forest divisions, and selected private estates with carnivore presence across the country.
• Periodicity: AITE is conducted once every four years. 
  • The 6th cycle (AITE–2026) is underway, with the final report expected by 2027.
• Methodology used for Tiger Census
  • M-STrIPES App: Monitoring System for Tiger–Intensive Protection and Ecological Status (M-STrIPES) is a GPS-based digital monitoring of tiger signs and patrol data.
  • Camera Traps: Photographic capture for individual tiger identification.
  • Sign Surveys: Tracking pugmarks, scats, and scrape marks.
  • Line Transects: Estimation of prey species density.
  • Genetic Sampling: DNA analysis from scats and hair samples.

Current Status of Tiger In India

• Total Number of Tigers: As per the latest AlTE (2022) report, the average wild tiger population in India is 3,682 (ranging from 3,167 to 3,925), accounting for roughly 75% of the world’s total tiger population.
  • State with Maximum Tigers: Madhya Pradesh (785 tigers)
  • Tiger Reserve with Maximum Tigers: Jim Corbett National Park (Uttarakhand) (260 tigers)
• Total Tiger Reserves: As of 2025, India has 58 notified tiger reserves spread across 18 states. 
  • The latest addition is the Madhav Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh (MP)
  • MP has the maximum number of TR  in India, with nine TR giving its title as the “Tiger State”.
• Conservation Success: The tiger population has shown a remarkable annual growth rate of approximately 6% since First AITE (2006).
  • This shows the success of the government’s flagship conservation initiative, Project Tiger, launched in 1973.

Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR)

• Declared a tiger reserve in 2007, Anamalai Tiger Reserve is a major biodiversity hotspot in the Southern Western Ghats.
• Location: Situated in the Anamalai Hills of Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts, Tamil Nadu, south of the Palakkad Gap, and adjoining Parambikulam Tiger Reserve (Kerala).
• Vegetation: It supports wet evergreen, semi-evergreen, moist and dry deciduous, shola forests, montane grasslands, savannahs, and marshy grasslands.
• Animals Protected: Key species include Tiger, Asiatic Elephant, Leopard, Sambar, Spotted Deer, Barking Deer, Gaur, and Jungle Cat.
  • It also has numerous endemic species like the Nilgiri Tahr and Nilgiri Langur.

Indusfood 2026

Context: Indusfood 2026, India’s flagship global food and beverage (F&B) sourcing exhibition, is being  held in Greater Noida(from 8th to 10th January 2026).

About Indusfood 

• Organised by: The Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI).
• Indusfood is recognized as Asia’s premier F&B trade show, bringing together Indian producers, global buyers, policymakers, and institutions.
• Government Backing: The exhibition will be inaugurated by the Union Minister of Food Processing Industries.
• International Participation: Over 120 countries are expected to participate.

Major Initiatives and Highlights

• India–UAE Food Corridor: Launched in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Food Hub to strengthen food security, logistics integration, and bilateral trade.
• APEDA’s Bharati Initiative: A Shark Tank–style platform showcasing innovative agri-food start-ups, linking them directly with global buyers.
  • This initiative aims to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in India’s agri-food sector.
• Bharat Mart by DP World: It focus on export infrastructure, logistics efficiency, and policy dialogue to enhance India’s  export competitiveness.
• World Culinary Heritage Conference: It brings together chefs, policymakers, and industry leaders to discuss heritage preservation and innovation in culinary arts.
• Skill Development: The India International Centre for Culinary Leadership (IICCL) will train 150 chefs under the Ambassador of Indian Cuisine programme offering Level-1 ‘Ambassador of Indian Cuisine’ certification.
• ‘India on a Platter’ Gala Dinner: This will bring together ministers, ambassadors, global buyers, and international delegations, reinforcing India’s role in the global food and beverage industry.
  • It is hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

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