Glyphosate

Context: Unauthorized herbicide-tolerant cotton seed varieties, resistant to glyphosate, are being circulated and used in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, even though they are not approved for commercial cultivation in India.

About Glyphosate

• A broad-spectrum herbicide used to kill weeds and grasses.
• The sodium salt form of glyphosate is used to regulate plant growth and ripen specific crops.
• Origin: Developed in 1970.
• Chemical Name: N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine (IUPAC).
• Mode of Action: Blocks an essential plant enzyme (EPSPS), stopping growth.
• Use in India: It has been approved for use only in tea plantations and non-plantation areas accompanying the tea crop.
• Applications
• • GM crops engineered as glyphosate-resistant (Roundup Ready) allow safe application without harming crops.
  • Non-Agricultural Settings: Applied in roadsides, industrial sites, lawns for vegetation control.

GM cotton Allowed in India

• Bollgard I (BG I) and Bollgard II (BG II), developed by Monsanto, are resistant to pink bollworm.

About Cotton Crop

• Tropical Crop: Cotton is a tropical crop mainly grown during the kharif season in the semi-arid regions of India.
• Temperature and Rainfall: It thrives in temperatures of 21°C to 30°C and requires 50–75 cm of annual rainfall.
• Soil Types: Cotton adapts to different soils across regions:
  • Well-drained, deep alluvial soils in northern India
  • Black clayey soils of varying depth in central India
  • Mixed black and red soils in southern India
• Sensitivity: The crop shows some tolerance to salinity but is highly vulnerable to waterlogging, making well-drained soils essential.
• India ranks 2nd in cotton production with estimated production of 323.47 lakh bales (5.84 MMT) in 2023-24 i.e. 23.83% of world cotton production.
• Major Cotton Producing Zones in India: 
  • Northern Zone – Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan 
  • Central Zone – Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh 
  • Southern Zone – Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

SLINEX – 25

Context: Indian Naval Ships arrived at Colombo to participate in the 12th edition of Sri Lanka India Naval Exercise (SLINEX-25)

About Sri Lanka India Naval Exercise (SLINEX-25)

• Origin: Conceptualised in 2005 as a bilateral naval exercise between India and Sri Lanka.
• Aim: Aims at enhancing interoperability, maritime cooperation and exchange of best practices while jointly undertaking multi-faceted maritime operations.
• Exercise Structure: Conducted in 2 phases – Harbour Phase & Sea Phase.
• Previous edition: Conducted at Visakhapatnam, India in December 2024.
• Fleets:
  • Indian Navy: INS Rana (Guided Missile Destroyer) and INS Jyoti (Fleet Tanker).
  • Sri Lankan Navy: SLNS Gajabahu and Vijayabahu (both Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessels).
  • Special Forces of both navies also participated.

India’s other exercise with Sri Lanka – Exercise MITRA SHAKTI

Other Major Joint exercises with Neighbouring Countries

• Bangladesh: Ex SAMPRITI
• Nepal: Ex SURYA KIRAN
• Myanmar: IMBEX
• Thailand: Ex MAITREE
• Maldives: Ex EKUVERIN

India Achieves Record Deep-Sea Dive: Prelude to Samudrayan Mission

Context: Two Indian aquanauts, Raju Ramesh and Cdr. Jatinder Pal Singh (Retd), achieved a historic milestone by diving to depths of 4,025 meters and 5,002 meters in the Atlantic Ocean, marking India’s deepest ocean expedition to date.

• Significance: India joins fewer than six nations with deep-sea exploration capability.
• Partnership: Dives conducted using the French submersible Nautile in collaboration with IFREMER (France’s marine research institute).
  • Indian Representation: A five-member National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai.
• Feasibility Step: This feat is seen as a prelude to India’s Samudrayan Mission, which targets sending three aquanauts to 6,000 meters in the MATSYA-6000 by 2027.

Samudrayan Mission

• Mission Focus: Part of India’s Deep Ocean Mission, aimed at sustainable use of marine resources.
  • Exploration of polymetallic nodules (manganese, nickel, copper, cobalt).
• Geostrategic Context: India’s 11,098 km coastline and vast Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) provide major opportunities for the blue economy.

Matsya 6000

• Design: 4th-generation submersible with 12-hour endurance and 96-hour emergency survival capacity.
• Features:
  • High-density Li-Po battery.
  • Emergency escape systems.
• Trials: Completed wet trials (2025, L&T Shipyard, Tamil Nadu).

About Deep Ocean Mission (DOM)

• Objective: Government of India initiative to explore deep oceans, develop technologies for sustainable use of marine resources, and address climate change and pollution
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
• Components of the Deep Ocean Mission:
  • Development of Technologies for Deep-Sea Mining and Manned Submersible
  • Development of Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services
  • Technological Innovations for Exploration and Conservation of Deep-Sea Biodiversity
  • Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration
  • Energy and Freshwater from the Ocean
  • Advanced Marine Station for Ocean Biology

New Type of Supernova Detected

Context: Astronomers have documented a new type of supernova, caused when a massive star attempted to engulf a black hole with which it was gravitationally bound in a binary system.

• Event: Named SN 2023zkd, located 730 million light-years from Earth.
• AI Identification: First spotted by an AI algorithm scanning for unusual explosions in real time.
• Stellar System: Involved a star of about 10 solar masses orbiting a black hole of similar mass.

The Supernova Event

• Interaction: As they approached, the star attempted to engulf the black hole, while the black hole siphoned stellar material, triggering the explosion.
• Alternative Scenario: The black hole may have torn the star apart before a natural explosion, consuming debris; the supernova emission then arose from debris colliding with surrounding gas.
• Outcome: Both scenarios lead to the formation of a single, more massive black hole.

What is Super Nova ? 

• A supernova is a powerful explosion that occurs when a star exhausts its fuel and collapses, releasing an enormous amount of energy and light.

Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary

Context: Recently, two tiger cubs, barely 10 days old, were found dead inside the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS), Karnataka, while their mother has been missing for two days.

About Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS)

• Establishment: Declared a protected area in 1987 under the Wildlife Protection Act.
• Location: Situated along the Cauvery River, it spans Mandya, Chamarajanagar, and Ramanagara districts of Karnataka.
• Significance: Functions as a wildlife corridor connecting Bannerghatta NP, Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) WLS, and Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Shares boundaries with Dharmapuri forests, Tamil Nadu (Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary)
• Climate: Semi-arid, with rainfall from both southwest and northeast monsoons.
• Vegetation: Dry deciduous and thorn forests, riverine patches, and evergreen sholas.
• Flora: Terminalia arjuna, Syzygium cumini, Hardwickia binata, Albizia amara, Tamarindus indica.
• Fauna
• • Flagship Species: Tiger, Asian elephant, leopard, dhole, sloth bear.
  • Other Species: Sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, wild boar, chevrotain, macaques, Grizzled giant squirrel, smooth-coated otter, hump-backed mahseer (fish).
  • Avifauna: Over 280 bird species, including white-rumped vulture, Nilgiri wood-pigeon, and yellow-throated bulbul.

Grassland Invaders in Dibru-Saikhowa National Park (DSNP)

Context: A study titled “Grasslands in Flux”, analysing the land use and land cover (LULC) changes in Dibru-Saikhowa, was published in the “Earth”, an international, peer-reviewed journal on earth science.

Key highlights of Study

• Ecological Changes:
  • Native Invaders: Bombax ceiba (Simalu) and Lagerstroemia speciosa (Ajar) are altering grassland structure.
  • Invasive Species: Chromolaena odorata, Ageratum conyzoides (shrubs), Parthenium hysterophorus (herb), Mikania micrantha (climber).
  • Causes of Change:
    • Recurring Brahmaputra floods.
    • Anthropogenic pressures (human settlements inside the park).
• Land Use & Land Cover (LULC) Changes (2000-2024):
  • Grasslands declined from 28.78% (2000) due to conversion to shrubland & degraded forests.
  • Shrubland expanded (81.31 sq. km by 2013).
  • Degraded forests increased (80.52 sq. km by 2024).
  • Threats: Loss of biodiversity, reduced carbon storage, climate change impact.
• Impact on Wildlife:
  • Endangered species affected:
    • Bengal florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis).
    • Hog deer (Axis porcinus).
    • Swamp grass babbler (Prinia cinerascens).
  • Feral horses (~200) face habitat loss.
• Conservation Recommendations:
  • Grassland recovery project (control invasives, improve surveillance).
  • Relocation of forest villages to reduce human pressure.
  • Community-based conservation & better staffing.

About Dibru-Saikhowa National Park (DSNP)

• Location: Eastern Assam, between Brahmaputra River (north) and Dibru River (south), spanning Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts.
• Status: Declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1995, UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1997, and National Park in 1999.
• Area: 765 sq. km, with a core area of 340 sq km and a buffer zone of 425 sq km.
• Unique Feature: Only habitat of feral horses in India (descendants of WWII military horses, ~200 in number).
• Climate: It mainly consists of moist mixed semi-evergreen forests, moist mixed deciduous forests, canebrakes and grasslands.
• Unique Habitats: Contains the largest Salix swamp forest in northeastern India.
• Fauna: Habitat of the rare white-winged wood duck, also home to other rare creatures such as water buffalo, black-breasted parrotbill, tiger and capped langur.

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