UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 18-10-2024

Long-billed Vulture

The population of the long-billed vulture has seen a steady increase between 2015 and 2021, with the species exhibiting a 74% breeding success rate in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR).

• It is a medium-sized bird of prey (any bird that pursues other animals for food) native to the Indian subcontinent.
• Scientific Name - Gyps Indicus.
• Family – Accipitridae.
• It is also known as the Indian vulture, Indian Griffon.
• Appearance - It features a light brown body with a dark head and neck, and it has a pale bill and collar that is more prominent behind the neck.
• It is similar to Slender-billed Vulture, but Indian Vultures are not as lanky and have a paler bill and very tiny ear holes.

• Distribution - Found in India and South East Pakistan.
• Natural habitat - Found in cities, towns and villages near cultivated area and open woody areas.
• Diet - Long-billed Vulture feeds exclusively on carrion, and mainly remains of cattle.
• Breeding season - November to March. Female lays one single whitish egg.
• Nesting - Nests in small colonies usually on cliffs. Nests are enormous and constructed with the help of sticks and lined with green leaves and rubbish. Both adults share the nesting duties.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN - Critically endangered.
  • CITES - Appendix II.
  • WPA, 1972 – Schedule 1.
• Threats
  • Forest fires
  • The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like diclofenac, in treating cattle, and
  • Farmers indulging in retaliatory poisoning of tigers and leopards that occasionally prey on domestic cattle.

Reference

The Hindu | Long-billed vulture’s nesting success rate

Diphtheria

A 3-year-old girl died of suspected diphtheria in Punjab’s Faridkot recently.

• Diphtheria is a highly contagious but preventable bacterial disease.
• A toxin produced by some strains of the Corynebacterium diphtheria bacteria results in diphtheria.
• Types - There are 2 types of diphtheria - respiratory and cutaneous.
  • Respiratory diphtheria affects the nose, throat, and tonsils, while cutaneous diphtheria affects the skin.
• Transmission - It is spread through the air or by contact with an infected person.
• It affects the respiratory tract and spreads throughout the body.
• Symptoms - Fever, chills, swelling in lymph nodes, fatigue, shortness of breath, etc.
• Prevention - Immunisation is the best prevention against it, with the full schedule requiring seven doses between 0-16 years.
• Three doses are given before the child turns one, a booster Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus (DPT) shot when the child is two, a fifth dose when the child turns six, and one each in years 10 and 16.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 93.5% of Indian children in the one-year age bracket were immunised in 2023-24 while Punjab’s numbers stood at 93.96%.

• Treatment
  • Respiratory diphtheria - Treatment usually involves diphtheria antitoxin and antibiotics.
  • Skin infections - Generally, only antibiotics are used.
• Prevalence - Data from 2023-24 states that almost 84% of diphtheria cases in India were reported from 10 states
  • Kerala, Assam, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Nagaland, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and West Bengal.

Reference

The Indian Express | Suspected diphtheria death in Punjab

Rufous-tailed rock thrush

The female Rufous-tailed rock thrush was recently spotted in Kanniyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary could be a passage migrant to Africa.

• It is a distinctive, small, short-tailed thrush-like bird.
• Scientific Name - Monticola saxatilis.
• Family - Muscicapidae.
• It is known as Common rock thrush.
• Appearance
  • Males are strikingly beautiful with bright blue-gray head, white back patch, and chestnut underparts.
  • Females are reddish-brown and have a scaly appearance, with a tail pattern similar to males.
• Distribution - Europe, northwestern Africa, and parts of Asia
• Breeding - Breeds on rocky mountain slopes and alpine meadows, usually above 1,500 m (5,000 ft).
• Migration - It migrates to Africa during the non-breeding season.
• Diet - It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of insects, berries and small reptiles.
• Behavior - Usually shy but may be obvious when delivering its melodic Eurasian Blackbird-like song in flight. The male common rock thrush has a clear and tuneful song.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN - Least Concern
• Threats - Habitat loss and degradation and indiscriminate shooting.

Reference

The Hindu | Rufous-tailed rock thrush

Korean Peninsula

North Korea has adopted a renewed aggressive stance in the face of tensions with its neighbour, South Korea.

• The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia that is made up of the Korean mainland and more than 3,960 nearby islands.
• It's located between China and Japan.
• It is bordered by the Yellow Sea to the west, the East China Sea and Korea Strait to the south, and the East Sea to the east.
• The Yalu and Tumen rivers form the border between North Korea and China.
• Japan is located just east of the Korean Peninsula across the Korean Strait.
• The highest peak in North Korea rises more than nine thousand feet.
• The Korean Peninsula is politically divided into North Korea and South Korea, with each country claiming sovereignty over the entire region
  • North Korea, also known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) with its capital Pyongyang.
  • South Korea, also known as the Republic of Korea (ROK) with its capital Seoul.
• The two countries fought the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. These countries have been separated by the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) since 1953.
• Approximately 70 percent of the Korean Peninsula is mountainous.
• The Korean Peninsula is known for its dolmens, which are large rocks that were erected over thousands of years.
• Many dolmens can be found across the Korean Peninsula, and some have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Reference

The Indian Express | Korean Peninsula

International Abhidhamma Divas

Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) celebrated the International Abhidhamma Divas (October 17) recently in New Delhi.

• Abhidhamma Divas commemorates Lord Buddha’s descent from the celestial realm after delivering his teachings on the Abhidhamma, a core component of Buddhist philosophy.
• Lord Buddha descended from the celestial realm, Tavatiṃsa-devaloka, to Sankassiya (now Sankisa Basantapur) in Uttar Pradesh.
• The Asokan Elephant Pillar, a historical marker at the site, marks this significant event.

The Ashokan Elephant Pillar is a 3^rd century BCE artifact in Sankissa, Uttar Pradesh built by Emperor Ashoka the Great. It has a unique capital with 4 elephants standing back-to-back, supporting a circular abacus.

• According to Theravada Buddhist texts, Lord Buddha spent 3 months teaching the Abhidhamma to the deities in Tavatiṃsa, including his mother.
• Abhidhamma Pinaka - Later he conveyed these teachings to his disciple Sariputta, who expanded upon them in the 6 core books of the Abhidhamma Pinaka.
• These texts cover various topics, such as moral and mental states, aggregates, causal relationships, and the path to emancipation, understanding the mind and achieving spiritual growth.
• The 7 treatises of the Abhidhamma Pinaka, notably the Pannhana, delve into causal relations with unparalleled depth, showcasing the Buddha's profound insight.
• The celebration of Abhidhamma Divas coincides with the end of the first Rainy Retreat (Vassa) and the Pavaraņa festival, a time when monks and nuns conclude their retreat period with a ceremony.
• The Abhidhamma, or "Higher Teaching" of the Buddha, provides a profound and systematic analysis of mind and matter.
• Unlike the more conventional teachings in the Sutta Piṭaka, which use everyday language, the Abhidhamma adopts a specialized and analytical approach to explore reality.
• It offers a detailed framework for understanding the nature of existence, addressing the processes of birth, death, and mental phenomena in a precise and abstract manner.
• Vocabulary - To convey these intricate concepts, the Abhidhamma developed a specialized vocabulary in Pali, forming the basis of Buddhist philosophy and psychology.
• Key terms - "citta" (consciousness), "cetasika" (mental factors), "rupa" (materiality), and "nibbana" (final liberation).
• The meticulous analysis provided by these texts has made the Abhidhamma an essential tool for practitioners seeking to develop insight and grasp the essence of Buddha's teachings.

Reference

PIB | International Abhidhamma Divas