UPSC Daily Current Affairs| Prelim Bits 21-01-2025

Genome India Database

Why in News?

Recently, India has completed the ‘Genome India’ database’.

• Aim – To create a robust and comprehensive database of India’s genetic diversity.
• Housed at – Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC), Haryana.
• Indian Genomic Data Set – It is the entire collection of 10,000 Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) samples accessible to researchers across within India and globally.

A genome is the complete set of genetic information in living organisms, which is stored in long molecules of DNA called Chromosomes.

• Catalog of genetic variations – The samples come from diverse Indian populations and provide a rich genetic diversity.
• It represents 83 population groups or about 2% of the country’s 4,600 population groups as a database.

• Analysis – The genomes estimate around 27 million low-frequency (or relatively rare) variants, 7 million of them not found in similar reference databases around the world.
• Certain population groups show higher frequencies or different versions of the same gene.
• Data privacy – The database isn’t classified by the names of castes or tribes but it is numerically coded.
• Researchers must send a proposal to access the data.
• Significance – It holds the potential targeted clinical interventions and advancing precision medicine for better healthcare.

In Biotech, India now ranks 12^th globally and 3^rd in the Asia-Pacific region.

References

1. The Hindu| 10,000 Human Genomes Database
2. PIB| India’s Genomic Revolution

Kalaripayattu

Why in News?

The Indian Kalaripayattu Federation (IKF) accuses the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) for placing Kalaripayattu in the demonstration section in the 38^th National Games to be held in Uttarakhand.

• Kalaripayattu – It is an Indian martial art and fighting style.
• Purpose – To develop the individual with an extraordinary level of awareness and super-sensitive body-mind co-ordination to keep them ever-prepared for attack & defense.
• Origin – It is an ancient martial art indigenous to Kerala, a small state in the southern tip of India, during the 11^th –12^th century CE.
• Historical references – It is mentioned in the Vadakkan Pattukal ballads written about the Chekavar from the Malabar region of Kerala.
• It is with a legacy of more than 3000 years.

Kalaripayattu is the oldest and most scientific of all martial arts in the world.

• Training – It takes place in a Kalari, an Arena in natural soil ground.
  • It ensures cooling of the body as the students engage themselves in the gruelling, heat-generating exercises.
  • It lessens the threat of skin infection from bites of insects that inhabit the top soil.
• Children at 7 years, are initiated into Kalaripayattu.
• Poothara – A small, upwardly tapering, 7-tiered structure stands at the south-western corner of the training.
• Oral commands – It is called as Vaaythaari, a set of technical words or phrases which don’t convey much to the ordinary people.

References

1. The Indian Express| Kalaripayattu’s removal from competition
2. Kerala Tourism| Kalaripayattu
3. Indian Kalaripayattu Federation| Origin and History of Kalaripayattu

Culicoides

Why in News?

Recently, researchers from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have identified 23 species of blood-sucking flies in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

• Culicoides – They are tiny insects similar in appearance to flies.
• They are more closely related to mosquitoes in their feeding habits.
• They are called Midges and are locally called Bhusi Files in Andaman and Nicobar.
• Taxonomy
  • Scientific name – Culicoides.
  • Order – Diptera, the smallest haematophagous member.

Haematophagous means especially an insect or tick feeding on blood.

• Distribution – Africa, North and South America and Europe.
  • India – Includes 93 valid species, recognized as potential vectors of important pathogens of animal health.
  • 13 new species recorded for the 1^st time in India, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• Feeds on – The blood of livestock such as sheep, goats, cattle and wild animals like deer.
• Transmitting agents – 5 of the species are known to transmit the Bluetongue (BT) disease.

A study conducted in 2022 and 2023, revealed that 17 of the 23 species identified are known to bite humans, although no human disease transmission has been reported.

Reference

The Hindu| 23 species recorded in Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Sewa Singh Thikriwala

Why in News?

Recently, January 20 marked the death anniversary of Sewa Singh Thikriwala.

• Early life – He was born in late 19^th century in Thikriwala village, part of princely state Patiala, Punjab.
• His father Dewa Singh was a high-ranking official in the court of Maharaja Rajinder Singh.
• Revolutionary phase – He spearheaded the self-rule movement against the rulers of Punjab’s erstwhile princely states.
• His direct criticism of the Patiala Maharaja’s rule led the authorities to imprison him.
• His fellow Akali leader Kharak Singh launched a campaign against the state for demanding his release.

• Meeting with Gandhi – After his release in 1928, he met Mahatma Gandhi in 1931, to discuss the problems faced by the people of Punjab.
• Negotiation – Patiala Maharaja initiated negotiation with him but it failed over the demand for an elected assembly.
• Last phase of his life – He died in 1935, while he was on a hunger strike in jail over his mistreatment by jail authorities.
• Memorial – After his death, a memorial has been held annually in the Thikriwala Village from January 18 to January 20 with a statue of him in his native village.
• Government has announced that Sewa Singh’s house would also be turned into a memorial.

Reference

The Indian Express| Story of Punjab’s Sewa Singh Thikriwala