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About Willow Warbler:

• It is a very widespread insectivorous songbird.
• Scientific Name: Phylloscopus trochilus
• Habitat and Distribution:
  • Willow warblers breed throughout Europe and the Palearctic, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia.
  • They are strongly migratory, and almost all of the population winters in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • They inhabit open woodlands with trees and ground cover for nesting, including most importantly birch, alder, and willow habitats.
  • They also frequent gardens, orchards, hedges, and pastures.
• Features:
  • It measures around 11cm in length, with a wingspan of 19cm.
  • It is greenish brown above and off-white to yellowish below; the wings are plain greenish-brown with no wingbars.
  • Juveniles are yellower below than adults.
  • It can be distinguished by their paler pinkish-yellow legs, longer, paler bill, more elegant shape, and longer primary projection (wingtip).
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Least Concern

About Mississippi River:

• It is the longest river in the United States and the second longest in North America.
• It lies entirely within the United States.
• Course:
  • It rises in Lake Itasca in Minnesota and flows almost due south across the continental interior.
  • It collects the waters of its major tributaries, the Missouri River (to the west) and the Ohio River (to the east), approximately halfway along its journey to the Gulf of Mexico through a vast delta southeast of New Orleans.
• The Mississippi River alone is more than 3,700 kilometers
• If the length of the Missouri River system is added, the Mississippi-Missouri is the world’s fourth longest river system, following the Nile (6,693 km), the Amazon (6,436 km), and the Yangtze Rivers (6,378 km).
• The Mississippi River basin drains 1,260,000 square miles, making it the largest drainage basin in terms of area in North America.
• The basin is home to different ecosystems, including wet forests dominated by cypress trees, brackish and freshwater marshes, sandy beaches, and salt marshes.

About Water Rail:

• It is a bird of the rail family Rallidae. 
• Scientific Name: Rallus aquaticus
• Habitat and Distribution:
  • It breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia, and North Africa.
  • Northern and eastern populations are migratory, but this species is a permanent resident in the warmer parts of its breeding range.
  • In the Indian subcontinent, the Water Rail is a summer visitor to Kashmir and winters in eastern Pakistan and the northwestern plains of India. It wanders into western Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.
• Features:
  • The adult is 23–28 cm long and, like other rails, has a body that is flattened laterally, allowing easier passage through the reed beds it inhabits.
  • It has mainly brown upperparts and blue-grey underparts, black barring on the flanks, long toes, a short tail, and a long reddish bill.
  • Known for its elusive nature, the water rail often remains motionless when threatened, opting to run for cover rather than fly.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Least Concern

About Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary:

• It is located in the Warangal district of Telangana near the border with Maharashtra and
• Established in 1952, this sanctuary spreads over an area of approximately 812 sq.km.
• Three-fourths of the sanctuary is covered in rising and falling plains and dense forest formation, while the remaining one-fourth comprises springs and streams.
• Rivers:
  • It has a water source called Dayyam Vagu, which separates the sanctuary into two parts.
  • The Godavari River also passes through it.
• The sanctuary forms part of the wider forested landscape of the Godavari basin and the Deccan Peninsula biogeographic region.
• The famous Sammakka-Saralamma Temple is situated inside the sanctuary.
• Flora:
  • The sanctuary is characterized by southern tropical dry deciduous forest, with teak (Tectona grandis) as an important dominant species.
  • Other vegetation includes dry-deciduous trees and grasses such as Terminalia, Anogeissus, and associated forest species.
• Fauna:
  • This sanctuary provides shelter to Tiger, Leopard, Panther, Wolf, Wild Dogs, Jackals, Sloth Bear, Chousingha, Black Buck, Nilgai, Sambar, Spotted Deer, Four Horned Antilope, Chinkara, Black Buck, Gaur, and Giant Squirrels.
  • The sanctuary supports diverse birdlife, including Peafowl, Junglefowl, Crested Serpent Eagle, Kingfishers, Hornbills, Painted Storks, and other resident and seasonal birds.

About Disporopsis crispata:

• It is a new species of flowering plant.
• It was discovered in the Vijoynagar area, Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
• It grows on damp slopes in temperate forests dominated by mixed rhododendron and bamboo vegetation, at elevations of 2,500-2,800 metres.
• It marks the first recorded occurrence of the genus Disporopsis in India.
• The discovery is significant, as the genus Disporopsis, comprising around 12 known species, was previously recorded mainly in Myanmar, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, and other parts of Southeast Asia.
• Disporopsis crispatta is distinguished by its strongly wavy, crinkled leaf margins, reddish stems, and white-and-green flowers.
• Its stems grow between 30 and 80 cm tall, while its lance-shaped leaves measure 5–15 cm in length.
• The plant produces fleshy white fruits containing three to eight seeds.
• Researchers named the species crispata in reference to the distinctive crinkled or undulating edges of its leaves.
• The plant flowers between May and June, with fruiting recorded from July to December.

About Kurumba Tribe:

• They reside in the hilly forest regions of Attappady in Palakkad district of Kerala.
• These people are also found in the Cardamom and Nīlgiri hills, west-central Tamil Nadu.
• They have been classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG).
• Society:
  • Belief System: They consider the forest as their mother. Thy worship the earth, mountains, nature and rivers.
  • The Kurumbas are They pray to their gods and ancestors in all tribal ceremonies
  • The represent their deities by wooden or stone sculptures placed in small huts called ‘Kaavu’ (temples).
  • They speak Kurumba, an oral language without a script.
  • Diet: Kurumbas consume a diet based on forest produce, millets, and locally grown vegetables.
  • Occupation: The primary occupations of the Kurumba Tribe span traditional forest-based livelihoods and modern shifting labor due to conservation restrictions.

About Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority:

• It is a statutory body established on 11 November, 2005 under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001.
• Nodal Ministry: It works under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India.
• Headquarter: New Delhi
• Objectives of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority:
  • Grant intellectual property rights to plant breeders for their innovations in developing new plant varieties
  • Recognise and reward farmers and communities who conserve traditional varieties and biodiversity
  • Promote the protection of farmers’ rights to save, use, sow, resow, exchange, share, and sell farm-saved seed of registered varieties
  • Encourage research and innovation in plant breeding and agriculture
  • Maintain the National Register of Plant Varieties (NRPV) and ensure the documentation and conservation of valuable germplasm resources
• Structure of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority:
  • The Chairperson is the Chief Executive of the Authority.
  • Members: It has 15 members, as notified by the Government of India (GOI).
  • Eight of them are ex-officio members representing various Departments/ Ministries, 
  • Three from State Agriculture Universities and the State Governments.
  • One representative each for farmers, tribal organization, seed industry and women organizations associated with agricultural activities are nominated by the Central Government.
  • The Registrar General is the ex-officio Member Secretary of the Authority.
• Functions:
  • Registration of new plant varieties, essentially derived varieties (EDV), extant varieties;
  • Compulsory cataloging facilities for all variety of plants;
  • Preservation of plant genetic resources of economic plants and their wild relatives;
  • Maintenance of the National Register of Plant Varieties and National Gene Bank.

About Pioxaniliprole:

• It is India’s first indigenously discovered insecticide molecule.
• It has been developed by PI Industries Ltd.
• It is an insecticidal active ingredient belonging to the anthranilic diamide class of insecticides.
• Pioxaniliprole’s Chemical Composition: It is a carboxamide compound containing chlorine, nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur atoms.
• Mechanism of action:
  • Target insect pests: The insecticide is effective against yellow stem borer, leaf folder, fall armyworm, tobacco cutworm, fruit borer and pod borer.
  • It targets ryanodine receptors in insects, causing feeding cessation, muscle paralysis and eventually death.
  • Pioxaniliprole acts by targeting ryanodine receptors (RyRs), specialised protein channels present in insect muscle cells that regulate the release of calcium ions from intracellular storage compartments into the cell cytoplasm.
    • Calcium ions play a crucial role in normal muscle contraction and relaxation. Pioxaniliprole binds to and activates these receptors, triggering an uncontrolled release of calcium ions.
    • This disrupts normal muscle functioning in insects, leading to feeding cessation, lethargy, muscle paralysis and eventually death.

About Exercise Mitra Shakti

• It is an annual bilateral military exercise conducted alternately in India and Sri Lanka.
• Aim: The exercise aims to enhance the joint military capability of both armies to undertake Counter Terrorism operations in a semi-urban environment under a United Nations mandate.
• Participating Contingent: An Indian battalion of the Rajputana Rifles, along with troops from other arms and services and personnel from the Indian Air Force, are participating.
• It provides an important platform for both armies to strengthen interoperability, exchange operational experiences and share best practices in the conduct of Counter Terrorism operations, while promoting mutual understanding and professional camaraderie.
• The training programme will encompass joint planning, rehearsing tactical operations and specialised combat skills including roadblock operations, urban patrolling, vehicle convoy protection, area ambush, etc.
• It will further strengthen defence cooperation between India and Sri Lanka.