2 Minute Series_29 September 2025

29^th September 2025

1. Cold Desert: Recently, India’s Cold Desert was officially designated as the country’s 13th UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

• Key Highlights: First high-altitude cold desert biosphere reserve in India.

• Location: Spans 7,770 sq km at 3,300–6,600 metres altitude.
• Includes Pin Valley National Park, Chandratal, Sarchu and Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Ecosystem: Windswept plateaus, glacial valleys, alpine lakes, high-altitude deserts.
• Biodiversity: 732 vascular plant species, including 30 endemics and 157 near-endemics.
• Wildlife: Snow leopard, Himalayan ibex, blue sheep, Himalayan wolf, golden eagle, Himalayan snowcock.
• Human population: About 12,000 residents rely on pastoralism, yak/goat herding, farming and Tibetan medicine.
• Buddhist monastic traditions and local councils manage fragile alpine resources.
• Declared at 5th World Congress of Biosphere Reserves, Hangzhou, China (26 new sites added globally).

2. Ramsar Sites: Recently, the Ramsar tag has been granted to two wetlands from Bihar — Gokul Jalashaya in Buxar and Udaipur Jheel in West Champaran.

• About Gokul Jalashaya: Situated in Buxar, Bihar, on the southern edge of the Ganga River.

• Type: An oxbow lake shaped by the river’s meandering course.
• Hydrology: Seasonal flood pulses of the Ganga influence land use and cover—exposing marshes and farmland during dry months and causing extensive inundation after the monsoon.
• Functions: Serves as a natural buffer for nearby villages against floods.
• Fauna: Hosts over 50 bird species; pre-monsoon marshland and shrubs provide vital feeding and breeding habitats.
• Community Dependence: Local communities rely on it for fishing, farming, and irrigation.

• About Udaipur Jheel: Found in West Champaran, Bihar, bordered to the north and west by Udaipur Wildlife Sanctuary.

• Type: An oxbow lake.
• Flora: Supports more than 280 plant species, including Alysicarpus roxburghianus, a perennial herb endemic to India.
• Fauna: Acts as a major wintering site for around 35 migratory bird species, notably the vulnerable common pochard (Aythya ferina).
• Threats: Faces pressures from illegal fishing and intensive agriculture, particularly due to chemical fertilizers and pesticide use.

3. AstroSat: Recently, India’s AstroSat completed 10 years in orbit, marking a decade of major astronomical discoveries.

• About AstroSat: Deployed aboard PSLV-C30 in 2015 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

• Capabilities: Observes the universe in UV, visible, and high-energy X-rays
• First discovery: Solved a two-decade-old puzzle of a red giant star unusually bright in UV and infrared.
• Major scientific results: Detected far-UV photons from ~9 billion light-years away.
  - Revealed butterfly nebula is three times larger than previously known.
  - Carried out X-ray polarization studies.
  - Observed a star reliving its youth.
  - Studied galaxy mergers.
  - Discovered very fast spinning black holes.
  - Provided insights into X-ray emissions from binary stars in the Milky Way.

4. Ethambutol Hydrochloride: Recently, India initiated an anti-dumping probe on imports of Ethambutol Hydrochloride, a key TB drug, from China and Thailand.

• About Ethambutol Hydrochloride: A prescription antibacterial medicine used in the treatment of tuberculosis.

• A synthetic, water-soluble, and heat-stable compound.
• Effective against actively growing strains of Mycobacterium, particularly tuberculosis.
• Used in both pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB
• Mechanism of Action: Ethambutol targets cell wall synthesis in tuberculosis.
  - It disrupts the polymerization of arabinogalactan, a vital component of the bacterial cell wall.
  - This weakens the structural integrity of the bacteria, causing its destruction.
  - Plays a vital role in combination therapy, used alongside other anti-TB drugs to enhance effectiveness and prevent drug resistance.
  - Since resistance develops quickly when used alone, Ethambutol is never prescribed as a standalone drug.

5. Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA): Recently, the Government of India extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in parts of Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh for another six months.

• About AFSPA, 1958: A special law enacted in 1958 that gives the armed forces extraordinary powers to maintain public order in “disturbed areas” where normal civil governance is not functioning effectively.

• Objective: To empower security forces in tackling insurgency, restoring peace, and supporting civil administration in regions affected by violence or armed rebellion.
• Procedure for Declaration: Under Section 3, the Governor of a State, UT Administrator, or the Central Government can declare an area as “disturbed” if it threatens public peace. Such notifications are published in the official gazette and must be reviewed every six months.
• Special powers to armed forces: Use force or open fire, even to the extent of causing death, against persons violating prohibitory orders (assembly of five or more, carrying arms).
  - Destroy arms dumps, fortified positions, or insurgent hideouts.
  - Arrest without warrant on suspicion of cognizable offences.
  - Search premises without warrant to recover arms or rescue confined persons.
• Legal immunity: Armed forces personnel cannot face prosecution without prior approval from the Central Government.

6. Kokrajhar–Gelephu Rail Line: Recently, Indian Railways declared the proposed 69-km Kokrajhar–Gelephu rail line, the first-ever railway link to Bhutan, as a Special Railway Project (SRP).

• Key Highlights: To be implemented by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) under the Railways Act, 1989.

• Supported by the Government of India as part of its Act East Policy.
• Aims: Strategic: Enhance cross-border connectivity and reinforce India’s frontier infrastructure.
  - Economic: Promote trade, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.
  - Security: Strengthen linkages in India’s Northeast region.
• Key Features: Stations: Six new stations – Balajan, Garubhasa, Runikhata, Shantipur, Dadgiri, Gelephu.
  - Road facilities: 1 Road over Bridge (ROB) and 39 Road under Bridges (RUBs).
  - Viaducts: Two viaducts of 11 metres each to navigate challenging terrain.
• Significance: Positions the area as a trade and connectivity hub for faster movement of goods between India and Bhutan.

7. Maize: Recently, scientists found that planting maize at higher densities enhances their natural resistance to insects through a strong communication system. The study, published in Science, was led by Zhejiang University (China) with collaborators from the Netherlands and Switzerland.

• Key Highlights: Crowding effect: Maize in dense fields release more linalool, a volatile compound, when attacked by insects.

• Serves as a warning signal to neighbours, triggering defensive responses.
• Mechanism: Linalool activates jasmonate signalling in roots → releases HDMBOA-Glc into soil.
  - HDMBOA-Glc boosts beneficial bacteria → induces salicylic acid signalling in nearby plants.
  - Defence absent in linalool-deficient mutants, restored with synthetic linalool.

• Defence outcomes: Less damage from fall armyworm.
  - Reduced infection by root-knot nematodes.
  - Higher resistance to fungus (Exserohilum turcicum).
  - Lower infection from RBSDV virus.
• Scalability & breeding: Reporter genes (Bx1, Bx6) help identify responsive varieties.
  - Use of marker-assisted selection/genomic prediction to develop improved hybrids.
• Applications: Reduce reliance on chemical pesticides.
  - Guide breeding for growth–defence trade-offs.
  - Farmers can apply synthetic linalool to prepare crops for pest outbreaks.

8. Dragonfly and Damselfly Survey: Recently, Delhi’s wetlands and green spaces showed recovery, with the annual dragonfly and damselfly survey across seven DDA biodiversity parks reporting a 54% rise in numbers compared to last year.

• Key Findings: 54% increase in dragonflies & damselflies – from 8,630 (2024) to 13,253 (2025).

• New species recorded: Yellow-tailed Ashy Skimmer (Potamarcha congener) at Yamuna Biodiversity Park.
• Species trends: Wandering Glider dominated several sites.
  - Ditch Jewel most common at Tughlaqabad & Neela Hauz.
• Ecological role: Bioindicators of wetland health; larvae need clean, oxygen-rich water.
  - Both larvae & adults are mosquito predators (1 dragonfly eats 30–100 mosquitoes/day).
  - Linked to reduced vector-borne illnesses despite heavy waterlogging this monsoon.

9. Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE): Recently, India proposed a revamp of its vehicle emission rules with the draft release of CAFE norms (Phase III).

• About CAFE Norms: Government-mandated standards requiring automakers to maintain a fleet-wide average fuel economy target.

• Introduction: Brought in by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in 2017.
• Coverage: Passenger vehicles under 3,500 kg.
• Implementation: Phase I: Effective from 2017–18
  - Phase II: Effective from 2022–23.
• Applicability: Covers vehicles powered by petrol, diesel, LPG, CNG, hybrids, and electric power.
• Objectives: Reduce dependence on oil imports.
  - Curb air pollution.
  - Promote cleaner vehicles like EVs, CNG models, and hybrids.

• About Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE):

• Established: 2002, under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
• Objective: Reduce the energy intensity of India’s economy.
• Functions: Coordinate with designated consumers, agencies, and organisations.
  - Recognise and utilise existing resources and infrastructure.
  - Oversee implementation of energy efficiency measures under the Act.