About Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY): 

• Launch date: August 28, 2014
• Objective: To promote financial inclusion by providing access to financial services, including banking/savings accounts, remittance, credit, insurance, and pensions, affordably.
• Significance: Forms the backbone for several government economic initiatives and facilitates Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs).
• Eligibility:
  • The applicant should be an Indian National.
  • The applicant should be aged between 18 and 59 years.
  • If minors above ten years apply, they will require support from their legal guardians to administer their PMJDY account.
• Jan Dhan Account:
  • An individual can open an account under this scheme with any bank branch or Business Correspondent (Bank Mitr) outlet.
  • Accounts opened under PMJDY can be opened with zero balance. However, if the account holder wishes to get a chequebook, he/she will have to fulfill the minimum balance criteria.
  • The account holders under this scheme will be given a RuPay debit card which can be used across all ATMs for cash withdrawal.

Scheme highlights:

• Zero-balance accounts: Accounts can be opened with no minimum balance requirement.
• RuPay debit card: Provides a free RuPay debit card with in-built accident insurance coverage.
  • Accident insurance: Up to ₹2 lakh.
  • Life insurance: Up to ₹30,000 for eligible first-time account holders.
• Overdraft facility:
  • Up to ₹10,000 is available to one account per household, with an additional ₹5,000 loan after six months of satisfactory account activity.
• Coverage focus: 66.6% of accounts are in rural and semi-urban areas, with 55.6% of account holders being women.
• Banking access: 99.95% of inhabited villages have banking facilities within a 5 km radius.

Recent developments:

• Account growth:
  • Accounts increased from 14.72 crore in March 2015 to 53.13 crore by August 2024.
  • Deposits in PMJDY accounts surged from ₹15,670 crore (March 2015) to over ₹2.31 lakh crore (August 2024).
• Financial Year 2024-25 target: The government aims to open an additional 3 crore PMJDY accounts.

Operative accounts: Out of 173 crores CASA accounts in the country, over 53 crores are PMJDY accounts, with an 80% operation rate.

Q1. What is a “Farmer's Producer Organisation” (FPO)?

It is one type of PO where the members are farmers. Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) is providing support for the promotion of FPOs. PO is a generic name for an organization of producers of any produce, e.g., agricultural, non-farm products, artisan products, etc.

Source: Over 3 crore PM Jan Dhan accounts to be opened in FY25: FM Sitharaman | Business News - The Indian Express

About Northern Bald Ibis:

• Scientific Name: Geronticus eremita
• Conservation status: Endangered (formerly Critically Endangered)
• Historical range: Once native to Central Europe until the 17th century, also found in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
• Extinction in Europe: The species became extinct in Central Europe by the 17th century due to excessive hunting.
• Distinctive features: The Northern Bald Ibis is known for its black plumage with an iridescent green sheen, a bald red head adorned with black markings, and a long, downward-curved beak. 
  • Their red beak and legs stand out against their dark feathers. There is no sexual dimorphism in this species.
• Diet: They primarily feed on insect larvae, earthworms, and other invertebrates, using their long, slender beak to probe the ground, guided by their sense of touch.
• Habitat: These ibises prefer open areas with short grass, such as meadows, pastures, or even sports fields like golf courses. Despite their bald head resembling that of a vulture, they are not scavengers.
• Social behaviour: Northern Bald Ibises are social birds, historically forming large colonies with thousands of individuals. 
  • They engage in a ritual greeting involving crest-spreading and bowing, which often triggers a similar response throughout the colony.
• Monogamy: Typically, seasonally monogamous, breeding partnerships often change yearly, though some pairs may stay together for multiple years.
• Breeding habits: They choose steep rock faces with protective nooks for nesting, laying up to four greenish eggs. Incubation begins with the first egg, leading to staggered hatching times.

Nestling development: Young birds fledge within 42-50 days, initially following their parents before joining juvenile groups. They learn migration routes by following experienced birds during the fall migration.

Q1. What is IUCN?

The International Union for Conservation of Nature is a global organization composed of governments, NGOs, scientists, and experts dedicated to conserving nature and promoting sustainability. Its primary role involves assessing the conservation status of species, providing data and analysis on the state of biodiversity worldwide, and offering guidance and frameworks for conservation efforts.

Source: Northern bald ibis was extinct in Europe. Now it’s back, and humans must help it migrate for winter - The Hindu.

About Tropical Cyclone:

• A tropical cyclone is a significant weather phenomenon.
• Formation: These cyclones originate over warm ocean waters near the equator. Warm, moist air rises from the ocean surface, creating a low-pressure area.
  • Surrounding higher-pressure air moves towards this low-pressure zone, causing the air to warm up and rise further. As the rising air cools, it forms clouds.
  • This system of spinning clouds and wind intensifies with the ocean’s heat. As wind speeds increase, an eye forms at the centre.

Characteristics of a Tropical Cyclone:

• Calm centre: The cyclone’s centre is typically calm and clear, with very low air pressure.
• Speed: The average wind speed is around 120 km/h.
• Closed isobars: These cyclones have closed isobars, leading to higher wind velocities. Isobars are imaginary lines on a weather map that connect points of equal atmospheric pressure.
• Origin: They form exclusively over oceans and seas.
• Movement: Tropical cyclones move from east to west, are influenced by trade winds, and are seasonal.

Classification of Cyclones:

• Cyclones are categorised by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)based on wind speeds:
  • Depression: Wind speeds between 31–49 km/h
  • Deep depression: Wind speeds between 50-61 km/h
  • Cyclonic storm: Wind speeds between 62–88 km/h
  • Severe cyclonic storm: Wind speeds between 89-117 km/h
  • Very severe cyclonic storm: Wind speeds between 118-166 km/h
  • Extremely severe cyclonic storm: Wind speeds between 166-221 km/h
  • Super cyclonic storm: Wind speeds above 222 km/h

Naming of Tropical Cyclones:

• Tropical cyclones are named by one of five regional bodies:
  • ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee
  • WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones
  • RA I Tropical Cyclone Committee
  • RA IV Hurricane Committee
  • RA V Tropical Cyclone Committee

In the Indian Ocean, the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones is responsible for naming cyclones.

Q1. Which country has given the name to Cyclone Mandous?

The name, ‘Mandous’, was suggested by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2020 as a member of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

Source: Typhoon Shanshan moves closer to Japan’s coast; rains, winds cause flight and rail disruptions | World News

What are FDCs?

• Fixed-dose combination (FDC) drugs are medications that combine two or more active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in a single dosage form, such as a pill, capsule, or injection.
• These drugs are often prescribed for conditions requiring multiple medications, such as tuberculosis, diabetes, and hypertension, to enhance patient compliance by reducing the number of pills taken daily.
• The rationale for the Ban: The banned FDCs were deemed "irrational" by the central government, as they do not provide any additional therapeutic benefits.
  • The combinations in these FDCs may involve ingredients that either do not work synergistically or include unnecessary components that do not require simultaneous administration.
• Benefits: FDCs can improve patient compliance, especially for chronic diseases where multiple medications are required.
• Risks: Some FDCs may include unnecessary components, leading to patients consuming drugs they don't need.
  • For example, Cheston Cold includes paracetamol, cetirizine, and phenylephrine, which are not necessary for treating bacterial infections but are used for managing cold symptoms.
• Banned FDCs: The recent ban includes various drug combinations:
  • Gastrointestinal treatments: Enzyme combinations for digestive issues.
  • Anti-allergy treatments: Combinations of levocetirizine with nasal decongestants, and cough syrups with mucus-breaking properties.
  • Skin treatments: FDCs like menthol with aloe vera, and silver sulfadiazine with antiseptics.
  • Migraine and menstrual pain: Combinations for treating migraines and menstrual cramps.
  • Erectile dysfunction: Combinations involving sildenafil (Viagra) with other drugs affecting blood vessels and muscles.
• Concerns with FDCs:
  • Overuse of antibiotics: Some FDCs include combinations of antibiotics, leading to their overuse and contributing to the growing issue of antibiotic resistance. This occurs when bacteria become resistant to commonly used antibiotics, necessitating stronger or higher doses for treatment.
  • Lack of therapeutic justification: Many FDCs combine drugs that do not require co-administration, potentially exposing patients to unnecessary medications, which could result in adverse effects.

Avoidance of pricing control: Some pharmaceutical companies create FDCs to circumvent government-imposed price controls on essential medicines. By introducing new combinations, they can set higher prices, undermining efforts to make essential drugs affordable.

Q1. What are antibiotics?

Antibiotics are medicines that fight bacterial infections in people and animals. They work by killing the bacteria or by making it hard for the bacteria to grow and multiply.

Source:https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-health/govt-ban-fdc-drugs-cheston-cold-foracet-health-ministry-fever-allergies-aches-9536556/

About Quasar:

• A quasar is an extremely active and luminous type of active galactic nucleus (AGN). 
• An AGN is nothing more than a supermassive black hole that is active and feeding at the center of a galaxy. 
• All quasars are AGNs, but not all AGNs are quasars.
• Quasar is short for quasi-stellar radio source, because astronomers first discovered quasars in 1963 as objects that looked like stars but emitted radio waves. 
• Quasars are intense sources of X-rays as well as visible light. They are the most powerful type of X-ray source yet discovered. 
• They are among the most luminous, powerful, and vibrant objects known in the universe.
• How are they formed?
  • Quasars are thought to form in regions of the universe where the large-scale density of matter is much higher than average.
  • An active galaxy is one in which the central supermassive black hole is consuming large amounts of matter.
  • The in fall of matter into the black hole is so great that all the material can't enter the black hole at the same time, so it forms a queueas a spiralling accretion disk. 
  • The matter—in the form of huge clouds—falls into the disk, with the inner parts of the cloud closer to the black hole orbiting faster than the outer parts (just like planets closer to the sun orbit faster than those farther away). 
  • This creates a shear force that twists the clouds, causing them to bump into their neighbours as they move around the black hole at velocities ranging from 10% of the speed of light up to over 80%.
  • This friction from fast-moving gas clouds generates heat, and the disk becomes so hot—millions of degrees—that it shines brightly. 
  • Some of the material in the disk is also funnelled away from the black hole in a highly luminous, magnetically collimated jet.
  • The hot accretion disk and the jet combine to make the nucleus of the active galaxy shine so brightly that it can be seen far across the universe.
• The brightest quasars can outshine all of the stars in the galaxies in which they reside, which makes them visible even at distances of billions of light-years.

Most quasars have been found billions of light-years away.

Q1: What is a Black Hole?

A black hole is a region in space where the gravitational pull is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from it once it crosses a certain boundary called the event horizon. As a result, black holes are invisible to the naked eye and can only be detected indirectly by their effect on nearby matter and radiation.

Source: Astronomers Discover Object 500 Trillion Times Brighter Than The Sun

About Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE):

• It is an extremely rare but serious and often fatal infection caused by the EEE virus (EEEV).
• It causes encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain.
• EEEV can infect a wide range of animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. 
• Transmission: The spread of EEEV to mammals (including humans and horses) occurs through the bite of infected mosquitoes that feed on both birds and mammals.
• Human cases of EEE disease are rare but can cause serious illness.
• Symptoms:
  • It is possible that some people who are infected with EEEV will not develop any symptoms. 
  • Symptoms typically appear 4-10 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. 
  • Severe cases of EEE infection begin with the sudden onset of headache, high fever, chills, and vomiting that may progress into disorientation, seizures, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), and coma.
• About 30% of people ill from EEE die, and many who survive the infection are left with permanent neurologic damage.
• Treatment:
  • There are no vaccines to prevent EEE infection in people and no specific treatments for EEE disease.
  • Treatment focuses on supportive therapy, including hospitalization, respiratory support, intravenous fluids, and prevention of other infections.

Q1: What is a Virus?

A virus is an infectious microbe consisting of a segment of nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protein coat. A virus cannot replicate alone; instead, it must infect cells and use components of the host cell to make copies of itself. Often, a virus ends up killing the host cell in the process, causing damage to the host organism. Well-known examples of viruses causing human disease include AIDS, COVID-19, measles and smallpox.

Source: New Hampshire patient dies from rare mosquito-borne disease

About Geoglyphs:

• A geoglyph refers to a design that is drawn on the earth.
• Geoglyphs are typically formed of durable elements of the landscape, such as stones, gravel, or earth. 
• A geoglyph is usually longer than four metres. 
• Geoglyphs are difficult tosee or even identify on the ground but are easily appreciated when seen from the sky.
• There are two types of geoglyphs, namely a positive and negative geoglyph.
  • A positive geoglyph is formed by the arrangement and alignment of materials on the ground in a manner akin to petroforms (which are simply outlines created using boulders). 
  • A negative geoglyph is formed by removing part of the natural ground surface to create differently coloured or textured ground in a manner akin to petroglyphs.
• There is another variation of a geoglyph that involves seeding plants in a special design.
  • The design usually takes years to see since it depends on the plants growing. This type of geoglyph is called an arborglyph.
• Another type of geoglyph often referred to as ‘chalk giants’ are those carved intohillsides,exposing the bedrock beneath.
• Examples: The most famous geoglyphs are the Nasca lines in Peru and the horse and human figures cut into hillsides in southern England (e.g., the Uffington White Horse and the Cerne Giant).

Q1: What are petroglyphs?

Petroglyphs are rock carvings (rock paintings are called pictographs) made by pecking directly on the rock surface using a stone chisel and a hammerstone.

Source: Maharashtra’s geoglyphs discovery is citizen archaeology at its best. It put India on the map

About Talley Valley Wildlife Sanctuary:

• It is located in the Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh.
• It is a plateau and covers an area of 337 sq. km.
• It is situated at an altitude of 2400 metres, with rivers like Pange, Sipu, Karing, and Subansiri flowing through the sanctuary.
• The sanctuary is home to the Apatani tribe, known for their unique customs, traditions, and handicrafts.
• Flora:
  • It has a stunning spectrum of subtropical and alpine forests like silver fir trees, ferns, orchids, bamboo, and rhododendron.
  • Pleioblastus simone, one of its kind of bamboo, can be found only in Talley Valley.
  • It is also home to several medicinal plants and herbs used by the local tribes for traditional medicine.
• Fauna: It is home to a variety of animal species such as elephants, barking deer, giant squirrels, porcupines, leopards, clouded leopards, wild boars, etc.

Q1: Who is a lepidopterist?

A lepidopterist is an entomologist who specialises in studying butterflies and moths. The name lepidopterist is derived from the name of the Order of butterflies and moths, Lepidoptera.

Source: 85 butterfly species spotted at Arunachal Pradesh’s Tale Wildlife Sanctuary

About Initiative:

• Indian Railways is actively exploring using nuclear power through captive units as part of its strategy to increase reliance on non-fossil fuel sources.
• The first nuclear-powered train movements are expected to focus on circuits served by the Nabinagar Thermal Power Plant, leveraging existing infrastructure to test and expand nuclear energy use in rail transport.

What are Nuclear-Powered Trains?

• Nuclear-powered trains utilise the heat generated from a nuclear reaction to produce steam, which drives turbines. 
  • One turbine powers the train, while another creates electricity for auxiliary systems such as lighting and air conditioning.
• The idea of nuclear-powered trains gained attention in the 1950s, especially in the USSR, where it became a goal of the Ministry of Transport.

How do Nuclear-Powered Trains function?

• Design: These trains would feature a portable nuclear reactor. The reactor heats a fluid to produce steam, which then powers electric turbines. These turbines generate the necessary electricity to propel the train.
• Thorium reactors: Thorium-based reactors are considered for their lower radiation risks compared to other nuclear materials. 
  • The design of the reactors incorporates advanced safety mechanisms to minimise risks and prevent potential misuse.

Q1. What is the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL)?

The NPCIL is an Indian public sector undertaking (based in Mumbai) wholly owned by the Government of India and is responsible for the generation of electricity from nuclear power. NPCIL is administered by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

Source: Indian Railways: Plans to go nuclear as part of its green drive - The Hindu BusinessLine

About Mimetus spinatus and Mimetus parvulus:

• They are two new species of spiders discovered from the southern Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot.
• Mimetus spinatus and Mimetus parvulus were collected from the Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka, and Ernakulam district of Kerala, respectively.
• Features:
  • Both species belong to the spider family Mimetidae, commonly known as pirate or cannibal spiders due to their unique predatory behaviour.
  • These spiders infiltrate the webs of other spiders, mimicking the vibrations ofprey or mates to deceive and kill the host spider.
  • Mimetus spinatus is characterised by its medium size, pale yellow head, and dull grey-white abdomen, with scattered light green mottling. It possesses long, black, flattened spine-like hairs on the dorsal head, which inspired its name.
  • In contrast, Mimetus parvulus is distinguished by its pale creamy-rose head with dense grey-black mottling and a triangular-shaped, dull grey-white abdomen.
• The discoverymarks the report of the genus Mimetus after 118 years of the discovery of the last Mimetus species (i.e. Mimetus indicus) from India.

The addition of two new species bringsthe number of Mimetus species in India to three, all of which were spotted from the southern part of the country.

Q1: What is the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI)?

The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) was established on 1st July, 1916 to promote survey, exploration and research leading to the advancement in our knowledge of various aspects of exceptionally rich life of the erstwhile British Indian Empire . The survey has its genesis in the establishment of the Zoological Section of the Indian Museum at Calcutta in 1875.

Source: ZSI discovers 2 new spider species from Western Ghats