Vechur Cow and other indigenous cattle

• Shashi Tharoor, a member of parliament, wrote a piece about Sosamma Iype, the woman who started the campaign to preserve the vechur cow breed.

Context:

• The White Revolution’s byproduct was the eradication of breeds like the Vechur cow in an effort to increase milk production by crossing native cattle with high-yielding foreign breeds. Native breeds’ genetic purity was diluted and their number was reduced by cross-breeding.

Vechur Cow

• A unique breed of cow called the Vechur Cow is named after the village of Vechoor in the Indian state of Kerala’s Vaikom Taluk, Kottayam district.
• It is the smallest breed of cattle, with an average of 124 cm (about 4 feet and 1 inch) in length and 87 cm (about 2 feet and 10 inches) in height.
• The conservation efforts of Sosamma Iype, a professor of animal breeding and genetics, and a group of her students prevented the extinction of the Vechur creatures.

Siri Cow

• Siri is a tiny breed used for draught purposes that originated in the Sikkim and West Bengal hills.
• The rugged forest’s steep slope provides grazing for the animals.
• In the hilly areas, the men are primarily raised for draught purposes, and in certain cases, they are the primary source of draught force. The breed yields extremely little milk.

Tharparkar

• Originating in Rajasthan’s THAR desert, the Tharparkar breed is significant for its dual-purpose abilities.
• The Tharparkar district of southeast Sindh in modern-day Pakistan is the home region of this breed. These creatures are currently present in India along the Indo-Pak border, which stretches from Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch to western Rajasthan.
• When there is a drought or a shortage of fodder, the animals may survive well on small, bushy flora like swan grass and still produce a fair amount of milk.
• This breed was utilized by the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) to produce the “Karan Fries” breed, a synthetic crossbred cattle breed, due to its superior heat tolerance and disease resistance.

Front-running

• On Wednesday, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) announced that one of its employees had been let go from a stock market front-running case that was being looked into by market regulator Sebi.

Context:

• In a case involving front-running the state-owned insurer’s trades, Sebi impounded unlawful gains of Rs 2.44 crore made by five entities, including an employee of Life Insurance Corporation, from the securities market in April 2023.

About Front-running :

• Front-running is the use of confidential information to buy, sell, or enter into options or futures contracts directly or indirectly, ahead of a significant order on an upcoming transaction in the same or related securities, contracts for futures, or options, with the expectation that the price of those securities or contracts may change once the information is made public.
• For instance, a client might ask a broker to buy 50,000 shares of Company A. He holds onto the client’s order until he places an order for the same item on his own account. The size of the customer’s order causes the share price to rise at the time he puts the request.The broker benefits right away from the rise.

PAPIKONDA NATIONAL PARK

• In a recent survey, more than 200 bird species were found in the Papikonda National Park (PNP).

Context:

• The Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER-Tirupati) and the Andhra Pradesh Forest department collaborated to conduct the three-day survey.

About PAPIKONDA NATIONAL PARK:

• Location: Andhra Pradesh’s East and West Godavari districts are home to Papikonda National Park (PNP).
• The park has a total area of 1012.86 square kilometers.
• Geographically, the park spans the Eastern Ghats’ Papikonda hill range and is located on both banks of the River Godavari.
• Flora and Fauna: Moist deciduous forest covers the majority of the park.
• Numerous animal species, including tigers, mouse deer, gaurs, and others, call it home.
• Additionally, there is a rare dwarf goat breed in the park called “kanchu mekha” by the locals.
• Conservation History: Since its founding as a wildlife sanctuary in 1978, the park has undergone several levels of protection. As a reserved forest in 1882, it became a national park in 2008.
• Significance: The park has received recognition as a Biodiversity and Bird Important Area.

STATE OF GLOBAL CLIMATE REPORT,2023

• The State of the Global Climate report, 2023, was been released by the World Meteorological Organization.

Context:

• 192 Member States and Territories make up the WMO, an intergovernmental organization. India is a WMO member.

About State of the Global Climate 2023:

• The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a weather body of the United Nations, publishes the State of the Global Climate 2023 report every year.
• It offers vital information about extreme weather, climate trends, and the effects of human activity on the environment.
• For politicians, scientists, and concerned individuals to comprehend and effectively combat climate change, this paper is an essential resource.

Key Points about the State of the Global Climate, 2023

• The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) verified that 2023 was the warmest year on record in its State of the Global Climate 2023 report.
• The mean near-surface temperature worldwide increased to a minimum of 1.45°C over pre-industrial values.
• In terms of greenhouse gas concentrations, surface temperatures, sea level rise, ocean acidification and heat, Antarctic Sea ice cover, and glacier retreat, records were smashed.
• Extreme weather phenomena, including heat waves, droughts, floods, wildfires, and tropical cyclones that escalate quickly, disrupted millions of people’s daily lives and caused large financial losses.
• The report also emphasized how quickly the effects of climate change are occurring.