★★★★★ 5/5
Prelims: Environment (Species in News), Cantor’s Giant Softshell Turtle, The Asian Turtle Crisis
Mains: General Studies-III Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.
Why in the News ?
Conservationists have discovered an “incredibly rare” turtle in India. The team included conservationists from University of Portsmouth, said the BBC, and they uncovered the nesting site of Cantor’s giant softshell turtle.
Source: NDTV
Key Facts 🗝️
Cantor’s giant softshell turtle:
- IUCN Status: Critically Endangered
- Origin: The turtle gets its name from Theodore Cantor, a Danish zoologist who worked for the British East India Company in the mid-19th century, collecting and describing many reptiles.
- The turtle spends 95% of its life buried and motionless, with only its eyes and mouth protruding from the sand.
📌 FYI on Prelims
Tortoise and Hard-Shell Turtles
- All tortoises are turtles as they belong to the order Testudines/Chelonia.
- Tortoises are distinguished from other turtles by being land-dwelling, while many (though not all) other turtle species are at partly aquatic.
- Hard-shell turtles have rigid and bony shells that provide protection and cannot be easily compressed.
- According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) most of the species of turtles and tortoises are vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.
- Indian star tortoise, Olive Ridley Turtle , and Green Turtle are a few examples of Tortoise and Hard-Shell Turtles in India.
About:
Cantor’s Giant Softshell Turtle (Pelochelys cantorii)
- Commonly known as the Asian giant softshell turtle and the frog-faced softshell turtle is a species of freshwater turtle in the family Trionychidae.
- Geographical Habitat: Its extent ranges from Malaysia to India. Its presence in India has been recorded only a dozen times in 20 years, with sightings being reported anecdotally from Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.
- Characteristics:
- The turtle can grow up to a meter in length and weigh 100 kg.
- It is one of the few freshwater species which is at home in saline waters too.
- The turtle inhabits inland rivers and is thought to keep to deep depths. It spends most of its time in the water.
- The turtle nests between December-February.
- Diet: It is an ambush predator and primarily carnivorous, feeding on crustaceans, mollusks, and fish (although some aquatic plants may also be eaten). It is also known to scavenge dead fish, becoming a natural agent in cleaning up rivers.
The Asian Turtle Crisis:
- Wild populations of tortoises and freshwater turtles face immense pressure from illegal trade for pets, food, and medicines.
- At least 15 of the 30 threatened TFT (Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles) species in India are illegally traded.
- Freshwater species, such as the Indian flapshell turtles, are in great demand in illegal markets.
- The Indian Softshell turtle, also known as the Ganges Softshell turtle, is a freshwater reptile found in the Ganges, Indus and Mahanadi rivers in northern and eastern India.
- Chennai emerges as the primary node in the tortoise and hard-shell turtle trafficking network. The city plays a central role in the global pet trade, facilitating the illicit trade in these reptiles.
- Wild populations of tortoises and freshwater turtles face immense pressure from illegal trade for pets, food, and medicines.
UPSC CSE EXAMS Corner
Prelims: PYQ/FAQ
Q. With reference to Olive Ridley turtles, consider the following statements:
1. These are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world.
2. The grouping of Male turtles in sea is called as Arribada.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A) 1 only
B) 2 only
C) Both 1 and 2
D) Neither 1 nor 2
Explaination
- Statement 1 is correct.
- Statement 2 is incorrect: Olive ridley turtles have a unique habit of mass nesting called Arribada. Under this, thousands of female turtles come together on the same beach to lay eggs.
- The Odisha coast has three arribada beaches at Gahirmatha, the mouth of the Devi river, and in Rushikulya, where about 1 lakh nests are found annually.
★★★★★ 4.5/5
Prelims: Indian Geography (Projects in news), Kiru Hydel project, Run-on-river project, Chenab River.
Mains: General Studies-I Important Geophysical Phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
Why in the News ?
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has recently conducted raids at 30 locations at three places linked to former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik.
Source: IE
📌 FYI on Prelims
Run-of-river project: They are hydroelectric systems that harvest the energy from flowing water to generate electricity in the absence of a large dam and reservoir.
About:
Kiru Hydel Project
- Location: It is being developed over the Chenab River in Kishtwar district, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
- Capacity: It is a 624MW run-of-river project
- Developed by The project is being developed by Chenab Valley Power Projects (CVPP).
- It is a joint venture between National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC, 49%), Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC, 49%) and Power Trading Corporation (PTC, 2%).
- Beneficiary states: J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, Union territories of Chandigarh & Delhi.
- Key features of project:
- Type of dam: It is a 135m-high concrete gravity dam near Kiru.
- Catchment area: The project will have a catchment area of 10,225km², while the reservoir will be 6.5km-long and 1.03km² in area.
- Diversion tunnel: It will have one 700m-long horse-shoe shaped diversion tunnel with two openings to divert the flow of the river to enable the dam construction.
Chenab River
- Source: It rises in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh state.
- The river is formed by the confluence of two rivers, Chandra and Bhaga, at Tandi, 8 km southwest of Keylong, in the Lahaul and Spiti district.
- The Bhaga river originates from Surya taal lake, which is situated a few kilometers west of the Bara-lacha la pass in Himachal Pradesh.
- The Chandra river originates from glaciers east of the same pass (near Chandra Taal).
- Flows Through: It flows through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir into the plains of Punjab, Pakistan, before flowing into the Indus River.
- Some of the important projects/dams on Chenab:
- Ratle Hydro Electric Project
- Salal Dam- hydroelectric power project near Reasi
- Dul Hasti Hydroelectric Plant- power project in Kishtwar District
- Pakal Dul Dam (under construction)- on a tributary Marusadar River in Kishtwar District.
UPSC CSE EXAMS Corner
Prelims: PYQ/FAQ
Q. With reference to the Indus river system, of the following four rivers, three of them pour into one of them which joins the Indus direct. Among the following which is one is such river that joins the Indus direct?
A) Chenab
B) Jhelum
C) Ravi
D) Sutlej
Ans: d. Sutlej
Explaination:
- The Chenab joins Satluj in Pakistan.
- Option b is incorrect. The Jhelum joins the Chenab near Jhang in Pakistan.
- Option c is incorrect. The Ravi joins the Chenab near Sarai Sidhu.
- Option d is correct. Satluj is joined by the Chenab in Pakistan. Thus, Satluj receives the collective drainage of the Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum rivers. It joins the Indus a few kilometres above Mithankot.
★★★★★ 4/5
Prelims: Indian History (Personalities in News), Rani Chennamma, Kittur Rebellion, Doctrine of Lapse.
Mains: General Studies-I Modern Indian History from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.
Why in the News ?
To commemorate the 200th anniversary of Rani Chennamma’s rebellion against the British, various social groups across the country are organizing a national campaign called “Naanoo Rani Chennamma” (I am Rani Chennamma too). The campaign aims to empower women to oppose patriarchal, anti-democratic, and casteist forces in the country, inspired by Rani Chennamma’s legacy of bravery and defiance.
Source: IE
📌 FYI on Prelims
Kittur Utsav:
- Kittur Utsav is a three-day festival which celebrates the Queen Rani Chennamma’s victory over East India’s company in 1824.
- The festival organizes sports, cultural programmes and lectures by resource persons on the kingdom of Rani Channamma.
About:
Rani Chennamma
- She was an Indian freedom fighter and Rani of the Kittur, a former princely state in Karnataka.
- She led the Kittur revolt of 1824, which stands as one of the earliest woman-led anti-colonial struggles against British rule in India.
- Birth: She was born on October 23, 1778, in Kagati, a small village in Belagavi district of Karnataka.
- Marriage: She married Raja Mallasarja of Kittur at 15 and played a crucial role in defending her kingdom after his death.
- Struggle against the British:
- She initiated a rebellion against the British in 1824 after they declined to acknowledge her adopted son as the successor according to the ‘doctrine of lapse’.
- Although she was initially successful, the British captured Kittur Fort in their third attempt in December 1824, resulting in Rani Chennamma’s imprisonment and eventual death in 1829.
- Significance: Her brave resistance to colonial oppression has made her a symbol in Karnataka’s political imagination and an important figure in Indian history.
Doctrine of Lapse
- The doctrine of lapse was an annexation policy applied by the British East India Company in India until 1859.
- Under the doctrine, the ruler of an independent state died childless, the right of ruling the State reverted or ‘lapsed’ to the sovereign.
- The policy is most commonly associated with Lord Dalhousie who was the Governor General of the East India Company in India between 1848 and 1856.
- However, it was not solely his invention. The East India Company had annexed Kittur in 1824, Mandvi in 1839, Kolaba and Jalaun in 1840 and Surat in 1842 by imposing a ‘doctrine of lapse’.
UPSC CSE EXAMS Corner
Mains: PYQ/FAQ
Q. The role played by women in Indian freedom struggle has been that of ‘helpers’ rather than ‘crusaders’. Critically examine. (250 words)
★★★★★ 4.5/5
Prelims: Science & Tech (Scientific Phenomenon), Positronium, AEgIS Experiment ,CERN
Mains: General Studies-III Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights.
Why in the News ?
An international team of physicists from the Anti-hydrogen Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy (AEgIS) collaboration has recently achieved a breakthrough by demonstrating the laser cooling of Positronium.
Source: IE
📌 FYI on Prelims:
CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research)
- European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) is the world’s largest nuclear and particle physics laboratory and best known as operator of the Large Hadron Collider, which found the elusive Higgs boson in 2012.
- CERN is based in Geneva on the French-Swiss border. It has 22 member states.
- India in 2016 became an associate member of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN).
- Indian scientists have played a significant role in the A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE) and Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiments that led to the discovery of the Higgs Boson.
About:
Positronium:
- It is a fundamental atomic system that comprises a bound electron (e-) and positron (e+).
- Mass: Its mass is twice the electron mass and enjoys the unique distinction of being a pure leptonic atom.
- Half life: Due to its very short life, it annihilates with a half life of 142 nano-seconds.
- Significance: This hydrogen-like system, with halved frequencies for excitation, makes it useful for attempting laser cooling.
- This can help in performing tests of fundamental theories in physics.
AEgIS Experiment:
- Antihydrogen Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy (AEgIS) is the direct measurement of the Earth’s gravitational acceleration on antihydrogen.
AEgIS is a collaboration of physicists from a number of countries in Europe and from India. - This team has achieved a breakthrough by demonstrating the laser cooling of Positronium.
- Antihydrogen Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy (AEgIS) is the direct measurement of the Earth’s gravitational acceleration on antihydrogen.
Laser Cooling of Positronium achievement:
- Experimentalists achieved laser cooling of Positronium atoms initially from ~380 Kelvin to ~170 Kelvin, and demonstrated the cooling in one dimension using a 70-nanosecond pulse of the alexandrite-based laser system.
- The lasers deployed were either in the deep ultraviolet or in the infrared frequency bands
Significance of Laser Cooling of Positronium
- Measurement of Earth’s gravitational acceleration: This is an important precursor experiment to the formation of anti-Hydrogen and the measurement of Earth’s gravitational acceleration on antihydrogen in the AEgIS experiment.
- Gamma-ray laser: It could open prospects to produce a gamma-ray laser that would eventually allow researchers to look inside the atomic nucleus and have applications beyond physics.
- Quantum Electrodynamics (QED): It will pave the way for performing spectroscopic comparisons required for the Quantum Electrodynamics (QED), the study of the light and its interaction with charged matter.
- Bose–Einstein condensate: It allows the production of a positronium Bose–Einstein condensate, in which all constituents occupy the same quantum state. It can be an incredible tool for both fundamental and applied research.
UPSC CSE EXAMS Corner
Prelims: PYQ/FAQ
Q. The efforts to detect the existence of Higgs boson particle have become frequent news in the recent past. What is/are the importance of discovering this particle?
- It will enable us to understand as to why elementary particles have mass.
- It will enable us in the near future to develop the technology of transferring matter from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them.
- It will enable us to create better fuels for nuclear fission.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
A) 1 only
B) 2 and 3 only
C) 1 and 3 only
D) 1, 2 and 3
Ans: a. 1 only
Explaination:
- Understanding the Origin of Mass The Higgs boson particle is responsible for giving mass to other particles. Its discovery has helped scientists understand how elementary particles acquire mass.
- The Higgs boson is the final piece of the Standard Model of particle physics, which explains how particles interact with each other and make up the universe. No Technology for Transferring Matter Contrary to what is mentioned in option 2, the discovery of the Higgs boson does not enable us to develop the technology of transferring matter from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them.
- This is a misconception and has no scientific basis. Creating Better Fuels for Nuclear Fission The Higgs boson particle does not have any direct application in creating better fuels for nuclear fission. However, its discovery has led to the development of new technologies and innovations in the field of particle physics, which may have applications in various fields, including energy.
