GUJARAT
Govt should devise SOP for vulture tissue collection
In a research published this April, “Nimesulide poisoning in white-rumped vulture Gyps bengalensis in Gujarat, India,” the authors found the anti-inflammatory drug nimesulide in the tissues of all the dead vulture from Gujarat they studied. The research was part of a project funded entirely by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change.
The collection of tissues of dead vultures sampled in the study were permitted by Gujarat forest department, and shared by Jivdaya Charitable Trust, Ahmedabad.
INTERNATIONAL
Melting of Last Ice Area in Arctic
The ‘Last Ice Area’ (LIA), which is located in the Arctic ice north of Greenland, has begun melting earlier than expected by scientists.
In the Canadian territory of Nunavut, this region is located north of Greenland and Ellesmere Island.
This region was thought to be resilient enough to withstand global warming.
The Arctic summer ice is expected to disappear completely by 2040, but the “last ice area” is an exception.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-Canada is credited with being the first to refer to this area as the “Last Ice Area.”.
Reasons for Melting:
Approximately 80% of the thinning can be attributed to weather-related factors, such as the wind that breaks and moves the ice.
The remaining 20% can be attributed to long-term ice thinning caused by global warming.
About the Arctic:
The Arctic is a polar region located in the far north of the Earth.
The Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas, as well as parts of Alaska (United States), Greenland (Denmark), Canada, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden, comprise the Arctic.
Land in the Arctic region experiences seasonal variations in snow and ice cover.
India has been an observer in the Arctic Council since 2013, which is the primary inter-governmental forum for cooperation on Arctic environmental and development issues.
NATIONAL
Not-for-Profit Hospital Model in India
A report on India’s non-profit hospital model was published by the NITI Aayog.
Highlights:
The NITI Aayog released a report on the not-for-profit hospital model in an effort to close the information gap on such institutions and facilitate robust policymaking in this area.
The study provides insights into the operating model of non-profit hospitals. It presents research-based findings on such hospitals—categorized by ownership and service premise—and then compares them to private hospitals and Union government health schemes.
The not-for-profit hospital sector provides both curative and preventive care.
It connects healthcare, social reform, community engagement, and education.
Export of Burmese Grapes Leteku
APEDA promoted the export of Burmese grape “Leteku” to Dubai.
About Leteku:
Burmese grapes are also called “Leteku” in Assamese languages.
They are grown in Assam’s Darrang district.
They can be found in abundance in India’s north-eastern region.
Burmese grapes grow in evergreen forests on a variety of soils.
The fruit is harvested and consumed locally as a fruit, stewed, or made into wine;
It is also used to treat skin diseases medicinally. For medicinal purposes, the bark, roots, and wood are harvested.
The fruit is oval, yellowish, pinkish to bright red or purple in colour, 2.5–3.5 cm in diameter, glabrous, with 2–4 large purple-red seeds and a white aril.
Enforcing Contracts Portal – Justice Department
Enforcement Contract Portal” was unveild by the Department of Justice.
About the portal:
The website (https://doj.gov.in/eodb/) is intended to be a comprehensive source of information about the legislative and policy reforms being undertaken on the “Enforcing Contracts” parameters.
It contains the most recent information on the operation and disposition of commercial cases in the Dedicated Commercial Courts of Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Kolkata
The portal also hosts online reports from all high courts on the commercial court-affiliated mediation and arbitration center to supervise and promote institutional mediation and arbitration through the pre-institutional mediation and settlement (PIMS) of commercial cases.
The research paper pointed out that between March and April 2020, there were at least two other incidents of deaths of white-rumped vultures in Assam and West Bengal.
While 13 vultures died after eating the carcass of a pig in Jalpaiguri district, in West Bengal, 19 vultures died in Sibsagar, Assam possibly due to poisoning However, tissue samples could not be collected for analysis.
The study found that residues of all the 32 most commonly used pesticides in the tissues from kidneys, livers and guts of the four white-rumped vultures collected from Sanand and Dhrangadhra were below detection limits.
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