News Summary · 4 minutes read
Stay ahead in your UPSC CSE preparation with our daily News Summary. Designed to save time, it highlights key national and international events from leading newspapers and government websites.
ICMR launches project to prevent snakebite deaths
- Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recently launched a 4-year project named Zero Snakebite Death Initiative: Community Empowerment and Engagement for Mitigation of Snakebite Envenoming.
- Project will be conducted under the SARPA (Snakebite Awareness, Response, Prevention, and Action) framework.
- SARPA originated as Kerala’s initiative in 2020 → adopted by ICMR at the national level.
- The project aims to:
- Develop a unified and replicable national model for snakebite prevention.
- Cover 7 States — Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, and West Bengal.
- Analyse and integrate proven regional strategies, especially the Demow Model of Assam that focuses on community engagement.
Snakebite envenomation
- Recognised as a neglected tropical disease by the WHO.
- India bears largest burden (50%) of snakebite deaths globally.
- In 2024, the Union Health Ministry asked States/UTs to make snakebite a notifiable disease.
- A notifiable disease is required to be reported to public health authorities when it is diagnosed.
- 4 snakes are responsible for most snakebite deaths in India:
- Indian cobra
- Common krait
- Russell’s viper → responsible for most deaths
- Saw-scaled viper
- WHO aims to halve snakebite deaths by 2030 → India commits to this goal via the National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming (NAPSE), which was launched in 2024.
Thalassemia
- A genetic blood disorder that reduces haemoglobin production in the body → inherited by children when both parents are carriers of the thalassemia gene.
- Requires lifelong management with regular blood transfusions → bone marrow transplant offers a potential cure, and some gene therapies and drugs can reduce blood transfusion needs in some patients.
- India carries the highest global burden (25%) of thalassemia major (beta).
- Recently, the National Blood Transfusion Bill, 2025, was introduced in the parliament, which seeks to:
- Create a National Blood Transfusion Authority.
- Set uniform national standards for the collection, testing, processing, storage, distribution, issuance and transfusion of blood and blood components.
- Mandate registration of all blood centres.
- Promote voluntary blood donation.
- Introduce strict penalties for unsafe or non-compliant practices.
How do mangroves thrive in saltwater?
- Mangroves have smaller leaf epidermal pavement cells and thicker cell walls compared to terrestrial plants → provide mechanical strength to handle low osmotic potentials from saltwater surges.
- Different mangrove species employ different strategies:
- Waxy root layers: filter salt while pulling water under high tension.
- Specialised leaf tissues: secrete the excess salt absorbed by the roots.
- Understanding the unique cellular adaptations of mangroves to survive in saltwater offers potential strategies for engineering salt-tolerant crops amid climate change.
Gonorrhoea
- A Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) → usually affects the throat, rectum, genitals, and eyes, and can lead to painful urination, bleeding and discharge in the genital area.
- Prone to drug resistance → WHO’s 2024 list of critical pathogens includes the gonorrhoea-causing bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae → classified as “high priority”.
- Nuzolvence (zoliflodacin) and Blujepa (gepotidacin): new oral drugs recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat gonorrhoea.
Preah Vihear temple
- An ancient Hindu temple in Cambodia in the Dangrek Mountains that forms the border between Cambodia and Thailand.
- Originally known as Sri Sikharisvara → dedicated to lord Shiva.
- Built by Khmer empire between the 9th and 12th centuries → UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- One of the central issues in the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute → border tension has escalated recently.
Quick Picks for Pre and Mains (QPPM)
- Sex determination is illegal and a punishable offence under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994.
- Shares of various airlines in India’s domestic aviation market: IndiGo (65%) > Air India Group (26%) > Akasa Air (5%) > SpiceJet (2%) → Air India leads India’s international aviation market, followed by IndiGo.
- BRIDGE Alliance: a global organisation headquartered inAbu Dhabi → launched by the UAE in 2025 and aims to foster a collaborative ecosystem acrossmedia, entertainment, content creation, technology, finance, and policy → 1st BRIDGE summit was recently held in Abu Dhabi.
- Australia has become the first country to ban social media for under-16s.