UPSC Prelims News 22 October 2022

UPSC Prelims News of 22 October 2022

Context: Three Great Indian Bustards (GIBs) have been spotted in Pakistan’s Cholistan desert.

More on the News:

There is a speculation that these birds might have flown across the international border from India’s Desert National Park (DNP).
GIBs are highly at risk in Pakistan because of lack of protection and rampant hunting.

About Great Indian Bustards:

GIB is one of the largest flying birds in the world. It is also the state bird of Rajasthan.
Habitat of GIB:
- GIBs were found all over Indian subcontinent. Now the habitat has shrunken to 10 percent of the original one.
- GIBs are terrestrial birds and are majorly found in grasslands and dryland ecosystem.
- About 95% of its population is present in Rajasthan. Other states include Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Threats:
- The biggest threat is the high voltage electricity lines. Their vision is weak and they cannot escape the lines in time during flight, leading to their death.
- The change in land cultivation pattern like switching over to cotton and oil seeds from pulses have led to fall in GIB numbers.
Conservation Status:
- They are classified as critically endangered species under IUCN Red list.
- They are protected under Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act 1972 of India.
- It is present in the Appendix I of CITES.
Population recovery
The government had launched GIB recovery programme in 2015 under which eggs of GIBs are hatched in controlled environment.

Context: Climate change could increase the risk of “viral spillover” in some regions of the world, causing new pandemics.

What is Viral Spillover?

It is a process through which viruses may infect a new species from a reservoir host species (in which it usually resides).

The Study:

Researchers collected sediment and soil samples from Lake Hazen in Canada – the world’s largest High Arctic lake by volume, and the region’s largest freshwater ecosystem.
Based on DNA and RNA sequencing, they found that the chances of a virus moving to a new host increases with runoff from glacier melt.
As melting of glaciers increases due to temperature rise, there is a greater possibility for previously ice-trapped viruses and bacteria to find new hosts.

Role Of Reservoir Species Range:

As long as viruses and their ‘bridge vectors’ are not simultaneously located in the same environment, the likelihood of dramatic events probably remains low.
However, climate change could shift the range of certain reservoir species northwards, and the High Arctic zone could become fertile ground for emerging pandemics.

Context: The Agni Prime new generation ballistic missile was successfully test fired off the coast of Odisha.

About

It is a new generation advanced variant of the Agni class of ballistic missiles.
It is a nuclear capable and a surface-to-surface ballistic missile.
It is the smallest and lightest among the entire Agni series.

Features

It is a two-stage canisterised solid propellant missile (Canisterisation lessens the time required for launch & improves storage and mobility).
Dual redundant navigation and guidance system.
It has a range of up to 2000 km.
Significance
- It will strengthen India’s credible deterrence capabilities, improved manoeuvring and accuracy, unlike earlier Agni missiles.

Agni Class of Missiles:

Agni I	Range of 700-800 km.
Agni II	Range more than 2000 km.
Agni III	Range of more than 2,500 Km
Agni IV	Range is more than 3,500 km and can fire from a road mobile launcher.
Agni-V	The longest of the Agni series, an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a range of over 5,000 km.

Ballistic Missiles

Cruise Missiles

The missile is launched in a ballistic trajectory but with no active propulsion during its actual flight.
Thus in such missiles the trajectory has to be fully determined by a given initial velocity, effects of gravity, air resistance and earth’s motion.

It is a guided missile where the target is pre-set. It is basically used against terrestrial targets.
Such missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high precision.