Tso Kar Wetland Complex
- India has added its 42nd wetland Tso Kar Wetland Complex of the Union Territory of the Ladakh to the list of Ramsar sites.
- It is a high-altitude wetland complex situated in the Changthang region of Ladakh. It has two water bodies,
- Startsapuk Tso – Freshwater Lake
- Tso Kar (White Lake) – Hypersaline Lake
- It is called white lake, because of the white salt efflorescence found on the margins due to the evaporation of highly saline water.
- The Tso Kar Basin is an A1 category Important Bird Area (IBA).
- To know more about Ramsar sites, click here.
Kilauea Volcano
- This volcano erupted from at least two vents inside its deep summit crater after a two-year break.
- It is found within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
- It is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, which has erupted almost continuously between 1983 and 2018.
- It had a lava lake in its crater from the last decade of that eruption.
- When erupting, Kilauea spews large amount of sulfur dioxide.
- This sulfur dioxide forms volcanic smog, or vog, when it mixes with oxygen, sunlight and other gases in the air.
Leprosy in Himachal
- Himachal Pradesh is doing a door-to-door surveillance campaign to screen the state’s entire population for symptoms of leprosy.
- For the first time in years, none of the new cases detected this year in Himachal had visible deformity or ‘Grade 2 disability’.
- This indicates that the earlier a patient is diagnosed, the fewer the disability and disfigurement.
Leprosy
- It is chronic, curable infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae.
- It affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, mucosal surfaces of the upper respiratory tract, and eyes.
- Symptoms include light-coloured or red skin patches with reduced sensation, numbness and weakness in hands and feet.
- Claw hands, drop foot, eye damage, skin nodules, lesions and ulcers are some of the visible impairments associated with leprosy.
- The disease is treatable with multi-drug therapy within 6-12 months, which combines three drugs to kill the pathogen and cure the victim.
- India officially became leprosy free in 2005.
IFFCO Ammonia Leak
- A major ammonia gas leakage has happened at the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) unit at Prayagraj.
- Ammonia is stored for industrial use in liquid form under high pressure or in gaseous form at low temperature.
- It is the tri-hydroid of nitrogen (NH3), which is a building block for ammonium nitrate that is a high-nitrogen fertiliser in agriculture.
- Even in moderate concentration, ammonia causes irritation to eyes, skin, nose and throat, as it forms ammonium hydroxide upon contact with moisture present in the different body parts.
- [Ammonium hydroxide is very caustic and disrupts the cell membrane lipids, ultimately leading to cellular destruction.
- As cell proteins break down, water is extracted, resulting in an inflammatory response that causes further damage.]
- When inhaled in excess, Ammonia affects the lungs and may cause chemical pneumonitis - lung inflammation caused by aspirating or inhaling irritants.
Development Finance Institution
- The government plans to set up a Development Finance Institution (DFI) to mobilise the funding for the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP).
- A DFI is needed for promoting infrastructure funding, and banks are currently not suited for lending for such long term projects.
- It is needed to provide funding and to enhance credit rating of projects.
- During the pre-liberalised era, India had DFIs which were primarily engaged in development of industry in the country.
- The first DFI was operationalised in 1948 with the setting up of the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) Ltd.
- Previously, Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) and Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) were DFIs.
- To know about National Infrastructure Pipeline, click here.
Source: The Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Business Line, Business Today, Times of India, Tribune India
