UPSC Daily Current Affairs| Prelimbits 07-08-2025

Reintroduction of Asian giant tortoise in Nagaland

Why in News?

Ten Asian giant tortoise has been reintroduced into the Zeliang Community Reserve in Nagaland by the Nagaland Forest Department and the India Turtle Conservation Program (ITCP).

The released tortoises are marked and tagged with a VHF-based telemetry system to study their dispersal and survival in deep rainforests.

• It is the largest tortoise in mainland Asia. They are considered one of the oldest tortoise lineages globally.
• Scientific Name - Manouria emys.
• It is also known as the Asian forest tortoise or Asian brown tortoise and small elephants of the forests.
• Size & weight - They can weigh up to 37 kg and reach a shell length of 60 cm.
• Appearance
  • Shell - Broad, flattened carapace and a large plastron.
  • Limbs - Thick, scaly legs with elephant-like feet, used for digging.
  • Head - Flattened with a sharp beak for tearing vegetation.
  • Color - Grayish-brown as hatchlings, darkening to charcoal as adults.
• Habitat - Hilly, wet tropical and subtropical forests, often found near streams or in damp soil.
• Distribution – These species are found in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia and other places.
• Unique nesting - It is the only tortoise species that builds an above-ground nest.
• Females construct large mounds of leaf litter and guard their nests, protecting their eggs from predators and potentially regulating the incubation temperature.
• Diet – Primarily herbivorous, feeding on leaves, fruits, fungi, bamboo shoots and other vegetation, occasionally consume invertebrates or small amphibians.
• Threats - Habitat loss, especially due to logging, agriculture, forest fires, and hunting for consumption and the illegal pet trade.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN - Critically endangered.
  • CITES - Appendix II
• Significance for ecosystem- They play a vital role in forest health by dispersing seeds, turning over soil, and grazing on plants.
• They are considered a keystone species, meaning their presence is crucial for the health of their ecosystem.

Quick Facts

Reference

The Hindu | Asian giant tortoise

India Electricity Mobility Index

Why in News?

Recently, India launched a Pioneering India Electric Mobility Index (IEMI), first-of-its-kind tool to Track States/UTs Progress in EV Transition.

• Aim – To comprehensively track and benchmark the progress of States and Union Territories (UTs) in achieving their Electric Mobility goals.
• Launched by – Niti Aayog.
• To inform decision-making, foster healthy competition among states, and promote sharing of best practices.
• Score - 0-100 scale.
  • States are grouped into 3 categories based on scores namely, Frontrunners (65-99), Performers (50-64), and Aspirants (0-49).
• Index indicators – The 16 unique performance indicators under 3 thematic categories that form the building blocks of the Indian e-mobility ecosystem.
• Core themes – Transport Electrification Progress to capture demand-side adoption.
• Charging Infrastructure Readiness to track allied charging infrastructure development.
• EV Research and Innovation Status – Covers supply-side ecosystem R&D efforts.

• Top performing states (5)

• Bottom 5 states in index – Sikkim (rank 32), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (33), Nagaland (34), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (35).
• Significance – It will help policy makers, industry and researchers in monitoring EV transition outcomes and aligning with India’s goal for achieving net-zero by 2070.

Reference

1. PIB| India Electricty Mobility Index
2. Niti Aayog| IEM Index

Gyan Bharatam Mission

Why in News?

Recently union government has launched Gyan Bharatam Mission, a major initiative for digitization of manuscripts.

A manuscript is a handwritten composition on paper, bark, cloth, metal, palm leaf or any other material dating back at least seventy-five years that has significant scientific, historical or aesthetic value. Lithographs and printed volumes are not manuscripts.

• Aim – To Survey, Document, Conserve, Digitize, and make accessible more than One Crore Manuscripts located in academic Institutions, Museums, Libraries, and Private collections across India to people.
• To revive its civilizational knowledge traditions for future generations.
• Ministry – Ministry of Culture.
• Under – National Manuscripts Mission (NMM).
• Key objectives – Digitize and catalog more than 10 million manuscripts nationwide.
• Create a National Digital Repository for manuscripts.
• Incorporate Articificial Intelligence, OCR (Optical Character Recognition – technology that converts different types of documents, images, PDFs into machine-readable text),
• blockchain technologies to enable smart access, transcription, and tracking of origins.

Around 80% of manuscripts in India are with private parties.

• Strategic pillars & implementation plan- Scholarly leadership & institutional development – Led by experts in Indology, philology, and conservation.
• Establish a full-time Director (CEO) and a multidisciplinary team.
• Technological integration – Create an AI-assisted platform for digitizing manuscripts.
• Utilize blockchain for provenance tracking and cloud storage for preservation.
• Develop APIs (Application Programming Interface) for connecting with national and international manuscript archives.
• Conservation & capacity building – Set up new labs for conserving palm leaf, birch bark, and paper manuscripts.
• Launch "Pandulipi Mitras," a network of trained volunteers in around 100 districts.
• Public engagement – Create educational modules for schools and universities.
• Offer immersive Virtual Reality/Augumented Reality experiences highlighting manuscript heritage.
• Organize Manuscript Melas and national social media campaigns.
• Timeline Overview (2025–2031) – Phase 1 – Institutional setup, pilot digitization, and training.
• Phase 2 – Launch national repository and activate tech platforms.
• Phase 3 – Expand outreach and integrate with manuscript archives.

Reference

1. PIB| Gyan Bharatam Mission
2. Ministry of culture| GBM

Mahabodhi Temple

Why in News?

Recently, the Supreme Court turned down the plea for exclusive control of the Mahabodhi temple to Buddhists and directed the petitioner to first approach the high court.

• Plea – It challenged the constitutional validity of the 9-member management committee for the temple with a Hindu majority i.e. established by the Bodh Gaya Temple Act, 1949.
• Issues raised – Petitioner claiming that inclusion of members in the committee who are non-Buddhists i.e. Hindus, is violative of protections guaranteed to the Buddhist citizens of India.

Mahabodhi temple

• Location – In Bodh Gaya, Bihar, on the banks of the Niranjana River.
• Sacred site - One of the 4 sacred locations associated with the life of Lord Buddha that he attained enlightenment here.
  • Other Temples - Lumbini in Nepal( Birth place), Sarnath (Dharma-Chakra-Pravartana - 1^st Sermon given) and Kushinagar (Mahaparinirvana- death) in Uttar Pradesh.
• Built by – Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century B.C.
• Recognition – World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2002.
• Architectural influence – Entirely constructed of brick, influencing the development of brick architecture over centuries.
• Specifications – The temple comprises the 50 m high grand Temple, the Vajrasana, sacred Bodhi Tree.
• It is surrounded by numerous ancient Votive stupas, well maintained and protected by inner, middle and outer circular boundaries.
• The Lotus Pond, is located outside the enclosure to the south.
• Entrances from the east and from the north and has a low basement with mouldings decorated with honeysuckle and geese design.
• Curvilinear shikhara or tower of the temple surmounted by amalaka and kalasha (architectural features in the tradition of Indian temples).
• Above the sanctum is the main hall with a shrine containing a statue of Buddha, where senior monks gather to meditate.
• Archaeological significance - In respect of the events associated with the time Lord Buddha spent there, as well as documenting the evolving worship, particularly from emperor Ashoka Era.

Reference

Hindustan Times| Mahabodhi Temple