UPSC Daily Current Affairs| Prelimbits 24-07-2025

Lyriothemis Abrahami

Why in News?

Recently, a new species of dragonfly, Lyriothemis abrahami, was discovered in Kerala, which was previously misidentified as Lyriothemis flava due to superficial similarities.

• Discovered by - Researchers from the Travancore Nature History Society (TNHS).
• Nomenclature - Named after odonatologist Abraham Samuel.
• Scientific name - Lyriothemis abrahami.
• Family – Libellulidae.
• Order – Odonata, insect order that includes dragonflies and damselflies.
  • It increased Kerala’s odonate species count to 191, including 78 endemic species.
• The species was spotted only 4 times in Ponmudi, Kallar, Neyyar and the Peppara wildlife sanctuary.
• Morphology - Exhibits strong dimorphism, with males featuring uniquely shaped hamules and female displaying jet black bodies with yellow triangular spots.

• Habitat - Endemic to Southern and central Western Ghats, with known populations in forest landscapes of Kerala and Karnataka.
• Distribution - Lowland rainforests to mid-elevation evergreen and deciduous forests between 50 m and 1,100 m above sea level.
• Breeding - The new species breeds in phytotelmata, which are small pools of water in tree holes.
• Significance - Indicator of forest health, stressing habitat conservation’s broader ecological benefits.
• Emphasizes the importance of conserving forest microhabitats like tree holes, which serve as critical breeding sites.

Reference

The Hindu| Lyriothemis Abrahami

Jodidara Traditions 

Why in News?

Recently, Jodidara tradition practiced in the Hatti tribes of Himachal Pradesh.

• Jodidara – It is a traditional form of polyandrous marriage practised among the Hatti tribe in Himachal Pradesh.
• Polyandry — Where a woman marries two or more men at the same time, usually brothers.
  • The term derives from Greek Polys, meaning "many," and Andros, meaning "man.”
• Like any conventional wedding, the event was marked by vibrant folk music, dance, and community festivities.
• Unique Ritual
  • Jajda - The wedding is called Jajda, which begins with the bride arriving in a procession to the groom’s village.
  • Seenj - A ritual known as Seenj is performed at the groom’s home, where a priest chants mantras in the local dialect and sprinkles holy water.
• The ceremony ends with the couple being offered jaggery, with blessings from the Kul Devta for a sweet and harmonious life ahead.
• Significance - The polyandry system helped prevent the division of ancestral land among multiple heirs.
• Other reasons include fostering unity among brothers, preserving joint family systems, and ensuring a secure and stable environment in remote, hilly terrains.
• The tradition also helped manage scattered agricultural lands, which required collective, long-term attention.
• Under Indian law, polyandry is not allowed.

Reference

Hindustan Times| Jodidara, Traditional form of Polyandry among the Hatti tribe

South Asia’s Immunization Milestone

Why in News?

According to new data recently released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF for 2024, South Asia achieves record immunization coverage with India, Nepal leads progress.

• Historic Milestone - South Asia recorded its highest-ever immunization coverage for children in 2024, as per new WHO-UNICEF data.
• This achievement is seen as a major milestone in the region's fight against vaccine-preventable diseases.
• India Achievements - India reduced zero-dose children (those who have not received a single vaccine) by 43%, from 1.6 million (2023) to 0.9 million (2024).
  • Still, India accounts for 6.4% of global zero-dose children and nearly half of South Asia's zero-dose cases.
• Nepal Progress - Nepal achieved a 52% reduction in zero-dose children.
• Pakistan Updates - Pakistan recorded its highest-ever DTP3 coverage (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) at 87% in 2024.
• Afghanistan Setback - Afghanistan experienced the lowest immunization coverage show 1% decline in the region.
• DTP Vaccine
  • In South Asia, 92% of infants received the third dose of DTP in 2024 (up 2 percentage points from 2023).
  • First-dose DTP coverage increased from 93% to 95%, surpassing pre-COVID levels.
  • Zero-Dose Reduction - The region as a whole saw zero-dose children drop by 27% i.e. from 2.5 million (2023) to 1.8 million (2024).
• Measles Control
  • First dose of measles vaccine coverage reached 93%, and second dose 88% in 2024 (up from 90% and 87% in 2023).
  • Measles cases fell 39%, from over 90,000 (2023) to about 55,000 (2024).
  • Coverage still below the 95% threshold needed to prevent outbreaks.
• HPV Vaccine
  • HPV coverage for adolescent girls rose from 2% (2023) to 9% (2024) regionally.
  • Bangladesh vaccinated over 7.1 million girls since programmer launch in 2023.
  • Notable increases - Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka.
  • Nepal launched national HPV vaccination (Feb 2025), vaccinating over 1.4 million girls.
  • India rolled out plans for indigenous HPV vaccine developments in later year of 2024.
• Support systems -Progress driven by government investment, policy, frontline/community workers (many women), donor/partner support, digital tools, improved data and outreach programs.
• Remaining Gaps - Despite progress, 2.9 million children in South Asia remain under-vaccinated and are unprotected.
• Future recommendations - UNICEF and WHO urges for
  • Sustained political commitment.
  • Increased domestic immunization funding.
  • Intensive outreach for zero-dose and under-vaccinated children.
  • Reinforced disease surveillance systems.

Reference

The Hindu| South Asia’s Immunization Milestone

Reusable Water Filter with Light and Vibration

Why in News?

Recently, Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) in Mohali, IIT-Dharwad, and IIT-Kharagpur have designed a cheap reusable water filter.

• Need - Dyes such as Congo Red and Methylene Blue are industrial pollutants released into rivers and groundwater causes stomach, skin, and breathing illnesses.
• Exiting filtering methods - These are costly and having higher foot print as they burn through chemicals and electricity.
  • For example - Ozone, Fenton chemistry and other methods work to clean the water.
• Filter specification - First 3D printed thin, sponge-like sheets of polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable plastic often used in compostable cups.
• PLA is naturally water-repelling, So that it was soaked in a mild sodium-hydroxide solution to make it water-loving.
• Made up of - Nanoparticles of bismuth ferrite (BFO) and dipped the prepared PLA sheets into a BFO ink.
• The treated sheets stayed strong through five reuse cycles, losing only about 3% of their cleaning power.
• Mode of operation - Combining both light and vibration yielded piezo-photocatalysis, a process that worked day or night.
• Components –
  • Visible light - Under it, BFO acted like a solar-powered catalyst that split water molecules and created highly reactive radicals that shred organic dye molecules.
  • Ultrasound shaking - BFO’s piezoelectric nature generated an internal electric field that drove the same radical-making reactions even in the dark.
• Working - When light and vibration were used together, the filter removed about 99% of Congo Red and 74% of Methylene Blue in 90 minutes.
  • It also partially cleaned real wastewater collected from a textile plant.
• Capability –Tto understand performance the computer fed by thousands of experimental data points, including dye concentration, catalyst amount, light intensity, and ultrasound frequency.
• Modern algorithms such as random forests, XGBoost, and an artificial neural network are used and got results far beyond the experimental ones.
• Deployment – At near treatment plants.
• Developments underway - For its use in Jal Nigam and Namami Gange projects as well.
• Efforts are underway to make this product more sustainable using plant-derived products.

Reference

The Hindu| Reusable Water Filter with Light and Vibration