Ayurveda Gyan Naipunya Initiative (AGNI)

AGNI was recently launched by the Central Council for Research in Ayurveda Sciences (CCRAS) to Promote Innovations by Ayurveda Practitioners.

• AGNI aims to provide a platform to Ayurveda practitioners for reporting their innovative practices & and experiences in various disease conditions.
• It also aims to document the reported successful therapeutic regimens for various disease conditions involving Single drug for the purpose of education and academics.
• Interested Ayurveda practitioners can be identified for collaboration in the creation of a database through applications and capacity building through training in research methods and good clinical practices.
• It allows to undertake research for mainstreaming pragmatic practices through scientific validation and evidence-based appraisal.
• It is an initiative by the Central Council for Research in Ayurveda Sciences (CCRAS), Ministry of Ayush.
• CCRAS will document and publish the reported medical practices and therapeutic regimens for education and academic purposes in consultation with NCISM (National Commission for Indian System of Medicine).
• CCRAS, under Ministry of Ayush is an apex research organization committed to undertaking, coordinating, formulating, development and promotion of research on scientific lines in Ayurveda.
• There are over 500,000 registered Ayurveda practitioners who are mainly practicing in India.

India Water Impact Summit (IWIS)

The 8th Edition of the India Water Impact Summit (IWIS), is a 3 days event to address the issues pertaining to river basin management in India.

• The India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) was first launched in 2012.
• It aims to bring clarity to the scientific, technological, socio-cultural, legal, policy and governance issues pertaining to river basin management in India.
• IWIS is a much sought-after annual event wherein scientific experts, key stakeholders and government representatives discuss the dynamic challenges and opportunities in India’s water and related sectors.
• Separate sessions are held to brainstorm over
  • Key science, technology and policy issues,
  • Elucidate the views of central and state governments,
  • Review new promising technologies and
  • Synchronize the interests of financiers, economists and technology providers to build a robust technological culture.
• The summit is organized by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Center for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga).
• The 8th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) will present an exhibition of past achievements of IWIS and hold intensive expert discussions and held at New Delhi.
• The theme of IWIS 2023 is ‘Development of Land, Water and Rivers'.
• It is aimed at uniting scientific experts, stakeholders, and government representatives to address dynamic challenges and opportunities in India's water sector.

Ghol

The Ghol fish was recently declared as the state fish of Gujarat.

• Ghol is also known as ‘gold fish’ because of its price and demand that is one of the most expensive in the country.
• Blackspotted croaker is the other name of the fish.
• The fish is usually found in the Indo-Pacific region that stretches from the Persian Gulf to the Pacific Ocean.
• In India, this fish is found mostly in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
• Ghol is the state fish of Gujarat and Silver pomfret is the state fish of Maharashtra.
• Selecting a state fish is a consultative process with representatives of all the districts.
• Due to its medicinal values Ghol is one of the most sought-after fish.
• It has high value of its swim bladder, which is rich collagen and is used in the making of cosmetics.
• A swim bladder is a gas-filled organ in the body cavity of some fish. It helps fish stay afloat by adjusting their buoyancy.

Mythimna separate

The Continuous warm temperatures for prolonged periods may have led to the serious Mythimna separate infestation in Assam that damaged around 28,000 hectares of paddy crop in at least 15 districts.

• Mythimna separate is a pest that is known as the ear head cutting caterpillar, rice ear-cutting caterpillar or armyworm.
• It feeds on leaves and can cut off panicles from the base of a crop plant, frequently leaving the field looking like it has been grazed by cattle.
• During an outbreak, the pest multiplies in large numbers and moves in swarms from field to field, like an army, to feed and attack the crops.
• An increase in temperatures with dryness creates a favourable condition for the pest population to increase.
• In India, which is home to 6.83 %of the world’s insect species, a degree Celsius rise in temperature would enable them to expand in presence about 200 kilometre northwards and 40 metres upward in terms of altitude.
• The pest was first reported as a sporadic pest from Tamil Nadu during 1937 and Kerala and Odisha in 1957.
• Sporadic pests are pests that occur in isolated areas during a certain period.

Sturgeon

Recent study reveals that sturgeon sourced from illegal trade are labelled to mislead.

• Sturgeons are any of about 29 species of fishes of the family Acipenseridae (subclass Chondrostei), native to temperate waters of the Northern Hemisphere.
• It is native to lower Danube countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine that produces caviar, has been fished illegally.
• Sturgeons are found in greatest abundance in the rivers of southern Russia and Ukraine and in the fresh waters of North America.
• Most species live in the ocean and ascend rivers, possibly once in several years to spawn in spring or summer.
• A few other Sturgeons are confined to fresh water.
• Sturgeons are the most endangered species group on earth.
• The Global Sturgeon Initiative by the World Wide Fund for Nature aims to save the remaining sturgeon species.
• All 26 remaining sturgeon species are threatened with extinction.
• Sturgeons have been around since the age of the dinosaurs, but are now on the brink of extinction due to overfishing, a flourishing illegal caviar trade and habitat loss.