Prelims Focus 6th September 2025

Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary

In News: Odisha’s Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary is officially set to become India’s newest tiger reserve after receiving approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in July 2025. The sanctuary covers an area of 804 sq km and has undergone a remarkable ecological and community-driven transformation, making it well-equipped to support tiger populations.

Key Highlights of Debrigarh Tiger Reserve:

• Ecological Revival: The sanctuary now has a thriving prey base including gaur (Indian bison), sambar, spotted deer, wild boar, and a good population of leopards and wild dogs, supporting a self-sustaining ecosystem with 40% of animal herds consisting of newborns.
• Community Conservation Model: Over 400 families were voluntarily relocated with comprehensive compensation and rehabilitation, and now local communities actively participate in tourism and conservation, with many running businesses and employed in eco-tourism.
• Unique Geography and Biodiversity: Debrigarh shares a long boundary with the Hirakud Wetland, a Ramsar site, creating a rare blend of forests, wetlands, and grasslands. The sanctuary hosts over 300 bird species, including 120 migratory species, and is a major birding and eco-tourism destination.
• Cultural Significance: The area holds historical importance as the base of freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai, adding heritage value alongside natural conservation.
• Tourism and Economy: Eco-tourism revenues crossed INR 5 crore in 2025, with plans to increase visitors from 85,000 to one million annually. The sanctuary is also India’s first dark sky tourism site, offering eco-friendly stargazing experiences.

NIRF Rankings 2025

In News: The Union Minister of Education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, released the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) India Rankings 2025 on September 4, 2025. This release marked the 10th edition of the India Rankings, which assess and rank higher education institutions across multiple categories including Overall, Universities, Colleges, Research Institutions, and specific subject areas such as Engineering, Management, Medical, Law, and others.

Key highlights of the NIRF 2025 release:

• IIT Madras topped the overall category for the seventh consecutive year.
• IISc Bengaluru secured the second spot overall.

• Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad was ranked the top management institution.

• AIIMS Delhi ranked first in the medical category.

• National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, topped the law category.
• The rankings included a new category focused on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• The framework assesses institutions on parameters like teaching quality, research output, graduation outcomes, inclusivity, and perception.
• Over 14,000 institutions participated, reflecting the framework’s credibility in driving quality and innovation in Indian higher education.

SAMHiTA Conference

In News: In New Delhi, India’s Minister of External Affairs opened the SAMHiTA Conference on South Asia’s Manuscript Traditions and Mathematical Contributions.

• The goal of SAMHiTA is to establish a digital repository and relational database of Indian and South Asian manuscripts kept in libraries, archives, and other institutions. through collaboration with institutional partners in repositories outside of India.
• Concentration areas include literature in manuscripts, mathematics, astronomy, linguistics, philosophy, and medicine.
• Relevance: Contributes to the restoration of India’s intellectual heritage, protects against cultural loss, and promotes historical research in science.

Reference Material for Enhanced Anti-Doping Testing

In News:  For modern anti-doping testing, India has created Methandienone Long-Term Metabolite (LTM), a unique and highly pure Reference Material (RM).

• Reference Materials (RMs) are crucial for precise analytical testing because they are highly pure and scientifically described versions of drug substances or their metabolites.
• They are essential to the anti-doping effort since they can identify more than 450 chemicals now banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
• These RMs are manufactured by only a handful of companies around the world, making them rare and frequently pricey.
• These metabolites aid in detecting athletes who have used Methandienone, even if they stopped using it months or years before the test.

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