Prelims Focus – 5th June 2024

Ht basmati rice varieties

In News: The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has introduced commercially viable herbicide-tolerant (Ht) varieties of basmati rice.

• • The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has commercially launched two herbicide-tolerant (Ht) basmati rice varieties, Pusa Basmati 1979 and Pusa Basmati 1985, to conserve water, reduce greenhouse gases, and increase rice productivity.
  • These non-genetically modified (non-GM) varieties are designed to allow direct application of herbicides like Imazethapyr, which eradicates specific types of weeds.
• Key Features and Benefits
  • Water Conservation: Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) method, which skips the transplantation process, is expected to save 30% of water compared to traditional methods.
  • Labour Savings: DSR eliminates the need for nursery preparation, puddling, and transplanting, reducing labour costs by approximately Rs 3,000 per acre.
  • Increased Productivity: The new varieties are expected to increase rice productivity by reducing the time required for crop growth and development.
  • Weed Control: Imazethapyr, a broad-spectrum herbicide, can be applied directly to the crop without affecting the rice, making it more effective and cost-efficient compared to other herbicides

Forest eagle owl 

In News: The Maharashtra Pench Tiger Reserve has documented the initial photographic evidence of the forest eagle owl, alternatively recognized as the spot-bellied eagle owl.

• • The forest eagle owl, also known as the spot-bellied eagle owl (Bubo nipalensis), is a large bird of prey found in dense evergreen and moist deciduous forests, typically near water, in wet temperate, and riparian forests. 
  • It is a nocturnal species that spends most of its day hidden in dense foliage, but it has been observed on the move and even hunting during the day in areas with minimal human disturbance.

• Key Features and Habitat

• • Large Size: The forest eagle owl is a large species of owl, measuring from 50 to 65 cm (20 to 26 in) in length and weighing between 1.3 to 1.5 kg (2.9 to 3.3 lb).
  • Distinctive Appearance: It has a silver-gray adult plumage with a large yellow bill, black eyes, and sweeping ear tufts. Juveniles are much paler, almost white, with shorter tufts.
  • Habitat: The species is found in dense wet lowland and hill forests, often near water sources. It is known to inhabit areas with high canopy and is typically seen in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
  • Behaviour: The forest eagle owl is nocturnal but can be active during the day in areas with minimal human disturbance. It is known to make low-frequency calls, which are thought to play a crucial role in communication and territorial defence

Phenome India-CSIR Health Cohort Knowledgebase’ (PI-CheCK)

In News: The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has recently announced the conclusion of the first phase of its longitudinal health monitoring project, the ‘Phenome India-CSIR Health Cohort Knowledgebase’ (PI-CheCK).

• • The PI-CHeCK project aims to evaluate threat factors in non-communicable (cardio-metabolic) illnesses within the Indian populace.
  • This health cohort look at will gather complete records, along with medical questionnaires, way of life and dietary conduct, body composition measurements, scanning-based tests, blood biochemistry, and molecular assay- based statistics.

• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

• • CSIR is a R&D corporation recognised for its reducing facet R&D understanding base in numerous S&T areas.
  • It was hooked up as an independent frame in 1942 and Headquartered in New Delhi.
  • CSIR has a dynamic network of 37 country wide laboratories, 39 outreach facilities, 1 Innovation Complexes, and three gadgets with a pan-India presence.
  • The CSIR laboratories focus on topics ranging from the genome to geology, food to fuel, minerals to substances, and so on.

PraVaHa

In News: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software named Parallel RANS Solver for Aerospace Vehicle Aero-thermo-dynamic Analysis (PraVaHa).

• It can simulate external and internal flows on launch vehicles, winged and non winged re-entry vehicles.
• Any aerospace car while transferring through the Earth’s ecosystem during release or re-entry is subjected to excessive aerodynamic and aerothermal loads in terms of external pressure and heat flux.
• PraVaHa has been used significantly in the Gaganyaan software for aerodynamic analysis of human-rated release automobiles, viz, HLVM3, Crew Escape System (CES), and CM.
• Currently, the PraVaHa code is operational to simulate airflow for Perfect Gas & Real Gas conditions.

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