\n\n 01<\/span><\/p>\nNo Provision in Forest Rights Act to Obtain Gram Sabha Consent for Projects: Ministry of Tribal Affairs<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-II \u00b7 Governance \u2014 Statutory Bodies, Centre\u2013State\/Inter-Ministerial Coordination<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu \u00b7 The Indian Express<\/span>\n <\/p>\nA jurisdictional stand-off between the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Power Ministry over “gram sabha consent” for forest clearance has surfaced a genuine gap between what the Forest Rights Act says and how it is administratively implemented \u2014 with major hydropower projects like Teesta-IV stalled as a result.<\/p>\n\n\u25c8 Background & Context<\/p>\nThe Ministry of Tribal Affairs told the Power Ministry’s NHPC desk on 31 August that the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA) has “no provision” for obtaining gram sabha consent for Stage-II forest clearance, and that such matters therefore do not fall under its purview \u2014 despite the FRA naming it as the nodal ministry for the law’s implementation.<\/p>\nLegally, the FRA’s text does not use the phrase “gram sabha consent” for diverting forest land.<\/p>\nBut the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 rules require all FRA processes \u2014 identifying claimants, recognising and vesting their rights, then securing a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the gram sabhas concerned \u2014 to be completed before forest diversion can be formally certified.<\/p>\nThis NOC process is what has come to be known, in practice, as “gram sabha consent.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWhat triggered the dispute<\/p>\n\nA Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Undertakings report (3 August, chaired by BJP MP Baijayanta Panda) on NHPC Limited found the average forest-clearance time for under-construction projects to be 106 months<\/b>.<\/li>\nThe committee identified the gram sabha consent requirement as the “single most critical bottleneck” \u2014 citing the Teesta-IV Hydro-Electric Project as indefinitely stalled over pending consent from a small minority of Gram Panchayats.<\/li>\nNHPC’s own recommendation, endorsed by the committee: replace unanimous consent with a “qualified super-majority” \u2014 70\u201375% of affected gram sabhas \u2014 for hydropower projects of national importance.<\/li>\nThe Power Ministry was accordingly asked to discuss this proposal’s feasibility with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs \u2014 whose reply effectively disclaimed jurisdiction over the very question.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\nFigure 1 \u2014 Where “gram sabha consent” actually sits in the forest-clearance process<\/p>\n \n \n Identify FRA<\/text>\n claimants<\/text><\/p>\n\n \n Recognise &<\/text>\n vest rights<\/text><\/p>\n\n \n Gram sabha NOC<\/text>\n (“consent”) \u2014<\/text>\n disputed jurisdiction<\/text>\n 100% vs 70\u201375%<\/text><\/p>\n\n \n Diversion<\/text>\n certificate<\/text><\/p>\n The dispute: who owns the NOC stage?<\/text>\n Ministry of Tribal Affairs \u2014 nodal ministry for FRA under law,<\/text>\n but disclaims role in “such matters” of consent<\/text>\n Power Ministry \/ NHPC \u2014 seeks a lower consent threshold<\/text>\n to unblock stalled hydropower projects like Teesta-IV<\/text>\n <\/svg><\/p>\nThe FRA’s text is silent on “consent,” but the Forest Conservation Act rules effectively make the gram sabha NOC a mandatory gate \u2014 the exact stage now caught in an inter-ministerial jurisdictional dispute.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nNodal ministry for FRA:<\/b> Ministry of Tribal Affairs (by statute).<\/li>\nGoverning laws:<\/b> FRA, 2006 (rights recognition) + Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and its rules (clearance procedure).<\/li>\nAverage clearance time (under-construction NHPC projects):<\/b> 106 months, per the Standing Committee report.<\/li>\nNHPC’s proposed fix:<\/b> “qualified super-majority” consent of 70\u201375% of affected gram sabhas, instead of the current de facto 100% requirement.<\/li>\nPrecedent pattern:<\/b> the Ministry has taken a similar “no role” position in other cases, including the Great Nicobar mega-infrastructure project and FRA implementation disputes in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\nThe critical view<\/p>\n\nAccountability vacuum:<\/b> if the nodal ministry disclaims responsibility for the consent stage, no Union body is left clearly accountable for resolving genuine grievances of forest-dwelling communities at that stage.<\/li>\nDilution risk:<\/b> a shift to a 70\u201375% super-majority threshold would let large infrastructure projects proceed over the objection of a substantial minority of directly affected gram sabhas \u2014 a real tension between “ease of clearance” and the FRA’s rights-based design.<\/li>\nPrecedent of the Act’s intent:<\/b> the FRA was itself enacted (2006) to correct historical injustice from decades of forest-dwellers’ rights being overridden without consultation; recurring calls to dilute the consent stage risk re-creating the very problem the law addressed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nTerms to know<\/p>\n\nStage-I \/ Stage-II forest clearance<\/b> \u2014 in-principle and final approval stages under the Forest Conservation Act for diverting forest land to non-forest use.<\/li>\nGram sabha<\/b> \u2014 the village assembly of all adult residents of a revenue village; distinct from the elected gram panchayat.<\/li>\nNo-Objection Certificate (NOC)<\/b> \u2014 the gram sabha’s formal clearance that FRA processes are complete, required before forest diversion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nThe Forest Rights Act, 2006 does not explicitly mandate “gram sabha consent,” yet it has become a de facto requirement in forest-clearance procedure. Discuss the implications of diluting this requirement for a “qualified super-majority” in the context of balancing infrastructure development with tribal rights. 15 marks \u00b7 250 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n \n \n \n \n \n <\/svg>\n International RelationsGeneral Studies Paper II<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n\n 02<\/span><\/p>\nGlacial Collapse Unlikely to Halt China’s Mega Dam on the Yarlung Zangbo (Brahmaputra)<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-II \u00b7 IR \u2014 India\u2013China Relations, Transboundary Rivers<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nChina is proceeding with construction of what it calls the “project of the century” \u2014 a mega hydropower dam on the lower Yarlung Zangbo in a seismically active stretch of Tibet near the Indian border \u2014 despite fresh concerns raised by a devastating glacial-lake collapse on the Nepal\u2013China border.<\/p>\n\n\u25c8 Background & Context<\/p>\nThe Yarlung Zangbo Lower Reaches Hydropower Project was included in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for renewable energy, released on 23 July \u2014 a month before the 26 August glacial-lake outburst flood and mudslides that renewed downstream safety concerns.<\/p>\nConstruction began at a groundbreaking ceremony in July 2025, led by Premier Li Qiang, with a total announced investment of 1.2 trillion Yuan (roughly \u20b914 lakh crore) for five power stations. A new State-run entity, the China Yajiang Group, has been set up to run the project.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\nFigure 2 \u2014 The Yarlung Zangbo\/Brahmaputra’s course from Tibet into India<\/p>\n <\/p>\nThe dam site sits near the river’s “Great Bend,” just before it drops sharply in elevation and enters Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang\/Brahmaputra. Map courtesy source newspaper graphic; reproduced with credit for educational use.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWhy India is watching closely<\/p>\n\nThe project sits in a seismically active zone near the India border, on a river that becomes the Siang\/Brahmaputra on entering Arunachal Pradesh and later Assam \u2014 a lifeline river for both agriculture and flood management in India’s Northeast.<\/li>\nKey unknowns for India: how much water the reservoir will store, how the associated tunnel will affect downstream flows, and the project’s broader ecological footprint \u2014 compounded by a persistent lack of public information from Beijing.<\/li>\nChina’s Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing visited Nyingchi, near the border, in April, stressing “quality first, safety as the foundation” and strict adherence to construction and ecological-protection standards \u2014 assurances India cannot independently verify given the information gap.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe critical view<\/p>\n\nNo binding water-sharing treaty:<\/b> unlike the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, India and China have no treaty governing the Brahmaputra’s waters \u2014 cooperation rests on non-binding data-sharing MoUs, last renewed periodically and vulnerable to suspension during periods of tension.<\/li>\nSeismic risk compounding downstream risk:<\/b> the region’s seismic activity, combined with the recent glacial-lake collapse on the Nepal-China border, raises the stakes of any future dam-related mishap for downstream Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.<\/li>\nStrategic leverage concern:<\/b> upstream control over a shared river’s flow is a long-standing strategic-vulnerability concern for India, independent of whether current Chinese assurances on ecological safeguards hold.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nTerms to know<\/p>\n\nYarlung Zangbo<\/b> \u2014 the Tibetan name for the river that becomes the Siang in Arunachal Pradesh and the Brahmaputra in Assam.<\/li>\nGlacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF)<\/b> \u2014 a sudden release of water from a glacier-dammed or moraine-dammed lake, a growing Himalayan hazard linked to glacial retreat.<\/li>\n15th Five-Year Plan<\/b> \u2014 China’s current national economic plan (2026\u20132030 cycle), under which this project is formally listed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nExamine the strategic and ecological concerns for India arising from China’s upstream hydropower projects on the Yarlung Zangbo. In the absence of a bilateral water-sharing treaty, what mechanisms are available to India to safeguard its interests? 15 marks \u00b7 250 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 03<\/span><\/p>\nSCO’s 26th Summit at Bishkek Marks 25 Years of the Grouping<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-II \u00b7 IR \u2014 International Groupings and Agreements<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nThe Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s 26th summit at Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic (31 August\u20131 September), marked 25 years since the grouping’s founding and was the first SCO summit since the U.S.\u2013Israel military action against Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n\n\u25c8 Background & Context<\/p>\nThe SCO was launched on 15 June 2001 by the “Shanghai Five” \u2014 China, Russia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017. The grouping now runs 29 charter bodies, including the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Government, and over 40 working mechanisms.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nKey outcomes of the Bishkek Declaration<\/p>\n\nExpressed “deep concern,” condemned the military strikes on Iran, reaffirmed support for Iran’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” and criticised the U.S. and Israel for violating international law and the UN Charter.<\/li>\nCondoled the assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei and welcomed the multi-country-mediated peace process (including SCO member Pakistan).<\/li>\nAdvocated members’ “inalienable right” to develop atomic energy for peaceful purposes \u2014 an indirect signal of support for Iran in its nuclear negotiations with the U.S.<\/li>\nAsserted that lasting West Asian stability requires a “just settlement” of the Palestine question.<\/li>\nFlagged the “unilateral and unlimited build-up of global missile defence systems” as destabilising, and termed unauthorised satellite internet services on member states’ territory a violation of international law (widely read as a reference to Starlink’s presence in eastern Ukraine and Iran).<\/li>\nCalled for an “inclusive government” in Afghanistan; announced steps toward an SCO Development Bank and continued advocacy for greater use of local currencies in trade.<\/li>\nIncluded strong language “strongly condemning” terrorism, separatism and extremism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nIndia’s diplomatic engagement<\/p>\n\nPM Modi called for “no double standards” in fighting terrorism and urged peace and stability in Afghanistan, citing India’s continued relief-material supply to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.<\/li>\nHe spoke in favour of greater connectivity between SCO members’ markets “while respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity” \u2014 read as an implicit reference to India’s objection to the China\u2013Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.<\/li>\nIndia stayed away from endorsing China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), even as other member states supported it and called for BRI\u2013Eurasian Economic Union alignment \u2014 a point of visible dissonance within the grouping.<\/li>\nThe SCO has also served India’s China outreach: the 2024 Kazan Summit began re-engagement after the Galwan setback, followed by a Tianjin meeting (2025) where both sides agreed on an “Early Harvest” proposal on boundary delimitation and resumed border trade through three points \u2014 notable given continuing strain from Operation Sindoor (May 2025).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nFounded:<\/b> 15 June 2001, Shanghai \u2014 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan.<\/li>\nIndia & Pakistan:<\/b> joined as full members in 2017.<\/li>\nCharter bodies:<\/b> 29, including Council of Heads of State\/Government, Council of National Coordinators.<\/li>\n2026 summit:<\/b> 26th summit, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, 31 August\u20131 September.<\/li>\nNext chair:<\/b> Pakistan, which will host the next SCO summit.<\/li>\nNo collective-defence component<\/b> \u2014 unlike NATO; the SCO functions primarily as a political, security and economic dialogue platform.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\nThe critical view<\/p>\n\nInternal dissonance:<\/b> India’s non-endorsement of BRI amid broader member support for BRI\u2013EAEU alignment underlines that SCO consensus often papers over real strategic divergence among members.<\/li>\nPakistan’s incoming chairship<\/b> raises an unresolved question of whether India will attend the next summit at the head-of-government\/state level, given post-Pahalgam, post-Sindoar strain and India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.<\/li>\nThe SCO’s continuing utility for India lies less in binding outcomes and more in providing a structured venue for engaging China and Russia multilaterally amid an unsettled India-U.S. tariff relationship.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\n“The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation offers India a platform for engagement more than a mechanism for binding outcomes.” Discuss with reference to India’s objectives at the SCO amid its evolving relations with China and Pakistan. 15 marks \u00b7 250 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 04<\/span><\/p>\nYoga and Ayurveda Become Part of India’s Global Health Diplomacy<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-II \u00b7 IR \u2014 Bilateral\/Trade Agreements, Health Diplomacy<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nAYUSH has moved from a wellness-sector identity to a formal strand of India’s trade diplomacy, with recent Free Trade Agreements building in dedicated provisions for practitioner mobility, standards and market access.<\/p>\n\n\u25c8 Background & Context<\/p>\nThe India\u2013Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), operationalised in June 2026, contains what the government calls its first comprehensive commitment on traditional medicine across all modes of supply.<\/p>\nThe India\u2013New Zealand FTA has a dedicated “health and traditional medicine” annex, including a visa quota for AYUSH practitioners.<\/p>\nThe India\u2013EU FTA, signed in January 2026, goes further \u2014 allowing AYUSH practitioners to use Indian qualifications in EU states with no existing regulatory framework, and providing for AYUSH wellness centres and clinics abroad.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nAYUSH visa:<\/b> introduced 2023; 3,375 foreign nationals travelled on AYUSH\/e-AYUSH visas (Jan 2023\u2013Dec 2025), plus 579 on attendant visas.<\/li>\nEarlier data:<\/b> 1,646 AYUSH visas issued to nationals of 75 countries (Jan 2024\u2013Feb 2025).<\/li>\nForeign medical arrivals<\/b> (overall, not AYUSH-specific): rose from 1.83 lakh (2020) to 6.44 lakh (2024).<\/li>\nAYUSH Fellowship Scheme:<\/b> 260 students from 32 countries studying AYUSH in Indian institutions.<\/li>\nKey source markets cited:<\/b> Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, UAE, US, Germany, Russia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\nThe critical view<\/p>\n\nData gap:<\/b> the government does not publish a consolidated, AYUSH-specific patient count \u2014 the widely cited 6.44 lakh figure is for overall foreign medical arrivals, making it difficult to assess AYUSH’s actual share of India’s medical-value-travel market.<\/li>\nStandards question:<\/b> experts cited in the report stress that formal trade recognition will not translate into real international demand without credible standards, regulation and practitioner-quality assurance in destination markets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nDiscuss the significance of incorporating AYUSH provisions into India’s Free Trade Agreements. What challenges must be addressed for AYUSH to gain credibility in regulated global healthcare markets? 10 marks \u00b7 150 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n \n \n \n <\/svg>\n Environment & EcologyGeneral Studies Paper III<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n 05<\/span><\/p>\nStriped Hyenas Help Keep India Clean, But Remain Misunderstood<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment \u2014 Species Conservation<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu \u00b7 Opinion (Prarthana Sen)<\/span>\n <\/p>\nDespite enjoying the highest legal protection under India’s wildlife law, the striped hyena \u2014 a keystone scavenger and one of the country’s least-studied carnivores \u2014 lacks a unified national conservation plan.<\/p>\n\nFigure 3 \u2014 Indian striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena)<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRepresentative image.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nGlobal population estimate:<\/b> 5,000\u201314,000; India’s share: 1,000\u20133,000 \u2014 possibly the largest national population anywhere, though India lacks an official census.<\/li>\nLegal status:<\/b> highest protection category under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.<\/li>\nState-level efforts cited:<\/b> West Bengal’s Wildlife Information and Nature Guide Society (awareness drives, Wildlife Trust of India-funded); Tamil Nadu’s \u20b914 lakh allocation for lesser-known endangered species including the striped hyena.<\/li>\nNo national action plan<\/b> currently unites these fragmented State-level efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\nWhy the hyena matters ecologically<\/p>\n\nAs an obligate\/facultative scavenger of carrion, it removes decaying meat \u2014 a hotbed of pathogens \u2014 functioning as a natural public-health agent; its decline risks destabilising local ecosystems.<\/li>\nCultural beliefs (e.g., hyenas as “mounts of witches” in some folklore, per Wildlife SOS) actively hamper conservation efforts and awareness-building.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe critical view<\/p>\n\nInadequate population and distribution data is the core roadblock \u2014 without it, safe havens cannot be scientifically identified; the animal’s shy, nocturnal, elusive nature makes standard census methods difficult to apply.<\/li>\nThe piece points to India’s successful nationwide snow leopard population assessment as proof that a similarly ambitious hyena census is technically feasible if prioritised.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nDespite enjoying the highest legal protection, several lesser-known Indian species like the striped hyena lack a coordinated national conservation strategy. Discuss the challenges in mainstreaming conservation for such “unglamorous” species. 10 marks \u00b7 150 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 06<\/span><\/p>\nDragonflies Are Bellwethers of Earth’s Ecosystems<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment \u2014 Biodiversity, Ecological Indicators<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nIndia is home to roughly 600 Odonata species (dragonflies and damselflies), whose split aquatic-then-aerial life cycle makes them unusually sensitive indicators of water and land-use quality \u2014 even as ecological surveys report shrinking populations and missing species.<\/p>\n\nFigure 4 \u2014 Dragonflies (order Odonata) in a wetland habitat<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRepresentative image.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWhy they are bellwethers<\/p>\n\nOdonata split their life cycle: nymphs live in wetlands, ponds or streams; adults are aerial. A healthy nymph population signals well-managed water bodies and farming with limited pesticide use.<\/li>\nNymphs are voracious predators \u2014 a single growing nymph can consume around 100 mosquito larvae a day; in paddy fields, they also prey on aquatic stages of crop pests, while adults hunt leafhoppers and other pests.<\/li>\nThey are highly vulnerable to systemic pesticides such as fipronil, which are absorbed by plants and render the whole plant toxic to insects \u2014 a key driver of population decline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nIndia’s Odonata diversity:<\/b> ~600 species; new species most often reported from the Northeast and the Western Ghats (Karnataka\u2013Kerala\u2013Tamil Nadu tri-junction).<\/li>\nAncient lineage:<\/b> ancestral dragonfly relatives existed ~300 million years ago, with wingspans up to 72 cm.<\/li>\nVision:<\/b> dragonflies have 16+ genes coding for visual opsins (colour\/light-detecting proteins) versus just four in humans \u2014 giving extremely sensitive vision including ultraviolet perception (research published in PNAS).<\/li>\nClimate-vulnerable endemic example cited:<\/b> the blue hawklet (Hylaeothemis apicalis) of the Western Ghats, affected by shifting drought\u2013flood cycles.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nExplain why indicator species such as dragonflies are important for ecosystem monitoring. Discuss the anthropogenic pressures threatening Odonata populations in India. 10 marks \u00b7 150 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 07<\/span><\/p>\nBhutan Leads Southeast Asia Region in Eliminating Rabies<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment\/Health \u2014 Zoonotic Disease, One Health<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nBhutan has become the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to be validated as having eliminated dog-transmitted human rabies, with its last rabies death recorded in June 2023.<\/p>\n\nFigure 5 \u2014 Bhutan, sandwiched between India and China<\/p>\n <\/p>\nMap: WHO\/public reference cartography; reproduced for educational use.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nGlobal rabies toll:<\/b> ~59,000 deaths\/year; about a third occur in India.<\/li>\nEndemic in India<\/b> except the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands; ~96% of mortality\/morbidity linked to dog bites.<\/li>\n
\n\n 02<\/span><\/p>\nGlacial Collapse Unlikely to Halt China’s Mega Dam on the Yarlung Zangbo (Brahmaputra)<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-II \u00b7 IR \u2014 India\u2013China Relations, Transboundary Rivers<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nChina is proceeding with construction of what it calls the “project of the century” \u2014 a mega hydropower dam on the lower Yarlung Zangbo in a seismically active stretch of Tibet near the Indian border \u2014 despite fresh concerns raised by a devastating glacial-lake collapse on the Nepal\u2013China border.<\/p>\n\n\u25c8 Background & Context<\/p>\nThe Yarlung Zangbo Lower Reaches Hydropower Project was included in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for renewable energy, released on 23 July \u2014 a month before the 26 August glacial-lake outburst flood and mudslides that renewed downstream safety concerns.<\/p>\nConstruction began at a groundbreaking ceremony in July 2025, led by Premier Li Qiang, with a total announced investment of 1.2 trillion Yuan (roughly \u20b914 lakh crore) for five power stations. A new State-run entity, the China Yajiang Group, has been set up to run the project.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\nFigure 2 \u2014 The Yarlung Zangbo\/Brahmaputra’s course from Tibet into India<\/p>\n <\/p>\nThe dam site sits near the river’s “Great Bend,” just before it drops sharply in elevation and enters Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang\/Brahmaputra. Map courtesy source newspaper graphic; reproduced with credit for educational use.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWhy India is watching closely<\/p>\n\nThe project sits in a seismically active zone near the India border, on a river that becomes the Siang\/Brahmaputra on entering Arunachal Pradesh and later Assam \u2014 a lifeline river for both agriculture and flood management in India’s Northeast.<\/li>\nKey unknowns for India: how much water the reservoir will store, how the associated tunnel will affect downstream flows, and the project’s broader ecological footprint \u2014 compounded by a persistent lack of public information from Beijing.<\/li>\nChina’s Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing visited Nyingchi, near the border, in April, stressing “quality first, safety as the foundation” and strict adherence to construction and ecological-protection standards \u2014 assurances India cannot independently verify given the information gap.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe critical view<\/p>\n\nNo binding water-sharing treaty:<\/b> unlike the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, India and China have no treaty governing the Brahmaputra’s waters \u2014 cooperation rests on non-binding data-sharing MoUs, last renewed periodically and vulnerable to suspension during periods of tension.<\/li>\nSeismic risk compounding downstream risk:<\/b> the region’s seismic activity, combined with the recent glacial-lake collapse on the Nepal-China border, raises the stakes of any future dam-related mishap for downstream Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.<\/li>\nStrategic leverage concern:<\/b> upstream control over a shared river’s flow is a long-standing strategic-vulnerability concern for India, independent of whether current Chinese assurances on ecological safeguards hold.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nTerms to know<\/p>\n\nYarlung Zangbo<\/b> \u2014 the Tibetan name for the river that becomes the Siang in Arunachal Pradesh and the Brahmaputra in Assam.<\/li>\nGlacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF)<\/b> \u2014 a sudden release of water from a glacier-dammed or moraine-dammed lake, a growing Himalayan hazard linked to glacial retreat.<\/li>\n15th Five-Year Plan<\/b> \u2014 China’s current national economic plan (2026\u20132030 cycle), under which this project is formally listed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nExamine the strategic and ecological concerns for India arising from China’s upstream hydropower projects on the Yarlung Zangbo. In the absence of a bilateral water-sharing treaty, what mechanisms are available to India to safeguard its interests? 15 marks \u00b7 250 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 03<\/span><\/p>\nSCO’s 26th Summit at Bishkek Marks 25 Years of the Grouping<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-II \u00b7 IR \u2014 International Groupings and Agreements<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nThe Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s 26th summit at Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic (31 August\u20131 September), marked 25 years since the grouping’s founding and was the first SCO summit since the U.S.\u2013Israel military action against Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n\n\u25c8 Background & Context<\/p>\nThe SCO was launched on 15 June 2001 by the “Shanghai Five” \u2014 China, Russia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017. The grouping now runs 29 charter bodies, including the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Government, and over 40 working mechanisms.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nKey outcomes of the Bishkek Declaration<\/p>\n\nExpressed “deep concern,” condemned the military strikes on Iran, reaffirmed support for Iran’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” and criticised the U.S. and Israel for violating international law and the UN Charter.<\/li>\nCondoled the assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei and welcomed the multi-country-mediated peace process (including SCO member Pakistan).<\/li>\nAdvocated members’ “inalienable right” to develop atomic energy for peaceful purposes \u2014 an indirect signal of support for Iran in its nuclear negotiations with the U.S.<\/li>\nAsserted that lasting West Asian stability requires a “just settlement” of the Palestine question.<\/li>\nFlagged the “unilateral and unlimited build-up of global missile defence systems” as destabilising, and termed unauthorised satellite internet services on member states’ territory a violation of international law (widely read as a reference to Starlink’s presence in eastern Ukraine and Iran).<\/li>\nCalled for an “inclusive government” in Afghanistan; announced steps toward an SCO Development Bank and continued advocacy for greater use of local currencies in trade.<\/li>\nIncluded strong language “strongly condemning” terrorism, separatism and extremism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nIndia’s diplomatic engagement<\/p>\n\nPM Modi called for “no double standards” in fighting terrorism and urged peace and stability in Afghanistan, citing India’s continued relief-material supply to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.<\/li>\nHe spoke in favour of greater connectivity between SCO members’ markets “while respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity” \u2014 read as an implicit reference to India’s objection to the China\u2013Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.<\/li>\nIndia stayed away from endorsing China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), even as other member states supported it and called for BRI\u2013Eurasian Economic Union alignment \u2014 a point of visible dissonance within the grouping.<\/li>\nThe SCO has also served India’s China outreach: the 2024 Kazan Summit began re-engagement after the Galwan setback, followed by a Tianjin meeting (2025) where both sides agreed on an “Early Harvest” proposal on boundary delimitation and resumed border trade through three points \u2014 notable given continuing strain from Operation Sindoor (May 2025).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nFounded:<\/b> 15 June 2001, Shanghai \u2014 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan.<\/li>\nIndia & Pakistan:<\/b> joined as full members in 2017.<\/li>\nCharter bodies:<\/b> 29, including Council of Heads of State\/Government, Council of National Coordinators.<\/li>\n2026 summit:<\/b> 26th summit, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, 31 August\u20131 September.<\/li>\nNext chair:<\/b> Pakistan, which will host the next SCO summit.<\/li>\nNo collective-defence component<\/b> \u2014 unlike NATO; the SCO functions primarily as a political, security and economic dialogue platform.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\nThe critical view<\/p>\n\nInternal dissonance:<\/b> India’s non-endorsement of BRI amid broader member support for BRI\u2013EAEU alignment underlines that SCO consensus often papers over real strategic divergence among members.<\/li>\nPakistan’s incoming chairship<\/b> raises an unresolved question of whether India will attend the next summit at the head-of-government\/state level, given post-Pahalgam, post-Sindoar strain and India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.<\/li>\nThe SCO’s continuing utility for India lies less in binding outcomes and more in providing a structured venue for engaging China and Russia multilaterally amid an unsettled India-U.S. tariff relationship.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\n“The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation offers India a platform for engagement more than a mechanism for binding outcomes.” Discuss with reference to India’s objectives at the SCO amid its evolving relations with China and Pakistan. 15 marks \u00b7 250 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 04<\/span><\/p>\nYoga and Ayurveda Become Part of India’s Global Health Diplomacy<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-II \u00b7 IR \u2014 Bilateral\/Trade Agreements, Health Diplomacy<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nAYUSH has moved from a wellness-sector identity to a formal strand of India’s trade diplomacy, with recent Free Trade Agreements building in dedicated provisions for practitioner mobility, standards and market access.<\/p>\n\n\u25c8 Background & Context<\/p>\nThe India\u2013Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), operationalised in June 2026, contains what the government calls its first comprehensive commitment on traditional medicine across all modes of supply.<\/p>\nThe India\u2013New Zealand FTA has a dedicated “health and traditional medicine” annex, including a visa quota for AYUSH practitioners.<\/p>\nThe India\u2013EU FTA, signed in January 2026, goes further \u2014 allowing AYUSH practitioners to use Indian qualifications in EU states with no existing regulatory framework, and providing for AYUSH wellness centres and clinics abroad.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nAYUSH visa:<\/b> introduced 2023; 3,375 foreign nationals travelled on AYUSH\/e-AYUSH visas (Jan 2023\u2013Dec 2025), plus 579 on attendant visas.<\/li>\nEarlier data:<\/b> 1,646 AYUSH visas issued to nationals of 75 countries (Jan 2024\u2013Feb 2025).<\/li>\nForeign medical arrivals<\/b> (overall, not AYUSH-specific): rose from 1.83 lakh (2020) to 6.44 lakh (2024).<\/li>\nAYUSH Fellowship Scheme:<\/b> 260 students from 32 countries studying AYUSH in Indian institutions.<\/li>\nKey source markets cited:<\/b> Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, UAE, US, Germany, Russia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\nThe critical view<\/p>\n\nData gap:<\/b> the government does not publish a consolidated, AYUSH-specific patient count \u2014 the widely cited 6.44 lakh figure is for overall foreign medical arrivals, making it difficult to assess AYUSH’s actual share of India’s medical-value-travel market.<\/li>\nStandards question:<\/b> experts cited in the report stress that formal trade recognition will not translate into real international demand without credible standards, regulation and practitioner-quality assurance in destination markets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nDiscuss the significance of incorporating AYUSH provisions into India’s Free Trade Agreements. What challenges must be addressed for AYUSH to gain credibility in regulated global healthcare markets? 10 marks \u00b7 150 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n \n \n \n <\/svg>\n Environment & EcologyGeneral Studies Paper III<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n 05<\/span><\/p>\nStriped Hyenas Help Keep India Clean, But Remain Misunderstood<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment \u2014 Species Conservation<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu \u00b7 Opinion (Prarthana Sen)<\/span>\n <\/p>\nDespite enjoying the highest legal protection under India’s wildlife law, the striped hyena \u2014 a keystone scavenger and one of the country’s least-studied carnivores \u2014 lacks a unified national conservation plan.<\/p>\n\nFigure 3 \u2014 Indian striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena)<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRepresentative image.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nGlobal population estimate:<\/b> 5,000\u201314,000; India’s share: 1,000\u20133,000 \u2014 possibly the largest national population anywhere, though India lacks an official census.<\/li>\nLegal status:<\/b> highest protection category under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.<\/li>\nState-level efforts cited:<\/b> West Bengal’s Wildlife Information and Nature Guide Society (awareness drives, Wildlife Trust of India-funded); Tamil Nadu’s \u20b914 lakh allocation for lesser-known endangered species including the striped hyena.<\/li>\nNo national action plan<\/b> currently unites these fragmented State-level efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\nWhy the hyena matters ecologically<\/p>\n\nAs an obligate\/facultative scavenger of carrion, it removes decaying meat \u2014 a hotbed of pathogens \u2014 functioning as a natural public-health agent; its decline risks destabilising local ecosystems.<\/li>\nCultural beliefs (e.g., hyenas as “mounts of witches” in some folklore, per Wildlife SOS) actively hamper conservation efforts and awareness-building.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe critical view<\/p>\n\nInadequate population and distribution data is the core roadblock \u2014 without it, safe havens cannot be scientifically identified; the animal’s shy, nocturnal, elusive nature makes standard census methods difficult to apply.<\/li>\nThe piece points to India’s successful nationwide snow leopard population assessment as proof that a similarly ambitious hyena census is technically feasible if prioritised.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nDespite enjoying the highest legal protection, several lesser-known Indian species like the striped hyena lack a coordinated national conservation strategy. Discuss the challenges in mainstreaming conservation for such “unglamorous” species. 10 marks \u00b7 150 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 06<\/span><\/p>\nDragonflies Are Bellwethers of Earth’s Ecosystems<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment \u2014 Biodiversity, Ecological Indicators<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nIndia is home to roughly 600 Odonata species (dragonflies and damselflies), whose split aquatic-then-aerial life cycle makes them unusually sensitive indicators of water and land-use quality \u2014 even as ecological surveys report shrinking populations and missing species.<\/p>\n\nFigure 4 \u2014 Dragonflies (order Odonata) in a wetland habitat<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRepresentative image.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWhy they are bellwethers<\/p>\n\nOdonata split their life cycle: nymphs live in wetlands, ponds or streams; adults are aerial. A healthy nymph population signals well-managed water bodies and farming with limited pesticide use.<\/li>\nNymphs are voracious predators \u2014 a single growing nymph can consume around 100 mosquito larvae a day; in paddy fields, they also prey on aquatic stages of crop pests, while adults hunt leafhoppers and other pests.<\/li>\nThey are highly vulnerable to systemic pesticides such as fipronil, which are absorbed by plants and render the whole plant toxic to insects \u2014 a key driver of population decline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nIndia’s Odonata diversity:<\/b> ~600 species; new species most often reported from the Northeast and the Western Ghats (Karnataka\u2013Kerala\u2013Tamil Nadu tri-junction).<\/li>\nAncient lineage:<\/b> ancestral dragonfly relatives existed ~300 million years ago, with wingspans up to 72 cm.<\/li>\nVision:<\/b> dragonflies have 16+ genes coding for visual opsins (colour\/light-detecting proteins) versus just four in humans \u2014 giving extremely sensitive vision including ultraviolet perception (research published in PNAS).<\/li>\nClimate-vulnerable endemic example cited:<\/b> the blue hawklet (Hylaeothemis apicalis) of the Western Ghats, affected by shifting drought\u2013flood cycles.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nExplain why indicator species such as dragonflies are important for ecosystem monitoring. Discuss the anthropogenic pressures threatening Odonata populations in India. 10 marks \u00b7 150 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 07<\/span><\/p>\nBhutan Leads Southeast Asia Region in Eliminating Rabies<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment\/Health \u2014 Zoonotic Disease, One Health<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nBhutan has become the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to be validated as having eliminated dog-transmitted human rabies, with its last rabies death recorded in June 2023.<\/p>\n\nFigure 5 \u2014 Bhutan, sandwiched between India and China<\/p>\n <\/p>\nMap: WHO\/public reference cartography; reproduced for educational use.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nGlobal rabies toll:<\/b> ~59,000 deaths\/year; about a third occur in India.<\/li>\nEndemic in India<\/b> except the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands; ~96% of mortality\/morbidity linked to dog bites.<\/li>\n
\n\n 03<\/span><\/p>\nSCO’s 26th Summit at Bishkek Marks 25 Years of the Grouping<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-II \u00b7 IR \u2014 International Groupings and Agreements<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nThe Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s 26th summit at Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic (31 August\u20131 September), marked 25 years since the grouping’s founding and was the first SCO summit since the U.S.\u2013Israel military action against Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n\n\u25c8 Background & Context<\/p>\nThe SCO was launched on 15 June 2001 by the “Shanghai Five” \u2014 China, Russia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017. The grouping now runs 29 charter bodies, including the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Government, and over 40 working mechanisms.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nKey outcomes of the Bishkek Declaration<\/p>\n\nExpressed “deep concern,” condemned the military strikes on Iran, reaffirmed support for Iran’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” and criticised the U.S. and Israel for violating international law and the UN Charter.<\/li>\nCondoled the assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei and welcomed the multi-country-mediated peace process (including SCO member Pakistan).<\/li>\nAdvocated members’ “inalienable right” to develop atomic energy for peaceful purposes \u2014 an indirect signal of support for Iran in its nuclear negotiations with the U.S.<\/li>\nAsserted that lasting West Asian stability requires a “just settlement” of the Palestine question.<\/li>\nFlagged the “unilateral and unlimited build-up of global missile defence systems” as destabilising, and termed unauthorised satellite internet services on member states’ territory a violation of international law (widely read as a reference to Starlink’s presence in eastern Ukraine and Iran).<\/li>\nCalled for an “inclusive government” in Afghanistan; announced steps toward an SCO Development Bank and continued advocacy for greater use of local currencies in trade.<\/li>\nIncluded strong language “strongly condemning” terrorism, separatism and extremism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nIndia’s diplomatic engagement<\/p>\n\nPM Modi called for “no double standards” in fighting terrorism and urged peace and stability in Afghanistan, citing India’s continued relief-material supply to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.<\/li>\nHe spoke in favour of greater connectivity between SCO members’ markets “while respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity” \u2014 read as an implicit reference to India’s objection to the China\u2013Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.<\/li>\nIndia stayed away from endorsing China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), even as other member states supported it and called for BRI\u2013Eurasian Economic Union alignment \u2014 a point of visible dissonance within the grouping.<\/li>\nThe SCO has also served India’s China outreach: the 2024 Kazan Summit began re-engagement after the Galwan setback, followed by a Tianjin meeting (2025) where both sides agreed on an “Early Harvest” proposal on boundary delimitation and resumed border trade through three points \u2014 notable given continuing strain from Operation Sindoor (May 2025).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nFounded:<\/b> 15 June 2001, Shanghai \u2014 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan.<\/li>\nIndia & Pakistan:<\/b> joined as full members in 2017.<\/li>\nCharter bodies:<\/b> 29, including Council of Heads of State\/Government, Council of National Coordinators.<\/li>\n2026 summit:<\/b> 26th summit, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, 31 August\u20131 September.<\/li>\nNext chair:<\/b> Pakistan, which will host the next SCO summit.<\/li>\nNo collective-defence component<\/b> \u2014 unlike NATO; the SCO functions primarily as a political, security and economic dialogue platform.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\nThe critical view<\/p>\n\nInternal dissonance:<\/b> India’s non-endorsement of BRI amid broader member support for BRI\u2013EAEU alignment underlines that SCO consensus often papers over real strategic divergence among members.<\/li>\nPakistan’s incoming chairship<\/b> raises an unresolved question of whether India will attend the next summit at the head-of-government\/state level, given post-Pahalgam, post-Sindoar strain and India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.<\/li>\nThe SCO’s continuing utility for India lies less in binding outcomes and more in providing a structured venue for engaging China and Russia multilaterally amid an unsettled India-U.S. tariff relationship.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\n“The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation offers India a platform for engagement more than a mechanism for binding outcomes.” Discuss with reference to India’s objectives at the SCO amid its evolving relations with China and Pakistan. 15 marks \u00b7 250 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 04<\/span><\/p>\nYoga and Ayurveda Become Part of India’s Global Health Diplomacy<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-II \u00b7 IR \u2014 Bilateral\/Trade Agreements, Health Diplomacy<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nAYUSH has moved from a wellness-sector identity to a formal strand of India’s trade diplomacy, with recent Free Trade Agreements building in dedicated provisions for practitioner mobility, standards and market access.<\/p>\n\n\u25c8 Background & Context<\/p>\nThe India\u2013Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), operationalised in June 2026, contains what the government calls its first comprehensive commitment on traditional medicine across all modes of supply.<\/p>\nThe India\u2013New Zealand FTA has a dedicated “health and traditional medicine” annex, including a visa quota for AYUSH practitioners.<\/p>\nThe India\u2013EU FTA, signed in January 2026, goes further \u2014 allowing AYUSH practitioners to use Indian qualifications in EU states with no existing regulatory framework, and providing for AYUSH wellness centres and clinics abroad.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nAYUSH visa:<\/b> introduced 2023; 3,375 foreign nationals travelled on AYUSH\/e-AYUSH visas (Jan 2023\u2013Dec 2025), plus 579 on attendant visas.<\/li>\nEarlier data:<\/b> 1,646 AYUSH visas issued to nationals of 75 countries (Jan 2024\u2013Feb 2025).<\/li>\nForeign medical arrivals<\/b> (overall, not AYUSH-specific): rose from 1.83 lakh (2020) to 6.44 lakh (2024).<\/li>\nAYUSH Fellowship Scheme:<\/b> 260 students from 32 countries studying AYUSH in Indian institutions.<\/li>\nKey source markets cited:<\/b> Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, UAE, US, Germany, Russia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\nThe critical view<\/p>\n\nData gap:<\/b> the government does not publish a consolidated, AYUSH-specific patient count \u2014 the widely cited 6.44 lakh figure is for overall foreign medical arrivals, making it difficult to assess AYUSH’s actual share of India’s medical-value-travel market.<\/li>\nStandards question:<\/b> experts cited in the report stress that formal trade recognition will not translate into real international demand without credible standards, regulation and practitioner-quality assurance in destination markets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nDiscuss the significance of incorporating AYUSH provisions into India’s Free Trade Agreements. What challenges must be addressed for AYUSH to gain credibility in regulated global healthcare markets? 10 marks \u00b7 150 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n \n \n \n <\/svg>\n Environment & EcologyGeneral Studies Paper III<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n 05<\/span><\/p>\nStriped Hyenas Help Keep India Clean, But Remain Misunderstood<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment \u2014 Species Conservation<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu \u00b7 Opinion (Prarthana Sen)<\/span>\n <\/p>\nDespite enjoying the highest legal protection under India’s wildlife law, the striped hyena \u2014 a keystone scavenger and one of the country’s least-studied carnivores \u2014 lacks a unified national conservation plan.<\/p>\n\nFigure 3 \u2014 Indian striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena)<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRepresentative image.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nGlobal population estimate:<\/b> 5,000\u201314,000; India’s share: 1,000\u20133,000 \u2014 possibly the largest national population anywhere, though India lacks an official census.<\/li>\nLegal status:<\/b> highest protection category under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.<\/li>\nState-level efforts cited:<\/b> West Bengal’s Wildlife Information and Nature Guide Society (awareness drives, Wildlife Trust of India-funded); Tamil Nadu’s \u20b914 lakh allocation for lesser-known endangered species including the striped hyena.<\/li>\nNo national action plan<\/b> currently unites these fragmented State-level efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\nWhy the hyena matters ecologically<\/p>\n\nAs an obligate\/facultative scavenger of carrion, it removes decaying meat \u2014 a hotbed of pathogens \u2014 functioning as a natural public-health agent; its decline risks destabilising local ecosystems.<\/li>\nCultural beliefs (e.g., hyenas as “mounts of witches” in some folklore, per Wildlife SOS) actively hamper conservation efforts and awareness-building.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe critical view<\/p>\n\nInadequate population and distribution data is the core roadblock \u2014 without it, safe havens cannot be scientifically identified; the animal’s shy, nocturnal, elusive nature makes standard census methods difficult to apply.<\/li>\nThe piece points to India’s successful nationwide snow leopard population assessment as proof that a similarly ambitious hyena census is technically feasible if prioritised.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nDespite enjoying the highest legal protection, several lesser-known Indian species like the striped hyena lack a coordinated national conservation strategy. Discuss the challenges in mainstreaming conservation for such “unglamorous” species. 10 marks \u00b7 150 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 06<\/span><\/p>\nDragonflies Are Bellwethers of Earth’s Ecosystems<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment \u2014 Biodiversity, Ecological Indicators<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nIndia is home to roughly 600 Odonata species (dragonflies and damselflies), whose split aquatic-then-aerial life cycle makes them unusually sensitive indicators of water and land-use quality \u2014 even as ecological surveys report shrinking populations and missing species.<\/p>\n\nFigure 4 \u2014 Dragonflies (order Odonata) in a wetland habitat<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRepresentative image.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWhy they are bellwethers<\/p>\n\nOdonata split their life cycle: nymphs live in wetlands, ponds or streams; adults are aerial. A healthy nymph population signals well-managed water bodies and farming with limited pesticide use.<\/li>\nNymphs are voracious predators \u2014 a single growing nymph can consume around 100 mosquito larvae a day; in paddy fields, they also prey on aquatic stages of crop pests, while adults hunt leafhoppers and other pests.<\/li>\nThey are highly vulnerable to systemic pesticides such as fipronil, which are absorbed by plants and render the whole plant toxic to insects \u2014 a key driver of population decline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nIndia’s Odonata diversity:<\/b> ~600 species; new species most often reported from the Northeast and the Western Ghats (Karnataka\u2013Kerala\u2013Tamil Nadu tri-junction).<\/li>\nAncient lineage:<\/b> ancestral dragonfly relatives existed ~300 million years ago, with wingspans up to 72 cm.<\/li>\nVision:<\/b> dragonflies have 16+ genes coding for visual opsins (colour\/light-detecting proteins) versus just four in humans \u2014 giving extremely sensitive vision including ultraviolet perception (research published in PNAS).<\/li>\nClimate-vulnerable endemic example cited:<\/b> the blue hawklet (Hylaeothemis apicalis) of the Western Ghats, affected by shifting drought\u2013flood cycles.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nExplain why indicator species such as dragonflies are important for ecosystem monitoring. Discuss the anthropogenic pressures threatening Odonata populations in India. 10 marks \u00b7 150 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 07<\/span><\/p>\nBhutan Leads Southeast Asia Region in Eliminating Rabies<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment\/Health \u2014 Zoonotic Disease, One Health<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nBhutan has become the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to be validated as having eliminated dog-transmitted human rabies, with its last rabies death recorded in June 2023.<\/p>\n\nFigure 5 \u2014 Bhutan, sandwiched between India and China<\/p>\n <\/p>\nMap: WHO\/public reference cartography; reproduced for educational use.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nGlobal rabies toll:<\/b> ~59,000 deaths\/year; about a third occur in India.<\/li>\nEndemic in India<\/b> except the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands; ~96% of mortality\/morbidity linked to dog bites.<\/li>\n
\n\n 04<\/span><\/p>\nYoga and Ayurveda Become Part of India’s Global Health Diplomacy<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-II \u00b7 IR \u2014 Bilateral\/Trade Agreements, Health Diplomacy<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nAYUSH has moved from a wellness-sector identity to a formal strand of India’s trade diplomacy, with recent Free Trade Agreements building in dedicated provisions for practitioner mobility, standards and market access.<\/p>\n\n\u25c8 Background & Context<\/p>\nThe India\u2013Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), operationalised in June 2026, contains what the government calls its first comprehensive commitment on traditional medicine across all modes of supply.<\/p>\nThe India\u2013New Zealand FTA has a dedicated “health and traditional medicine” annex, including a visa quota for AYUSH practitioners.<\/p>\nThe India\u2013EU FTA, signed in January 2026, goes further \u2014 allowing AYUSH practitioners to use Indian qualifications in EU states with no existing regulatory framework, and providing for AYUSH wellness centres and clinics abroad.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nAYUSH visa:<\/b> introduced 2023; 3,375 foreign nationals travelled on AYUSH\/e-AYUSH visas (Jan 2023\u2013Dec 2025), plus 579 on attendant visas.<\/li>\nEarlier data:<\/b> 1,646 AYUSH visas issued to nationals of 75 countries (Jan 2024\u2013Feb 2025).<\/li>\nForeign medical arrivals<\/b> (overall, not AYUSH-specific): rose from 1.83 lakh (2020) to 6.44 lakh (2024).<\/li>\nAYUSH Fellowship Scheme:<\/b> 260 students from 32 countries studying AYUSH in Indian institutions.<\/li>\nKey source markets cited:<\/b> Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, UAE, US, Germany, Russia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\nThe critical view<\/p>\n\nData gap:<\/b> the government does not publish a consolidated, AYUSH-specific patient count \u2014 the widely cited 6.44 lakh figure is for overall foreign medical arrivals, making it difficult to assess AYUSH’s actual share of India’s medical-value-travel market.<\/li>\nStandards question:<\/b> experts cited in the report stress that formal trade recognition will not translate into real international demand without credible standards, regulation and practitioner-quality assurance in destination markets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nDiscuss the significance of incorporating AYUSH provisions into India’s Free Trade Agreements. What challenges must be addressed for AYUSH to gain credibility in regulated global healthcare markets? 10 marks \u00b7 150 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n \n \n \n <\/svg>\n Environment & EcologyGeneral Studies Paper III<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n 05<\/span><\/p>\nStriped Hyenas Help Keep India Clean, But Remain Misunderstood<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment \u2014 Species Conservation<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu \u00b7 Opinion (Prarthana Sen)<\/span>\n <\/p>\nDespite enjoying the highest legal protection under India’s wildlife law, the striped hyena \u2014 a keystone scavenger and one of the country’s least-studied carnivores \u2014 lacks a unified national conservation plan.<\/p>\n\nFigure 3 \u2014 Indian striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena)<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRepresentative image.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nGlobal population estimate:<\/b> 5,000\u201314,000; India’s share: 1,000\u20133,000 \u2014 possibly the largest national population anywhere, though India lacks an official census.<\/li>\nLegal status:<\/b> highest protection category under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.<\/li>\nState-level efforts cited:<\/b> West Bengal’s Wildlife Information and Nature Guide Society (awareness drives, Wildlife Trust of India-funded); Tamil Nadu’s \u20b914 lakh allocation for lesser-known endangered species including the striped hyena.<\/li>\nNo national action plan<\/b> currently unites these fragmented State-level efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\nWhy the hyena matters ecologically<\/p>\n\nAs an obligate\/facultative scavenger of carrion, it removes decaying meat \u2014 a hotbed of pathogens \u2014 functioning as a natural public-health agent; its decline risks destabilising local ecosystems.<\/li>\nCultural beliefs (e.g., hyenas as “mounts of witches” in some folklore, per Wildlife SOS) actively hamper conservation efforts and awareness-building.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe critical view<\/p>\n\nInadequate population and distribution data is the core roadblock \u2014 without it, safe havens cannot be scientifically identified; the animal’s shy, nocturnal, elusive nature makes standard census methods difficult to apply.<\/li>\nThe piece points to India’s successful nationwide snow leopard population assessment as proof that a similarly ambitious hyena census is technically feasible if prioritised.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nDespite enjoying the highest legal protection, several lesser-known Indian species like the striped hyena lack a coordinated national conservation strategy. Discuss the challenges in mainstreaming conservation for such “unglamorous” species. 10 marks \u00b7 150 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 06<\/span><\/p>\nDragonflies Are Bellwethers of Earth’s Ecosystems<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment \u2014 Biodiversity, Ecological Indicators<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nIndia is home to roughly 600 Odonata species (dragonflies and damselflies), whose split aquatic-then-aerial life cycle makes them unusually sensitive indicators of water and land-use quality \u2014 even as ecological surveys report shrinking populations and missing species.<\/p>\n\nFigure 4 \u2014 Dragonflies (order Odonata) in a wetland habitat<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRepresentative image.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWhy they are bellwethers<\/p>\n\nOdonata split their life cycle: nymphs live in wetlands, ponds or streams; adults are aerial. A healthy nymph population signals well-managed water bodies and farming with limited pesticide use.<\/li>\nNymphs are voracious predators \u2014 a single growing nymph can consume around 100 mosquito larvae a day; in paddy fields, they also prey on aquatic stages of crop pests, while adults hunt leafhoppers and other pests.<\/li>\nThey are highly vulnerable to systemic pesticides such as fipronil, which are absorbed by plants and render the whole plant toxic to insects \u2014 a key driver of population decline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nIndia’s Odonata diversity:<\/b> ~600 species; new species most often reported from the Northeast and the Western Ghats (Karnataka\u2013Kerala\u2013Tamil Nadu tri-junction).<\/li>\nAncient lineage:<\/b> ancestral dragonfly relatives existed ~300 million years ago, with wingspans up to 72 cm.<\/li>\nVision:<\/b> dragonflies have 16+ genes coding for visual opsins (colour\/light-detecting proteins) versus just four in humans \u2014 giving extremely sensitive vision including ultraviolet perception (research published in PNAS).<\/li>\nClimate-vulnerable endemic example cited:<\/b> the blue hawklet (Hylaeothemis apicalis) of the Western Ghats, affected by shifting drought\u2013flood cycles.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nExplain why indicator species such as dragonflies are important for ecosystem monitoring. Discuss the anthropogenic pressures threatening Odonata populations in India. 10 marks \u00b7 150 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 07<\/span><\/p>\nBhutan Leads Southeast Asia Region in Eliminating Rabies<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment\/Health \u2014 Zoonotic Disease, One Health<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nBhutan has become the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to be validated as having eliminated dog-transmitted human rabies, with its last rabies death recorded in June 2023.<\/p>\n\nFigure 5 \u2014 Bhutan, sandwiched between India and China<\/p>\n <\/p>\nMap: WHO\/public reference cartography; reproduced for educational use.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nGlobal rabies toll:<\/b> ~59,000 deaths\/year; about a third occur in India.<\/li>\nEndemic in India<\/b> except the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands; ~96% of mortality\/morbidity linked to dog bites.<\/li>\n
\n\n 05<\/span><\/p>\nStriped Hyenas Help Keep India Clean, But Remain Misunderstood<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment \u2014 Species Conservation<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu \u00b7 Opinion (Prarthana Sen)<\/span>\n <\/p>\nDespite enjoying the highest legal protection under India’s wildlife law, the striped hyena \u2014 a keystone scavenger and one of the country’s least-studied carnivores \u2014 lacks a unified national conservation plan.<\/p>\n\nFigure 3 \u2014 Indian striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena)<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRepresentative image.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nGlobal population estimate:<\/b> 5,000\u201314,000; India’s share: 1,000\u20133,000 \u2014 possibly the largest national population anywhere, though India lacks an official census.<\/li>\nLegal status:<\/b> highest protection category under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.<\/li>\nState-level efforts cited:<\/b> West Bengal’s Wildlife Information and Nature Guide Society (awareness drives, Wildlife Trust of India-funded); Tamil Nadu’s \u20b914 lakh allocation for lesser-known endangered species including the striped hyena.<\/li>\nNo national action plan<\/b> currently unites these fragmented State-level efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\nWhy the hyena matters ecologically<\/p>\n\nAs an obligate\/facultative scavenger of carrion, it removes decaying meat \u2014 a hotbed of pathogens \u2014 functioning as a natural public-health agent; its decline risks destabilising local ecosystems.<\/li>\nCultural beliefs (e.g., hyenas as “mounts of witches” in some folklore, per Wildlife SOS) actively hamper conservation efforts and awareness-building.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe critical view<\/p>\n\nInadequate population and distribution data is the core roadblock \u2014 without it, safe havens cannot be scientifically identified; the animal’s shy, nocturnal, elusive nature makes standard census methods difficult to apply.<\/li>\nThe piece points to India’s successful nationwide snow leopard population assessment as proof that a similarly ambitious hyena census is technically feasible if prioritised.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nDespite enjoying the highest legal protection, several lesser-known Indian species like the striped hyena lack a coordinated national conservation strategy. Discuss the challenges in mainstreaming conservation for such “unglamorous” species. 10 marks \u00b7 150 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 06<\/span><\/p>\nDragonflies Are Bellwethers of Earth’s Ecosystems<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment \u2014 Biodiversity, Ecological Indicators<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nIndia is home to roughly 600 Odonata species (dragonflies and damselflies), whose split aquatic-then-aerial life cycle makes them unusually sensitive indicators of water and land-use quality \u2014 even as ecological surveys report shrinking populations and missing species.<\/p>\n\nFigure 4 \u2014 Dragonflies (order Odonata) in a wetland habitat<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRepresentative image.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWhy they are bellwethers<\/p>\n\nOdonata split their life cycle: nymphs live in wetlands, ponds or streams; adults are aerial. A healthy nymph population signals well-managed water bodies and farming with limited pesticide use.<\/li>\nNymphs are voracious predators \u2014 a single growing nymph can consume around 100 mosquito larvae a day; in paddy fields, they also prey on aquatic stages of crop pests, while adults hunt leafhoppers and other pests.<\/li>\nThey are highly vulnerable to systemic pesticides such as fipronil, which are absorbed by plants and render the whole plant toxic to insects \u2014 a key driver of population decline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nIndia’s Odonata diversity:<\/b> ~600 species; new species most often reported from the Northeast and the Western Ghats (Karnataka\u2013Kerala\u2013Tamil Nadu tri-junction).<\/li>\nAncient lineage:<\/b> ancestral dragonfly relatives existed ~300 million years ago, with wingspans up to 72 cm.<\/li>\nVision:<\/b> dragonflies have 16+ genes coding for visual opsins (colour\/light-detecting proteins) versus just four in humans \u2014 giving extremely sensitive vision including ultraviolet perception (research published in PNAS).<\/li>\nClimate-vulnerable endemic example cited:<\/b> the blue hawklet (Hylaeothemis apicalis) of the Western Ghats, affected by shifting drought\u2013flood cycles.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nExplain why indicator species such as dragonflies are important for ecosystem monitoring. Discuss the anthropogenic pressures threatening Odonata populations in India. 10 marks \u00b7 150 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 07<\/span><\/p>\nBhutan Leads Southeast Asia Region in Eliminating Rabies<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment\/Health \u2014 Zoonotic Disease, One Health<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nBhutan has become the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to be validated as having eliminated dog-transmitted human rabies, with its last rabies death recorded in June 2023.<\/p>\n\nFigure 5 \u2014 Bhutan, sandwiched between India and China<\/p>\n <\/p>\nMap: WHO\/public reference cartography; reproduced for educational use.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nGlobal rabies toll:<\/b> ~59,000 deaths\/year; about a third occur in India.<\/li>\nEndemic in India<\/b> except the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands; ~96% of mortality\/morbidity linked to dog bites.<\/li>\n
\n\n 06<\/span><\/p>\nDragonflies Are Bellwethers of Earth’s Ecosystems<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment \u2014 Biodiversity, Ecological Indicators<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nIndia is home to roughly 600 Odonata species (dragonflies and damselflies), whose split aquatic-then-aerial life cycle makes them unusually sensitive indicators of water and land-use quality \u2014 even as ecological surveys report shrinking populations and missing species.<\/p>\n\nFigure 4 \u2014 Dragonflies (order Odonata) in a wetland habitat<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRepresentative image.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWhy they are bellwethers<\/p>\n\nOdonata split their life cycle: nymphs live in wetlands, ponds or streams; adults are aerial. A healthy nymph population signals well-managed water bodies and farming with limited pesticide use.<\/li>\nNymphs are voracious predators \u2014 a single growing nymph can consume around 100 mosquito larvae a day; in paddy fields, they also prey on aquatic stages of crop pests, while adults hunt leafhoppers and other pests.<\/li>\nThey are highly vulnerable to systemic pesticides such as fipronil, which are absorbed by plants and render the whole plant toxic to insects \u2014 a key driver of population decline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nIndia’s Odonata diversity:<\/b> ~600 species; new species most often reported from the Northeast and the Western Ghats (Karnataka\u2013Kerala\u2013Tamil Nadu tri-junction).<\/li>\nAncient lineage:<\/b> ancestral dragonfly relatives existed ~300 million years ago, with wingspans up to 72 cm.<\/li>\nVision:<\/b> dragonflies have 16+ genes coding for visual opsins (colour\/light-detecting proteins) versus just four in humans \u2014 giving extremely sensitive vision including ultraviolet perception (research published in PNAS).<\/li>\nClimate-vulnerable endemic example cited:<\/b> the blue hawklet (Hylaeothemis apicalis) of the Western Ghats, affected by shifting drought\u2013flood cycles.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\n\u270e Mains Practice Question<\/p>\nExplain why indicator species such as dragonflies are important for ecosystem monitoring. Discuss the anthropogenic pressures threatening Odonata populations in India. 10 marks \u00b7 150 words<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n 07<\/span><\/p>\nBhutan Leads Southeast Asia Region in Eliminating Rabies<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment\/Health \u2014 Zoonotic Disease, One Health<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nBhutan has become the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to be validated as having eliminated dog-transmitted human rabies, with its last rabies death recorded in June 2023.<\/p>\n\nFigure 5 \u2014 Bhutan, sandwiched between India and China<\/p>\n <\/p>\nMap: WHO\/public reference cartography; reproduced for educational use.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nGlobal rabies toll:<\/b> ~59,000 deaths\/year; about a third occur in India.<\/li>\nEndemic in India<\/b> except the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands; ~96% of mortality\/morbidity linked to dog bites.<\/li>\n
\n\n 07<\/span><\/p>\nBhutan Leads Southeast Asia Region in Eliminating Rabies<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n GS-III \u00b7 Environment\/Health \u2014 Zoonotic Disease, One Health<\/span>\n Prelims + Mains<\/span>\n The Hindu<\/span>\n <\/p>\nBhutan has become the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to be validated as having eliminated dog-transmitted human rabies, with its last rabies death recorded in June 2023.<\/p>\n\nFigure 5 \u2014 Bhutan, sandwiched between India and China<\/p>\n <\/p>\nMap: WHO\/public reference cartography; reproduced for educational use.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\u25a4 Facts worth remembering<\/p>\n\nGlobal rabies toll:<\/b> ~59,000 deaths\/year; about a third occur in India.<\/li>\nEndemic in India<\/b> except the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands; ~96% of mortality\/morbidity linked to dog bites.<\/li>\n