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Polity & Governance

Centre declares TRF terrorist organisation

The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, was declared a banned organisation.

About

• The group came into existence in 2019 as a proxy of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was involved in numerous terror acts, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
• ‘Terrorist Organisation’ are banned under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Government measures to curb terrorism

• Constitution of a Countering Financing of Terrorism Cell (CFT Cell) in the Ministry of Home Affairs
• Constitution of a Terror Funding and Fake Currency Cell in the National Investigation Agency
• India organised the third ‘No Money For Terror’ Ministerial Conference in New Delhi.

Science & Technology

World’s first vaccine for honeybees gets conditional nod in US

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted a conditional license for a vaccine for honeybees to curb American foulbrood (AFB), a fatal bacterial disease for the insect.

About

• AFB is caused by the spore-forming bacterium Paenibacillus larvae.
• Infected broods usually die at the pre-pupal or pupal stage. 
• The disease cannot be cured, meaning that the destruction of infected colonies and hives or irradiation of infected material is the only way to manage AFB. 

The vaccine

• Dalan Animal Health's vaccine for honeybees contains killed whole-cell Paenibacillus larvae bacteria
• The vaccine technology exposes queen bees to inactive (ie, “dead”) bacteria, which enables the larvae hatched in the hive to resist infection.
• The vaccine is mixed in queen candy — the primary food source for both the queen bees and the attendant bees living in cages. 

Environment

Endangered Asian elephant has lost most of its optimal habitat in Nilgiri Reserve: Study

As per a recent study, the endangered Asian Elephant has lost most of its “optimal” habitat: flat terrain that is easily negotiable in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR).

The Habitat

• The Western Ghats is an escarpment running north–south along the western coastline of India, interrupted towards the south by the low-lying Palghat Gap that separates the northern from the southern elephant populations.
• The northern part of the WG includes the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and its surrounding protected areas.
• The Palghat Gap is a break in the Ghats that is relatively flat and consequently easily negotiable by elephants.
  • However, human settlements and crop cultivation have hindered the movement of the elephants, keeping them confined to the hilly areas.