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Polity & Governance (GS-II)

India accounts for 52%  of world’s new leprosy patients

The Union Health Ministry has devised a strategic road map for achieving zero cases of leprosy by 2030.

• Despite India being declared “Leprosy Eliminated” in 2005, the country still accounts for over half (52%) of the world's new leprosy patients.

About

• Leprosy is a chronic bacterial infection which affects skin, nerves, lungs and eyes.
• To aid the fight against Leprosy in the country and to create awareness about the disease India is marking National Anti–Leprosy Day on January 30.

Government Initiatives to end Leprosy

• ABSULS: Asha – based Surveillance for Leprosy Suspects
• FLC: Focused Leprosy Campaign
• National Strategic Plan and Roadmap for Leprosy
• National Guidelines for AMR in Leprosy

Environment

OmorgusKhandesh

A new beetle species has been discovered in India, according to a paper published in the New Zealand-based journal Zootaxa.

About

• OmorgusKhandesh is a necrophagous and also called a keratin beetle.
• This species belongs to the Trogidae family.
• During the decomposition of a body, blowflies are amongst the first ones to arrive in the early stages.
• Meanwhile, the final successional stage is with the arrival of the keratin feeders, thus their importance in forensic science.
• Significance:The beetle is important for forensic science as it helps detect the time of death of an animal or human. 

Polity & Governance

CCI invokes doctrine of necessity

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) invoked the doctrine of necessity to bypass the quorum to clear six deals.

About

• The term Doctrine of Necessity is a term used to describe the basis on which administrative actions by administrative authority, which are designed to restore order, are found to be constitutional.
• It is an exception to the principle of 'Nemo judex in causa sua'.
• The maxim on which the doctrine is based originated in the writings of the medieval jurist Henry de Bracton, and similar justifications for this kind of administrative action have been advanced by more recent legal authorities, including William Blackstone.

Environment

Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary

The Andhra Pradesh Forest Department is initiating a series of measures to develop Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary.

About

• Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the heart of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• Bordered by Simhachalam hill range on the West and Gambheeram reservoir on the North-east, the sanctuary is a tropical deciduous forest with a canopy of tree cover of mixed composition along with scrubland and meadows. The sanctuary holds a good number of faunal diversity including aves, reptiles and mammals.
• Kambalakonda’s evergreen, deciduous forest has been under the control of the AP Forest Department since 1970. 
• In 2002, it was declared a wildlife sanctuary by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), following which the Kambalakonda Eco Tourism Park was developed.

Environment

India’s first Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) Framework

India’s first Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) framework has been launched in Puducherry.

About         

• Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) framework aims to balance growth alongside sustainable management of ocean resources and coastal environment preservation.
• The framework is a part of the Indo-Norway Integrated Ocean Initiative.
• Puducherry and Lakshadweep were chosen as coastlines to pilot the MSP initiative that grew out of a 2019 memorandum of understanding that envisaged India and Norway collaborating on implementing MSP in the oceanic space.