Cloned Desi Gir Female Calf

 

Relevance in UPSC:

Important For UPSC Prelims & Mains:  About Desi Gir Calf and Significance of Desi Gir Calf

UPSC GS Paper 3: Science & Tech

 

Why in the news?

• Recently, India’s first cloned desi Gir female calf, Ganga was produced at NDRI.

About Gir calf and breed:-

• This breed is also known as Desan, Gujarati, Kathiawari, Sorthi and Surati and comes from Gir Forest in South Katiawar, Gujarat.
• Takes its name from its natural habitat, Gill Forest.
• Gir is a breed of cattle bred for milk production in India.
• In a project of the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal worked on the cloning of traditional dairy breeds such as the Gir and Sahiwal, the first cloned female Gir calf in India called \’Ganga\’.

Distribution:

• Gir cattle are endemic to the Gir hills and forests of Kathiawar.
• Includes Gujarat\’s Amreli, Bhavnagar, Junagadh and Rajkot districts.
• This type is also known as Bhodali, Gujarati, Sorthi, Surti, Kathiawari and

Exports: –

• Gil cattle are also popular outside of India.
• Birth Introduced in the United States, Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil.

Methods: 

• For Gir cloning, oocytes are isolated from live animals using an ultrasound needle and subsequently matured under control for 24 hours.
• Somatic cells fromelite cattle were used as donor genomes for fusion with OPU-derived nucleated oocytes.
• The blastocysts produced after chemical and in vitro culture are transferred to mothers assisted to give birth to Gir cattle.

About National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI):-

• ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) is located in Karnal, Haryana.
• It is one of the premier Institutes in the dairy sector.
• It has played a crucial role in India’s development in milk production with its continuous research.
• The Institute has the distinction of being a Deemed University for implementing its academic programmes since 1989.
• The Institute provides high-quality education in the field of dairying, which has no parallel in Asia
• The Institute has been ranked first among all Agricultural Universities of India including 4 Deemed Universities consecutively three times in the years 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19.
• The Institute has also conferred the ‘Sardar Patel Outstanding ICAR Institute award’ in 2014.
• It was awarded Agriculture Leadership Award 2013 for setting up a benchmark in dairy research by contributing to research efforts to augment milk productivity, value addition, quality and safety of milk and economic and marketing aspects related to dairying.
• Prior to this, the Institute also received Education Leadership Award in recognition of the talent and leadership among educational institutes across India.

Nathu La Pass

 

Important For UPSC Prelims and Mains: Significance of Nathu La Pass

UPSC GS Paper 3: Disaster and Management

Why in News?

• Seven people were killed and 20 have been rescued after five or six vehicles along with 20­30 tourists were hit by an avalanche near Nathu La in eastern Sikkim on Tuesday morning.

About Nathu La Pass:

Location: It is a mountain pass in the Himalayas in the East Sikkim district.

• Altitude: It is situated at an altitude of 4302 m and is one of the highest motorable roads in the world.
• Nathu means \”listening ears\”, and La means \”pass\” in Tibetan. It forms a part of an offshoot of the ancient Silk Road.
• Nathu La connects the Indian state of Sikkim with China\’s Tibet Autonomous Region.
• It is guarded on both sides by Chinese and Indian soldiers.
• Nathu La is one of the three open trading border posts between India and China; the other two are in Himachal Pradesh (Shipkila) and Uttarakhand (Lipulekh).
• Sealed by India after the 1962 Sino-Indian War, Nathu La was re-opened in 2006 following numerous bilateral trade agreements.

 

Kala-Azar

UPSC GS Paper 3: Human Disease

Important For UPSC Prelims & Mains: About Kala Azar  Effects of Kala Azar on Human Health

Why in News?

• Recently, IACS’s novel compound was found to be treating drug-resistant kala-azar infections.

About Kala-azar

• It is caused by the protozoa parasite Leishmania.
• It is one of the three conditions in the disease group called leishmaniasis.
• It is a Neglected Tropical Disease.
• It is the second-largest parasitic killer in the world after Malaria.
• It is a zoonotic infection transmitted by the sand fly, a blood-sucking pest, found in moist (humid) mud and sand and close to livestock.
  • The parasite is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected female phlebotomine sandfly.
• This type of leishmaniasis affects the internal organs, usually the spleen, liver and bone marrow.
• The parasite primarily infects the reticuloendothelial system and may be found in abundance in bone marrow, spleen and liver.

Symptoms:-

• Some people have no symptoms.
•  For others, symptoms may include fever, weight loss and swelling of the spleen or liver.

Initiatives of governments of India to Eliminate this Disease:-

• Development of a plan for the “unreached poorest” or underprivileged sections in endemic areas.
• Leveraging of Kala-azar elimination programme within POSHAN Abhiyaan for maximum benefit at the community level.
• Exploration of the opportunity of providing improved housing under the flagship program of the Prime Minister Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), along with rural electrification, testing, treatment and periodic high-level review, incentivising through award distribution.
• Exploration of the opportunity of providing improved housing under State Schemes.
• Involvement of Rural Health Practitioners (RHPs).
• Coordination with the rural development department and engage with Panchayati Raj functionaries for awareness, community engagement, environment management and social empowerment.
• Supporting the states in active case detection, surveillance, and treatment as well as supply of diagnostic kits, medicines, and sprays.