Daily Current Affairs for UPSC / State PCS Exam

To The Point Notes

Strategic Importance: Five critical road projects approved, four through Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary along LAC (Line of Actual Control).
Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO): Country’s northernmost military outpost, highest airstrip.
Road Network Expansion: 35 km of new roads authorized, including a crucial 7.75 km link road at 17,000 ft.
Military Advantage: Boosts infrastructure along LAC, providing alternative route for rapid troop and resource movement.
Geopolitical Significance: Located 100 km from Chinese-held territory, enhancing strategic positioning.

Unique Species: One of 20 gibbon species, endemic to Northeast India.
Habitat: Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Assam.
Characteristics: Smallest apes, diurnal, arboreal, omnivorous.
Threats: Deforestation due to infrastructure projects.
Conservation Status:
- Western Hoolock Gibbon: Endangered
- Eastern Hoolock Gibbon: Vulnerable
- Protected under Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Global Gibbon Network (GGN):
- Vision: Safeguard and conserve gibbons and their habitats.
- Focus: Participatory conservation policies, legislations, and actions.
- Initiated in 2020 by Ecofoundation Global and Hainan Institute of National Park.

First Rupee-denominated Lines of Credit (LOCs): India has extended a ₹487.60 crore LOC to Mauritius for a water pipeline replacement project under the Indian Development and Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS).
Purpose: To replace 100 km of obsolete water pipeline in Mauritius.
Financing: State Bank of India will finance the project on concessional terms.
Significance: Reflects India’s commitment to socio-economic development in Global South countries.

Indian Development and Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS)

Concessional Loans: India provides development assistance through concessional Lines of Credit (LOCs) under IDEAS, administered by Exim Bank of India.
Global Reach: Over 300 LOCs worth $32 billion extended to 68 countries, funding projects in railways, roads, agriculture, healthcare, etc.
Neighbourhood First Policy: Significant LOCs allocated to neighboring countries:
- Bangladesh: $7.862 billion
- Nepal: $1.65 billion
- Sri Lanka: Over $2 billion
- Myanmar: $745 million
- Maldives: $1.43 billion

Significance:

Celebrates the unity between indigenous communities in the hills and valleys of Manipur.
Marks the growth of nationalism in the state.
Only festival where both communities observed together.
Recognized as a General Holiday in Manipur.

History:

Location: Northeastern South Africa
Formation: 2 billion years ago
Significance:
- One of the largest and well-preserved layered igneous intrusions globally
- Contains 70% of the world’s mined platinum reserves
- Recent discovery of 2-billion-year-old living microbes, a significant breakthrough in understanding early life on Earth and potential extraterrestrial life.