What is the News ?

Report on invasive species & their control to be approved at the plenary was developed over four years by 86 leading experts from 49 countries

Facts About:

An alien species is one that has been introduced outside its native habitat.

According to experts, these are whether intentionally or accidentally, find their way outside their natural environments.

• Once there, they often outcompete local species, disrupting the delicate ecological balance.

These invasive species typically possess specific traits that aid their success, including the ability to adapt to new conditions (known as phenotypic plasticity).

• Other characteristics include rapid reproduction, high dispersal capabilities, versatility in diet and environmental adaptation, and a propensity for quick reproduction.

It's crucial to note that invasive alien species are not a natural part of their new ecosystems, and their presence can lead to severe harm to the economy, the environment, and even human health.

In developing countries, where agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and natural systems play a pivotal role in people's livelihoods, invasive alien species exacerbate poverty and pose a significant threat to development.

• This situation is further compounded by factors like climate change, pollution, habitat loss, and human-induced disturbances.

What is the News ?

In the Aditya-L1 mission, ISRO will utilize a Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) identical to the one employed in previous missions to Mars and the Moon.

Facts About:

• This compact yet potent engine, referred to as 'LAM,' assumes a pivotal role in ISRO's upcoming Aditya-L1 mission, designed for the study of the sun.
• The effective functioning of the LAM holds significant importance as it enables ISRO to position the Aditya spacecraft in a halo orbit at Lagrangian point L1.
• These engines are commonly employed for making precise orbital adjustments to satellites and spacecraft while they are in orbit.
• The Liquid Apogee Motor is the product of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), an ISRO facility specializing in Liquid and Cryogenic Propulsion, located in Thiruvananthapuram.

What is the News ?

The Chhattisgarh High Court has recently rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the designation of the Bhoramdeo Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS) as a tiger reserve.

Facts About:

• Location: Situated in the Kawardha district of Chhattisgarh, this sanctuary takes its name from the renowned 11th-century Bhoramdeo Temple located nearby.

• • It shares its boundary with Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh, making it a significant tiger habitat in central India.

• Covering an expanse of around 325 square kilometres (125 square miles), it boasts a diverse landscape.
• The sanctuary serves as the origin of the Fen and Sankari rivers.
• Characterized by lush green forests, undulating hills, and the Maikal Range of the Satpura Hills, it presents a picturesque setting.
• Vegetation: Comprising a blend of dense forests and open grasslands, it offers a rich variety of flora.

• Flora Highlights: Notable plant species within the sanctuary include sal, saja, tinsa, kara, and haldu.
• Diverse Fauna: Bhoramdeo Wildlife Sanctuary is home to a wide range of wildlife, including tigers, leopards, wild dogs, sloth bears, sambar deer, barking deer, chital (spotted deer), gaur (Indian bison), as well as numerous bird and reptile species.

What is the News ?

The Kolkata Metro of Indian Railways intends to substitute the steel third rail with a composite Aluminum third rail Current Collector.

Facts About:

• The third rail system serves as a method of supplying electrical power to trains via a conductor positioned beside the railway tracks.
• Kolkata Metro Railway has relied on steel Third Rails for the past four decades.
• It has now opted for composite Aluminium Third Rails in all forthcoming construction projects, as well as retrofitting existing corridors that currently employ steel Third Rails.
• By making this transition, Kolkata Metro Railway joins a select group of metro systems, including those in London, Moscow, Berlin, Munich, and Istanbul, that have also shifted from steel Third Rails to Aluminium Third Rails.

Advantages of Aluminum Composite Third Rail compared to Steel Third Rail include:

• Reduced resistive current loss leading to improved traction voltage levels.
• Lower maintenance and life cycle costs.
• Enhanced efficiency of train operations.
• Significant improvements in energy efficiency.
• Decreased carbon footprint.

What is the News ?

Recently, a division of the Abu Dhabi-based AI company G42 has unveiled 'Jais,' the most cutting-edge Arabic large language model globally.

Facts About:

• Jais is a bilingual Arabic-English model meticulously trained on an extensive dataset of text and code.
• Its versatility makes it suitable for a wide range of tasks, including machine translation, text summarization, and question-answering.
• Trained on the world's largest AI supercomputer, the Condor Galaxy, Jais has been exposed to a vast dataset, encompassing 116 billion Arabic tokens and 279 billion English tokens.
• Being open-source means that Jais is accessible for anyone to use and contribute to its development, and it is available for download on the Hugging Face machine learning platform.
• The introduction of Jais represents a significant milestone in advancing AI within the Arabic-speaking community.

Applications:

• Jais finds potential applications in machine translation, bridging the language gap between Arabic and English, thereby enhancing information accessibility and cross-lingual communication.
• This versatile model excels at condensing extensive text content, from news articles to research papers, into concise and comprehensible summaries, facilitating improved accessibility and comprehension.
• Furthermore, Jais is adept at responding to text-based queries, making it a valuable tool for educational purposes, such as interactive chatbots for students, and enhancing customer service applications for effective client inquiries.