• Asur is among the nine Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) found in Jharkhand.
• Of the 32 different tribes recorded in the State, only four to five tribes, including Santhali, Ho and Kuruk, have recorded language scripts.
• As per the 2011 census, the tribe has a population of around 23,000 in Latehar and Gumla districts.
• In the community, 50% of population could barely speak in Asur language; they are not fluent in the language.
• The Asur language figures in the list of UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger.
• Only 7,000 to 8,000 Asur tribals are left in the community who are well conversant in the language.
• With help from tribal rights activists, Asur Tribal Wisdom Centre, an organization involving Asur tribals, was established at Jobhipat village near Netarhat to protect the language and culture of Asur tribals.
• Using mobile radio, the Asur community has been spreading the popularity of the language within their geographical limits.

• The new species of lizard, zoologically named Cyrtodactylus urbanus, is discovered in Guwahati, Assam.
• It is markedly different in molecular structure, blotch and color from the Cyrtodactylus guwahatiensis, or the Guwahati bent-toed gecko, that was discovered two years ago.
• The bent-toed gecko, named Cyrtodactylus urbanus, was earlier thought to be same as the Khasi Hills lizard.
• All bent-toed geckos in Northeast India were thought to be a single species, the Cyrtodactylus khasiensis found primarily in the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya.
• The study on the urban bent-toed gecko provided additional information on the Guwahati bent-toed gecko, the first of the two Cyrtodactylus endemic to the areas covered by the city and the fourth from Assam.
• It was also the 12th recorded gecko from the Northeast.

• Indian doctors have cautioned against the use of “Lorcaserin” (brandname Belviq or Belviq XR), a weight-loss drug that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently said is linked to a “possible increased risk of cancer.”
• Lorcaserin has been withdrawn from the U.S. market after caution by the FDA because of cancer risk.
• The FDA requested the drug manufacturer to voluntarily withdraw lorcaserin, after a post-marketing trial with more than 12,000 subjects revealed an increased occurrence of cancer.

• An inter-Ministerial funding program “Scientific Utilization through Research Augmentation Prime Products from Indigenous Cows” (SUTRA-PIC India) has been planned with the support of Ministry of Science & Technology through Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR)- Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR); Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha & Homoeopathy); Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

SUTRA PIC has five themes:

1. Uniqueness of Indigenous Cows
2. Prime-products from indigenous cows-based utility items
3. Prime-products from Indigenous Cows for Food and Nutrition
4. Prime-products from Indigenous Cows for Medicine and Health
5. Prime-products from Indigenous Cows for Agricultural Applications

Objective:

• The proposals under this theme should aim to perform scientific research on complete characterisation of milk and milk products derived from Indian indigenous cows; scientific research on nutritional and therapeutic properties of curd and ghee prepared from indigenous breeds of cows by traditional methods; development of standards for traditionally processed dairy products of Indian-origin cow.

• Madhya Pradesh has recorded the highest percentage of newborn deaths of 11.5% against the total admissions to government-run sick newborn care units (SNCUs) in the past three years across the country, a rate ominously spiralling since 2017, according to the National Health Mission (NHM). The country’s average is 7%.
• A Neonatal death is defined as a death during the first 28 days of life (0-27 days).
• Under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), each country, including India, has aimed to bring down neonatal mortality to at least 12 per 1,000 live births.
• In 2018, it stood at 23 for India.

• Erstwhile royals of the state of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh are fighting over the assets and legacy of Nawab Raza Ali Khan, who acceeded to the Indian Union at the time of Independence.
• The Supreme Court ended India’s longest running civil dispute last year, and the process of evaluating the inheritance is currently ongoing.
• The state of Rampur was founded by Nawab Ali Muhammad Khan, the adopted son of Sardar Daud Khan, the chief of the Rohillas in Northern India.
• The Rohillas were Afghans who entered India in the 18th century as the Mughal Empire was in decline, and took control of Rohilkhand, at the time known as Katehr.
• Rampur, under Nawab Raza Ali, was the first kingdom to accede to India in 1949, becoming the only Muslim-majority district in Uttar Pradesh.
• The Rampur royals have played an important role in the socio-cultural history of the Ganga-Yamuna belt.
• They run the Amir Raza library in Rampur, once known as the official darbar of the Nawab, which is home to some 15,000 manuscripts in Arabic, Urdu, Persian and Turkish, as well as a seventh-century Quran.
• The Nawabs were known for many things, including their patronage of music and arts, especially the Hindustani classical music form of khyal.
• The rulers were tolerant towards other religions and employed Hindus in senior administrative posts.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is aligning its July-June accounting year with the government’s April-March fiscal year in order to ensure more effective management of the country’s finances.
• When it commenced operations on April 1, 1935, with Sir Osborne Smith as its first Governor, the RBI followed a January-December accounting year.
• On March 11, 1940, however, the bank changed its accounting year to July-June.
• Now, after nearly eight decades, the RBI is making another switch: the next accounting year will be a nine-month period from July 2020 to March 31, 2021 and thereafter, all financial years will start from April, as it happens with the central and state governments.
• The Bimal Jalan Committee on Economic Capital Framework (ECF) of the RBI had proposed a more transparent presentation of the RBI’s annual accounts, and a change in its accounting year to April-March from the financial year 2020-21.
• It said the RBI would be able to provide better estimates of projected surplus transfers to the government for the financial year for budgeting purposes.

• A new group of Antibiotics has been discovered by scientists at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, that can be useful in the battle against antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
• Corbomycin and complestatin work by prevent the bacterial wall from being broken down, thus stopping the division of bacterial cells.
• Antibiotics, also known as antibacterials, are medications that destroy or slow down the growth of bacteria.
• Antibiotics cannot treat viral infections, such as cold, flu, and most coughs.
• Antimicrobial resistance occurs when microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change in ways that render the medications used to cure the infections they cause ineffective.
• When the microorganisms become resistant to most antimicrobials they are often referred to as “superbugs”.
• This is a major concern because a resistant infection may kill, can spread to others, and imposes huge costs to individuals and society.

• Recently, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) gets green light to operate the Arab world’s first nuclear power plant.
• The Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi, the project involved collaboration with external bodies including the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the South Korean government.
• Once operation of the plant begins, the UAE will become the newest member of an exclusive club of currently just 30 countries running nuclear power operations.
• The program aims for a total of 4 reactors, which officials say will amount to 25% of the country’s energy needs.

• The Madhav National Park has claimed denotified land is unavailable for allotment to 39 tribal families displaced 20-years ago to make way for a tiger corridor, even though hundreds of others compensated for to vacate the Park continue to farm and encroach upon the corridor unchecked.
• Moreover, tigers are yet to be reintroduced in the park, let alone the corridor’s development.
• Displaced families for tiger corridor await land allotment.
• The park that is situated in Shivpuri District of Gwalior division in Madhya Pradesh.
• It is a part of the upper Vindhyan hills.
• Madhav National Park is an unusual terrain of hills, dry, mixed forests, grasslands, and lakes which makes it a perfect destination for sighting a variety of wildlife.
• The Sakhya and Madhav Sagar Lake, located in the center of the forest, support a rich variety of migratory birds including geese, pochard, pintail, teal, mallard, and gadwall.
• These lakes are the great nesting ground for birds and marsh crocodiles, that can be spotted here in abundance.
• It is a combination of dry deciduous & dry thorn forests that make home for different variety of antelopes like Nilgai, Chinkara, and Deer, and carnivours such as leopard, wolf, jackal, fox, wild pig, etc.