Current Affair 1:

Spot-billed pelicans

 

News:

A nematode infestation has led to mass mortality of spot-billed pelicans (Pelicanus philippensis) at Telineelapuram Important Bird Area (IBA) in Naupada swamp of Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh. Over 150 spot-billed pelicans have succumbed to the infestation since December, according to Forest officials, with 21 birds dying in the past 72 hours alone.

Cause of death:

Wildlife Institute of India (WII-Dehradun) expert in animal ecology, migration, and movement studies Dr. R. Suresh Kumar spoke to The Hindu regarding the mass deaths. “Preliminary inquiry suggests that nematode infestation is the cause for the death of the spot-billed pelicans that prey on nearby water bodies. The nematode parasite is suspected to be transferred through fish and snails in particular, when the birds prey in the aqua ponds.

Spot-billed pelicans hunt for food in both freshwater and marine environments, sometimes diving slightly below the surface but never to any great depth.

It breeds in southern Asia from southern Iran across India east to Indonesia. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially large lakes.

They are classified as "Near-threatened, " as their numbers have declined in many areas due to habitat loss and human disturbance, and many populations in Southeast Asia are now extinct.

Current Affair 2:

Carbon stocks in Indian forest

 

Current Affair 3:

Coal Directory of India 2020-21

 

Coal Controller’s Organization released its flagship publications “Coal Directory of India 2020-21”,

In 2020-21, Chhattisgarh registered the highest coal production of 158.410 MT (22. 12%), followed by Odisha 154.151 MT (21.53%), Madhya Pradesh 132.531 MT (18.51%) and Jharkhand 119.295 MT (16.66%). In 2020-21, Tamil Nadu was the largest producer of lignite and produced 18.026 MT (47.57%).

Like previous years, in 2020-21, Jharkhand produced the maximum coking coal in India, 44.387 MT which was 99.10% of total coking coal production (44.787). Chhattisgarh was the highest non-coking coal producing state, producing 158.191 MT (23.57%) of the total non-coking production of 671.296 MT, followed by Odisha.

In 2020-21, total import of coal was 215.251 MT compared to 248.537 MT in 2019-20, thus showing a decrease of 13.39%.

 

 

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