DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

According to the 5^th edition of Global Status Report on Road Safety, road fatalities dropped globally, but India sees a rise.

• Launch year – 2009
• Released by – World Health Organisation (WHO)

Objectives – To describe the road safety situation in United Nations (UN) Member States and assess the changes with a particular focus on the evolution of the burden and responses since 2010.

• Data source – Based on survey and review of legislation in which 170 UN Member States and 2 territories participated.
• 2023 Report– It provides the first complete overview of progress made during 2011–2020 and sets a baseline for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030.

Key Findings

• Road traffic deaths – 108 UN member nations reported a drop with 10 countries succeeded in reducing by over 50%.
  • WHO’s South-East Asia Region tops while the European Region reports the largest drop in deaths since 2010
  • Top cause of deaths for children and youth between the ages of 5 to 29 years
  • 92% of deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
• Status of India – It registered a 15% increase in fatalities (1.34 lakh in 2010 to 1.54 lakh in 2021).
• Share of fatalities – 30% by 4-wheel vehicle occupants followed by pedestrians, 2- and 3-wheeler users, respectively.

Only 6 countries have reached WHO best practice legislation on 5 risk factors – speeding, drink driving, motorcycle helmet use, and seat-belts and child restraint systems.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science’s (IISc) have identified that peptides (short protein) produced from Budgett’s frog can combat enzymes of disease causing pathogens.

• Other common names are Hippo Frog and the Freddie Kruger Frog.
• Scientific name - Lepdibatrachus laevis

Habitat – In inland waters in Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia.

• Growing condition – Being carnivorous, they mainly feed on other frogs (particularly tadpoles), snails and insects.
• During dry season, it remains in burrows and they will shed skin layers from to form a waterproof cocoon to keep them moist.
• In rainy season, it will go back into the water to breed and feed.

Characteristics – They are highly intelligent and very aggressive.

• When frightened, they inflate themselves, stand up on their short legs and attack the potential with an open huge mouth followed up by a high-pitched scream.
• They do not have teeth, but they do have two sharp-edged structures in the jaws.

Protection status

• • Least Concern in the IUCN Red List.

Frogs are the 1^st vertebrates to conquer the land and because of this, they have developed a defensive mechanism through their skin to generally combat the microorganisms and other harmful things.

India’s fastest solar-electric boat Barracuda sets sail for sustainable future.

• The solar-electric boat is named after the swift, long fish, Barracuda.
• The boat can be deployed even in the rough seas as a workboat to ferry up to 12 passengers and cargo.
• Engineered to navigate through waves towering up to 4 metres, the Barracuda excels in challenging marine environments.
• The boat offers a noise-free, vibration-free, and pollution-free journey.
• The 14-metre-long, 4.4-metre-wide vessel can attain a top speed of 12.5 knots (23 kmph) and has a range of seven hours on a single charge.
• It has twin 50 kW electric motors, a marine-grade LFP battery, and 6 kW solar power, epitomising efficient and clean energy usage.
• This cutting-edge vessel was jointly developed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and Navalt.

Barracuda fish

• They are predatory fishes of the family Sphyraenidae.
• Barracudas are found in all warm and tropical regions; some also range into more temperate areas.
• Barracudas are primarily fish eaters, preying on such smaller fishes as mullets, anchovies, and grunts.
• In certain seas, however, they may become impregnated with a toxic substance that produces a form of poisoning known as ciguatera.
• Great barracuda - Great barracudas are large fish, and one of the largest of the Barracudas.
• They are known to have been involved in attacks on humans.

• WISE-KIRAN is a program from the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

The scheme's goal is to increase women's participation in science and technology (S&T) and achieve gender parity.

• The Valparai plateau is situated in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu.
• It is surrounded on all sides by protected areas Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Parambikulam Tiger Reserve and Eravikulam National Park.

Valparai is known for its tea and coffee plantations, around 7-8 national and international companies spread over 54 tea and coffee estates in Valparai.

• Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is the largest nuclear power station with a current installed capacity of 2GW in India.
• It is situated in Kudankulam, Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.
• It is a Civilian Nuclear Power Plant, built by India in joint-collaboration with Russia.

It is being developed by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL).

• Professor Savita Ladage received the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Nyholm Prize recently.
• It is an annual award from the Royal Society of Chemistry that recognizes achievements in chemical sciences education.
• The prize honors the life and work of Sir Ronald Nyholm, an Australian-born chemist who served as president of the Royal Society of Chemistry from 1968 to 1970.

The prize alternates between being open to international nominations and being open only to nominations from the UK and Ireland.