Wildlife Recovery Gains Momentum

• Wildlife Week was observed from 2 to 8 October 2026. During this period, a Great Indian Bustard chick hatched in Kutch, Gujarat, after about 10 years, marking an important conservation achievement.
• Recent surveys also show improvement in the populations of vultures, Asiatic lions, Nilgiri tahr, dugongs and snow leopards.
• India’s National Red List Roadmap and the IDWH scheme are also being used to strengthen wildlife conservation and recovery efforts.

Key Conservation Measures

• The Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH) scheme supports recovery of 24 identified species and their habitats.
• Under IDWH, States must carry out research, habitat improvement, protection and community participation.
• India launched the National Red List Roadmap at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, Abu Dhabi (2025).
• The roadmap aims to prepare National Red Data Books for plants and animals by 2030.
• Of 7,516 Indian animal species assessed by IUCN, 1,012 fall in threatened categories (Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered).
• These assessments cover only 7.2% of India’s documented animal species, so the real threat is likely higher.
• Tamil Nadu has set up an Endangered Species Conservation Fund for neglected species such as the mahseer, striped hyena, Madras hedgehog, lion-tailed macaque and hornbill.
• The Phoenix Species Project (2026) by Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund commits $200 million to recover 100 threatened species.

Species in News

India’s Biodiversity Profile

• India covers only 2.4% of world land but holds about 8% of flora and 7.5% of fauna.
• India is one of 17 megadiverse countries and has parts of 4 of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots.
• The four hotspots are the Himalaya, Indo-Burma, Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, and Sundaland (Nicobar Islands).
• About 28% of Indian plants and over 30% of animals are endemic.
• Tamil Nadu notified India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve in Palk Bay, covering 448.34 sq km.
• Conservation Reserves are declared under Section 36A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• The Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore (Haryana) is run by the State Forest Department and the Bombay Natural History Society. It is an ex-situ facility.
• Project Nilgiri Tahr involves surveys, radio-collaring and habitat mapping across Tamil Nadu and Keralam.
• The Segur Plateau and Mudumalai Tiger Reserve are key vulture habitats in Tamil Nadu.
• Meghalaya’s clouded leopard action plan has identified 14 priority landscapes.

Global Conservation Successes

• The Iberian lynx (Spain and Portugal) is now Vulnerable, improved from Endangered.
• The scimitar-horned oryx (Chad) moved from Extinct in the Wild to Endangered in 2023.
• The saiga antelope (Kazakhstan) moved from Critically Endangered to Near Threatened in 2023.

RBI Tightens Monetary Policy

• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.5% on October 7, 2026.
• This is the first rate hike since February 2023, and the MPC changed its stance from neutral to calibrated tightening.
• The RBI cited crude oil price volatility from the re-escalation of the West Asia conflict and rising inflation risks.

Key Policy Rates Explained

MPC and Inflation Framework

• The MPC is a statutory body under Section 45ZB of the RBI Act, 1934, and has been in place since 2016.
• The MPC has six members: three from the RBI (including the Governor as chair) and three external members appointed by the Centre.
• Decisions are taken by majority, and the Governor has a casting vote in case of a tie.
• The inflation target is set by the Central Government in consultation with the RBI under Section 45ZA, once every five years.
• The current target is 4% CPI inflation with a tolerance band of ±2%, notified for April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2031.
• Under the framework, the RBI is considered to have failed if inflation stays outside the 2–6% band for three consecutive quarters.
• The LAF was introduced in 2000 and is the RBI’s main tool for managing day-to-day liquidity.
• A rate hike raises borrowing costs, which usually pushes up loan rates and deposit rates, and reduces demand-driven inflation.
• Core inflation excludes volatile food and fuel prices.

India’s Inflation Framework

• Flexible Inflation Targeting (FIT) framework: adopted in 2016, it makes the RBI responsible for keeping CPI inflation within the target band.
• NSO (MoSPI): compiles the Consumer Price Index (CPI) used to measure inflation.

Nobel Recognises Chirality Research

• The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 was awarded to French chemist Henri Kagan and Japanese chemist Kenso Soai.
• They were honoured for showing how chemical reactions can amplify small asymmetries in molecules.
• Their work helps industry make the correct “handed” form of drugs, agrochemicals and fragrances.

Key Discoveries in Chirality

WHO Issues Child Obesity Guidelines

• The World Health Organization (WHO) released guidelines on October 7, 2026 to address the sharp rise in obesity among children and adolescents.
• The guidelines advise against weight-loss drugs and bariatric surgery for children below nine, and place lifestyle support at the centre of obesity care.
• India faces a growing burden, with obesity among its children and adolescents projected to rise to 27 million by 2030.

WHO’s Recommended Interventions

Key Obesity Concepts

• Obesity is excess body fat that harms health, and in children it is assessed using BMI-for-age reference standards.
• The WHO is a specialised agency of the United Nations, headquartered in Geneva.
• GLP-1 drugs are medicines that mimic the hormone glucagon-like peptide-1, and semaglutide is a well-known example.
• Obesity is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, fatty liver and heart disease.
• Children living with obesity often show co-morbidities like fatty liver, prediabetes and high cholesterol.
• Bariatric surgery is not generally advised in children because it can hamper growth.
• The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is conducted under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, with the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai as the nodal agency.
• NFHS-5 was conducted in 2019-21.
• Obesity in India is rising alongside the double burden of malnutrition, with undernutrition and overweight existing together.

Obesity: Key Data