Why in News?

• Wild tuskers entered Mathikettan Shola National Park, Idukki, Kerala, through a newly cleared elephant passage in Chinnakkanal.

Key Facts

• Location: Mathikettan Shola National Park is in Idukki district, Kerala, in the Western Ghats, within the Munnar region.
• Status: It was declared a national park in 2003, along with Anamudi Shola and Pambadum Shola, which are also in Idukki.
• Ecosystem: It is mainly a shola forest and grassland ecosystem. Shola forests are patches of stunted tropical montane evergreen forest in valleys and folds of the high-altitude Western Ghats, with grasslands on the slopes.
• Kerala’s national parks: Kerala has six, namely Eravikulam, Silent Valley, Periyar, Mathikettan Shola, Anamudi Shola and Pambadum Shola.

Prelims Pointer

• Elephant status: The Asian elephant is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and is India’s National Heritage Animal. Project Elephant was launched in 1992.
• National parks are notified under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and give stronger protection than sanctuaries, with no human activity such as grazing or collection of forest produce allowed.

Why in News?

• Doctors in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, removed a 1-kg hair mass from the stomach and small intestine of a 9-year-old girl suffering from Rapunzel syndrome, which caused abdominal pain, vomiting and intestinal obstruction.

Key Facts

• Rapunzel syndrome is a rare condition in which a trichobezoar (a ball of swallowed hair) in the stomach has a tail extending into the small intestine.
• It is caused by trichophagia (eating hair), often linked to trichotillomania (hair pulling), pica, or psychological issues like anxiety.
• It is seen mostly in young girls and adolescent females.
• Hair is made of keratin, which the body cannot digest. Its smooth surface also resists movement by the gut, so the hair stays and builds up.
• Treatment is usually surgical removal, along with psychiatric counselling to prevent recurrence.

Why in News?

• India reported 3,832 new child leprosy cases in 2025–26, much higher than the NLEP target of 2,000.
• 37 children had Grade-2 disability, indicating delayed detection.
• India’s National Strategic Plan for Leprosy 2023–27 aims to stop transmission at the district level by 2027.

Core Facts

• Leprosy (Hansen’s disease): A chronic bacterial disease caused mainly by Mycobacterium leprae, affecting the skin and nerves.
• Spread & Treatment: Spreads through prolonged close contact with untreated patients and is curable with MDT.
• NLEP: India’s National Leprosy Eradication Programme is run by the Union Health Ministry.
• Key Indicators: New cases in children below 15 years indicate recent transmission, while Grade-2 disability (G2D) suggests delayed diagnosis.
• NLEP Focus: Early detection, contact surveys, targeted campaigns and special efforts in hard-to-reach areas.

Disease Profile, Treatment & Legal Status

• Discovery: The bacterium was discovered by Gerhard Armauer Hansen in 1873, which is why the disease is called Hansen’s disease.
• Treatment: MDT uses dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine.
• Elimination status: India declared leprosy eliminated as a public health problem in December 2005, meaning prevalence below 1 case per 10,000 population. This is different from eradication or interruption of transmission.
• Legal change: The colonial-era Lepers Act, 1898 was repealed in 2016, and leprosy was removed as a ground for divorce through the Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2018.
• Awareness: World Leprosy Day falls on the last Sunday of January, and India observes 30 January as Anti-Leprosy Day.
• Disability grading: Disability is graded as 0, 1 and 2, and Grade 2 means visible deformity or damage.
• Disability: Under the RPwD Act, 2016, a leprosy-cured person with specified residual impairments is recognised under locomotor disability.

Why in News?

• The Ministry of Education has approved five Centres of Excellence for Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit to promote research, preservation and digitisation of their language and literary heritage. Each centre will be hosted by a designated university/institute.

Key Details & Institutional Framework

• The centres will promote research, documentation, preservation and digitisation of these languages and strengthen higher education in the regions.
• 11 languages now hold classical language status.

Recognition Criteria, Benefits & Constitutional Linkages

• Classical languages in India (year of recognition): Tamil (2004), the first; Sanskrit (2005); Telugu and Kannada (2008); Malayalam (2013); Odia (2014); Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali (October 2024).
• Criteria for Classical Status: The language should have 1,500–2,000 years of antiquity, a rich body of ancient literature, an original literary tradition, and a clear distinction between its classical and modern forms.
• Benefits: Classical languages receive Centres of Excellence, international awards for scholars and academic chairs in Central Universities through the UGC.
• Cultural Importance: Pali is associated with early Buddhist/Theravada literature, while Prakrit is important for Jain literature and ancient inscriptions.
• Constitutional Link: The Eighth Schedule contains 22 languages. Articles 344 and 351 contain important provisions related to languages and the development of Hindi.

Why in News?

• The Ig Nobel Prizes for 2026 were announced on 3 September 2026, with about a dozen recipients from various countries.
• An Indian-linked team from InStem, Bengaluru, won the Chemistry prize for showing that milk proteins of the Diploptera punctata cockroach have more energy content than cow milk.

Key Details & Background

• The Ig Nobel Prizes are a light-hearted parody of the real Nobel Prizes, given for research that first makes people laugh and then think.
• They were instituted in 1991 by Marc Abraham.
• Unlike the real Nobel Prizes, the Ig Nobel categories change every year.
• The prizes are not connected to the Nobel Foundation.

Winners and Contributions (2026)

Why in News?

• Andhra Pradesh is launching a national-level pilot to build rural houses using 3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) under PMAY-G.
• The project will construct 177 houses in Guntur district with an estimated cost of ₹13.93 crore, jointly funded by the Centre (₹9.44 crore) and State (₹4.49 crore).

Key Features & Technological Intervention

• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) is a centrally sponsored scheme of the Ministry of Rural Development that provides financial assistance to build pucca houses for eligible rural households.
• It was launched on 20 November 2016 after the restructuring of the Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY).
• The target group is houseless families and those living in kutcha or dilapidated houses in rural areas.
• 3D Concrete Printing uses a computer-controlled robotic printer that turns a Building Information Modelling (BIM) design into a structure. It extrudes specially formulated cementitious material in horizontal layers through a nozzle.

Scheme Details, Funding & Implementation Framework

• House Size: Under PMAY-G, the minimum house size is 25 sq m, including a hygienic cooking space. Earlier, IAY provided 20 sq m.
• Financial Assistance: Beneficiaries receive ₹1.20 lakh in plain areas and ₹1.30 lakh in hilly/difficult areas.
• Funding Pattern: The Centre and States generally share the cost in a 60:40 ratio in plain areas and 90:10 in North-Eastern and Himalayan states.
• Beneficiary Selection: Beneficiaries are identified using SECC 2011 data and verified by the Gram Sabha.
• Convergence: The scheme is linked with Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin for toilets and MGNREGS for wage support.
• PMAY-G has been extended up to March 2029, with a target of 2 crore additional houses.

Why in News?

• Forest officials found over 2,000 trees girdled in the Karka area of Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve, Chhattisgarh, mainly Sal, Bija and Tendu trees.
• The Forest Department alleges forest clearing for cultivation, while villagers claim some families did not receive proper compensation after earlier relocation.

Key Facts & Ecological Context

• Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve is in Gariaband and Dhamtari districts of Chhattisgarh.
• It was formed by combining the Udanti Wildlife Sanctuary and the Sitanadi Wildlife Sanctuary, and was notified as a tiger reserve in 2009.
• Karka is a former forest village in the catchment of the Sondhur dam, within the erstwhile Sitanadi Sanctuary, and it was relocated in the 1980s.
• The area is part of an important wildlife movement corridor, including an elephant corridor, so habitat loss can increase human-wildlife conflict.
• Girdling means removing a ring of bark so that nutrient flow stops and the tree slowly dies.
• The Forest Department says the village got Community Forest Resource Rights (CFRR) over 2,208 hectares in 2020.
• Chhattisgarh’s other tiger reserves are Indravati, Achanakmar and Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla.