Online National Drugs Licensing System | Cassava/Tapioca crops | 5th Edition of “An Eye on Methane: From Measurement to Momentum” | International Day of the Snow Leopard 2025

Online National Drugs Licensing System

Syllabus: GS2/ Health, GS3/ Governance

Context

• The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has directed digital monitoring on the Online National Drugs Licensing System (ONDLS) for tracking the supply chain of high-risk solvents.

Online National Drugs Licensing System

• It is a Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) in India for processing drug- and cosmetic-related applications for manufacturing and sales licences, and various certificates.
• It is developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) in coordination with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).

Additional Information – Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO)

• Established under – It is the Central Drug Authority and is responsible for carrying out duties entrusted by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act,1940.
• Responsibilities:
  • Adoption of drugs.
  • clinical trials, please.
  • establishing the criteria for drugs.
  • control over the country’s imported drugs’ quality.
  • Coordination of state drug control organizations’ effort

Other Drug Regulatory Bodies in India

• Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI): It is in charge of approving licenses for specific kinds of medications. He or she also serves as the head of the CDSCO department of the Indian government.
• Drug Price Control Order (DPCO): To keep certain necessary medications in India accessible for the general people, the DPCO controls their prices.
• Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940: This act regulates domestic drug use.
  

Cassava/Tapioca crops

Syllabus: GS3/Agriculture

Context

• A tiny parasitic wasp, Anagyrus lopezi, has been successfully used for biological control of the invasive cassava mealybug in tapioca plantations.

Cassava (Also called ‘Bread of the Tropics’)

• Known as – ‘Yuca’ or ‘Manioc’.
• It is a root vegetable grown through stem cuttings.
• It is a tall semi-woody perennial shrub or tree native to South America and was introduced in Africa & Asia by Portuguese sailors.
• Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of Cassava.
• It has numerous health benefits as it is rich in energy & vitamins.
• Significance – Under India’s National Policy on Biofuels (2018), cassava is recognized as a raw material for ethanol production, enhancing its significance beyond food security.

5th Edition of “An Eye on Methane: From Measurement to Momentum”

Syllabus: GS3/ Environment

In News

• The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has released the fifth edition of its flagship publication — “An Eye on Methane: From Measurement to Momentum” report.

Key Highlights of the 2025 Report

• Methane emissions from energy, agriculture, and waste sectors remain high, despite available cost-effective mitigation technologies.
• Methane has 80 times more warming potential than CO₂ over 20 years.
• Approximately 60% of current methane emissions originate from human activities, with the largest contributors being agriculture, fossil fuel extraction and use, and landfill waste.
• The report highlights India’s effective role in the Global Methane Pledge (GMP) and its efforts through SATAT, National Biogas Mission, and waste-to-energy projects.

International Day of the Snow Leopard 2025

Syllabus: GS3/ Environment

Context

• India celebrated International Snow Leopard Day on October 23, with a nationwide campaign “#23for23”.

International Day of the Snow Leopard 2025

• In 2024, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed October 23 as the International Day of the Snow Leopard.
• Objective – to enhance international and regional cooperation for Snow Leopard
• The ‘#23for23’ campaign is an initiative of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Programme (GSLEP) and the Snow Leopard Trust Worldwide.

Snow Leopard

• Scientific name – Panthera uncia
• Habitats – The Snow Leopard lives at high altitudes in the steep mountains of Central and Southern Asia, and in an extremely cold climate.
• Range states – Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim .
• Ghost of the mountains – The Snow Leopard is also known as Ghost of the mountains
• Bio indicator – It acts as an indicator of the health of the mountain ecosystem
• Snow Leopard capital of the world – Hemis, Ladakh.
• International Snow Leopard Day – It is observed on 23rd October.

Conservation status 

• IUCN Red List- Vulnerable
• CITES convention – Appendix I
• Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972– Schedule I

Conservation Efforts Launched by India

1. Project Snow Leopard (PSL)

• Launched in – 2009
• Objective – To promote an inclusive and participatory approach to conserve snow leopards and their habitat.

1. Species recovery programme – Snow Leopard is in the list of 21 critically endangered species for the recovery programme of the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change.
2. Snow Leopard conservation breeding programme – It is undertaken at Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling, West Bengal.
3. HimalSanrakshak – It is a community volunteer programme, to protect snow leopards, launched on 23rd October 2020.
4. First National Protocol –  was also launched In 2019.
5. SECURE Himalaya – Global Environment Facility (GEF) , United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded the project on conservation of high altitude biodiversity and reducing the dependency of local communities on the natural ecosystem.

International Conservation Efforts

• SNOW LEOPARD ECOSYSTEM PROTECTION PROGRAM – It seeks to address high-mountain development issues using the conservation of the endangered snow leopard as a flagship program.
• Bishkek Declaration – In 2013, the 12 snow leopard range countries signed and agreed to secure at least 20 snow leopard landscapes across by 2020
• International Year of the Snow Leopard – Year ‘2015’ was designated as International Year of the Snow Leopard

Recent Census –

• The exercise reported 718 snow leopards in India
• It was conducted from 2019 to 2023.
• Conducted by – The program was conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) with the help of all snow leopard range states and two conservation partners – the Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysuru (Karnataka), and WWF (World Wildlife Fund)-India.
• Based on data analysis, the estimated population of 718 snow leopards in different states/UTs are as follows – Ladakh (477), Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21), and J & K (9).