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Recently, some environmentalists demanded that Tamil Nadu’s Kadavur Reserve Forest be declared as a Wildlife Sanctuary in order to conserve Slender Loris (Loris tardigradus). The wildlife census conducted during 2016-17 showed an appreciable population of 3,500 slender loris in the Karur Reserve Forest. Important points: The slender lorises (Loris) are a genus of loris native to …

The Union Ministry of Minority Affairs has set a target to provide employment opportunities to 7 lakh 50 thousand artisans, craftsmen through 75 “Hunar Haat”. To be organised across the country, the 75 Haats will be a part of the ‘Amrit Mahotsav’ and will mark 75 years of India’s Independence Also, 75 “Amrit Mahotsav Parks” will be constructed …

Recently, the Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment has launched an online portal TAPAS (Training for Augmenting Productivity and Services). The idea of TAPAS was conceptualised at a time when exploring the online medium for work and education had become imperative due to the outbreak of Covid 19 pandemic Important points: It offers various courses in …

Recently, the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare inaugurated the world’s second-largest refurbished state-of-the-art National Gene Bank at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR). Gene Banks are a type of biorepository which preserve genetic material. A collection of seed plants, tissue cultures etc. A gene is the basic physical and functional unit of heredity. Genes are …

Recently, National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB), Hyderabad has launched a chip called IndiGau. It is India’s first Cattle Genomic Chip for the conservation of pure varieties of indigenous cattle breeds like Gir, Kankrej, Sahiwal, Ongole etc. NIAB is an Indian autonomous research establishment of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology. Important points: IndiGau …

Recently, Bihar has decided to tag greater adjutant storks locally known as ‘Garuda’ with GPS trackers to monitor their movement as part of efforts to conserve them. Important points: Leptoptilos dubius The greater adjutant is a member of the stork family, Ciconiidae. There are about 20 species in the family. They are long-necked large birds. Once found across South and Southeast Asia, the …

Recently, four more Indian sites – two each from Haryana and Gujarat – have been recognised as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Further, according to recent estimates by Wetlands International South Asia, nearly 30% of the natural wetlands in India have been lost in the last three decades. Majorly, the loss of Wetlands is more …

Recently, the Ministry Of Environment Forest And Climate Change has notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021. These rules prohibit specific single-use plastic items which have “low utility and high littering potential” by 2022. Important points: The manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of the identified single-use plastic will be prohibited with effect from the 1st July, 2022. The …

Recently, the Prime Minister while addressing the Investor Summit in Gujarat via video conferencing launched the Vehicle Scrapping Policy/National Automobile Scrappage Policy. The Summit will invite investment for setting up vehicle scrapping infrastructure under the Vehicle Scrapping Policy. The Vehicle Scrapping Policy was announced in March 2021 by the government. The policy is estimated to cover 51 …

On the occasion of World Elephant Day (12th August) the Union Environment Minister made public the population estimation protocol to be adopted in the all-India elephant and tiger population estimation in 2022. World Elephant Day was launched in 2012 to bring attention to the urgent plight of Asian and African elephants. Important points: Current Data on Elephants in India: …

Recently, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) suffered the loss of an important earth observation satellite (EOS-03) during launch when the GSLV rocket carrying it malfunctioned about five minutes from the lift-off. Earth Observation Satellites Earth observation satellites are the satellites equipped with remote sensing technology. Earth observation is the gathering of information about Earth’s physical, chemical and biological …

Kaziranga has become the first in the country to use satellite phones, which are generally used by the law-enforcing agencies. The satellite phones will give an edge to the forest personnel over the poachers and also during emergencies like floods. The public is barred from using satellite phones in India. Satellite phones can connect from …

World Biofuel Day is observed on 10th August every year. It is observed to raise awareness of the importance of non-fossil fuels as a substitute for conventional fossil fuels. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in association with UNIDO (United Nations Development Industrial Organisation) and GEF (Global Environment Facility – a financial mechanism) launched two schemes on this occasion which are: Interest …

Recently, the Ministry of Food Processing industries (MoFPI) has shared some information regarding Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY). Earlier, MoFPI had launched the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PM FME) Scheme, under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. The key sub-segments of the Food Processing industry in India are Dairy, Fruits & Vegetables, Poultry …

Recently, the 60th Public Enterprises (PE) Survey 2019-20 was released by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), Ministry of Finance. It is the single largest source of information on Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and acts as a basis for informed policy making. The government has reallocated the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) to the finance ministry from the ministry of …

Recently, the Prime Minister has announced a new national initiative on palm oil production to help increase farm incomes. The scheme, called National Edible Oil Mission-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), for self-reliance in edible oil involves investment of over Rs. 11,000 crore (over a five year period). Important points: To harness domestic edible oil prices that are …

For the first time, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) inducted women officers in the combat role. Two women officers joined it as Assistant Commandants (AC). Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force ITBP is a Central Armed Police Force functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The ITBP was raised on 24th October, 1962 during the India-China War and is a border guarding …

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the Monetary Policy Report (MPR) for the month of August 2021. It kept the policy rate unchanged for the seventh time in a row. And appealed to the centre and states to reduce taxes on fuels to curb inflationary pressures. Monetary Policy Report The MPR is published by …

The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) system has resulted in a 10% savings in public procurement costs in five years, but has still tapped only 5% of India’s total government purchases of about Rs 20 lakh crore a year. 56% of the order value processed through the GeM portal has been delivered by Micro, Small and Medium …

The India Plastics Pact, the first in Asia, will be launched in September in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Recently, a report published on closing the plastic circular Gap, suggested that there is a dire need to make large scale global interventions to manage plastic waste. …