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Differences in altitude make a primate species in the same Himalayan habitat choose between flowers and fruits as food options beyond their staple menu of leaves, a new study has revealed. The Himalayan Gray Langur or the Chamba Sacred Langur (Semnopithecus ajax) is a colobine, meaning leaf-eating monkey. It is …

The UGC’s decision to remove the mandatory requirement of getting research papers published in peer-reviewed journals before submitting a PhD thesis is a bid to stem the unhealthy practice of many scholars paying substandard, predatory journals to publish their papers without sufficient review, which has weakened the quality of India’s …

The Government has quietly dropped the practice of releasing preliminary monthly merchandise trade estimates at the beginning of the month, and updating them two weeks later with ‘quick’ estimates. The foreign trade numbers for October 2022 and beyond will be released by the middle of the next month, as was …

The 42 International Congress of the Indian National Cartographic Association (INCA) is being organised by the National Hydrographic Office (NHO), Dehradun from 09 to 11 Nov 22. The Governor of Uttarakhand His Excellency Lt Gen Gurmit Singh, (Retd.) was the Chief Guest for the Inaugural Session on 09 Nov 22. …

The National Ambient Air Quality Standards were revised in 2009 to include 12 categories of pollutants including PM2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter under 2.5 microns) — a noxious pollutant which can penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream, resulting in cardiovascular and respiratory impacts. Multiple studies …

The Centre has expanded the norms for incentives and export obligations under the Foreign Trade policy to cover foreign trade transactions settled in rupees, the Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday. In July, the RBI and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade had carried out amendments in the Foreign Trade policy …

Groundwater extraction in India saw an 18-year decline, according to an assessment by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) made public on Wednesday. The total annual groundwater recharge for the entire country is 437.6 billion cubic metres (bcm) and annual groundwater extraction for the entire country is 239.16 bcm, according …

Traders of universally prized Pashmina shawls are complaining that “obsolete testing methods” have resulted in many of their export consignments being flagged by Customs authorities for presence of Shahtoosh guard hair, which is obtained from endangered Tibetan antelopes. The traders claim the use of obsolete techniques such as “light microscopy” …

Secretary Tourism and High Commissioner of India to UK inaugurate the Indian Pavilion at WTM2022 India to be promoted as a multi product and around the year destination with sustainability at WTM Ministry of Tourism, Government of India is participating at World Travel Market (WTM) 2022 from 7th to 9th …

MAC initiative brings the world together to advance the global cause of Mangroves. India’s extensive experience in mangrove restoration to contribute to global knowledge base. Integration of mangroves into the national REDD+ programs need of the hour. Union Minister for Environment Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav spoke at …

The National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research has begun field studies to put in place an early-warning system in the Himalayan States against major and sudden floods, rockslides, landslips, glacier lake bursts and avalanches and to prevent Chamoli kind of disasters in future. …

Researchers have discovered a new species of estuarine crab at the mangroves of Parangipettai near the Vellar river in Cuddalore district. The species has been named Pseudoheliceannamalai in recognition of Annamalai University’s 100 years of service in education and research. The discovery has been published in the latest issue of …

The 27th session of the Conference of Parties (COP) is underway at Egypt’s sea-side city of Sharm el-Sheikh where, over two weeks, heads of government, diplomats, business heads, activists, journalists, and lobbyists will converge. The attempt is to inch ahead on a global rehaul of energy consumption to improve earth’s …

Giving impetus to the ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ and India’s ‘Make in India’ commitment, Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) launched Hull Module of Submersible Platform for Acoustic Characterization & Evaluation (SPACE) facility at Naval Physical & Oceanographic Laboratory   (NPOL) Kochi recently. It is a state-of-the-art testing and evaluation facility for sonar …

According to officials, tourist footfall has generated a revenue of ₹15,03,180 lakh this blooming season. JomonPampavalley Though the Neelakurinji flowers (Strobilantheskunthiana) atop the Kallippara hills in Idukki have withered away, the inflow of tourists to the picturesque landscape continues. According to Santhanpara panchayat officials, Neelakurinji largely bloomed on the Kallippara …

The transformation of the area under the Edaikkal Project in Villupuram district, implemented in 1994 with funds from the Social Forestry Scheme, is a classic example of what commitment to greening can do. In 28 years, the area has become a dense mini-forest and is now home to fauna like …

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told countries gathered at the start of the COP-27 summit in Egypt on Monday that they face a stark choice: work together now to cut emissions or condemn future generations to climate catastrophe. Guterres’s comments come at a time when the world is distracted by …

On November 1, Elon Musk-owned SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy rocket into a geosynchronous Earth orbit from the Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, U.S. This is considered as a National Security Space Launch for the U.S. military. The company hails this as the most powerful …

Delegates at the COP-27 climate summit in Egypt agreed after late-night talks to put the delicate issue of whether rich nations should compensate poor countries most vulnerable to climate change on the formal agenda for the first time. For more than a decade, wealthy nations have rejected official discussions on …

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating multiple cases of online gaming fraud, including those against companies run by some China-based entities through dummy Indian directors, involving transactions worth about ₹4,000 crore. In the case pertaining to Chinese entities, the agency is pursuing the money trails of 1,815 suspect accounts. It …