GS3

A new species of endemic honeybee has been discovered in the Western Ghats. The new species has been named Apiskarinjodian and given the common name Indian black honeybee. The finding has been published in the September issue of Entomon, a peer-reviewed journal brought out by the Association for Advancement of …

Two of the eight cheetahs inside the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh were on Saturday released into an acclimatisation enclosure from the quarantine area where they were kept since their translocation from Namibia in September, an official said. The remaining six cheetahs will also be released in a …

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras developed a crowdsourcing initiative to collect real time information on areas affected by waterlogging or flooding during the 2021 northeast monsoon. The website has been opened again this year with a few changes. Previously, responders uploaded pictures of the area but now they can …

This has been a central question in the climate change negotiations since the Rio Earth Summit (1992) and will also be at the root of contestations at the upcoming 27th Conference of Parties (COP27, beginning November 6, in Egypt) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In …

The CRISPR gene-editing technology that received the Nobel Prize in 2020 has witnessed a new height. Indian scientists have demonstrated for the first time that the associated Cas9 enzyme, which acts as molecular scissors to cut DNA at a location specified by a guide RNA, can bind to and cut the …

In wake of unfavourable meteorological conditions anticipated to deteriorate the air quality of the National Capital Region in the coming days, the Sub-Committee for invoking actions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR & Adjoining Areas (CAQM) held a meeting today …

Union Agriculture Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar chaired first steering committee meeting of National Natural Farming Mission today at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi. In the meeting, Shri Tomar launched the NMNF portal. He said that the mission of natural farming in the country would be taken forward with everyone’s cooperation. …

Nagaland is undertaking the first avian documentation exercise going beyond the Amur falcons, the migratory raptor that put the State on the world birding map. The four-day TokhüEmong Bird Count (TEBC) from Friday has been timed with the post-harvest TokhüEmong festival of the Lothas, the Naga community that dominates Wokha …

ISRO’s RISAT-2 satellite, launched in 2009, has made an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. The space agency on Thursday said the RISAT-2 satellite, weighing about 300 kg, made an uncontrolled re-entry in the Indian Ocean near Jakarta on October 30. “Weighing only about 300 kg, the satellite has now …

Tamil Nadu power utilities have voiced concern over the shutdown of Unit-1 of Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) at Kalpakkam since 2018. They have sought the probable date for it to resume operation. In a letter to the Southern Regional Power Committee (SRPC), Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Limited (Tantransco) said …

The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), India’s apex regulator of genetically modified plants and food products, has approved the environmental release of Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11), a genetically-engineered variant of mustard. Trials conducted over three years by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) suggest that DMH-11 has 28% higher …

The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) on Wednesday conducted the maiden flight-test of Phase 2 of the ballistic missile defence (BMD) interceptor missile successfully. The AD-1 is a long-range interceptor missile designed for both low exo-atmospheric and endo-atmospheric interception of long-range ballistic missiles as well as aircraft. It is …

The horns of rhinoceroses may have become smaller over time from the impact of hunting, according to a recent study which analysed artwork and photographs of the animal spanning more than five centuries. The study, published in the latest edition of People and Nature by the British Ecological Society, relied …

Considering the huge increase in the prices of fertilizers in global market, the Centre has “doubled” the fertilizer subsidy for this rabi season. A meeting of the Union Cabinet here on Wednesday approved a subsidy of ₹51,875 crore for nitrogen, phosphorus and potash (NPK) and sulphur for phosphatic and potassium …

After years of being in limbo, there is a surge of optimism around DMH-11, or Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11, a variety developed using genetic engineering techniques by Indian scientists and public funds. The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the apex regulator and an arm of the Environment Ministry, last week cleared …

November 3 will be the first ‘The International Day for Biosphere Reserves’, to be celebrated beginning 2022. The World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) was formed in 1971, as a backbone for biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, and living in harmony with nature. There are now 738 properties in 134 countries, …

The Panamaram heronry, the largest breeding ground of herons in Kerala’s Malabar region, is set to get a fresh lease of life, thanks to the intervention of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) and the Panamaramgrama panchayat. The heronry, formed on a sandbank on the Panamaram river, is a breeding …

Goa is hosting the three day Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) Conference from 1st to 3rd November 2022. Across the three days, delegates and exhibitors from the Asia Pacific region andbeyond will be discussing and collaborating on the key issues that will help shape the future of Asia’s aviation …

The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has said that our farmers are venerable and adorable like the soldiers, guarding the borders of the country. He said, farmers do a lot of sacrifice to feed the countrymen and added that farming and securing the borders …

On October 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi layed the foundation stone for the C-295 transport aircraft manufacturing facility in Vodadara to be set up by Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL). Indian companies, both public and private, have steadily expanded their footprint in the global supply …