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Recently, Lok Sabha passed by voice vote the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021 that seeks to provide for implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). It was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on 17th December 2021. It seeks to amend the Wild Life …

Recently, the Ministry of Education informed Lok Sabha that less than 10% of schools are equipped with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools or Digital Tools, in at least 10 states of India. ICT tools for teaching and learning cover everything from digital infrastructures such as printers, computers, laptops, tablets, etc., to software tools such as Google …

The Reserve Bank of India has released the Composite Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) for the year ended 31st March 2022. India’s Financial Inclusion Index has improved to 56.4 from 53.9 in the previous year 2021. The improvement has been seen across all its sub-indices (Access, Usage and Equality). It is a comprehensive index incorporating details of banking, investments, insurance, postal …

Recently, a study has been published, which has raised scepticism about the efficiency of restoring coastal habitats to offset carbon emissions. Restoring Coastal habitats is far from certain and unreliable. and there’s a real risk that the scale at which they can mitigate emissions has been massively oversold. It is …

Recently, a MiG-21 Bison aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF)crashed in Barmer, Rajasthan killing the two pilots aboard the trainer version of the fighter aircraft. Currently, the IAF has around 70 Mig-21 aircraft and 50 Mig-29 variants. There are four squadrons of MiG-21 Bison aircraft currently in service in the IAF with each squadron …

Recently, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has released the Aridity Anomaly Outlook (AAO) Index of July 2022, which says at least 85% of districts face arid conditions across India. The index monitors agricultural drought, a situation when rainfall and soil moisture are inadequate to support healthy crop growth till maturity, causing crop stress. An anomaly from the normal value signifies a …

29th July is observed as International Tiger Day (ITD) to promote the conservation of the striped cat as well as to advocate a global system for protecting its natural habitats. ITD was established in 2010 at St Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia in order to raise awareness about the decline of wild tiger numbers, …

Singapore and USA have emerged as top 2 sourcing nations in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity flows into India in FY 2021-22 followed by Mauritius, Netherland and Switzerland. UNCTAD World Investment Report (WIR) 2022 has ranked India at 7th rank among the top 20 host economies for 2021, in terms of FDI. India received the highest …

Recently, the Minister of State of Science & Technology presented a national science award to Indian scientists who conducted the world’s first locomotive trials of a deep-sea mining system in the central Indian ocean. The Minister presented the award at the 16th Foundation Day of the Ministry of Earth Sciences. Also, inaugurated a first-of-its-kind …

Recently, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has released targets to Curb Malnutrition in India. Aims at reducing stunting and under-nutrition (underweight prevalence) among children below 6 years by 2% each year. Aims to Reduce, low birth weight by 2% per annum, Anaemia among children between six and 59 months, as well …

Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare launched “The Eleventh Agricultural Census (2021-22).” This computation will bring huge benefits in a vast and agricultural country like India. Agriculture Census is conducted every 5 years, which is being undertaken now after delay due to the Covid – 19 Pandemic. Entire Census operation is conducted in three phases and operational holding is …

Recently, the central government has released Rs 206 crore to states for the promotion of exports under the Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) initiative. Under the TIES, financial assistance for 27 export infrastructure projects have been approved during FY 2019-20 to 2022-23. Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) Union Ministry of …

Human-Animal Conflict It refers to struggles that arise when the presence or behavior of wildlife poses actual or perceived direct, recurring threats to human interests or needs, often leading to disagreements between groups of people and negative impacts on people and/or wildlife. Causes: Habitat loss Growth of the population of wild animals …

With burgeoning population and even faster urbanisation, there has been an explosion in the generation of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in Indian cities. It is important to note that the engagement of formal waste management system remains low in the cities, primarily due to insufficient funds, low sectoral development and lack of know-how about sustainable waste …

Recently Light-mantled Albatross, a species native to the Antarctic seas, was recorded in Tamil Nadu. The location where the Albatross was spotted is part of the Palk Bay and near the Gulf of Mannar, an ‘Important Bird Area’ on India’s southeast coast. This record from the Palk Bay side of Rameswaramisland is significant, and it throws up new …

Recently, the Ministry of Tourism has revamped its Swadesh Darshan scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) with an aim to develop sustainable and responsible infrastructure at destinations. It was launched in 2014-15 for integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits — Buddhist Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Desert Circuit, Eco Circuit, Heritage Circuit, Northeast Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Sufi Circuit, …

India has added five more Ramsar sites, or wetlands of international importance, bringing the number of such sites to 54. New Ramsar Sites Karikili Bird Sanctuary (Tamil Nadu): The sanctuary is spread over a five-kilometre-wide belt and is home to cormorants, egrets, grey heron, open-billed stork, darter, spoonbill, white lbnis, night …

Recently, migratory monarch butterflies have been declared endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species. It’s a sub-species of the Danaus plexippus butterfly that travels around 4,000 kilometres across America. It’s the most recognizable butterfly species that are essential pollinators and further provides various ecosystem services such as maintaining the global food …

Recently, the UNFCCC COP26 President, Alok Sharma, visited India to discuss India’s implementation of its COP 26 commitments. He also stated that a mechanism is being put in place to achieve the target of climate financing USD 100 billion by 2023. Climate Finance It refers to local, national, or transnational financing—drawn from public, private and alternative …

Recently, a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) was conducted between Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and Indian Navy in the Andaman Sea. Japan-India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) Malabar Exercise (India – US – Japan – Australia) The exercises were aimed at enhancing interoperability and streamlining seamanship and communication procedures. This exercise is part of the ongoing efforts between the two …