Commemoration Of 50 Years Of Project Tiger
- The Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the program ‘Commemoration of 50 years of Project Tiger’at Mysuru University in Mysuru, Karnataka on April 9.
- The Prime Minister also launched the International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA).
- The focus of the International big cat alliance will be on the conservation of the world’s 7 major big cats including tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, puma, jaguar and cheetah.
- India has not only saved the tiger population from declining but also provided an ecosystem where tigers can flourish.
- India is home to 75% of the world’s tiger population in the 75th year of Indian independence.
- The tiger reserves in India cover 75,000 square kilometers of land and in the past ten to twelve years, the tiger population in the country has increased by 75 percent.
- Bharia community from Central India and Worli community from Maharashtra among others worship the tiger.
- India is the largest tiger range country in the world, the largest Asiatic elephant range country in the world with nearly thirty thousand elephants, and also the largest single-horn rhino country with a population of nearly three thousand.
- India is the only country in the world to have Asiatic lions and its population has increased from around 525 in 2015 to around 675 in 2020.
Monitoring Changes In Himalayan Glaciers
- Climate change and its impact on glaciers remains a global challenge which requires global efforts and actions.
- Various R&D projects are being supported for studying Himalayan Glaciers under the National Mission for Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem and National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change.
- Several areas in the Himalayan States have been declared as National Parks or Protected Areas, such as, Gangotri National Park, Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, and Great Himalayan National Park.
- The Government of India through its various organizations such as Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Geological Survey of India and Indian Space Research Organization has been carrying out regular scientific studies to monitor the changes in Himalayan glaciers. (Parliament Q&A)
Mining Of Rare Earth Elements
- The Rare Earth (RE) resources in India are reported to be the fifth largest in the world.
- Indian resource contain Light Rare Earth Elements (LREE) while Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREE) are not available in extractable quantities.
- In case of rare earths, a long drawn eco-system in value chain is required to move from reserves to finished product comprising of large number of processes/plants.
- 13.07 million tonnes in-situ monazite (containing ~55-60% total Rare Earth Elements oxide) resource occurring in the coastal beach placer sands in parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat and in the inland placers in parts of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
- More than 80 % of the usage of rare earths in value terms is in RE permanent magnets which require Magnetic REE i.e. Neodymium, Praseodymium, Dysprosium and Terbium. These are precious REE since they find use in energy transition initiatives.
- High value REE are Dysprosium and Terbium which are not available in extractable quantities in Indian reserves already under exploitation. In Indian deposits, only Neodymium and Praseodymium are available and are being extracted upto 99.9 % purity level. (Parliament Q&A)
GI tag To Ladakh’s Wood Carving
- The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 5 expressed happiness about GI Tag for Ladakh’s Wood Carving
- Chennai-based GI registry granted GI tag to Ladakh’s wood carving.
- GI registry is responsible for registering products under the GI Act, 1999.
- The GI tag will ensure that Ladakh’s woo carvings maintain its unique identity and origin. Indviduals or organisations from different regions will not be able to duplicate or sell the product under the same.
- Mostly inspired by Buddist themes and motifs, the famous wood carving is world famous for intricate designs and unique patters.
- The wood carvings are made from local wood such as willow and apricot.
- A Geographical Indication (GI) tag is a type of intellectual property right that identifies a product as originating from a specific geographical location, and posessing certain qualities, characteristics or reputation that are due to that location.
5th International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure
- Prime MInister Narendra Modi on April 4 addressed the 5th International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI) 2023 via a video message.
- The Prime Minister said that CDRI arose from a global vision that in a closely connected world, the impact of disasters will not just be local.
- In just a few years, over 40 countries from advanced and developing countries, large or small or from global South or Global North have become part of the CDRI.
- The Prime Minister underlined the intelligent use of local knowledge of building infrastructures that can with-stand disasters. Modern technology with local insights can be great for resilience.
- The Prime Minister noted the inclusive intent of some of the CDRI initiatives. He mentioned the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States initiative or IRIS benefitting many island nations.
- He remarked on the Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator Fund that was announced last year. This 50 million dollar fund has generated immense interest among developing nations.
District Mineral Foundation (DMF)
- Section 9B of the MMDR Act, 1957 empowers the State Government to establish District Mineral Foundation (DMF) Trust in all the Districts affected by mining for the benefit of the people and areas affected by mining activities.
- Accordingly, concerned State Governments have established DMFs in 626 districts in 23 states in the country. (Parliament Q&A)
Twentieth Session of Culture Ministers of SCO
- India became full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in June, 2017.
- India has hosted two SCO Senior Culture Officials Meeting on 3.2.2023 and 31.3.2023 in virtual format to discuss and formulate the papers for the SCO Culture Ministers’ Meeting.
- During the ongoing “SCO Council of Heads of States” Presidency of India, SCO aims at advancing the theme of ‘SECURE’ (Security, Economic cooperation, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Environment), articulated by the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi initially at the SCO Summit in Qingdao in 2018.
- hosted the 20th Session of Culture Ministers’Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States on April 3.
India-Central Asia Culture Ministers’ meeting
- The first India-Central Asia Culture Ministers’ meeting was held in New delhi on April 3.
- The Culture Ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan participated in the meeting.
- The India-Central Asia Summit hosted by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, on 27th January 2022 had laid emphasis on promoting cultural cooperation for better understanding of culture between the Central Asian countries and strengthen our age-old cultural linkages which bind our people together.
- India is of the view that shared Buddhist heritage is a cherished spiritual bond which needs to be further cultivated and propagated for harmonious relations.
More Readings