Page 540 - Environment
Central Silk Board notifies races of silk worm seed
The Central Silk Board (CSB) has notified newly-developed races of silkworm seed of mulberry and Vanya silk which will help increase productivity and growers' income, the Textiles Ministry said today. "The recently notified silkworm races will improve the income of the farmers by its enhanced productivity and quality, an official statement said. Silk worm breeds for specific agro-climatic condition are essential for increasing the productivity of cocoons. Tropical Tasar Silkworm (BDR-10)race developed by the CSB have 21 per cent more productivity than the traditional Daba breed. "Farmers can get up to 52 kg cocoons per 100 disease free layings (dfls)," an official statement said. Silk worm breed will help the tribal farmers of Jharkhand, Chattishgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. Multivoltine x Bivoltine Mulberry hybrid(PM x FC2)race of silkworm can produce 60 kg per 100 Dfls and the race is better than earlier ..
Nepal, Bangladesh sign MoU for energy cooperation
Nepal and Bangladesh on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding to work together in the development of the energy sector for the first time.
Kite rescued after it collapsed inside Indian Cost Guard Headquarters in Delhi
A bird was rescued after it collapsed inside the Indian Cost Guard Headquarters, a wildlife conservation NGO said. The kite was suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration and is currently being taken care by the NGO. Wildlife SOS said a two member rescue team was rushed to the spot yesterday after they were informed by a maintenance staff at the ICG Headquarters about a kite lying semi-conscious in their lawn. The NGO said their team shifted the distressed bird to a transport container and rushed it to their recovery facility. Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO of wildlife SOS said the kite is under mandated medical observation to ensure it recuperates safely from the ordeal. Raptors like kites generally fly at higher altitudes and are more prone to suffering under the scorching sun. While descending down in search of prey or water, they collapse on the ground due to dehydration, heat exhaustion and lack of shade, the wildlife conservation NGO said.
HC issues directions to protect elephants from being mowed down by trains
The Uttarakhand High Court today issued various directions to the chief wildlife warden for protection of elephants and other wildlife, relocation of nomadic Van Gujjars living in protected forests and identification of elephant corridors. To protect wild elephants who often meet with accidents along railway tracks, the division bench of Acting Chief Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Lokpal Singh directed the forest department to identify elephant corridors, in consultation with the Railways, so that steps to avoid such mishaps could be taken. After identification of such corridors, trenches and underpasses should be made within two months so that the elephants could be prevented from crossing the railway tracks, the court said, and added that the speed limit of trains while passing through such corridors be fixed at 25 kmph. The Railway authorities, in consultation with the Forest Department, are directed to use modern wireless animal tracking systems to avoid deaths of helpless ...
Century Ply to meet 15% power needs from solar units by 2018
Plywood major Century Plyboards India Ltd today said it will be installing solar plants in all its manufacturing units that will help meet around 15 per cent of its overall power requirement by 2018. The company said it will install solar plants in all its manufacturing facilities by 2018. "This initiative at Century Plys end will save around 15 per cent of the total energy consumption at each plant and will help in reducing up to 5,900 tonnes of carbon footprint per year," the company said in a statement. Century Plyboards has started drawing power from group captive wind mill for the Chennai unit, which is another step towards sustainable green energy, it said.
Govt to ban plastic bags only after getting feedback from
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi today said state government would take the decision about banning use of polythene bags below 50 microns of thickness after getting feedback from people. The state government would seek people's feedback on the draft proposal to ban production, distribution and sale of plastic bags, he said while addressing "Bihar Prithvi Diwas" function here. Sushil Modi, who also holds charge of the Environment and Forest department said the draft proposal to ban plastic would be issued soon. After the draft proposal is issued people can give then feedbacks, he said. "The government would also incorporate the provision of penalising those who will violate the proposed ban," he said while exhorting students and common man to follow 11 point resolution for environment protection and pollution control. The 11 point resolution talks about planting saplings, protecting environment, saving energy, maintaining cleanliness and sanitation in and ...
Modi to address IIT-Bombay convocation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Mumbai to attend the 56th Annual Convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, a government statement said on Friday.
Little focus on provisions of Forest Rights Act in National Forest Policy 2018 questioned
Responses to the draft National Forest Policy 2018 revolved around a host of issues, including lack of focus on provisions of Forest Rights Act and limited role of gram sabhas, the government said today. In a written reply to a question, Minister of State for Environment Mahesh Sharma told Lok Sabha that the responses have been received from various stakeholders, including government, private agencies, non-governmental organisations, members of civil society, experts and other concerned individuals. The MoS said the National Forest Policy 2018 will be finalised after all comments are analysed. "However, the ministry has not set any time limit for finalisation of the new National Forest Policy," he said. The draft policy was placed in public domain for a month till April 14 this year for comments. "The responses mostly seek clarity on the provisions of the Forest Rights Act and its implementation, the limited role of gram sabha's, concern on public private partnership (PPP) in ...
12 people injured in monkey attack
At least 12 people including four women were injured when a monkey attacked them in Odisha's Ganjam district in last three days, officials said today. A 60-year old man, identified as Tanka Sahu was seriously injured when the animal attacked him at Kenteikoli village yesterday. Sahu was shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital here for treatment. The residents, particularly the children are scared to venture out of their house because of the monkey menace, said sarpanch of Kanchuru panchayat, P Mohan Rao. The sarpanch said he has already informed the Forest department about the monkey menace. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Berhampur, Ashish Kumar Behera said at least six staffs of Berhampur forest range were camping in the village with nets and other equipments to catch the particular monkey. But they faced difficulty to identify the particular monkey, as a number of simians in the village live in groups. "We are trying to net the monkey," the DFO said. He advised
NASA set to launch 'touch the Sun' spacecraft
NASA is all set to launch its historic small car-size probe to "touch the Sun" from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 3.33 am EDT (1 pm India time) on Saturday.
PM launches single window integrated environment management system
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched a single window hub for online submission, monitoring and management of proposals submitted to the Environment Ministry by project proponents to seek various types of clearances. The prime minister launched Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive, Virtuous and Environmental Single-window Hub (PARIVESH) on the occasion of World Biofuel Day. An official statement said 'PARIVESH' is a Single-Window Integrated Environmental Management System, developed in pursuance of the spirit of 'Digital India' and capturing the essence of "minimum government and maximum governance". In a series of tweets, Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said PARIVESH automates the entire process of submitting the application and tracking the status of such proposals at each stage of processing. He emphasised that with the launch of PARIVESH, the prime minister's vision for e-governance and enhancing ease of doing responsible business is being ...
Odisha to implement Rs 1,100cr ground water recharge project
The Odisha government today signed an agreement for implementing a ground water recharge project partly funded by South Korea-based Green Climate Fund (GCF). The project aims to recharge ground water at a massive scale at a cost of Rs 1,100 crore, said chief minister Naveen Patnaik. The agreement was signed between Odisha's Water Resources Department and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) where Patnaik was also present. The GCF assistance will be routed through NABARD. Patnaik said the GCF is giving an assistance of about Rs 240 crore while the state government will arrange the remaining amount through convergence of funding. Apart from renovation and improvement of 10,000 tanks, the project envisages providing recharge shafts to recharge at least 1,65,000 acre feet of water to the aquifers development of 1,000 deep bore wells with solar pumping based micro irrigation and capacity building of farmers. The project will be implemented in five ...
Construction activities affecting natural habitat of elephants
The government today said that construction activities and deforestation have adversely affected the natural habitat of elephants, whose population was a little over 27,300 last year. To conserve habitats, the central and state governments are taking various steps, including afforestation and reforestation, to prevent the death of animals and human beings, Union Minister Harsha Vardhan said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. Citing a preliminary report, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said there were 27,312 elephants in 2017. Sharma was responding to supplementaries during the Question Hour on behalf of Vardhan, who is the Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Sharma said the highest population of elephants was in Kerala. There was no death of elephants due to poaching in 2017- 18 while the number stood at 16 in 2015-16, he added. He also said "it is a fact that construction activities and deforestation, have adversely affected the natural habitat of ...
Climate action summit aims at next level
Leaders of this year's Global Climate Action Summit have announced that the event will meet or exceed international sustainability standards for large events like concerts and conventions through actions, including waste reduction and other measures to limit the emissions.
237 tigers died in last two years: Minister
As many as 237 tigers died in the country in last two years, the government said today. Also 23 per cent of total deaths from 2012 to 2017 were due to poaching. However, the government asserted that unnatural deaths "have not had an impact on tiger numbers which are growing at the rate of 5.8 per cent per annum". "In 2016, 122 tigers died across the country while 115 died in 2017," Minister of State for Environment Mahesh Sharma told Lok Sabha in a written reply. He said during 2012-17, 55 per cent of the tiger deaths were due to natural causes while seven per cent were due to unnatural causes not attributable to poaching. He said 23 per cent (of tigers) died due to poaching while 15 per cent have been tiger body part or derivative seizures. He said the government through Project Tiger and National Tiger Conservation Authority, has taken a number of initiatives towards anti-poaching operations. These include creation of Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF), formulation of Security ..
Water-logging, snarls after brief rain in Delhi
A short spell of rain on Friday afternoon in the national capital brought more misery than joy to the citizens as they faced traffic snarls and water-logging at various places.
Urgent need to revisit 1 bn tonne production target: CIL
State-owned CIL today said that there was an urgent need to revisit its one billion tonnes output programme following changes in the environmental paradigm and coal demand. The government had earlier set a target of 1 billion tonnes of coal output by FY2019-20 for Coal India (CIL). "Consequent upon the outcome of Paris Protocol on climate change and changes in the environmental paradigm and coal demand, there was an urgent need of revisiting the 1 billion tonnes programme," CIL said in its Annual Report 2017-18. The world's largest miner said the coal ministry was now in the process of finalising the Vision 2030 document for coal sector in which projection for likely demand of coal in the country was being assessed under different scenarios considering the views of power ministry and scenario emerged due to Paris protocol among others, the report said. The document is likely to be finalised shortly, it said. "In view of above, road map for coal production beyond 2018-19 along with ...
Govt looks to open up to 100 islands for eco-tourism: Kant
The government looks to open up to 100 islands in Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep for the development of eco-tourism on public private partnership (PPP) basis, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said today. Under the Holistic Development of Islands programme, 10 islands in Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep have been taken up for development in the first phase. "Now we are opening up 10 islands, in the next 12 months we should be opening close to 100 islands," Kant said. "We welcome all dynamic entrepreneurs to create projects that India can be proud of. The success of the Incredible Islands Of India initiative will beget further success," he added. Kant was addressing investors' conference organised by Niti Aayog to attract investments for the development of eco-tourism on PPP basis in Andaman & Nicobar, and Lakshadweep Islands. "A detailed study has been done on the carrying capacity of these Incredible Islands Of India. We are not looking at mass tourism that will burden the .
Animal Planet sharpens focus on conservation with a brand-new philosophy 'Humans Like Us'
Animal Planet, India's number 1 wildlife channel that immerses viewers in entire spectrum of life in the animal kingdom with high quality content, has adopted a new brand philosophy 'Humans Like Us'. For more than 20 years in India, Animal Planet has carried programming from every corner of the world capturing the beauty and splendor of the animal kingdom.As a part of the new brand purpose, Animal Planet will sharpen focus on stories linked to animal conservation as it aims to awaken viewers to the need for animal welfare and conservation.The channel will dial-up the 'Human Connect' further with thought-provoking and entertaining storytelling that emerges from the fascinating intersection of the animal, human and natural worlds.The Animal Planet's refresh campaign comes on the heels of weeks of domination in the infotainment genre in India. Animal Planet has clearly established itself as India's no 1 wildlife brand with 15% share, second only to Discovery channel's 23% share*. Animal .
Trees cut or pruned under occupation of NIEPA, a separate entity, clarifies NCERT
The National Council of Educational Research and Training today said the trees, allegedly illegally pruned and cut at its campus here, were under the "occupation" of National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration which is a separate entity. The clarification by the NCERT comes a day after it was reported that around 33 trees were heavily pruned and five cut at its campus on Aurobindo Road without permission from the forest department. "NCERT has nothing to do with the pruning or cutting of trees in NIEPA area," the NCERT said in a statement. "The trees that were cut or pruned were under the occupation of National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) which is a separate entity," it added. Acting on a complaint from an NGO, a team of forest rangers visited the campus on Wednesday and submitted its report stating five trees were cut and 33 were heavily pruned, a forest department official said. A decision on further action would be taken soon, the ..
