In an aim to protect wildlife in newly-allocated coal block areas, the Odisha government has decided to prepare a comprehensive wildlife management plan with help of national level institution, an official said here on Saturday(20th Aug 2022).

 

This was decided at a meeting held under the chairmanship of Odisha chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra.

 

It was decided to prepare the plan through national level institutes like Wildlife Institute of India or Indian Institute of Science. Mahapatra directed to prepare the plan as per national guidelines in a time bound manner.

 

The plan will be prepared for the newly allotted coal blocks including Utkal E, Radhikapur East, Radhikapur West, and Naini. Their probable impact areas are Chhendipada, Kaniha, Jarpada ranges of Angul forest division and Reamal range of Deogarh forest division.

 

The chief secretary instructed officials concerned to work out the comprehensive plan for protection and conservation of wildlife, and mitigation of the adverse impact of coal mining on movement of elephants..

Source : Odisha TV

Former India football team captain Samar 'Badru' Banerjee, who led the country to a historic fourth-place finish in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, died here in the early hours of Saturday(20th August 2022) after a prolonged illness. He was 92. Banerjee is survived by his daughter-in-law.

 

Fondly known as 'Badru Da', he was suffering from Alzheimer, Azotemia and high-blood pressure related ailments, and was admitted at the MR Bangur Hospital after testing positive for COVID-19 on July 27, 2022. 

 

"As his health deteriorated he was shifted to the state-run SSKM Hospital under the supervision of state sports minister Arup Biswas. He breathed his last around 2.10am," Mohun Bagan secretary Debasish Dutta told PTI. 

 

Besides guiding Mohun Bagan to several trophies including their first ever Durand Cup (1953), Rovers Cup (1955), Banerjee has also won the Santosh Trophy twice as a player (1953, 1955) and once as coach (1962). He also served India as selector..

Source : Times of india

Every year, August 20 is observed as the Akshay Urja Diwas to raise awareness for the development and efficient use of renewable energy in India. The day also commemorates the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

 

The goal of celebrating this day is to make people aware of the energy sources generated using natural resources like hydroelectric power, solar energy, wind energy and biogas. Every day the depletion of natural resources is rising at a higher level, which is a cause of concern for the future generation to tackle energy sources.

 

* The day was first celebrated in 2004. Various campaigns are organised to create awareness of the benefits of renewable energy resources on the planet.

 

 

* The day was first organised by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with the Indian Ministry for New and Renewable Energy Sources (MNRE).

 

* On that particular day, 12,000 school children gathered to encourage the role of efficient use of green and natural resources for the general public.

 

* The significant objective behind this day is to focus on the younger generation studying in schools and colleges to understand the concept of using renewable energy.

 

* Through campaigns, people can get hold of the side effects on the environment and the people associated with it..

Source : India Today

* Every year, World Mosquito Day is observed on 20 August. This day is marked to honour and acknowledge the British doctor Sir Ronald Ross.

 

* Sir Ronald Ross was the one who found out that female mosquitoes are responsible for causing malaria in the year 1897.

 

* World Mosquito Day celebrations are organised every year by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

 

* When it comes to mosquito-borne diseases, malaria has the greatest global impact. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria alone is responsible for the death of 400,000 people per year. Other mosquito-borne diseases, even if not fatal, can have devastating consequences for patients. Chikungunya, for example, causes crippling joint pain, and Zika infection in pregnant women can result in severe birth defects.

 

 

Mosquitoes are one of the most lethal insects in the world. They cause millions of deaths every year. So, to raise awareness about the cause and prevention of diseases caused by mosquitos, this day is marked.

 

Aedes, Anopheles, and Culex mosquitoes act as vectors, and lead to the spread of many diseases according to the National Health Portal of India.

 

The mosquito has its own complicated life cycle. Though different mosquito species prefer different locations for egg laying, many Anopheles mosquitoes lay their eggs in undisturbed pools of water. The eggs hatch into aquatic larvae, which grow until the time comes for them to pupate into flying adults.

 

Adult male and female Anopheles feed on nectar. Females also feed on blood (resulting in mosquito bites) because the nutrients in the blood allow the females to produce eggs..

Source : First Post

The Shipping Ministry has proposed establishing a national council for structured growth and development of the port sector in the draft Indian Ports Bill.

 

The proposed bill seeks to amend The Indian Ports Act, 1908 with the intent of empowering and establishing State Maritime Boards. The changes are targeted towards effective administration, control and management of non-major ports in India. These boards will also provide for adjudicatory mechanisms for redressal of port related disputes.

 

An official statement said the existing act is more than 110 years old and it needs to be revamped for reflecting the present-day frameworks. This draft bill proposes to repeal and replace the existing 1908 Act..

Source : Economic Times

To bolster defence ties with Malaysia, India’s largest Defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will be establishing an office in "Kuala Lumpur". In the same regard, HAL inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the presence of Defence Secretary of India Dr. Ajay Kumar.

 

The office in Malaysia will help HAL in tapping the new business opportunities for Fighter Lead-in Trainer (FLIT) LCA and other requirements of Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) like Su-30 MKM and Hawk upgrades.

 

 “Being one of the largest producers of Russian origin Su-30 aircraft, HAL has capabilities to extend the required support to RMAF for the Su-30 MKM fleet which is facing low serviceability issues due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis,” HAL mentioned in a statement.

 

Further, the Indian DSPU can support RMAF for upgrading their Hawk fleet as well. Interestingly, HAL’s other platforms like HTT-40, Do-228 Dornier, Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) among others have the potential to be inducted by RMAF in future.  

 

Considering the above factors, HAL’s office in Kuala Lumpur will take up market promotion of HAL’s range of products and services not only in Malaysia but in the entire South East Asia.

 

The office will also contribute in increasing serviceability of existing platforms being operated by RMAF and for neighbouring Air Forces in the region as well..

Source : News on Air

The birth anniversary of India's Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is celebrated as 'Sadbhavana Diwas' or 'Harmony Day' on 20 August.

 

Sadbhavana Diwas or Sadbhavna Day means a day dedicated to promotion of social peace and harmony. The day is observed on 20 August - birthday of our former PM Rajiv Gandhi - every year commemorating his contribution to society and the nation.

 

Rajiv Gandhi, who served as the prime minister of the country from 1984 to 1989, was born on August 20 in 1944. He was assassinated by the LTTE during an election campaign in 1991..

Source : Oneindia

Regional Connectivity Scheme of Ministry of Civil Aviation, UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) has successfully completed 5 years. This scheme was initiated in 2016. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched first flight under UDAN on April 27, 2017. The scheme aims to connect small and medium cities with big cities through air service. In the five years, scheme has benefited more than 1 crore passengers till August 4, 2022.

 

* In 2014, there were just 74 operational airports in India. The number has now increased to 141 by now.

* 68 underserved or unserved destinations, including 58 Airports, 8 Heliports and 2 Water Aerodromes have been connected under UDAN Scheme, as of now.

* This scheme has provided air connectivity to over 29 States/UTs by initiating 425 new routes.

* In next four years, government is expecting to add more of 40 crore travellers in India.

* Another 220 destinations including airports, heliports or water aerodromes under UDAN are likely to compete by 2026. 1,000 new routes will be added to provide air connectivity to unconnected destinations.

* As of now, 954 routes have already been provided to connect 156 airports under UDAN.

 

Ministry of Civil Aviation had launched the “UDAN Scheme” in 201, with the objective of developing regional aviation market. It also seeks to provide economically viable, affordable and profitable air travel to common man across regional routes. It aims to connect un-served and underserved airports of India by reviving existing air-strips and airports. It will be operational 10 years. It has been implemented in five phases till date:

 

UDAN 1.0 : 36 new airports were made operational. 128 flight routes to 70 airports were awarded to 5 airlines companies.

UDAN 2.0 : It connected helipads for the first time. In 2018, 73 underserved and unserved airports were announced.

UDAN 3.0 : It included tourism routes, seaplanes to connect Water Aerodromes and brought routes in North-East region under UDAN.

UDAN 4.0 : In 2020, 78 new routes were approved. In this phase, Kavaratti, Agatti, and Minicoy islands of Lakshadweep will also be connected by the new routes.

UDAN 4.1 : Its focus is on connecting smaller airports, special helicopter and seaplane routes under UDAN. New routes have also been proposed under Sagarmala Seaplane services..

Source : PIB

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday(16th Aug 2022) appointed India's Electronics and Information Technology Secretary "Alkesh Kumar Sharma" to a panel of eminent experts on internet governance.

 

Internet pioneer Vint Cerf and Nobel Prize-winning journalist Maria Reesa were also appointed to the 10-member Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Leadership Panel, Guterres's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

 

In addition, Guterres' envoy on technology, Amandeep Singh Gill, will also be on the panel.

 

The panel was set up under the mandate of the IGF and the recommendations in Guterres's Roadmap for Digital Cooperation.

 

The panel's role is to deal with "strategic and urgent issues" of the Internet and provide strategic advice to the IGF.

 

Sharma is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Kerala cadre.

 

A former secretary in the Cabinet secretariat, he has also worked with the UN Development Programme as the national project director for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation.

 

A former diplomat, Gill had been India's permanent representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament and was the chief executive officer of the International Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Research Collaborative (I-DAIR)..

Source : Business Standard

Kerala’s first tribal novelist and short story writer, Narayan, 82, whose novel Kocharethi gained global recognition, died in Kochi on Tuesday(16th August 2022). Narayan was admitted to a private hospital a week ago due to age-related ailments and had tested Covid positive. He had been staying at Elamakkara in Kochi for the past 15 years.

 

Born in the Malayaraya community in Kadayathur hills in Thodupuzha taluk in 1940, Narayan completed his high school studies and joined the Indian Postal Service as a clerk. He retired from service as a post master in 1995. 

 

Narayan completed Kocharethi, his debut novel, in 1988 but struggled to find a publisher. Subsequently, the novel was published in 1998. Kocharethi portrays the struggles of the Malayaraya community through the life of protagonist Kunjipennu. The novel has been translated to English, Hindi and south Indian languages.

 

The critically acclaimed novel was selected for the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award in 1999. It was translated and published in Hindi under the title Pahadin by the Sahitya Akademi and was translated to English by Catherine Thankamma.

 

Set in the backdrop of the traditions of the Malayaraya community in the 1930s, the novel unfolds the changing perceptions of the community due to the influence of outsiders..

Source : New Indian Express