There is an increase in the number of incidents of Human- Tiger conflicts.

 

 

* Every four years, India carries out a census of the tiger population across India.

* The latest estimate put the tiger population at 2,967.

* Tigers were reportedly increasing at a rate of about 6% per annum and the area that they occupied was roughly stable, at about 89,000 square km since 2014.

* These numbers are estimated using a sophisticated system that involves photographing animals via camera traps as well as mathematical analysis.

* In 2006, India had 1,411 tigers. This rose to 1,706 in 2010 and 2,226 in 2014 on the back of improved conservation measures and new estimation methods.

 

* The consistent implementation of Project Tiger since 1973, whereby dedicated tiger reserves were established in India, as well as anti-poaching measures have played a significant role in tiger conservation.

* India has 53 tiger reserves.

* Uttar Pradesh’s Ranipur Tiger Reserve has become the 53rd tiger reserve of India.

* However, rising tiger numbers have meant that nearly half the tigers are now outside designated protected zones that lead to increasing instances of human-animal conflict.

Source : The Hindu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the first phase of the 701-km 'Hindu Hrudayasamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg' on 11 December 2022.

 

 

* The Expressway will reduce the time taken to 839-km distance between Nagpur and Mumbai, to seven hours. This currently takes at least 17 hours.

* The Expressway, also called Samruddhi corridor, built at a project outlay of ₹55,335 crore, runs past 392 villages across 10 districts.

* This six-lane access-controlled road, designed for a top speed of 150 kmph, is the second expressway in the State after the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

* The Expressway will have direct links to the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Navi Mumbai, which will facilitate rapid transportation of goods, agricultural products and other resources from Maharashtra to various markets across the country and abroad as well.

* The Samruddhi corridor is expected to directly impact about 36% of the State’s population, and will be the country’s most extensive ‘greenfield’ route alignment with 23.65 lakh saplings and over 11 lakh trees on both sides.

* 29.6 km through the Katepurna wildlife sanctuary in Akola;

* 29.15 km via the Karanja-Sohol Black Buck sanctuary in Washim; and

* 44.975 km through the Tansa wildlife sanctuary in Thane.

Ladakh is all set to have India's first Dark Night Sky Reserve at Hanle village in Changthang region. In about eighteen locations in Hanley, powerful telescopes will be installed for stargazing.

 

 

* The International Dark Sky Association (IDSA) defines an international dark sky reserve (IDSR) as “a public or private land of substantial size (at least 700 km², or about 173,000 acres) possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and nocturnal environment, and that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage, and/or public enjoyment”.

* A dark sky reserve requires a “core” area that has clear sky without any light pollution, which can enable telescopes to see the sky in its natural darkness.

* To support the core, it should be surrounded by a “peripheral” or “buffer” area that supports dark sky values in the core while receiving the same benefits.

 

According to IDSA, it considers land suitable for dark sky sites only if it is on public or private land, is publicly accessible all or part of the year, protected for scientific, natural, educational, cultural, cultural and/or public purposes.

The central part of the core offers exceptional dark sky resources compared to the communities and cities that surround it, and the core limits the brightness of the night sky to either reserves, parks, or sanctuaries.

The IDSR also needs to have a comprehensive lighting management plan (LMP) “which should be adopted by a sufficient number of communities within the entire IDSR (core and periphery) corresponding to at least 80 percent of population and 80 percent of designated area of protection”.

It also needs a description of current and suspected future threats to dark skies over the core zone, and a plan to address these threats.

This is particularly important as Hanle is particularly close to Chinese territories, which makes it highly sensitive.

The reserve must also submit a detailed annual report to IDA by October 1 each year.

 

* The Hanle Dark Sky Reserve (HDSR) will come up within the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, situated 4,500 metres above sea level, which makes it a perfect host for telescopes.

* Ladakh is also ideal for long-term observatories and dark-sky sites because of its large arid area, high elevation, and sparse population.

* The Milky Way Galaxy is visible through the night in the Hanle region due to its cloudless skies and lower atmospheric disturbance.

* Hanley is home for the second-highest optical telescope in the world, established in 2001 by Indian Institute of Astrophysics.

* The Department of Science and Technology and Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru are providing support for the facility.

 

* A dark sky reserve is only one of the designations given by the IDSA, others being international dark sky parks, communities, reserves, sanctuaries, and urban night sky places.

* At present, there are 20 dark sky reserves around the world, seven in the United Kingdom; four in France; two each in the USA and Germany; and one each in New Zealand, Canada, Namibia, and Australia.

Source : AIR

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is observed on December 3 every year with an aim to spread awareness about the rights and well-being of people with disabilities. It also aims to raise awareness about the political, social and economic discrepancies faced by persons with disabilities.

 

 

* The observance of International Day of Persons with Disabilities began in 1992 after the United Nations General Assembly passed the Resolution 47/3 proclaiming it as an international day.

 

* Later in 2006, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was also adopted with an aim to work towards creating equal opportunities for persons with disabilities through the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

 

* The day is crucial as it highlights the unequal opportunities, discrimination, and lack of empathy that persons with disabilities have to contend with every other day. Panel discussions and cultural events are held across the world with an aim to promote their rights and perspectives.

 

 

This year the theme of International Day of Persons with Disabilities is ‘Transformative solutions for inclusive development: The role of innovation in fuelling an accessible and equitable world.’ This year, the celebration will focus on the need for innovative solutions to help create an inclusive developmental model to aid people with disabilities.

 

On 5 December 2022, a virtual meeting will take place from 9 am to 12 pm, New York Time, where the agenda will keep in mind sustainable development goals. These discussions will raise topics on how knowledge, skills and employment opportunities can be best utilised for inclusive development with the help of assistive technologies for people with disabilities..

Source : CNBCTV18

Nexxbase Marketing Pvt Ltd-owned Noise, a wearables technology company, has roped in cricketer Virat Kohli as its new brand ambassador for its smartwatch range. Over the tenure, the cricketer will be involved in a campaign that entails all touchpoints, the company said.

 

* Gaurav Khatri, the company’s co-founder said, “We are thrilled to welcome the Indian cricketing legend Virat Kohli as a ‘Noisemaker’. With our zeal to listen to the noise within, coupled with the need to deliver a power-packed performance, we are certain that his association with Kohli will further bolster our connection with the young audience in India and overseas. 

 

* Kohli has also always prided himself on his fitness levels, having been a key influence behind ushering in the era of super-athletes, he makes an ideal fit for the brand."

Source : Mint

Amara Raja Batteries Limited (ARBL) will be setting up a state-of-the-art research and manufacturing facility for lithium-ion batteries in Mahbubnagar district, Telangana.

The company intends to invest over ₹9,500 crore over the next 10 years in the lithium cell gigafactory with an ultimate capacity up to 16 GWh and a battery pack assembly unit up to 5 GWh.

 

This was announced by Jayadev Galla, Chairman and MD, Amara Raja Batteries, in the presence of KT Rama Rao, State’s Minister for Industries, after signing a formal MoU here on Friday(2nd Dec 2022).

“This strategic partnership with the Government of Telangana is a giant leap for Amara Raja and will bring in the impetus for innovations in sustainable technologies for the whole region, in addition to generating employment opportunities.

 

Advanced centre : Amara Raja Batteries had chosen Telangana to house the Amara Raja Giga Corridor, he said adding that the initial facilities would include a first-of-its kind advanced energy research and innovation centre in Hyderabad, dubbed the Amara Raja E-hub.

The proposed facility will be equipped with advanced laboratories and testing infrastructure for material research, prototyping, product life cycle analysis and proof of concept demonstration. It would also cater to the development needs of the Amara Raja as well as to provide a range of facilities open to other players in the energy and mobility ecosystem..

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Odisha Govt announced to transform the SHGs into Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and turn them into vibrant financial hubs.

 

* It is to be noted that six lakh SHGs are working in Odisha. 

 

* Mission Shakti intiative started in 2001  has now become a huge force of 70 lakh empowered women in Odisha.

 

* To encourage entrepreneurship among women, micro and mini industrial parks will be set up in all 30 districts of Odisha and a revolving fund to the tune of ₹1 crore each will be made available to every district-level federation, ₹50 lakh for block-level federation and special market and office space for panchayat-level federation, the Odisha CM announced.

 

* The Odisha State government has already announced to provide interest-free loan up to ₹5 lakh to women and procure of ₹5,000 crore worth of goods and services from SHGs in five years.

 

* Women have a huge role to play in the transformation story of Odisha. Our government will always work for the holistic empowerment of women.

* The strength of SHGs lies in federating or coming together. Our goal is to strengthen the federations further and turn them into vibrant financial hubs, the Odisha CM said..

Source : The Hindu

* India will assume the chairmanship of the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) on 1 January 2023, for a period of one year.

* Wassenaar Arrangement is a multilateral technology control agreement. 

* The primary goal of the organisation is to restrict access to sensitive technologies for terrorist outfits.

* The Wassenaar Arrangement came into being in 1996 and has 42 members. 

* India joined the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) in 2017 and became its 42nd member.

Source : Mint

The Institute conducted the election of President and Vice-President of the Institute on Nov 28, 2022 at New Delhi.

Institute of Cost Accountants(CMA) Vijender Sharma has been elected as the President and Institute of Cost Accountants(CMA) Rakesh Bhalla has been elected as the Vice-President of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India for the year 2022-23.  

 

CMA Vijender Sharma is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Cost Accountants of India and a Law Graduate. He is a leading Practising Cost Accountant since 1998 and Insolvency Professional since Jan’ 2017. His dynamism is embedded with rich experience of over 22 years in diversified areas of Financial, Cost and Management Accounting, Internal Audit, Management Consultancy, Forensic Audit, Insolvency and Liquidation, etc. He was elected as a member of Council of the Institute for the term 2015-19 and re-elected for the term 2019-23. He has served as the Vice President of Institute (2021-22), Chairman of Professional Development Committee (2020-21 & 2021-22), Chairman of International Affairs Committee (2020-21) and Chairman of NIRC (2012-13 & 2014-15). 

 

CMA Rakesh Bhalla is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Cost Accountants of India and a Commerce Graduate. He has rich experience of corporate world and currently he is the Chief Financial Officer of SML ISUZU Ltd. He has expertise in Direct and Indirect Taxation and written many articles which have been beneficial for the taxation experts. He has been elected as a member of Council of the Institute for the term 2019-23. He has served as the Chairman of Direct Taxation (2021-22) and Chairman of NIRC (2010-11 & 2013-14)..

Source : Tax Guru

Shri Sanjay Kumar took charge as Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy 1st Dec 2022 in Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi.

 

Pursuant to assuming charge, Shri Kumar held a meeting with the senior officials of the Ministry in which he reviewed the functioning of the department, autonomous bodies and various schemes relating to school education. 

 

Discussions were held on implementation of National Education Policy 2020, capacity building of teachers, infrastructure in schools, and the upcoming Prime Minister’s interaction programme ‘Pariksha Pe Pariksha’.

 

Shri Kumar said that he looks forward to contributing towards providing quality, accessible and affordable education to every student of the country..

Source : PIB