GUJARAT
Gir lions population up by 29% in 5 years
Centre applauding the increasing population of the majestic Asiatic Lion in Gujarat’s Gir
Forest as the population of wild beast has grown to 674, 29% up from its 2015 count.
The report by the Forest and Environment Departement of Gujarat government said that
the population of Asiatic Lions has shown a steady increase with the number rising to 674
individuals with an increase rate of 28.87% (one of the highest growth rate so far) from the
previous growth of 27% during 2015 (523 lions).
The distribution of the lions has increased from an area of 22,000 sq. km in 2015 to 30,000
sq. km in 2020, thus increasing the distribution area by 36%.
Asiatic lions are present in Protected Areas and agro-pastoral landscape of Saurashtra
covering nine districts in a sprawling expanse of over 30000 sq. km whichis termed as the
Asiatic Lion Landscape.
INTERNATIONAL
India’s AI supercomputer Param Siddhi 63rd among top 500 most powerful non-
distributed computer systems in world
India’s Artificial Intelligence supercomputer Param Siddhi has achieved 63rd rank among top
500 most powerful non-distributed computer systems in the world.
The AI system will strengthen application development of packages in areas such as
advanced materials, computational chemistry and astrophysics.
It said several packages are being developed under the National Supercomputing Mission
for drug design and preventive health care system, flood forecasting package for flood
prone metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Patna and Guwahati.
This will accelerate Research and Development in war against COVID-19 through faster
simulations, medical imaging, genome sequencing and forecasting and will be a boon for
Indian masses and for start-Ups and MSMEs in particular.
NATIONAL
TRIFED has Expanded Tribes India Product Range
TRIFED expanded the Tribes India product range. New initiatives include products produced
by prisoners in Jagdarpur Central Prison. Tribal India Electronics Market is committed to
enhancing the capabilities of tribal enterprises, providing a larger handicraft market for
tribes, product production and helping them to self-reliant and build Atmanirbhar Bharat.
The TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India) was
established in 1987. It is the highest national organization operating under the
administration of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
TRIFED is headquartered in New Delhi and has a network of 13 regional offices throughout
the country.
is engaged in the procurement and marketing of tribal art and handicrafts through its 40
retail outlets called TRIBES INDIA. TRIBES INDIA provides a series of tribal products.
The ultimate goal of TRIFED is to promote the socio-economic development of the tribal
nation by marketing tribal products such as metal crafts, tribal textiles, pottery, pottery,
tribal paintings and pottery in most of the country's markets.
TRIFED acts as a facilitator & service provider for tribal products.
The TRIFED method aims to equip tribal people with knowledge, tools and information
bases so that they can conduct business in a more systematic and scientific way.
It also involves building the capacity of tribal people by raising awareness, establishing self-
help groups (SHG) and providing them with training in specific activities.
Step Up For TB 2020 Report Was Released
The “Step Up for TB 2020” report by the Stop TB Partnership and Médecins Sans
Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has highlighted India’s conservative approach
regarding the new medicines for Drug-Resistant TB, putting lives of patients including
children in danger.
The current Pandemic has further aggravated the sufferings of TB patients in the country in
terms of disease diagnosis, surveillance and treatment.
The report provides data on 37 high-burden countries, including India (accounting for 77%
of the estimated global tuberculosis cases), and assesses the extent to which national
policies are in line with international policies based on World Health Organization (WHO)
guidelines and the latest report Best practice is consistent with scientific research.
This is the fourth edition of this report, focusing on national policies and practices related to
the four key areas of the National Tuberculosis Program (NTP): Diagnosis, Treatment
(including models of care), Prevention, Medicines procurement policies.
India has been criticized for failing to expand the new disease resistance (DR)-TB
drugsBedaquiline and Delamanid, and even more is needed during Covid-19. Pretomanidis
the third new drug developed for this therapy.
By March 2020, less than 10% of MDR-TB patients eligible for Bedaquiline treatment in India
have received the drug. This is shocking because India is home to one-quarter of the world's
drug-resistant tuberculosis patients. India has the highest burden of tuberculosis in the
world. In 2018, 2.15 million tuberculosis cases were reported, an increase of 16% compared
to 2017.
India’s Initiative to Fight TB:
♦ National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme
♦ Eliminating TB by 2025
♦ The Nikshay Ecosystem
♦ Nikshay PoshanYojana (NPY)
♦ TB HaregaDeshJeetega Campaign
♦ The Saksham Project
♦ The Government of India has partnered with the Global Fund to launch JEET (Joint Effort
for Elimination of TB), a private sector engagement program operating across the country.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a joint initiative "Find. Treat. All.
"#EndTB" with the Global Fund and the Stop Tuberculosis Partnership.
INTACH to Recognize Global Geoparks
The Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is working to gain
recognition for the Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) Geopark, which consists of
ErraMattiDibbalu (red dunes), natural rock formations, Borra caves and Composition of
volcanic ash deposits.
INTACH was founded in New Delhi in 1984 with the vision to spearhead heritage awareness
and conservation in India.
In 2019, INTACH organised a campaign to create public awareness on geologically and
culturally important spots in the region.
UNESCO Global Geopark promotes the importance and significance of protecting the earth's
diversity through active participation in local communities and has gained international
recognition.
There are 161 UNESCO Global Geoparks distributed in 44 countries/regions, but India does
not yet own one.
- GPSC Mains 2024 Tests and Notes Program
- GPSC Prelims Exam 2024- Test Series and Notes Program
- GPSC Prelims and Mains 2024 Tests Series and Notes Program
- GPSC Detailed Complete Prelims Notes