GUJARAT

Gujarat fourth largest gainer in Mangrove cover

The mangrove cover in Gujarat has increased from 1,107 sq km in 2015 to 1,140 sq km now. However, the majority of the cover was in the category of open mangrove. Moderately dense mangrove was only found over an area of 172 sq km — just 10% of the total mangrove cover.

Gujarat was ranked third in India in terms of increase in mangrove cover as against that of 2015. Maharashtra topped the tally with an increase of 82 sq km followed by Andhra Pradesh with 37 sq km and Gujarat with an increase of 33 sq km. The three states, in total, contributed to increase of 152 sq km of the 181 sq km increase in all coastal states.

Mangrove wetland is considered as most productive, but increasingly threatened by biotic pressure, changing land use patterns and natural calamities. Gujarat hosts the second largest mangrove cover (1,140 sq km) in the country (4,921 sq km). The highest mangrove cover was in West Bengal which has an area of 2,114 sq km of mangrove.

In Gujarat, Kutch led the tally with 798 sq km of mangrove. The district increased it mangrove area by 12 sq km as against that of 2015. This is followed by Jamnagar where the increase is 11 sq km. The Mangrove cover in Jamnagar was of 184 sq km. In the state, Ahmedabad district was the only district where there was a reduction in mangrove cover. The district lost one square kilometre mangrove cover with only 32 sq km of mangrove cover present.

The mangrove forests of the state are represented by 15 mangrove species which include-Avicennia marina (A. Marina), Avicennia officinalis, Avicennia alba, Acanthus ilicifolius, Aegiceras corniculatum, Bruguiera cylindrica, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Ceriops tagal, Ceriops decandra, Excoecaria agallocha, Kandelia candel, Lumnitzera racemosa, Rhizophora mucronata, Rhizophora apiculata, Sonneratia apetala. Among these 15 species, A. marina is the most dominant species in the state.

INTERNATIONAL

· Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Resigns To Smooth Path For Political Reform

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn suddenly resigned in what he described as a bid to smooth reforms, following years of violent unrest that threatened the ruling party’s hold on Africa’s second most populous nation.
The resignation has unprecedented in Ethiopia’s history – followed a wave of strikes this week in towns near the capital and demonstrations successfully demanding the release of more opposition leaders.

K P Sharma Oli becomes Nepal PM for second time

CPN-UML chairperson K P Sharma Oli has become Nepal’s Prime Minister for the second time.

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari appointed 65-year-old Oli as the country’s 41st prime minister.

Oli, who is known for his pro-China stance, had served as the country’s prime minister from October 11, 2015 to August 3, 2016.

Earlier, former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had addressed the nation and submitted his resignation to the president.

Cyril Ramaphosa elected President of South Africa

Cyril Ramaphosa has been elected as South Africa’s new president by ruling party legislators after the resignation of Jacob Zuma.

Ramaphosa was the only candidate nominated for election in the parliament after two opposition parties said they would not participate.

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng presided over the parliamentary election.

The country’s 400-member parliament, dominated by the ruling African National Congress Party (ANC), elected Ramaphosa to finish his predecessor’s term, which ends with elections in 2019.

The ANC has finished first in every national vote since the end of white-minority rule in 1994.

· China to host 2018 SCO Summit at Qingdao in June

China will host 2018 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit at Qingdao, eastern Shandong Province in June 2018.
China had taken over rotating chair of SCO after17th SCO summit concluded in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan in June 2017.
SCO is a Eurasian economic, political and security organization headquartered in Beijing, China. It was founded in 2001.
The full members of the organization are headquartered in Beijing, China. It was founded in 2001.

Prime Minister to inaugurate World Sustainable Development Summit 2018

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, will inaugurate the 2018 edition of the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS 2018) at VigyanBhawan in the capital on 16thFebruary.

WSDS is the flagship forum of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and seeks to bring together on a common platform, global leaders and thinkers in the fields of sustainable development, energy and environment sectors.

The theme of the Summit this year is ‘Partnerships for a Resilient Planet’.

WSDS 2018 seeks to create action frameworks to resolve some of the most urgent challenges facing developing economies in the backdrop of climate change.

NATIONAL

· Indias Aadhaar and Umang App win awards at world Government Summit 2018

India’s Aadhaar and Umang Apphave won awards at recently concluded 6th World Government Summit 2018 in Dubai. Umang App won in Best m-Government Service.
Umang App won in Best m-Government Service Award for Accessible Government Category and Aadhaar won in the Best Government Emerging Technologies Award.
The award for it recognized India’s efforts of invention and innovation in the field of technology and making the country completely digitalized.

Centre to change base year for GDP, IIP to 2017-18

The government will change the base year to 2017-18 for the calculation of GDP and IIP numbers while for retail inflation the year will be revised to 2018, Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda said.

The statistics ministry has proposed the new base year for GDP and IIP as 2017-18 while for CPI it will be 2018.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) has been allocated Rs 4,859 crore in the Union Budget 2018-19.

· Cauvery water dispute verdict Supreme Court informed Karnataka to provide 177 tmcft water to Tamil Nadu

The Supreme Court is delivering its verdict on the decades-old Cauvery river water dispute casebetween the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud had on 20 September last year reserved the verdict on the appeals filed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala against the 2007 award of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT)on sharing of water.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Launched Three Key Projects In Arunachal Pradesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched several projects in Arunachal Pradesh.
He inaugurated the Dorjee Khandu state convention center at a function in Itanagar.
The Centre has an auditorium, conference halls, and an exhibition hall.
Prime Minister’s focus was also on the information revolution and now, the newly erected Secretariat building in the state capital is a big step in that direction.
The building will have digital technology at its core and will have 2,500 officers and other employees.

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