CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar launches portal on Human Elephant Conflict on World Elephant Day
- The Minister for Environment and Forest Prakash Javadekar released document on Best Practices and launched a portal on Human Elephant Conflict on the eve of World Elephant Day, 2020.
- Mr Javadekar stated, efforts are in full swing to provide food and water to the animals in the forests itself to deal with the growing human-animal conflict cases.
- He stated, India is committed to the cause of saving elephants and other animals and is working towards robust, practical and cost effective solutions to end the human animal conflict.
- He stated, Government has taken initiative of fodder and water augmentation in forest areas so that animals will get food and water in forest area and will not come outside. He added that LiDAR technology is being used for it.
- Minister of State for Environment and Forest Babul Supriyo stated, it is a moment of pride that India is having 60 percent of Global population of Asian Elephants. The World Elephant Day is observed every year on 12th August to spread awareness about the animal. It was launched in 2012 to bring attention to the urgent plight of Asian and African elephants.
- Poaching, habitat loss, human-elephant conflict and mistreatment in captivity are some of the threats to both African and Asian elephants.
- Indian Elephant has also been listed in the Appendix I of the Convention of the Migratory species in the recently concluded 13th Conference of Parties on Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) at Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat in February this year.
About Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change:
- Prakash Javadekar, Cabinet Minister
- Constituency:Madhya Pradesh
- Babul Supriyo, Minister of State
FM Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurates NIP Online Dashboard
- Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the National Infrastructure Pipeline, NIP, Online Dashboard in New Delhi through video conferencing.
- The online dashboard is envisaged as a one stop solution for all stakeholders looking for information on infrastructure projects in New India.
- The dashboard is being hosted on the India Investment Grid, IIG indiainvestmentgrid.gov.in. IIG is an interactive and dynamic online platform that showcases d and real-time investment opportunities in the country.
- She stated, the availability of NIP projects on IIG will ensure easy accessibility to project information and attract investors for PPP projects.
- The Minister has asked all concerned Department and Ministries to immediately the status of projects on NIP portal and keep it in real time.
Govt aims to develop 10 Craft and Handloom Villages in India: Smriti Irani
- Union Minister Smriti Irani stated the government is aiming to develop ten Craft and Handloom Villages in the country so that tourists from across the globe can visit them and learn the rich legacy of Indian weavers and lend support to the Make in India initiative.
- Almost 95% of the handwoven fabrics used globally are produced in India.
- The minister stated the National Handloom Awards, which are presented on the occasion of the Handloom Day, are being deferred upon the request of weavers who wish to celebrate the honour instead of receiving it digitally due to the prevailing circumstances posed by COVID-19.
- Irani shared that students from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) are contributing to the upgradation of 9 out of 28 Weavers’ Service Centres across the country in terms of design, marketing and research.
- These centres are located in Delhi, Srinagar, Jaipur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Guwahati, Kanchipuram and Bhubaneswar.
About Ministry of Textiles:
- Minister of Textiles and Minister of Women and Child development: Smriti Irani
- Constituency: Amethi
CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL
India, Maldives ink contract for development of five eco-tourism zones in Addu atoll of island nation
- India and Maldives signed a contract for development of five eco-tourism zones in Addu atoll of the island nation.
- Maldives foreign secretary Abdul Ghafoor, MPs representing Addu city and Indian high commissioner Sunjay Sudhir participated in the ceremony.
- These eco tourism zones are part of grant projects being implemented under the High-Impact Community Development project (HICDP) scheme which involves a total grant assistance of 5 million US dollars to the Maldives. Currently, there are 9 such high-impact projects being implemented in the Maldives.
- High Commissioner Sunjay Sudhir, in his remarks, highlighted that developing high-impact assets, building capacities within the local councils and supporting of the local island economy are most important objectives of these projects.
- He recalled that contracts for the other three HICDP projects in Addu, relating to setting up of fish-processing plants, were awarded last month.
About Maldives :
- Capital: Malé
- Currency: Maldivian rufiyaa
Russian President Vladimir Putin announces world’s first COVID-19 vaccine
- Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the country’s first coronavirus vaccine, touted as the first in the world News agency Reuters reported that Putin’s daughter received a shot of the vaccine. Earlier, it was reported that the country would register its vaccine candidate on , August 12.
- The country has registered the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, amid widespread concerns about the rapidly developed vaccine’s safety.
- The Health Ministry announced that it plans to begin mass production in September and launch a mass vaccination drive in October. The vaccine developed by the state-run Gamaleya research institute entered phase 3 clinical trials.
