UTTARAKHAND
Uttarakhand sees a jump in forest cover by 0.03%
The forest cover in Uttarakhand went up by around 0.03% in the last two years, according to a biennial report released by the Forest Survey of India
According to the report, titled ‘Indian State of Forests Report (ISFR) 2019’, the forest cover rose to 24,303 square kilometres (sq kms) forest area in 2019 from 24,295 sq kms forest area in 2017.
The data also indicated a rise of 78 sq kms in the Very Dense Forest (VDF) category. In 2017, the state had 4,969 sq kms in VDF, which rose to 5,047 sq kms. VDF refers to all lands with a forest cover having a canopy density of 70% and above.
However, in the Moderately Dense Forest (MDF) category, Uttarakhand saw a decline of 0.62%, in which the canopy cover reduced from 12,884 sq kms in 2017 to 12,805 sq kms in 2019. MDF covers the forest area having canopy cover between 40% and 70%.
In the Open Forest (OF) category, the forest cover area increased to 6,451 sq kms in 2019 from 442 sq kms in 2017. The OF category includes land having canopy density of more than 10%, but less than 40%.
According to the report, in Uttarakhand, 17% of forests fall under the ‘extremely fire-prone’ category while 9.32% forests fall under ‘highly fire-prone’ category, whereas 21.66% of the forests come under ‘moderately fire-prone category’.
The report has also highlighted that out of 3,794 species of trees found in the country, 112 are found in Uttarakhand, whereas out of 3,111 different types of shrubs in the nation, 73 are found in the Himalayan state, and out of 2,300 herbs found across the country, 94 herb species are found in Uttarakhand.
The report also notes that Uttarakhand has 222 wetlands and covers 2.12% of the Reserve Forest Area of the state.
Moreover, the report for the first time has come up with new segments. It has the details of forest type and species of plants/trees found in various states of the country. In the report, it was revealed that tropical deciduous and tropical dry deciduous forests are found in Uttarakhand.
INTERNATIONAL
UN declares Malala decade’s ‘most famous teenager’
The UN has declared Pakistani education activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai as “the most famous teenager in the world” in its ‘Decade in Review’ report.
In 2014, Malala became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her efforts for children’s rights which started even before she was shot in the head two years ago by Taliban militants.
She became a UN Messenger of Peace in 2017, with a special focus on girls.
Christina Koch sets new record for Longest Spaceflight by a Woman
NASA astronaut Christina Koch set a new record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, eclipsing the record of 288 days set by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson in 2016-17. Koch has six weeks to go before returning to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS). The Expedition 61 Flight Engineer has spent more than 300 days in space.
Koch earlier made history in her stay aboard the orbital laboratory. The opportunity to be up here for so long is truly an honor. Koch arrived at the space station on March 14, expected to be on a typical six-month mission.NASA extended her stay partly in a bid to collect more data about the effects of long-duration spaceflight.
NATIONAL
PM Modi says ISRO is planning to launch satellite Aditya to study Sun
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that ISRO is planning to launch a satellite called Aditya to study the sun.
The aim of the mission is to keep a permanent eye on the sun without any disturbance.
Aditya-L1 is meant to observe the solar corona.
In his ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme of AIR, Mr Modi said, India is quite advanced in the field of astronomy and ISRO has taken path-breaking initiatives in this field.
Krish Srikkanth, Anjum Chopra to get CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Awards
Former India captain member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team Krish Srikkanth will be the recipient of this year’s prestigious CK Nayudu Lifetime Award given by the BCCI. Anjum Chopra is the co-recipient of the lifetime achievement award for the year 2019.
The BCCI Annual Award function held in Mumbai. Srikkanth and Anjum conferred with the Lifetime Achievement award for their contributions to Indian cricket. Srikkanth is one of the biggest names to have come out of Tamil Nadu cricket stable apart from another former India skipper, S Venkataraghavan and Ravichandran Ashwin. He represented India between 1981 to 1992.
Koneru Humpy won World Rapid Chess title in Russia
India’s Koneru Humpy defeated China’s Lei Tingjie battle to win the Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship in Moscow. Humpy accumulated nine points tied with Tingjie. Indian lost the opening set before making a speedy recovery in the second round. The championship played under rapid time controls. FIDE holds the Women’s Rapid chess championship.
FIDE (Federation of International Chess Federation) is the supreme body by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in conducting chess tournaments at continental levels and global level. FIDE founded in Paris, France, on July 20, 1924.
The motto of the organization is Gens una sumus meaning. We are one people.
Amitabh Bachchan honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award
The 50th Dadasaheb Phalke Awards honored legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan with India’s highest film honor for his stupendous contribution to Indian cinema, in New Delhi. President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Award to Mr. Bachchan. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar announced that Mr. Bachchan would be awarded the prestigious award. The legend Amitabh Bachchan who entertained and inspired for two generations selected unanimously for Dadasahab Phalke Award.
Amitabh Bachchan won four National Film Awards for Best Actor through his illustrious career, last winning it for his performance in the 2015 film Piku. The award named after Dhundiraj Govind Phalke is the father of Indian cinema instituted in 1969. Amitabh Bachhan made his debut in Hindi film industry in the same year with Saat Hindustani . The highest honour for an artist in Indian cinema comprises a Swarna Kamal medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of 10 lakh rupees. It was conferred upon late actor Vinod Khanna in 2017.
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