UTTARAKHAND
- Tiger population rises to 442 in Uttarakhand
- The number of tigers in Uttarakhand has increased to 442 as revealed in the report on Status of Tigers in India-2018 released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital.
- The State has show a consistent rise in the tiger population since the first estimation in 2006 when Uttarakhand had 178 tigers.
- In the 2010 tiger population estimation report, Uttarakhand had 227 tigers, with their population increasing to 340 in 2014 and further rising to 442 in 2018.
- Of the three states in the Shivalik-Gangetic plains landscape- Uttarakhand has the smallest geographical area and the highest tiger numbers. The other two states, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have 173 and 31 tigers respectively according to the latest estimation report.
- According to the 2018 census data, Uttarakhand is first when it comes to tiger conservation. Though Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka have more tigers, comparing the ratio of geographical area and tiger population, Uttarakhand tops the states in tiger conservation. Among tiger divisions too, Uttarakhand has topped with 250 tigers being counted in the Corbett tiger division while in the non-tiger divisions too, the state has the maximum numbers of this big cat.
- Further, tiger presence has been reported in all the 13 districts of Uttarakhand whereas there is no other Indian state in which tiger presence has been reported in all the districts.
INTERNATIONAL
- India, Russia sign Rs 1500 crore deal for R-27 air-to-air missiles
- Boosting its capabilities in beyond visual range warfare, India has signed a deal worth around Rs 1,500 crore to acquire R-27 air-to-air missiles from Russia to be equipped on the Su-30MKI combat aircraft.
- The Russian missiles with an extended range would give an added capability to the Sukhois to take on enemy aircraft at long ranges.
- The missiles have been acquired under 10-I projects which mandate the three services to maintain critical weapon systems and spares for a specified minimum period.
- The R-27 missile is a medium-to-long-range air-to-air missile developed by Russia for its MiG and Sukhoi series of fighter jets.
NATIONAL
- IIT Hyderabad develops low-cost, eco-friendly solar cells using ‘kumkum dye’
- Scientists at IIT Hyderabad have developed low-cost, environment-friendly solar cells by employing an off-the-shelf dye used to make kumkum or vermilion in India.
- The dye-sensitised solar cell (DSSC) is based on New Fuchsin (NF) dye with aqueous electrolyte and platinum-free counter electrodes.
- The most familiar solar cells today are made up of silicon and can be seen in the various overhead panels and other places.
- This technology is limited by huge fabrication costs as silicon processing is very expensive.
- Pakistan opens 1000-year-old Shawala Teja Singh temple in Punjab for worship after 72 years
Pakistan opened a 1,000-year-old Hindu temple in eastern city Sialkot for “worship” for the first time since partition on the demand of the local Hindu community.The Shawala Teja Singh temple, located in the city’s congested Dharowal locality, some 100-km from Lahore, is more than 1,000 years old.The evacuees Trust Property Board looks after the holy places of minorities in Pakistan has opened Shawala Teja Singh temple after the partition on the demand of the local Hindu community.
Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan. According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. Around 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country. Majority of Pakistan’s Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions, and language with their Muslim fellows.
- Reliance Jio overtakes Vodafone-Idea network and became India’s Largest Telecom Operator
- Reliance Jio overtook Vodafone-Idea to become India’s leading telecom operator. While the monthly subscriber report from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
- Bharti Airtel disclosed through TRAI its user base of 320.4 million users while enduring a rough quarter of high subscriber churn rate (subscribers unsubscribing from the network against new subscriptions). Jio’s recently disclosed Q1 FY20 financial report showed 331.3 million subscribers in its network.
Vodafone-Idea’s financial report for the same quarter, it has come to light that the operator group lost 14.1 million in Q1 FY20, declining from the industry-topping 334.1 million subscribers as of March 2019, to stand at 320 million subscribers.
- Indian Navy ship LCU L56 was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Visakhapatnam
- Indian Navy ship LCU L56 was commissioned into theIndian Navy at Visakhapatnam on 29 July. It was commissioned by Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Eastern Naval Command. LCU L56 is the sixth ship of the MK IV class ships.
- The LCU L56 vessel will be used for transportation, deployment and recovery of main battle tanks, armoured vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore and vice-versa. LCU L56 would be administered and based in Port Blair under the Naval Component Commander (NAVCC) in Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC).The measurement of the ship is 62 metres in length. It is fitted with two MTU diesel engines. These engines provides a sustainable speed of over 15 knots.
- Migration patterns in India : Report analysis
- As of 2011, Maharashtra was home to the highest number of internal migrants, most of whom hailed from Uttar Pradesh, the State which recorded the highest out People mostly migrated from one rural area to another.
- The highest number of international migrants were from Bangladesh. The data is part of the 2011 Census and was released recently.
- The first chart shows the top five States which had the highest number of outmigrants and the States the migrants headed to. The second chart shows the top five States which had highest number of in migrants and the States of their previous residence.
- People moving from one rural area to another accounted for over half of the total internal migrants, while rural to urban and urban to urban migration accounted for about 20% each.
- Migrants from Bangladesh to West Bengal accounted for over 30% of the total international migrants, the highest by a large margin.
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