Uttarakhand Affairs
Doon to get country’s 1st Neo Metro, Haridwar Pod taxis
Uttarakhand Metro Rail Corporation(UKMRC) will construct state-of-the-art rapid transit systems inDehradun,Haridwarand Rishikesh within next four years to ease traffic congestion, its MD Jitendra Tyagi said.
The country’sfirst Neo Metrowill start on two corridors in Dehradun. Also, Haridwar will see the country’s first Pod taxi,” he said, adding that the move will give a major boost to Environment-friendly and cost-effective public transport in the state.
Neo Metro is the rubber tyre-based mass transit system that draws power from an overhead electric conductor. It runs on a dedicated elevated track. Provide on Demand (Pod) taxis are driverless electric vehicles that move on a specially designed track.
In addition, the corporation will complete two ropeways in Haridwar and Rishikesh for better travel experience of tourists coming from all over the world for pilgrimage and spiritual solace.
National and International Affairs
Over 73% women want menstrual leave: Study
A survey has said that around 73 per cent of Women want companies to allow them to take menstrual leave while 86.6 per cent are in favour of a menstrual-friendly workplace where hygiene methods and support are available to women.
The Menstrual Hygiene Survey 2023, conducted by Everteen, a feminine hygiene brand, also pointed out that 71.7 per cent of the participants in the survey do not want the menstrual leaves to be paid, fearing that it may make companies reluctant to hire female employees. Nearly 10,000 women in the age group of 18 to 35 years participated in the survey that was conducted in multiple cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Patna.
Also, 86.6 per cent of women are in favour of the concept of a menstrual friendly workplace where females are not hesitant in discussing the subject openly, and menstrual hygiene methods and support infrastructure is made available to women. Besides, 68.9 per cent of women have taken a leave of absence from work during menstrual periods, the survey stated.
The survey recommended that corporates need to make it a priority to adopt practices for a menstrual-friendly workplace. Researchers from the UVA School of Medicine, Flo Health, University College London, Technische Universitaet Berlin and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine too found menstrual symptoms hurt workplace productivity of many women.
New panel formed to guide Project Cheetah
Following the death of six cheetahs, including three newborn cubs, within a period of two-and-a-half months at the Kuno (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh, the Centre has set up yet another high-level panel of national and international experts to oversee and monitor the ambitious Project Cheetah in India.
It will also provide advice on cheetah introduction to the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department and the NTCA. It will open the cheetah habitat for eco-tourism and suggest regulations to further this. It will also provide suggestions on how to involve the community in the projects activities.
In October last year, the ministry had constituted a Cheetah Task Force to monitor Indias cheetah introduction programme.
WMO Approves Global Tracker for Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The World Meteorological Congress has made a groundbreaking decision to approve a newgreenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring initiative, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
This initiative aims to support urgent action in reducing heat-trapping gases that contribute to rising global temperatures. The newly establishedGlobal Greenhouse GasWatch will address critical information gaps, integrating various observing systems, modeling capabilities, and data assimilation under one comprehensive framework.
The unanimous support from WMOs 193 members highlights the growing importance of greenhouse gas monitoring and the need to strengthen the scientific foundation for <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/Climate-change”>Climate Change mitigation efforts.