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- “Raksha Gyan Shakti” is a mission to promote self-reliance in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in defence. Under the mission, the target for the year 2017-18 is to train 10,000 personnel of Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSU) and Ordnance factory Board (OFB) on IPR and facilitate filing of at least 1,000 new IPR applications. The Director General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) is the lead agency for the mission.
- HysIS is the country’s first- ever innovative satellite that shall provide hyperspectral imaging for advanced earth observation which will be an added advantage in watching over from space varied sectors like defence, agriculture and mineral exploration. he satellite will be injected into the space on PSLV C43.
- Known in Tibetan as Gaden Namgyal Lhatse, the Tawang Monastery was built according to the wishes of the 5th Dalai Lama, NgawangLobsang Gyatso. But it was founded in 1680-81 by a monk named MeragLodre Gyatso of the Gelug sect after the 4th Dalai Lama gave him a painting of goddess PaldenLhamo to be kept in the monastery. An eight-metre high gilded statue of Lord Buddha dominates the sanctum of the monastery.
- Incredible India is an international tourism campaign by the government since 2002.
- Iravatham Mahadevan, 88, one of the world’s leading scholars on the Indus Valley Script, the pre-eminent scholar on the Tamil Brahmi script, passed away recently.
- The Narcondam hornbill, its habitat restricted to a lone island; the Nicobar megapode, a bird that builds nests on the ground; the Nicobar treeshrew, a small mole-like mammal; the Long-tailed Nicobar macaque, and the Andaman day gecko, are among the 1,067 endemic faunal species found only on the Andaman and Nicobar Islandsand nowhere else. Andaman and Nicobar Island comprising only 0.25% of India’s geographical area, are home to more than 10% of the country’s fauna species. The total area of the A&N Islands, which comprises of 572 islands, islets and rocky outcrops, is about 8,249 sq. km. The population of the islands, which includes six particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) — Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, Sentinelese, Nicobarese and Shompens. Of the ten species of marine fauna found on the islands, the dugong/sea cow, and the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, are both classified as Vulnerable under the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species. Among the 46 terrestrial mammalian species found, three species have been categorised as Critically Endangered — Andaman shrew (Crociduraandamanensis), Jenkin’s shrew ( jenkinsi) and Nicobar shrew (C. nicobarica).
- Vetiver, ‘the wonder grass’ of Tamil Nadu, has a wide range of applications in the pharma and cosmetic industries, besides anti-soil erosion properties. The grass, which grows up to five feet and whose fragrant root reaches up to 10 feet, has huge global demand in the aromatic industry. The grass is popular for its quality to combat soil erosion and absorb carbon dioxide, thus erasing carbon footprints. Vetiver is ideal for the long coastline, as it is suited for sandy soil. The grass can be used to purify polluted water bodies, especially temple tanks, and to arrest soil erosion in ghat sections, especially in Kerala and Kodaikanal. Its moisture retention property makes vetiver a natural choice for soil conservation and replenishment of ground water. It is ideal for dry land cultivation using organic farming practices. It is also used in ethanol extraction, as cattle feed and for making handicrafts. Another quality of vetiver is that it is an anti-depressant.
- In India, the Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha, the Sundarbans and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands are the prime habitats of the saltwater crocodile.
- Scientists are planning to spraying sun-dimming chemicals high above the earth to slow global warming. Some researchers say the geo-engineering technique known as stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) could limit rising temperatures that are causing climate change. It would involve the use of huge hoses, cannons or specially designed aircraft to spray large quantities of sulphate particles into the upper layer of the atmosphere to act as a reflective barrier against sunlight.
- Every October, flocks of Amur falcons from Siberia start landing in a tiny village called Pangti, near the Doyang reservoir, in Wokha district of Nagaland. The Doyang reservoir, surrounded by hills, hosts the single largest congregation of Amur falcons anywhere in the world. The falcon is protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
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