ASSAM

Assam & Arunachal face green cover loss

A study carried out by the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing has predicted a depletion of 9,007.14 square km (2.94 per cent) of forests in parts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh by 2028.

The study, Forest Cover Monitoring and Prediction in a Lesser Himalayan Elephant Landscape, published in the current issue of Current Science, says deforestation and loss of wildlife habitat in Upper Assam is likely to influence not only adjoining Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh but lower Assam as well. The Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) is under Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Scientists involved in the study said they monitored the depletion of forest cover in parts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh over 42,375 square km in an elephant landscape falling in the Lesser Himalaya in the Northeast.

The study, which covered a vast elephant landscape spread across West Bengal-Assam, Assam-Bhutan and Assam-Arunachal Pradesh borders in the lesser Himalayas, found a loss of about 7,590 square km (17.92 per cent) of forest cover from 1924 to 2009.

The annual rate of deforestation was found to be higher in Assam than Arunachal Pradesh primarily due to the latter’s inhospitable mountainous terrain. Among the districts in Assam, the highest deforestation was noticed in Barpeta, followed by Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Lakhimpur, Darrang, Dibrugarh and Sonitpur during the 85-year study period.

Area-wise, the largest amount of forest cover loss was noticed in Dhemaji (1,419.99 square km) followed by Sonitpur (825.85 square km), Lohit in Arunachal (820.61 square km), Tinsukia (662.28 square km) and Lakhimpur (635.15 square km).

INTERNATIONAL

Global Finance names DBS world’s best bank

DBS Bank has become the first Singaporean and Asian winner of Global Finance Magazine’s Best Bank in the World Award, unseating last year’s winner ING.

This came after DBS was named Asia’s top bank in May, replacing 2017 winner ICBC, in the magazine’s annual World’s Best Bank awards.

India and the World Bank sign $300 Million Agreement for India’s Energy Efficiency Program

The Government of India and the World Bank signed a $220 million Loan Agreement and a $80 million Guarantee Agreement for the India Energy Efficiency Scale-Up Program.

The Program, to be implemented by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), will help scale-up the deployment of energy saving measures in residential and public sectors, strengthen EESL’s institutional capacity, and enhance its access to commercial financing.

The investments under the Program are expected to avoid lifetime greenhouse gas emissions of 170 million tons of CO2, and contribute to avoiding an estimated 10 GW of additional generation capacity

NATIONAL

· Cabinet approved Rs.1,623 crore to set up more disaster warning systems

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs cleared at an outlay of 1,623 croreto get more disaster warning systems and desalination plants along Indian coasts. The system will be functioning under the programme called O-SMART (Ocean Services,Technology, Observations, Resources Modelling and Science). O-SMART is monitored by the Union earth sciences ministry.

O-SMART provides economic benefits to a number of user communities in the coastal and ocean sectors, namely, fisheries, offshore industry, coastal States, defence, shipping, ports, etc.

ISRO to send first Indian into Space by 2022

As announced by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during his Independence Day address, India’s first Indian human mission will be launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) by 2022.

This was stated by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh.

The programme will make India the fourth nation in the world to launch a Human Spaceflight Mission.

So far, only the USA, Russia and China have launched human spaceflight missions.

· Third Edition Of Worlds Biggest Open Innovation Model Smart India Hackathon 2019 launched

It is a nationwide initiative to provide students a platform to solve some of the pressing problems we face in our daily lives, and thus inculcate a culture of product innovation and a mindset of problem-solving.
For the first time, Private industry/ organizations and NGOs can also send their problem statements to students under SIH-2019.

· India’s first interstate connected wind power project commissioned in Bhuj

126 MW wind power capacity, part of country’s first Inter State Transmission System(ISTS) auction, is commissioned in Bhuj, Gujarat.
The energy generated from this project is being purchased by Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
This was a 1,000 MW bid for projects to be connected on ISTS (inter-state transmission system) wherein power generated from one state (renewable resource rich state) could be transmitted to other renewable deficient states.

· Manjit Singh wins India’s first gold in 800m since 1982 Asiad

India’s 28-year-old sprinterManjit Singhwon the gold medal in the men’s 800m event at the 2018 Asian Games, securing the ninth gold for the country.
Another Indian sprinter Jinson Johnson, who is ranked first in Asia, won the silver medal at the same event.
Manjit clocked 1:46.15 while Johnson clocked 1:46.35 to make it a memorable double for India.
Manjit’s gold was also the first after Charles Bor romeo’s feat in the 1982 Asian Games.

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