Ten captive-bred Asian Giant Tortoise (Manouria emys) juveniles on Monday were released into a protected area of Nagaland to be rewilded. Asian Giant Tortoise is a “critically endangered” species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. The Nagaland Forest Department and two non-profit organisations, Turtle Survival Alliance and Wildlife Conservation Society India conducted a soft release of the juvenile tortoises for population recovery. The released animals were conserved and bred for five years at the Nagaland Zoological Park, Dimapur.
Sargam Koushal of India was crowned Mrs World at a Saturday evening ceremony held at Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino. Koushal, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir, beat contestants from 63 countries to bring the title back to India after 21 years. She was presented the title by Mrs World 2021 winner Shaylyn Ford of the US. Mrs Polynesia and Mrs Canada were named as first and second runner-up. Sargam Koushal, 32, is married to Aditya Manohar Sharma, a Lieutenant Commander in the Indian Navy. She did her post-graduation in English Literature from Jammu University and B.Ed from Govern
The United Nations has recognised Namami Gange initiative to rejuvenate River Ganga as one of the top 10 World Restoration Flagships to revive the natural world. The award was received by Namani Gange director general at a function in the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) in Montreal, Canada on 14 December, said a Jal Shakti Ministry release. Namami Gange was selected from over 150 such initiatives from 70 countries across the globe. The Programme was started in 2014 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi recognised the need to rejuvenate the holy ri
South Africa is now the most food-secure country in Africa, says the 2022 Global Food Security Index (GFSI) report by British weekly The Economist. This is the first time a country in sub-Saharan Africa has topped the list across the continent. This is a record leap for South Africa from 70th position in 2021. The country overtook Tunisia in the continent, which is now in second place and 62nd globally among 113 countries eligible for the ranking. In addition to feeding its more than 60 million citizens, the farmers of South Africa provided food for millions of people from other countries
Recording a growth of 26% annually, auto sales in India in November 2022 clocked record high numbers, said the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) on Friday. All categories of automobiles, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles (PVs), tractors and commercial vehicles (CVs), registered a growth of 24%, 80%, 21%, 57% and 33%, respectively. Around 23.80 lakh units were sold last month, compared to 18.93 lakh units in November 2021 and 23.44 lakh units in November 2019, a year before the COVID-19 pandemic. “November 2022 has clocked the highest retails in the hi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the Nagpur-Mumbai expressway in Maharashtra. The new expressway, officially named as Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, will reduce travel time between the two cities from 16 hours to eight hours. The expressway is a greenfield corridor and does not pass through inside cities. The total cost of the project has been estimated at Rs 55,335.32 crore. The first phase of the 701-km-long project covers 520 km between Nagpur and Shirdi and will take five hours to cover. The remaining stretch of 181 km will be c
Women are amongst the biggest users of public transport in India, according to a new report by the World Bank, which estimates 84% of women’s trips to be by public transport. The report, Enabling Gender Responsive Urban Mobility and Public Spaces in India, found that more women tend to walk to work compared to men. It added that 45.4% of women go to work by foot versus 27.4% of men. This report was compiled to guide Indian cities on how to design public transport that is more inclusive of women’s travelling requirements. The WB report found that more women in India also travel by
India logged 23.06 billion transactions amounting Rs 38.3 trillion in the third quarter this year, said Worldline India’s Digital Payments Report. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) clocked over 19.65 billion transactions in volume and Rs 32.5 lakh crore in terms of value. The volume and value of UPI transactions almost doubled since last year, with an increase of 88% in volume and over 71% in value in Q3 as compared to the same quarter last year. UPI person-to-merchant (P2M) and person-to-person (P2P) became the most chosen payment method among consumers, accounting for 42 per cent of
The digital transformation (DX) spending in India is expected to reach $85 billion by 2026, as Indian organisations aim to reduce costs by increasing efficiency, improving security, and enhancing customer experience through tech-enabled digital transformation, said an International Data Corporation (IDC) report on Tuesday. More than 95 per cent of Indian companies plan to increase DX spending or maintain at the same level in 2023, the report added. DX is about accepting the right technologies. It combines people, processes, and operations that give companies the ability to develop and r
India has climbed to the 48th position in the global aviation safety ranking by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday. Four years ago, the country was ranked at the 102nd position. In the latest ICAO ranking, Singapore is at the top, followed by the UAE and South Korea at the second and third positions, respectively, the officials said. China is at the 49th place, they added. Under its Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach, an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission