Goa Affairs
Goa: Forest department to use rainwater to revive degraded forest patches
The forest department will construct and water conservation structures at an estimated cost of Rs 70 lakh, to revive a few hundred hectares of degraded forest patches in the state.
As per the Union Environment ministrys instructions, the degraded forest patches have already been identified for the state by the Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS), India.
The detailed project report for Goa submitted by the WAPCOS has already been forwarded to Goa forest officials for implementation and the centrally-funded project has to be implemented in nine months.
WAPCOS has used the Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology to identify major ridge areas inside forest areas of Goa. LiDAR is an active remote sensing system used to measure vegetation height across wide areas.
To conserve water under the project, ridge-to-valley approach of Watershed Management will be used. The ridge-to-valley approach detains, diverts, stores and uses available rainwater.
National and International Affairs
India lost $159 billion due to heat caused by emissions: Report
India is the worst affected amongG20 nationsbycarbonemission-induced rise in temperatures, losing $159 billion (5.4% of its GDP) in 2021 due to labour capacity reduction caused by extreme heat, says a report released on Thursday by Climate Transparency. According to the report, carbonemissionsfrom energy use rebounded by 5.9% acrossG20nations last year and surpassed pre-pandemic levels, causing huge income losses in Services, manufacturing, <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and construction sectors.
The CT – an international PARTNERSHIP of organisations that provides an annual stocktake of climate action – noted that the G20 countries’ support to produce fossil fuels reached new heights at $64 billion in 2021 even before the Energy Crisis brought about by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
India successfully tests nuclear capable Agni Prime missile
India on successfully ‘testfired’ a new generation nuclear capableballistic missileAgni Prime ballisticmissileoff the coast ofOdisha.
This is the third test of the two-stage solid propellant Agni Prime missile, which has a dual redundantnavigationandguidancesystem.
Earlier, two missiles were successfully tested in June and December last year.
The surface-to-surface ballistic missile has a range of 1000 to 2000 km.
The nuclear-capable missile has been designed and developed by the DEFENCE Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The Agni Prime missile, the smallest and lightest among the entire Agni series of ballistic missiles, will further bolster India’s strategic deterrence capabilities once it is fully operational after a series of “developmental and user trials.
After Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand,Mahakal temple is the third jyotirlinga site to see a major upliftment exercise.
The Rs800-crore Mahakal corridor is four times the size of theKashi Vishwanath Corridor.