- A fresh exercise to count the country’s tigers led by the National Tiger Conservation Authority has now been launched. This is an important project, given that India hosts the most number of tigers in the wild.
- a mere 10 per cent of the habitat today hosts 90 per cent of the reproducing populations of the big cat.
- One of the criticisms of the scheme to sample tiger densities — which cost about Rs.12 crore in 2006 according to published accounts — is that it is likely to ignore sharp and rapid declines in populations. The methodology being used since 2006, including camera traps is, of course, an improvement over the unscientific analysis of pugmarks employed for nearly three decades.
- Given the limited scientific resources at the disposal of the Environment Ministry, and the large external pool of science-based conservation organisations, there should be no hesitation to broaden the scope of monitoring. It is equally important to involve local communities, choosing volunteers who can be trained and deployed along with scientific personnel.
- Concentration of large number of cats in the small area is not good for growth in tigers population.First,because of their habit of establishing control over a particular area like other animals.Second,Healthy growth in their population is possible when they have enough prey for themselves and their newborns.Third,outbreak of certain disease in the highly populated areas may cause serious effect on their population and it may become a reason behind the threat to their existence.Forth it will have an impact on the food chain in both the regions,where tigers population is small and where they are in large numbers.
Therefore I think more focus should be given in those regions where they are in small number or where their number is decreasing without ignoring highly populated areas.Of course this should be done with best possible method at our disposal.
- Justice A.K. Ganguly’s holding on to his position as the Chairperson of the West Bengal State Human Rights Commission after being accused by a law intern of improper sexual advances may indicate a justified concern about his hard-earned reputation.
- It was supposed to be the Damocles’s sword hanging over global markets, including that of India’s, over the last few months. Ultimately, when the U.S. Federal Reserve did announce the start of a tapering of its $85 billion monthly bond-buying programme on December 18, the event set off nothing more than minor ripples across global equity and currency markets. Does the credit go to the Fed for preparing the markets for the winding down of quantitative easing? Probably yes, because it has been talking about the tapering process for the last six months.
- the absence of turbulence can be attributed to two main reasons. One, of course, is that the markets had already discounted the fact that a wind-down of the bond-purchase programme was imminent and factored that into their valuations. Second, and more important, is that the start of the tapering process is a clear signal that the health of the U.S. economy, which is the global economic engine, is getting closer to normal.
- The Indian markets reacted to the news with minor turbulence on December 19. The Sensex declined and the rupee wobbled a bit but they both regained their balance on December 20. This is in sharp contrast to the turmoil that they experienced when the T-word was first mentioned by Mr. Bernanke in May. That is because the intervening period has seen a smart turnaround in India’s external account. The current account deficit fell to 1.2 per cent of GDP in the second quarter from a high of 4.9 per cent in the first; it is projected to be 3 per cent or less for fiscal 2013-14, which is a vast improvement over the last year. GDP growth has rebounded in the second quarter to 4.8 per cent, though the growth impulse continues to be weak. Foreign currency reserves have also been augmented through a series of measures initiated by the RBI. While these explain the equanimity in the markets, the fact is that the clouds have not lifted entirely yet. As the tapering process gathers steam over the next few months, there is bound to be both a pull-out of capital from India and reduced allocations for fresh investment as funds chase rising rates in the U.S. This means the current account deficit has to be managed by pushing exports more, especially to a resurgent U.S., and by taking steps to attract fresh foreign direct investment. Policymakers, including in the RBI, need to address these challenges.
- The Maharashtra government’s decision to reject the findings of a judicial commission that has indicted four former Chief Ministers and a dozen civil servants for extending illegal patronage to the controversial Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society constitutes a brazen display of political arrogance.
- The commission, comprising retired judge J.A. Patil and former Chief Secretary P. Subrahmanyam, has come to the same conclusion as the Comptroller and Auditor General did in a report two years ago.
- Among the many manifestations of gender discrimination in India, arguably the most premeditated action involves the so-called boy-preference — the systematic elimination of female foetuses. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report, Laws and Son Preference in India: A Reality Check, could not be more timely. It says the 1994 ban on sex-selective abortions, in order to be more effective, must be backed by comprehensive legal, judicial and police reforms targeting violence against girls and women.
- China’s recent decision to loosen the single-child norm could strengthen opinion in India that has been consistently critical of the deployment of coercive means to control population.
- South Korea has recently witnessed improvements in child-sex ratios, influenced by the waning appeal of sex-selection techniques.
- the editorial is still focusing on the symptom of
skewed sex ratio, instead of the cure for the disease--social reform.
No law (or lack of law) makes people decide boys over girls. It is the
society's role to guarantee gender neutrality. We need an extensive
campaign to educate people about the ill-effects of sex selection
including its impact of crime.
Kerala is an example indicating the natural range of sex ratio at
birth, and the statistical variations in the metric. Kerala is also a
state with the best HDI in India. This is another aspect that policy-
makers should reflect.
- The Aam Aadmi Party’s journey from mass movement to political office in just one year is without a parallel in Indian electoral history, reflecting as it does a popular yearning for change from the models of governance on offer today.
- Mr. Kejriwal is admittedly hamstrung by having to take support from the Congress, which the AAP had denounced as irredeemably corrupt. However, even with this constraint, he can bring about substantive changes in governance, starting with putting an end to the much-detested VIP culture. While the first breakthrough is definitely the passing of the Lokpal law, there are still several promises that the AAP must keep. The real test of the AAP’s commitment to clean politics and transparent governance begins now.
- Even going by Uttar Pradesh’s history of susceptibility to communal violence, the horror that has unfolded in the Muzaffarnagar-Shamli region will rank as extraordinary with deaths and displacement on a scale unmatched in recent times. Four months after a local skirmish escalated into a Hindu Jat-Muslim clash leading to deaths on both sides, there is no sign that tensions have abated and much less that the mostly Muslim victims have found the courage to return to their homes in the villages.
- Sadly, the Manmohan Singh government too has once again let go of the opportunity — in the winter session — to enact an acceptable Communal Violence Bill focussed on the provision of adequate relief and rehabilitation of victims.
- The situation in Muzaffarnagar-Shamli shows once again that political leaders are unable to see beyond majoritarianism & electoral politics. Constitutional bodies which are meant to protect individual rights are falling prey to popular opinion. The quality of debate is declining and in many cases - completely absent. If we allow this to continue, we will become unstable and ungovernable.
- Though designed with plenty of good intentions, the new series of consumer price index-linked savings bonds is unlikely to enthuse most of the individuals for whom it is intended. The Inflation Indexed National Savings Securities-Cumulative (IINSS-C) launched by the Reserve Bank of India opened for subscription on December 23
- The bonds have been designed to give investors a return that is 1.5 per cent above the reference consumer price index calculated according to a set formula. Thus there are two components of interest — a fixed 1.5 per cent and a variable return based on the CPI.
- Uruguay has become the first country to legalise cannabis, taking this most radical step instead of engaging in the so-called war on drugs.
- In future, Uruguayan citizens over 18 and resident in the country will be able to register with the government and then grow up to six plants at home or buy up to 40 grams of the drug per month from licensed pharmacies.
- sale in cafés will be illegal.
- The psychoactive element in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),
- The new law is, above all, pragmatic rather than ideological. Uruguay’s President, José Mujica Cordano, a former Marxist guerrilla who leads a very simple life himself, concurs with the two thirds of the population who oppose legalisation, and is prepared to reverse the policy if it fails, but he sees trafficking as a far greater evil.
- The results of Uruguay’s courageous move will be closely watched around the world.
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- The long-awaited meeting between the Directors-General of Military Operations of India and Pakistan did not come up with any eureka ideas on how to safeguard the ceasefire on the Line of Control, but the very fact of their face-to-face interaction gives the hope that the two sides can still settle differences in a sensible manner. This year, which marked the 10th anniversary of the ceasefire on the LoC, has also been the most trying for it in the entire decade. By September, the number of ceasefire violations had exceeded 200, going by numbers given out by New Delhi. The horrific beheading of a soldier on the Indian side of the line in January, and an ambush in August, again on Indian territory, created a political furore, undermined other gains in the bilateral relationship and put paid to diplomatic efforts to get the peace process restarted.
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