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Death of an elephant : Whom should we blame??

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A pregnant elephant stranded in river On 3rd of June,2020, Media reported a grueling story of death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala's Pallakad district. The incident went viral after a forest section officer in Kerala posted the whole episode describing how the elephant struggled in a river and died.The incident actually took place on May 27 when the elephant collapsed standing in the river after it suffered an injury on its lower jaw. The elephant was first identified with the injury on May 23 and on the next day it reached river velliyar for water. It stood for a whole day in the water to relieve itself from the pain and collapsed in the river. The wildlife department planned to take the elephant out of the river but by then it had collapsed. Later the forest personnel gave the elephant an honorable farewell by burying it in the forest. The exact cause of the injury is yet to be ascertained as the investigation is going on,but the forest officials suspect that it might have got

Boycott Chinese products : Is it a pragmatic idea??

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Sonam Wangchuk an engineer,innovator and an educational reformist called for a boycott of Chinese goods through the power of Indian wallet. He also advocated for doing off with Chinese apps. He laid a roadmap for a self reliant India without dependence on Chinese goods by building our own software in 1 year, hardware in 2 years and other essential goods in 5 years. His call gained traction in the backdrop of esaclation of Chinese military along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Many celebrities also supported the call given by Wangchuk,and showed their allegiance by uninstalling Chinese apps like Tiktok. If we watch two of his videos on China issue,his call for boycotting the Chinese products was not only centered on Chinese military escalations but also on other issues like suppression of Ughir muslims, autonomy for Tibetans and liberating the bonded labour in China.  So he actually wanted all the Indians to support the cause to put pressure on China to soften its stand on all the ab

Decoding AatmaNirbhar Bharat : Financial measures and breakup of 20 Lakh package.

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Total compilation of all financial measures announced under AatmaNirbhar Bharat and the breakup of total package. I) Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan yojana : 1.7 lakh crore --- 0.85 % of the GDP. Direct Beneficiaries :  1) middle class and lower middle class with ration cards. 2) MNREGA job card holders. 4) Women with Jandhan accounts. 5) Farmers under PM Kisan samman Nidhi (old initiative). 6) Widows, elders, and the disabled. 7) construction workers. 8) Organised workers with wage less than 15000/-. 9) Health workers. 10) Self help groups. 11) medical centres to fight covid-19   Benefits :  1) In kind -- free food grains, pulses and LPG gas. 2) Direct cash transfer -- daily wage increase by 20/- for  MNREGA job holders,500/- each for women for next three months, 2000/-  for  each farmer (First installment under PM Kisan), 1000 /- for old people,widows and disabled for next three months. 3) For organised workers,24 percent of their monthly wages into their PF accounts for next three mo

LG Polymers Gas leak : Is it operating without any Environmental Clearance??

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On May 7 2020, Visakhapatnam city has woke up to a worst nightmare of people lying unconsciously on roads and cattle lying dead due to a gas leak from a polymers manufacturing company located at a village named R.R Venkatapuram on the outskirts of the city. The Industry is owned by South Korean major LG group,holding the name LG polymers India private limited. The gas leak mishap sent ripples across the country with disturbing images and videos circulated across the social media. Many people felt it was reminiscent of Bhopal gas tragedy that shook the nation three decades ago. The gas that was purportedly leaked was reported to be a hazardous gas called Styrene. The gas leak mishap reportedly killed 12 people and hospitalised thousands of people. Within a few hours, NDRF and a central team of experts took control of the situation and managed to bring the gas leak undercontrol. A high level committee was appointed by the state government to investigate on how exactly the gas leak has ha

Is there any real threat to Mada forests ??

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Recently, we have been witnessing a huge campaign going viral in social media to protect Mada forests from destruction in the state of Andhrapradesh. This social media campaign gained traction when a petition was filed in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) by some environmental activists and the NGT immediately ordering for  a committee to enquire into the whole issue. People on social media have been posting various photographs on how these mangrove swamps have been levelled by the government with mud near Kakinada of East Godavari district. They also started a petition in change.org and gathered the support of many people to sign the petition. This campaign also added some political colour when the opposition parties in the state started to add voice to it. Putting facts together on threats to Mada forests Mada forests are dense mangrove forests located on the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh. The state has total of 404 sq.km mangrove cover spread across various costa

ISRO successfully launched HysIS satellite on PSLV-C43 : What is there in it for us?

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ISRO has successfully launched HysIS satellite on ISRO workhorse rocket launcher PSLV C-43 from the Sathish Dhawan launch center in Sriharikota on November 29.                                                                                                          PSLV C-43 rocket ready for the launch PSLVC-43 is also carrying 1 Micro as well as 29 Nano satellites from 8 different countries. These countries include United States of America (with 23 satellites), Canada, Columbia, Australia, Finland, Netherlands, Malaysia and Spain (with one satellite each). What is HysIS ? - HysIS stands for Hyperspectral imaging satellite. Image source : THE HINDU. -  HysIS is the India's first Hyperspectral Imaging satellite for advanced earth observation.The satellite is equipped with hyperspectral camera which uses hyperspectral Imaging technology to provide well-defined images that can help to identify objects on Earth far more clearly than regular optical or remote s

Kartarpur corridor - Will it open a channel for peace between India and Pakistan?

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Kartarpur corridor is a proposed border gate between India and Pakistan connecting the Sikh holy shrine of Dera Baba Nanak sahib in India to the holy shrine of Kartarpur sahib in Pakistan. It is planned to open the corridor for the Indian pilgrims on 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.   The Kartarpur corridor allows Sikh pilgrims in India to visit the holy shrine of  Kartarpur sahib in Pakistan through a road link without any visa. The shrine is so revered as it is believed that Guru Nanak spent his final 18 years in the Kartarpur sahib.The gurudwara was established by the first Sikh Guru in 1522. Also the shrine is the repository of one of the last copies of  original Guru Granth Sahib. At present important landmarks of  the Nishan sahib of the Kartarpur sahib gurudwara can be seen with help of binoculars from a raised platform constructed by the BSF near the border. For many decades,the pilgrims have been demanding that India and Pakistan should collaborate to b