Intervention

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer for phase down of Hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) by India, adopted by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on October, 2016 at 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol held at Kigali, Rwanda.

The country’s cyber security agency CERT-In has advised Facebook users to strengthen their account privacy settings after a recent global ‘data scraping’ incident in the social media platform was detected that affected about 61 lakh Indians.

A “high” severity rating advisory issued by the CERT-In or the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team said the vulnerability has been detected in software that has “WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business for Android prior to v2.21.4.18 and WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business for iOS prior to v2.21.32.”

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announcing Project Dolphin last year on the lines of Project Tiger to focus on both river and sea dolphins, the centre has acquired more importance. The project also got in-principle approval at the first meeting of the National Ganga Council (NGC), headed by the PM.

After years of discussion, the Centre has approved tiger reserve status for the sanctuaries spanning the forests of Meghamalai and Srivilliputhur in Tamil Nadu. The 1 lakh-hectare area, home to 63 mammal species and 323 bird species — will be India’s 51st tiger reserve.

India, on the occasion of Wetland Conservation Day on Tuesday, set up its first dedicated centre for conservation of wetlands, which occupy around 4.6 per cent of the country’s landmass. Named ‘Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management’ (CWCM), the specialised institution is a part of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).

Considering the need to have a conservation paradigm for marine mega fauna and marine turtles, the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has released ‘Marine Mega Fauna Stranding Guidelines’ and ‘National Marine Turtle Action Plan’ in New Delhi today.

Admiral (Retd.) D K Joshi, the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, on Tuesday flagged-off fleet of electric buses. The project for 40 electric buses is being executed by NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited(NVVN Limited), a 100% subsidiary of NTPC Limited, a PSU under Ministry of Power, Government of India.