22 August 2018: UPSC Exam PIB Summary & Analysis

Read the daily PIB update and stay up-to-date on current affairs for the UPSC exam

NAVIC

  • India’s own GPS is all set to be launched and will place it in the club of select countries which have their own indigenous navigation systems.
  • The GPS has been named NavIC—Navigation with Indian Constellation.
  • The other countries that have their own indigenous system are:
  1. Russia: GLONASS—Global Navigation Satellite System
  2. European Union: Galileo Positioning System
  3. Japan: Quasi-Zenith Satellite System—QZSS
  4. China: Beidou Navigation Satellite System—BDS
  • The NavIC will be useful in terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation.
  • Tracking, managing disaster and gathering geodetic data will be a few of the other uses of the system.

World Elephant Day

  • To focus attention of various stakeholders to support various conservation policies to help elephants, including:
  1. Improving enforcement policies to prevent the illegal poaching and trade of ivory
  2. Conserving elephant habitats
  3. Providing better treatment for captive elephants
  4. Reintroducing some captive elephants into sanctuaries
  • Current population estimates for Asian elephants in the country, as per 2017 Census, are about 30,000.
  • Asian elephants are confined to South Asia and South East Asia and about 60 per cent of global population of Asian elephants is found in India.
  • As an acknowledgement of the important role played by the elephants in the social, religious and cultural life of people in India, elephants were declared as a National Heritage Animal in the year 2010.

Project Elephant

In order to conserve the Asian Elephants the Project Elephant started in 1992.

Objectives:

  • Conservation and protection of viable population of wild elephants in their natural habitats in the country
  • Restoration of natural habitats and traditional corridors/migratory routes or movement paths used by the elephants, wherever necessary, through eco-restoration, acquisition etc.;
  • Ensuring safeguards against poaching and other threats
  • Mitigation and control of human elephant conflicts
  • Welfare and management of captive elephants
  • Creating a viable mechanism to ensure inter-state and regional and national level coordination in protecting and conserving the elephant and its ranges

Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES)

  • It is a dedicated facility of CSIR’s Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad that uses modern biotechnologies for conservation of endangered wildlife.
  • India’s only lab for conservation of endangered species.
  • Developed methods for collection and cryopreservation of semen and oocytes from wildlife and successfully reproducing endangered blackbuck, spotted deer and Nicobar pigeons.
  • Through this work, it has established Genetic Resource Bank for Indian wildlife.
  • So far, genetic resources from 23 species of Indian wild animals have been collected and preserved.
  • This facility would increase the collection of genetic resources from wildlife through collaboration with zoos in India.
  • It would also facilitate exchange of genetic material between the Indian zoos for maintaining genetic diversity and conservation management made accessible to scientists and wildlife managers for implementing conservation programs.

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Also See:

Elephant Reserves in India NAVIC

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