3 October 2024, The Indian EXPRESS
Govt printed, then shelved its report on elephants: Count fell by 20% in 5 years
Page no- 1
GS3- Conservation
- Hundreds of copies of the Environment Ministry’s elephant census report — Status of Elephant in India 2022-23 — have been gathering dust since February this year. The government hasn’t released the report citing a delay in the census in the Northeast.
- The data from the unreleased report, reviewed by The Indian Express, shows a 20 per cent drop in the elephant population from five years ago, with the Central Indian and Eastern Ghats even recording an alarming 41 per cent dip compared with 2017 estimates.
- Besides recording the dip in the elephant numbers, the unreleased report identifies “mushrooming developmental projects” such as “unmitigated mini
Muizzu starts India visit Sunday, plans being drawn up for 3 cities
Page no- 7
GS2- India and its neighbourhood relations
- Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu is likely to visit India from October 6 to 10, The Indian Express has learnt. An official announcement is expected soon.
- While Muizzu attended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony in June, this will be his first ‘standalone’ bilateral visit to India, almost a year after he assumed office in Male.
- Muizzu is expected to hold bilateral talks with Modi on October 7, sources said. He is likely to travel to three cities — Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru — and arrangements for a packed schedule are being worked out.
New SEBI rules to curb F&O frenzy, aim to protect small investors
Page no- 11
GS3- Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development
- Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has released a set of six measures to strengthen the equity index derivatives — also known as equity futures & options (F&O) — framework.
- The F&O segment has been witnessing an exponential jump in trading volumes, with the majority of investors incurring losses. The increased activity in the derivatives market has become a cause of concern for the government and regulators, as surging F&O volumes have started to impinge on capital formation and pose a systemic risk to the country’s economic growth.
Food safety laws in states
Page no- 11
Prelims Syllabus- Current Affairs
- The Uttar Pradesh government last week made it mandatory for food establishments to “prominently” display to customers the names of “the operator, proprietor, manager, and other relevant personnel”. A day later, Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh said that in his state too, “every eatery and fast food cart will have to display the owner’s ID”.
- The Himachal government disowned the statement and, at a meeting in Delhi with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Singh reportedly affirmed his commitment to the party’s “core principles”.
- On July 22, the Supreme Court stayed similar orders passed by police in UP and Uttarakhand for this year’s kanwar yatra. The court said that the “competent authority” under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSSA) could indeed issue such orders, but police could not “usurp” this power.
Why langurs are sometimes deployed to scare away rhesus monkeys
Page no- 11
Prelims Syllabus- Environment
- The Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) is literally up to some monkey business. On Friday (September 27), it hired langurs in an effort to ward off food-grabbing monkeys at Kanpur’s historic Green Park Stadium, the venue for the second Test match between India and Bangladesh.
- For decades, it has been common practice to deploy Indian grey langurs (Semnopithecus entellus) to combat rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). But why?
- Indians hold very different attitudes towards the two primate species, with rhesus monkeys treated with a lot more hostility than langurs. This is likely because, as research has shown, the former have shown greater propensity in urban spaces, and thus come into conflict with humans.
MFs invest double that of FPIs in H1
Page no- 13
GS3- Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development
- With stock markets giving handsome returns, mutual funds—aided by strong inflows from retail investors—pumped in nearly Rs 2 lakh crore in the first six months of the financial year. In comparison, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) put in less than Rs 1 lakh crore.
- Data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) show that equity mutual funds invested Rs 1.92 lakh crore till September 27 this fiscal, while FPIs invested Rs 83,289 crore (approximately $9.96 billion) in the same period.
