Cases of New HIV Infections among Children declined: UNAIDS Report

According to UNAIDS Report released on 18 July 2012, new HIV infections among children are declining at a steady rate. The report noted that about 330000 children were newly infected in 2011, which indicated a 24 percent drop in the new HIV case among children since 2009.
Report asserted that nearly 60 percent of the 1.5 million pregnant women living with HIV in poor countries received effective anti-AIDS medications last year, which lowered the chances of passing on the virus to their babies.
As per the report about 34.2 million people worldwide were living with the AIDS virus at the end of 2011, while, a record eight million people in low- and middle-income countries received the antiretrovirals treatment in 2011.

UNAIDS (United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS)

UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, is an innovative partnership that leads and inspires the world in achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. Member of United Nations Development Group, UNAIDS came into existence in 1994 by a resolution of the UN Economic and Social Council and launched in January 1996. UNAIDS has its headquarter in Geneva, Switzerland. Michel Sidibe is the Executive Chairman of UNAIDS.

Delhi Government decided to increase the Number of Districts in Delhi from 9 to 11

To facilitate the speedy justice and efficient administration, the Delhi government on 16 July 2012 decided in-principle to divide Delhi into 11 sessions and revenue districts. The existing number of district is nine that includes, Central, North, South, East, Northeast, Southwest, New Delhi, Northwest and West Delhi.
After reshaping the boundaries of existing districts there will be 11 districts including, Central, East, West, North, South, Najafgarh, Saraswati Vihar, Kalkaji, Preet Vihar, Seelampur and New Delhi. The Northeast, Northwest and Southwest districts will cease to exist while, five new districts namely Seelampur, Gandhi Nagar, Saraswati Vihar, Najafgadh and Kalka Ji will come into existence.
The government’s move came following law department sent a proposal to the Delhi government to divide the capital into 11 districts so that the work of the judiciary and the revenue department gets divided according to their respective areas.
Under the present structure, the work of the trial courts is divided into nine districts for the civil cases, while, there is only one chief metropolitan magistrate for criminal jurisdiction. For revenue department, there are nine districts along with 27 sub-divisions.

India recorded 3.8 Percent Unemployment Rate in the Year 2010-11

According to the findings of unemployment survey conducted by the Labour Bureau of the Government of India, the country recorded 3.8 percent unemployment rate in the year 2010-11. The earlier figure (2009-10) was 9.4 percent. The survey was conducted in all 28 states and 7 Union Territories. The findings of the survey were released on 9 July 2012.
As per the survey report the official unemployment rate of the country was 3.8 percent, with urban unemployment and rural unemployment stood at at 5.1 percent and 3.5 percent respectively. Women unemployment at 6.7 percent stood significantly ahead of men unemployment rate which stood at 2.8 percent. The report stated that of those with a livelihood, the majority were self-employed or casual labour. While 48.6 per cent were self employed, 31 per cent were casual labour.
On the basis of social stratum the rates of employment for the SC, ST, and OBC groups stood at 55.9 per cent, 59.7 per cent, and 53.3 per cent respectively, as compared to 48.5 per cent for the general category.
The unemployment rate was found maximum in states such as Goa (16 percent), Kerala (9 percent) and West Bengal (7 percent), while Gujarat (1 Percent) had the lowest number of unemployment rate. Less developed states such as Bihar, Odisha and UP also recorded a moderate unemployment rate.
The data was collected from a sample of 128298 households, while the size of the sample of previous survey was fourth of this size.

Bollywood Superstar Rajesh Khanna passed away

Yesteryear Bollywood superstar Rajesh Khanna passed away at his Mumbai residence Ashirwad on 18 July 2012. He was 69. He was severely ill over the past few months. Rajesh Khanna, who was fondly called Kaka by his fans, is considered to be the first superstar of Indian cinema.

Rajesh Khanna, whose real name was Jatin Khanna, was born on 29 December 1942, in Amritsar, Punjab. A natural actor, Khanna got his first break in bollywood after he emerged victorious in All India Talent Contest organised by United Producers and Filmfare in 1965. Aakhri Khat, directed by Chetan Anand, was his debut film. The film was released in 1966. Rajesh Khanna got the first lead role of his career in 1966 with the film Raaz directed by Ravindra Dave.

Period between 1969 and 1972 saw Rajesh Khanna, rising to the pinnacle of stardom. The period was marked by 15 consecutive solo hits by him, the record which still remains untouched. In his over than four-decade long career in the Indian Film Industry he worked in 163 films. An unchallenged king of romantic roles on the screen, Khanna played the lead protagonist in 128 films. He also appeared in 17 short films.

Aradhna, Anand, Kati Patang, Dushman, Bawarchi, Amar Prem, Hathi Mere Saathi, Hum dono and Aag are few of his movies which earned him both the praise of critics and commercial success at the same time. Rajesh Khanna has had a great on-screen chemistry with her fellow actresses like Mumtaz and Sharmila Tagore. With Mumtaz he went on to give block-busters like Aap ki Kasam, Prem Kahani and Roti.

Though, Rajesh Khanna was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award 16 times, Saccha-Jhutha, Anand and Aaviskar actually won him the filmfare awards in the best actor categoy. He was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.

The superstar along with playback singer Kishore Kumar gave a number of hit songs. The actor-singer duo gave the Indian audience an entirely new perspective of melodious Indian music. Songs such as Mere Sapnon Ki Rani from Aradhana, which had the voice of Kishore Kumar, made Rajesh Khanna exteremely popular among the youths.

Rajesh Khanna was also the member of Lok Sabha from 1992 to 1996. He was elected to the lower house on the Congress Party ticket from the New Delhi constituency.

The magic of the Rajesh Khanna could well be assessed by the fact that the BBC in 1974 made a film on him, named Bombay Superstar, while, the Bombay University prescribed a book contained an essay, The Charisma of Rajesh Khanna.

World’s Tallest Chenab Rail Bridge

The world’s tallest rail bridge over Chenab River in Jammu & Kashmir’s Reasi district being constructed by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Railways, is likely to be ready by 2016.   This bridge will be on the Udhampur – Srinagar – Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project which is a national project to provide rail connectivity to the beautiful valley of Kashmir. Konkan Railway has taken up the construction of part of USBRL project from Katra to Dharam in December 2002.  Chenab Bridge, perhaps the most challenging project, is to be built at the height of 359 metres (height of Qutab Minar is 72 metres and of Eiffel Tower is 324 metres).  Chenab Bridge is having the central span of 457 metres. When constructed this bridge will quality for world record for being the tallest rail bridge from the river bed. Currently the world’s tallest rail bridge is located over France’s Tam River with its tallest pillar rising 340 metres, with the actual height where the train runs on the bridge being 300 metres. The design of bridge also takes care of blast load, which is internationally an unique feature.  The painting scheme for this bridge is designed for 35 years of service life so that during service life of 120 years, only 3 times repainting will have to be done.

For construction of Arch portion of the bridge over the river, a novel method of construction using the cable car is designed and under construction. This cable car runs on 54mm cables laid across the river valley and connected through 127 metre high pylons (towers) on either side of river. The consumption of structural steel for this project is very huge. The construction of Chenab Bridge will comprises of earthwork in excavation for construction of foundations, over 46,000cum of concreting, 3600 tonnes of reinforcement  steel and 25,000 tonnes of structural steel (an equivalent to volume of a 54 story building on a football ground size plot). Fabrication of the steel structures involves very high degree of precision and quality wielding using latest wielding technologies.

Construction of Railway Bridge over river Chenab bridging steep banks on Bakkal (Katra) and Kauri (Srinagar) ends respectively, without causing any hindrance to the water flow is a challenge. Approach roads measuring a total length of about 5 kilometres are being constructed in very difficult terrain to reach to main span foundations.  To ensure stability of the foundation cut profiles, the slopes have been suitably designed and will be protected by means of rock bolting and shotcreting. From Katra side, the railway  line comes out of 5.9 kilometre long tunnel and after moving over other bridges comes to a station called Salai-A and after moving over Chenab bridge comes to a halt  station called Salai-B. These two stations are meant to serve the local population of either side of the river.

The bridge is designed for 266 kmph of wind velocity and wind tunnel simulation test for the same was conducted in Denmark. However, trains will not be permitted to travel over the bridge when wind velocity exceeds 90 kmph.  Suitable instrumentation like anemometers for measuring wind velocity, accelerometers  for measuring ground acceleration in the event of an earthquake, temperature monitor etc., will be installed at critical locations to generate alarm to the adjacent stations in case of danger. Various geotechnical investigations are carried out for this bridge like soil boring done along the alignment of the bridge, plate load test and shear load test conducted inside drift (a tunnel like cavity made for investigation) at foundation level of Arch.

The section from Katra to Dharam being constructed by Konkan Railway is 70 kilometres in length. It comprises of 59.457 kilometres (85%) of route in tunnels, 6.6 kilometres (9%) of route on bridges and balance 6% of route in cutting and embankments. To make access to these sites, Konkan Railway has to make 166 kilometres of project roads including road tunnels and many temporary Bailey bridges.

The work was pended in July 2008 for review of alignment and after review works were restarted in September 2009.  At present, Final Location Survey for 28 km is in progress taking into account changed ruling gradient of 1 in 80.  The target for completion of project is December 2017.  To expeditiously execute the project Konkan Railway has set up Project Head Office at Jammu.  Its project camps are located at Reasi, Kauri, Dugga and Sangaldhan.  KRCL has mobilized a team of about 240 staff and engineers for taking this project ahead.  The construction machinery, plant, equipments, materials, technicians, skilled and un-skilled manpower is arranged by KRCL’s construction contractors.  For design support, various National and International agencies have been engaged.  The construction of 166 km of approach/feeder roads through this inaccessible terrain is a challenging job to take up the railway construction works. 

Konkan Railway has the experience of construction of 740 km of Railway route length between Roha to Thokur (near Mangalore).  This route has 91 tunnels aggregating to 85 km, with Karbude tunnel of 6.5 km which is the longest transport tunnel in the country.  Over Konkan Railway route 179 major bridges aggregating to 19.8 km of bridge length have been constructed.  The longest bridge is across Sharavati river which is more than 2 km long.

National Strategy for Financial Education

The first decade of the 21st century has seen a universal recognition for  spreading financial literacy among people.   Most of the countries  are adopting a unified and coordinated national strategy for financial education.  Given the fact that India is having large population, a fast growing economy with national focus on inclusive growth and an urgent need to develop a vibrant and stable financial system, it has become all  the more necessary to quickly formulate and  implement a national strategy.

Also since a large number of stakeholders including the central and state governments, financial regulators, financial  institutions, civil society, educationists and others are involved in spreading financial literacy; a broad national strategy is a prerequisite to ensure that they  work in tandem according to the strategy and not at cross purposes.

The National Strategy, thus, seeks to create a financially aware and empowered India. It aims at undertaking a massive Financial Education campaign to help people manage money more effectively to achieve financial well being by accessing appropriate financial products and services through regulated entities 

What is Financial Literacy?

Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development  defines Financial Literacy as  a combination of financial awareness, knowledge, skills, attitude and behaviour necessary  to make sound financial decisions and ultimately achieve individual financial well being. People achieve financial literacy through a process of financial education.

Financial Inclusion : A Top Policy Priority of Government

Government of India has recognized the importance of spreading financial literacy to intensify efforts to channelize domestic savings to investments. However,  increasing range and complexity of products has  made it very difficult for an ordinary person to take an informed decision. Financial literacy develops confidence, knowledge and skills to manage financial products and services enabling them to have more control of their present and future circumstances. Financial literacy will also help in protecting society and individuals against exploitative financial schemes and  exorbitant interest rate charged by moneylenders. 

It is expected that financial education can lead to multiplier effects in the economy. A well educated household would resort to regular savings, which in turn would lead to investment in right channels and income generation. Thus, the financial well  being of individuals, will in turn increase the welfare of the society.

International Experience and the Lessons for India

Globally, Countries like Czech Republic, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, and UK have already implemented National Strategy for Financial Education, while many other countries are in the process of formulation and implementation. 

In India, we need a tiered approach under National  strategy in view of our diversity.  The draft National Strategy has been prepared with the objectives  of i) Creating awareness and educating consumers on access to financial services, various types of products and their features, ii)changing attitudes to translate knowledge into behavior and  iii) Making consumers understand their rights and responsibilities as clients of  financial services.

Given the fast pace of changes in the financial  world, it has been envisaged to have a five year timeframe for implementing the strategy, using Strategic Action Plans.

Sample Survey to Assess the State of Financial Literacy and Inclusion

The Strategy provides for conduct of a nation wide sample survey for assessing the state of financial inclusion and financial literacy. The survey, inter-alia will assess the level of financial inclusion, level of financial awareness about various financial products, level of financial competency to make informed decisions, people’s attitude towards money as well as their attitude towards risk taking.

Based on the assessment of the survey, various financial regulators would develop their financial education modules to address the needs of their clients. It would then be delivered through school curriculum, social marketing, advertising through radio, television, print and outdoor and by setting up dedicated financial education websites. There is also a proposal to rope in Self-Help Groups, Micro-Finance Institutions, investors and consumer associations etc.

Financial Education in School Curriculum

Governments have recognized that financial education should start at school and that people should be educated about financial matters as early as possible in their lives. Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development has developed Guidelines to assist policymakers and interested stakeholders in designing, introducing and developing efficient financial  education programmes in schools.

However, it needs to clearly be specified that the financial education would not be another subject  taught in the schools. What is needed is its  appropriate integration in the school curriculum. For example, compound interest is taught in Arithmetic as an abstract concept of, A lending to B at some interest rate compounded annually. This can be turned into an opportunity of financial education by weaving into a problem of a company that borrows from a bank or a bank customer who opens a Cumulative Deposit Account instead of a simple Fixed Deposit Account. Similarly, moral science courses could have content which are based on day to day financial transactions

CBSE has agreed, in principle, to introduce it in an integral manner in school education at the post primary level and to facilitate the process, a committee of experts has been constituted.

Synergizing the Efforts of Regulators in Spreading Financial Literacy.

In India, various financial regulators including Reserve Bank of India, Securities Exchange Board of India, Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority etc have already embarked upon massive financial literacy programmes adopting multi-pronged approach.

Reserve Bank of India has undertaken a project titled ‘Project Financial Literacy’ to disseminate information regarding the central bank and general banking concepts to various target groups, including school and college students, women, rural and urban poor, defense personnel and senior citizens.

Securities Exchange Board of India has empanelled Resource Persons throughout India who organize workshops to target segments on various aspects viz. savings, investment, financial planning, banking, insurance, retirement planning etc. More than 3500 workshops have been already conducted in various states covering nearly 3 lakh participants.

Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority has been disseminating simple messages about the rights and duties of policyholders, channels available for dispute redressal etc through radio, TV and print media in English, Hindi and 11 other Indian languages.

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority(PFRDA) has been engaged in spreading social security messages to the public.  PFRDA has developed FAQ on pension related topics on its website, and has been associated with various non government organizations in India in taking the pension services to the disadvantaged community.

Similarly, commercial banks, Stock Exchanges, Broking Houses and Mutual Funds have the initiatives in the field of financial education that spawns conducting of seminars, issuance of do’s and don’ts, and newspaper campaigns.

It will be necessary to collate and classify the vast amount of material developed by these institutions, that can serve as the knowledge base for financial education in India.

Institutional arrangements envisage creation of the National Institute of Financial Education(NIFE), with representatives of various regulators as members.  The main role of NIFE shall be to create financial education material for respective financial sectors. NIFE shall also create and maintain a website exclusively for financial education.

The entire policy is sought to be implemented through existing institutional mechanism.  The Technical Group of Sub-Committee of Financial Stability & Development Council on Financial Inclusion and  Financial Literacy shall be made responsible for periodic monitoring and implementation of the strategy.

Maharashtra tops list of number of foreign tourist visits in 2011

According to the latest report from the union ministry of tourism, Maharashtra tops the list of number of foreign tourist visits, followed by Tamil Nadu and New Delhi. While Maharashtra received 4.8 million tourists, Tamil Nadu welcomed 3.4 million tourists and New Delhi played host to 2.8 million foreigners.

The statistics releases by the union ministry of tourism for 2011 says the number of foreign tourist visits (FTV) to Indian states/union territories was 19.5 million as compared to 17.9 million in 2010 and 14.4 million in 2009.

This year the number of FTVs registered a growth of 8.85% over 2010 as compared to a growth of 24.6% in 2010 over 2009.

"Our campaign, 'Maharashtra Unlimited' has been successful in reaching out to the globe. We lay emphasis on leisure tours, beach tours, rural tourism and heritage tourism among others. As Maharashtra is an all-season destination we would like to retain these tourists for more number of days," said Maharashtra tourism minister Chhagan Bhujbal.

The report says that the contribution of the top 10 states was about 90.1% to the total number of foreign tourists in the country for 2011.

UPA announces Hamid Ansari as Vice-Presidential candidate

United Progressive Alliance has finally given the nod to Hamid Ansari's candidature for a second term as vice-president at a meeting of alliance partners held today. If elected, he will set a record as the second Indian to get a consecutive term as Vice President.

75-year-old Ansari, a career diplomat who has also served as Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, will emulate the late philosopher-statesman S Radhakrishnan, who got two terms as vice-president between 1952 and 1962.

In 2007, Ansari was a surprise choice for Vice President when the Left parties--which were supporting the UPA-I government from outside--proposed his name and the Congress-led alliance accepted it.

He had defeated Najma Heptuallah of BJP in the 2007 election securing 455 votes in an electoral college of 788. Rshid Masood, candidate of UNPA, was placed third.

Well read and an affable personality, Ansari was among the front runners in the race for the Presidential election next week. His name was the UPA's second choice as revealed by Sonia Gandhi but Pranab Mukherjee pipped him to the post after Trinamool Congress' pressure tactics on the Congress failed.

Ansari was Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities when he was nominated for the Vice-Presidential poll in 2007.

Ansari tried to innovate in the House proceedings when he shifted the Question Hour to post-lunch session to avoid loss of opportunity for members to question the government on account of routine disruptions in the morning.

The move was given up after just a session when he found the questioners themselves absent from the House and the government also not not very enthusiastic about it.

The suave Ansari has served as Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, Indian High Commissioner to Australia and Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia. He had joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1961.

A Padma Shree awardee, Ansari became Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University in May, 2000 and held the post till March, 2002.

Ansari is also known for his role in ensuring compensation to the victims of the Gujarat riots and pushing for a complete re-look into the relief and rehabilitation for riot victims since 1984.

He is also known for his strong views on burning issues.

"The language used by the Pope sounds like that of his 12th-Century counterpart who ordered the crusades... It surprises me because the Vatican has a very comprehensive relationship with the Muslim world," Ansari had said in 2006 as Chairman, Minorities Commission of India, in reaction to Pope Benedict XVI's comments on Islam.

Odisha to raise women’s quota in urban bodies

In a bid to further empower women, the Odisha government  decided to raise their quota to 50 per cent in Urban Local Bodies.

“Our government has decided to enhance the representation of women in ULBs from the present level of 33 per cent to 50 per cent,” the Chief Minister Mr Naveen Patnaik told.

Saying that the decision would have a “far reaching” effect, Mr Patnaik claimed that the state government and the ruling BJD were committed to the welfare of women in Odisha.

The state government’s decision to raise the women’s quota to 50 per cent in ULBs came after it provided 50 per cent reservation for female candidates in the three-tier panchayat elections held early this year.

The decision assumed significance as it came ahead of ensuing ULB polls for municipal corporations, municipalities and notified area councils (NAC) scheduled to be held in 2013 and the general elections slated for 2014.

Banana genome sequence will aid crop improvement

Scientists have sequenced the complete genome of the banana, an important crop in developing countries that provides a fruit widely enjoyed the world over and is a staple food in some of the poorest parts of the globe.

The draft sequence provided “a crucial stepping-stone for genetic improvement of banana,” observed Angélique D’Hont, a French agricultural research scientist, and colleagues from a number of other countries in a paper that is being published this week in the scientific journal Nature. 

The international team has sequenced the genome of DH-Pahang (Musa acuminata), a banana popular in south-east Asia and which is able to resist the devastating Panama disease fungus that has been spreading in Asia.

Infosys’s Gopalakrishnan to head govt’s cloud computing panel

The government has set up committee to recommend framework for cloud computing services under the chairmanship of Infosys’ executive Co-Chairman S Gopalakrishnan (Kris).

The committee has been set up following instructions from IT and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal.

“Infosys’ Kris Gopalakrishnan is chairing the committee.

It will suggest a framework to promote cloud computing service in and from the country,” Indian Computer Emergency Response Team’s Director Gulshan Rai, also member of the committee, said.

In cloud computing, end users are not required to buy software or devices as they are provided by service providers on a rental basis.

When contacted, Mr. Gopalakrishnan said, “Cloud computing is the way forward to bring affordable services in areas like healthcare, education, e-governance and banking to masses.”

Cloud computing is one of the thrust areas of the proposed National IT Policy that envisages to increase revenues of IT and ITES Industry from USD 100 billion at present to USD 300 billion by 2020. This policy likely to to be placed before Cabinet within a week for its approval, sources said.

Sibal has also asked Department of Electronics and Information Technology Secretary, J Sathyanarayana to discuss cloud computing issues with the industry after National IT Policy (NIP) is approved.

The members of the committee include representatives from Department of Information Technology, National Informatics Centres, NASSCOM, industry chambers CII, FICCI and others.

While appreciating the benefits of cloud computing, RBI Deputy Governor Anand Sinha recently pointed out that it being a new technology, data integrity and confidentiality seem to be a major concern at this stage.

“Further, if too many participants rely on a single service provider, it may lead to a risk of over—concentration inasmuch as the failure of the service provider will be catastrophic,” he said at Hyderabad.

Amid increasing use by small and medium businesses (SMB), the public cloud market in the country is expected to reach USD 685 million by 2014, according to a study by research firm Zinnov.

In case of public cloud, services (either free or offered on a pay—per—use model) are made available to customers by providers like Microsoft and Google who own and operate the infrastructure and offer them through internet.

“Public cloud market is expected to grow at 55 per cent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) in the near future and will become a default choice for new IT investments, especially in the SMB segment,” Zinnov Management Consulting Director—Market Expansion Praveen Bhadada said in a statement.

Western Ghats: Challenges of Sustainable Development

UNESCO's World Heritage Committee inscribed the Western Ghats of India as a world heritage site on July 1. The tag came at the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in St Petersburg in Russia. Altogether 39 sites that dot the Western Ghats landscape will be part of the region that has been designated as World Heritage Site. Kerala leads with 20 sites being inscribed in the heritage list followed by Karnataka with ten, Tamil Nadu five and Maharashtra four.  

List of Western Ghats World Heritage clusters in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and TN

MAHARASHTRA
Kaas Plateau	Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary	Chandoli National Park
Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary
KARNATAKA
Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary	Talacauvery Wildlife Sanctuary	Padinalknad Reserved Forest
Kerti Reserved Forest	Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary	Kudremukh National Park
Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary	Someshwara Reserved Forest	Agumbe Reserved Forest
Balahalli Reserved Forest
KERALA - TAMILNADU
Kalakad- Tiger Reserve,	Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary,	Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary,
Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary	Kulathupuzha Range,	Palode Range
Periyar Tiger Reserve	Ranni Forest Division	Konni Forest Division
Achankovil Forest Division	Srivilliputtur Wildlife	Tirunelveli North Forest Division
Eravikulam National Park	Grass Hills National Park	Karian Shola National Park
Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary,	Mankulam Range,	Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
Mannavan Shola	Silent Valley National Park	New Amarambalam Reserve Forest
Mukurti National Park	Kalikavu Range	Attapadi Reserved Forest
Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary

While environmentalists are rejoicing that constant international scrutiny will curb amassment of forest wealth by vested interests, the state governments have given a guarded reaction. Skeptics are of the view that the tag will make little difference to many ecologicaly destructive projects that have been implemented or are proposed in the Western Ghats. 

Recognition Comes After Rejection

The world heritage tag for the Western Ghats has come after many glitches. The proposal for including 39 sites in the Western Ghats as world heritage was rejected by the World Heritage Committee in its 35th meeting last year. When the proposal for it was re-submitted for consideration this year, it was once again on the verge of getting rejected.  The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) suggested that India should review and refine the proposal to redefine the boundaries of the proposed sites to maintain the contiguity of the forests. The Indian delegation in St Petersburg, however, managed to convince the world heritage committee on the merits of India’s proposal and also discussed the issue with 21 members of the committee. The intense lobbying paid off, as the Russian delegation moved a proposal which was backed by several Asian and African nations. 

Importance of Western Ghats

Older than the Himalayas, the Western Ghats are the treasure trove of bio-diversity. In fact they are recognized as one of the 8 global hot-spots harbouring a wealth of flora, fauna. The Western Ghats which begin at the Dangs in Gujarat, run through the western parts of Maharashtra, the tiny state of Goa, the Malnad region of Karnataka and the highlands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, before ending near Kanyakumari.

The Ghats are currently known to have more than 5,000 plant and 140 mammal species, 16 of which are endemic, i.e. species found in that area alone. Notably among these being the lion-tailed macaque and the Nilgiri tahr. Out of 179 species of amphibians found in the Western Ghats, 138 are endemic to the region.  It has 508 bird species, 16 of which are endemic, including the Nilgiri flycatcher and the Malabar parakeet.

The Western Ghats are considered ecologically sensitive region with nearly 52 species moving one step closer to extinction. Habitat change, over-exploitation, pollution and climate change are the principle pressures causing bio-diversity loss.

The need to protect the ecology of the Western Ghats can hardly be over-emphasized.

The UNESCO Mandate

The UNESCO has noted with appreciation India’s ongoing commitment to conserving high bio-diversity values of the Western Ghats, but has clearly underlined that more needs to be done. The World Heritage Committee has suggested to the Indian Government to take into account the recommendations of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel. It has also asked the government to strengthen buffer zones to provide increased protection within the nominated sites. The UN body also wants to promote participatory governance approaches through community participation to ensure equitable sharing of benefits. The panel has said that no industrial activity should be allowed without the consent of the locals.

The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, was constituted by the Ministry of Environment & Forests in February 2010 under the chairmanship of noted environmental expert Prof. Madhav Gadgil. The panel has identified several eco-sensitive zones in the region and recommended that they should be declared no-go areas. Among its recommendations, the panel has also called for scrapping of Karnataka's Gundia and Kerala's Athirapally hydro-projects, and gradual phasing out of mining activities in ecologically highly-sensitive areas of Goa by 2016.  It has also suggested setting up of a Western Ghats Ecology Authority (WGEA), as a statutory authority appointed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, with the powers under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.  The 24-member body is to have ecologists, scientists, representatives of civil society, as well as tribal groups, officials from the Union Environment Ministry, Planning Commission, National Biodiversity Authority, Central Pollution Control Board, and representatives of the state government as its members.

Both the Karnataka and Kerala state governments have been opposed to the recommendation to scrap the hydro projects in their respective regions. The Karnataka Government had also been opposing the World Heritage tag citing regulatory hurdles in the development of places falling under these regions. Goa's lackadaisical attitude in conserving the Western Ghats has resulted in the state not getting any site in the list of 39.  Maharashtra Government has welcomed the World Heritage Status to Western Ghats, but that is unlikely to change the state’s present stance of not imposing a complete ban on mining and industries, except in the core areas. The state, nevertheless is encouraging green fuel movement in the villages of Western Ghats by way of up to 75% subsidy on biogas and 50% subsidy on shift to low yielding cattle, which rely on domestic fodder instead of open grazing.

Impact of UNESCO World Heritage Site

The World Heritage status could have implications on development in and around these sites as UNESCO prescribes creation of additional buffer zones around the natural world heritage sites and putting in place an overarching management authority for conservation of the selected 39 serial sites.  Conservationists also fear a mad-rush to these sensitive areas in the guise of eco-tourism. “This might trigger commercial activities in the Western Ghats, followed by construction activities like building roads, structures, power lines and other infrastructure, which will defeat the purpose of protecting the green cover and habitat protection,” says an activist associated with the Kudremukh Wildlife Foundation in Karnataka.

The Western Ghats expert Dr. Madhav Gadgil has welcomed the UNESCO gesture and said “It will hopefully strengthen the Acts like Biological Diversity Act of 2002, which empowers the local bodies like panchayats to take appropriate steps for conservation.”  The participation of locals is going to be crucial in determining the success of conservation efforts and promising sustainable development.

All along the Western Ghats in five states, there are lakhs of tribal people who have made their homes in the ghats. The Thodas of Nilgiris, Soligas of BR Hills, Malekudiyas of Belthangady, Halakki Vokkals of Uttara Kannada, the Sidhis of Kumta, Paniyas of Waynad, Kattunayakans of Malabar and many others in Goa and Maharashtra are some of them. The Perspective Plan for Protection of Biodiversity 2001-16 states that “tribal communities are part of the biodiversity and the state governments should not take them out of their natural surroundings, but empower them democratically and let the government facilities go to them.”

The ground situation for people’s participation in development is conducive in most parts of the Western Ghats. The region has some of the highest levels of literacy in the country, and a high level of environmental awareness. The democratic institutions are well entrenched, and Kerala leads the country in capacity building and empowering of Panchayat Raj Institutions. Goa has recently concluded a very interesting exercise, Regional Plan 2021, of taking inputs from Gram Sabhas in deciding on the land use policies. Evidently, Western Ghats are an appropriate region of the country to attempt to make the transition towards an inclusive, caring and environment friendly mode of development.

 The Western Ghats - Some Facts

         The Western Ghats, is a mountain range that runs along the western side of India.

·         It runs, about 1600 kms, North to South, along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau.

·         It is one of the eight hottest hotspots of biological diversity in the world.

·         It originates near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra, and runs through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, finally ending at Kanyakumari.

·         These hills cover a total area of 160,000 square kms.

·         The average elevation is about 1,200 m (3,900 ft).

·         The region is home to over 5000 species of flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species and 179 amphibian species.

·         It is also reported that the Western Ghats is home to at least 84 amphibian species, 16 bird species, seven mammals, and 1,600 flowering plants which are not found elsewhere in the world.

·         There are numerous protected areas designated by the Government of India in the Western Ghats. They include two bio reserves and thirteen National Parks.

·         The Nilagiri Biosphere Reserve that comprises 5500 square kms of evergreen and deciduous forests forms an important part of the Western Ghats.

·         The Silent Valley National Park in Kerala, which forms part of the Western Ghats, is one among the last tracts of virgin tropical evergreen forest in India.

·         In August, 2011, the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) designated the entire Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA). The panel also assigned three levels of ecological sensitivity to its different regions.

·         In 2012, thirty nine places in the Western Ghats region have been declared as World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO.