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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Trump has nominated Brendan Carr to serve as the chair of the Federal Communications Commission.</li><li>Carr is an ally of Elon Musk and has previously gone to bat for his company, Starlink.</li></ul>President-elect Donald Trump's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brendan-carr-fcc-chair-nomination-big-tech-project-2025-2024-11">nomination of Brendan Carr</a> to chair the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) isn't just a win for conservative opponents of Big Tech.It's also a major win for the world's richest man, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>, who's already been appointed to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-doge-hiring-staff-how-to-apply-2024-11">lead a "Department of Government Efficiency"</a> and is flexing his considerable influence with the incoming administration.Carr, a Republican who first landed on the commission in 2017 after being nominated by Trump and confirmed by a GOP-led Senate, has emerged in recent years as a vocal defender of Musk and his companies.After Trump announced the nomination on Sunday, Carr <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1858330799684096362">wrote on X</a> that we "must dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans.""Based," Musk replied.Carr has also <a target="_blank" href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/elon-musk-saved-twitter-from-democratic-danger-fcc-commissioner">praised</a> Musk's purchase of Twitter (now X), and when the platform was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-brazil-x-ban-feud-content-moderation-free-speech-2024-9">banned in Brazil</a> amid a dispute over content moderation, Carr <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1831777881296662802">sent a letter</a> to regulators in the South American country excoriating them for carrying out a "cascading set of apparently unlawful and partisan political actions."But it's not just that Carr is a fan of Musk, and vice versa. As FCC chairman, Carr would be one of the federal government's top regulators — one whose decisions would have significant implications for Musk's bottom line, especially when it comes to his space technology company, SpaceX.In 2022, the FCC <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-starlink-subsidy-bid-rejected-fcc-2022-8">denied</a> SpaceX nearly $886 million in government subsidies to provide satellite internet access in rural areas via the company's Starlink service. The panel argued that Starlink, along with another internet service provider that was denied the funds, had "failed to demonstrate" that they "could deliver the promised service." That's despite Starlink gaining preliminary approval in 2020, during Trump's first term.Carr <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fcc-commissioner-brendan-carr-elon-musk-spacex-starlink-rejected-subsidy-2022-8">blasted</a> the commission's rejection at the time, saying it was "without a lawful basis."Now, Carr will be in a position to give a boost to satellite internet providers like Starlink. In October, he <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/18/elon-musk-brendan-carr-fcc-starlink-00184260">told POLITICO</a> that regulators "should not be putting brakes or harassing any US-based satellite company" and that they should back them up instead.While the $886 million in government subsidies SpaceX applied for in 2022 is likely lost, Biden's $42.45 billion broadband expansion program is still on the table.The broadband expansion program prioritizes earthbound projects that lay fiber-optic cables to offer high-speed internet to underserved areas in the US. It's unclear where space-based initiatives like Starlink fit into the picture.Trump's upcoming administration may have the opportunity to steer the program in a new direction that favors satellite projects more. And with Carr's recent nomination, the prospect of a Starlink scale-up looks increasingly promising.That said, Starlink only came onto the satellite scene in 2018. It's still proving itself as a viable internet service provider and is relatively expensive for the quality, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/home/starlink-internet-review">CNN</a> reported in August."We have no proof of concept that shows that [Starlink] could serve millions of Americans or more, on a widespread basis, on a simultaneous basis," said Michael Romano, the executive vice president of rural telecom trade group NTCA told POLITICO in October.Carr's nomination will have to be confirmed by the Senate. But he stands a good chance, given that he's been easily confirmed three times before, including as recently as 2023.Neither a spokesperson for SpaceX nor Carr responded to a request for comment.

Trump's new FCC pick is a win for Elon Musk

As many as 85 tigers, including 32 cubs, have died in the past four years due to various reasons in <keyword id="4679793" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="wildlife-habitats" source="Orion">wildlife habitats</keyword> of <keyword id="6355554" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="madhya-pradesh" source="Orion">Madhya Pradesh</keyword>, the government has informed the state Assembly. <keyword id="202599" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="State-forest-minister" source="Orion">State forest minister</keyword> <keyword id="1137352" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kunwar-vijay-shah" source="Orion">Kunwar Vijay Shah</keyword> gave this information in a written reply to a question by Congress legislator from Jabalpur (East) Lakhan Ghanghoriya. The Congress MLA had sought to know how many tigers died in the state in four years from 2018-19 to 2021-22. The MLA had also sought information about how many big cats had escaped from various reserves, to which Shah said that the movement of the tigers through various forest corridors is a natural process in search for food, partners, better habitat and new territory. "State government spent ₹28,306.70 lakh on the conservation, security and monitoring of the big cats during 2018-19, while this amount was ₹22,049.98 lakh in 2019-20. In 2020-21 and 2021-22, ₹26,427.86 lakh and ₹12,882.82 lakh have been spent on this work respectively," Minister told the house. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) reports suggested that a total 202 tigers were reported to have died between 2012 and 2020 in Madhya Pradesh. The data available on the NTCA website said that 38 tigers died in the state between January and December this year so far. Madhya Pradesh had regained the tag of tiger state in the 2018 census for being home to 526 big cats, two more than Karnataka. Earlier, the MP had lost this tag to Karnataka in the all-India tiger estimation exercise for 2010, primarily due to alleged poaching in the Panna Tiger Reserve. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/paytm-mall-loses-its-unicorn-status/articleshow/88446807.cms">Paytm Mall loses its unicorn status</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/here-are-the-best-camera-phones-under-20000-in-india/slidelist/88447488.cms">Best camera phones under ₹20,000 in India</a>

Madhya Pradesh lost 85 tigers in the past four years

Pilibhit (<keyword id="6357713" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uttar-Pradesh">Uttar Pradesh</keyword>), <keyword id="10322396" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-pilibhit-tiger-reserve">The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve</keyword> (PTR) and the Uttar Pradesh Forest department have bagged the first-ever international award, TX2, for doubling the number of tigers in four years against a target of 10 years. PTR was the first to receive the award among 13 tiger range countries. It achieved this goal in just four years from 2014, when it had 25 tigers which went up to 65 in 2018. The award was virtually presented to the principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) of the state, Sunil Pandey, by UNDP's (United Nations Development Program) head of ecosystems and <keyword id="53219" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="biodiversity">biodiversity</keyword>, Mindori Paxton. Pandey said the global target of doubling the tiger population was set in 2010 by the partners in TX2 award -- UNDP, <keyword id="182243" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Global-Tiger-Forum">Global Tiger Forum</keyword>, International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Wide Fund for Nature, Conservation Assured/Tiger Standards and the Lion's Share. Naveen Khandelwal, deputy director of PTR, had applied for this award in September this year after the <keyword id="49041" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Tiger-Conservation-Authority">National Tiger Conservation Authority</keyword> (NTCA) released this year's the state-wise figures of the tiger estimation which was based on the census conducted in 2018 in all tiger reserves across the country. Khandelwal said no other tiger reserve among all the 13 tiger range countries could succeed in doubling the big cat population in a span of 10 years. He said as per the NTCA's tiger estimation report, the PTR had 57 resident and eight transit tigers in 2018. This figure did not include the tiger cubs below the age of one year. The growth of 40 tigers in a short span of four years was recognized for the TX2 award. He attributed the success to rigorous patrolling with constant use of Monitoring System for Tigers-Intensive Protection and Ecological Status (M-STrIPE), stringent action against wildlife criminals and poachers and forest and grassland management. The efforts of the forest staff, local stakeholders and wildlife enthusiasts in tiger conservation paid off, the official said. --IANS amita/dpb

Pilibhit Reserve bags a global award for doubling tiger population in four years

New Delhi, Apr 6 () Amid reports of a US zoo tiger found coronavirus positive, India's apex tiger conservation body has swung into action and has asked all tiger range states to keep an eye over big cats and immediately report to authorities, if anyone of them are found having COVID-19 symptoms. The National Tiger Conservation Authority alerted chief wildlife wardens of all tiger range states shortly after the Union Ministry of Environment advised states to curb human visits to and movements in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries as precautionary measures against the transmission of infection from humans to animals.It asked them to gear up frontline staff as well as veterinary officials to prevent the spread of the disease among tigers owing to the zoonotic nature of COVID-19."I am directed to inform that owing to the communicable and zoonotic nature of the said disease, following actions need to be taken to avert the disease in wild tigers in India. "Tigers may be observed for symptoms consistent with COVID-19 such as respiratory signs of nasal discharge, coughing and laboured breathing through direct observation to the extent possible, besides through camera trap images for visible symptoms," said Vaibhav C Mathur, NTCA's Assistant Inspector General of Forests. He also said it should be ensured that "personnel handling tigers in human-tiger negative interactions and translocation operations be ascertained to be coronavirus negative". They should also take due precaution as advised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare from time to time, he added. "For COVID 19 diagnosis as well as differential diagnoses and characterization as highlighted above, samples may be sent to ICAR-approved laboratories as per the enclosure."It is, hence, requested to gear up the front line staff as well as veterinary officials engaged in monitoring tiger mortality in areas under your jurisdiction to detect the disease and prevent its spread in tigers in the wild. Being a notifiable disease, any positive case needs to be reported immediately to the NTCA for onwardtransmission to the authorities concerned," the NTCA said.Diligence needs to be exercised while handling postmortem cases to record location, age and sex of the animal while collecting samples for coronavirus diagnosis in consultation with the state veterinary officials while safeguarding oneself through appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), it said. As coronavirus is known to affect gastrointestinal system in felines, requisite correlation may be made for characterizing the virus type in consultation with the State Veterinary Department."Differential diagnosis with feline infectious rhino-tracheitis needs to be made as similar respiratory symptoms may be observed," it said. AG RAXRAX

'India acts to shield its tigers against COVID-19 malady'

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) The Centre on Tuesday increased the budgetary allocation for the Union Environment Ministry from the last fiscal by 5.6 per cent but shrunk the allocation to control pollution by Rs 10 crore. The government, however, increased the Budget for National Mission for Green India from Rs 290 crore in the last financial year to Rs 361.69 crore this year with the national afforestation programme alone being allotted Rs 300 crore, more than last year's amount of Rs 235 crore. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, allocated Rs 3,030 crore for the ministry for financial year 2022-23, of which Rs 460 crore were allotted towards control of pollution, which is Rs 10 crore less than the last year's Budget. The minister, in her speech, underlined India's commitment to reduce its carbon footprint, saying the Budget proposes several near-term and long-term actions accordingly. "The risks of climate change are the strongest negative externalities that affect India and other countries. As the prime minister said at the COP26 summit in Glasgow last November, 'what is needed today is mindful and deliberate utilisation, instead of mindless and destructive consumption.' "The low carbon development strategy as enunciated in the 'Panchamrit' that he announced is an important reflection of our government's strong commitment towards sustainable development. This strategy opens up huge employment opportunities and will take the country on a sustainable development path. This budget proposes several near-term and long-term actions accordingly," Sitharaman said. The finance minister, however, kept the budgetary allocation under the heading of "climate change action plan" the same as the previous year at Rs 30 crore. The Union Budget also slashed the budgetary allocation for the statutory body Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), which works for air quality management in the national capital region and adjoining areas, from 20 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 17 crore this fiscal year. Control of Pollution has been conceptualized to provide financial assistance to Pollution control Boards/Committees and funding to National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), launched in January 2019. In the wildlife arena, the government-initiated projects -- Project Tiger and Project Elephant -- saw an increased allocation this year with the former getting bigger by Rs 50 crore and the latter being increased by Rs 2 crore. The fiscal's allocation for Project Tiger, an initiative for conserving the wildcat, has increased from Rs 250 crore last year to Rs 300 crore this time. The Project earlier saw a reduction of Rs 100 crore in two financial years consecutively which are 2020-21 and 2021-22. From Rs 350 crore allotted to it in 2019-20, it was reduced to Rs 300 crore in 2020-21 and to Rs 250 crore in 2021-22. The budget for Project Elephant, which was launched to conserve jumbos across the country, has been increased from Rs 33 crore from Rs 35 crore. The budget for National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a statutory body under the ministry responsible for tiger census and conservation of wild cats, remained unchanged at Rs 10 crore. The allocation for Central Zoo Authority was reduced from Rs 11 crore last year to Rs 10 crore this year. The budget for National Coastal Mission, which was nearly doubled in the last fiscal at Rs 200 crore was reduced by Rs 5 crore this year and stood at Rs 195 crore for 2022-23. In 2020-21, the NCM was allotted Rs 103 crore and the government doubled it in 2021-22 at Rs 200 crore. Under the National Coastal Mission, the environment ministry is responsible to ensure livelihood security of coastal communities including fisher folks, to conserve, protect the coastal stretches and to promote sustainable development based on scientific principles. The Centre also increased the budgetary allocation for National Mission for Himalayan Studies by Rs 8 crore and amount for various regional offices and statutory institutes like Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Forest Survey of India, Zoological Survey of India, National Green Tribunal etc collectively from Rs 460 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 487 crore this year. Funds for 'environment knowledge and capacity building' were also increased from Rs 70 crore last year to Rs 78.62 crores. It is the umbrella central sector scheme which has two sub-schemes - Forestry Training and Capacity Building, and Eco Task Force. The Budget for environmental education, awareness and training was also reduced from Rs 77.13 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 58 crore in 2022-23. The total allocation of five autonomous bodies under the environment ministry has also been reduced in the Budget this year. The five autonomous bodies – G B Pant Himalayan Institute of Environment and Development, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Indian Institute of Forest Management, Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) – were allocated Rs 287.45 crore for this year compared to Rs 305.5 crore allotted to them in the last fiscal. The budget for statutory and regulatory bodies was also cut down from Rs 160.5 crore last year to 154.5 crore this fiscal. The bodies include the Central Pollution Control Board, Animal Welfare Board, Central Zoo Authority, National Biodiversity Authority, National Tiger Conservation Authority and Commission for Air Quality Management. PTI AG TDS TDS

Union Budget 2022-23: Rs 3,030 cr allocated to Environment Ministry

New Delhi, Feb 1 () The Centre on Monday earmarked a sum of Rs 2,217 crore for tackling air pollution in 42 urban centres, even as it shrunk the budgetary allocation for the environment ministry from the last fiscal by nearly eight percent for 2021-22 While it has reduced the amount allocated to the climate change action plan by Rs 10 crore and to Project Tiger by Rs 50 crore, the amount for National Coastal Mission has been almost doubled from Rs 103 crore in the last fiscal to Rs 200 crore in 2021-22. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her budget speech, allocated Rs 2869.93 crore for the ministry, out of which Rs 470 crore were allotted to control pollution -- Rs 10 crore more than the last budget. In addition to this amount, the minister also announced a sum of Rs 2,217 crore for combating air pollution in 42 urban centres. "To tackle the burgeoning problem of air pollution, I propose to provide an amount of Rs 2,217 crores for 42 urban centres with a million-plus population in this budget," Sitharaman said. For the first time, a budget provision of Rs 20 crore has been made for the newly formed statutory body Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for the national capital region and adjoining areas. The Rs 407 crore for 'Control of Pollution' includes financial assistance provided to pollution control Boards/Committees and funding to National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), launched in January 2019. In the last budget session, the climate change action plan was allotted Rs 40 crore which has been reduced to Rs 30 crore for the year 2021-22. The budgetary allocation for National Mission for Green India has been reduced from Rs 311 crore in the last financial year to Rs 290 crore this time with the national afforestation programme alone being allotted Rs 235 crore, lower than last year's amount of Rs 246 crore. In the area of wildlife conservation, the allocation for government-initiated projects -- Project Tiger and Project Elephant -- saw some changes, with the former getting Rs 50 crore less and the other being shrunk by Rs 2 crore. The allocation for Project Tiger saw a reduction of Rs 100 crore in two years. From Rs 350 crore allotted to it in 2019-20, it was reduced to Rs 300 crore in the last fiscal, and now the allocation stands at Rs 250 crore. The budget for Project Elephant, which was launched to conserve jumbos across the country, has been reduced to Rs 33 crore from Rs 35 crore last year. The budget for the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a statutory body under the ministry responsible for tiger census and conservation of wild cats, saw a minor reduction of Rs 50 lakh from Rs 10.5 crore to Rs 10 crore. The budget for the National Coastal Mission was nearly doubled with the government allotting it Rs 200 crore from Rs 103 crore allotted to it last year. In 2019-20, the NCM was allotted Rs 95 crore. Under the National Coastal Mission, the environment ministry is responsible for ensuring livelihood security of coastal communities, including fisher folks, conserving, protecting the coastal stretches and promoting sustainable development based on scientific principles. AG RT RT

Govt earmarks Rs 2,217 crore for tackling air pollution; Env ministry's budget allocation shrinks

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Indian authorities are searching for a <keyword id="9403" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tiger">tiger</keyword> that has claimed its eighth victim in the space of two years. </li><li>RT1 recognizes any traps that are set up for him, only eats after dark, and uses his instincts cleverly.</li><li>A 70-year-old farmhand named Maroti Pendor was the latest victim of the vicious tiger.</li><li>Tigers have killed 225 people between 2014 and 2019 across <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>, including 31 in Maharashtra in 2020 alone.</li></ul>Indian authorities are searching for a man-eating tiger that has claimed its eighth victim in the space of two years. On October 5, a 70-year-old farmhand named Maroti Pendor went into the forest to gather firewood. When he didn't come back, his family and other villagers from Khambada, Maharastra, went out looking for him. They found his clothes barely 200 meters beyond the treeline, then his leg, his head, and part of his shredded torso as they got deeper into the forest but the rest of his body was gone, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/world/tiger-lurking-in-indian-forest-kills-eighth-human-in-two-years-wzdzktnz9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Times</a> reported.He had become the latest person to be mauled to death by Rajuri Tiger One (RT1), an 8-year-old male who prowls the Tadoba National Park forests in the Chandrapur district, home to 175 tigers.Also known as the Tiger of Rajura, he has killed eight people and injured three others since January 2019, most of whom were also farm workers who had gone looking for firewood, according to the <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=hunt+for+indian+tiger+killed&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=nws&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwilzfG1qLTsAhWTN8AKHcPGCvgQ_AUoAXoECBIQAw&amp;biw=1409&amp;bih=955amp;biw=1409&amp;bih=955">Daily Mail</a>.It has brought the total of fatal tiger attacks in the district up to 27 as human settlements and industry encroach into the tigers' natural habitat and creating conflict, the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/maharashtra-sets-up-chandrapur-human-tiger-conflict-resolution-study-group-report-by-dec-31/story-StlilS7jY12LqkgqhiecBJ.html">Hindustan Times</a> reported. Hunters armed with tranquilizers have not yet been able to capture RT1 despite urgent calls from politicians, including a seven-day ultimatum from Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Subhash Dhote. Village Head, Malesh Atram, said: "The forest department has four teams but only two shooters; the lack of shooters means it is taking too long to capture the tiger," <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/world/tiger-lurking-in-indian-forest-kills-eighth-human-in-two-years-wzdzktnz9">The Times</a> reported. Nitin Kakodka, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) also renewed calls for the capture of the Tiger of Rajura for the fourth time since January this year.However, Bandu Dhotre, a district <keyword id="6360144" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wildlife">wildlife</keyword> warden and founder of the conservation group Eco-Pro said that officials ignored calls from locals to kill the tiger rather than trapping him, according to <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/world/tiger-lurking-in-indian-forest-kills-eighth-human-in-two-years-wzdzktnz9">The Times.</a>He said: "This animal is so intelligent that he recognizes the trap set-up. He eats only after dark and uses his instincts cleverly. Villagers are panicked, traumatized by this tiger. The situation is like an unofficial lockdown."The tracking teams are really working very hard. On many days, they have to even go without a bath. An urgent meeting should be held to decide how to put an end to RT1's killing spree. It is proving to be very difficult to catch."In 2018, a female tiger named Avni who killed at least 13 people was dramatically shot dead in a highly publicized case despite appeals against the order being lodged with the country's Supreme Court.More recently, in June, a tiger responsible for the death of three people was captured and sent to a zoo in the state of Madhya Pradesh after officials said it was too dangerous for it to roam freely, according to the <a href="https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/06/08/india-sends-man-eater-tiger-to-lifetime-in-captivity.html">Jakarta Post</a>.Meanwhile, a leopard was shot dead this week after killing two children in Teri Gharwal, Uttarakhand, a northeasterly state which has seen over 10 people killed in leopard attacks over the last two months, the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/human-leopard-conflict-rises-in-uttarakhand-over-10-people-killed-in-last-months/story-p9N6fnX31b6szpOL7rKdxK.html">Hindustan Times</a> reported.India is home to 70% of the world's tigers and 50 tiger reserves established in 1973 by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to protect the endangered species. The main problem now is the increasing conflict between humans and tigers.Tigers killed 225 people between 2014 and 2019 across India, according to the country's tiger census, including 31 people killed in 2020 alone, the highest amount in a decade, the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/31-killed-in-tiger-attacks-across-maharashtra-in-2020-highest-in-a-year-since-2010/story-uodHikRC1froTJRwIS5WVI.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hindustan Times</a> reported.The state government has since created an 11-member committee that will look into measures to reduce conflict between tigers and humans and submit their findings by December 31, 2020.

An 'intelligent' man-eating tiger that has killed its 8th victim in an Indian forest continues to evade the hunters sent to track it down

<ul><li>Apart from that, 40 video mode cameras and 450 still mode cameras have been installed at the peripheries of the reserve to keep a tab on any abnormal behaviour by animals which might suggest they have contracted the COVID-19 contagion, he said.</li><li>The reserve staff have been asked to stay put at the posts and they are being supplied with essentials there to prevent the possibility of their getting infected with COVID-19 and then passing it on to the animals that they have to handle, the official said. </li><li>Patrolling staff have also been asked to keep an eye on any abnormal behaviour by the wildlife at the reserve, he said. </li></ul>Transmission of the novel coronavirus to a tiger at a zoo in the US has led authorities at the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand to set up quarantine wards in its ranges for tigers, elephants and sniffer dog squads to protect them from the virus.Quarantine wards have been set up at Kalagarh and Bijrani ranges of the reserve in compliance with the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, CTR Director Rahul told . Apart from that, 40 video mode cameras and 450 still mode cameras have been installed at the peripheries of the reserve to keep a tab on any abnormal behaviour by animals which might suggest they have contracted the COVID-19 contagion, he said. The reserve staff have been asked to stay put at the posts and they are being supplied with essentials there to prevent the possibility of their getting infected with COVID-19 and then passing it on to the animals that they have to handle, the official said. Patrolling staff have also been asked to keep an eye on any abnormal behaviour by the wildlife at the reserve, he said. Elaborate arrangements have also been made at the Rajaji Tiger Reserve to save tigers and other animals at the facility from the novel coronavirus infection, its Director PK Patro said. "The reserve is under complete lockdown. The food for captive animals is sanitised at the gates before being brought in to be served to them. Zoo keepers who handle them are also being subjected to regular thermal screening to check if they have any symptoms of corona," Patro said. He said if the need to quarantine animals arises the rescue centres can be used for the purpose. Strict guidelines have been issued to the staff to inform the authorities if they spot the carcass of an animal within the reserve or at its peripheries. They have been asked to inform the Director if they see signs of illness in an animal, he said. According to an official estimate there are around 250 tigers and 1100 elephants in Corbett Tiger Reserve while there are 38 tigers and 450 elephants in Rajaji. The Uttarakhand forest department has 22 captive elephants and two sniffer dog squads. GB Pant High Altitude Zoo, Nainital Director Biju Lal said the guidelines issued by the Zoo Authority of India after a tiger tested positive for coronavirus at a zoo in New York have been implemented with immediate effect. "The zoo is closed. Sanitisers are being used and the animal enclosures are being regularly cleaned. Biologist of the Zoo Rekha Suyal is keeping a watch on the behaviour of animals," Lal said. There are two tiger reserves, six national parks, seven sanctuaries, four conservation reserves, two big zoo and one small zoo besides two animal rescue centres in Uttarakhand. "The wildlife wing of Uttarakhand forest department is taking all preventive measures to protect the animal world from the deadly virus by keeping a close watch on them. All arrangements have been made as per NTCA guidelines," Chief Wildlife Warden Rajiv Bharatari said. ALM Corr DVDV

Quarantine wards set up at Corbett to save wildlife from coronavirus

New Delhi, Feb 1 () The Centre on Monday earmarked a separate Rs 2,217 crore for 42 urban centres to tackle air pollution and announced the much-awaited voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and polluting vehicles, even as it shrunk the budgetary allocation for the environment ministry from the last fiscal by nearly eight percent. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her budget speech for 2021-22, announced a total of Rs 2869.93 crore for the ministry, Rs 230 crore less than the last fiscal. Officials said the outlay has been lesser this time as the economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. While the Centre almost doubled the amount allotted to National Coastal Mission from Rs 103 crore in the last fiscal to Rs 200 crore in 2021-22, the allocation for the climate change action plan has been reduced from Rs 40 crore to Rs 30 crore and for Project Tiger from Rs 300 crore to Rs 250 crore. The minister, in her speech, also announced a separate sum of Rs 2,217 crore for combating air pollution at 42 urban centres. "To tackle the burgeoning problem of air pollution, I propose to provide an amount of Rs 2,217 crore for 42 urban centres with a million plus population in this budget," Sitharaman said. Speaking to , Environment Secretary R P Gupta said the budget for the environment is less than last year as the economy is recovering from the pandemic. "Yes the budget may be less than last year but it is also because we are recovering from the pandemic," Gupta said. Out of Rs 2869.93 crore allocated to the ministry of environment, the minister allotted Rs 470 crore for 'control of pollution', which is Rs 10 crore more than last year. Control of Pollution has been conceptualized to provide financial assistance to Pollution control Boards/Committees and funding to National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), launched in January 2019. For the first time, a budget provision of Rs 20 crore has been made for the newly formed statutory body Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for the national capital region and adjoining areas. In yet another step for combating air pollution, Sitharaman on Monday announced the voluntary vehicle scrapping policy under which personal vehicles would undergo fitness test after 20 years while commercial vehicles would require it after completion of 15 years. Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Minister Nitin Gadkari said the policy would cover over one crore old light, medium and heavy motor vehicles that are estimated to cause 10-12 times more pollution than the latest vehicles. "We are separately announcing a voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and unfit vehicles. This will help in encouraging fuel-efficient, environment-friendly vehicles, thereby reducing vehicular pollution and oil import bill," the finance minister said. The budgetary allocation for National Mission for Green India has been reduced from Rs 311 crore in the last financial year to Rs 290 crore this time with the national afforestation programme alone being allotted Rs 235 crore, lower than last year's amount of Rs 246 crore. In the wildlife conservation arena, the allocation for government-initiated projects -- Project Tiger and Project Elephant -- saw some changes with the former getting reduced by Rs 50 crore and the other being shrunk by Rs 2 crore. The fiscal's allocation for Project Tiger saw a reduction of Rs 100 crore in the last two years. From Rs 350 crore allotted to it in 2019-20, it was reduced to Rs 300 crore in the last fiscal, and now the allocation stands at Rs 250 crore. The budget for Project Elephant, which was launched to conserve jumbos across the country, has been reduced to Rs 33 crore from Rs 35 crore last year. The allocation for the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a statutory body under the ministry responsible for tiger census and conservation of wild cats, saw a minor reduction of Rs 50 lakh from Rs 10.5 crore to Rs 10 crore. The budget for National Coastal Mission was nearly doubled with the government allotting it Rs 200 crore from Rs 103 crore allotted to it last year. In 2019-20, NCM was allotted Rs 95 crore. Under the National Coastal Mission, the environment ministry is responsible for ensuring livelihood security of coastal communities, including fisher folks, conserving, protecting the coastal stretches and promoting sustainable development based on scientific principles The minister also announced that under Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, for which Rs 1.42 lakh crore have been set aside, main interventions include complete faecal sludge management and waste water treatment, source segregation of garbage, reduction in single-use plastic, reduction in air pollution by effectively managing waste from construction-and-demolition activities and bio-remediation of all legacy dump sites. The Centre reduced the budgetary allocation for National Mission for Himalayan Studies by 10 crore and the amount for various regional offices and statutory institutes like Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Forest Survey of India, Zoological Survey of India, National Green Tribunal etc collectively from Rs 506 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 460 crore this year. Funds for 'environment knowledge and capacity building' were also reduced from Rs 86.37 crore last year to Rs 70 crore. It is the umbrella central sector scheme with two sub-schemes - Forestry Training and Capacity Building, and Eco Task Force. The scheme Forestry Training and Capacity Building aims to cover the whole gamut of the training and exposure needs of the forestry sector personnel. The Eco Task Force scheme is being implemented through the Ministry of Defence for ecological restoration of terrains, rendered difficult either due to severe degradation or remote location. The budget for environmental education, awareness and training was also reduced from Rs 114 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 77.13 crore in 2021-22. The total allocation of five autonomous bodies under the environment ministry has also been reduced in the budget this year. The five autonomous bodies – G B Pant Himalayan Institute of Environment and Development, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Indian Institute of Forest Management, Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) – were allocated Rs 305.5 crore for this year compared to Rs 340 crore allotted to them in the last fiscal. However, the budget for statutory and regulatory bodies rose from Rs 145.5 crore to Rs 160.5 crore this year. The bodies include Central Pollution Control Board, Animal Welfare Board, Central Zoo Authority, National Biodiversity Authority, National Tiger Conservation Authority and Commission for Air Quality Management. AG RT RT

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