Researchers from the <keyword id="392929" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zoological-survey-of-india" source="Orion">Zoological Survey of India</keyword> (ZSI) have discovered a new species of frog from deep inside a cave in <keyword id="6355772" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="meghalaya" source="Orion">Meghalaya</keyword>'s South Garo Hills district which was recently published in an international journal, officials said on Tuesday. This discovery is the second time that a frog was discovered from inside a cave in the country, the first being the discovery of the Micrixalus spelunca in 2014 from a cave in Tamil Nadu, they said. "Researchers from the Zoological Survey of <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> office here and the Pune-based ZSI have discovered a new species of cascade ranid <keyword id="6536559" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="frogs" source="Orion">frogs</keyword> from deep within the Siju cave system in South Garo Hills district," Bhaskar Saikia, one of the researchers told PTI. Siju cave is a 4 km long natural limestone cave and the frog was discovered from about 60-100 meters deep in January 2020, a few months before the COVID-19 lockdown, he said. The team named the new species as Amolops siju after the cave from where this discovery was made and the description of the new species was published in the latest issue of the international research journal, Journal of Animal Diversity published from Iran-based Lorestan University. According to the ZSI official, since the frog, being morphologically cryptic in nature, tissue samples of the specimens were subjected to molecular studies to ascertain their specific identity from the other known species of other cascade Amolops frogs. "Based on the morphological, molecular and the spatial data, the team concluded this population of frog from Siju cave as new to science and decided to name the new species after the cave Siju," Saikia said. While the specimens were collected from the twilight (60-100 m from cave entrance) and the dark zones (beyond 100 m of cave entrance) of the cave, the team did not find any troglobitic (cave adapted) modification, suggesting that this species of frog is not a permanent resident of the cave, he said. According to Zoological survey of India officials, there have been reports of the presence of frog populations (up to 400 m from cave entrance) in Siju Cave since 1922 when the first bio speleological exploration of the cave was done by the ZSI. "Intriguing as it may sound, the report of frog populations in a resource scarce, dark cave habitat over the course of a century is something that ecologists or biologists can take a note of," he said, adding that the detritus food web and food chains of Siju cave is known to harbour more than 100 animal species, mostly invertebrates like cave crickets, spiders, beetles, earthworms. With a mandate to survey and inventories the faunal diversity of the country, the ZSI's discovery was a part of a research project on the faunal documentation of Siju Cave. The researchers' team also include Saikia and Dr Bikramjit Sinha from the ZSI office here besides Dr KP Dinesh and Shabnam Ansari of ZSI, Pune. The team had also discovered three other new species of cascade frog (Amolops) in Arunachal Pradesh and those include the - Amolops chanakya, Amolops terraorchis and Amolops tawang. Dr Dinesh said that the amphibian fauna of North eastern India is not fully explored and there is more potential of many more new species to be discovered from this 'biogeographical fauna rich' hotspot. "The new species explorations are adding value to the biological wealth of the country where most of these species are endemic to small geographic landscapes," he said.

New species of cascade ranid frogs found deep inside a cave in Meghalaya

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/50077867.cms" />According to surveys and scientific studies conducted by scientists and taxonomics of Botanical Survey of India and Zoological Survey of India, 347 and 424 new plant and animal species were discovered during the years 2013- 2014, respectively. 
 <keyword id="2317650" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="environment-minister-Prakash-Javadekar">Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar</keyword> divulged these details in Rajya Sabha. 
 
Javadekar added that these new species will be important and open new avenues in the field of ecology. 
 
"There is also economic benefit for discovering new species, as each new organism may prove a valuable source of new medicines or food crops, or inspire new technology," said Javadekar.

India may get more answers to missing links as 347 new plant species and 424 new animal species discovered

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, <keyword id="1820144" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="plastic-pollution">Plastic pollution</keyword> from discarded <keyword id="2636842" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="fishing-gear">fishing gear</keyword> in <keyword id="9750710" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-ganges-river">the Ganges River</keyword> poses a threat to wildlife such as the critically endangered three-striped roofed turtle and the endangered Ganges river dolphin, according to an international team including researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India. In the study, published in the journal <keyword id="10355100" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="science-of-the-total-environment">Science of The Total Environment</keyword>, surveys along the length of the river, from the mouth in Bangladesh to the Himalayas in India, show levels of waste fishing gear are highest near to the sea. The researchers noted that <keyword id="969514" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="fishing-nets">fishing nets</keyword> -- all made of plastic -- were the most common type of gear found. Interviews with local fishers showed high rates of fishing equipment being discarded in the river -- driven by short gear lifespans and lack of appropriate disposal systems, they said. "The Ganges River supports some of the world's largest inland fisheries, but no research has been done to assess plastic pollution from this industry, and its impacts on wildlife," said Sarah Nelms from the University of Exeter in the UK. "Ingesting plastic can harm wildlife, but our threat assessment focussed on entanglement, which is known to injure and kill a wide range of marine species," Nelms said. The researchers used a list of 21 river species of "conservation concern" identified by the Wildlife Institute of India in Uttarakhand. They combined existing information on entanglements of similar species worldwide with the new data on levels of waste fishing gear in the Ganges to estimate which species are most at risk. "There is no system for fishers to recycle their nets. Most fishers told us they mend and repurpose nets if they can, but if they can't do that the nets are often discarded in the river," said Nelms. "Many held the view that the river 'cleans it away', so one useful step would be to raise awareness of the real environmental impacts," she said. The findings offer hope for solutions based on "circular economy" where waste is dramatically reduced by reusing materials, according to Professor Heather Koldewey, from the Zoological Society of London(ZSL). "A high proportion of the fishing gear we found was made of nylon 6, which is valuable and can be used to make products including carpets and clothing," Koldeway said. "Collection and recycling of nylon 6 has strong potential as a solution because it would cut plastic pollution and provide an income," she added. SEE ALSO- <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/merriam-webster-has-announced-its-word-of-the-year-and-not-so-surprisingly-it-is-pandemic/articleshow/79487896.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/merriam-webster-has-announced-its-word-of-the-year-and-not-so-surprisingly-it-is-pandemic/articleshow/79487896.cms</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/paytm-money-levels-up-against-zerodha-launches-a-new-feature-that-allows-retail-investors-to-apply-for-ipos/articleshow/79486079.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/paytm-money-levels-up-against-zerodha-launches-a-new-feature-that-allows-retail-investors-to-apply-for-ipos/articleshow/79486079.cms</a>

Plastic pollution from fishing nets threatens Ganges wildlife, including the endangered three-striped roofed turtle, study finds

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

You Searched For "zoological survey of india" and got 5 results

New species of cascade ranid frogs found deep inside a cave in Meghalaya

PTI

India may get more answers to missing links as 347 new plant species and 424 new animal species discovered

BI India Bureau

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

PTI

Plastic pollution from fishing nets threatens Ganges wildlife, including the endangered three-striped roofed turtle, study finds

PTI

Budget allocation of Rs 2,217 crore, new vehicle scrapping policy for tackling air pollution; Env ministry's outlay shrinks

PTI