Agriculture, Environment and

Ecology
• Nano Urea (Liquid) Plant of IFFCO
Inaugurated in Gujarat
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated
the World's first Nano Urea Liquid plant by
IFFCO at Kalol,Gujarat on May 28, 2022.
• The plant was constructed at a cost of
around 175 crores is an effort to further
provide farmers the means to boost
productivity and help increase their income.
• The plant will produce about 1.5 lakh bottles
of 500 ml capacity per day.
• North India's First Industrial
Biotech Park Inaugurated
• Union Minister, Dr. Jitendra Singh: has
inaugurated North India's First Biotech Park
at Ghatti, Kathua district, J&K on May 28,
2022.
• The Industrial Biotech Park at Kathua will
transform the economy and enable scientists
to tackle the challenges of climate change.
• The enabling infrastructure will fuel a new
wave of innovation and impact various
sectors, from health and agriculture to
cosmetics and materials.
• 20 Amrit Sarovars Inaugurated in
Maharashtra
• Union Minister for Road Transport and
Highways Nitin Gadkari dedicated to the
nation 20 Amrit Sarovars in Akola,
Maharashtra on May 28, 2022.
• The water storage capacity of these 20
reservoirs is 1276 TCM.
• Under the 'Amrit Sarovar Abhiyan',.it has
been decided to rejuvenate and develop
about 50,000 Amrit Sarovars across the
country by August 15, 2023.
• Fossil of Pre-Historic Giant Snake
Discovered in Ladakh.
• Scientists have discovered the fossil of a
Madtsoiidae snake in the Himalayan
mountains in Ladakh, which shows the
prevalence and existence of this rare
serpent species in the Indian
subcontinent.
• These fossils belong to the late
Oligocene (part of the Tertiary Per in the
Cenozoic Era that lasted from about
33.7 to 23.8 million years ago.).
• Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary Notified as India's 52nd Tiger
Reserve
• Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav has
announced on May 16, 2022 that Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan
has been notified as Rajasthan's 4th and the 52nd Reserve Forest for Wild cats of
India.
• This has become the fourth tiger reserve in Rajasthan after Ranthambore, Sariska
and Mukunda. The Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary includes the tiger habitat
between Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in the northeast and Mukundra Hills Tiger
Reserve on the southern side.
• Nanjarayan Tank as 17th Bird Sanctuary
• The Tamil Nadu government notified the Nanjarayan Lake, a bio-diversity hotspot,
as the 17th bird sanctuary on May 16, 2022. The Nanjarayan Tank also known as
Sarkar Periyapalayam Reservoir, is located in Tirupur city near Koolipalayam,
Tamil Nadu.
• COP15 Summit on Combating
Desertification Held
• The 15th session of the Conference of the Parties
(COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD) was held in Abidjan, a city in
Cote d'Ivoire from May 9-20, 2022.
• The theme of COP 15 is Life. Legacy: From scarcity to
prosperity. It aims to bring together stakeholders from
governments and the private sector to drive progress
towards sustainable management of land.
• Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate
Change, Bhupender Yadav represented India at COP 15
summit. Drought, land restoration, land rights, gender
equality, and youth empowerment are the focus areas of
COP 15.
• India's First Ethanol Plant
Inaugurated.
• Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar has
inaugurated India's first greenfield grain-
based ethanol plant built at a cost of 105
crore at Purnea, Bihar on April 30, 2022.
• The project is a part of Bihar's ambitious foray
into ethanol production using sugarcane,
maize and rice to meet the country's fuel
needs.
• It was commissioned under the Government
of India and the Bihar dispensation's ethanol
promotion policies announced in 2021.
• Fossil of Largest Raptor Dinosaur
Discovered
• A team of Argentine paleontologists have
discovered the remains of the largest dinosaur
belonging to the raptor family ever recorded in
Patagonia.
• The dinosaur, a new species named 'Maip
macrothorax', was between nine and 10 meters
(29.5 and 32.8 feet) long, while other
'megaraptors' were no longer than nine meters.
The fossils were discovered in March 2019 in the
Patagonian province of Santa Cruz, days before
strict COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were
enforced.
• Palli Village Became India's 1st Carbon-Neutral
Panchayat
• Palli village in Samba district of Jammu has become the India's
first carbon neutral panchayat, fully powered by solar energy
on April 24,2022.
• This solar project (500 KW solar plant) with the help of villagers
was completed in a record time of three weeks at a cost of 2.75
crore.
• 1500 solar panels were placed in a total area of 6408 sq m to
provide clean electricity to 340 houses in the model panchayat
under the central government's 'Gram Urja Swaraj' programme.
• IIT Guwahati to Develop Energy
Efficient Tech to Capture CO2
• IIT Guwahati, Assam has partnered with NTPC
Limited to design and develop a highly energy-
efficient plant to capture carbon dioxide (CO2)
from power plants on April 12, 2022.
• This indigenous technology was developed by a
research team led by Prof. Bishnupada Mandal,
Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT
Guwahati.
• This development has the potential impact to
combat global climate change and this will also
benefit oil, natural gas, biogas industries, and
petroleum refineries.
• Rhinos Population Rises at Kaziranga National Park
• The population of one-horned rhinoceros at the Kaziranga
National Park has registered an increase of 200, taking the total
to 2613, according to the findings of a survey released on March
29, 2022.
• The survey revealed the presence of 1823 adult rhinos (above
six years), 365 sub-adult (between three to six years), 279
juvenile (one to three years) and calves 146 (0 to one year).
• The rise is quite significant because the last survey conducted in
2018 had sighted 2413 rhinos, a rise by only 12 over the 2012
head-count.
• Bhitarkanika National Park Introduced
Eco-friendly Boats
• A battery operated and soundless eco-friendly
boat has been introduced in Odisha's
Bhitarkanika National Park to ferry tourists on
March 23, 2022.
• The pollution-free state-of-the-art boat, procured
at a cost of 23 lakh, can carry eight persons at a
time.
• Tourists can make use of the paid services of the
eco-friendly boat, which will make continuous
trips in the water bodies of the India's second-
largest mangrove ecosystem.
• India's Arctic Policy Released
• Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh
released India's Arctic policy titled 'India
and the Arctic: building a partnership for
sustainable development' in New Delhi
on March17, 2022.
• India's Arctic policy would play an
essential role in preparing the country for
a future where humankind's biggest
challenges, such as climate change, can
be addressed through collective will and
effort.
• Living Root Bridges Included on Tentative List of
UNESCO's World's Heritage Sites
• Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on March 29, 2022
announced that "Jingkieng Jri: Living Root Bridge Cultural
Landscapes of Meghalaya" has been included in the UNESCO
World Heritage Site tentative list.
• Villagers grow the living root- bridges by training the ‘ficus
elastica' tree on both sides of water bodies over a period of about
10 to 15 years where the roots form the bridge.
• At present, there are about 100 known living root bridges grown
over the period of 10 to 15 years across 72 villages of Meghalaya.
• International Monsoons Project Office
Launched
• Union Minister Jitendra Singh has launched the
International Monsoons Project Office (IMPO)
at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology
(IITM), Pune on the occasion of National Science
Day on February 28, 2022.
• For the first five years, IMPO will be housed at
the IITM, Pune, which is part of the Ministry of
Earth Sciences of the Indian government. The
establishment of the IMPO emphasises the
importance of monsoons to the country's
economy.
• Green Hydrogen Policy Notified
• The Centre on February 17, 2022
notified the green hydrogen and green
ammonia policy in which it offers
ammonia manufacturers to purchase
renewable power from the power
exchange.
• The Centre's new policy offers 25 years
of free power transmission for any new
renewable energy plants set up to
supply power for green hydrogen
production before July 2025.
• Bihar conducts Statewide Waterbird census
• The first ever count of waterbirds in the 58 identified wetland
areas is being conducted in Bihar from Feb 16 ti 26, 2022.
• State forest, environment and climate change department and
the BNHS are jointly conducting the 'Asian Waterbird Census',
an annual survey of waterbird species; in order to ascertain
the exact number of varieties of indigenous and migratory
waterbirds in the state.
• The census report will help us know the bird species in
different parts of Bihar and also the migratory birds from
abroad and work for their protection and conservation.
• Himachal Pradesh gets First
Biodiversity Park
• Himachal Pradesh's first biodiversity park has
been set up in Mandi's Bhulah valley to make
its contribution towards the conservation of
endangered Himalayan herbs.
• The park has been set up by HP forest
department. The park has been designed to
tourism activities along with providing new
opportunities for researchers to conduct in-
depth exploration of various medicinal
products found in the Himalayas that are at
the verge of extinction.
• TERI World Sustainable Development Summit 2022
• The 21st edition of the annual flagship event of The Energy and
Resources Institute (TERI), the World Sustainable Development
Summit (WSDS) 2022, held virtually from February 16-18, 2022.
• The Summit focused on the umbrella theme: Towards a Resilient
Planet: Ensuring a Sustainable and Equitable Future'.
Holding Hands Till You Make it