• Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change released the ‘India State of Forest Report 2021' prepared by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) which has been mandated to assess the forest and tree resources of the country.
• The ISFR-2021 provides information on forest cover, tree cover, mangrove cover, growing stock, carbon stock in India's forests, forest fire monitoring, forest cover in tiger reserve areas, above ground estimates of biomass using SAR data & climate change hotspots in Indian forests.

• The total forest and tree cover of the country is 80.9 million hectare which is 24.62 percent of the geographical area of the country. As compared to the assessment of 2019, there is an increase of 2,261 sq km in the total forest and tree cover of the country. Out of this, the increase in the forest cover has been observed as 1,540 sq km and that in tree cover is 721 sq km.
• Increase in forest cover has been observed in open forest followed by very dense forest. Top three states showing increase in forest cover are Andhra Pradesh (647 sq km) followed by Telangana (632 sq km) and Odisha (537 sq km).
• Area-wise Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra. In terms of forest cover as percentage of total geographical area, the top five States are Mizoram (84.53%), Arunachal Pradesh (79.33%), Meghalaya (76.00%), Manipur (74.34%) and Nagaland (73.90%).
• 17 states/UT's have above 33 percent of the geographical area under forest cover. Out of these states and UT's, five states/UTs namely Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya have more than 75 percent forest cover while 12 states/UTs namely Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Goa, Kerala, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Assam, Odisha, have forest cover between 33 percent to 75 percent.
• Total mangrove cover in the country is 4,992 sq km. An increase of 17 sq Km in mangrove cover has been observed as compared to the previous assessment of 2019. Top three states showing mangrove cover increase are Odisha (8 sq km) followed by Maharashtra (4 sq km) and Karnataka (3 sq km).
• Total carbon stock in country's forest is estimated to be 7,204 million tonnes and there an increase of 79.4 million tonnes in the carbon stock of country as compared to the last assessment of 2019.

• FSI has adopted using the vector boundary layers of various administrative units upto districts level as provided by Survey of India along in order to ensure comprehensive compatibility with the geographical areas as reported in Census, 2011.
• The biennial assessment of forest cover of the country using mid-resolution Satellite data is based on interpretation of LISS-III data from Indian Remote Sensing satellite data (Resourcesat-II) to monitor forest cover and forest cover changes at District, State and National level.
• This information provides inputs for various global level inventories, reports such as GHG Inventory, Growing Stock, Carbon Stock, Forest Reference Level (FRL) and international reporting to UNFCCC targets under CBD Global Forest Resource Assessment (GFRA) for planning and scientific management of forests.
• The accuracy level achieved in the current assessment is the significantly high. The accuracy of forest cover classification has been assessed 92.99%. The accuracy of classification between forest and non-forest classes has been assessed 95.79% against internationally accepted accuracy of classification of more than 85%.

• In the present ISFR 2021, FSI has included a new chapter related to the assessment of forest cover in the Tiger Reserves, Corridors and Lion conservation area of India.
• In this context, the decadal assessment of change in forest cover within Tiger Reserves, Corridors and Lion conservation area helps in assessing the impact of conservation measures and management interventions that have been implemented over the years.
• For decadal assessment, change in forest cover, during the period between ISFR 2011 (data period 2008 to 2009) and the current cycle (ISFR 2021, data period 2019-2020) within each Tiger Reserves has been analysed.
• A new initiative of FSI has also been documented in the form of a chapter, where the ‘Above Ground Biomass' has been estimated.
• FSI, in collaboration with Space Application Centre (SAC), ISRO, Ahmedabad, initiated a special study for estimation of Above Ground Biomass (AGB) at pan-India level, using L- band of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data.
• The results for the States of Assam and Odisha (as well as AGB maps), were presented earlier in ISFR 2019.
• The interim results for AGB estimates (and AGB maps) for the entire country are being presented as a new chapter in ISFR 2021. The detailed report will be published after completion of the study.
• FSI in collaboration of with Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) Pilani, Goa Campus has performed a study based on ‘Mapping of Climate Change Hotspots in Indian Forests'.
• The collaborative study was carried out with the objective to map the climatic hotspots over the forest cover in India, using computer model-based projection of temperature and rainfall data, for the three future time periods i.e. year 2030, 2050 and 2085.

• Forest cover is obtained from wall to wall mapping of the country using satellite data, whereas tree cover is estimated partly using high resolution data and partly from field inventory data of Trees Outside Forest (TOF).
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change defines ‘forest cover' in India as "all lands, more than one hectare in area with a tree canopy density of more than 10%", and ‘tree cover' as "tree patches outside recorded forest areas exclusive of forest cover and less than the minimum mappable area of one hectare".
• Between these two is a third measure, called ‘trees outside forest', or TOF.
• The ‘India State of Forest Report 2021' defines TOF as "trees existing outside the recorded forest area in the form of block, linear & scattered size of patches".
• Since tree cover measures only non-forest patches that are less than 1 hectare, it is only a part of TOF.

• Major earthquake events in last 30,000 years resulted in spectacular changes in landscape of the Katrol Hill Fault in the Kachchh region in Gujarat, a study conducted on sediment samples revealed.
• Study highlights
• These surprising geological facts about the seismic history of the fault in the recent geological past necessitate a revised seismic hazard assessment and mitigation strategies in Kachchh Basin, owing to its close proximity to industrial corridor and major settlements, including Bhuj city.
• Earthquakes are one of the natural hazards that geologists are still grappling with its complex nature.
• The complexity is attributed to its widespread occurrence through space and time.
• Seismicity in Kachchh region is highly complex as it is characterized by multiple seismic sources in the form of several East-West trending fault lines, which release continuously accumulating tectonic stresses at intervals producing earthquakes.
• Real-time monitoring of earthquakes since the occurrence of devastating 2001 Bhuj earthquake indicate that most of the faults in the region are seismically active.
• The team of geologists carried high magnification Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) study of the surface of sediment samples collected along the faultline, which showed features indicative of surface faulting.
• The study shows that the Katrol Hill Fault (KHF) has produced high magnitude seismic events during the past ~30,000 years and is, therefore, a credible seismic source capable of generating surface rupture hazard in the Kachchh Basin.

• The Department of Fisheries, Government of India in association with Startup India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry inaugurated the "Fisheries Startup Grand Challenge" on 13^th January 2022.
• The challenge has been launched with an objective to provide a platform to start-ups within the country to showcase their innovative solutions within the Fisheries and Aquaculture sector.
• The solutions should be devised for resolving issues across the fisheries value chain for increasing aquaculture productivity from the current national average of 3 tons to 5 tons per hectare, doubling exports earnings and reducing post-harvest losses from 25% to 10%.

• Fisheries Startup Challenge launched by Department of Fisheries, GoI will be live for 45 days for submission of applications on the Start-up India portal - www.startupindia.gov.in.
• The challenge is expected to foster start-up culture within the sector and to establish a strong foundation of the entrepreneurial model, the Department of Fisheries has earmarked funds to the tune of Rs. 3.44 Crore for the challenge.
• The selected 12 winners of the challenge will be awarded a cash grant of Rs 2.00 Lakh each to 10 shortlisted start-ups for translating their ‘Idea to PoC'.
• In the final round a grant up to INR 20.00 lakh (General category) and INR 30.00 Lakh (SC/ST/Women) will be provided to the winners for transforming their ideas into effective pilots which would further translate into commercialization.
• At a macro level, through Fisheries Startup Grand Challenge and similar impactful activities, the Department envisages inclusive growth within the sector through collaborative and cumulative efforts from various stakeholders.

• The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has wished the people on the eve of Makar Sankranti and Pongal.

• Dedicated to the Sun God, Makar Sankranti signifies the beginning of the auspicious Uttarayana period.
• The festival is known by different names in different parts of our country.
• It is Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Bihu in Assam, Vishu in Kerala, in Punjab and Haryana it is called Lohri and Khichdi festival in Bihar.
• Reflecting the underlying cultural unity of our country, all these festivals symbolize good harvest, prosperity and gratitude.

• The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, launched the Free Trade Agreement negotiations with the United Kingdom in New Delhi

• The FTA is expected to facilitate the target of doubling bilateral trade between India and United Kingdom by 2030, set by the Prime Ministers of both the nations
• The FTA negotiations with the UK is expected to increase our exports in Leather, Textile, Jewellery and processed Agri products.
• India is also expected to register a quantum jump in the export of Marine Products through the recognition of 56 marine units of India.
• The Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) on Pharma could provide additional market access.
• There is also great potential for increasing exports in service sectors like IT/ITES, Nursing, education, healthcare, including AYUSH and audio-visual services.
• Subsequent to the unveiling of FTA, the two nations would proactively and regularly engage with each other, for deliberating on the scope and coverage of the trade deal.

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