Relevance IN - Prelims (about Irrawaddy dolphins + Chilika lake) + Mains ( GS III Environment conservation)
What's the NEWS

• Odisha Forest Department officials, wildlife experts and researchers on Sunday sighted 146 endangered Irrawaddy dolphins in Chilika Lake, which boasts of the highest single lagoon population of the aquatic mammal in the world.

• The dolphin census was simultaneously taken up in Chilika and off Odisha coast.
• The direct sighting of 146 dolphins meant that its population in the lake would stabilise well above 150.
• According to last year's census, the Irrawaddy dolphin population in Chilika was 151.

• Irrawaddy Dolphin is not a true river dolphin, but an oceanic dolphin that lives in brackish water near coasts, river mouths and in estuaries in South and Southeast Asia and in three rivers: the Ayeyarwady (Myanmar), the Mahakam (Indonesian Borneo) and the Mekong.
• The total population of these aquatic mammals in the world is estimated to be less than 7,500.
• Of these, more than 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins have been reported from Bangladesh, while the dolphin distribution in Chilika is considered to be the highest single lagoon population.
• Irrawaddy dolphins are IUCN listed as an Endangered species, which applies throughout their whole range.
• In 2004, CITES transferred the Irrawaddy dolphin from Appendix II to Appendix I, which forbids all commercial trade in species that are threatened with extinction.

• Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the eastern coast of India in the state of Odisha
• It is located at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over 1,100 km.
• It is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the second largest brackish water lagoon in the world after The New Caledonian barrier reef.
• It has been listed as a tentative UNESCO World Heritage site.
• In 1981, Chilika Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

Relevance IN - Prelims (about the integrated check post) + Mains (GS II Bilateral system)
What's the NEWS

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, along with Prime Minister of Nepal Shri K.P. Sharma Oli jointly inaugurated the second Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Jogbani - Biratnagar

Know! more about it

• Jogbani - Biratnagar is an important trade point between the two countries. The ICP is equipped with modern facilities.
• The second Integrated Check Post at Jogbani - Biratnagar was built with Indian assistance to facilitate trade and people's movement across India-Nepal border. The first was built at the Raxaul-Birgunj border in 2018.

Additional Info.
Housing reconstruction projects in Nepal

• Government of India assisted post-earthquake housing reconstruction projects in Nepal.
• Out of Government of India's commitment to build 50,000 houses in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts, 45,000 have already been completed.

Science & Technology
India's first global Mega Science Exhibition "Vigyan Samagam" inaugurated

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Vigyan Samagam + implementing ministries) + Mains (GS III awareness in the field of science and technology)
What's the NEWS

• India's first global Mega Science Exhibition "Vigyan Samagam" has been inaugurated at National Science Centre, New Delhi

Know! more about the exhibition

• This is fourth such exhibition after bring organised at Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata.
• The objective of this exhibition is to showcase to the people of India, that how science can influence, specially our youngsters, in this changing world, which is beyond imagination.
• Under the aegis of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), this prestigious science exhibition Vigyan Samagam is being jointly organised.
• These three organisations will be hosting some of the world's biggest science projects under one roof. The capital will be marking the completion of this caravan event. The exhibition will be open to public till 20th March, 2020.
• The Exhibition is expected to ignite the minds of students, academia and industry to look for opportunities to pursue fundamental science and research as a strong career option.
• These projects will help our scientist to work and contribute to international collaborations on fundamental science and research.

Know! about NCSM

• National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) is an autonomous organisation under Indian Ministry of Culture.
• It is the largest chain of science centers or museums under a single administrative umbrella in the world.
• There are 24 own science centers or museums and one R & D laboratory and Training centre of NCSM, located in different states in India.
• Functioning under the Ministry of Culture (and drawing its funding primarily from it), the NCSM has been built to co-ordinate all informal science communication activities in the museum space in the country.

Governance
PM to chair PRAGATI meeting

Relevance IN - Prelims (about PRAGATI initiative) + Mains (GS II Good governance)
What's the NEWS

• Prime Minister will chair the 32nd interaction through PRAGATI- the ICT-based, multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation

Know! more about PRAGTI

• Prime Minister had launched the multi-purpose and multi-modal governance platform PRAGATI on 25th March 2015.
• PRAGATI is an integrating and interactive platform, aimed at addressing the common man's grievances.
• PRAGATI also helps in simultaneously monitoring and reviewing important programmes and projects of the Government of India, as well as projects flagged by various State governments.

Prelims Factoids
A rare migratory eagle sighted near Vijayawada

Relevance IN - Prelims (about steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis + about Asian waterbird census + International Waterbird Census +flyway)
What's the NEWS

• A lone endangered steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) has been sighted by a group of birdwatchers in a paddy field at Velagaleru near Vijayawada.
• The bird watchers recorded the steppe eagle during the ‘Asian Waterbird Census', a citizen science programme
• This is the second time to sight steppe eagle in Andhra Pradesh in the past two decades."

Know! about Steppe eagle

• Steppe eagle is believed to be the second-largest migratory eagle species to India which has undergone extremely rapid population declines within all its range.
• Conversion of open habitats to aquaculture, pesticides ,habitat loss/degradation, electrocution on/ collision with energy infrastructure and various effluents are a few threats to the species.
• In winter, steppe eagle breeds in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia.
• The bird has moved from ‘Least Concern' to ‘Endangered' under IUCN Red List.

Asian Waterbird Census (AWC)

• Every January, thousands of volunteers across Asia and Australasia visit wetlands in their country and count waterbirds.
• This event is called the Asian Waterbird Census (AWC), which is part of a global waterbird monitoring programme, the International Waterbird Census (IWC) coordinated by Wetlands International.
• The AWC was initiated in 1987 in the Indian subcontinent and has grown rapidly to cover the region of Asia, from Afghanistan eastwards to Japan, Southeast Asia and Australasia.
• It therefore includes the entire East Asian-Australasian Flyway and a large part of the Central Asian Flyway.

The census has three major objectives:

• to obtain information on an annual basis of waterbird populations at wetlands in the region during the non-breeding period
• to monitor on an annual basis the status and condition of wetlands
• to encourage greater interest in waterbirds and wetlands amongst people, and thereby promote the conservation of wetlands and waterbirds in the region.

International Waterbird Census

• The International Waterbird Census (IWC) has run since 1967 and today covers over 25,000 sites in more than 100 countries.
• In each country national coordinators work with a network of professional and amateur counters to provide waterbird counts to the IWC.
• This programme supports conservation and management of wetlands and waterbirds in all the world's flyways.
• There are four separate regional schemes of the IWC that represent the major flyways of the world: Africa-Eurasia, Asia-Pacific, Caribbean and Neotropics.

Flyway

• A flyway is a flight path used by large numbers of birds while migrating between their breeding grounds and their overwintering quarters. Flyways generally span continents and often pass over oceans.
  
  

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