Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary is a bird sanctuary in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh,
It is an important breeding site for spot-billed pelicans.
Spot-billed pelicans are a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially large lakes.
It breeds only in peninsular India, Sri Lanka and in Cambodia.
They are not migratory but are known to make local movements.
They are colonial breeder, often breeding in the company of other waterbirds.
It is categorized as “Near Threatened” in IUCN red list.
Copious rain from the south west and north east monsoon led to the return of pelicans in Nelapattu sanctuary.
Gender Vulnerability Index
The first ever Gender Vulnerability Index is computed by Plan India, a non-governmental organisation.
It provides state-wise ranking by analyzing four parameters, namely health, education, poverty and protection/safety from violence.
The index is topped by Goa followed by Kerala and Mizoram.
Bihar ranked the lowest in the index particularly women safety and security.
The composite index has been developed within research for the NGO's “Plan for Every Child campaign”.
It is aimed at comprehensively understanding the dimensions of various problems affecting children, particularly girls, in difficult circumstances.
ChintanShivir
It is a two day national workshop organized by Ministry of Human Resource Development.
The main objective of the workshop is to provide holistic education relevant for 21st century India,
It aims to bring together key stakeholders from various NGOs, private sector and individuals to deliberate on key themes in the education sector.
ShaalaSarathi
It is a portal launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
It is a State-NGO-CSR Portal to aid the collaboration among the stakeholders in sharing innovative practices in various schools.
Shaala Siddhi - A comprehensive school evaluation system focused on well-defined quality based parameters.
It facilitates Schools to make professional judgments for improvement.
Proxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri is the closest star to Sun.
It is a faint red dwarf lying four light years away in the southern constellation of Centaurus.
It is orbited by the Earth-sized Proxima b which is the closest exoplanet to the solar system.
Scientists have recently detected dust belts around Proxima Centauri, by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) Observatory in Chile.
The presence of dust belts indicates the presence of an elaborate planetary system hosted by it.
eBird India Portal
It is an e-platform designed for birders to record their sightings through bird ‘record’.
Bird ‘record’ is the observation of a particular species at a particular date, time and place.
Tamil Nadu State’s bird ‘record’ has recently reached one million counts.
TN has become the third state to achieve this distinction after Kerala and Karnataka.
House Crow comes first in the list of 25 birds record followed by Common Myna, Large-billed crow and others.
Best Urban Transport Practices Award
The award is announced by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
“Best City Bus Services” award is given to Surat for attracting 87% of private vehicles and auto rickshaw users.
Mysuru’s Public Bicycle Sharing has won the ‘Best Non-Motorised Transport’ Award.
Kochi Kerala has been chosen for the ‘Best Urban Transport Initiative’ Award for completing its Metro Rail Project in a quick time and integrating it with other modes of transport.
