A Third of Western Ghats declared as Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA)
The Union
Ministry of Environment and Forest on 16 October 2013 decided to turn
approximately 60000 square kilometres of the Western Ghats (37 percent of the
Western Ghats) across six States into an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA)
under the Environment Protection Act, 1986. The decision bans mining,
quarrying, thermal power plants and polluting industries over the entire range.
All other projects would be permitted only with the prior approval of gram
sabhas (village councils) in the zone. Townships and buildings over 20000
square metres in the region will not be permitted.
However,
the government left areas with high-density of population out of this regulated
zone’s ambit. Construction of windmills will be allowed in the ecologically
sensitive area only though environment regulations. Hydro-electric projects
will be allowed in the ESA only after adhering to strict regulations that the
Kasturirangan-led panel has recommended which includes maintaining ecological
flows in the rivers.
The
decision was taken by the ministry as a follow-up on the two reports on the
Ghats, one headed by ecologist Madhav Gadgil and the other by Planning
Commission member K. Kasturirangan. The decision once notified, will turn the
identified region of the Western Ghats complex the largest protected forests in
India which has a range over 1500 km linear distance from the Tapti River in
the north to Kanyakumari in the south.
What is
ESA?
An
ecological sensitive area (ESA) is a bio-climatic unit (as demarcated by entire
landscapes) in the Western Ghats wherein human impacts have locally caused
irreversible changes in the structure of biological communities (as evident in
number/ composition of species and their relative abundances) and their natural
habitats.
Western
Ghats
The
Western Ghats was declared as an ecological hotspot in 1988. A large number of
plants, amphibians, birds, reptiles, mammals are endemic to this region. This
area has a number of protected areas including 2 biosphere reserves, 14
national parks and several wild life sanctuaries. Besides, many regions are
declared as reserve forests. In recent times, due to anthropogenic pressures
the intactness of the Western Ghats is getting fragmented day-by-day. Most of
the ecosystem, which is outside protected area is now in danger. The habitat of
plants and animals is also threatened due to large-scale deforestation and
destruction of forests.
Conservation International Scientific Expedition Discovered 60 New Species in Suriname
A scientific expedition by the Conservation International
discovered 60 new species which included fish, snakes and frogs in the jungle
region of southeastern Suriname. A team of the biologists from various
countries took the expedition in the remote areas of Suriname, where no humans
are found. They discovered various species which had Suriname as their habitat
and were unexplored as of now.
The expedition took part during the 2012 in Suriname, which is the thinly-populated South American country north of Brazil and bounded by Guyana, French Guiana and the Atlantic Ocean. The expedition included the team of 16 scientists who participated in the Conservation International programme.
The expedition took part during the 2012 in Suriname, which is the thinly-populated South American country north of Brazil and bounded by Guyana, French Guiana and the Atlantic Ocean. The expedition included the team of 16 scientists who participated in the Conservation International programme.
World Food Day Observed Every Year on 16 October
16
October: World Food Day
World
Food Day celebrated on 16 October every year across the world since 1981. The
main objective of the World Food Day is to strengthen national and
international solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and
poverty and draw attention to achievements in food security and agricultural development.
Theme of the World Food Day 2013
The Theme of the World Food Day 2013 is Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition
Theme of the World Food Day 2013
The Theme of the World Food Day 2013 is Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition
Eleanor Catton, 28, Became Youngest Ever Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2013
Eleanor Catton, the New
Zealand author, at the age of just 28 years, became the youngest ever winner of
the Man Booker Prize for her novel The Luminaries on 15
October 2013 at the London's Guildhall.
Her 832-page novel The Luminaries is the story of 19th-century goldfields, which won 50000 Pound Man Booker Prize 2013 along with a trophy, and Emmanuel Roman. It is important to note that The Luminaries is also the longest work to win this prize in the history of 45 years of Man Booker Prize. She is the second New Zealander to win the Man Booker Prize, after Keri Hulme for The Bone People in 1985.
The Man Booker Prize 2013 was announced live on the BBC News Channel and was presented by the Duchess of Cornwall. Other authors in the shortlist were Jhumpa Lahiri for The Lowland, NoViolet Bulawayo for We Need New Names, Colm Toibin for The Testament of Mary, Ruth Ozeki for A Tale for the Time Being and Jim Crace for Harvest.
The Luminaries is the longest ever book to win this Prize, beating Hilary Mantel's 672-page Wolf Hall which received the Man Booker Prize 2009. Prior to Eleanor Catton, the youngest winner of this Prize was Ben Okri, who was 32 when he grabbed the prize for The Famished Road in 1991. Prior to Ben Okri, Kiran Desai was the youngest woman to win the prize at the age of 35 years for her book entitled The Inheritance of Loss in 2006.
About the winning novel- The Luminaries
• The novel entitled The Luminaries is set on the goldfields of New Zealand in 1866. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2013 earlier and eventually also won the prize.
• The Luminaries is the second novel by Eleanor Catton and was published by Granta in September 2013.
• It is primarily a murder mystery set in New Zealand and has an astrology theme running throughout.
• Robert Macfarlane, Chair of the panel of judges described it as “animated by a weird struggle between compulsion and conversion: within its pages, men and women proceed according to their fixed fates, while gold – as flakes, nuggets, coins and bars – ceaselessly shifts its shapes around them.”
• Eleanor Catton was just 25 years old when she started the book The Luminaries.
About Eleanor Catton
• Eleanor Catton is the New Zealand author who was born in the year 1985.
• She went to the Burnside High School and studied English at the University of Canterbury. She completed her Master's in Creative Writing at The Institute of Modern Letters, Victoria University of Wellington.
• In the year 2008, she was awarded the fellowship to the Iowa Writers' Workshop.
• In the year 2009, she was described as the 2009 golden girl of fiction.
• In the year, 2011, she was the Ursula Bethell Writer in Residence at the University of Canterbury.
• Her debut novel was The Rehearsal, in the year 2008. It was written as a part of her Master’s thesis.
• Her second novel entitled The Luminaries was published in the year 2013, for which she also won the Man Booker Prize 2013.
• Her first book The Rehearsal (2008) was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award as well as for the Dylan Thomas Prize. It was also longlisted for the Orange Prize.
About the Man Booker Prize 2013
• The Man Booker Prize promotes the finest in fiction by rewarding the very best book of the year.
• The prize is the world's most important literary award and has the power to transform the fortunes of authors and publishers.
• The year 2013 marked the 45th year of the Man Booker Prize.
• The last Prize was won by Hilary Mantel for Bring Up the Bodies, which was the sequel of the Wolf Hall.
• It is important to note that in the year 2014, the Man Booker Prize will open its doors for the authors writing in English from all over the world.
• At present, it is awarded to the English-language authors only from the Commonwealth nations, including the Zimbabwe, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
• The Man Booker Prize was originally called the Booker-McConnell Prize, after the name of the company Booker-McConnell which sponsored this event in the year 1968. It was then known as the Booker Prize or just the Booker.
• Thereafter, in the year 2002, the prize administration was transferred to the Booker Prize Foundation and the title was sponsored by the investment company Man Group. Thus the official title of the prize became the Man Booker Prize.
• Originally, the prize money was 21000 Pound and in the year 2002, it became 50000 Pound under the Man Group sponsorship.
• At present, the Man Booker Prize is one of the richest literary prizes of the world.
First time in the history of the Man Booker Prize
• The Luminaries is the longest work to win this prize in the history of 45 years of Man Booker Prize.
• Eleanor Catton is the youngest ever winner of the Man Booker Prize.
• It is also worth noticing that the 2013 shortlist for the prize was described as one of the best in the history of Man Booker Prize.
• Eleanor Catton is also the last winner of the Man Booker prize which at present is confined to writers from the Commonwealth countries and Ireland only. From the year 2014, entries from all over the world will be welcomed in the Man Booker Prize.
Her 832-page novel The Luminaries is the story of 19th-century goldfields, which won 50000 Pound Man Booker Prize 2013 along with a trophy, and Emmanuel Roman. It is important to note that The Luminaries is also the longest work to win this prize in the history of 45 years of Man Booker Prize. She is the second New Zealander to win the Man Booker Prize, after Keri Hulme for The Bone People in 1985.
The Man Booker Prize 2013 was announced live on the BBC News Channel and was presented by the Duchess of Cornwall. Other authors in the shortlist were Jhumpa Lahiri for The Lowland, NoViolet Bulawayo for We Need New Names, Colm Toibin for The Testament of Mary, Ruth Ozeki for A Tale for the Time Being and Jim Crace for Harvest.
The Luminaries is the longest ever book to win this Prize, beating Hilary Mantel's 672-page Wolf Hall which received the Man Booker Prize 2009. Prior to Eleanor Catton, the youngest winner of this Prize was Ben Okri, who was 32 when he grabbed the prize for The Famished Road in 1991. Prior to Ben Okri, Kiran Desai was the youngest woman to win the prize at the age of 35 years for her book entitled The Inheritance of Loss in 2006.
About the winning novel- The Luminaries
• The novel entitled The Luminaries is set on the goldfields of New Zealand in 1866. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2013 earlier and eventually also won the prize.
• The Luminaries is the second novel by Eleanor Catton and was published by Granta in September 2013.
• It is primarily a murder mystery set in New Zealand and has an astrology theme running throughout.
• Robert Macfarlane, Chair of the panel of judges described it as “animated by a weird struggle between compulsion and conversion: within its pages, men and women proceed according to their fixed fates, while gold – as flakes, nuggets, coins and bars – ceaselessly shifts its shapes around them.”
• Eleanor Catton was just 25 years old when she started the book The Luminaries.
About Eleanor Catton
• Eleanor Catton is the New Zealand author who was born in the year 1985.
• She went to the Burnside High School and studied English at the University of Canterbury. She completed her Master's in Creative Writing at The Institute of Modern Letters, Victoria University of Wellington.
• In the year 2008, she was awarded the fellowship to the Iowa Writers' Workshop.
• In the year 2009, she was described as the 2009 golden girl of fiction.
• In the year, 2011, she was the Ursula Bethell Writer in Residence at the University of Canterbury.
• Her debut novel was The Rehearsal, in the year 2008. It was written as a part of her Master’s thesis.
• Her second novel entitled The Luminaries was published in the year 2013, for which she also won the Man Booker Prize 2013.
• Her first book The Rehearsal (2008) was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award as well as for the Dylan Thomas Prize. It was also longlisted for the Orange Prize.
About the Man Booker Prize 2013
• The Man Booker Prize promotes the finest in fiction by rewarding the very best book of the year.
• The prize is the world's most important literary award and has the power to transform the fortunes of authors and publishers.
• The year 2013 marked the 45th year of the Man Booker Prize.
• The last Prize was won by Hilary Mantel for Bring Up the Bodies, which was the sequel of the Wolf Hall.
• It is important to note that in the year 2014, the Man Booker Prize will open its doors for the authors writing in English from all over the world.
• At present, it is awarded to the English-language authors only from the Commonwealth nations, including the Zimbabwe, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
• The Man Booker Prize was originally called the Booker-McConnell Prize, after the name of the company Booker-McConnell which sponsored this event in the year 1968. It was then known as the Booker Prize or just the Booker.
• Thereafter, in the year 2002, the prize administration was transferred to the Booker Prize Foundation and the title was sponsored by the investment company Man Group. Thus the official title of the prize became the Man Booker Prize.
• Originally, the prize money was 21000 Pound and in the year 2002, it became 50000 Pound under the Man Group sponsorship.
• At present, the Man Booker Prize is one of the richest literary prizes of the world.
First time in the history of the Man Booker Prize
• The Luminaries is the longest work to win this prize in the history of 45 years of Man Booker Prize.
• Eleanor Catton is the youngest ever winner of the Man Booker Prize.
• It is also worth noticing that the 2013 shortlist for the prize was described as one of the best in the history of Man Booker Prize.
• Eleanor Catton is also the last winner of the Man Booker prize which at present is confined to writers from the Commonwealth countries and Ireland only. From the year 2014, entries from all over the world will be welcomed in the Man Booker Prize.
Nobel Prize 2013 Announced: List of Winners
|
Category
|
Name of the Person
|
Contribution
|
|
Physiology
or Medicine
|
James
Rothman
|
for
their groundbreaking work on how the cell organises its transport system
|
|
Randy
Schekman
|
||
|
Thomas
Suedhof
|
||
|
Physics
|
Peter
Higgs
|
for the
theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of
the origin of mass of subatomic particles.
|
|
Francois
Englert
|
||
|
Chemistry
|
Michael
Levitt
|
for the
development of multi scale models for complex chemical systems
|
|
Martin
Karplus
|
||
|
Arieh
Warshel
|
||
|
Peace
|
The
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
|
for its
extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons
|
|
Literature
|
Alice
Munro
|
master
of the contemporary short story
|
|
Economics
|
Eugene
Fama
|
for
their work on creating a deeper knowledge of how market prices move
|
|
Lars
Peter Hansen
|
||
|
Robert
Shiller
|
Pharmaceutical Firm Zydus Cadila signed Agreement with Pieris AG
Pharmaceutical firm Zydus Cadila on 16 October 2013 signed a
drug development and commercialisation agreement with Germany’s Pieris AG for a
new therapeutic protein molecule called Anticalin. The agreement brings
together Pieris’ drug discovery and early development capabilities with Zydus’
expertise in biologics development, regulatory affairs and biologics
manufacturing.
Arunendra Kumar Appointed as Chairman of Railway Board
Arunendra Kumar was on 16 October 2013 appointed as Chairman
of Railway Board (Ministry of Railways) and ex-officio Principal Secretary to
Government of India.
Prior to this appointment he was acting as additional charge of Chairman of Railway Board since 1 July 2013 besides his regular posting as Member (Mechanical) Railway Board and ex officio Secretary to the Government of India.
Prior to this appointment he was acting as additional charge of Chairman of Railway Board since 1 July 2013 besides his regular posting as Member (Mechanical) Railway Board and ex officio Secretary to the Government of India.
Hilary Clinton got the First Founders’ Award for helping AIDS Victims
Hilary
Clinton was awarded the first founders’ award from the Elton John AIDS
Foundation in New York on 15 October 2013 for her work to help HIV/AIDS
victims. John’s foundation is celebrating its 21 year in USA. Hillary Diane
Rodham Clinton was the 67th United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013,
serving under President Barack Obama.
The Elton
John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) is a nonprofit organization, established by rock
musician Sir Elton John in 1992 in the United States and 1993 in the United
Kingdom to support innovative HIV/AIDS prevention, education programs, direct
care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS.
It has
raised over 200 million US dollars to support HIV/AIDS programs in fifty-five
nations
Liverpool launched Football Academy in India
Top English Premier League side Liverpool on 16 October 2013
launched a residential football academy in Pune in partnership with city-based
DSK Shivajians FC. The academy was named as LFC International Football Academy
DSK. It will have a world class residential complex, full size pitches,
practice areas, classrooms, residential, medical facilities, lecture theatre
and canteen
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