Rajasthan: T-117 gives birth to cubs outside protected area in Dholpur region

Tigress T-117 gave birth to two cubs in the Sarmathura forest range of Dholpur in an area developed for social forestry. This is the first incident in the state in which a tigress has given birth outside the protected area. The mother with two-month-old cubs were spotted near Richda village in an area known to be infested and 'preserved' by bandits.

“The tigress mated with T-115 and gave birth to the cubs. Teams have been deployed to conduct extensive monitoring in the area,” a senior forest official said.

This is the second birth of cubs recorded in Kailadevi and Dholpur region in the past one week. But the area surprisingly still does not come under the Critical Tiger Habitat category.

Experts believe that the forest area has enormous potential and the state government should immediately include it as a protected area. Dharmendra Khandal, a conservation biologist, said, “For the first time, a tigress has given birth to cubs in a social forestry area. The previous standing committee on wildlife, headed by former DGP Ajit Singh, had held discussions to include the region in the protected area. The state government should once again consider the proposal. There are nine big cats in the Kailadevi Wildlife Sanctuary and adjoining forest areas. The state government should chalk out a conservation plan for this region.”

While the movement of tigers from the overpopulated Ranthambore Tiger Reserve to Kailadevi and nearby areas has been frequent, with several of them reportedly living at the sanctuary for several months, the recent birth of cubs has made the potential of sanctuary and adjoining areas evident as a haven for tigers.

The forest department should focus on this area spread over approximately 770 square kilometers, experts said. “There is rampant illegal mining in many regions, which is a major threat to existing big cats. But despite the presence of bandits, poaching has never been reported in the area,” a forest official said.

Weekly Covid casualties fall below 1,000

India’s weekly death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic fell below 1,000 for the first time since the first week of May last year, while fatalities recorded in January were the lowest in eight months and less than half of the toll reported in December.

Fresh cases of the virus too continued to move along a steep downhill path, with the count in January falling below 5 lakh at 4,71,282, the lowest monthly tally since June last year. There were 89,934 cases reported in the current week (January 25-31), down 6% from the previous seven days. Last week, India had recorded less than 1 lakh fresh cases for the first time since the June 15-21 week. Weekly cases are now less than 14% of the number recorded at the peak of the pandemic, when the tally had climbed to 6,45,014 in September 7-13.

While the case count has been falling steadily, there has been a steeper drop in deaths related to the pandemic. India recorded 975 Covid fatalities during the current week, the lowest in 37 weeks. This was also the first time since May 11-17 when less than 1,000 deaths were recorded during a Monday-to-Sunday week.

India’s weekly Covid-19 toll has fallen by 88% since the peak when the country had recorded as many as 8,175 deaths (September 14-20).

There were 5,453 recorded deaths from the virus in January, the lowest monthly toll since May last year, when 4,267 fatalities were reported. Deaths were down to less than half the number reported in December, when the toll stood at 11,427. The highest monthly toll was in September when 33,255 deaths were officially reported in the country. The toll in January was less than a sixth of that number.

Within the country, a major chunk of new cases are being reported from Kerala and Maharashtra, the two states that together account for two-thirds of all active cases in India. Of the 89,934 fresh cases detected in the current week, Kerala alone accounted for around 39,000 infections and Maharashtra more than 17,000. Together, the two states had a 63% share in new cases recorded in the week.

India saddened by insult to Tricolour: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the country was saddened by the “insult” to the Tricolour on Republic Day, referring to the religious flag incident at Red Fort during the farmers’ tractor parade. In his monthly Mann ki Baat broadcast, Modi maintained that his government is committed to “modernising” farming and has been taking many steps, amid intense protests by farmers from states like Punjab, Haryana and UP near the Delhi border against three farm reform legislations enacted by his ruling BJP government.

Modi made a brief reference to the farmers’ tractor rally on Republic Day which witnessed violence. “Amidst all this, the country was saddened by the insult to the Tricolour on January 26 in Delhi. We have to infuse times to come with new hope and novelty. Last year, we displayed exemplary patience and courage. This year too, we have to work hard to attain our resolves. We have to take our country forward at a faster pace,” he said. He further touched upon topics like the COVID-19 vaccination drive, the announcement of Padma award winners, and the upcoming 75th year of Independence.

January 2020: GST mop-up hits record ₹1.2L cr

GST collections touched a new high of nearly Rs.1.2 lakh crore in January, indicating a sharp recovery post lockdown and better compliance, manifested in record returns of 90 lakh.

The annual filing of GST returns by the extended deadline of December 31 may also have resulted in some businesses clearing their liability and paying higher tax, say experts.

While finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to lower the revenue estimates for the current financial year when she presents the Budget on Monday, the latest data will cheer policymakers grappling with the worst economic challenge in recent decades.

The numbers based on December sales, with returns filed in January, show that revenue from imports went up 16%.

The mop-up from domestic transactions, including services imports, was 6% higher. “This is much better than anyone’s expectations. Usually, the end of a quarter (December in this case) is better than the initial months as companies push sales to meet quarterly targets. It seems imports have improved considerably. Christmas holidays would have seen marked improvement in people going out and on vacations. Some companies, particularly IT firms, are on a hiring spree, which would have meant more disposable income in the hands of people,” said Pratik Jain, who leads the indirect tax practice at consulting firm PwC in India.

Government sources said the recent crackdown against fraudsters has helped improve compliance and bolstered collections. Since mid-November, 274 people have been arrested with 2,700 cases lodged against 8,500 bogus entities. The drive, which leans heavily on data analysis, has helped collect Rs.858 crore from these entities.

“Closer monitoring against fake-billing, deep data analytics using data from multiple sources including GST, income tax and Customs IT systems, and effective tax administration have also contributed to the steady increase in tax revenue over the last few months,” the finance ministry said.

According to experts, the rising trend will continue in the coming months. “The surge in GST collections observed during the past four months is expected to be sustained in the coming months of the current fiscal with more service sector activities like aviation, hospitality, entertainment opening up,” said MS Mani, senior director at Deloitte India.

While anything over Rs.1 lakh in monthly collections is seen to be positive, for the last four months, the average monthly mop-up has been to the tune of Rs.1.1 lakh crore. The average year-on-year growth in GST revenue over the first four months in the second half of the financial year has been 8%.

Pune runway to remain shut from April 26 to May 9

The Indian Air Force has intimated to the airport authorities about a total closure of passenger flight operations from the airport between April 26 and May 9 to facilitate the ongoing runway re-carpeting works.

The airport is part of the IAF’s air base at Lohegaon. The air force controls the 2,530m runway and air traffic control. “We have received the closure intimation from the IAF,” city airport director Kuldeep Singh said on Sunday.

As of now, passenger flights are operating for only 12 hours, from 8am to 8pm, ever since the runway recarpeting work commenced at the airport from October 26 last year.

The complete closure will affect airlines and flyers, especially those who have already booked their tickets for travel between April 26 and May 9.

Srinagar records minimum temp of -8.8°C

Chillai-kalan, the harshest 40-day winter period in Kashmir, ended on Sunday breaking a decades-old record as Srinagar registered its lowest minimum temperature in 30 years, while the maximum temperature barely managed to breach the freezing point, officials said.

Srinagar city, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a low of -8.8 degree Celsius Saturday night — down from -7.2 degree Celsius the previous night, they said. The city reeled under sub zero temperatures throughout the day. Both the minimum and maximum temperatures in Srinagar were eight degrees below normal for this time of the year.

This was the lowest minimum temperature recorded in the city since 1991 when the mercury had fallen to -11.4 degree Celsius. Srinagar had recorded a low of -8.4 degree Celsius on January 13.

Qazigund — the gateway town to the Valley — recorded a minimum of -10.2 degree Celsius, down from -8.8 degree Celsius the previous night, they said.

The minimum temperature at Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district settled at -8 degree Celsius last night. Pahalgam tourist resort, which also serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 12 degrees Celsius - marginally up from previous night’s minus 12.5 degrees Celsius.

HAL readies 2nd plant in Bengaluru

Buoyed by the recent Cabinet Committee on Security approval for procurement of 83 Light Combat Aircraft ‘Tejas Mark-1A’ worth Rs.47,000 crore, defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is geared up to make operational a dedicated second LCA plant in Bengaluru.

The new plant at Doddanekundi, according to HAL sources, will be inaugurated by defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday. “The plant, when commissioned fully, will be able to produce 16 LCAs per year. We’ll make the Tejas Mark-1A and the trainers here,” said one of the sources.

At present, HAL has the capacity to manufacture eight LCAs per year. HAL’s first dedicated LCA plant and its Aircraft Division in Bengaluru are both producing them. “The plant that will be inaugurated by the defence minister will technically be the third, given that the Aircraft Division also make LCAs now,” the source said.

The Tejas Mark-1A aircraft worth Rs.46,898 crore — 73 fighters and 10 trainers — cleared by the CCS on January 13, will have 43 “improvements” over the Tejas Mark-1jets, which the Indian Air Force has already placed orders for earlier. “From the date of the signing the contract, HAL will have 36 months to deliver the first batch of aircraft,” the source said.