Bihar Affairs
Bihar ranked third best state in water conservation efforts
Bihar has been rated as the third best state in the country in water conservation by the Union Jalshakti ministry, and will be conferred with the National Water Awards 2022.
The state has been included in the category of the best states for making exemplary performance in water conservation and strengthening, and also for best efforts made towards management of its <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/water-Resources“>Water Resources.
He said the ‘s ambitious scheme to lift the Ganga flood water from Mokama (Patna) and carry it over 151km through pipeline to provide Safe drinking water to every household in the water-starved Gaya, Bodh Gaya and Rajgir towns in south Bihar has been rated as the use of technology for the conservation and use of floodwater that otherwise used to go in waste every year.
Further, there are seven other schemes and projects aimed at augmenting the Irrigation potential of the state, which were also taken note of by the Union Jalshakti ministry while selecting Bihar for inclusion in the best category states and for giving it the National Water Awards 2022, the minister said.
The seven schemes concerned are Goraul irrigation scheme in Darbhanga, Balughat barrage-cum-irrigation scheme in Madhubani, Bihul irrigation scheme in Madhubani, Malai barrage on Kond river in Rohtas district to provide irrigation water to Buxar and Bhojpur districts, Jaitpura pump canal scheme in Kaimur district, Mohane river scheme in Gaya, and Uderasthan barrage scheme near Biharsharif in Nalanda district.
National and International Affairs
Over 73% women want menstrual leave: Study
A survey has said that around 73 per cent of Women want companies to allow them to take menstrual leave while 86.6 per cent are in favour of a menstrual-friendly workplace where hygiene methods and support are available to women.
The Menstrual Hygiene Survey 2023, conducted by Everteen, a feminine hygiene brand, also pointed out that 71.7 per cent of the participants in the survey do not want the menstrual leaves to be paid, fearing that it may make companies reluctant to hire female employees. Nearly 10,000 women in the age group of 18 to 35 years participated in the survey that was conducted in multiple cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Patna.
Also, 86.6 per cent of women are in favour of the concept of a menstrual friendly workplace where females are not hesitant in discussing the subject openly, and menstrual hygiene methods and support infrastructure is made available to women. Besides, 68.9 per cent of women have taken a leave of absence from work during menstrual periods, the survey stated.
The survey recommended that corporates need to make it a priority to adopt practices for a menstrual-friendly workplace. Researchers from the UVA School of Medicine, Flo Health, University College London, Technische Universitaet Berlin and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine too found menstrual symptoms hurt workplace productivity of many women.
New panel formed to guide Project Cheetah
Following the death of six cheetahs, including three newborn cubs, within a period of two-and-a-half months at the Kuno (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh, the Centre has set up yet another high-level panel of national and international experts to oversee and monitor the ambitious Project Cheetah in India.
It will also provide advice on cheetah introduction to the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department and the NTCA. It will open the cheetah habitat for eco-tourism and suggest regulations to further this. It will also provide suggestions on how to involve the community in the projects activities.
In October last year, the ministry had constituted a Cheetah Task Force to monitor Indias cheetah introduction programme.
WMO Approves Global Tracker for Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The World Meteorological Congress has made a groundbreaking decision to approve a newgreenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring initiative, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
This initiative aims to support urgent action in reducing heat-trapping gases that contribute to rising global temperatures. The newly establishedGlobal Greenhouse GasWatch will address critical information gaps, integrating various observing systems, modeling capabilities, and data assimilation under one comprehensive framework.
The unanimous support from WMOs 193 members highlights the growing importance of greenhouse gas monitoring and the need to strengthen the scientific foundation for <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/Climate-change”>Climate Change mitigation efforts.