International Tiger Day will be celebrated today. The Day is celebrated on 29th of July every year across the globe to create awareness about tiger conservation. Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar released All India Tiger Estimation Report-2018 yesterday. He also released a poster on small wild cats of India.
 
Mr Javadekar said, India is home to nearly 70 per cent of the global tiger population and it leads the world in showing effective conservation of the wild species. He said, tiger is a precious gem of nature and its presence signifies that the forest is in good condition. He said, in 1973 there were only 9 tiger reserves in the country, which has now gone up to 50. Mr Javadekar said that apart from tigers, India is also home to 30 thousand elephants, 3000 single-horned Rhinos and over 500 lions.
 
He said, the country is ready to provide every assistance to increase the population of tigers in the world. Highlighting the culture of harmonious coexistence with nature in India, the minister noted that despite constraints of physical resources the country sustains nearly 8 per cent of the world diversity. He added by saying that practices like worshipping of trees is what depics unique India's cohesiveness with nature.

After banning 59 mobile applications including TikTok, almost a month ago, the Indian government has cracked down on 47 more mobile apps - most being clones or lite variants of the ones earlier banned.

A month after banning 59 Chinese mobile applications, the government of India has reportedly banned 47 more apps with links to China.

The 47 Chinese apps have been allegedly operating as “clones” of the previously banned apps, which means that they’ve also been banned by the government to ensure the safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace.

Last month, the Government has banned 59 apps with links to China for engaging in activities which were prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.

The list included apps like TikTok, Shareit, UC Browser, Helo, Likee, Cam Scanner and others. The main concern with these apps was the collection of user data and the unauthorised sending of this data to locations outside of India, particularly to China.

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar will dedicate the Guinness world record to the people on the eve of Global Tiger Day, 2020 on Tuesday. The record recognizes the country’s efforts in monitoring its wild tiger population as the world’s largest camera-trap survey of wildlife.

India now has nearly 70 per cent of the global tiger population. The event is expected to be joined by around 500 participants from across the country. The Minister is likely to launch the new website and Outreach Journal of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

The Heads of the Governments of Tiger range countries had resolved to double the tiger population by the year 2022. In this regard, Saint Petersburg Declaration on Tiger Conservation was signed by the countries in 2010. It was decided to celebrate 29th of July as Global Tiger Day across the world to create awareness on tiger conservation.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that more than 8 lakh 14 thousand Indians stranded abroad have returned to the country through various means under Vande Bharat Mission since May 6, 2020.

He said, Out of these, at least 2 lakh 70 thousand people returned on flights from 53 countries. In a series of tweets, Puri said the fifth Phase of Vande Bharat Mission will begin from August 1 to bring back more stranded Indians. Under the fifth phase, Air India will connect Indian cities with US, Canada, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Singapore, UK, Frankfurt, Paris, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, New Zealand and Philippines among others. Mr Puri said details about ticket bookings will be announced by Air India shortly.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said during the fourth phase of Vande Bharat Mission, India has operated 1,197 flights which includes 945 international flights and 252 feeder flights.

Air travel in India, both domestic and international was suspended when the national lockdown started on March 25 due to a coronavirus pandemic. Only domestic air travel began on May 25.

Haryana will host the 4th Khelo India Youth Games. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced this through video conferencing. Khelo India Youth Games is scheduled to take place after Tokyo Olympics next year.
 
The Games will be held at Panchkula in Haryana. Mr Rijiju said, usually the Khelo India Youth Games take place in January every year. He said, however, this time owing to the pandemic, we have to postpone it.
 
The Minister has expressed confidence that by the time we host the Games the pandemic will abate and we will be able to host the Games at the same scale, with participation of all states and over 10 thousand participants.
 
Mr Rijiju said, Khelo India Games, envisioned by the Prime Minister, has been instrumental in identifying grassroot level talent from across the country.

The Nation remembers former president Dr A P J Abdul Kalam on his death anniversary today. Popularly known as people's president and Missile Man of India, Dr. Kalam passed away in Shillong on 27th July 2015, while delivering a lecture to students.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has paid tributes to former President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on his death anniversary today. In a series of tweets, Mr Naidu said, Dr Kalam was an outstanding scientist, a great human being and a people’s President, who inspired the people of the country, particularly the youth through his actions and words. Vice President said, Dr Kalam's contributions to nation building will always be remembered.

Home Minister Amit Shah has paid tributes to former president Dr A P J Abdul Kalam on his death anniversary. Mr Shah described Dr vKalam as an epitome of intellect, wisdom and simplicity. In a tweet, Mr Shah said, Dr Kalam was a people’s President, who left indelible marks on several fields ranging from science to politics. He said, Dr Kalam's relentless quest for knowledge continues to inspire and capture the idea of self-reliant India.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar paid tributes to the noted scientist and teacher Dr Kalam.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today launch high throughput COVID-19 testing facilities through video conferencing. These facilities will ramp up testing capacity in the country and help in strengthening early detection and treatment, thus assisting in controlling the spread of the pandemic. Our correspondent reports that these three testing facilities have been set up strategically at ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, Noida, ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Mumbai and ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata.

The government has adopted the test-track-treat strategy for early detection and containment of the Covid-19 pandemic. These three new testing facilities have been set up in Noida, Mumbai and Kolkata and they will be able to test over ten thousand samples a day. These labs will also reduce turn-around-time and exposure of lab personnel to infectious clinical materials. The labs are enabled to test diseases other than COVID as well. Post the pandemic, the labs will be able to test for Hepatitis B and C, HIV, TB and Dengue. With Dipendra Kumar, Suparna Saikia, New Delhi.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan,  along with Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh will participate in the event.

Civil Aviation Ministry has extended its order imposing curbs on airfare till 24th November. The order was issued on 21st May after airlines were allowed to operate after the lockdown.

It had prescribed a range for airfare depending on the flight distance. In the wake of coronavirus outbreak, the Ministry had implemented a cap on domestic airfare. The domestic flights have a cap on fares with both an upper and lower limit. While the upper price limit is aimed at preventing any sharp rise in fares due to increased demand, the lower limit will help ensure that financial viability of airlines does not suffer amid high costs.

The DRDO has established a COVID-19 testing facility at the Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR) in Leh to augment the existing capacity for identification of coronavirus cases in the union territory of Ladakh, according to an official statement.

The testing facility, which was inaugurated by Ladakh Lieutenant Governor R K Mathur on Wednesday, is capable of screening 50 samples per day, said the statement by the Defence Ministry.

"The facility can also be utilised for training manpower for COVID-19 testing and will be of great help to address future bio-threats and carrying out R&D (research and development) activities pertinent to agro-animals diseases," the ministry noted.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Nagpur in collaboration with IIT Jodhpur and IIT Nagpur has indigenously designed and developed a model for effective tracking and monitoring of COVID positive and suspect patients.

This device is in the form of a smart wristband that is designed to overcome the limitations of any existing online mobile apps for tracking and monitoring.

The existing apps depend on the continuous use of mobile phones by the quarantined person and the availability of stable internet connections.

Additionally, the existing mobile apps use GPS or cell tower triangulation methods for tracking location with an accuracy that may vary sometimes up to a radius of 1.5 to 2 kilometres.