six initiatives of his Directorate namely TALGO Trials, TRINATRA and MAGLEV Technology, EoTT, bio-toilets and new train products

six initiatives of his Directorate namely TALGO Trials, TRINATRA and MAGLEV Technology, EoTT, bio-toilets and new train products

            Member, Rolling Stock(earlier called Member Mechanical), Railway Board Shri Hemant Kumar gave details of six initiatives of Indian Railways pertaining to his Directorate at a press conference held in Rail Bhawan today i.e. 09.08.2016. The briefs of these six initiatives are given as below : -

Ø  Brief about bio-toilets and green train corridor : -

In order to contribute to mission ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Ministry of Railways have taken up a mammoth task of providing human discharge free bio-toilets in all its coaches and the same would be completed by September 2019. With provision of bio-toilets in all its coaches discharge of human waste from trains on to the ground would be completely stopped which in turn would help in improving cleanliness and hygiene. Ministry of Railways have already provided 43,000 bio-toilets in its coaches till 31^st July, 2016 and in the current financial year, it is planned to fit additional 27,500 bio-toilets.

Indian Railways in its commitment to provide hygienic environment to passengers and to keep station premises/tracks clean, have developed environment-friendly Bio-toilets for its passenger coaches. The technology has been developed jointly by Indian Railways (IR) and Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) for railway passenger coaches through an MoU. This environment friendly, low cost and robust technology, is the first of its kind in Railway Systems in the world. In the bio-toilet fitted coaches, human waste is collected in tanks below the toilets and the same is decomposed by a consortium of bacteria.

In order to have visible benefits in terms of cleaner environment owing to provision of bio-toilets in coaches, Rameswarm-Manamadurai (114 Kms) was indentified to make it Green Train Corridors- free from human waste discharge from trains. Accordingly, 10 passenger trains consisting of 286 coaches moving over this section have been provided with bio-toilets. This section was formally inaugurated as Green Train Corridor on 24.07.2016. After Rameswarm-Manamadurai, Okha-Kanalas Junction(141 Kms), Porbandar-Wansjaliya (34 Kms) and Jammu-Katra(78 Kms) would also be taken up for making them free from human waste discharge from trains. For this around 35 trains consisting of nearly 1110 coaches would be further provided with bio toilets and the work is underway. These sections and stations were chosen, because the number of trains originating and terminating at these stations and sections are few, thus making it operationally easier and faster to make them human-discharge free.

Okha-Kanalas section is targeted for conversion to Green Train Corridor by the end of September 2016, whereas Porbandar-Wansjaliya is targeted for conversion by October 2016. For Jammu-Katra section, a total of 24 rakes of 14 trains consisting of around 450 coaches need to be provided with Bio-toilets and the same would be targeted for completion by March 2017.

Ø  Brief about new types of train products : -

In order to make train journeys a more delightful experience, Indian Railways have been taking numerous initiatives. Minister of Railways, in his Budget Speech 2016-17, had announced a number of new categories of train services or coach such as Tejas, Humsafar, Antyodaya and Deen Dayalu coaches.  Introduction of these train services/coaches is being followed up in mission mode.

For General Second Class passengers, potable water through Water filtration system, cushioned luggage racks, additional hand holds in doorway area, J hooks near longitudinal luggage racks for hanging carry bags, bio-toilets, water level indicator, Toilet occupation indication display board, Enhanced mobile charging facility, Fire extinguishers etc. are some of the amenities added in Deen Dayalu and Antyodaya train coaches. Besides, for the first time, Indian Railways would try out operation of Antyodaya trains with Locos at both ends for faster acceleration and deceleration and for expeditious turnaround at terminals. 5 Antyodaya rakes have been planned for introduction in the current year and the first rake is expected by October 2016. Around 700 Deen Dayalu coaches are planned for introduction in various trains in the current year. First Deen Dayalu coach has already been launched by Hon’ble MR  on 19.07.16 at NDLS station.

Similarly, Humsafar trains consisting of AC 3-Tier coaches only would have additional facilities such as GPS based Passenger information display system to inform passengers about arriving station, Passenger announcement system, Fire and Smoke detection system for enhanced fire safety, Mobile/ laptop charging points, Integrated Braille displays for the aid of visually impaired passengers, Improved aesthetics with new interior and exterior colour scheme etc. While 10 Humsafar rakes are planned for introduction in the current year, first such rake is expected by September 2016.

Tejas train coaches would be the future of train travel in India with modern amenities and gadgets provided to make train travel not only comfortable but delightful too. Tejas coaches would have ergonomic seating with improved cushioning and upholstery, Automatic doors, Infotainment system, GPS based Passenger information display system, Dust sealed gangways,  Fire and Smoke detection system , CCTV system, concealed LED lighting, adjustable reading lights, Passenger announce ment system,. Vending machine, Mobile laptop charging points, enabling provision for on-board Wi-Fi facility, Integrated Braille displays, individual Magazine bags, bottle holders, snack table, Bio-Vacuum toilets, Sensorised taps, flushing system, hand driers, tissue paper dispenser and soap dispenser for touch less experience of toilet use, water level indicators, Accessible dustbins with higher capacity, Digital Destination Boards outside the coach for train and coach information to the boarding passengers etc.. 3 Tejas AC Chair Car rakes have been planned for introduction and the first rake is expected by February 2017.

One Uday train service is planned for introduction in the current year with LHB AC Double Decker coaches.

Ø  Brief on Trials of Spanish Train TALGO : -

Talgo is a Spanish firm manufacturing Semi high speed (160-250 kmph) and high speed (350 kmph) passengers trains. Talgo trains have been successfully running in many countries with high safety records.

Talgo coaches are light weight aluminum bodied coaches with special features like articulated coupling between coaches, wheel sets located between adjacent coaches, independent wheel system, short guide axles with neutral tilting. These features make these coaches to travel faster on curves with approximately 20% higher speed in comparison to conventional coaches. Because of low weight faster acceleration and deceleration is also possible thereby reducing the travel time and increasing the average speed.

With an objective to increase the speed of Mail/Express trains on its networks, IR decided to conduct trials of Talgo coaches to validate their speed potential and access saving in time between New Delhi and Mumbai without any investment on the fixed infrastructure. M/s. Talgo has brought 9 coaches for free of cost trials with no commitment from Indian Railways. Speed trials were conducted between Barailey and Moradabad section of Northern Railway upto speed of 115 kmph. 

After successful completion of these trials high speed trials upto a test speed of 180 kmph were conducted between Mathura and Palwal section of NCR. The trials were found successful.

After the speed trials time saving trials have been started to validate the simulation done by M/s. Talgo. Total four runs were planned at a speed of 130, 130, 140 and 150 kmph. Two runs have already been conducted on 1.8.2016 and 5.8.2016. The trials have been successful and actual running results were better than the simulation results. In first run train could not run as per schedule due to heavy rain between Surat and Mumbai due to wash out of tracks. 3^rd run has started today and 4^th run will be on 14.08.2016. It is expected that time saving of 4 hours will be achieved between New Delhi and Mumbai over the existing Rajdhani Express.

Ø  Brief about Safety Device -  TRI-NETRA  - Terrain imaging for diesel dRivers INfra-red, Enhanced opTical & Radar Assisted system

Ministry of Railways, Railway Board has initiated a proposal to install TRI-NETRA systems on locomotives for enhancing the vision of Locomotive Pilots in inclement weather. TRI-NETRA stands for - Terrain imaging for diesel dRivers INfra-red, Enhanced opTical &Radar Assisted system.

TRI-NETRA system shall be made up of high-resolution optical video camera, high sensitivity infra-red video camera and additionally a radar-based terrain mapping system.

These three components of the system shall act as three eyes (Tri-Netra) of the Locomotive Pilot.

TRI-NETRA is designed to “see” the terrain ahead of the running locomotive during inclement weather by combining the images captured by the three sub-systems and to create a composite video image which shall be displayed in front of the Loco Pilot on a computer monitor.

During fog, heavy rain and also during night, the locomotive pilots face serious challenges in looking out ahead to spot any obstruction on the track such as vehicles which get stuck while crossing the track or trees or boulders which have fallen across the track etc. Because of the heavy momentum of the running train, the train driver has to always adjust the speed of the train such that he or she can stop the train on visually seeing the obstruction.  In fair weather and in daytime, this is not a problem since train driver has a clear view of the track ahead.  But in poor visibility, he has to reduce the speed suitably so that the brakes can be applied in time to stop the train without hitting the obstructions.

This is where TRI-NETRA will come into picture and give the locomotive pilot a clear view of the track ahead in bad visibility conditions so that he can apply brakes well in time. Conversely, he can speed up the train even in poor visibility if the TRI-NETRA system shows that the track ahead is clear of obstruction. The system shall also map the terrain ahead so that the driver knows when he is approaching a station or a signal. TRI-NETRA will enable the Locomotive Pilot to “see” objects from upto one kilometer away on straight track during inclement weather.

The concept of TRI-NETRA was developed by Development Cell under the guidance of Member Mechanical, Railway Board while brainstorming on how to use the technology employed by fighter aircrafts to see through clouds and operate in pitch darkness and the technology used by naval ships in mapping the ocean floor and navigating in the night. Such an “assisted vision” system is not available readily in any of the advanced railway systems but the manufacturers and technology partners who develop components of such systems for defence are very excited with the concept. “Such systems have not been used  for peacetime applications and we are excited that Indian Railways have thrown such a challenge at us” said one of the foreign specialists who develops such systems for fighter aircrafts. There has been very enthusiastic response to this Expression of Interest (EoI) published by Railway Board and number of companies from Israel, Finland, USA and Austria have expressed interest in developing such a system.

Ø  Brief On Communication Equipment  - End Of Train Telemetry (Eott)

·        

Fig:1 Transmitter/Receiver Radio on Locomotive

The EoTT equipment is used to establish communication between Locomotive driver and the last vehicle of the train to see that the train is running with all coaches/wagons as a “complete” train.

·         There is a transmitter fitted on a locomotive and a receiver that is fitted on the end of the last vehicle.

·         The transmitter and the last vehicle receiver exchange signals periodically at regular intervals to ensure that the complete train is running as “Ïntact train”.

·         If there is a break in the communication between the two units, the driver gets a signal that the train has parted.

·         The transmitter unit which is fitted at the end of the train’s last wagon is connected to the brakes and it bleeds the Brake Pipe air and applies brakes to the broken away portion of wagons of the train so that they do not collide with the front portion.

·         A project has been sanctioned for purchase of 1000 systems at an estimated cost of Rs. 100 Crores.

·         Specifications of the equipment have been prepared and tenders shall be called shortly.

Ø  Brief on Levitation based Trains (MAGLEV)

·         Levitation Technology is being used in the world in many different ways – Hovercraft that levitates on air-cushion, Maglev etc.

·          “MAGLEV “stands for  MAGnetic LEVitation.

·         The MAGLEV floats above the track on a “Cushion” of magnetic field.

·         Magnets on the track push and lift the MAGLEV up in air by about 1 inch to 6 inches.

·         These “track” magnets are controlled by a computers which keep shifting  forward the magnetic force of the “track” magnets so that the MAGLEV is pulled forward.

·         Maximum speed achieved is 500 km/h.

·         One commercial installation is in China in Shanghai (appx 38 km of MAGLEV) and is currently running commercially.

·         New technologies are coming up to decrease the power consumption of magnets that lift the MAGLEV by using liquid nitrogen or similar gases..

·         Holy Grail of Maglev magnets is superconducting magnets which consume very little current. Currently, super conductive magnets requires very low temperatures to be maintained in the magnet, however rapid research is going on to make high temperature superconductors.

·         EoI document has been floated on 4^th August 2016 and shall open on 6^th September 2016.

Six months maternity leave gets cabinet nod

The amendment in Maternity Benefits Act aims to raise maternity leave for women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks 

The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal that seeks to grant six months’ maternity leave to women employees—double the time off they get now after childbirth.

The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also approved 12 weeks’ maternity benefits to a “commissioning mother” and “adopting mother”. A commissioning mother is one who gets a baby via surrogate mothers. This is a completely new provision that forms part of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which the labour ministry wants tabled and passed during the current session of Parliament.
“Maternal care to the Child during early childhood (is) crucial for growth and development of the child,” a cabinet statement said. The ministry of women and child development had suggested enhancing maternity benefits to eight months, but during consultations, all stakeholders including government departments, employees and employer representatives agreed on six months’ benefits.
The aim, labour ministry officials said, is twofold—to help women devote time to take care of their babies and enable an increase in the women’s labour force participation (WLFPR) rate in India. The labour force participation rate (LFPR) in India is around 40%, but for females, it is only 22.5%. The gap in male-female labour force participation is such that the LFPR for rural women above 15 years is only 35.8%, while for rural males it is more than double at 81.3%, according to a 2015 research paper by the government policy think tank NITI Aayog.
Once approved by the Parliament, the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 will mandate opening crèches in all companies having 50 employees or 30 women employees whichever is lower. The cabinet said that the bill also seeks to “facilitate work from home”.
The cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval for amendment of the Factories Act, 1948 by introducing the Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in Parliament. The amendments relates to increase in overtime hours from the existing 50 hours per quarter to 100 hours (Section 64) and existing 75 hours per quarter to 125 hours (Section 65) in some urgent situations. The Lok Sabha passed the bill on Wednesday.

Long Term Ecological Observatories for Climate Change

Long Term Ecological Observatories for Climate Change

Long Term Ecological Observatories (LTEO) for Climate Change Studies are one of the components under the ‘Climate Change Action Programme’ with an outlay of Rs. 40 crores in the 12th Plan Period. A Science Plan of LTEO was released during the 21st Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at Paris in December 2015. First phase of the LTEO Programme includes creating a network of field sites to assess the health of eight different biomes of the country namely; Western Himalaya, Eastern Himalaya, North-Western Arid Zone, Central Indian Forests, Western Ghats, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Jammu & Kashmir and Sundarbans.

LTEO Programme aims to understand the biophysical and anthropogenic drivers of ecosystem change in the selected biomes and their effects on social- ecological responses through a network of scientific institutions. Activities include experimental work to assess the change of structure and function in the natural ecosystems, identification of patterns and drivers of change in the natural ecosystems by monitoring populations of fresh water fish, birds, mammals, herbivores & carnivores, animal movements, soil processes in forests & grasslands, biophysical climatic variables, etc.

Endangered Species

Endangered Species

The Government has established a Protected Area (PA) Network (730 PAs including 103 National Parks, 535 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 26 Community Reserves, and 66 Conservation Reserves in different biogeographic regions) towards conservation of threatened (including endangered and vulnerable) species, which primarily covers habitats of threatened megafauna, such as tiger, rhino, elephant, etc.

Biological Diversity Act, 2002, was inter-alia enacted to ensure protection of threatened species and their habitats. Under the provisions of Section 38 of the National Biodiversity Act, 2002, the species which are on the verge of extinction or likely to become extinct in near future as threatened species, are notified. Ministry has already issued notifications for 14 states to this effect.

The Centrally Sponsored Scheme 'Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats' has been modified in 2008-09 by including a new component namely 'Recovery of Endangered Species' and 17 species have been identified for recovery viz. Snow Leopard, Bustard (including Floricans), River Dolphin, Hangul, Nilgiri Tahr, Marine Turtles, Dugong & Coral reefs, Edible Nest Swiftlet, Asian Wild Buffalo, Nicobar Megapode, Manipur Brow-antlered Deer, Vultures, Malabar Civet, Indian Rhinoceros, Asiatic Lion, Swamp Deer and Jerdon’s Courser.

The periodic assessments carried out in respect of identified species, rhinoceros, Manipur Brow-antlered deer, Edible-nest Swiftlets and lion, have indicated improvement in their population status.

The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 has been enacted for protection of wild animals, birds and plants against hunting and commercial exploitation. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been empowered under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to apprehend and prosecute wildlife offenders. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau has been set up for control of poaching and illegal trade in wildlife and its products.

The Assistance to Botanic Gardens scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is also mandated for conservation of endemic/ threatened plant species of the country; through this scheme the MoEF&CC has supported many botanic gardens for conservation of threatened plants in various institutions.

Botanical Survey of India has brought a number of threatened plants under cultivation in its Acharya Jagdish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden in Howrah, Botanic Garden Indian Republic, Noida and other associated botanic gardens of its regional centres for their ex-situ conservation, thereby complementing the in-situ conservation of such species in protected areas established in different bio-geographical regions of the country.

Concurrent to India’s Presidency(2012-2014) of the Conference of the Parties(COP) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Indian Companies have come together to address the critical issue of biodiversity loss under a national initiative. The India Business & Biodiversity Initiative (IBBI) serves as a national platform for businesses and its stakeholders for dialogue sharing and learning, ultimately leading to mainstreaming sustainable management of biological diversity into businesses.

Estimate of Leopard Population

Estimate of Leopard Population

	Ministry has not undertaken any national leopard census in the country. However, during the national level estimation of tiger population by Wildlife Institute of India, an effort was also made to estimate the leopard populations across the tiger range States using capture-recapture frame work using camera traps. In addition to the population estimates, this effort has helped to understand the condition of leopard habitat across the tiger range states and reported that some of the studied areas are deficient in prey of leopard. The number of leopards during 2014 population estimation in forested habitats of tiger range states is reported to be around in the range of 6566-9181.
	Management of wildlife, including conflict situations is primarily the responsibility of respective State Governments. Proposals for handling of human wildlife conflict including human-leopard conflicts are part of the Annual Plans of Operation from the States seeking Central assistance for management of Wildlife. As per the Annual Plans of Operation of the States, the Central Government provides partial Central assistance under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes of 'Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats' to the States inter alia for providing ex-gratia relief to the victims of wild animal attack, and for construction/erection of physical barriers, habitat improvement etc. to prevent the entry of wild animals into human habitations and also for setting up of anti-depredation squads to drive away problematic animals. In addition, the Ministry has issued “Guidelines for human-leopard conflict management” in 2011. Ministry also undertakes various stake holder workshops and consultations for the management of human wildlife conflict.
	As per the available records with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) of the Ministry, the incidents of leopard poaching are decreasing. The number of cases of recovery of body parts of leopards for the last three years and current year, as per the available records of the WCCB,

Protected Species

Protected Species

There are 909 entries of taxa (including species, genus, families, orders and classes) of animals, birds and plants in the various Schedules of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The names of protected species of animals, birds and plants in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 mentioned at Schedule 1 of Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is available on the Ministry’s website –www.moef.nic.in.

Towards the protection of those species, the Governrment has established a country-wide protected area network (730 Protected Areas including 103 National Parks, 535 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 26 Community Reserves, and 66 Conservation Reserves in different bio-geographic regions), under the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to conserve wild animals and their habitats of threatened flora and fauna. Other steps taken by the Government to ensure protection of these species are as under:

i.          Legal protection has been provided to wild animals against hunting and commercial exploitation under the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

ii.         Special programmes like ‘Project Tiger’ and ‘Project Elephant’ have been launched for conservation of these endangered species and their habitats.

iii.                A specific component of “Recovery programmes for saving critically endangered species and habitats’ is provided in the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of ‘Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats’ for focused conservation action on selected critically endangered species.

iv.        Financial and technical assistance is provided to the State/ Union Territory (UT) Governments under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes for providing better protection to wildlife including endangered species and improvement of its habitat.

v.         The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been empowered under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to apprehend and prosecute wildlife offenders.

vi.        The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has been set up to ensure co-ordination among various officers and State Governments in connection with the enforcement of law for control of poaching and illegal trade in wildlife and its products. In this endeavour WCCB has undertaken a number of steps like Intelligence led enforcement, sensitization on smuggling wildlife articles to Border Guarding forces and Customs, Interagency coordination of enforcement, inclusion of wildlife smuggling in bilateral and multilateral discussion and spreading awareness and education campaigns for various stakeholders.

vii.       Biological Diversity Act, 2002, was inter-alia enacted to ensure protection of threatened species and their habitats.  Under the provisions of Section 38 of the National Biodiversity Act, 2002, the species which are on the verge of extinction or likely to become extinct in near future as threatened species, are notified. Ministry has already issued notifications for 16 states and 2 UTs to this effect. 

viii.      Botanical Survey of India has brought a number of endemic/threatened plants under cultivation in its Acharya Jagdish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden in Howrah, Botanic Garden of Indian Republic, Noida and other associated botanic gardens of its regional centres for their ex-situ conservation, thereby complementing the in-situ conservation of such species in protected areas established in different bio-geographical regions of the country.

              Several species of turtles and snakes have been seized from different parts of the country. As per the available records of the WCCB based on the information received from the State Forest and Police departments, the year wise details of the number of cases detected on the seizure of turtle/tortoise and snake during the last three years and the current year are as under:

Year	Turtle/Tortoise	Snakes
2013	13	17
2014	71	19
2015	52	10
2016 (up-to 30.06.2016)	6	3

No set procedure is available to assign monetary value to the seized wildlife species in the country. Moreover assigning value to the seized contraband may instigate more poaching/illegal trade of the species. Offences detected and offenders arrested for offences against the scheduled species are dealt with as per the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 by the concerned enforcement agencies.

There are 909 entries of taxa (including species, genus, families, orders and classes) of animals, birds and plants in the various Schedules of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The names of protected species of animals, birds and plants in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 mentioned at Schedule 1 of Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is available on the Ministry’s website –www.moef.nic.in.

Towards the protection of those species, the Governrment has established a country-wide protected area network (730 Protected Areas including 103 National Parks, 535 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 26 Community Reserves, and 66 Conservation Reserves in different bio-geographic regions), under the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to conserve wild animals and their habitats of threatened flora and fauna. Other steps taken by the Government to ensure protection of these species are as under:

i.          Legal protection has been provided to wild animals against hunting and commercial exploitation under the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

ii.         Special programmes like ‘Project Tiger’ and ‘Project Elephant’ have been launched for conservation of these endangered species and their habitats.

iii.                A specific component of “Recovery programmes for saving critically endangered species and habitats’ is provided in the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of ‘Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats’ for focused conservation action on selected critically endangered species.

iv.        Financial and technical assistance is provided to the State/ Union Territory (UT) Governments under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes for providing better protection to wildlife including endangered species and improvement of its habitat.

v.         The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been empowered under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to apprehend and prosecute wildlife offenders.

vi.        The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has been set up to ensure co-ordination among various officers and State Governments in connection with the enforcement of law for control of poaching and illegal trade in wildlife and its products. In this endeavour WCCB has undertaken a number of steps like Intelligence led enforcement, sensitization on smuggling wildlife articles to Border Guarding forces and Customs, Interagency coordination of enforcement, inclusion of wildlife smuggling in bilateral and multilateral discussion and spreading awareness and education campaigns for various stakeholders.

vii.       Biological Diversity Act, 2002, was inter-alia enacted to ensure protection of threatened species and their habitats.  Under the provisions of Section 38 of the National Biodiversity Act, 2002, the species which are on the verge of extinction or likely to become extinct in near future as threatened species, are notified. Ministry has already issued notifications for 16 states and 2 UTs to this effect. 

viii.      Botanical Survey of India has brought a number of endemic/threatened plants under cultivation in its Acharya Jagdish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden in Howrah, Botanic Garden of Indian Republic, Noida and other associated botanic gardens of its regional centres for their ex-situ conservation, thereby complementing the in-situ conservation of such species in protected areas established in different bio-geographical regions of the country.

              Several species of turtles and snakes have been seized from different parts of the country. As per the available records of the WCCB based on the information received from the State Forest and Police departments, the year wise details of the number of cases detected on the seizure of turtle/tortoise and snake during the last three years and the current year are as under:

Year	Turtle/Tortoise	Snakes
2013	13	17
2014	71	19
2015	52	10
2016 (up-to 30.06.2016)	6	3

No set procedure is available to assign monetary value to the seized wildlife species in the country. Moreover assigning value to the seized contraband may instigate more poaching/illegal trade of the species. Offences detected and offenders arrested for offences against the scheduled species are dealt with as per the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 by the concerned enforcement agencies.

Protected Species

There are 909 entries of taxa (including species, genus, families, orders and classes) of animals, birds and plants in the various Schedules of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The names of protected species of animals, birds and plants in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 mentioned at Schedule 1 of Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is available on the Ministry’s website –www.moef.nic.in.

Towards the protection of those species, the Governrment has established a country-wide protected area network (730 Protected Areas including 103 National Parks, 535 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 26 Community Reserves, and 66 Conservation Reserves in different bio-geographic regions), under the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to conserve wild animals and their habitats of threatened flora and fauna. Other steps taken by the Government to ensure protection of these species are as under:

i.          Legal protection has been provided to wild animals against hunting and commercial exploitation under the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

ii.         Special programmes like ‘Project Tiger’ and ‘Project Elephant’ have been launched for conservation of these endangered species and their habitats.

iii.                A specific component of “Recovery programmes for saving critically endangered species and habitats’ is provided in the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of ‘Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats’ for focused conservation action on selected critically endangered species.

iv.        Financial and technical assistance is provided to the State/ Union Territory (UT) Governments under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes for providing better protection to wildlife including endangered species and improvement of its habitat.

v.         The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been empowered under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to apprehend and prosecute wildlife offenders.

vi.        The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has been set up to ensure co-ordination among various officers and State Governments in connection with the enforcement of law for control of poaching and illegal trade in wildlife and its products. In this endeavour WCCB has undertaken a number of steps like Intelligence led enforcement, sensitization on smuggling wildlife articles to Border Guarding forces and Customs, Interagency coordination of enforcement, inclusion of wildlife smuggling in bilateral and multilateral discussion and spreading awareness and education campaigns for various stakeholders.

vii.       Biological Diversity Act, 2002, was inter-alia enacted to ensure protection of threatened species and their habitats.  Under the provisions of Section 38 of the National Biodiversity Act, 2002, the species which are on the verge of extinction or likely to become extinct in near future as threatened species, are notified. Ministry has already issued notifications for 16 states and 2 UTs to this effect. 

viii.      Botanical Survey of India has brought a number of endemic/threatened plants under cultivation in its Acharya Jagdish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden in Howrah, Botanic Garden of Indian Republic, Noida and other associated botanic gardens of its regional centres for their ex-situ conservation, thereby complementing the in-situ conservation of such species in protected areas established in different bio-geographical regions of the country.

              Several species of turtles and snakes have been seized from different parts of the country. As per the available records of the WCCB based on the information received from the State Forest and Police departments, the year wise details of the number of cases detected on the seizure of turtle/tortoise and snake during the last three years and the current year are as under:

Year	Turtle/Tortoise	Snakes
2013	13	17
2014	71	19
2015	52	10
2016 (up-to 30.06.2016)	6	3

No set procedure is available to assign monetary value to the seized wildlife species in the country. Moreover assigning value to the seized contraband may instigate more poaching/illegal trade of the species. Offences detected and offenders arrested for offences against the scheduled species are dealt with as per the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 by the concerned enforcement agencies.

‘FMD Mukt Bharat’ in next few years

‘FMD Mukt Bharat’ in next few years

FMD vaccination in non-covered (FMD-CP) States under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) during 2016-17

Rs. 100.00 crore has been allotted for FMD control under RKVY for 16 States and one UT

Foot & Mouth Disease (FMD) is one of the most economically devastating contagious viral animal diseases affecting all susceptible cloven-footed animals. As per the estimates by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), direct loss due to milk and meat is to the tune of RS. 20,000 crores per annum. It can be much more if indirect losses due to reduced work capacity; abortions, subsequent infertility and sterility (that account for the reduced milk production subsequently) are taken into account.

In order to prevent economic losses due to Foot and Mouth Disease, a location specific programme called ‘Foot and Mouth Disease Control Programme (FMD-CP)’ is under implementation since 10th Plan Period. Gradually FMD-CP was expanded during 11th & 12th Plan Period. Thus, as of now, it covers 351 Districts in 13 States and 6 UTs i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Rajasthan, Bihar, Puducherry, Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar, Dadar & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Lakshadweep. The scope of the programme will be extended to cover remaining States in a phased manner so as to have geographically contiguous areas to yield desired results for the creation of FMD Free Zones depending upon availability of resources. With robust implementation of FMD-CP in the States, disease occurrence has drastically been reduced particularly in FMD-CP States e.g. 879 FMD outbreaks were reported in 2012 throughout the country which have been reduced to 109 in 2015.