Current Affairs - National

India’s first dedicated wildlife corridor has been developed on the Delhi-Mumbai Highway by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). This 12-kilometre stretch includes five wildlife overpasses and the country’s longest underpass built exclusively for the safe movement of animals. The corridor passes through the buffer zone of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, ensuring minimal disruption to the habitat and natural migration routes of wildlife. This initiative reflects a significant step towards sustainable infrastructure development by balancing environmental conservation with modern highway expansion, marking a milestone in India's approach to wildlife protection.

Project Elephant was launched in 1992 by the Government of India to protect elephants, their habitat, and migration corridors. It focuses on measures such as mortality mitigation, particularly along railway tracks, genetic profiling of captive elephants, and conflict management in areas prone to human-elephant encounters. The project also plays a crucial role in preserving India's National Heritage Animal and ensuring the conservation of Indian elephants, which make up about 60% of the global Asian elephant population. Regular reviews, like the recent Phase-I estimation in the Northeastern states, help track the project's impact and guide future actions.

The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of the CIP–South Asia Regional Centre (CSARC) in Singna, Agra, as a regional extension of the Peru-based International Potato Center (CIP). With a total project cost of ₹171 crore, of which ₹115 crore will be contributed by India, the CSARC is expected to significantly strengthen India's potato and sweet potato research capabilities. The centre will focus on developing climate-resilient, high-yielding, and disease-free crop varieties while enhancing post-harvest value addition and seed production. This strategic location in Agra also supports India’s goal of reducing seed imports and boosting food and nutritional security in the region.

The “Adi Karmyogi” programme was launched by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs to address challenges in the execution of tribal welfare schemes. It aims to build a nationwide cadre of field-level officials who are both motivated and trained to deliver services effectively in tribal areas. This initiative was announced at the conclusion of the Adi Anveshan conference and targets systemic reform through capacity building of over 20 lakh grassroots-level stakeholders. By enhancing the commitment and competence of implementers, Adi Karmyogi seeks to bridge the last-mile delivery gap and ensure tribal communities fully benefit from government schemes.

Salkhan Fossils Park, located in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh near Salkhan village, about 15 km from Robertsganj, has earned a place on UNESCO’s tentative list of World Heritage Sites. It is recognized as one of the oldest fossil sites globally. This inclusion is a significant step toward global recognition of the site’s paleontological importance. The development was made possible through a memorandum of understanding signed between the Uttar Pradesh Eco-Tourism Development Board and the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences in Lucknow, aiming to preserve and promote the park's heritage and ecological value.