MEE Rating: According to the 5th cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) carried out by the Centre the MEE rating of Nagarjunasagar- Srisailam Tiger Reserve improves from ‘Good’ to ‘Very Good’.According to the Wildlife Institute of India, MEE is defined as the assessment of how well protected areas are being managed. Primarily, whether they are protecting their values and achieving the goals and objectives agreed upon.The ratings are assigned in four categories – Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.The criteria or indicators of for assessing India’s Protected Areas has been adopted from IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas framework of MEE.The government has been using the MEE to assess tiger reserves across the country since its inception in 2006. Out of the 53 tiger reserves notified at present, only 51 tiger reserves covering a total area of 73,765 square kilometers have been assessed in this 5th cycle.The Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala gets Top Rank in this cycle.
Periyar Tiger Reserve: It is located in the Western Ghats of Kerala.It was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1978.Two main rivers, Pamba and Periyar, drain the reserve.It is home to many tribal communities, including the Mannans and the Palians.Terrain: Hilly and undulating.It consists of tropical evergreen, semi-evergreen and moist deciduous .Important flora includes teak, mangoes, rosewood, jamun, jacarandas, terminalias, tamarind, royal ponciana, bamboos etc.Fauna: Includes Elephants, Wild Pigs, Sambar, Gaur, Mouse Deer, Dole or Barking Deer, Indian Wild Dog and Tiger.The major four species of primates: the rare lion-tailed macaque, the Nilgiri Langur, Gee’s Golden Langur, Common Langur and Bonnet Macaque.It Is also being considered the habitat of the elusive Nilgiri Tahr.
India-France Business Summit 2023:The Summit 2023 is commemorating 25 years of India-France Friendship.Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Government of France, will co-chair the India France Business Summit.It was held in Paris, France.
Indo-France Relation: Signed in 1998, the time-tested strategic partnership has continued to gain momentum. India and France in September 2022 agreed to set up an Indo-Pacific Trilateral Development Cooperation Fund that will support sustainable innovative solutions for countries in the Indo-pacific region.India, France, UAE Trilateral Initiative is aimed at ensuring maritime domain awareness and security from the east coast of Africa to the far Pacific.
Both countries launched the International Solar Alliance in 2015. France supports India’s bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council as well as its entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group.It was among the first countries with which India signed a civil nuclear deal.It is the 11th largest foreign investor in India and has emerged as a key defence partner for India, becoming the second largest defence supplier in 2017- 2021.
Language Friendship Bridge Project:Recently, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has envisaged a special project called ‘The Language Friendship Bridge’ to expand India’s cultural footprint in nations with whom it has historical ties.India is planning to create a pool of experts in languages spoken in countries like Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan and Indonesia to facilitate better people-to-people exchanges.It plans to train five to 10 people in the official languages of each of these countries.As of now, the ICCR has zeroed in on 10 languages: Kazakh, Uzbek, Bhutanese, Ghoti (spoken in Tibet), Burmese, Khmer (spoken in Cambodia), Thai, Sinhalese and Bahasa (spoken in both Indonesia and Malaysia).
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