Current affairs 26 September 2023

Tamil Nadu, Kerala may join hands to count endangered Nilgiri tahr.

• Tamil Nadu Forest Department joints hand with Kerala to conduct a synchronized census, as the animal is only found in select habitats in the two States.
• After launching Project Nilgiri Tahr 2022 for the conservation of the State animal, TN is now working on a standardized protocol to count the endangered population of southern India’s only mountain ungulate.
• Objective: To restore the ecosystem’s fragmentation, particularly in the Shola grasslands, where the Tahr thrives.

75 per cent Indian villages declared ODF Plus.

• According to Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat about 4.4 lakh or 75 per cent of India's villages have achieved the open defecation free-plus status.
• An ODF Plus village is one that has sustained its Open Defecation Free (ODF) status along with implementing either solid or liquid waste management systems.
• The top performing states and UTs which have 100 per cent ODF Plus villages are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Goa, Gujarat etc.

Oil minister launched India’s first green hydrogen fuel cell bus in Delhi.

• Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri flagged off India’s first green hydrogen fuel cell bus in Delhi.
• The success of this project can catapult India from being a net importer of fossil energy to becoming a net exporter of clean hydrogen energy.
• Aim: To provide global leadership to other countries in terms of technology transfer, while becoming a large green hydrogen producer and supplier of manufacturing parts.

India bags Gold medal in Men's 10-meter air rifle event at Asian Game 2023.

• Indian trio Rudrankksh Patil, Divyang Panwar, and Aishwary Tomar clinched gold in the Men's 10m air rifle event in Asian Games 2023.
• India won its first medal in shooting as the trio of Ramita Jindal, Mehuli Ghosh, and Ashi Chouksey earned a Silver in the women's 10m air rifle event.
• Indian duo Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh won a silver in men's lightweight double sculls in the rowing discipline.
• India has secured six medals - one gold, three silver, and two bronze.

Rajnath Singh inaugurated Bharat Drone Shakti 2023 at Hindon Airbase.

• Indian Air Force and Drone Federation of India will co-host Bharat Drone Shakti- 2023 at the Indian Air Force airbase at Hindon in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
• The usage of drones in India is seeing an increase- both, in the military, as well as in the civil domain.
• The induction ceremony of the first C-295 MW transport aircraft will be held during the program.
• India has formalized the acquisition of 56 Airbus C-295 aircraft to replace the Indian Air Force AVRO fleet.