• The Pong Dam lake, an internationally recognised wetland, receives more than one lakh migratory birds every year, maximum in North India. However, despite such a spectacle of nature, the tourism potential of the lake is still to be tapped.
• The successive governments gave wide publicity to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan for promoting tourism at the lake. The first phase of the plan was to develop the area near the Pong Dam structure as a tourist destination. A few huts were built near the Pong Dam for tourists. However, despite an investment worth crores of rupees, these huts have never been put to use.
• The massive investment plan for tourism development had drawn criticism from the people living in the vicinity of the lake. They were sore at not being taken into confidence while chalking out the plan. The government spent about Rs 10 crore to develop the area near the Pong Dam structure for attracting tourists.
• Raghav, who lives in the area along the lake, said a few tourists came to visit Pong Dam. The government should first create infrastructure around the lake that can attract tourists rather than creating housing facility for them.
• The Department of Tourism had planned to bring up a tourist reception centre at a cost of about Rs 1.5 crore. The people of the area, however, say that the tourist reception centre should be created at the Gaggal airport or any other place where the tourist arrive so that they can be guided to visit the Pong Dam lake area.
• The stakeholders, at a meeting held at the district headquarters, had lodged their protest against the initial plan chalked out for spending Rs 10 crore to develop tourism in their area.
• Some participants said developing the entire infrastructure for tourism near the Pong Dam area would be a waste of funds. Due to security reasons, there are restrictions on the tourists visiting the Pong Dam area.
• The government should, in fact, provide basic infrastructure to private entrepreneurs, who want to create places for attracting tourists to the area.
• The much-celebrated village tourism should be promoted. There are many landmarks such as rock cut Masroor Temples, heritage properties of the former Guler state and Kangra art centres that can attract tourists. If the government involves locals, it can help generate employment and increase tourism in the Pong Dam area.

Rs 10 crore spent on developing area

• Huts were built near the Pong Dam for tourists. However, these huts have never been put to use
• There are many landmarks such as rock cut Masroor Temples, heritage properties of the former Guler state and Kangra art centres that can attract tourists to the lake’s vicinity
• The government spent about Rs 10 crore to develop the area for attracting tourists.
• The investment plans have drawn criticism from people living in the vicinity. They were sore at not being taken into confidence while chalking out the plan

• A book on the popular forest conservation campaign Chipko Movement, written by historian-activist Shekhar Pathak, was named the winner of the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2022.
• Translated from Hindi by Manisha Chaudhry, “The Chipko Movement: A People’s History” was selected from a diverse shortlist of five books covering a wide expanse of modern Indian history and encompassing distinct topics and perspectives.
• The other shortlisted books were “Accidental Feminism: Gender Parity and Selective Mobility Among India’s Professional Elite” by Swethaa S Ballakrishnen; “Whole Numbers and Half Truths: What Data Can and Cannot Tell Us About Modern India” by Rukmini S; “Midnight’s Borders: A People’s History of Modern India” by Suchitra Vijayan; and “Born a Muslim: Some Truths about Islam in India” by Ghazala Wahab.
• The winner was selected by a six-member jury panel chaired by political scientist Niraja Gopal Jayal.
• On the winning entry, the jury said, “This is the definitive history of the Chipko movement by a scholar who has practically lived it. It is fitting that a book that tells the story of a movement through the eyes of the local communities, especially women, should be as readable as this one is.”
• “Translated from Hindi by Manisha Chaudhry, Shekhar Pathak’s book is a salutary reminder of the transformative, and not just an important work of history but one that speaks to the contemporary moment and its twin crises of ecology and democracy,” it added.
• In India, modern environmentalism was inaugurated by the Chipko Movement, which began in 1973. Because it was led by Gandhians, included women participants, occurred in “spiritual” Himalayan regions, and used innovatively non-violent techniques of protest, it attracted international attention.
• Chipko’s historians have hitherto focused on its two major leaders, Chandi Prasad Bhatt and Sunderlal Bahuguna. The voices of “subalterns” – ordinary men and women such as Gaura Devi who made Chipko what it was – have not been recorded.
• Pathak has lived in their valleys, studied the landscapes, talked to protesters and communities, and trawled local newspapers of the time. He shows that in leadership and ideology, Chipko was diverse and never a singular Gandhian movement.The Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize recognises and celebrates excellence in non-fiction writings on modern or contemporary India by writers from all nationalities. It carries a cash award of Rs 15 lakh, a trophy and a citation.

• In a major boost to further strengthening the Coast Guard Region East, 840 Sqn (CG), an Indian Coast Guard Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Mk-III squadron, was commissioned by DG Shri VS Pathania at ICG Air Station, Chennai on November 30, 2022.
• The commissioning of 840 Sqn (CG) is indicative of the leap towards self-reliance in the field of helicopter manufacturing, in line with the government’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. It will provide a major fillip to the abilities of the Indian Coast Guard in the security sensitive waters off Tamil Nadu and Andhra region.
• The ALH Mk-III helicopters, indigenously manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), features state-of-the-art equipment including advanced RADAR as well as Electro optical sensors, Shakti engines, full glass cockpit, high-intensity search light, advanced communication systems, automatic identification system as well as search-and-rescue homer.
• This feature enables the helicopter to undertake maritime reconnaissance as well as carry out search and rescue at extended ranges while operating from ships, both by day and night.
• The aircraft has the ability to switch roles from an offensive platform with a heavy machine gun to that of a benign one carrying a Medical Intensive Care Unit to facilitate the transfer of critically ill patients.
• A total of 16 ALH Mk-III aircraft have been inducted into the Indian Coast Guard in a phased manner and four of these aircraft are positioned in Chennai. Since induction, the squadron has flown over 430 hours and conducted numerous operational missions.

• India’s manufacturing PMI expands at a robust pace in November; Employment rises solidly for the ninth month in a row.
• A stronger upturn in factory orders helped drive India’s manufacturing industry’s headline Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) higher in November, according to a private agency survey.
• The S&P Global India Manufacturing PMI highlighted a seventeenth successive expansion in manufacturing production across India, as companies responded to ongoing increases in new work intakes. As per the report, the upturn in output was sharp,  above trend, and the strongest since August.
• Posting PMI at 55.7 in November, up from 55.3 in October, the seasonally adjusted PMI signalled the strongest improvement in operating conditions for three months.
• The headline figure was also above its long-run average of 53.7.  The indices vary between 0 and 100, with a reading above 50 indicating an overall increase compared to the previous month, and below 50 an overall decrease.
• The index is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 manufacturers.
• The S&P agency said firms were confident that demand would remain strong in the coming 12 months. As a result, they foresee growth of production volumes, and Sentiment improved to its highest level in close to eight years. Companies readjusted operating capacities in line with a pick-up in sales.
• Employment rose solidly, and for the ninth month in a row. The PMI is a weighted average of the five indices, namely New Orders (30%), Output (25%), Employment (20%), Suppliers’ Delivery Times (15%), and Stocks of Purchases (10%). According to survey participants, demand strength and successful marketing efforts boosted overall sales.
• November data highlighted a seventeenth successive expansion in manufacturing production across India, as companies responded to ongoing increases in new work intakes.

• National Single Window System (NSWS) has facilitated over 44 thousand approvals since launch. Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a release that over 28 thousand applications are under process.
• National Single Window System currently accepts applications for 248 G2B clearances from 26 Central Ministries and Departments.
• The portal is rapidly gaining traction amongst the investors community. It was soft launched to all stakeholders and the public on the 22nd of September last year.
• NSWS was created by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, DPIIT as per the budget announcement of creation of an Investment Clearance Cell.
• It provides a single platform to enable the identification and obtaining of approvals and clearances needed by investors, entrepreneurs, and businesses in India.

• Two films from Northeast India – one about rhino conservation in Assam and the other on water scarcity in one of the world’s wettest places Cherrapunji – have won prizes at ‘tve Global Sustainability Film Awards (GSFA) 2022’.
• The tve GSFA, now in its 11th year, recognises outstanding films from the business, non-profit, media and creative sectors that inspire audiences with real-world solutions for a more sustainable future.
• While the film from Assam, ‘Bad Blood’, by Vice Media won in the Greener Living Short Film Award category, the special tve Trustee Choice Award was given to ‘Water for Life’ by Green Hub.
• On the film ‘Bad Blood’, the jury said: “The theme of a poacher-turned-gamekeeper is an evergreen theme. But this riveting film by Vice News, narrating the personal guilt of a reformed rhino killer, was special; not least because such films come from Africa, but this was from the Indian border in Assam.”
• The other winning films were: Transforming Society category: ‘Road to Fulfillment’ (UAE); Documentary Impact: ‘Eating Our Way to Extinction’ (UK); Young Filmmaker: ‘Changing Paradigms’ (Henry Smith, Australia); Digital Technology and AI for Sustainable Living: ‘Age of Change: Circulor’ (UK).
• The award ceremony was held here at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall on Tuesday night.
• According to Nick Nuttall, chair of the jury, “The films we judged and awarded were undoubtedly inspiring but also told fascinating stories that reflect both the threats, and importantly the solutions, to climate change and the loss of animal and plant life up to how to build sustainable livelihoods.”
• The films not only demonstrated creativity and quality but the fact that the answers to these multiple emergencies are emerging everywhere if only we choose to deploy them at scale, said Nick, who is also a director and presenter of digital broadcaster ‘We Don’t Have Time’.
• During the tve GSFA ceremony, the founder of the awards and president of tve Surina Narula said, “I am delighted that we have two winning films from India this year. The quality of the films participating in these awards is a matter of great satisfaction as this indicates the success we have had in getting more organisations and individuals to actively engage in the conversation on global sustainability over the last eleven years.”
• tve is a UK-registered charity founded by the United Nations Environment Programme, WWF-UK, and Central Television (now part of ITV) in 1984. Its mission is to use the power of storytelling to drive real world change for a more sustainable future.

• The government has launched DigiYatra which will provide a seamless entry and embarkation process for air passengers at the airports in the National Capital, Bangalore and Varanasi.
• After launching DigiYatra, which is based on facial recognition technology, at the airport in Delhi, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said data shared by the passengers will be stored in an encrypted format and in a decentralised manner.
• DigiYatra will be launched at four more airports—Hyderabad, Pune, Vijayawada and Kolkata—by March next year.
• The airlines that operate in these three airports—Delhi, Bangalore and Varanasi—are fundamentally on board, he said with respect to DigiYatra.
• It will be available for passengers taking domestic flights.
• DigiYatra app is available on Android and ioS platforms. Currently at the Delhi airport, DigiYatra will be available for passengers taking domestic flights from Terminal 3 (T3).
• Amid concerns in certain quarters about data theft and privacy issues, Scindia said the data shared for DigiYatra will be stored in an encrypted format in a decentralised manner.
• “First, we thought of a centralised system that would house all the data but then issues of privacy, data theft, rightfully came up. So, we moved to a decentralised system which would house the passenger information.. on the mobile phones of every single passenger,” the minister said.
• The secured, encrypted information on a passenger’s phone can be provided to the airport from which he or she is flying out, 24 hours before the journey.
• “We have moved to a decentralised system and your data is going to be in an encrypted format and it is going to be residing only in your (passenger) mobile phone… 24 hours after your travel, that data is mandatorily going to be purged from the servers at that airport. The data you upload gets completely wiped out in 24 hours even though it is protected by blockchain technology,” the minister said.
• For availing the service, a passenger has to register their details on DigiYatra app using Aadhaar-based validation and a self image capture. In the next step, the boarding pass has to be scanned and the credentials are shared with the airport.
• At the airport e-gate, the passenger has to first scan the bar coded boarding pass and the facial recognition system installed at the e-gate will validate the passenger’s identity and travel document. Once this process is done, the passenger can enter the airport through the e-gate.

• Facing threat of drones from across the Himalayas, the Indian Army has trained kites and dogs who work as a team to prey on enemy drones. The use of two trained animals was demonstrated during the ongoing exercise “Yudh Abhyas” between India and the US. The Army created a situation to test a trained kite and a dog. The dog used its sensory skills to identify the location of a drone and, subsequently, the kite was launched to bring it down.
• Though multiple automated drone-kill options are being tried out, the kite-dog combination has the capability to tackle the menace of drones coming from across the border into Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
• Several cases have been reported where drones coming from Pakistani side have dropped consignments of drugs, guns and money in J&K and Punjab.
• The 18th edition of the India-US joint training exercise “Yudh Abhyas” commenced at Auli, Uttarakhand, two weeks ago. The scope of the exercise involves exchanges and practices on a wide spectrum of combat skills, including combat engineering and employment of counter-UAV techniques.
• The scope of the field training exercise includes validation of integrated battle groups, force multipliers, establishment and functioning of surveillance grids, validation of operational logistics, mountain warfare skills, casualty evacuation and combat medical aid in adverse terrain and climatic conditions.
• The exercise is conducted annually between India and US with the aim of exchanging best practices, tactics, techniques and procedures between the armies of the two nations. The previous edition of the exercise was conducted at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska, US, in October 2021.
• US Army soldiers of 2nd Brigade of the 11th Airborne Division and Indian Army soldiers from the Assam Regiment are participating in the exercise.

• In terms of sheer numbers and value, most electoral bonds sold since the introduction of the scheme five years ago have been in Mumbai, followed by Kolkata and Hyderabad, with the highest amount being enchased in Delhi, an analysis of the data acquired using the right to information act has revealed. A total of over ₹10,700 crore worth of electoral bonds have been sold so far to political parties.
• Mumbai accounted for 25.4% of the total electoral bonds sold by value at over ₹2742 crore. In the city, bonds worth ₹194.1 crore were encashed, which makes the city the sixth-highest in this respect.
• Kolkata accounted for the second-highest numbers of bonds sold, with a total value of ₹2,387 crore. In terms bonds encashed, the city stood third with ₹1,022 crore worth bonds encashed.
• Hyderabad, with bonds sold worth ₹1,885 crore, accounted for 17.47%, or the third-highest sales by value. The city stood second in terms of bonds encashed, with a total value of a little over ₹1,384 crore.
• Delhi had the fourth-highest amount of electoral bond sales by value, at ₹1,519 crore were. But the Capital was where close to two-thirds, by value, of bonds were encashed: this came to be ₹6,748 crore, or nearly 63% of all bonds encashed.
• This happens as electoral bonds are sold in a different part of the country and enchased in different part of the country,” Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd), who filed the RTI application said. “Delhi is the headquarter, so mostly the bonds sold elsewhere are enchased here.”
• A similar trend is seen in terms of the number (not value) of electoral bonds that have been sold in the last five years. A total of 19,520 bonds have sold so far. In Kolkata, this number was 5,788, which includes bonds worth lower than ₹1 crore value. In Mumbai, 3,870 bonds were sold, followed by Hyderabad with 2,800.
• The number of bonds of ₹1 crore denomination, the highest value for a single bond, followed the same trend as the total sales by value: Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad were the top three, with 2,643, 2,152 and 1,815 of these sold respectively.
• In Gangtok, Ranchi and Srinagar, not a single electoral has been sold, even though they have authorized sale branches, the analysis adds.
• The ₹1 crore denomination accounted for 93.6% of the total bonds sold, followed by the ₹10 lakh bond (6% by value).
• The electoral bond scheme, first floated in 2017 and implemented in 2018, has since met with criticism for lacking transparency. Those opposed to it have also asserted that a large chunk of the donations has gone to the BJP, the ruling party. In 2019-20, the BJP received over 75% of the electoral bonds, according to the Election Commission data. The critics have also argued that since the bonds are sold through a government-owned bank there is a possibility that the party in power can find out who is funding their political rivals.
• Sold four times a year (in January, April, July and October) for 10 days as notified by the government; electoral bonds allow political parties to accept money from donors whose identities are kept anonymous. They are sold in multiples of ₹1,000, ₹10,000, ₹1 lakh, ₹10 lakh, and ₹1 crore.
• SBI is the sole authorised bank to sell and redeem the bonds. Customers of other banks can also purchase the bonds via different payment channels provided to them. However, a political party can only redeem the bond from one of the 29 authorized branches of the bank.
• A political party must also have at least 1% vote share in most recent general elections or assembly elections to receive donations via electoral bonds.
• A petition seeking a stay on the sale of the bonds is pending before the Supreme Court. The court is scheduled to hear the matter on December 6.
• Batra added much “ink has been spilled on opaque political funding through ‘Electoral Bonds’ that is affecting the conduct of ‘Free and Fair’ electoral process, thus weakening our democracy”. “The irony’ of ‘EB scheme’ is that while donors who buy ‘Electoral Bonds’ are not required to pay any service charges (commission) to SBI and even printing cost of EBs, it is the Government or ultimately, the Tax-Payers that bear this Cost – for enabling Transactions of ‘Anonymous Tax-Free Funding’ to Political Parties thru Opaque ‘Electoral Bonds Scheme 2018’,” he said.

• The SJVN has become an ISO 31000:2018 company with the successful implementation of the Risk Management System.
• “The SJVN is the first Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) to achieve this distinction from National Productivity Council after comprehensive audit as per ISO standards.
• Risk Management System of the company is well integrated with its business processes in corporate office as well as the projects,” said SJVN chairman Nand Lal Sharma.