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The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change recently congratulated the people of India and nature lovers on the completion of 18 years of tiger reintroduction in Sariska Tiger Reserve.

About Sariska Tiger Reserve

Sariska Tiger Reserve is located in Alwar district of Rajasthan and forms part of the Aravalli Range. It falls within the Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion and covers an area of about 881 sq. km.

The area was once the hunting ground of the Maharaja of Alwar. It was declared a natural reserve in 1955, a national park in 1979, and became a Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger in 1979.

Tiger Reintroduction

Sariska faced a major conservation crisis when it lost all its tigers to poaching in 2005. Tigers were subsequently reintroduced from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, marking a significant conservation intervention.

In 2008, Sariska achieved the distinction of becoming the world’s first tiger reserve to successfully relocate tigers as part of a tiger reintroduction programme. The initiative demonstrated the potential of scientifically managed wildlife translocation for restoring tiger populations in suitable habitats.

Landscape and Vegetation

Sariska has a rocky and hilly landscape characterised by scrub-thorn forests, grasslands, cliffs and semi-deciduous vegetation. Its vegetation mainly corresponds to Northern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests and Northern Tropical Thorn Forests.

The dominant Dhok tree is characteristic of the reserve. Other important species include salar, kadaya, gol, ber, banyan, gugal, bamboo, kair and adusta.

Fauna

Apart from tigers, Sariska supports leopards, sambar, chital, nilgai, four-horned antelope and wild boar. The reserve also supports diverse birdlife, including peafowl, grey partridge, sandgrouse and crested serpent eagle.

Sariska is particularly known for its large population of peafowl.

Other Important Features

The reserve contains several important historical and cultural sites, including Pandu Pol, Bhangarh Fort, Ajabgarh and Pratapgarh, along with water bodies such as Siliserh Lake and Jai Samand Lake.

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The Union Home and Cooperation Minister recently launched the PM Family Care Tracker (PM-FCT) as a pilot project in Gujarat to strengthen maternal and child health, nutrition and family welfare through digital monitoring.

About PM-FCT

PM-FCT is a family-centric digital platform designed to digitally monitor the development and welfare of children from pregnancy up to 18 years of age. It aims to ensure that pregnant women, mothers and children receive eligible government benefits and essential services on time.

Key Features

The platform provides end-to-end monitoring of important milestones such as antenatal and postnatal care, immunisation, nutrition, growth monitoring, school enrolment and attendance, and adolescent health services.

It provides digital Health Passports for individuals and families, along with dashboards for monitoring the delivery of welfare schemes. Automated alerts are generated when essential services are missed, such as a child missing a vaccination or dropping out of school.

Convergence of Government Services

Unlike separate databases maintained for individual schemes, PM-FCT follows a single family-based approach, allowing authorities to monitor the health and welfare status of family members through one interface. It seeks to integrate information from birth and death registration systems, health, nutrition and education databases, thereby improving inter-departmental convergence.

Expected Benefits

The platform is expected to enable early and timely intervention, reduce maternal and infant mortality, address malnutrition, improve immunisation and school attendance, and reduce gaps in welfare-service delivery.

Pilot and Expansion

The pilot is initially being implemented in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. If successful, it is proposed to be expanded across Gujarat and subsequently replicated in other states.

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The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare recently launched the Unified Health Interface (UHI) under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

About UHI

Unified Health Interface (UHI) is an interoperable digital health network designed to provide citizens with wider and easier access to verified healthcare providers and services without requiring dependence on a single application or platform. It functions as the service layer of ABDM.

How UHI Works

UHI operates through open protocols using a common ABDM Gateway, which is developed and maintained by the National Health Authority (NHA). When a citizen searches for a healthcare service through a UHI-enabled application, the request is routed through the Gateway to registered healthcare providers.

The entire process, from discovering a provider and booking a service to receiving healthcare, follows a common digital language, allowing different applications and providers to interact seamlessly.

Digital Infrastructure

UHI uses ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) as the patient identifier. The Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR) and Health Facility Registry (HFR) are used to verify doctors and healthcare facilities, while the Health Information Exchange enables consent-based sharing of health information.

Key Objectives

Interoperability: UHI allows patients and healthcare providers to use different UHI-enabled platforms, reducing dependence on a single digital application.

Fair Discoverability: Every verified healthcare provider, irrespective of its size, location or digital platform, gets an opportunity to be discovered by patients.

Verification: Participation is limited to verified doctors and healthcare facilities registered through ABDM's HPR and HFR, strengthening trust and reliability.

Open Digital Architecture: UHI is based on open protocols and specifications, enabling developers to build healthcare applications across different languages, devices and platforms.

Significance

UHI can promote a more open, inclusive and interoperable digital healthcare ecosystem in India by reducing information asymmetry, improving access to healthcare services and expanding patient choice. It represents the broader ABDM approach of using open digital public infrastructure to make healthcare more accessible and citizen-centri

The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare recently launched the Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram (SSBSK), a unified programme focused on providing comprehensive home- and community-based care to children during the crucial first three years of life.

About SSBSK

SSBSK provides a seamless continuum of care for every child from birth to 36 months. It integrates the existing Home-Based Newborn Care (HBNC) and Home-Based Care for Young Child (HBYC) programmes into a single framework, reflecting the vision of comprehensive care during early childhood.

Risk-Stratified Approach

The programme adopts a risk-stratified approach under which children requiring greater attention receive more intensive follow-up. Newborns and children considered “at-risk” because of factors such as low birth weight, prematurity or delayed initiation of breastfeeding receive additional home-based care.

At-risk newborns can receive up to nine home visits during the first 42 days of life, while at-risk children can receive up to eight home visits up to 36 months of age.

Community-Based Care

SSBSK introduces Well-Baby Sessions during every Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Day (VHSND) and a monthly Shishu Shivir at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. These platforms enable early identification of health and developmental concerns and facilitate timely intervention.

Maternal Mental Health

The programme integrates post-partum maternal mental health screening into community-based care. ASHAs will undertake early screening and facilitate referral for further assessment and support wherever required.

Early Childhood Development

SSBSK mainstreams Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development (ECD) by promoting responsive caregiving, early learning and age-appropriate play. This recognises that early childhood development depends not only on physical health but also on cognitive, emotional and social development.

Digital and Technology Integration

The programme envisages extensive use of digital technologies for child-wise tracking, referrals, alerts and continuity of care. Decision-Support Systems (DSS) will strengthen monitoring and follow-up of at-risk children.

These systems will be integrated with platforms such as the JANANI Portal, U-WIN Portal, MPCDSR Portal, RBSK 2.0 Portal and POSHAN Tracker, enabling seamless data exchange through ABHA and Baal-ABHA IDs.

Urban and Vulnerable Communities

SSBSK also provides tailored strategies for urban areas, particularly for children living in slums, migrant settlements and other underserved communities, helping extend home-based healthcare to populations that may face barriers in accessing institutional services.

Significance

SSBSK represents a shift from fragmented child-health interventions towards an integrated continuum of care from birth to three years. By combining healthcare, nutrition, maternal mental health, early childhood development, community outreach and digital tracking, the programme aims to improve child survival, healthy development and early intervention, particularly among at-risk and underserved children.

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Following the successful collaboration on the K9 Vajra-T self-propelled howitzer, India and South Korea are set to deepen their defence cooperation.

About K9 Vajra-T

The K9 Vajra-T is a 155 mm, 52-calibre tracked self-propelled howitzer developed for the Indian Army. It is an Indian adaptation of South Korea’s K9 Thunder and is manufactured in India by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) through technology transfer from South Korean defence company Hanwha Defense.

The system has been customised for operations across deserts, plains and high-altitude areas, making it suitable for India’s diverse operational environments.

Key Features

The K9 Vajra-T is protected by all-welded steel armour up to 19 mm thick and is powered by an MTU MT 881 Ka-500 diesel engine producing around 1,000 horsepower.

Its primary weapon is a 155 mm/52-calibre gun capable of firing high-explosive, smoke and guided projectiles. It can engage targets at a range of around 50 km, depending on the ammunition used.

The system can fire three rounds in 15 seconds in burst mode and sustain a firing rate of approximately 6–8 rounds per minute for three minutes. Its tracked configuration also allows it to perform a zero-radius turn, enabling it to turn almost on the spot.

MRSI Capability

The K9 Vajra-T incorporates a digital fire-control system that enables Multiple Round Simultaneous Impact (MRSI). This allows several rounds fired at different trajectories and timings to arrive at the target area almost simultaneously, increasing the effectiveness of artillery strikes.

Significance

The K9 Vajra-T strengthens the Indian Army’s long-range precision artillery capability while also supporting Atmanirbhar Bharat through domestic manufacturing and technology transfer. It is an important example of India–South Korea defence-industrial cooperation and the localisation of advanced defence systems for Indian operational requirements

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During his visit to Seychelles, the Prime Minister met and fed Jonathan, an Aldabra giant tortoise estimated to be around 194 years old. Guinness World Records recognises Jonathan as the world’s oldest living land animal.

About Aldabra Giant Tortoise

The Aldabra giant tortoise is the second-largest species of land tortoise in the world after the Galápagos giant tortoise. Its scientific name is Geochelone gigantea.

Habitat and Distribution

The species is endemic to the Aldabra Atoll of Seychelles, located in the western Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar. It occupies diverse habitats, including scrub forests, mangrove swamps, coastal dunes and beaches.

Large populations occur on grasslands known as “platins.” Their intensive grazing creates a distinctive grassland ecosystem called “tortoise turf.”

Key Features

Aldabra giant tortoises can grow to over 120 cm and weigh more than 250 kg. Males are larger than females and possess longer and thicker tails.

They have a highly domed, thick carapace, a relatively small head and long necks that help them reach vegetation. Their legs are short and robust, often covered with bony scales.

Longevity

The species is among the longest-living vertebrates. Many individuals live for more than 100 years, while some are believed to survive beyond 150 years.

Conservation Status

The Aldabra giant tortoise is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List.