• 22 Nov 2025

Vistadome Jungle Safari at Dudhwa National Park

Why in News?

The Vistadome jungle safari train on the Mailani–Bichia route has seen a sharp rise in tourist footfall, boosting eco-tourism in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.

Key Points

• About Vistadome Railways:
  • The Vistadome safari started in May 2024, operating on the 107-km Mailani–Bichia narrow-gauge route.
  • Coaches have large glass windows, transparent roofs, and 360° viewing, offering immersive views of forests, wetlands, and wildlife.
  • The UP Eco-Tourism Board is using the train for weekly educational nature tours for students.
    
• About Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR):
  • It is situated in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh and comprises Dudhwa National Park, Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary, and Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary.
  • It represents the classic Terai-Bhabar ecosystem, marked by rich sal forests, tall elephant grasses, wetlands, and marshes, making it one of India’s most productive wildlife habitats.
  • It hosts a high density of tigers, along with Asian elephants, one of the last surviving populations of swamp deer (barasingha), sarus cranes, gharials, and Gangetic dolphins.
  • It also forms part of the India–Nepal transboundary conservation landscape, serving as a crucial corridor for tiger and elephant movement between the two countries.

Bhamashah Policy

Why in News?

The Rajasthan government has approved the Bhamashah Policy 2025, aimed at improving school infrastructure through philanthropic and corporate donations.

Key Points

• About the Policy:
  • The policy encourages individual donors, NRIs, corporate entities, trusts, and alumni groups to contribute towards strengthening government school infrastructure.
  • Contributions can support facilities such as classrooms, laboratories, libraries, smart classes, sports areas, drinking water units, boundary walls, and overall campus improvement.
  • Donors will receive official recognition, including plaques, certificates, and digital acknowledgement through a state portal. 
  • The Education Department will ensure timely execution, transparency, and monitoring of donor-funded projects.
• About Bhamashah:
  • Bhamashah (1547–1600) was a noted treasurer, general, and philanthropist in the court of Mewar’s Maharana Pratap.
  • He is celebrated for donating his entire wealth to support Maharana Pratap’s struggle against Mughal rule.
  • His legacy symbolizes selfless public service and community-driven support, often invoked in Rajasthan’s governance and welfare initiatives.

Vishanu Sankraman Pratirodh Abhyas

Why in News?

A large-scale multi-sector mock exercise titled Vishanu Sankraman Pratirodh Abhyas was conducted in Khandwa District, Madhya Pradesh from 2nd to 5th November, 2025 to assess India’s preparedness for zoonotic disease outbreaks.

Key Points

• About the Drill:
  • The simulation focused on a Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) outbreak in humans and livestock, testing real-time investigation, pathogen detection, containment, and inter-agency coordination.
  • Major stakeholders included the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL), Bhopal, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), among others.
  • The drill strengthens India’s One Health approach, emphasising the linkages between human health, animal health, and ecosystem health, and enhances integrated disease-control and pandemic-preparedness capacity.
• About Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF):
  
  • Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is a viral zoonotic disease caused by the Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV), a Nairovirus of the Bunyaviridae family. 
    • It spreads mainly through Hyalomma ticks, contact with infected livestock (sheep, goats, cattle), or exposure to blood/tissue of infected humans.
  • CCHF is endemic across Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and South Asia, with sporadic outbreaks in India, especially in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Outbreaks are often linked to livestock movement and seasonal tick activity.
  • After an incubation period of 1–13 days, severe cases show high fever, headache, myalgia, liver involvement, and haemorrhagic symptoms. With a case fatality rate of 10–40%, it is among the most dangerous viral haemorrhagic fevers requiring strict infection-control protocols.
  • There is no approved human vaccine. Treatment relies on early detection, supportive care, and barrier nursing, while ribavirin is sometimes used though with variable evidence of benefit.

Birhor Families Get Homes Under Abua Awas Yojana

Why in News?

Eight Birhor families in Chatra district, Jharkhand have received permanent houses under the Abua Awas Yojana, marking an important step toward improving housing security for marginalised tribal communities.

Key Points

• About Abua Awas Yojana:
  • It is Jharkhand’s state-run housing scheme providing free, permanent pucca houses (three rooms, kitchen and bathroom) to homeless and left-out families.
  • The scheme covers households that have not previously received benefits under PM-Awas or other housing programmes.
  • Priority beneficiaries include SC/ST families, PVTGs, single women, and economically vulnerable rural households.
    
• About Birhor Community:
  • Birhor is one of Jharkhand’s Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), traditionally dependent on forest-based livelihoods such as rope-making and minor forest produce.
  • The community faces high levels of poverty, low literacy, and limited access to formal housing and welfare schemes.

Soapstone Mining in Bageshwar

Why in News?

The Supreme Court has allowed legally permitted mining operations to resume in Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand, observing that the High Court cannot impose a blanket ban on all mining activities when valid leases and environmental clearances exist.

• The Uttarakhand High Court in February 2025, had imposed bans across districts citing environmental harm.

Key Points

• Mining in Bageshwar:
  • Soapstone mining is a major economic activity in Bageshwar, generating employment for hundreds of locals and supporting regional talc processing units.
  • Soapstone (talc) mining is concentrated in areas such as Kanda, Kapkot and Vijaypur, which host some of Uttarakhand’s richest talc deposits.
  • Over the last 5 years, around 18 lakh tonnes of soapstone have been extracted from Bageshwar’s mines, according to official records.
  • Over-mining has led to land degradation, slope destabilisation and increased landslide risk. Riverbeds and village roads have suffered due to heavy truck movement.
    
• Soapstone:
  • Soapstone is a soft metamorphic rock made of talc with varying amounts of chlorite, dolomite, and magnesite. .
  • It is used in ceramics, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, paper, food processing, paints and electrical insulators.
  • Major producing states include Rajasthan (largest), Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu.
  • Uttarakhand’s deposits lie mainly in Bageshwar, Pithoragarh and Almora districts.

Yamuna Belt Drinking Water Project

Why in News?

The Agra Municipal Corporation has begun the implementation of the Yamuna Belt Drinking Water Project, which will supply clean, treated drinking water across several water-scarce localities in Agra.

Key Points

• About the Project:
  • The project aims to provide continuous access to potable water to households in areas chronically affected by shortage, including Kheria Mod, Sadar Bhatti, Nunhai, and parts of Trans-Yamuna Agra.
  • Water will be sourced from the Keetham Lake (Sur Sarovar) canal system, treated at a new water treatment facility, and then supplied through an upgraded distribution network.
  • The scheme involves laying new pipelines, repairing old ones, setting up overhead tanks, and ensuring last-mile connectivity for households lacking individual water connections.
• About Keetham Lake:
  • Keetham Lake, also known as Sur Sarovar, is a man-made lake on the Agra–Delhi NH-2 corridor, created as a reservoir for the Agra Canal.
  • It is part of the Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, notified under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and is a Ramsar Site.