Dugong conservation centre
The International Dugong Conservation Centre (IDCC) is proposed to be built at
Sarabendrarajanpattinam village, Pattukottai taluk, Thanjavur district.
The site is located within a No-Development Zone under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) guidelines.
The IDCC is to be established under the TN-SHORE (Tamil Nadu Sustainably Harnessing Ocean Resources and Blue Economy) initiative.
It aims to conserve the “endangered” Dugong species, a marine mammal also known as “sea cow” and its habitat in the Palk Bay.
Recognised by IUCN in 2025 as a pioneering step for marine biodiversity and community-led conservation.
About Dugong (Sea Cow)
Key Feature: Only marine herbivorous mammals that depend on seagrass.
Distribution: In India, apart from Palk Bay (highest), it is also found in Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kutch, etc.
Status:
IUCN Redlist status: Vulnerable
Listed in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
Tamil Nadu Global Start-up Summit (TNGSS) 2025
The Tamil Nadu Global Start-up Summit (TNGSS) 2025, a major milestone in India’s innovation landscape, was held in Coimbatore.
The summit highlighted Tamil Nadu’s transformation into a leading hub for entrepreneurship and
technology-driven innovation and demonstrated the state’s commitment to empowering start-ups and investors.
Tamil Nadu’s registered start-ups saw a dramatic increase from 2,032 in 2021 to over 12,000 in 2025 (one of the fastest growth rates nationally).
The summit was organized by the Tamil Nadu Start-up and Innovation Mission (StartupTN), a state agency under the Department of MSME, which provides funding, incubation, and mentorship.
The 2025 summit’s theme was “Disrupt to Rise,” promoting bold innovation, transformative ideas, and breaking conventional models.
The launch of the TNGSS app was a highlight, featuring AI-based matchmaking, event scheduling, and personalized networking tools.
Tamil Nadu aims to create one lakh direct jobs through start-ups by 2030 and reinforces the state’s vision to build a self-sustaining innovation ecosystem.
Coimbatore – Known as the “Manchester of South India”; a key hub for technology and
manufacturing start-ups.
Tamil Nadu ranks among the top five Indian states in start-up registrations under DPIIT.
Kurinji Bloom in Gudalur
The mass flowering of Kurinji after eight years in Tamil Nadu’s newly notified Gudalur Reserve
Forest in the Nilgiris signals biodiversity recovery and serves as an indicator of healthy grasslands and
changing climate conditions.
In Gudalur, the mass bloom is of another species of kurinji, Strobilanthes sessilis, which blooms once in eight years.
Both are grassland species but isolated to different altitudes: neelakurinji occurs in grasslands of altitude above 1,300 metres, and sessilis in the lower altitudes.
Over 60 species of Kurinji, including Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana), are endemic to the Western Ghats, with 33 varieties in the Nilgiris.
Kurinji species flower with different periodicities: annually (e.g., karinkurinji), four years, eight years, 10 years (over 20 species), and 12 years.
Kurinji flowers once in a lifetime, like bamboo, and dies after flowering, relying on seed germination for the next generation.
Color variations include purple, blue, white, and pink, with multiple shades for each.
The Tamil Nadu government has notified over 90 new forest areas in the last four-and-a-half years to increase green cover.
Neelakurinji:
It is a shrub native to the shola forests of the Western Ghats. It is found in abundance in the Kodaikanal region of Tamil Nadu.
The plant blooms once every 12 years and is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
The Nilgiris (“Blue Mountains”) get their name from its blue flowers.
Cultural Significance:
In local mythology, the Kurinji flower is associated with Lord Muruga.
Among the Muthuvas and Todas tribes, Kurinji symbolizes love and passion.
Ecological Significance
Kurinji blooms act as a natural indicator of climate and grassland health.
Mass flowering = sign of healthy grasslands.
Patchy flowering = result of ecological disturbance.
