India’s First Water Bodies Census
- The Ministry of Jal Shakti has released the report of India’s first water bodies census, a comprehensive data base of ponds, tanks, lakes, and reservoirs in the country.
- The census was conducted in 2018-19, and enumerated more than 2.4 million water bodies across all states and Union Territories.
- Water bodies are usually of various types known by different names like tank, reservoirs, ponds etc. Oceans and rivers related water bodies have been excluded.
The key features of the Census are as follows:
- 24,24,540 water bodies have been enumerated in the country, out of which 97.1% (23,55,055) are in rural areas and only 2.9% (69,485) are in urban areas.
- Top 05 States in terms of number of water bodies are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam which constitute around 63% of the total water bodies in the country.
- Top 05 States in terms of number of water bodies in urban areas are West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Tripura, whereas in rural areas, top 05 States are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam.
- 55.2% of water bodies are owned by private entities whereas 44.8% of water bodies are in the domain of public ownership.
India Handmade Portal
- Ministry of Textiles has developed this E-Commerce portal for handicrafts and handloom sector.
- Handloom refers to the process of weaving cloth using a manually operated loom, while handicrafts are items made by skilled artisans using traditional techniques.
- India handmade portal offers a wide range of products, including clothing, home decor, jewellery, accessories, and more.
- Portal will provide an opportunity to total 62 Lakh weavers and artisans become future e-entrepreneurs.
- It’ll provide products from more than 35 Lakh Handloom weavers & 27 Lakh Handicraft artisans directly to consumers while eliminating middlemen.
