The government of India has identified wildlife conservation as one of its key goals

India has a wide variety of flora and fauna and the government has identified conservation of wildlife as one of its key goals. None other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his commitment on many global platforms about promoting environmental and wildlife conservation. He has now assigned a target of conservation and protection of big cat species. This is after achieving the target of doubling the number of tigers ahead of time. The target also includes 50 cheetahs during the next five years. Already, the exercise of inducting eight cheetahs from Namibia is over. It is the first inter-continental large carnivore translocation project. With their arrival, India has become the only country where all five members of the big ‘cat species’ are now present. On the subject, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said – “Decades ago, the age-old link of biodiversity that was broken and became extinct, today we have a chance to reconnect it. Today the cheetah has returned to the soil of India.” Incidentally, the last cheetah in India was found dead in Chhattisgarh in 1947 and was officially declared extinct in 1952. India goes all out to increase wildlife species.

The authorities expect cheetahs to help restore the open forest and grassland ecosystem in India and the program will help in the conservation of biodiversity. Society would reap benefits like improvement of ecosystem processes in the form of water security, carbon absorption and soil moisture conservation. It could also increase livelihood opportunities for the local communities. This could be through eco-development and eco-tourism activities. The arrival of cheetahs has made India the only country that is home to all five members of the ‘big cat’ species – tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard and cheetah. The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 has notified animals like tigers, elephants, rhinoceros, lions, etc. as endangered species. They enjoy the highest degree of protection.

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This is bound to boost the Swachh Bhbarat campaign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The tribal community of Halba of Chhattisgarh have decided not to give their daughters in marriage to families that do not have toilets. The decision has been taken by 52 'gram' panchayats in Rajnandgaon district and it comprises 10,000 tribal community of Halba have pledged not to marry their daughters or keep any relationship with households that do not have toilets.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com.

The Halba community is spread across 110 villages across 52 'gram' panchayats. The campaign "agar sauchalaya nahi toh beti aur roti nahi denge" (No toilet; no daughter or bread) has been launched in the entire district to motivate people, predominantly tribals, to build toilets in their homes.
Incidentally, this district, happens to be the home constituency of chief minister Dr Raman Singh and it is expected to achieve 100 percent open defecation free status.
The district president of Halba Samaj in Rajnandgaon district has admitted that majority of the people from his community are illiterate and are not aware about the advantages of having a defection-free society. A total of 1700 families have supported this initiative.

Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 23 September 2015.

The textbook has been published by Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education and it mentions that the rate of unemployment after Independence has increased because women have started working in all sectors. A teacher in the Jashpur district has filed a petition in the state women's commission against the same.
The commission has agreed to take the matter up with Chief Minister Raman Singh.
Incidentally, such instances have been there in the past from other states as well. In 2014, West Bengal Class-8 textbooks labelled revolutionary freedom fighters like Khudiram Bose, Jatindranath Mukherjee and Prafulla Chaki as 'terrorists'. In 2013, the Maharashtra government had ordered the withdrawal of Class X geography textbooks that excluded Arunachal Pradesh from the map of India. And, in 2012, textbook in a CBSE school claimed that non-vegetarians lie, cheat and commit crimes.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given the call of Swatchh Bharat during his Independence Day speech last year and, while everyone is struggling to make the dream come true, a centenarian woman of Raipur has taken a lead for others to follow. She has sold off her goats and constructed a toilet.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 6 September 2015.

The corporate sector is still trying to build toilets in schools across the country and, a 102-year-old woman in a remote village in Chhattisgarh has beaten them to the punch.
She has set an example of sorts by selling off her goats for Rs 22,000 and use the money to build a toilet. And, she has made it her mission in life – she is seen moving door to door in Kotabharri village in Dhamtari district to motivate people to switch over from open-defecation. The village has a population of 450 residents and they have taken a pledge to construct toilets at their homes.
The local administration has agreed to provide subsidy to meet the tasks under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme and, it has already, been declared an open-defecation free village.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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The health camp of carrying out tubectomy operation had been organized by the government in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh in Pendari village of Bilaspur district.
The officials have denied any negligence, but villagers allege the surgeries were done hurriedly because all 83 women were operated upon within just six hours by the single doctor at the camp along with his assistant.
Bilaspur district health officer Dr RK Bhange has reportedly indicated that the actual cause of death would be known only after the post-mortem is done and the report is available.
The state government has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
It may be noted that such deaths during sterilization operations in India are not new. In January 2012, three men were arrested in Bihar for operating on 53 women in two hours. They had carried out operations in a field and without the use of any anesthesia.
Moreover, allegations are rife that women from poor families are often paid to be sterilized because it is to ensure reduction of the country’s population – it has been predicted that, unless checked, the country's population could overtake that of China by 2030.