In India, there are 106 designated national parks, which often make headlines for various reasons. Additionally, the government manages various special-purpose parks for industrial, environmental conservation, and public use. Here is a brief overview of these parks and a look at the latest news and updates related to parks in the news for 2024, organized by month.
National Parks & Special Purpose Parks in News 2024
October-November 2024
- Oxygen Bird Park (Amrit Mahotsav Park) has been inaugurated in Nagpur, Maharashtra, developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
- The Red Panda Conservation Breeding and Augmentation Programme of Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling, has been shortlisted for the 2024 WAZA Conservation & Environmental Sustainability Awards. The Red Panda is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List.
- Kaziranga National Park has gained recognition as India’s second-largest butterfly diversity hub, with 446 butterfly species.
- The Indian Army has inaugurated its first memorial, “Satark Park”, to honor Military Intelligence personnel who lost their lives in service, located in Pune.
National Parks in News 2024
August – September 2024
🔶 Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI), Darjeeling has recently undertaken a Divyangjan expedition from Kanchenjunga National Park to Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, the highest peak in Africa.
🔶 A four-ringed butterfly was recently rediscovered in Namdapha National Park, located in Arunachal Pradesh.
🔶 The Chhattisgarh government has decided to declare a new tiger reserve covering the areas of Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary. After the addition of this tiger reserve, there will be four tiger reserves in Chhattisgarh.
🔶 The government of Australia has recently refused to renew a mining lease for the Jabiluka uranium deposit beneath Kakadu National Park.
🔶 Gongronema Sasidharanii, a new species of plant, was recently discovered in Pampadum Shola National Park, which is located in Kerala.
January to July 2024
🔶 Recently, scientists have found “giant” viruses that are about 1.5 billion years old in Yellowstone National Park, located in the United States.
🔶 A rare hemi-parasitic terrestrial plant named Phtheirospermum lushaiorum has been found in Phawngpui National Park, located in Mizoram.
🔶 The annual waterhole census of Great Indian Bustard has been conducted in Desert National Park, Jaisalmer, and 64 Great Indian Bustards were recorded within the park’s boundaries.
🔶 Jai Dhar Gupta and Vijay Dhasmana have created India’s first biosphere called Rajaji Raghati Biosphere (RRB) in Rajaji National Park.
🔶 Assam’s wildlife officials have recorded the striped caecilian (Ichthyophis spp) for the first time in Kaziranga National Park during a rapid herpetofauna survey.
🔶 South India’s first and country’s largest leopard safari was recently inaugurated at Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP).
🔶 North Eastern Handicrafts & Handlooms Development Corporation Limited (NEHHDC) announces setting up an ERI silk spinning plant at Integrated Textile Park, Mushalpur, Baksa (Assam) with a Project cost of ₹14.92 crore.
🔶 Pench Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra is recognized as India’s first Dark Sky Park.
🔶 Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in West Bengal holds the world’s most significant number of snow leopards in captivity (14 in total with seven males and seven females).
🔶 A rare Golden Tiger was spotted in Kaziranga National Park, Assam.
🔶 National Highways Authority of India proposes constructing a 6-lane elevated highway through Bannerghatta National Park in Karnataka.
🔶 PM Narendra Modi visited Kaziranga National Park in Assam, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
🔶 The first photographic evidence of ‘Mainland Serow’ was recently recorded from Raimona National Park in Assam.
🔶 Namibian cheetah “Aasha” births three cubs at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
✅ Read Also: Museum in News, Top One-liners, Latest Current Affairs: Month-wise List
Special Purpose Parks in News 2024
September 2024
- Partnership Announcement: The government of the United States of America (USA) is partnering with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras Research Park (IITMRP).Focus Areas:
Solar Energy: Collaborative efforts to enhance solar power technologies.
Green Hydrogen: Research and development in sustainable hydrogen production.
Electric Vehicles: Innovations and advancements in electric vehicle technology.
Batteries: Development of efficient battery systems for energy storage.
Green Buildings: Initiatives to promote sustainable architecture and construction practices.
August 2024
🔶 Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam virtually inaugurated the Army Software Park at Nha Trang, Vietnam.
🔶 T&T Group (Uttar Pradesh) and Ramky Group (Hyderabad, Telangana) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding cooperation in the establishment of a pharmaceutical industrial park.
🔶 IG Drones has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IIT Bhubaneswar to establish an Advanced Drone Excellence Centre at the IIT Bhubaneswar Research and Entrepreneurship Park.
🔶The first semiconductor park in Uttar Pradesh will be established at Greater Noida.
January to July 2024
🔶 The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to set up a bioplastic park with an investment of Rs 2,000 crore in Lakhimpur Kheri.
🔶 Recently, the Indian Army and Punit Balan Group have collaborated to inaugurate India’s first Constitution Park in Pune.
🔶 Reliance Industries is set to begin construction on India’s first Multimodal Logistics Park at Mappedu near Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
🔶 Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) plans to develop India’s first and biggest jewelry park in Navi Mumbai.
🔶 Larsen & Toubro awarded the contract for an 1800 MWac Solar Photovoltaic Plant at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in the United Arab Emirates.
🔶 PM Narendra Modi lays the foundation stone of PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Park in Navsari, Gujarat.
🔶 Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) launches its 24th Center of Entrepreneurship (CoE), named “FinGlobe,” at STPI-Gandhinagar, GIFT City, Gujarat.
National Parks in News 2023 [January to December]
- Recently, Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur, Tamil Nadu has received a pair of Himalayan black bears from the Jambu Zoo, which is in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Chhattisgarh HC has dismissed a plea that aimed to designate Bhoramdeo Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS) as a tiger reserve. BWS shares its boundary with Kanha National Park.
- Two new spider species (Godawan and Maldhok) found in the conservation sites of the Rajasthan Desert National Park and Solapur have been named in honour of the Great Indian Bustard.
- Recently, Sonali Ghosh has been designated as the first woman field director of the Kaziranga National Park.
- Recently, it was announced that African cheetahs will be relocated from Kuno National Park (KNP) to the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. The relocation of African cheetahs is a part of the Indian government’s Project Cheetah, which aims to reintroduce the cheetah to India after it became extinct in the country in the 1950s.
- News has emerged that the lion and leopard populations in Zambia’s Kafue National Park (KNP) are experiencing a significant increase.
- Australia’s federal environment minister has signed off on plans to almost triple the size (larger than Germany) of the marine park off Macquarie Island.
- Recently, Snow Leopard’s presence has been confirmed in Kishtwar National Park, Jammu and Kashmir.
- The foundation stone for the “Little India” gateway, set to be constructed in Harris Park, Sydney, Australia, was recently laid by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
- Eravikulam National Park, home to the endangered Nilgiri tahr, has added a new attraction: a fernarium. This is the first fern collection to be established at Munnar’s hill station.
- President Droupadi Murmu has inaugurated the Gaj Utsav 2023 at the Kaziranga National Park, Assam.
- Recently, plastic has been completely banned in Van Vihar National Park, Madhya Pradesh. This is to protect the park’s wildlife and environment from the harmful effects of plastic pollution.
- A tiger was recently sighted at Kalesar National Park in Haryana, for the first time since 1913. The sighting is a major boost for conservation efforts in the park, which is home to a variety of other wildlife, including leopards, sloth bears, and nilgai.
- Recently, Yellowstone National Park in the USA celebrated its 151st anniversary.
- The Elephant Whisperers, filmed inside Mudumalai National Park, recently won the Best Documentary Short Film award at the 95th Academy Awards 2023 (Oscars).
- Chitwan National Park, recently seen in the news, is located in Nepal.
- Recently, a tiger and tigress were reintroduced in the Madhav National Park (MNP). The park is located in Madhya Pradesh.
- Recently, Rajasthan has proposed to construct a zoo inside Keoladeo National Park (Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary)
- Twelve Cheetahs have been brought from South Africa and will be released in the Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh.
- Recently, a bird survey was conducted at the Silent Valley National Park, located in Kerala.
- Recently, a rare orange-colored bat (‘Kerivoula picta’) has been spotted in the Kanger Valley National Park Park, located in Chhattisgarh.
- Tamil Nadu has announced to set up of a turtle conservation and rehabilitation center at Guindy National Park.
- India has signed an agreement with South Africa to translocate 12 cheetahs to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
Special Purpose Parks in News 2023 [January to December]
- Recently, it was informed that Adani Green Energy is setting up the world’s largest green energy park “Khavda Renewable Energy Park” in Gujarat.
- Recently, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling has received two Siberian tigers, named Lara and Akamas, from Pefos Zoo. Pefos Zoo is in Cyprus.
- The first Multi Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) in Maharashtra, under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, will be developed in the Wardha district.
- Recently, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) approved the transfer of cheetahs, lions, chimpanzees, lemurs, and other animals and birds from Dubai Safari Park, UAE to Nandankanan Zoological Park in Odisha.
- Recently, the world’s first global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit 2023 was held at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire in southern England.
- Recently, the Uttar Pradesh government has partnered with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as knowledge partners for developing Bulk Drugs Park, which will be developed in Lalitpur district.
- Recently, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden has become Asia’s largest park, with 1.5 million flowers. It is in Srinagar.
- Gujarat has signed a MoU with the Union Ministry of Textiles to set up a PM MITRA textile park in Navsari district.
- Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde has inaugurated the PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel Park (PM MITRA Park) in Amravati.
- Australia’s federal environment minister has signed off on plans to almost triple the size (larger than Germany) of the marine park off Macquarie Island.
- Uttar Pradesh government has announced to set up a PM Mitra Mega Textile Park in Malihabad tehsil in Lucknow.
- Paytm Payment Services Limited has signed an MoU with Arunachal Pradesh Innovation and Investment Park to create a startup ecosystem for the youth.
- Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of Andhra Pradesh has inaugurated the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Vizag Tech Park in Visakhapatnam. The project, with an estimated cost of ₹ 21,844 crore, will be developed by the Adani Group.
- The Uttar Pradesh government is envisioning Ayodhya as a prominent global tourism destination. To achieve this, they have proposed the development of a captivating theme park called ‘Ramaland,’ inspired by the concept of Disneyland.
- India’s first International Multimodal Logistics Park is being developed in Jogighopa, Assam.
- The Uttar Pradesh government has approved the establishment of the state’s first Pharma Park in Lalitpur. The park will be set up on 1,500 hectares of land in Saidpur, Lalitpur. The government has allocated a budget of Rs 1,560 crore for the development of the park.
- Madhya Pradesh has recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Central government to establish the PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Park in the Dhar district.
- The foundation stone for the “Little India” gateway, set to be constructed in Harris Park, Sydney, Australia, was recently laid by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
- The Uttar Pradesh government has signed a MoU with the Union Ministry of Textiles for setting up a textile park under the PM -MITRA scheme in Lucknow and Hardoi.
- The government of West Bengal has notified Char Balidanga (Nadia), Namthing Pokhari (Darjeeling), Amkhoi Wood Fossil Park (Birbhum), and State Horticulture Research and Development Station (Nadia) as the four latest biodiversity heritage parks.
- The Government of India has recently announced the locations for establishing 7 PM MITRA Parks, which are part of the PM MITRA scheme for the textile industry.
- India’s first PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Park will be established in Virudhunagar of Tamil Nadu.
- Amit Shah inaugurated the first phase of “Shiv Srishti”, a theme park based on the life of Shivaji Maharaj, in Pune, Maharashtra.
- Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has laid the Foundation Stone of the world’s largest and unique Divyang Park – Anubhuti Inclusive Park in Nagpur.
- Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi inaugurated Jhurey/Bal Gangadhar Tilak Eco Park of Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL) in Madhya Pradesh to promote ecotourism that showcases sustainable mining activities.
- The president of India Droupadi Murmu inaugurated Samvidhan Udyan (Constitution Park) at Raj Bhavan, Jaipur.
- Amit Shah inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 21 development projects worth about Rs 1,311 crore at Moirang, Manipur including Manipur Olympian Park at Sangaithel.
