Question raised in Lok Sabha on Tiger Reserves, 15/12/2017. As per the assessment of the Status of Tigers, Co-predators and Prey, 2014 using the refined methodology, the tiger number has shown 30% increase countrywide with an estimated number of 2226 (range 1945-2491) as compared to 2010 estimation of 1706 (range 1520-1909 tigers). The country level tiger estimation using the refined methodology is done once in four years. The details of tiger estimation pertaining to tiger landscapes in the country for the years 2010 and 2014 are at Annexure-I.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on States Affected by Air Pollution, 15/12/2017. The Government has notified National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) which lays the norms for air pollutants in the Country. The NAAQS have been developed taking into account global standards. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) monitors the ambient air quality at 691 monitoring stations located in 303 cities/towns covering 29 states

Question raised in Relocation of People from Protected Areas, 15/12/2017. The scheme for rehabilitation of people from Protected Ares is going on successfully in the country. Details of villages relocated outside the Wildlife Sanctuaries/Tiger Reserves so far are given in the Annexure.

Question raised in Cases of Milk Adulteration, 15/12/2017. As per information received from the States/UTs by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regarding cases of milk adulteration registered in the Country and action taken against the defaulters during last three years i.e. 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17 are at Annexure-I, Annexure-II and Annexure-III respectively.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Air Quality, 15/12/2017. Central Pollution Control Board is monitoring ambient air quality in 691 locations covering 303 cities/towns in 29 States and 6 Union Territories across the country
under National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP). Out of 303 cities, PM2.5 is being monitored in 79 cities and 31 cities exceeded the PM2.5of 40 μg/m3. The list of these cities is given in Annexure.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Air pollution, 15/12/2017. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is monitoring ambient air quality in 691 locations covering 303 cities/towns in 29 States and 6 Union Territories across the country under National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP). As per the data, the number of cities where monitored values are exceeding National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) during 2016 is 21 for NO2, 195 for PM10 and 31 for PM2.5. The ambient air quality data for 2016 is given in Annexure – I.

More than 8,000 cases of human trafficking were reported in India in 2016, while 23,000 victims, including 182 foreigners, were rescued during the year, according to National Crime Records Bureau data. Last year, a total of 8,132 cases were reported from across the country compared to the 6,877 cases in 2015. Of the total 15,379 victims in these cases, 58 % were below the age of 18 years, according to the latest NCRB statistics on crime released for 2016. West Bengal topped the list in reported cases of human trafficking at 3,579, accounting for 44 % of total cases in the country.

Provisional Coal Statistics 2016-17 is the latest Statistical Report on Coal in India based on the data received from various Indian coal companies. As the data provided here are based on pre-audited reports of the companies for the year 2016-17, the coal statistics has been termed as provisional. However, to provide a glimpse of the variation between the provisional statistics and the final one, present below the corresponding figures for last five years along with the provisional figures for 2016-17.

This new report published by the Union health ministry reveals that medicines are the biggest financial burden on Indian households. Of more than three lakh crore rupees that households spent on health in 2014-15, around 42% of the total out-of-pocket spending (OOP) went in buying medicines.

China is the world’s largest consumer of coal, but it also has more wind and solar generation capacity than any other country in the world. This is just one insight drawn from the new and updated edition of Key World Energy Statistics (KWES) released by the IEA. The new version of KWES still provides headline data on all fuels, and now also contains additional information highlighting the rapid growth of renewable technologies, for example that in four countries wind generation provided more than 10% of all electricity, with solar providing more than 5% in two countries.