India’s First-ever "Night Sky Sanctuary" to be Set up in Ladakh

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Night Sky Sanctuary- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 3: Science and Technology- Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Recently, the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt of India, has undertaken to set up India’s first-ever “Night Sky Sanctuary” in Ladakh which will be completed within next three months.

About: Night Sky Sanctuary is a unique and first-of-its-kind initiative by the Indian government which will boost Astro tourism in India.
Participants: A tripartite MoU was signed recently among the the UT administration, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) for launching the Dark Space Reserve.
Location: The proposed Dark Sky Reserve will be located at Hanle in Ladakh as a part of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary.
Significance: India’s First-ever “Night Sky Sanctuary” will have activities to help in boosting local tourism and economy through interventions of Science and Technology.
- India’s First-ever “Night Sky Sanctuary” will be one of the world’s highest-located sites for optical, infra-red, and gamma-ray telescopes.

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Ladakh has a very rich and wide variety of animals for leather research and industry and to promote the bio-economy of animal skin-derived products.
Recently, CSIR also organized 4 training workshops, two each at Leh and Kargil for the treatment of diseases of famous Pashmina Goats.
- Charthang in Ladakh has over 4 lakh animals mainly pashmina goats, besides Sheep and Yak.
Next year, Department of Science and Technology will establish a distinct and huge pavilion for Ladakh Education Fair, which will be an annual feature.
- DST will actively participate in correct subject choice, scholarships, career guidance, skills development and apprenticeship with prime focus of employability of youth.
CSIR is also promoting “Leh Berry” which is an exclusive food product of the cold desert and also a means of wide-ranging entrepreneurship as well as self-livelihood.
- Recently, Ladakh Administration took a decision to start the commercial plantation of “Leh Berry”, which is gaining popularity in the entire region.