Author name: OnlineAge

NAHARLAGUN : A two-day capacity building programme aimed at strengthening financial management of cooperative institutions in Arunachal Pradesh concluded at Naharlagun on Tuesday. The programme was jointly organised by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Office of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies and Arunachal Pradesh State Cooperative Apex Bank Ltd. (APSCAB). The training programme was conducted for officers and staff of APSCAB and 34 Large-Sized Adivasi Multipurpose Cooperative Societies (LAMPS) to enhance their capabilities in understanding and analysing financial statements and improving financial governance. The programme was inaugurated by ICAI Cooperation and NPO Committee chairman Pankaj Shah in the presence of NABARD General Manager and Officer-in-Charge S V Ranga Rao, Arunachal Pradesh Registrar of Cooperative Societies Jummar Bam and APSCAB Managing Director Bittu Kri. More than 60 participants attended the programme on both days. Addressing the participants, Pankaj Shah highlighted the activities and initiatives of ICAI and appreciated the role played by cooperative institutions in rural development. “Cooperative institutions in Arunachal Pradesh have a crucial role in extending credit for agriculture and rural development. ICAI will continue to provide knowledge-based support to cooperatives in the state,” Shah said. Explaining the objectives of the programme, S V Ranga Rao urged APSCAB and LAMPS to effectively utilise the training for strengthening their accounting and financial management systems and for proper implementation of computerisation initiatives. Bittu Kri appreciated the initiative taken by NABARD and ICAI in supporting capacity-building interventions for cooperative institutions in the state. Jummar Bam underscored the role of cooperatives in achieving the goals of the ‘Sahakar Se Samriddhi’ and ‘Viksit Bharat’ initiatives. In his address on the opening day, Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies Michi Gambo highlighted the responsibility of cooperatives in implementing various initiatives of the Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India. Chartered Accountant Sunil Nagaonkar conducted technical sessions on financial management for effective governance of cooperative societies, interpretation of financial statements, banking and credit operations, and digital transformation in cooperatives.      

ITANAGAR, Scientists studying the Khangri glacier in Tawang district have observed rapid melting, formation of unstable terrain and the emergence of a potentially dangerous glacial lake that could pose a flood threat to downstream areas in the Mago Chu basin, an official said on Monday. The findings were made during the fifth Khangri glacier expedition conducted by the Centre for Earth Sciences and Himalayan Studies (CESHS) here, in collaboration with the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research and the North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology, he said. The scientific expedition began on May 4 in the transboundary Mago Chu basin, a key headwaters region of the Brahmaputra Basin system, with an aim of carrying out glacier health assessments, cryosphere monitoring, and climate hazard studies in the eastern Himalayas. CESHS director Tage Tana said the expedition team observed “alarming geomorphological changes in the Khangri glacier” during ground studies, indicating the growing impact of climate variability in the high-altitude Himalayan region. Among the major observations was the development of a large glacier sinking zone where the glacier snout is rapidly collapsing, creating unstable terrain conditions. Scientists warned that such instability could increase landscape hazards and downstream vulnerability in the Mago Chu basin. The team also identified a newly formed proglacial lake at an altitude of around 16,500 feet. According to the scientists, the lake has the potential to trigger a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), which could impact downstream communities and river systems, including transboundary regions. Despite comparatively good snowfall during the winter season this year, researchers found that glacier melting continues at a critical pace due to rising temperatures and persistent climate variability across the eastern Himalayas, Tana said. To strengthen long-term glacier monitoring, the team installed five new scientific monitoring stakes at elevations of nearly 17,000 feet using an ice-core drilling system integrated with Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) technology. These installations will help monitor glacier mass balance and surface movement in the coming years. The expedition team also retrieved important data from the existing automatic weather station (AWS) and automatic water level recorder. Maintenance and calibration of the systems were also carried out to ensure uninterrupted environmental monitoring in the high-altitude region, the official said. In addition, moraine sediments and glacier meltwater samples were collected from the glacier snout for geochemical analysis. Tana said the successful completion of the expedition has strengthened long-term cryosphere monitoring efforts in the eastern Himalayas and will provide important scientific inputs on glacier dynamics, water security, and climate-related hazards in the region. (Source: PTI)