MANMOHAN SINGH
- Dr. Manmohan Singh was born on 26th September 1932 in Gah, Punjab (Pakistan)
- He is an Indian economist and politician who served as the Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014
- He is the 14th Prime Minister of India.
- He went to Cambridge University for his second undergraduate degree in Economics.
- He earned his doctorate (DPhil) in Economics from Oxford University in 1962, with a thesis on India’s export competitiveness.
- His leadership focused on economic growth, social welfare, and fostering global partnerships
- He launched the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in 2006.
KEN BETWA RIVER LINKING PROJECT
- The Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP) aims to transfer water from the Ken River to the Betwa River, both tributaries of the Yamuna.
- The project aims to transfer excess water from the Ken River in Madhya Pradesh to the Betwa River
- The project was conceptualized in the 1980s, but the two states could not reach a water-sharing agreement.
- The project includes a 221 km canal with a 2 km tunnel.
- The project will benefit the Bundelkhand region, which spans 13 districts in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
- The project will result in large-scale deforestation in Panna National Park
- It also affects the Gharial population in the Ken Gharial Sanctuary and disrupts vulture nesting sites downstream.
- Ken-Betwa is one of the 30 river interlinking projects conceived nationwide.