About the Asian Elephant

• Scientific name: Elephas maximus (Indian elephant = Elephas maximus indicus).
• India holds the largest population of Asian elephants — over 60% of the total world population.
• National Heritage Animal of India (declared 2010); a keystone and umbrella species.

Conservation / Protection Status

• IUCN Red List: Endangered. CITES: Appendix I. Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I (highest protection).

Elephant Corridors — Key Facts

• An elephant corridor is a strip of land facilitating elephant movement between habitat patches — maintains contiguity, genetic connectivity, and reduces human-elephant conflict.
• The Elephant Corridors of India 2023 Report (MoEF&CC, August 2023) lists 150 corridors across 15 States — up from 88 in 2010 (~40% increase).
• West Bengal has the highest number of corridors — 26 (about 17% of all passages).

Project Elephant & Related Facts

• Project Elephant launched 1992 (Centrally Sponsored Scheme, Nodal Ministry: MoEF&CC); includes the MIKE Programme (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants) under CITES.
• India has 30+ Elephant Reserves; first was Singhbhum (Jharkhand). World Elephant Day: August 12.
• Major threats: habitat fragmentation, human-elephant conflict, electrocution (leading cause of unnatural deaths), poaching, and linear infrastructure.

News Context

• The Supreme Court, led by CJI Surya Kant, has sought responses from the Centre and AERB on a challenge to the SHANTI Act, 2025 — questioning whether liability limits can prevent courts from giving full compensation to accident victims.

About the SHANTI Act

• Full name: Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, 2025.
• It repealed the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act, 2010, creating a single, consolidated nuclear law.

Key Provisions

• Private sector entry: allows private companies and joint ventures to build and operate nuclear power plants with government approval.
• Stronger AERB: gives the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board statutory status and greater powers over nuclear safety.
• New liability rules: keeps no-fault operator liability, introduces a capacity-based liability cap, and removes direct supplier liability.