Kerala, Karnataka lead in reducing human casualties from elephant attacks: Report
Hubballi: Karnataka and Kerala, two states that collectively house around 40% of India’s wild elephant population, have made notable efforts in preventing human casualties from elephant attacks.
Over the past five years, Karnataka recorded 160 human deaths due to elephant attacks, while Kerala lost 102 lives. Both states together host a combined total of 11,755 wild elephants out of the 29,964 wild jumbos in India as per the 2017 Elephant census, as reported by Deccan Herald on Thursday.
When standardised, every 100 elephants killed 2.6 humans in Karnataka, while in Kerala, the figure was lower at 1.78 deaths. In stark contrast, the national average stands at 9.44 human fatalities per 100 elephants.
Experts suggested that combination of habitat consolidation and the use of modern technology has contributed to the comparatively low number of human deaths in these two states.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had stated that between 2019 and 2024, wild elephants killed 2,829 humans. During the same period, India lost 528 elephants due to unnatural reasons including electrocution, run over by trains, poisoning and others, the report added.
State-wise, Odisha, which has a population of 1,976 elephants, reported the highest human death toll—624 lives lost to elephant attacks. Other states with significant fatalities include Jharkhand (474 deaths from 679 elephants), West Bengal (436 deaths from 194 elephants), and Assam (383 deaths from 5,719 elephants).
Government documents, cited by DH, revealed that West Bengal has the highest mortality rate when adjusted for elephant population size. In West Bengal, every 100 elephants are responsible for 224.74 human deaths. Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra follow closely behind with rates of 122.67 and 133.33 fatalities per 100 elephants, respectively.
Raman Sukumar, the former chairman of the Karnataka Elephant Task Force, attributed the relatively lower human casualties in Karnataka and Kerala to well-managed habitats and connectivity. He noted that states like West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand are witnessing higher human fatalities due to habitat fragmentation, range expansion and dispersing of elephants to newer habitats.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
