About India’s First Dark Sky Park

• The Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Maharashtra is India's first Dark Sky Park within a tiger reserve for earmarking areas around the park that restrict light pollution for stargazers to access pristine dark skies.
• Dark Sky Place certification focuses on lighting policy, dark sky-friendly retrofits, outreach and education, and monitoring the night sky.
• This designation positions PTR as a sanctuary where tourists can witness celestial spectacles, shielded from the intrusion of artificial light pollution.
• PTR became the fifth such park in Asia. 
• The certification was given by the International Dark-Sky Association, a global dark-sky movement to promote astronomy.

Key Facts about Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR)

• Location: The Reserve is located in the southern reaches of the Satpura hills in the Seoni and Chhindwara districts in Madhya Pradesh and continues in Nagpur district in Maharashtra as a separate Sanctuary. 
• It is named after the Pench River, which flows from north to south through the Reserve.
• It comprises the Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park, the Pench Mowgli Sanctuary, and a buffer.
• The area of the Pench Tiger Reserve and the surrounding area is the real story area of Rudyard Kipling's famous "The Jungle Book". 
• Terrain: It is undulating, with most of the area covered by small hills and steep slopes on the sides. 
• Vegetation: The undulating topography supports a mosaic of vegetation ranging from a moist sheltered valley to an open, dry deciduous forest.
• Flora: The reserve boasts a diverse range of flora, including teak, saag, mahua, and various grasses and shrubs.
• Fauna:
  • The area is especially famous for large herds of Chital, Sambar, Nilgai, Gaur (Indian Bison), and wild boar.
  • The key predator is the tiger, followed by leopard, wild dogs, and wolf.
  • There are over 325 species of resident and migratory birds, including the Malabar Pied Hornbill, Indian Pitta, Osprey, Grey-Headed Fishing Eagle, White-Eyed Buzzard, etc.

Q1) What is a Tiger Reserve?

A protected area statutorily designated for the conservation of the striped big cats is referred to as Tiger Reserve. However, a tiger reserve may also be a national park or wildlife sanctuary.

Source: Maharashtra Pench Tiger Reserve becomes India's first Dark Sky Park. All you need to know

About Chittorgarh Fort

• Built by local Maurya rulers in the 7th century A.D., the Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan is one of the largest forts in India. 
• The common belief is that Chitrangada Mori, the local Maurya ruler, developed the fort originally. Later, the fort was captured by the Mewar rulers in 728 CE. 
• It used to be the capital of the Mewar rulers.
• It is situated on a 180-meter-high hill that rises from the banks of river Berach.
• The Fort has been witness to several legendary warriors in Indian history, including Badal, Gora, Maharana Pratap, Rana Kumbha, Patta, and Jaimal, among others.
• It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.
• Features:
  • The fort is known for its seven gates, namely Padan Gate, Ganesh Gate, Hanuman Gate, Bhairon Gate, Jodla Gate, Lakshman Gate, and the main gate, which is named after Lord Ram.
  • These gates were built to protect the fort from the enemy attacks, and the arches even protect the elephants from entering.
  • Sprawling across 700 acres and a circumference of 13 km, the fort has a kilometre-long road that takes up to the rampart after passing through the seven gates.
  • The walls are made of lime mortar and rise up to 500 metres above ground level.
  • The fort houses four palaces, 19 temples, including Jain and Hindu temples, 20 water bodies, and four memorials.
• Jauhar Mela:
  • Every year, a Jauhar Mela is held in Chittorgarh.
  • This Rajput festival celebrates the anniversary of one of the jauhars.
  • Though there’s no specific name given, it is believed that the fair commemorates Rani Padmini’s jauhar and celebrates Rajputana valour.

What is Jauhar?

• Jauhar was a Hindu tradition practiced by Rajput women who wanted to avoid falling into the hands of the enemy.
• Instead of consuming poison, they preferred to burn in flames, as fire symbolised purity.
• It is said that the practice was performed only during wars. The women did this to avoid being enslaved and raped by the invaders.

Q1) What is a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

A World Heritage Site (WHS) is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by UNESCO under the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. These sites are designated by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, scientific or other forms of significance.

Source: Supreme Court Issues Directions For Protection Of Chittorgarh Fort, Prohibits Blasting Activities Within 5 Kms Radius

About LiDAR

• Lidar, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth. 
• These light pulses—combined with other data recorded by the airborne system — generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.
• A lidar instrument principally consists of a laser, a scanner, and a specialized GPS receiver. 
• Airplanes and helicopters are the most commonly used platforms for acquiring lidar data over broad areas.
• How Does it Work?
  • A LiDAR system calculates how long it takes for beams of light to hit an object or surface and reflect back to the laser scanner.
  • The distance is then calculated using the velocity of light. These are known as ‘Time of Flight’ measurements. 
• Two types of lidar are topographic and bathymetric.
  • Topographic lidar typically uses a near-infrared laser to map the land, while bathymetric lidar uses water-penetrating green light to also measure seafloor and riverbed elevations.
• Lidar systems allow scientists and mapping professionals to examine both natural and man-made environments with accuracy, precision, and flexibility. 
• It is used in a wide range of land management and planning efforts, including hazard assessment (including lava flows, landslides, tsunamis, and floods), forestry, agriculture, geologic mapping, and watershed and river surveys.
• What is the difference between Radar and LiDAR?
  • LiDAR works in a similar way to Radar and Sonar yet uses light waves from a laser, instead of radio or sound waves.

Q1) What is a Radar?

The word radar comes from the acronym radio detection and ranging. As the name implies, radars use radio waves to determine the distance and velocity of the targets they hit. A radar system usually consists of a transmitter to send out radio signals and a receiver to catch any reflected energy from targets.

Source: 3,000-Year-Old City Hidden In Amazon Rainforest Discovered

About Saqqara

• It is part of the necropolis (burial place) of the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis.
• It is located on the western bank of the Nile, 40 kilometers south of Cairo, the capital of Egypt.
• Saqqara’s name derives from the name of the burial god Sokar.
• It was an active burial ground for more than 3500 years and is Egypt’s largest archaeological site. 
• It is where the transition from the use of the mastaba (ancient Egyptian tombs, in the form of a massive brick or stone mound with battered walls on a rectangular base) as a burial site to the pyramid design that is more popularly known today took place.
• Sakkara is best known for the Step Pyramid, the oldest of Egypt's 97 pyramids.
  • It was built in 2700 BC for King Djoser (Zoser) of the 3rd Dynasty by the architect and genius Imhotep, who was the first to build stone tombs in honor of the king's majesty.
  • Today, it is considered one of the oldest stone structures built by man, and it was the first time the Ancient Egyptians would attempt to use limestone. 
  • Zoserís Pyramid is entirely built of limestone, small bricks of limestone, and not of the best quality, and yet it has remained for more than 4700 years.

Q1) Who was Imhotep?

Imhotep was an Egyptian polymath (a person expert in many areas of learning) best known as the architect of King Djoser's Step Pyramid at Saqqara. Although his Step Pyramid is considered his greatest achievement, he was also remembered for his medical treatises which regarded disease and injury as naturally occurring instead of punishments sent by gods or inflicted by spirits or curses.

Source: Ancient Egyptian mummy masks, tombs and 'god of silence' statue discovered at Saqqara

About PM-eBus Sewa Scheme

• Under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme, 10,000 e-buses will be deployed across cities in the country.
• The scheme was introduced to give a push to the slow adoption of e-buses in public transport.
• Support for Operation:
  • Under this scheme, city bus operations will be done on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
  • This scheme will support bus operations for 10 years.
  • States/Cities shall be responsible for running the bus services and making payments to the bus operators.
  • The Central Government will support these bus operations by providing subsidies to the extent specified in the proposed scheme.
• Funding:
  • It has been allocated a total funding of Rs 57,613 crore.
  • Out of this financial provision, the central government will contribute Rs 20,000 crore, while the remaining portion will be covered by the state governments.
• Coverage: It will cover cities with a population of 300,000 and above and will include all the capital cities of the ‘Union Territories, North Eastern Region, and Hill States’.
• There are two segments of the scheme: Augmenting the city bus services and Associated Infrastructure, and Green Urban Mobility initiatives.
  • Augmenting the city bus services and Associated Infrastructure: Under this segment, the scheme will augment city electric bus operations by extending Central Assistance (CA) for 10,000 electric bus operation on Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, bus depots and behind-the-meter power infrastructure.
  • Green Urban Mobility Initiatives (GUMI): Under this segment, the scheme will support the implementation of GUMI projects for complementing bus services and demonstrating a reduction in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in urban areas.
• The segment will include support for implementing the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC)-based Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS), bus priority infrastructure, etc.

Q1) What is the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC)?

This one card will give integrated access to the commuters wherever they travel, whichever public transport they take. The idea of NCMC was floated by the Nandan Nilekani committee set up by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). NCMC is an automatic fare collection system. It will turn smartphones into an inter-operable transport card that commuters can use eventually to pay for Metro, bus and suburban railways services.

Source: Tenders for e-buses floated under PM-eBus Sewa: Union Urban Affairs Minister

About Lentil

• It is a valuable human food, mostly consumed as dry seeds.
• In India, it’s mostly consumed as ‘Dal’ by removal of outer skin and separation of cotyledons.
• Lentil is also called Masur and Malka (bold seeded).
• Climatic condition
  • Lentil requires a cold climate.
  • It is very hardy and can tolerate frost and severe winter to a great extent.
  • It requires cold temperature during its vegetative growth and warm temperature at the time of maturity.
  • Temperature: The optimum temperature for growth is 18-300 C. Its range of cultivation extends to an altitude of 3,500 m in north-west hills.
  • Soil: Well drained, loam soils with neutral reaction are best for lentil cultivation. Acidic soils are not fit for growing lentil. 
• It is widely cultivated throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa.
• The Lentil growing states in India are Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, etc
• It is easy to cook and easily digestible with high biological value. Dry leaves, stems, empty and broken pods are used as valuable cattle feed.
• According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the world's top lentil growers in 2022 were Canada, India, Australia, Turkey and Russia.
• Despite being the second largest producer of lentil, India has so far been importing mainly from Australia, Canada, Russia, Singapore, and Turkey.
• During the current year, it also imported some quantities of lentil from UAE, USA, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Q1) What is the Food and Agriculture Organization?

It is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.

Source: India’s lentil production set to touch all-time high: Govt

About Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)

• It has been conceived as a 30-metre diameter primary-mirror optical and infrared telescope that will enable observations into deep space.
• It is proposed as a joint collaboration involving institutions in the U.S., Japan, China, Canada, and India.
• It will be the world’s most advanced and capable ground-based optical, near-infrared, and mid-infrared observatory.
• It will integrate the latest innovations in precision control, segmented mirror design, and adaptive optics.
• At the heart of the telescope is the segmented mirror, made up of 492 individual segments. Precisely aligned, these segments will work as a single reflective surface of 30m diameter.
• Location: Mauna Kea, an inactive volcano on the island of Hawai’i in the United States.

Indian contribution

• India expects to be a major contributor to the project and will provide;
  • hardware (segment support assemblies, actuators, edge sensors, segment polishing, and segment coating), instrumentation (first light instruments),
  • software (observatory software and telescope control systems) worth $200 million
• The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIAP) is leading the consortium of Indian institutions that are involved with the TMT project.
• India TMT will be jointly funded by the Departments of Science and Technology and Atomic Energy.

Q1) What is an Infrared telescope?

It is an instrument designed to detect and resolve infrared radiation from sources outside Earth’s atmosphere such as nebulae, young stars, and gas and dust in other galaxies.

Source: Science Ministry team visits Hawaii to take stock of international telescope project

About Conjoined Silverline butterfly

• The butterfly species -- Conjoined Silverline (Cigaritis conjuncta) found from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India. 
• Features
  • The new butterfly is the size of a one rupee coin but is invaluable to conservationists.
  • It is endemic to mid-elevation evergreen forests of the Western Ghats.
  • It has fused spots and bands on the underside of wings, and shiny silver lines in the centre of those bands.
  • The two sites where they have been located are at an elevation of 900 meters (Iruppu Falls) and 1,300 meters (Honey Valley).
• India houses more than 1,400 species of butterflies, but very few new ones have been discovered in the last few decades.

Key points about the Bramhagiri Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is situated on the southern side in Kodagu district of Karnataka.
• It is named after the highest peak of the sanctuary called Brahmagiri Hill.
• River: River Laxman Tirtha, a very important tributary of river Cauvery originates in it.
• Vegetation: It is covered with semi evergreen to wet evergreen forests with high altitude grassland shoal forests.
• Flora: Rosewood, Nandi, Mathi, Honne, Sura Honne, White Cedar, Red Cedar and Saldhupa etc.
• Fauna: Tiger, Elephants, and Indian Gaur are the big mammals commonly found here.

Q1) Where are Western Ghats located?

It is also called Sahyadri, a north–south-running range of mountains in western India. It forms the crest of the western edge of the Deccan plateau parallel to the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghat is a biodiversity hotspot, a biologically rich but threatened region and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Source: New butterfly species in Kodagu sanctuary

About Himalayan Wolf

• The Himalayan Wolf (Canis lupus chanco), a prominent lupine predator found across the Himalayas.
• It is also called Tibetan wolves, which live at more than 4,000 metres altitudes and are genetically distinct from grey wolves.
• Living at such high altitudes, these wolves have genetically adapted themselves to live in low oxygen (hypoxic) conditions. 
• Distribution:
  • In China, the Himalayan wolf lives on the Tibetan Plateau in the provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Tibet, and western Sichuan.
  • In northern India, it occurs in the Union Territory of Ladakh and in the Lahaul and Spiti region in northeastern Himachal Pradesh.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN: Vulnerable
  • CITES: Appendix I
  • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
• Threats: It is illegally hunted for trade in its fur and body parts including paws, tongues, heads, and other parts. 
• Measures to be taken to enhance the protection of Himalayan wolves
  • Securing and restoring healthy wild prey populations and landscapes and setting aside wildlife habitat refuges;
  • Improving livestock guarding methods, such as predator-proof corral pens and using sustainable livestock herding practices, including reduced livestock loads, adapted herding, and developing novel but tradition-based holistic management practices
  • Management of feral dog populations
  • Trans-boundary efforts in conservation of the species in range countries through research and monitoring.

Q1) What is IUCN?

The International Union for Conservation of Nature is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It was founded in 1948.

Source: The first-ever IUCN assessment of the Himalayan Wolf is out. And it is grim