About Jiadhal River

• It is a northern tributary of the Brahmaputra River.
• Course:
  • It originates in the sub-Himalayan mountains of Arunachal Pradesh at an altitude of 1247m.
  • After passing through a narrow gorge in Arunachal Pradesh, the river enters the plains of Assam in Dhemaji district, where it flows in braided channels.
  • The river finally debouches into the Brahmaputra near Selamukh in Lakhimpur district.
  • But after the construction of the embankment over the Kherkutiya Suti of the Brahmaputra, the river confluences with the Subansiri River.
  • The total length of the river is 187 km.
• Topographically, the upper partof the basin is hilly (Himalayan range), and the middle part onwards is a plain area.
• The total area of the catchment is 1053.20 sq.km., of which 696.80 sq.km., and 356.4 sq.km. come under Assam and Arunachal Pradesh respectively.
• The sub-basin of Jiadhal experiences heavy rainfall. It carries heavy silt load from its 1346 sq. km catchment area during the rainy season and deposits them on its bed in the plains, resulting in the considerable rise of its riverbed. 
• Jiadhal is known for frequent changingof its course and devastating floods.
• The Jiadhal River is a classic example of a flashy river and produces floods with a sudden, high dischargeover a short time interval (a few hours to a day) and with a high sediment load and debris.

Related Topics:

• Tons River
• Vaitarna River
• Ural River

Gomti River

Q1: Which are the main tributaries of Brahmaputra?

The principal tributaries of the river joining from right are the Lohit, the Dibang, the Subansiri, the Jiabharali, the Dhansiri, the Manas, the Torsa, the Sankosh and the Teesta whereas the Burhidihing, the Desang, the Dikhow, the Dhansiri and the Kopili joins it from left.

Source: How shifts in the rivers are threatening food security in Assam | Alarming Variations Ep-02

About Easementary Right

• The concept of easement has been defined under Section 4 of the Indian Easements Act, 1882.
• According to the provisions of Section 4, an easementary right is a right possessed by the owner or occupier of the land on some other land, not his own, the purpose of which is to provide the beneficial enjoyment of the land.
• This right is granted because, without the existence of this right an occupier or owner cannot fully enjoy his own property.
• It includes the right to do or continue to do something or to prevent or to continue to prevent something in connection with or in respect of some other land, which is not his own, for the enjoyment of his own land.
• The word ‘land’ refers to everything permanently attached to the earth, and the word ‘beneficial enjoyment’ denotes convenience, advantage or any amenity, or any necessity.
• The owner or occupier referred to in the provision is known as the Dominant Owner and the land for the benefit of which the easementary right exists is called Dominant Heritage.
• Whereas the owner upon whose land the liability is imposed is known as the Serviant Owner and the land on which such a liability is imposed to do or prevent something is known as the Servient Heritage.
• Eg: ‘P’, being the owner of certain land or house, has a right of way over Q’s house, adjacent to his house, to move out of the street. This is known as right of easement.

An easement is, in no way, a transfer of property. It could be made, altered, or released as well, and should always be in written form, except when it has been enjoyed for a very long time without restrictions. A written document helps either party to challenge it in a court of law.

Q1: Who is an Attorney?

Lawyer refers to someone who is educated and trained in law. Lawyers are people who have gone to law school and often may have taken and passed the bar exam. The term attorney is an abbreviated form of the formal title “attorney at law.” An attorney is someone who is not only trained and educated in law, but also practices it in court. A basic definition of an attorney is someone who acts as a practitioner in a court of law.

Source: Power Of Attorney Holder Can Only Depose About Facts Within His Personal Knowledge: Supreme Court

About Precautionary Principle

• It is an approach to policymaking that legitimizes the adoption of preventative measures to address potential risks to the public or environment associated with certain activities or policies.
• The principle says, “Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent such environmental degradation.”
• It enables decision-makers to adopt precautionary measures when scientific evidence about an environmental or human health hazard is uncertain and the stakes are high.
• This implies that protective action should be taken to prevent any possible harm, even if there is a chance that such harm will not occur–thus playing it safe. 
• It first emerged during the 1970s and has since been enshrined in a number of international treaties on the environment, including the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the national legislation of certain Member States.
• In 1987, it was incorporated into international law at the International Conference on the Protection of the North Sea.
• Since then, it has permeated most international environmental conventions. For example, entrenched by the 1992 Rio Declaration (Principle 15), it was written into the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and, retroactively, into the Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
• It was integrated into the criteria for the listing of endangered species by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in 1994, and the following year it was adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

It is a cornerstone of European Union (EU) environmental law and has been central in determining the EU’s position toward genetically modified organisms.

Q1: What is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)?

It is an international agreement between governments that aims to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. CITES was adopted in 1973 and entered into force in 1975. There are 184 member parties, and trade is regulated in more than 38,000 species.

Source: Decoding the judgment on Jim Corbett

About Operation Meghdoot

• It was the code-name for the Indian Armed Forces operation to capture the Siachen Glacier, a strategically crucial region dominating Northern Ladakh.
• Siachen has been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan ever since the Karachi Agreement of 1949, when the area was left undivided due to the hostile terrain and extremely rough weather.
• Operation Meghdoot was India’s bold military response to what New Delhi calls Pakistan’s “cartographic aggression” in the uncharted territory of Ladakh, north of map reference NJ9842, where New Delhi and Islamabad had agreed the Line of Control (LoC) ran up to.
• Intelligence inputs about impending Pakistani military action prompted India to secure strategic heights on Siachen, deploying troops via airlifts and air-dropping supplies to high-altitude airfields.
• The primary objective behind this operation was to pre-empt the seizure of Sia La and Bilafond La passes by the Pakistan Army.
• Launched on April 13, 1984, this military operation was unique as the first assault launched on the world's highest battlefield.
• It was launched under the leadership of Lieutenant General Manohar Lal Chibber, Lieutenant General PN Hoon, and Major General Shiv Sharma.
• It is distinguished by being one of the greatest examples of seamless coordination and synergy between the Indian Army and the Air Force.
• The military action resulted in Indian troops gaining control of the entire Siachen Glacier.
• Strategic Importance of the Siachen:
  • Located at a height of around 20,000 feet in the Karakoram Mountain range, the Siachen Glacier is known as the highest militarised zone around the world.
  • It is located so strategically that while it dominates Shaksgam Valley (ceded to China by Pakistan in 1963) in the north, controls the routes coming from Gilgit Baltistan to Leh from the west, and at the same time, it dominates the ancient Karakoram Pass in the eastern side too.
  • Further, towards the west, it observes nearly the entire of the Gilgit Baltistan, which too is an Indian territory illegally occupied by Pakistan in 1948.

Q1: What is a Glacier?

Glaciers are massive bodies of slowly moving ice. Glaciers form on land, and they are made up of fallen snow that gets compressed into ice over many centuries. They move slowly downward from the pull of gravity.

Source: Indian Army celebrates 40 years of 'Operation Meghdoot' on Siachen Glacier 

About Hubble Tension

• The "Hubble tension" refers to a discrepancy between the measurements of the rate of expansion of the universe, known as the Hubble constant.
• The Hubble constant, denoted as H0, describes the rate at which galaxies are moving away from each other due to the expansion of the universe.
• If a researcher wants to estimate the Hubble constant, they have two main avenues. These are the cosmic distance ladder and the cosmic microwave background (CMB).
• Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB):
  • CMB is a sea of photons, the particles of light, present throughout the universe. They are left over from the Big Bang, its afterglow.
  • Scientists have measured temperature changes in the CMB and studied its large-scale properties using complicated trigonometry.
  • Based on these studies, cosmologists have estimated space to be expanding at around 68 kilometres per second per megaparsec ((km/s)/Mpc). That is, an object one megaparsec (3.26 million lightyears) away is moving away at 68 km/s)/Mpc.
• Cosmic Distance Ladder:
  • It is a set of techniques used to measure the distance to objects that are close, further away, or very far away from the earth. One object in particular is the Cepheid variable star.
  • The Cepheid variables have a unique feature: their brightness varies in a predictable way over time.
  • Based on how bright a Cepheid variable is, scientists can estimate how far away it is. Using this, cosmologists have estimated based on various Cepheid variables (and other such objects) is 73 (km/s)/Mpc.
• Thus, these measurements have yielded slightly different values for the Hubble constant. This discrepancy is known as the Hubble tension.
• The significance of the Hubble tension is that it could potentially indicate unknown physics or systematic errors in the measurements.

Resolving the tension is crucial for refining our understanding of the universe's expansion and its underlying physics.

Q1: What is the Big Bang?

The big bang is how astronomers explain the way the universe began. It is the idea that the universe began as just a single point, then expanded and stretched to grow as large as it is right now—and it is still stretching.

Source: How fast is the universe expanding? New data keeps mystery open

About Qudsia Bagh

• It was built by Qudsia Begum (in 1748), the wife of Mughal Emperor Mohammad Shah Rangeela, who ruled in the early 18th century.
• Location: It is situated in North Delhi.
• Architecture style: It was built in the Persian char-bagh style.
• The only remains of the Bagh are its imposing western gateway, the Qudsia Mosque and a couple of pavilions in carved red sandstone.
• The Bagh had several entrances built with red sandstones, plastered with limestone. Stucco work is done on the walls. It had cusped arches with floral patterns above.
• This garden was one of the locations that played a role during the 1857 First War of Independence and was destroyed and damaged during the course of events.

Q1: What is a Charbagh Structure?

Charbagh or Chahar Bagh is a Persian and Islamic quadrilateral garden layout based on the four gardens of Paradise mentioned in the Qur’an.

Source: Qudsia Bagh: This morning walkers’ paradise was once a symbol of a queen’s ambition, a casualty to 1857 aftermath

About Exo-Atmospheric missiles

• These are also known as anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs).
  Features
  • These are surface-to-air missiles designed to counter incoming ballistic missiles.
  • They are designed to intercept and destroy any type of ballistic threat during the mid-course or terminal phase of their trajectory.
  • However, they are specifically designed to counter Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). The anti-ballistic missiles operate beyond the Earth's atmosphere.
  • The exo-atmospheric interceptors or anti-ballistic missiles are equipped with advanced technology including infrared sensors and radar systems so that they can detect and track incoming ballistic missiles and terminate them.
  • These missiles travel at a hypersonic speed advanced and sophisticated guidance missile systems to accurately manoeuvre and intercept targets travelling at very high speeds.
  • These missiles are guided by an inertial navigation system that is updated during flight using contour maps stored in the system's computerized memory.
  • The anti-ballistic missiles use a three-stage solid rocket booster to propel itself out of Earth's atmosphere at near-hypersonic speed. After reaching into space, the ABM activates its sophisticated sensors to identify and track the incoming target. They have an inbuilt rocket motor to navigate towards the target with exceptional accuracy.

Q1: What is a ballistic missile?

These are powered initially by a rocket or series of rockets in stages, but then follow an unpowered trajectory that arches upwards before descending to reach its intended target. Ballistic missiles can carry either nuclear or conventional warheads.

Source: Iran-Israel crisis: Tel Aviv claims air-defence system stopped ‘99% of missiles’. What is Exo-Atmospheric Interception?

About Pahariya Tribe

• The community name Paharia is “believed to have been derived from the word pahar meaning hills.
• They live mainly in the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal. There are also scattered groups of them in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha.
• They practise jhum or shifting cultivation which involves clearing land by burning vegetation for farming for a few years.
• In Jharkhand, there are two types of Pahariyas.
• Religious Practices

Q1: Who is a Tribe?

A tribe is a collection of families bearing a common name, speaking a common dialect, and occupying or professing to occupy a common territory. India is known as a Melting pot of tribes and races.

Source: Seeds of solace

About Shrinkflation

• It occurs when goods shrink in size but consumers pay the same price. It occurs when manufacturers downsize products to offset higher production costs but keep retail prices the same.
• It is basically a form of hidden inflation.
• Instead of increasing the price of a product, producers reduce the size of the product while maintaining the same price.
• The absolute price of the product doesn’t go up, but the price per unit of weight or volume has increased.
• Reasons: The reasons for shrinkflation are rising production costs and market competition.
• Impacts:
  • These are products sold quickly and at a relatively low cost. The FMCG industry is characterized by high-volume sales, quick inventory turnover, and various products catering to consumer needs.
  • These goods include essential everyday items such as food and beverages, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and other low-cost household items.

Q1: What Is Inflation?

Inflation is a measure of how quickly prices are increasing over time. In other words, inflation measures how quickly money loses its purchasing power.

Source: Shrinkflation makes its way back into FMCG

About Special Olympics Bharat

• It is a National Sports Federation registered under the Indian Trust Act 1882 in 2001 and is accredited by Special Olympics International to conduct Special Olympics Programs in India.
• It is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India as a National Sports Federation in the Priority Category, for development of Sports for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities.
• It is a designated Nodal Agency for all disabilities on account of its national presence and experience, especially in rural areas which account for nearly 75 per cent of the disabled population in India.
• It is a social inclusion movement using sports, health, and education and leadership programs to empower people with intellectual disabilities.
• It is a program to provide individuals with intellectual disabilities who are eight years of age or older with year-round sports training and athletic competition in more than 20 Olympic-type summer and winter sports.
• It was inaugurated in 1968 and was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee on February 15, 1988.
• Headquarters : Washington, D.C. USA

Q1: What is Intelligent Quotient?

It is a type of standard score that indicates how far above, or how far below, his/her peer group an individual stands in mental ability. The peer group score is an IQ of 100; this is obtained by applying the same test to huge numbers of people from all socio-economic strata of society, and taking the average.

Source: Special Olympics Bharat elections to be held on April 22