About ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus:

• It is a platform for ASEAN and its eight Dialogue Partners Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States.
• It was established to strengthen security and defence cooperation for peace, stability, and development in the region.
• The Inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, on 12 October 2010.
• Since 2017, the ADMM-Plus meets annually, to allow enhanced dialogue and cooperation among ASEAN and the Plus Countries in the midst of an increasingly challenging regional security environment.
• Objectives
  • To benefit ASEAN Member States in building capacity to address shared security challenges, while cognisant of the differing capacities of various ASEAN Member States;
  • To promote mutual trust and confidence between defence establishments through greater dialogue and transparency;
  • To enhance regional peace and stability through cooperation in defence and security, in view of the transnational security challenges the region faces;
  • To contribute to the realisation of an ASEAN Security Community which, as stipulated in the Bali Concord II, embodies ASEAN’s aspiration to achieve peace, stability, democracy and prosperity in the region where ASEAN Member States live at peace with one another and with the world at large;
  • To facilitate the implementation of the Vientiane Action Programme, which calls for ASEAN to build a peaceful, secure and prosperous ASEAN, and to adopt greater outward-looking external relation strategies with our friends and Dialogue Partners.

Q1: What is ASEAN? 

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional grouping that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration).

News: Rajnath Singh Strengthens Defence Partnerships At ADMM-Plus Summit In Laos

About WAVES OTT Platform:

• Waves is a digital platform developed by Prasar Bharati.
• It aims to cater to India’s growing demand for streaming services.
• It offers a wide range of content, including live TV, video on demand, games, radio streaming, and e-commerce options via the ONDC network. Its offerings include:
  • On-demand content: Movies, shows, ebooks, and historical visuals
  • Live events: Religious programmes, cricket tournaments, and other big events
  • Games: Suitable for all age groups
  • Online Shopping options
• Currently, the app provides access to around 65 live channels, including private broadcasters.

What is an over-the-top (OTT) platform?

• It refers to any streaming service that delivers content through wireless internet. OTT bypasses traditional forms of media consumption, such as cable or set-top boxes.
• Key features of OTT platforms include on-demand access, flexible subscription models, cross-device availability, and personalized content recommendations.

Q1: What is Prasar Bharati?

It is the Public Service Broadcaster of the country. It is a statutory autonomous body established in 1997 under the Prasar Bharati Act. Its objective is to conduct public broadcasting services intended to inform and entertain the public.

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About Cicadas:

• Cicadas are hemipteran insects known for their loud, complex and species-specific acoustic signals or songs.
• The generic diversity of cicadas in India and Bangladesh ranks the highest in the world, followed by China.
• A cicada will have the best chance of survival if it can emerge from the ground when its predators are lying dormant. 
• Habitat: Most cicadas are canopy dwellers and are found in natural forests with large trees.
• Types: Scientists divide the over 3,000 cicada species into two groups: annual and periodical.
  • Annual cicadas: They emerge from the ground at different times each summer.
  • They’re usually dark with greenish markings.
  • These insects avoid predators by camouflaging themselves in the trees and flying from hungry birds and moles.
  • Periodical cicadas: Only seven species of cicadas are in the periodical cicadas.
  • These bugs all emerge from the ground at the same time(Summer).
  • These groups appear after a dormant period of either 13 or 17 years.
• Ecological Significance: They prune mature trees, aerate the soil, and once they die, their bodies serve as an important source of nitrogen for growing trees.

Q1: What are Hemipteran insects?

These are piercing-sucking insects that feed on phloem sap of plants through stylets, modified mouthparts used to penetrate the plant tissues.

News: Three groups of cicadas emerge together for first time in 1,547 years 

About Ashtamudi Lake:

• It is a Ramsar wetland located in Kollam district of Kerala.
• The word Ashtamudi means Eight braids in Malayalam which can be explained by the palm-shaped topography of the lake with multiple branches. 
• It is because of its eight 'arms' or channels, that the lake is named Ashtamudi.
• It is the second largest lake in Kerala, which has found its way into the sea through the Neendakara estuary.
• Kallada river is the major source of water for Ashtamdui lake.
• The historical significance of Ashtamudi lake dates back to the 14th century when the lake surroundings were the important port connecting the ancient city of Quilon to the rest of the world.
• Historical records of the Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta highlights Quilon city, in the banks of Ashtamudi lake as one of the major trading centers in the ancient period. 
• Different species of marshy mangroves was reported in the region, including two endangered species called Syzygium travancoricum and Calamus rotang.

Q1: What is Estuary?

An estuary is an area where a freshwater river or stream meets the ocean. When freshwater and seawater combine, the water becomes brackish, or slightly salty.

News: A lake ecosystem gasping for breath

About Nano Urea:

• It is a nanotechnology-based revolutionary agri-input that provides nitrogen to plants.
• It is developed and patented by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO).
• IFFCO Nano Urea is the only nano fertilizer approved by the Government of India and included in the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO).
• Features:
  • Compared to conventional urea prill, Nano Urea has a desirable particle size of about 20-50 nm, and more surface area (10,000 times over 1 mm urea prill), and number of particles (55,000 nitrogen particles over 1 mm urea prill).
  • It contains 4.0 % total nitrogen (w/v).
• Benefits:
  • It is produced by an energy-efficient, environment-friendly production process with less carbon footprints.
  • It is more efficient in terms of nutrient uptake and releases nitrogen more slowly.
  • It reduces the amount of nitrogen lost to the atmosphere as greenhouse gases.
  • It is expected to improve crop productivity, soil health, and nutritional quality of produce and address the "imbalanced and excessive use" of conventional fertilizer.

Q1: What is Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO)?

IFFCO is India’s largest multi-state cooperative society that is entirely owned by Indian cooperatives and its headquarter is based in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1967 with 57 members and has now become one of the biggest co-op and the largest fertiliser manufacturer in the country.

News: National Fertilizers Ltd to foray into nano liquid urea production

About RS-26 Rubezh Missile:

• RS-26 is an intercontinental ballistic missile which was first successfully tested in 2012.
• Features
  • It is estimated to be 12 metres long and weigh 36 tons and can carry an 800-kg (1,760-lb) nuclear warhead. 
  • It is a ballistic missile whose classification oscillates between medium-range ballistic missile (IRBM) and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), depending on configurations and adopted definitions.
  • Range: Its estimated range, between 2,000 and 6,000 kilometers, corresponds to the medium-range ballistic missile category, primarily used for regional strikes.
  • It is capable of carrying Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVed ).
• Its development was led by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology (MITT), one of Russia’s leading ballistic missile design centers. 

What is an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile?

• An ICBM is a guided missile that is designed to deliver nuclear warheads, although it could also deliver other payloads.
• According to the Federation of American Scientists, ICBMs have a minimum range of 5,500 kilometres (3,400 miles), with maximum ranges varying from 7,000 to 16,000 kilometres.
• ICBMs are much faster and have a greater range than other types of ballistic missiles.
• Agni-V is an Indian ICBM with a range of over 5,000 km.

Q1: What is a Missile?

A missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor.

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About Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary:

• It is situated in South Tripura District.
• Occupying an area of 197.7 sq. km., it was established in 1988. 
• Vegetation: Three types of forests are found in the Sanctuary: Tropical Semievergreen Forest, Moist Mixed Deciduous Forest, and Savanah woodland. 
• Apart from the forest, the sanctuary has a number of perennial water rivulets, waterbodies, and grasslands. 
• Flora:
  • The sanctuary is dotted with 230 tree species, 400 herbs, 110 shrubs, and 150 climbers. 
  • Medicinal plants can also be seen here. Some of the prominent medicinal plant species are Kurcha, Tulsi, Vasak, Sarpaganda, Rudraksha, Bel, etc.
  • One species of Bamboo Oxytenanthera nigrociliata, locally known as Kaillai, is common here, leaves of which are liked by Gaur.
• Fauna:
  • The great attraction of this sanctuary is a sizeable population of Gaur or Indian Bison.
  • It is also the home to highly endangered only ape species of the Indian subcontinent i.e, the Hoolock Gibbon, and primates like Capped Langur and Golden Langur.
  • Other animals include Leopards, Wild cats, Pheasants, Lalmukh Bandars, Wild Boars, etc.

Q1: What is a Deciduous Forest?

Deciduous forests are terrestrial ecosystems characterized by trees and shrubs that shed their leaves seasonally, typically in response to changes in temperature or rainfall. These forests are found in regions with distinct seasonal variations, including a warm or hot growing season and a cold or dry dormant season.

News: One arrested for poaching deer near Tripura’s Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary

About Arkavathi River:

• It is an important mountain river in Karnataka.
• It is a significant tributary of the Kaveri River.
• Course:
  • Origin: It originates at Nandi Hills of the district of Chikkaballapura at an elevation of 1478 meters.
  • It joins the Kaveri River around 34 km south of Kanakapura in the Ramanagara District.
  • Total Length: 190 km.
• One-third of Bengaluru city falls within its 4,150 sq. km. river basin.
• Historically, the river was a major source of drinking water for Bangalore and surrounding areas.
• It has three tributaries; the Kumudavathi, Suvarnamukhi, and Vrishabhavathi.
• Reservoirs: The Arkavathi feeds two important reservoirs:
  • Hesaraghatta Reservoir: Built in 1894 to supply drinking water to Bangalore.
  • Thippagondanahalli Reservoir (T.G. Halli): Also supplies drinking water to Bangalore.

Q1: Which are the main tributaries of Kaveri River?

Its important tributaries joining from left are the Harangi, the Hemavati, the Shimsha, and the Arkavati, whereas the Lakshmantirtha, the Kabbani, the Suvarnavati, the Bhavani, the Noyil, and the Amaravati joins from right.

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About Reykjanes Peninsula:

• Reykjanes is a peninsula in southwest Iceland, characterized by immense lava fields, volcanoes, and heightened geothermal activity.
• It runs along the Mid-Atlantic Rift, where the Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates are drifting apart.
• Due to this geological setting, the whole peninsula is extremely volcanically active, covered with moss-coated lava fields and cone-shaped mountains.
• It has several high-temperature geothermal areas, three of which have been harnessed to generate electricity.
• It is home to some 30,000 people, or nearly 8% of the country’s total population.
• UNESCO recognised Reykjanes as a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2015.
• Since 2021, the Reykjanes Peninsula has seen a marked increase in volcanic activity, with eruptions occurring frequently.
• There are frequent earthquakes due to the movement of the tectonic plates, but are commonly minor events that can hardly be felt by humans.

Q1: What is Plate Tectonics?

Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth's outer shell is divided into large slabs of solid rock, called “plates,” that glide over Earth's mantle, the rocky inner layer above Earth’s core. Earth’s solid outer layer, which includes the crust and the uppermost mantle, is called the lithosphere. Below the lithosphere is the asthenosphere — a viscous layer kept malleable by heat deep within the Earth. It lubricates the undersides of Earth's tectonic plates, allowing the lithosphere to move around. 

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