About Barents Sea:

• It is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean covering an area of 1.4 million sq.km.
• It is located along the northern coasts of Norway and Russia.
• The sea has been named in the honor of Willem Barentsz, who was a famous Dutch explorer.
• The sea was known to Vikings and medieval Russians as the Murmean Sea.
• Boundaries:
  • It is bounded by the Svalbard archipelago in the northwest, the Franz Josef Land islands in the northeast, the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the east, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea in the west, and by the Kola Peninsula in the south. 
  • It is separated from the Kara Sea by the Kara Straitand the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. 
  • The White Sea and the Pechora Sea are two parts of the Barents Sea.
• The White Sea is a southern arm of the Barents Sea, which separates the Kola Peninsula from the Russian mainland.
• The Pechora Sea is situated in the southeastern part of the Barents Sea.
• Features:
  • The maximum width of the Barents Sea is 1,050 km, and it is about 1,300 km in length. 
  • The sea is relatively shallow and has an estimated average depth of 230 m. 
  • The Barents Sea faces a subarctic climate.
  • The waters of the Barents Sea have a high salinity of 34 parts per 1,000.
  • The north-flowing ocean currents transport the warm waters of the Atlantic into the Arctic Ocean through the Barents Sea.
  • It supports the highest seafloor biodiversity, which includes some of the world’s largest deep-water coral reefs and coastal kelp forests.

Q1: What is a Strait?

A strait is a narrow waterway between two pieces of land that connects two large bodies of water. Well-known straits include the Bering Strait, which links the Arctic Ocean with the Bering Sea and separates the continents of Asia and North America at their closest point. The Strait of Gibraltar, located between Spain and Africa, connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. The Strait of Magellan lies between the southern tip of South America and the islands of Tierra del Fuego and links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Source: Russia says its jets prevented US bombers violating border over Barents Sea

About 2023 FW13:

• It is an asteroid which has been designated as a quasi-satellite or a quasi-moon.
• It is among the few known quasi-moons or satellites that we know of in our solar system.
• It was identified by experts utilizing the Pan-STARRS telescope situated atop Hawaii’s Haleakala volcano.
• It has been in Earth's vicinity since 100 BC and will keep circling our planet for at least another 1,500 years, until AD 3700. 
• Features:
  • The newfound asteroid 2023 FW13 circles the sun in sync with Earth.
  • According to preliminary estimates, its diameter is from 10 to 20 meters.
  • While not gravitationally bound to Earth in any discernible way (like our Moon), the asteroid's bizarre orbit makes it circle our planet occasionally, earning it the name of a quasi-satellite or quasi-moon.
  • At the closest point in its slightly elliptical orbit around Earth, the moon comes within about 223,693 miles (360,000 km) of our planet.

What are quasi-moons?

• Quasi-moons are also known as 'quasi-satellites' because they appear to orbit our planet in the same way that our natural satellite, the Moon. 
• It is a space rock that circles the Earth, but is gravitationally bound by the sun.

Q1) What is an Asteroid?

Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the sun. Although asteroids orbit the sun like planets, they are much smaller than planets.

Source: Earth's fake Moon? This 'quasi-moon' has circled Earth since at least 100 BC, and will continue to do so

About Tele-Law Programme:

• The Tele-Law programme comes under the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice and was launched in 2017.
• It is an e-interface mechanism to seek legal advice and consultation at a pre-litigation stage with the aim of ‘Reaching the Unreached’.
• The programme connects needy and marginalised people in need of legal aid with the Panel Lawyers via video conferencing/telephonic facilities available at Common Service Centres (CSCs) situated at the panchayat level. In addition, the service can also be accessed through the Tele-Law Mobile App.
  • A Panel Lawyer is a practicing advocate selected by the Department of Justice and CSC-eGovernance Services or registered on the Panel of State /District Legal Services Authority.
• Eligibility: Legal advice is made available to everyone under Tele-Law service. Advice is free of Cost to those who are eligible for free legal aid under Section 12 of LSA Act, 1987.
  • Women
  • Children
  • Persons belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe
  • Victims of Trafficking
  • Mentally ill and differently-abled people
  • Victims of natural disaster/ethnic violence
  • Workers in unorganized sector/industrial workers
  • Undertrials
  • People of low-income group
  • For all others, a nominal fee of Rs. 30/- is charged for each consultation.
• Kind of cases/matters: Legal matters in which advice can be taken through Tele-Law service include:
  • Dowry, family dispute, divorce, protection from domestic violence
  • Sexual harassment, sexual abuse, eve teasing at the workplace
  • Maintenance of women children and senior citizens
  • Rights regarding property and land
  • Equal wages for males and females
  • Maternity benefits and prevention of foeticide.
  • Atrocities against scheduled castes/ scheduled tribes and their rehabilitation.

Q1) What is a common service Centre in India?

CSCs are the access points for delivery of essential public utility services, social welfare schemes, healthcare, financial, education and agriculture services.

Source: Tele-Law Programe Achieves New Milestone :40 Lakh Beneficiaries empowered with pre-litigation advice

About Stolpersteine:

• Stolperstein are small, brass memorials placed in the pavements of cities across Europe to commemorate victims of Nazi persecution. 
• The Stolpersteine are a project initiated by German artist Gunter Demnig since 1992.
• These small stones serve as a reminder of the atrocities committed during the Holocaust and the countless lives that were lost.
• "Stolperstein" is a German word meaning, literally, "stumbling stone," or, metaphorically, "stumbling block."
• The first Stolperstein was placed on 16 December 1992, a date which marked 50 years since an order was signed to begin the mass deportation of Jewish people and Roma from Germany.
• Each of the brass plaques embedded in pavements recalls the fate of a person who was persecuted by the Nazis, deported, murdered or driven to suicide.
• Unlike some other memorials that focus on specific persecuted groups, the Stolpersteine honour all victims of the Nazi regime, including Jewish, Sinti, Roma, disabled, dissident, and Afro-German and “asocial” citizens.
• The inscription on each stone begins “Here lived”, followed by the victim’s name, date of birth, and fate: internment, suicide, exile or, in the vast majority of cases, deportation and murder.
• Each Stolperstein is individually funded and can be sponsored by private individuals, schools or and organisations. 
• It is the largest decentralized Holocaust memorial in the world.

Q1) What is the Holocaust?

In the course of the Second World War, the Nazis murdered nearly six million European Jews. This genocide is called the Holocaust. Even before the Second World War, the word was sometimes used to describe the death of a large group of people, but since 1945, it has become almost synonymous with the murder of European Jews during the Second World War.

Source: 'Stolpersteine': Commemorating victims of Nazi persecution

About Global Greenhouse Gas Watch (GGGW):

• It is a new greenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring initiative of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
• GGGW will fill critical information gaps, providing an integrated, operational framework under all space-based and surface-based observing systems under one roof, along with modelling and data assimilation capabilities.
• It will build on WMO’s experience in coordinating international collaboration in predicting the weather and analysing climate on long-standing activities in greenhouse gas monitoring and research under the guidance of the Global Atmosphere Watch, established in 1989.
• GGW predicts a top-down approach to the flux evaluation, which builds on existing capabilities in surface- and space-based observations and modelling, ensuring the timely exchange of all observations and data.
• The GGGW will consist of four main components:
  • Comprehensive, sustained, global surface- and satellite-based observations of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide concentrations, partial column amounts, total column amounts, vertical profiles, and fluxes supporting oceanic, meteorological, and terrestrial variables, internationally exchanged as rapidly as possible.
  • Prior estimates of the GHG emissions based on the activity data and process-based models.
  • Global high-resolution Earth system models representing GHG cycles.
  • Data assimilation systems combining the observations with model calculations to generate products of higher accuracy.

Key facts about World Meteorological Organisation (WMO):

• It is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
• It is the UN system's authoritative voice on the state and behavior of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces, and the resulting distribution of water resources.
• It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was founded in 1873. 
• Established in 1950, WMO became the specialized agency of the UN for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.
• Headquarters:  Geneva, Switzerland.
• Currently it has a membership of 187 countries.
• Governance Structure:
  • Its supreme body is the World Meteorological Congress, which consists of representatives of all members. It meets at least every four years to set general policy and adopt regulations.
  • A 36-member Executive Council meets annually and implements policy.

Q1) What are Greenhouse Gases?

Greenhouse gases are gases in Earth’s atmosphere that trap heat. They let sunlight pass through the atmosphere, but they prevent the heat that the sunlight brings from leaving the atmosphere. The main greenhouse gases are Water vapor, Carbon dioxide, Methane, Ozone, Nitrous oxide and Chlorofluorocarbons

Source: WMO approves a global tracker for greenhouse gas emissions

About Kanger Valley National Park:

• Location: It is located in Jagdalpur in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh state.
• The National Park derives its name from the Kanger River, which flows centrally from the Northwest to the Southeast direction.
• It got the status of a national park in the year 1982. 
• Topography:It is noted for its highly heterogeneous land formations ranging from low flat and gentle areas to steep slopes, plateaus, valleys, and stream courses. 
• It is home to three exceptional caves – famous for their  amazing geological structures of Kutumbasar, Kailash and Dandak- Stellagmites and Stalactitees.
• National Park is known for the presence of underground limestone caves with dripstone and floston. The  stalegmites and stalactite formation is still increasing. 
• Tirathgarh Waterfall is located in Kanger Valley National Park.
• Vegetation: It is distinguished blend of mixed moist deciduous type of forests with the predominance of Sal, teak and bamboo.
• Fauna:
  • Major wild animals include tigers, mouse deer, leopards, wildcat, sambar, chital, barking deer, langurs, jackals, rhesus macaque, flying squirrel etc.
  • The areal fauna at the park consists of common hill myna, red jungle fowl, spotted owlet, racket-tailed drongos, parrots etc.

Key facts about rare Indian Mouse Deer or Spotted Chevrotain:

• It is the smallest deer in India and is highly nocturnal.
• Scientific Name: Moschiola indica
• Distribution:
  • It is endemic to the Indian subcontinent.
  • It is mainly found in peninsular India with some old records from Nepal.
  • Sri Lanka has a separate species called spotted chevrotain (Moschiola meminna).
  • Within India, it is commonly encountered in a number of forest areas along the Western Ghats, in the Eastern Ghats up to Orissa, and in the forests of central India.
• Features:
  • It is small, 25-30 cm at shoulder height, and weighs from two to four kg. 
  • A unique feature of this group is that instead of four-chambered stomach like in other ruminants, they have a three-chambered stomach.
  • It forages on forest floor for fruits, roots, leaves and herbs.
  • It has occasionally been observed eating insects, crustaceans and even small mammals.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN: Least Concern

Q1) What is a National Park?

The national park is an area that is strictly reserved for the betterment of the wildlife and biodiversity, and where activities like developmental, forestry, poaching, hunting and grazing on cultivation are not permitted. The government can declare an area as a national park with adequate ecological, geo-morphological and natural significance.

Source: Rare Indian mouse deer spotted in Kanger Valley National Park in Chhattisgarh

What it is?

• Gongadi, (known also as Kambal) is the traditional woolen blanket woven by the indigenous Kuruma pastoralist communities from wool of the indigenous Deccani sheep (known locally as Nalla gorrae) breed found in the Deccan Plateau region including the Indian state of Telangana.
• The famous blanket has once served the Indian Armed Forces to beat harsh winters at the borders.
• Features:
  • The unique gongadi is not only the symbol of rich diverse traditional weaving culture of the Deccan region but also the pride and identity of the local indigenous pastoralist communities.
  • The coarse woolen blanket is famous for its durability and versatility.
  • The tough gongadi usually lasts for more than a decade and acquires this unique quality from the craft of hand weaving.
  • One of the unique natures of gongadi is that it does not fade but grows darker in time.
  • The indigenous Kuruma weavers say that gongadi is so strong that you can lift a fully grown bull off the ground with it.
  • The traditional gongadi is produced organically, without using any dyes either natural or synthetic. Sizing of the strings is done using the paste of soaked and cooked tamarind seeds

Q1) What is the use of tamarind seeds?

Tamarind seed juice is known to be a natural remedy to cure indigestion and increase bile production. Moreover, it is rich in dietary fibre, which further results in reduction of cholesterol. Fibre also helps in improving your digestive system.

Source: Telangana’s woollen gongadi shawls refashioned into shoes for farmers

About SCO Summit, 2023:

• It will be held in the virtual format.
• All the SCO Member States, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have been invited to attend the Summit.
• Iran, Belarus and Mongolia have been invited as Observer States.
• The theme of the Summit is ‘Towards a SECURE SCO’. The SECURE acronym stands for Security, Economy and Trade, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity and Environment.
• India has set up new pillars of cooperation under its Chairmanship - Startups and Innovation, Traditional Medicine, Digital Inclusion, Youth Empowerment and Shared Buddhist Heritage.

About Shanghai Cooperation Organisation:

• The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
• India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.
• The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.
• SCO has two Permanent Bodies - (i) SCO Secretariat in Beijing (ii) Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent.
• The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure serves to promote cooperation of member states against terrorism, separatism and extremism.
• The official working languages: Chinese and Russian.

Q1) What is the work of Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure?

The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is a permanent organ of the SCO which serves to promote cooperation of member states against terrorism, separatism and extremism. Each member state also sends a permanent representative to RATS.

Source: PM Modi to chair SCO Summit virtually on July 4.

About Purana Qila:

• Location:
  • It is located in the South Eastern part of the present city of New Delhi.
  • It is one of the oldest forts in Delhi and built on the banks of river Yamuna.
• It is also known as Qila-e-Kohna (meaning `old fort’).
• The present citadel at Purana Qila was believed to have been built under Humayun and Sher Shah Suri (‘The Lion King’). Excavations point to traces from the3rd century BC, the pre-Mauryan period.
• The Qila was inspired by Jama Masjid, which was established 15 years before the reconstruction of Qila.
• Architecture:
  • It is roughly rectangular in shape having a circuit of nearly two kilometers.
  • The Purana Qila has three gates: Bara Darwaza or the Big Gate facing west, the Humayun Gate facing south and the Talaqui darwaza or the forbidden gateway facing the northern side.
• These gates combine the typically Islamic pointed arch with Hindu Chhatris and brackets.
• All of the gates are double-storeyed and consistof huge semi-circular bastions flanking either of their sides.
• The Bada Darwaza acts as the main point of entry.
  • It was surrounded by a wide moat.
  • The walls themselves are as high as 20 m in places and approximately 4m thick.
  • A prominent structure of the Purana Qila is the Qila-e-Kuhna mosque built by Sher Shah in 1542 CE.

Q1: What is ‘'Adopt a Heritage' scheme?

Adopt a Heritage is an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Archaeological Survey of India. It was launched in September 2017 on World Tourism Day. Under it, the government invites entities, including public sector companies, private sector firms, as well as individuals, to develop selected monuments and heritage and tourist sites across India. The project aims to encourage these entities to become ‘Monument Mitras’ and take up the responsibility of developing and upgrading the basic and advanced tourist amenities at these sites.

Source: Searching for Indraprastha: Can excavations at Purana Qila find its Mahabharata link?