KNOWLEDGE TAKEAWAYS PRELIMS 2020

Carbon nanotubes ▪ Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are cylindrical molecules consisting of a hexagonal
(CNTs) arrangement of hybridized carbon atoms, which may be formed by rolling up sheet(s)
of graphene.
▪ In recent years, carbon nanotubes have attracted many researchers as a drug delivery
carrier. As carbon nanotubes have a high surface area, they go into the cell by the
millions, and can have a very high efficiency of delivery to a specific cell.
▪ Carbon nanotubes can be made into artificial blood capillaries for an injured part of the
human body as they are promising drug delivery platforms that can be functionalized
with a variety of biomolecules, such as antibodies, proteins, or DNA
▪ Recently, NASA has demonstrated Biochemical Sensors Using Carbon Nanotube Arrays.
▪ Multiple types of microbes, including bacteria and fungi, have the ability to degrade
carbon nanotubes (CNTs).

Application of Drone ▪ Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or drones are aircrafts that can be navigated without
Technology a human pilot on board. Drones can be navigated via control from the ground, using a
GPS tracking system.
▪ Initially, drones have been developed mostly for military applications. However, its use
has expanded to scientific, recreational, commercial and other applications including
peacekeeping and surveillance, product delivery, aerial photography, agriculture, etc.
▪ They are now increasingly used to spray pesticides in agricultural fields to protect
standing crops from pests.
▪ Scientists have also been using drones to study active volcanoes. The drone can both
collect breath samples and take high-resolution photos of the whales from the air to
assess general health condition
Evolved Laser ▪ Evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA) is a spectacular plan of setting into
Interferometer space three spacecrafts, a mother and two daughter spacecrafts, which will fly in a
Space Antenna triangular formation, trailing the earth in its orbit around the sun at a distance of over.
(eLISA) ▪ 50 million km. Each arm of the imaginary triangle, from the mother to each daughter
spacecraft, will measure about a million km.
▪ eLISA seeks to measure gravitational waves in the frequency range from 0.1 mHz to
about 100 mHz. To achieve this, it is necessary for the interferometers to have an arm
length of a million kilometres and that is impossible to achieve with an earth based
setup.

Germline gene ▪ Germline gene therapy is the replacement of genes in egg or sperm cells with which an
therapy offspring inherits a new trait. It allows for the correction of disease- causing gene
variants that are certain to be passed down from generation to generation.
▪ CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) technology is
employed to modify human embryos before they are transferred into women’s uterus.
Recently, researchers had successfully created the world’s first genetically- edited baby.
 By using CRISPR technology, the genomes of embryos were edited to disable a gene,
CCR5, which allows HIV to infect cells.
▪ Due to certain anatomical and physiological features shared with humans, the pig is
considered an important animal model of human diseases with unique advantages in
surgery and xenotransplantation studies.

Pneumococcal ▪ Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines (PCVs) prevent pneumococcal diseases.

Conjugate Vaccines Pneumococcal disease refers to any illness caused by pneumococcal bacteria.
Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a leading cause of bacterial pneumonia,
meningitis and sepsis in children.
▪ PCVs could potentially prevent a substantial proportion of episodes of bacteremic
disease, pneumonia, meningitis, sepsis and otitis media, especially in young children.
▪ The growing resistance of pneumococcal bacteria to commonly used antibiotics
underlines the urgent need for vaccines to be used to control pneumococcal disease.
PCV prevents antibiotic resistant pneumococcal infections.
▪ Redness, swelling, pain, or tenderness where the shot is given, and fever, loss of
appetite, fussiness (irritability), feeling tired, headache and chills can happen

benzene pollution What is Benzene?

• Benzene is a chemical that is a colourless or light yellow liquid at room temperature. It
has a sweet odour and is highly flammable.
• It evaporates into the air very quickly. Its vapour is heavier than air and may sink into
low-lying areas.
• It dissolves only slightly in water and will float on top of the water.
Its formation and uses
Benzene is formed from both natural processes and human activities.
 • Natural sources of benzene include volcanoes and forest fires. Benzene is also a natural
part of crude oil, gasoline, and cigarette smoke.
• Some industries use benzene to make other chemicals that are used to make plastics,
resins, and nylon and synthetic fibres.
• It is also used to make some types of lubricants, rubbers, dyes, detergents, drugs, and
pesticides.
Benzene emission
• The major sources of benzene exposure are tobacco smoke, automobile service
stations, exhaust from motor vehicles, and industrial emissions.
• Benzene is present in both exhaust and evaporative emissions. Motor vehicles account
for approximately 85% of the total benzene emissions.
• However, ingestion and dermal absorption of benzene can also occur through contact
with contaminated water.

Money Supply o The total stock of money in circulation among the public at a particular point of time is
called money supply.
• It needs to be noted that total stock of money is different from total supply of
money.
• Supply of money is only that part of total stock of money which is held by the public
at a particular point of time.
o The circulating money involves the currency, printed notes, money in the deposit
accounts and in the form of other liquid assets.
o RBI publishes figures for four alternative measures of money supply, viz. M1, M2, M3 and
M4.
• M1 = CU + DD
• M2 = M1 + Savings deposits with Post Office savings banks
• M3 = M1 + Net time deposits of commercial banks
• M4 = M3 + Total deposits with Post Office savings organisations (excluding National
Savings Certificates)
o CU is currency (notes plus coins) held by the public and DD is net demand deposits held by
commercial banks.
o The word ‘net’ implies that only deposits of the public held by the banks are to be included
in money supply.
• The interbank deposits, which a commercial bank holds in other commercial banks,
are not to be regarded as part of money supply.
o M1 and M2 are known as narrow money. M3 and M4 are known as broad money.
o These gradations are in decreasing order of liquidity.
• M1 is most liquid and easiest for transactions whereas M4 is least liquid of all.
• M3 is the most commonly used measure of money supply. It is also known
as aggregate monetary resources

Birsa Munda ▪ Birth: 15th November 1875, belonged to the Munda tribe in the Chotanagpur Plateau area.
▪ Brief Profile:
o Also known as Dharti Aaba (Father of Earth), Birsa Munda is known to
have mobilised the tribal community against the British and had also forced the
colonial officials to introduce laws protecting the land rights of the tribals.
▪ Birsait Sect:
o Having gained awareness of the British colonial ruler and the efforts of the
missionaries to convert tribals to Christianity, Birsa started the faith of ‘Birsait’.
o Members of the Munda and Oraon community joined the Birsait sect and it turned
into a challenge to British conversion activities.
o Further, he urged the Mundas to give up drinking liquor, clean their village, and
stop believing in witchcraft and sorcery.
▪ Munda Rebellion:
o It is one of the most important tribal movements.
 o It was led by Birsa Munda in the south of Ranchi in 1899-1900.
o The movement identified following forces as the cause of the misery the Mundas
were suffering:
• The land policies of the British were destroying their traditional land
system.
• Hindu landlords and moneylenders were taking over their land.
• Missionaries were criticising their traditional culture.
o The 'Ulgulan' or the 'Great Tumult' as the movement came to be called, aimed at
establishing Munda Raj by driving out the British.
• Munda used traditional symbols and language to rouse people, urging
them to destroy “Ravana” (dikus/outsiders and the Europeans) and
establish a kingdom under his leadership.
o Birsa’s followers began targeting the symbols of diku and European power. They
attacked police stations and churches, and raided the property of moneylenders
and zamindars. They raised the white flag as a symbol of Birsa Raj.
o On 3rd March, 1900, Birsa Munda was arrested by the British police while he was
sleeping with his tribal guerilla army at Jamkopai forest in Chakradharpur
(Jharkhand).
• Birsa died of cholera in the jail and the movement faded out.
▪ Significance of Munda Rebellion:
o It forced the colonial government to introduce laws so that the land of the tribals
could not be easily taken over by dikus (Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908).
o It showed that the tribal people had the capacity to protest against injustice and
express their anger against colonial rule.

Mitochondrial • It is also called Mitochondrial Gene Therapy

Replacement • MRT or Mitochondrial donation is a medical technique in which defective mitochondria
Therapy carried by a woman is replaced with the healthy mitochondria of a donor.
• Through invitro fertilization technique (IVF), the egg is then fertilised with the partner’s
sperm. Thus the embryo remains free from any such defects.
• The two most common techniques in mitochondrial donation are maternal spindle
transfer and pronuclear transfer.
• Thus this medical technique prevents the transmission of mitochondrial (genetic)
disease from one generation to the next.
• MRT proposes to give parents chance of having a child that is over 99% genetically
matched to them and most importantly free of the mitochondrial disease
• Benefits:
• It will prevent transmission of mitochondrial (genetic) disease from one
generation to the next.
• It will give parents chance of having a child that is over 99% genetically
matched to them and most importantly free of the mitochondrial disease.
• It has no impact on personality or looks of the offspring from third DNA set, as
surrogate mitochondrial DNA is separate from core DNA in cells.
• Why in news?
• First three parent child was born via this technique in Mexico
• UK became first country in world to legalise MGT
9 Gems (Navratnas) Amarsimha
of Chandragupta Amarsimha was a Sanskrit lexicographer and a poet and his Amarkosha is a vocabulary of
Vikramaditya Sanskrit roots, homonyms and synonyms. It is also called Trikanda as it has 3 parts viz. Kanda 1,
Kanda 2 and Kanda 3. It has 10 thousand words in it.

Dhanvantri
Dhanvantri was a great Physician.

Harisena
Harisena is known to have composed the Prayag Prasasti or Allahabad Pillar Inscription. The
title of this inscription of Kavya, but it has both prose and verse. The whole poem is in one
sentence including first 8 stanzas of poetry and a long sentence and a concluding stanza.
Harisena in his old age was in the court of Chandragupta and describes him as Noble, and asks
him “You Protect all this earth”.

Kalidasa
Kalidasa is the immortal poet and playwright of India and a peerless genius whose works
became famous worldwide in modern world. Translation of Kalidasa’s works in numerous
Indian and Foreign Languages have spread his fame all of the word and now he ranks among
the top poets of all times. Here we should note that Rabindranath Tagore, not only propagated
the works of Kalidasa but also expounded their meanings and philosophy that made him an
immortal poet dramatists.

Kahapanaka
Kahapanka was an astrologer. Not many details about him are found.

Sanku
Sanku was in the field of Architecture.
Varahamihira
Varahamihira (died 587) lived in Ujjain and he wrote three important
books: Panchasiddhantika, Brihat Samhita, and Brihat Jataka. The Panchasiddhantaka is a
summary of five early astronomical systems including the Surya Siddhanta. Another system
described by him, the Paitamaha Siddhanta, appears to have many similarities with the ancient
Vedanga Jyotisha of Lagadha. Brihat Samhita is a compilataion of an assortment of topics that
provides interesting details of the beliefs of those times. Brihat Jataka is a book on astrology
which appears to be considerably influenced by Greek astrology.

Vararuchi
 Vararuchi is the name of another gem of Chandragupta Vikramaditya who was a grammarian
and Sanskrit scholar. Some historians have identified him with Katyayana. Vararuchi is said to
be the author of Prakrit Prakasha, which is first Grammar of Prakrit Language.

Vetalbhatta
Vetalbhatta was a magician.

Visible light About

communication • Visible light communication (VLC) is a subset of optical wireless communication technologies.
(VLC) • VLC uses wavelength between 380 nm to 750 nm (i.e. 430 THz to 790 THz) for
communication.
• The technology uses fluorescent lamps to transmit signals at 10 kbit/s, or LEDs for up to 500
Mbit/s over short distances.
• Specially designed electronic devices generally containing a photodiode receive signals from
light sources.

Applications of Visible light communication

• Li-Fi – Li-Fi is a high speed bi-directional fully connected, visible-light wireless communication
system similar to Wi-Fi. Li-Fi uses visible light for communication.
• Vehicle and transportation – VLC can be used for vehicular communication due to the
presence of the vehicle lights and the existing traffic light infrastructure.
• Underwater communication – RF waves do not travel well in sea water because of its good
conductivity. Therefore, VLC communication should be used in underwater communication
networks.
• Hospitals and healthcare – In hospitals, electromagnetic wave sensitive areas (such as MRI
scanners) are likely to switch to VLC because it will not interfere with radio waves of the other
machines.
• Aviation – It can be used in aircraft cabins to reduce electromagnetic interference. It can also
be used to provide air passengers with continuous communication services.
• Defence and security – As VLC signals cannot pass through walls, they are well-suited for
security-related usage.

Advantages of Visible light communication

• Visible light communication have high bandwidth, so it can transmit a large amount of data in
a short time.
• Visible light communication work on low power consumption and emits low energy.
• VLC technology is an alternative of radio frequency, especially in those environments where
radio-frequencies are considered hazardous like aeroplanes, hospitals, mines, etc.
 • VLC provides secure communication as data transmission because it cannot be interrupted
which is a problem in radio frequency communication.
• VLC is a light-based communication system, it is not affected by electromagnetic radiations
from radio frequency systems.

Disadvantages of Visible light communication

• Since VLC technology work on light so it has a short coverage range.
• This technology can face interference issues from ambient light sources.
• It is difficult to integrate VLC technology with a Wi-Fi system.
• When there is no line of sight there is no communication is possible.

Gandhism and ▪ The final aim of both Gandhism and Marxism is the establishment of a stateless and
Marxism classless society, however their means for achieving this aim are different. Mahatma
Gandhi wanted to achieve this end through non-violent means but Marx wanted to achieve
it through violent means.
▪ Ways to achieve classless society

o Marxism: Overthrow of capitalism; social ownership of means of social production;

compulsory labour.
o Gandhism: Doctrine of trusteeship: moral persuasion of capitals to regard
themselves as ‘trustee’ of public property; restore dignity of labour.

Preamble as part of ▪ The Preamble is the introductory part of the Constitution. It contains the ideals,
the Constitution. objectives and basic principles of the Constitution. The salient features of the
Constitution have evolved directly and indirectly from these objectives which flow from
the Preamble.
▪ In Kesavananda Bharati Case (1973), the Supreme Court held that:

o The Preamble of the Constitution be considered as part of the Constitution.

o The Preamble is not the supreme power or source of any restriction or
prohibition but it plays an important role in the interpretation of statutes and
provisions of the Constitution.
▪ In Union Government vs LIC of India Case (1995), the Supreme Court has once again
held that Preamble is the integral part of the Constitution but is not directly
enforceable in a court of law in India. Its objectives are implemented through various
acts and policies.

Gold Tranche or ▪ Gold Tranche or Reserve Tranche is the component of a member country’s quota with
Reserve Tranche the International Monetary Fund (IMF) i.e. in the form of gold or foreign currency. For
 any member country, out of the total quota, 25% should be paid in the form of foreign
currency or gold. Hence, this is called a reserve tranche or gold tranche. The remaining
75% can be in domestic currencies and it is called credit tranche. It is basically an
emergency account that IMF members can access without agreeing to conditions or
paying a service fee.

Article 164 ▪ According to Article 164 of the Constitution, a minister who is not a member of the
state legislature for any period of six consecutive months shall cease to be a minister.
The provision allows a non-legislator to occupy a post in the council of ministers,
including the office of the chief minister for six months. Within six months, he must
become a member (either by election or by nomination) of either House of the state
legislature, otherwise, he ceases to be minister.
▪ Moreover, to become a member of the state legislature one must be not less than 30
years of age in the case of the legislative council and not less than 25 years of age in the
case of the legislative assembly. Such a person automatically becomes eligible to vote
as under Article 326, the minimum age to be registered as a voter is 18 years.

Aadhar issues ▪ As per a Supreme Court ruling of September, 2018, Aadhaar metadata cannot be stored
for more than six months. The Supreme Court has read down Section 2(d) of the
Aadhaar Act which allowed storage of such data for a period of five years, to refrain
government authorities from storing metadata of transactions.
▪ SC has also struck down Aadhaar Regulation 26(c) which allowed Unique Identification
Authority of India (UIDAI) to store metadata relating to Aadhaar based authentications
or authentication history for private firms. Accordingly, Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has directed insurance companies not to
mandatorily ask for the Aadhaar details for know-you-customer (KYC) requirements or
carry out authentication using e-KYC from UIDAI
▪ Further, the amendment made to Section 7 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of
Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 has been upheld. It
stipulates a condition that the State government can mandate use of Aadhaar
authentication for beneficiaries for receipt of a subsidy, benefit or service for which the
expenditure is incurred from the Consolidated Fund of India.

Rajya Sabha special ▪ Rajya Sabha enjoys certain special powers compared to Lok Sabha which are as follows:
powers o Power to transfer a subject from the State List to Union List for a specified period
(Article 249).
o To create additional All India Services (Article 312).
o To endorse Emergency under Article 352 for a limited period when the Lok Sabha
remains dissolved.
The Macro Economic ▪ According to Article 112 of the Indian Constitution, the Union Budget of a year is referred
Framework to as the Annual Financial Statement (AFS). It is a statement of the estimated receipts and
Statement expenditure of the Government in a financial year.
▪ A ‘Money Bill’ is defined under Article 110(1).
▪ As per Article 113, the estimates of expenditure (as Demands for Grants) from the
Consolidated Fund of India must be included in the Annual Financial Statement and
required to be voted by the Lok Sabha.
▪ The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003 seeks to
institutionalise financial discipline, reduce India’s fiscal deficit, improve macroeconomic
management and the overall management of the public funds by moving towards a
balanced budget.
▪ This Act mandates the Central Government to lay before the Houses of Parliament, Macro-
Economic Framework Statement, Medium Term Fiscal Policy Statement and Fiscal Policy
Strategy Statement along with the Annual Financial Statement and Demands for Grants.
constitutional ▪ A constitutional government is defined by the existence of a constitution, which may be
government written or unwritten, accepted as the fundamental law of the polity that effectively
controls the exercise of political power.
▪ The core component of the constitutional government is the existence of a “Rule-of Law” or
a set of “basic laws” that binds both public office-holders and all members of a society (i.e.
citizens) within a given territory.
▪ The essence of constitutionalism is the control of power by its distribution of power among
the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, with a particular view in
balancing these powers.
▪ The constitutional government is a type of regime that is characterized by the fact that the
government operates within a set of legal and institutional constraints that both limits its
power (limited government) and protects the individual liberty.
▪ A constitutional government may not have legislature, could be a bi-party government and
need not be a popular government and can instead be a monarchy.

Legal Services ▪ In 1987, the Legal Services Authorities Act was enacted by the Parliament which came into
Authorities Act force on 9th November, 1995 to establish a nationwide uniform network for providing
competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society on the basis of equal
opportunity.
▪ Under Section 12 of the Act, the persons eligible for getting free legal services include:
o Women and children
o Members of SC/ST
o Industrial workmen
o Victims of disaster, violence, flood, drought, earthquake
o Disabled persons
o Persons in custody
o Victims of trafficking in human beings or begar
▪ Further, according to Section 12(h) of the Act, persons in receipt of annual income less than
`9000 or such other higher amount as may be prescribed by the State Government, if the
case is before a court other than the Supreme Court, and less than 12000 or such other
higher amount as may be prescribed by the Central Government, if the case is before the
Supreme Court, are also eligible for free legal services. The income ceiling limit prescribed
under Section 12(h) of the Act varies across States.
▪ Senior citizens’ eligibility for free legal aid depends on the Rules framed by the respective
State Governments in this regard. Therefore, not all senior citizens are eligible for free legal
aid.
▪ There is no such clear cut demarcation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) i.e. whether a
member of OBC with an annual income of less than ?3,00,000 will avail free legal aid under
the Act

Alma-Ata It was adopted at the International Conference on Primary Health Care (PHC) which was held in
Declaration Almaty, Kazakhstan in 1978. It urged all the governments, health care workers and
development workers to promote and protect the primary health of all the people.
Hague Convention There are a series of Hague Convention on different subjects such as Convention for the
Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, Hague Convention on the Civil
Aspects of International Child Abduction, etc. But it is not related to biological and chemical
weapons.
Talanoa Dialogue The Dialogue was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 23) in Bonn (Germany)
in 2017. Talanoa is a traditional word used in Fiji and across the Pacific to reflect a process of
inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogue. The purpose of Talanoa is to share stories,
build empathy and to make wise decisions for the collective good.
Under2 Coalition The Under2 Coalition is a global community of state and regional governments committed to
ambitious climate action in line with the Paris Agreement. The coalition brings together more
than 220 subnational governments who represent over 1.3 billion people and 43% of the global
economy. Currently, Telangana and Chhattisgarh are signatories to this pact from India.
Signatories commit to keeping global temperature rises to well below 2°C with efforts to reach
1.5°C
impact of the ▪ The Industrial Revolution brought severe consequences to the Indian society. One of the
Industrial most important consequences of British Rule was the decline and destruction of urban and
Revolution on India rural handicraft industries.
▪ The discovery of steam power and its practice from the year 1815 created a threat to the
Indian textile industry. The inventions of the spinning mule and power loom became more
efficient and effective because of steam power. Consequently, it had greatly reduced the
cost of British textile and made it internationally competitive.
▪ To support British textile industry, heavy duties were imposed on the export of Indian
textiles. Indian farmers were forced to produce cotton so that it can fuel English factories.
▪ However, there were some positive effects of the Industrial Revolution also. For example,
o The introduction of factories and assembly lines,
o Electricity development,
o Railroads (First Railway in India: from Bombay to Thane in 1853)
▪ All these things contributed to faster and more efficient production of goods and materials.
But these developments took place mainly in the second half of the 19th century.

Gandhi-Irwin Pact ▪ The Delhi Pact (5 March 1931), also known as the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, placed the Congress on
an equal footing with the government.
▪ Lord Irwin, the Viceroy and Governor-General of India (1926-1931), on behalf of the British
government, agreed with Mahatma Gandhi on the following:
o immediate release of all political prisoners not convicted of violence;
o remission of all fines not yet collected;
o return of all lands not yet sold to third parties;
o lenient treatment to those government servants who had resigned;
o right to make salt in coastal villages for personal consumption (not for sale);
o right to peaceful and non-aggressive picketing; and
o withdrawal of emergency ordinances.
▪ The viceroy, however, turned down two of Gandhiji’s demands:
o public inquiry into police excesses, and
o commutation of death sentence of Bhagat Singh and his comrades’ to life sentence.
▪ Gandhiji on behalf of the Congress agreed:
o to suspend the civil disobedience movement, and
o to participate in the next Round Table Conference (the first round of conference
was already conducted from November 1930 to January 1931) on the constitutional
question around the three lynchpins of federation, Indian responsibility, and
reservations and safeguards that may be necessary in India’s interests (covering
such areas as defence, external affairs, position of minorities, financial credit of
India and discharge of other obligations).
Ashoka’s Edicts and • The first tangible evidence of Buddhism is represented by the rock and pillar edicts of
Inscriptions Asoka detailing wide expansion of Buddhism through the sponsorship of one of the
most powerful kings of Indian history.
• These edicts mention that Buddhism reached as far as the Mediterranean, and many
Buddhist monuments were created in a wide area. Buddhism and the Buddha are
mentioned, the edicts focus on social and moral precepts rather than religious practices
or the philosophical dimension of Buddhism.
• In these inscriptions, Ashoka refers to himself as “Beloved of the Gods” and “King Priya-
darshi.”
• The inscriptions found in the eastern part of India were written in the Magadhi
language, using the Brahmi script. In the western part of India, the language used is
closer to Sanskrit, using the Kharoshthi script,one extract of Edict 13 in the Greek
language, and one bilingual edict written in Greek and Aramaic.
• These edicts were decoded by British archeologist and historian James Prinsep.
• Major themes are Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism, the description of his efforts to
spread Buddhism, his moral and religious precepts, and his social and animal welfare
program.

Pillers:
• Ashoka pillars, (usually made of chunar sandstone), as a symbol of the state, assumed a
great significance in the entire Mauryan Empire.
• Objective: The main objective was to disseminate the Buddhist ideology and court
orders in the entire Mauryan empire.
• Language: While most Ashoka pillar edicts were in Pali and Prakrit language, few were
written in Greek or Aramaic language also.
• Architecture: Mauryan pillars mainly comprise of four parts:
• Shaft: A long shaft formed the base and was made up of a single piece of stone or
monolith.
• Capital: On top of shaft lay the capital, which was either lotus-shaped or bell-shaped.
• Abacus: Above the capital, there was a circular or rectangular base known as the
abacus.
• Capital Figure: All the capital figures (usually animals like a bull, lion, elephant, etc) are
vigorous and carved standing on a square or circular abacus.
Major Rock Edicts
• Major Rock Edict I
Prohibits animal slaughter. Bans festive gatherings and killings of animals. Only two peacocks
and one deer were killed in Asoka’s kitchen. He wished to discontinue this practice of killing
two peacocks and one deer as well.
• Major Rock Edict II
Provides for care for man and animals, describes about Chola, Pandyas , Satyapura and
Keralputra Kingdoms of South India
• Major Rock Edict III
Generosity to Brahmans. Issued after 12 years of Asoka’s coronation. It says that the Yuktas
(subordinate officers and Pradesikas (district Heads) along with Rajukas (Rural officers ) shall go
to the all areas of kingdom every five years and spread the Dhamma Policy of Asoka.
• Major Rock Edict IV
Dhammaghosa is ideal to the mankind and not the Bherighosa. Impact of Dhamma on society.
• Major Rock Edict V
Concerns about the policy towards slaves. He mentions in this rock edict ” Every Human is my
child…”Appointment of Dhammamahamatras is mentioned in this edict.
• Major Rock Edict VI
Describes King’s desire to get informed about the conditions of the people constantly. Talks
about welfare measures.
• Major Rock Edict VII
Requests tolerance for all religions
 • Major Rock Edict VIII
Describes Asoka’s first Dhamma Yatra to Bodhgaya & Bodhi Tree.
• Major Rock Edict IX
Condemns popular ceremonies. Stress in ceremonies of Dhamma.
• Major Rock Edict X
Condemns the desire for fame and glory. Stresses on popularity of Dhamma.
• Major Rock Edict XI
Elaborates Dhamma
• Major Rock Edict XII
Directed and determined request for tolerance among different religious sects.
• Major Rock Edict XIII
Asoka’s victory over Kalinga . Victory of Asoka’s Dhamma over Greek Kings, Antiochus, Ptolemy,
Antigonus, Magas, Alexander and Cholas, Pandyas etc. This is the Largest Edict. It mentions
Kamboj, nabhaks, Bhoja, Andhra etc.
• Major Rock Edict XIV
Describes engraving of inscriptions in different parts of country.

Ashoka’s 7 pillar edicts:

These were found at Topra (Delhi), Meerut, Kausambhi, Rampurva, Champaran, Mehrauli:
• Pillar Edict I: Asoka’s principle of protection to people.
o Pillar Edict II: Defines Dhamma as the minimum of sins, many virtues,
compassion, liberality, truthfulness, and purity.
o Pillar Edict III: Abolishes sins of harshness, cruelty, anger, pride, etc.
o Pillar Edict IV: Deals with duties of Rajukas.
o Pillar Edict V: List of animals and birds which should not be killed on some days
and another list of animals which have not to be killed at all.
o Pillar Edict VI: Dhamma policy
o Pillar Edict VII: Works done by Asoka for Dhamma policy.
• Minor Pillar Inscriptions
o Rummindei Pillar Inscription: Asokha’s visit to Lumbini & exemption of Lumbini
from tax.
o Nigalisagar Pillar Inscription, Nepal: It mentions that Asoka increased the
height of stupa of Buddha Konakamana to its double size.
• Major Pillar Inscriptions
o Sarnath Lion Capital: Near Varanasi was built by Ashoka in commemoration of
Dhammachakrapravartana or the first sermon of Buddha.
o Vaishali Pillar, Bihar, single lion, with no inscription.
o Sankissa Pillar, Uttar Pradesh
o Lauriya-Nandangarth, Champaran, Bihar.
o Lauriya-Araraj, Champaran, Bihar
o Allahabad pillar, Uttar Pradesh.
 Halebidu, previously known as Dorasamudra or Dwarasamudra, the ancient Hoysala capital,
houses the ornate Hoysaleswara and Kedareswara temples, and is one of the well-visited
tourist attractions of Karnataka state

Thanesar or Sthanesvara, a historical town, located adjacent to what is now newly created
Kurukshetra city in Haryana

Girnar, also known as Girinagar (city-on-the-hill) or Revatak Parvata, is a group of mountains in

the Junagadh District of Gujarat. This place is sacred to the Jains because it is the place where
Lord Niminatha went to attain salvation

Vidisha (formerly known as Bhelsa and known as Besnagar in ancient times) is a city in the state
of Madhya Pradesh. It is located around 60 km northeast of the state capital, Bhopal.
fertigation ▪ The practice of supplying crops in the field with fertilizers via the irrigation water is
called fertigation. It is a modern agro-technique that facilitates higher yield and
reduced environmental pollution by increasing fertilizer use efficiency, minimizing
fertilizer application and increasing return on the fertilizer invested.
▪ The benefits of fertigation methods over conventional or drop-fertilizing methods
include:

o Increased nutrient absorption by plants.

o Accurate placement of nutrient, where the water goes the nutrient goes as
well.
o Ability to ‘microdose’, feeding the plants just enough so nutrients can be
absorbed and are not left to be washed down to stormwater next time it rains.
o Reduction of fertilizer, chemicals, and water needed.
 o Reduced leaching of chemicals into the water supply.
o Reduced water consumption due to the plant’s increased root mass’s ability to
trap and hold water.
o Application of nutrients can be controlled at the precise time and rate
necessary.
o Minimized risk of the roots contracting soil borne diseases through the
contaminated soil.
o Reduction of soil erosion issues as the nutrients are pumped through the water
drip system. Leaching is decreased often through methods used to employ
fertigation.
o Through fertigation, pH of the irrigation water can be managed.
▪ Fertigation method is not advisable in agriculture if the substance used can form
precipitate and Phosphate may form precipitate in water having high Calcium and
Magnesium content.

Major Minerals ▪ According to the National Account Statistics (2007), minerals are broadly classified into
major and minor minerals.
▪ Major Minerals include the following:

▪ Fuel Minerals: Coal, Lignite, Natural Gas, Petroleum (Crude).

▪ Metallic Minerals: Bauxite, Chromite, Copper Ore, Gold, Iron Ore, Lead
(Concentrates), Zinc (Concentrates), Manganese Ore, Silver, Tin (Concentrates),
Tungsten (Concentrates).
▪ Non-Metallic Minerals: Agate, Andalusite, Apatite, Asbestos, Ball Clay, Barytes,
Calcite, Chalk, Clay, Corundum, Calcarious sand, Diamond, Diaspore, Dolomite,
Kyanite, Laterite, Limestone, Limestone Kankar, Lime Shell, Magnesite, Mica
(crude), Ochre, Pyrites, Pyrophyllite, Phosphorite, Quartz, impure quartz,
Quartzite, Fuchsite Quartzite, Silica Sand, Salt (Rock), Salt (Evaporated), Shale,
Slate, Steatite, Sillimanite, Vermiculite, Wollastonite.
 ▪ Minor Minerals include Bentonite, Boulder, Brick Earth, Building Stones, Chalcedony or
Corundum, Fuller’s Earth, Gravel, Lime Stone, Dunite, Felspar, Fire Clay, Felsite, Flourite
(Graded), Flourite (Concentrates), Gypsum, Garnet (Abrasives), Garnet (Gem), Graphite
run-on-mines, Jasper, Kaolin, Marble, Murram, Ordinary Clay, Ordinary Sand, Ordinary
Earth, Pebbles or Kankar, Quartzite and Sand stone, Road Metal, Salt Petre, Shale,
Shingle, Slate.
▪ Chromite, Kyanite and Sillimanite are major minerals, whereas Bentonite is a minor
mineral.

Desert National Park Desert National Park is a stunning location in the state of Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district. One of
India's main national parks is the Desert National Park. The Desert National Park is also a
designated wildlife sanctuary.

The National Park covers a total area of around 3162 km2. Since the desert is such a harsh
environment for life to thrive, much of the fauna and flora survive on the edge.
The great Indian Bustard is a beautiful bird that can be seen in this park in large numbers. It
migrates locally at various times of the year. The area is a haven for desert migratory and
resident birds.

Desert National Park is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna. It is the only natural habitat
for the Rajasthan State Bird (Great Indian Bustard), State Animal (Camel), State Tree (Khejri),
and State Flower (Rohida).
Siachin

Jet Streams What is a Jet Stream?

▪ The Jet Stream is a geostrophic wind blowing horizontally through the upper layers of
the troposphere, generally from west to east, at an altitude of 20,000 - 50,000 feet.
▪ Jet Streams develop where air masses of differing temperatures meet. So, usually
surface temperatures determine where the Jet Stream will form.
▪ Greater the difference in temperature, faster is the wind velocity inside the jet stream.
▪ Jet Streams extend from 20 degrees latitude to the poles in both hemispheres.
Where does it actually begin?
▪ Air when warmed in the tropics, around the equator, fuel the Jet Stream as it rises.
Hitting the tropopause at about 58,000 feet (the layer of the atmosphere separating
the troposphere from the stratosphere), it is drawn toward the colder air at the north
and south poles.
Types of Jet Streams
▪ Sub Tropical Jet Streams are best developed in winter and early spring. Their maximum
speed approaches 300 knots which are associated with the merger with polar-front
jets. A subsidence motion accompanies subtropical jets and gives rise to predominantly
fair weather in areas they pass over. Sometimes they drift northward and merge with a
polar-front jet.
▪ Tropical Easterly Jet Stream occurs near the tropopause over Southeast Asia, India, and
Africa during summer. This jet implies a deep layer of warm air to the north of the jet
and colder air to the south over the Indian Ocean. The difference in heating and cooling
and the ensuing pressure gradient is what drives this jet.
▪ Polar-Night Jet Stream meanders through the upper stratosphere over the poles. They
are present in the convergence zone above the sub polar low pressure belt.

Critical Tiger Critical Tiger Habitats (CTH), also known as core areas of tiger reserves, are identified under the
Habitats (CTH) Wild Life Protection Act, 1972 based on scientific evidence that “such areas are required to be
kept as inviolative for the purpose of tiger conservation, without affecting the rights of the
Scheduled Tribes or such other forest dwellers”.
✓ The CTHs are notified by the state government in consultation with the expert
committee constituted for the purpose.
 ✓ Area of the core/critical tiger habitat:
o Corbett (Uttarakhand): 821.99 sq. kms
o Ranthambore (Rajasthan): 1113.36 sq. kms
o Sundarbans (West Bengal): 1699.62 sq. kms
o Nagarjunsagar Srisailam (part of Andhra Pradesh): 2595.72 sq. kms

• During the ancient period, India had trade and cultural contacts with Egypt, Rome, Greeks,
Arabs, China and almost all Southeast Asian countries.
• Both the coasts of India have been studded with a string of ports.

o The ports on the west coast were Barygaya, Suppara, Calliena, Semylla, Mandagore,
Palaepatme, Malizigara, Aurranobbas, Naura, Tyndis, Muziris and Nelcynda.
o The ports on the east coast were Tamralipti, Charitrapur, Paluru, Dantapur,
Kalingapatnam, Pithunda, Sopatma, Ghantasala, Kadura, Poduca, Puhar, Korkai and
Camara.
• Inshore explorations have been carried out at Malwan, Sopara, Elephanta island, Chaul,
Udyavara, Honnavar, Gopakapatna on the west coast and Manikpatna, Kalingapatna,
surrounding region of Poompuhar and Tranquebar on the east coast of India.

Zero Tillage ▪ Zero Tillage, also called no-till farming, is a cultivation technique in which the soil is
disturbed only along the slit or in the hole into which the seeds are planted, the reserved
detritus from previous crops covers and protects the seedbed.
▪ As per a study, it has been found that farmers in north India can not only help reduce air
pollution but also improve the productivity of their soil and earn more profits if they stop
burning their crop residue and instead adopt the concept of no-till farming.
▪ Under zero tillage, the direct seeding of wheat into unploughed soil and with rice residues
left behind has proved very beneficial. It saved on water, labour and use of agro-chemicals,
reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and improved soil health and crop yield and thus
benefitted both farmers and the society at large.
▪ Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) is a viable option to reduce the unproductive water flows. DSR
refers to the process of establishing a rice crop from seeds sown in the field rather than by
transplanting seedlings from the nursery. Conventional rice establishment system requires
a substantial amount of water. It has been reported that water up to 5000 litres is used to
produce 1 kg of rough rice. However, with increasing shortage of water, dry-DSR with
minimum or zero tillage further enhances the benefits of this technology by saving labour
 ▪ No tilled soils tend to be cooler than others, partly because a surface layer of plant residues
is present. Carbon is sequestered in the soil enhancing its quality, reducing the threat of
global warming.

crops ▪ Cotton:
o Temperature: Between 21-30°C, 210 frost free days.
o Rainfall: Around 50-100 cm.
o Soil Type: Well-drained black cotton soil of Deccan Plateau.
▪ Jute:
o Temperature: Between 15-34°C
o Rainfall: Around 100-250 cm.
o Soil Type: Jute can be raised on all kinds of soils from clay to sandy loam, but loamy
alluvial are best suited.
▪ Sugarcane:
o Temperature: Between 28-32°C
o Rainfall: Around 75-120 cm.
o Soil Type: Sugarcane can grow in a variety of soils including black cotton soils,
loams, brown or reddish loams, clayey loams and even laterites.
▪ Tea:
o Temperature: Between 20-30°C.
o Rainfall: Around 150-300 cm.
o Soil Type: Deep and fertile well-drained soil, rich in humus and organic matter.

Crop Diversification ▪ About:

o Crop diversification refers to the addition of new crops or cropping systems to
agricultural production on a particular farm taking into account the different
returns from value- added crops with complementary marketing opportunities.

• Cropping System: It refers to the crops, crop sequences and management

techniques used on a particular agricultural field over a period of years.
• Types: Major cropping systems in India are sequential-
cropping, monocropping, intercropping, relay Cropping, mixed-
cropping and alley cropping.
o Many farmers also use the mixed crop-livestock system to increase their standards
of living and income.

• Animal husbandry or Animal Agriculture is the branch of science dealing

with the practice of breeding, farming and care of farm animals
(livestocks) such as cattle, dogs, sheep and horses by humans for
advantages.
• It refers to livestock raising and selective breeding. It is a branch of
agriculture.
▪ Types:
Legume A leguminous plant (legume) is a group of plants that have vegetables or as foods grown from
intensification the ground knobs that enhance the ability of nitrogen- rich material. Examples include acacia,
peas, clover, beans etc.
Legumes improve soil health, especially compared to fallow, by adding nitrogen and organic
matter and reducing potential erosion and leaching loss. Legumes may reduce the energy
footprint of cropping systems by reducing the need for nitrogen fertilizer, and improve the
stability and health of agro-ecosystems.
Interest Coverage ▪ The Interest Coverage Ratio (ICR) is a debt ratio and profitability ratio used to
Ratio (ICR) determine how easily a company can pay interest on its outstanding debt. It measures
how many times a company can cover its current interest payment with its available
earnings. It may be calculated by dividing a company’s earnings before interest and
taxes (EBIT) during a given period by the company’s interest payments due within the
same period. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

▪ ICR is commonly used by lenders, creditors, and investors to determine the company
riskiness relative to its current debt or for future borrowing.
▪ The higher the interest coverage ratio the better. The lower the ratio, the more the
company is burdened by debt expense. When a company’s interest coverage ratio is
only 1.5 or lower, its ability to meet interest expenses may be questionable

G20 ▪ The G20 is an informal group of 19 countries and the European Union, with
representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
 ▪ In order to achieve a robust global economic growth, the member countries which
represent and contribute more than 80% of the global GDP came at the premier forum
for international economic cooperation, which was agreed by leaders at the Pittsburgh
Summit in Pennsylvania (USA) in September 2009.
▪ The G20 members include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany,
India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea , Russia, Saudi Arabia, South
Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union (EU).

Kisan Credit Card ▪ The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme was introduced in 1998 for providing adequate and
(KCC) scheme timely credit support from the banking system under a single window with flexible and
simplified procedure to the farmers for their cultivation and other needs like purchase of
agriculture inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc. and draw cash for their
production needs.
▪ The scheme was further extended in the year 2004 for the investment credit requirement
of farmers viz allied and non-farm activities.
▪ Kisan Credit Card is provided with the following objectives:
o The short term credit requirements for cultivation of crops
o Post harvest expenses
o Produce marketing loan
o Consumption requirements of farmer household
o Working capital for maintenance of farm assets and activities allied to agriculture,
like dairy animals, inland fishery, etc.
o Investment credit requirement for agriculture and allied activities like pumpsets,
sprayers, dairy animals, etc.
▪ The Kisan Credit Card Scheme is implemented by Commercial Banks, RRBs, Small Finance
Banks and Cooperatives.

Consumer Price ▪ Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is a measure of the average change in the prices of goods in
Index (CPI) & the wholesale market or at the wholesale level. It is published by the Office of Economic
Wholesale Price Adviser, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Index (WPI) ▪ Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the measure of changes in the price level of a basket of
consumer goods and services bought by households. There are four types of CPI based on
items basket:
o CPI for Industrial Workers (IW)
 o CPI for Agricultural Labourer (AL)
o CPI for Rural Labourer (RL)
o CPI (Rural/Urban/Combined)
▪ Of these, the first three are compiled by the Labour Bureau in the Ministry of Labour and
Employment. Fourth is compiled by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) in the
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
▪ Weightage of items in CPI is based on average household expenditure taken from consumer
expenditure surveys. The weightage of food in CPI is far higher (approx. 46%) than in WPI
(approx. 24%). A significant proportion of WPI items basket represents manufacturing
inputs and intermediate goods like minerals, basic metals, machinery etc
▪ Moreover, WPI does not capture changes in the prices of services, which CPI does.
▪ WPI is used as a key measure of inflation in some economies. However, the RBI no longer
uses it for policy purposes, including setting repo rates. In April 2014, the RBI adopted the
CPI or retail inflation as a key measure of inflation to set the monetary and credit policy.

Important Rivers of
the World
Important Lakes of
the World

Commercial Paper • Commercial paper is an unsecured form of promissory note that pays a fixed rate of
interest. It is typically issued by large banks or corporations to cover short-term receivables
and meet short-term financial obligations, such as funding for a new project.
• As with any other type of bond or debt instrument, the issuing entity offers the
paper assuming that it will be in a position to pay both interest and principal by maturity. It
is seldom used as a funding vehicle for longer-term obligations because other alternatives
are better suited for that purpose.
• The commercial paper provides a convenient financing method because it allows issuers to
avoid the hurdles and expense of applying for and securing continuous business loans, and
the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not require securities that trade in the
money market to be registered.
• It is usually offered at a discount with maturities that can range from one to 270 days,
although most issues mature in one to six months.

Certificate of Deposit • Certificate of Deposit (CD) is a money market instrument and it is negotiable and
equivalent to a promissory note.
• It is either issued in dematerialized form or in the form of a usance promissory note.
• It is issued in lieu of the funds deposited at a bank for a specified time period.

Call money Call money is a short-term, interest-paying loan from 1 to 14 days made by a financial
institution to another financial institution
zero-coupon bond A zero-coupon bond is a debt security that does not pay interest but instead trades at a deep
discount, rendering a profit at maturity, when the bond is redeemed for its full face value
• These are “non-interest bearing, non-transferable special GOI securities”.
• They have a maturity of 10-15 years and issued specifically to Punjab & Sind Bank.
• These recapitalisation bonds are special types of bonds issued by the Central
government specifically to a particular institution.
• It is not tradable, it is not transferable.
• It is held at the held-to-maturity (HTM) category of the bank as per the RBI guidelines.
Since it is held to maturity, it is accounted at the face value (and) no mark-to-market
will be there.
How do they differ from traditional bonds?
Though zero coupon, these bonds are different from traditional zero coupon bonds on one
account — as they are being issued at par, there is no interest; in previous cases, since they
were issued at discount, they technically were interest bearing.

Non-financial debt ▪ Debts are contractual obligations to repay monetary loans, often with related interest
expenses.
▪ Non-financial debt:
o It consists of credit instruments issued by governmental entities, households and
businesses that are not included in the financial sector.
o It includes industrial or commercial loans, Treasury bills and credit card balances.
o They share most of the same characteristics with financial debt, except the issuers
are non-financial.

Trade-Related ▪ Under the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMS) of the World Trade
Investment Organization (WTO), commonly known as the TRIMS Agreement (negotiated during the
Measures (TRIMS) Uruguay Round 1986-1994), WTO members have agreed not to apply certain investment
measures that discriminate against foreign goods that restrict or distort trade (national
treatment under GATT Article III) or leads to quantitative restrictions (Article XI), both of
which violate basic WTO principles.
▪ This agreement applies only to measures that affect trade in goods.
▪ The Agreement is not concerned with the regulation of foreign investment. The disciplines
of the TRIMS Agreement focus on investment measures that infringe GATT Articles III and
XI. In other words, it focusses on investment measures that discriminate between imported
and exported products.

expansionist ▪ Expansionary monetary policy, or easy monetary policy, is when a central bank uses its
monetary policy tools to stimulate the economy. It increases the money supply, lowers interest rates, and
increases demand. It boosts economic growth.
▪ Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) is a monetary policy tool that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
uses to assess the liquidity at the banks’ disposal. It is the minimum percentage of deposits
that a commercial bank has to maintain in the form of cash, gold or other securities. It is
basically the reserve requirement that banks are expected to keep before offering credit to
customers. Raising SLR makes banks park more money in government securities and reduce
the level of cash in the economy. Doing the opposite helps maintain cash flow in the
economy. Reducing SLR leaves more liquidity with banks, which in turn can fuel growth and
demand in the economy
▪ Marginal standing facility (MSF) is a window for scheduled banks to borrow overnight from
the RBI in an emergency situation when interbank liquidity dries up completely. With the
increase of MSF Rate, cost of borrowing increases for banks resulting in reduced available
resources to lend
▪ Repo Rate, or repurchase rate, is the key monetary policy rate of interest at which the
central bank or the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lends short term money to banks, against
the collateral of government and other approved securities under the liquidity adjustment
facility (LAF). Bank Rate is the interest rate which the RBI charges on its long-term lendings.
 Under expansionary monetary policy, RBI reduces repo rate and bank rate to increase
liquidity in the banking sector.

Cooperative bank ▪ Cooperative bank is an institution established on the cooperative basis and dealing in
ordinary banking business.
▪ In rural India, there exists a 3-tier rural cooperative structure.
o Tier-I: It includes state cooperative banks (StCBs) at the state level;
o Tier-II: It includes central cooperative banks (CCBs) at the district level; and
o Tier- III: It includes primary agricultural credit societies (PACSs).
▪ According to a report of the RBI, in 2016-17, scheduled commercial banks contributed
the major share (78- 80%) in agricultural and allied credit. Cooperative institutions also
play a significant role in extending agricultural credit and the share of all cooperative
banks/institutions (i.e. StCBs, DCCBs and PACSs put together) constituted 15-16%. The
RRBs contributed the remaining 5% of the agricultural credit.
▪ The most significant function of the district central cooperative bank is to provide
financial support to the primary cooperative societies that are affiliated to it in the
district.

Cauvery basin ▪ Nagarhole National Park:

o This park is also known as Rajiv Gandhi National Park. It is located in the two
districts of Karnataka, namely Mysore and Kodagu.
o The park was established as a wildlife sanctuary in 1955 and was upgraded into a
national park in 1988.
o The park was declared as the 37th Tiger reserve in 1999.
o Kabini, a tributary of the Cauvery River, is the largest river draining the park.
▪ Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve:
o Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve is a protected area and tiger
reserve along the Western Ghats in the Erode district of the state of Tamil Nadu.
o In the northern part of Erode district, Palar river flows and drains into Cauvery
river.
▪ Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary:
o Located in Kerala, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) is an integral part of the
Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It was established in 1973.
o It is contiguous to the tiger reserves of Nagerhole and Bandipur of Karnataka and
Mudumalai of Tamil Nadu.
o Kabini river (a tributary of Cauvery river) flows through the sanctuary.
Papikonda National ▪ This park is spread over 1012.86 square kilometres in East and West Godavari districts of
Park: Andhra Pradesh.
▪ It has historically experienced varying levels of protection, beginning as a reserve forest in
1882, a wildlife sanctuary in 1978, and as a national park from 2008.
▪ The park lies along the left and right banks of the river Godavari and cuts through the
Papikonda hill range of Eastern Ghats.

Steel slag ▪ Steel slag is a by-product of the steel making process. It is produced during the
separation of the molten steel from impurities in steel-making furnaces. The slag occurs
as a molten liquid and is a complex solution of silicates and oxides that solidifies upon
cooling.
▪ Steel slag is used as a base course material, the material under the surface layer of an
asphalt road, track or surface.
▪ Steel slag can be used in the agricultural sector due to its ability to correct soil acidity,
as it contains some nutrients for the plants and also as silicate fertilizer that is capable
of providing silicon to the plants.
 ▪ Steel-slag can be used to produce cement. Further, slag cement is most widely used in
concrete, either as a separate cementitious component or as part of a blended cement.
It works synergistically with portland cement to increase strength, reduce permeability,
improve resistance to chemical attack and inhibit rebar corrosion.

Askot Wildlife o It is located 54 km from Pithoragarh, near Askot in Uttarakhand state of India.
Sanctuary: o This sanctuary has been set up primarily with the object of conserving the musk deer and
its habitat.

Gangotri National o Established in 1989, it is located in the upper catchment of Bhagirathi River in Uttarakhand.
Park o The park is home to blue sheep, Himalayan Tahr, musk deer, snow leopard etc

Kishanpur Wildlife o It is a part of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve near Mailani in Uttar Pradesh. It was founded in
Sanctuary 1972.
o In this sanctuary, tiger, chital, hog deer, wild boars, otters, and many more animals find
themselves a home.
o A huge number of resident and migratory birds like falcons, drongos, owls, egrets, and
peacocks can be spotted in the open meadows, which is traversed by perennial streams

Manas National o Manas National Park is located in the Himalayan foothills in Assam. It is contiguous with the
Park Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan.
o It is known for its rare and endangered endemic wildlife such as the Assam roofed turtle,
hispid hare, golden langur and pygmy hog.
o Manas is famous for its population of the wild water buffalo.
Coal ash ▪ Coal ash, also referred to as coal combustion residuals or CCRs, is produced primarily from
the burning of coal in coal-fired power plants. It contains contaminants like mercury,
cadmium and arsenic. Without proper management, these contaminants can pollute
waterways, ground water, drinking water, and the air.
▪ Coal based thermal power plants are major source of Sulphur dioxide and Nitrogen oxides
emissions.
▪ According to Coal India Limited, the ash content of coal produced in the country is generally
25 to 45% whereas average ash content of imported coal varies from 10 to 20%.

Biochar ▪ Biochar is a porous carbonaceous solid produced by heating various biomass feedstocks
under high temperatures in an oxygen-limited environment.
▪ As biochar migrates vertically through the soil profile, therefore can be used as a part of the
growing medium in vertical farming
▪ Due to its adsorption ability, some biochars have the potential to immobilise heavy metals,
pesticides, herbicides, and hormones; prevent nitrate leaching and faecal bacteria into
waterways; and reduce N2O and CH4 emissions from soils.
▪ Biochar can help retain water and nutrients in the soil for the plants to take up as they
grow.
▪