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🔆 South America
✅There are only two landlocked countries in South America.
✅ Bolivia: Bolivia is bordered to the north and east by Brazil, to the southeast by Paraguay, to the south by Argentina, to the southwest and west by Chile, and to the northwest by Peru.
✅Capital: La Paz was established as the seat of government for the legislative and executive branches, while Sucre retained the seat of the judicial branch of the Bolivian government.
✅ Paraguay:Paraguay is bordered by Bolivia on the north-west and north, Brazil on the east and Argentina on the south and south-west.
✅Capitol: Asunción
NOTE: North America has no landlocked countries.
❇️ 22 April
🌏 World Earth Day
विश्व पृथ्वी दिवस
Theme 2023 : 'Invest in our planet'
🌏 To demonstrate support for environmental protection.
🌏First held on April 22, 1970
🌍On 22nd April 2009 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring 22nd April as the “International Mother Earth Day.
🌎The founder of the Earth Day was Gaylord Nelson
🌎In 2005 the United Nations General Assembly declared 2008 as the “International Year of Planet Earth
💠 NEWS 🔻🔻
🔷China Successfully Launches New Satellite Gaofen-3 03 For Earth Observation
🔶Kuwait Becomes Hottest Place On Earth, Records 53.2°C
🔷ISRO Successfully Launches Earth Observation Satellite, EOS-04
🔶Earth Station of Doordarshan Kendra Inaugurated In Gorakhpur
🔷China Launched World’s 1st Earth Science Satellite Named “Guangmu”
🔶Parambikulam Tiger Conservation Foundation Wins Earth Heroes Awards 2021
🔷Chronicles From The Land Of the Happiest People On Earth by Soyinka
🔆 Industrial Regions
▪️Major Industrial Regions (There are 8 such regions)
✅Mumbai-Pune Region,
✅Hugli Region,
✅ Bangalore-Tamil Nadu Region,
✅ Gujarat Region,
✅ Chota Nagpur Region,
✅ Vishakhapatnam-Guntur Region,
✅ Gurugram-Delhi-Meerut Region, and
✅ Kollam-Thiruvantapuram Region.
▪️Minor Industrial Regions (There are 13 such regions)
✅ Ambala-Amritsar,
✅Saharanpur-Muzaffarnagar-Bijnor,
✅Indore-Dewas-Ujjain,
✅ Jaipur-Ajmer,
✅ Kolhapur-South Kannada,
✅ Northern Malabar,
✅ Middle Malabar,
✅ Adilabad-Nizamabad,
✅ Prayagraj-Varanasi-Mirzapur,
✅ Bhojpur-Munger,
✅ Durg-Raipur,
✅ Bilaspur-Korba, and
✅ Brahmaputra valley
Kenya Launched Its First Operational Earth Observation Satellite “Taifa-1”
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UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India:
(Source: The Indian Express)
🔆Chilka lake
✅Chilka Lake is Asia’s biggest inland saltwater lagoon situated near Satapada in Odisha.
✅Located at the mouth of the Daya River, Chilka Lake is the largest coastal lagoon in India and also the second largest saltwater lagoon in the world after the New Caledonian barrier reef in New Caledonia.
✅The lake is studded with small islands including the most charming Honeymoon Island and the Breakfast Island.
✅The lake is an ecosystem with large fishery resources. It sustains more than 150,000 fisher folk living in 132 villages on the shore and Islands.
✅In 1981, Chilka Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
✅The lake also acts as one of the most supportive ecosystems in the name of Chilka Lake Sanctuary.
✅It is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian sub-continent.
✅Birds from the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral Sea and other remote parts of Russia, Kirghiz steppes of Mongolia, Central and Southeast Asia, Ladakh and Himalayas come here.
✅White bellied sea eagles, Graylag Geese, Purple Moorhen, Jacana, Herons and Flamingos are among the many species which make the lake a bird watcher’s delight.
✅Chilika in fact, is home to one of the world’s largest breeding colonies of Flamingos.
✅Being richly famous for the presence of aquatic wildlife, Chilika Lake sanctuary also houses Irrawaddy dolphins which are different from the other dolphins as their colour and dorsal fin being less prominent.
✅Apart from the avifaunal species, the region also highlights varied wild animals such as Blackbuck, Golden Jackals, Spotted Deer and Hyenas.
✅One of the most famous tourist attractions near Chilika Wildlife Sanctuary is Kalijai Temple, devoted to Goddess Kalijai. Makar Sankranti is celebrated with great pomp and cheer at the temple that attracts numerous travelers and devotees.
🔆Mughal Paintings :
✅ Mughal painting echoes an elite mixture of Indian, Persian and Islamic styles.
✅ The Mughal paintings are developed during the rule of Mughal Emperors in India (16th to 19th century).
✅ The themes of the Mughal paintings orbited around the battles, court scenes, receptions, legendary stories, hunting scenes, wildlife, portraits, etc.
▪️History:
✅ The earliest example of the Mughal style is the Tutinama (‘Tales of a Parrot’) Painting.
✅Indian Mughal paintings emerged during the rule of Mughal Emperor, Humayun (1530-1540).
✅ When he returned to India from the outcast, he additionally brought along two eminent Persian artists, Mir-Sayyid Ali and Abd-us-samad.
✅ Mughal paintings of India advanced as well as flourished under the reign of Mughal Emperors, Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.
Growth of Mughal Painting
▪️Akbar
✅ Mughal painting has advanced largely in the reign of Akbar
✅ The paintings are usually based on tales and epics like the Mahabharata, Ramayana and Persian epics.
✅ It also started demonstrating an enriched naturalism, with animal tales, landscape, portraits, etc.
✅ Akbar established a separate department for painting.
✅ He started the concept of Karkhana.
✅ Indian painters were also present in karkhana. That’s why there is Indian influence in the paintings.
✅ Famous painters of that time are Dashwant, Baswan and Kesu.
✅ Most of the paintings during Akbar’s reign were miniature paintings.
▪️Jahangir
✅ Mughal Emperor Jahangir ruled from 1605 to 1627
He stretched great support to several art forms, specifically paintings.
✅ This era has seen enhancement in brushwork, along with the usage of much lighter and subdued colors.
✅ The main themes of this era’s paintings were revolved around the events from the life of Jahangir’s, along with portraits, birds, flowers, animals, etc.
✅ He also started the portrait paintings.
✅ Decoration of margins started from his time.
✅ He also has his own workshop for painting.
✅ One of the famous painters of that time was Ustad Mansoor.
✅ And famous paintings of that time are zebra, Turkey, and Maulana-do-Pyaza.
▪️Shah Jahan :
✅ The elegance and modification of the Jahangir period were seen at the time of Shah Jahan also.
✅ The themes were musical parties, lovers on terraces and gardens, ascetics gathered around a fire, etc.
▪️Decline :
✅ The trend that was seen amid the season of Shah Jahan was also found under the reign of Aurangzeb.
✅Be that as it may, the Aurangzeb did not pay too much attention to the development of the Mughal paintings.
✅ The period of Muhammad Shah did experience a short revitalization of the Mughal paintings.
✅ With the onset of Shah Alam II, the art almost became non-existent and alternative school of painting, recognized as Rajput paintings, started developing.
SATLUJ RIVER:
▪️ Other names - Satadru or Satudri.
▪️ Called Langechan Khambab in Tibet.
▪️ Rises from Rakas Lake situated near Mansarovar lake in Tibet.
▪️ At the pass of Shipki la it enters HP where it cuts through Zaskar and Himalayan ranges.
▪️ Below Bhakra Dam it enters in Punjab plains.
▪️ It meets Beas in the south-west corner of Kapurthala.
▪️ From Ferozepur to Fazilka it forms boundary between India and Pakistan.
▪️ During it onward journey, it receives collective drainage of Ravi, Chenab & Jhelum River.
▪️ It joins Indus few Kms above Mithankot.
✅Recent Awards in News
🧩 Poland’s highest honour ‘Order of the White Eagle’ – Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky
🧩 ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by University of Texas – Naveen Jindal
🧩 Wildlife Conservation Award 2023 – J&K’s Aliya Mir
🧩 Conferred Special Literary Award – Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
🧩 Abel Prize for Maths – Luis Caffarelli...
Important places in news in India & the world: (Part-1)
(Source: Insight IAS)
❇️ 14th April
📜 World Equality Day
विश्व समानता दिवस
🌀 It marks the birthday of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, Father of the Constitution of India & civil rights activist, who was born on April 14, 1891.The day is also known as Bhim Jayanti.
▪️He is Master in 64 subjects & know 9 languages.
▪️Recognised as modern Buddha.
▪️India's 1st Law&Justice minister.
▪️Received Bharat Ratna in 1990.
.🪢 RIGHT TO EQUALITY (ARTICLE 14 - 18 )
•14 Equality before law.
•15 Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
•16 Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.
•17 Abolition of Untouchability
•18 Abolition of titles
📜ARTICLE 32 :- The right to move the SC in case of their violation (called Soul & heart of the Constitution by BR Ambedkar)
🔶Prime Minister Narendra Modi Unveiled ‘Statue Of Equality’ 2022 in Hyderabad ( Saint Ramanujacharya)
🔶TN declares Ambedkar birth anniversary as 'Equality Day'
What is State Party & National Party ?
(Source: The Indian Express)
▪️Hemis National Park
✅ High -elevation national park in Ladakh.
✅ The park lies within the Karakoram- West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe ecoregion, and contains pine forests, alpine shrublands and meadows, and alpine tundra vegetation.
✅ The park is home to a viable breeding population of about 200 snow leopards, especially in the Rumbak catchment area.
✅ The prey base for the apex predator in the Central Asian
Highlands is primarily supported in Hemis by Argali (Great Tibetan Sheep), Bharal (Blue Sheep), Shapu (Ladakhi Urial), and livestock
🔆 Types of Soil in India
▪️Alluvial soil
✅The alluvium is made up of finer rock particles formed by sea waves, Rivers.
✅ Light Grey to Ash Grey.
✅ Sandy to silty loam or clay
▪️Red soil
✅It is formed by weathering granites, gneisses, crystalline rocks, Ragi, groundnuts, millets, and tobacco grown well in these soils
✅Reddish to Brownish
✅Sandy to clay and loamy
▪️Black soil
✅ Get its name black coloration of the Basalt rock, suited for cotton production
✅ Deep black to light black.
✅ Clayey
▪️Arid and Desert soils
✅ low in nitrogen, humus, phosphates and nitrates – making them unsuitable for cultivation
✅ Red to Brown
✅ Sandy
▪️Laterite and Lateritic soils
✅ Acidic in higher elevations, low in calcium and magnesium – useful in growing rice as well as plantation crops such as cashew, rubber
✅ Red color due to iron oxide
✅ thick loam to clayey
▪️Mountain soils
✅ Ideal for growing plantation crops such as tea, coffee, spices, and tropical fruits
✅ dark brown color
✅ clayey silt to loamy texture
▪️Saline and Alkaline soils
✅ These soils are infertile and uncultivable
✅ white alkali or brown alkali
✅ sandy to loamy
▪️Peaty Soils
✅ forms in hot, humid conditions
✅ dark, almost black in hue
✅ spongy.
Solar Eclipse
A solar eclipse is a natural phenomenon that occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, casting a shadow on the Earth's surface, resulting in a temporary darkening of the Sun.
The moon's shadow has two parts: a central region (umbra) and an outer region (penumbra).
Types of Solar Eclipse:
🧤Total Solar Eclipse: A total eclipse happens when the Moon completely blocks out the Sun while passing between the Earth and the Sun.
🧤The Baily's Beads effect, also known as the diamond ring effect, is a phenomenon that occurs during a total solar eclipse or annular solar eclipse.
🧤Annular Eclipse: It happens when the Moon is at its farthest point from the Earth.
🧤The sun is covered in such a way that only a small ring-like sliver of light is seen from the sun's disc. This ring is known as the ring of fire.
🧤Partial Eclipse: It occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun but is not perfectly aligned.
Hence, only a part of the Sun appears covered.
🧤Hybrid Eclipse: A hybrid solar eclipse occurs when the eclipse is total from some locations on Earth and annular from others, due to the viewer's position relative to the Moon's shadow.
It means that for some observers, the Moon appears to fully cover the Sun, resulting in a total solar eclipse, while for others, the Moon only partially covers the Sun, resulting in an annular solar eclipse
Chilika lake:
▪️Brackish water lagoon with estuarine character
▪️Spread across Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of state of Odisha
▪️Located at the mouth of Daya river which flows into Bay of Bengal
▪️Prominent islands: Birdss island, Nalabana, Nuapara, Krushnaprasadrah, Kalijai hill
▪️Largest coastal lagoon in India and Asia, and the second largest lagoon in the world
▪️Largest wintering ground for migratory waterfowl
▪️ Country's first designated Ramsar wetland in 1981
▪️Listed as a tentative UNESCO World heritage site.
Ken River:
▪️ Originates from Barner range of MP.
▪️ It makes through Panna dist. (MP) where it makes gorge at Gangau.
▪️ Joins Yamuna river in Banda dist. in UP.
▪️ Ken - Betwa link
• It is a project proposed to transfer excess water from the River Ken to the Betwa basin through the use of a concrete canal.
• The project aims to provide irrigation to the Bundelkhand region, which is one of the worst drought-affected areas in India. The beneficiary states are Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
✅ COMPLETE IMPORTANT EXERCISEs :-
♦️SHAKTI : India + France.
♦️DESERT KNIGHT : India + France.
♦️GARUDA : India + France.
♦️VARUNA : India + France.
♦️SIMBEX : India + Singapore.
♦️AGNI WARRIOR : India + Singapore.
♦️BOLD KURUKSHETRA : India + Singapore.
♦️SITMEX : India, Singapore & Thailand.
♦️MAITREE : India + Thailand.
♦️ZAYED TALWAR : India + UAE.
♦️DESERT EAGLE : India + UAE.
♦️YUDH ABHYAS : India + US.
♦️COPE INDIA : India + US.
♦️VAJRA PRAHAR : India + US.
♦️TIGER TRIUMPH : India + US.
♦️DESERT FLAG : Indian Airforce's Multilateral Exercise.
♦️EKUVERIN EXERCISE : India + Maldives.
♦️PRABAL DOSTYK : India + Kazakhstan.
♦️KAZIND : India + Kazakhstan.
♦️DHARMA GUARDIAN : India + Japan.
♦️SLINEX : India + Srilanka.
♦️MITRA SHAKTI : India + Sri Lanka.
♦️EASTERN BRIDGE : The Indian Airforce + Royal Airforce of Oman.
♦️Al NAGAH : India : Oman.
♦️IMBAX : India + Myanmar.
♦️EASTER BRIDGE : India + Oman.
♦️NASEEM-Al-BAHR : India + Oman.
♦️COBRA WARRIOR : Indian Air Force + Multilateral Exercise.
♦️MILAN : Indian Navy's Multilateral Exercise.
♦️COPE SOUTH : US + Bangladesh Air Force Exercise.
♦️SAMPRITI : India + Bangladesh.
♦️BONGOSAGAR : India + Bangladesh.
♦️CARAT : Bangladesh + US.
♦️HAND IN HAND : India + China.
♦️PASCHIM LEHAR : Indian Navy's Maritime Exercise.
♦️ZAPAD : Indian Army's Multilateral Exercise.
♦️SEACAT : Indian Navy's Multilateral Exercise.
♦️SHANTIR OGROSHENA : India's Military + Multilateral Exercise.
♦️MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATURK : Azerbaijan + Turkey.
♦️SHARE DESTINY : China + Pakistan + Mongolia & Thailand.
♦️NOMADIC ELEPHANT : India + Mongolia.
♦️SEA DRAGON : The Indian Navies + Japan, US, Australia, Canada & Republic of Korea : Multilateral Exercise.
♦️JIMEX : India + Japan.
♦️SHINYU MAITRI : India + Japan.
♦️DHARMA GUARDIAN : India + Japan.
♦️SAHYOG KAIJIN : India : Japan.
♦️SAHYOG HYEOBLYEOG : India + South Korea.
♦️AJEYA WARRIOR : India + UK.
♦️INDRADHANUSH : India + UK.
♦️KONKAN : India + UK.
♦️CHIRU : Chinese + Russia + Iran.
♦️VINBAX : India + Vietnam.
♦️SAMUDRA SHAKTI : India + Indonesia.
♦️GARUDA SHAKTI : India + Indonesia.
♦️IN-EUNAVFOR + India + Spain + Italy + France.
♦️KAZIND : India + Kazakhstan.
♦️SURYA KIRAN : India + Nepal.
♦️AVIA INDRA : India + Russia.
♦️INDRA : India + Russia.
♦️AUSINDEX : Indian Navy + Australian Navy.
♦️SEA BREEZE DRILLs : Ukraine + US.
♦️STEADFAST DEFENDER : NATO COUNTRIES.
♦️MALABAR EXERCISE : Quad Countries [Australia, India, Japan, & The US.
♦️PABBI ANTI-TERROR : SCO COUNTRIES.
♦️DEFENDER EUROPE : NOTA COUNTIES.
♦️BULL STRIKE : Tri-Service Exercise.
♦️AMPHEX : Tri-Service Exercise.
♦️Al-MOHED Al-Hindi : India + Saudi Arabia.
♦️KHANJAR : India + Kyrgyzstan.
♦️ZAIR-Al-BAHR : India + Qatar.
♦️LAMITYE : India + Seychelles.
♦️DUSTLIK : India + Uzbekistan.
♦️HARIMAU SHAKTI : India + Malaysia.
♦️SEA VIGIL : Coastal Defence Exercise.
♦️KAVACH : Joint Military Exercise.
♦️SURAKSHA KAVACH : Anti- Terror.
♦️SAGAR KAVACH : Coastal Security Exercise.
Western Disturbances
✅Western disturbances are storms that originate in the Caspian or Mediterranean Sea, and bring non-monsoonal rainfall to northwest India, according to the India meteorological Department
✅They are labelled as an extra tropical Strom in the Mediterranean, is an area of low pressure that brings sudden showers, snow and fog in northwest India.
It arrives with rain and snow in Pakistan and northern India.
The moisture which WDs carry with them comes from the Mediterranean Sea and/or from the Atlantic Ocean.
WD brings winter and pre-monsoon rain and is important for the development of the Rabi crop in the Northern subcontinent.
The WDs are not always the harbingers of good weather.
🌲 Sometimes WDs can cause extreme weather events like floods, flash floods , landslides , dust storms, hailstorms and cold waves killing people, destroying infrastructure and impacting livelihoods.
New Species Cascade Frog -Amolops Siju
Researchers from the Zoological Survey of India ( ZSI) have discovered a new species of frog, which they named Amolops Siju, from the Siju cave in the South Garo Hills district of Meghalaya.
🌲The Amolops Siju belongs to the largest group of ranid frogs, with over 70 known species distributed across northeast and north India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, and the Malaya Peninsula.
🌲The discovery of a new species of frog from a cave is very rare, and it is the fourth new species of a cascade frog ( Amolops ) .
✅ Cascade Frogs are named so because of their preference for small waterfalls or cascades in flowing hill streams.
🔆 Types of Soil in India
▪️Alluvial soil
✅The alluvium is made up of finer rock particles formed by sea waves, Rivers.
✅ Light Grey to Ash Grey.
✅ Sandy to silty loam or clay
▪️Red soil
✅It is formed by weathering granites, gneisses, crystalline rocks, Ragi, groundnuts, millets, and tobacco grown well in these soils
✅Reddish to Brownish
✅Sandy to clay and loamy
▪️Black soil
✅ Get its name black coloration of the Basalt rock, suited for cotton production
✅ Deep black to light black.
✅ Clayey
▪️Arid and Desert soils
✅ low in nitrogen, humus, phosphates and nitrates – making them unsuitable for cultivation
✅ Red to Brown
✅ Sandy
▪️Laterite and Lateritic soils
✅ Acidic in higher elevations, low in calcium and magnesium – useful in growing rice as well as plantation crops such as cashew, rubber
✅ Red color due to iron oxide
✅ thick loam to clayey
▪️Mountain soils
✅ Ideal for growing plantation crops such as tea, coffee, spices, and tropical fruits
✅ dark brown color
✅ clayey silt to loamy texture
▪️Saline and Alkaline soils
✅ These soils are infertile and uncultivable
✅ white alkali or brown alkali
✅ sandy to loamy
▪️Peaty Soils
✅ forms in hot, humid conditions
✅ dark, almost black in hue
✅ spongy
Deserts across the World
✅North America
1.Great Basin USA(Cold desert)
2.Mojave USA
3.Sonoran USA & Mexico
4.Chihuhuan USA & Mexico
✅South America
1.Atacama Chile & Peru(Cool Coastal Desert)
2.Patagonian Argentina(Cold)
Africa
1.Sahara Africa continent
2.Libyan Libya & Egypt
3.Nubian Sudan & Eritrea
4.Danakil Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti
5. Namib Namibia, Angola, South Africa(Cool Coastal)
6. Kalahari Botswana, Namibia, South Africa
✅Asia
1.Rub-al-Khali Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen, Oman
2. Al-Nafud - Saudi Arabia
3. Ad-Dahana - Saudi Arabia
4. Syrian - Syria, Iran, Jordan
5. Kyzylkum - Kazakhstan, Turkemenistan, Uzbekistan(Cold)
6.Garagum Turkemenistan(Cold)
7.Dasht-e-Kavir Iran
8.Dasht-e-lut Iran
9.Thar India & pakistan
10.Takla Makan China (Cold)
11.Gobi China & Mongolia(Cold)
✅Australia
1.Great Sandy Australia
2.Gibson Australia
3.Great Victoria Australia
4.Simpson Australia
Important places in news in India & the world: (Part-1)
(Source: Insight IAS)
🔆 Taiwan Strait
✅Taiwan Strait, also called Formosa Strait, is a 180-kilometre-wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia.
✅The strait extends from southwest to northeast between the South and East China seas.
✅The narrowest part is 130 km wide.
✅It reaches a depth of about 230 feet (70 m) and contains the Pescadores Islands (which are controlled by the government of Taiwan).
✅The chief ports are Amoy in mainland China and Kao-hsiung in Taiwan.
✅Median line of the Taiwan Strait:
▪️It is the informal dividing line in the Taiwan Strait between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.
▪️It came about during the Cold War as a way to try and delineate the two opposing sides and reduce the risk of clashes
▪️No agreement or treaty ever solidified its status. But over the decades, it helped keep Taiwan and China's militaries apart.
Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers’ Rights:
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India’s first ever REITs & InvITs Index:
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