About Bura Chapori Wildlife Sanctuary:

• Location: It is s geographically located on the south bank of the Brahmaputra, in Assam.
• It is a part of the Laokhowa-Burachapori eco-system.
• It is nestled between the Kaziranga National Park(NP) to the east and the Orang NP to the west and Laokhowa WLS to the south.
• Climate: It falls under the sub-tropical monsoon climatic regime.
• Vegetation: It comprises of a mosaic of wet alluvial grassland, riparian and semi-evergreen forests dotted by wetland and river systems.
• Flora: The grassland is also rich in various kinds of medicinal herbs and plants.
• It also has Hollang, Mekai, Dhuna, Udiyam, Nahar, Samkothal, Bheer,
• Fauna: It is home to the Great Indian one-horned rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, wild buffalo, hog deer, wild pig, and elephants.
  • It also consists of highly endangered Bengal Florican, Black-necked Stork, Mallard, Open billed Stork, Teal, and Whistling Duck among others.

About Litani River:

• It is a major river in Lebanon.
• Origin: It rises in a low divides west of Baalbek and flowing southwestward through the Bekaa valley between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains.
• It falls into the Mediterranean Sea.
• Tributaries: Berdawni River, Chtoura River, Qib Elias River etc
• Dams: El Wauroun Dam, Qaraoun Dam, or Albert Naqash Dam
• It provides a major source for water supply, irrigation, and hydroelectricity both within Southern Lebanon and the bekaa and the country as a whole.

Key Facts about Bekaa valley

• It is broad valley of east-central Lebanon, extending in a northeast-southwest direction for along the Litani and Orontes rivers.
• The valley contains nearly half of Lebanon’s arable land.
• It is not as intensively farmed as the country’s coastal plain because of less rainfall and a wider variation in temperature.

About Chhapgarus ngankeeae:

• It is a new species of marine crab.
• The species has been named in honour of the late Dr Ngan Kee Ng, a not ed marine biologist from the National University of Singapore.
• Habitat: It is found in the muddy intertidal mangrove forests along the west coast of India.
• Ecological Significance: Mangrove crabs play a crucial role in coastal eco systems by recycling nutrients and supporting food chains.

About Guru Angad Dev:

• Guru Angad (31 March 1504--29 March 1552) was born with the birth name of Lahna the village of Matte-di-Sarai in Firozpur district of Punjab, India.
• He was the second Sikh Guru (1539–52).
• He nominated Sri Guru Amar Das as his successor (The Third Nanak) before his death. 
• Contribution of Guru Angad Dev:
  • He introduced the Gurmukhi script, standardizing the Punjabi language.
  • He made extensive efforts to spread teachings of Guru Nanak Dev far and wide.
  • He introduced the teaching of Punjabi in Gurmukhi script by modifying the existing alphabet.
  • He improved literacy among the Sikhs and started school at Khadur Sahib to teach Gurmukhi to the children.
  • He encouraged physical health building through sports and wrestling as well mental health through discipline and truthful living.
  • He composed many hymns in Ragas.
  • He consolidated the institution of Langar started by Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
  • He also established hundreds of new Sangats (Sikh religious Institutions) and thus strengthened the base of Sikhism.

About Sahiwal Cattle:

• It is considered to be one of the best milch cattle breed of India.
• The breed derives its name from Sahiwal area in Montgomery district of Punjab in Pakistan.
• Other Names: These animals are also known as “Lambi Bar”, “Lola”, “Montgomery”, “Multani” and “Teli”.
• Appearance
  • The cows are brownish red in colour; shades may vary from a mahogany red brown to more greyish red.
  • Extremities in bulls are darker than rest of body colour. Occasionally there are white patches.
• Its unique traits are, tick-resistant, heat tolerant, high milk production and noted for its high resistance to parasites, both internal and external
• Due to their heat tolerance and high milk production they have been exported to other Asian countries as well as Africa and the Caribbean. 

What is Ovum Pick-Up-In Vitro Fertilization (OPU-IVF) Technology?

• Ovum Pick-Up (OPU) is one of the recent and remarkable technologies in the field of reproductive biotechnology.
• It allows the collection of oocytes from the ovaries of live animals of known pedigree and additionally decreases the interval between generations.
• This procedure can be performed on pregnant animals less than 100 days in gestation.
  • In OPU, ovarian follicles are punctured in a live animal with the help of a needle attached to a vacuum pump after visualizing them through ultrasonography.
  • The oocytes obtained are then subjected to in vitro maturation (IVM), in vitro fertilization (IVF) and culture (IVC) for embryo production.
  • The embryos thus produced can then be transferred to suitably synchronized recipients for producing offspring of known pedigree.

About Kolleru Lake:

• Location: It is a shallow lake located in Andhra Pradesh.
• It is nestled in the inter-deltaic plain of rivers Krishna and Godavari near the city of Eluru and serves as a natural flood-balancing reservoir for these two rivers. 
• This lake is also known as the “Peerless Fisherman”s Paradise and Bird Heaven”.
• It receives water from four rivers, namely Budameru, Ramileru, Tammileru, and Errakalva,
• This lake empties its water into the Bay of Bengal through an outlet called ‘upputera’.
• The lake was declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 1999.
• It was designated as a wetland of international importance in 2002 under the International Ramsar Convention. 
• Fauna:
  • It supports many migratory birds annually, including grey pelicans, painted storks, and open-billed storks. 
  • It is a haven for species migrating from Siberia, Central Asia, and the Himalayas.
• Significance: The Lake is deeply intertwined with local livelihoods, sustaining thousands who depend on fishing, duck farming, and paddy cultivation.

About Monarch Butterfly:

• It is known by scientists as Danaus plexippus, which in Greek literally means "sleepy transformation."
• Appearance
  • Adult monarch butterflies possess two pairs of brilliant orange-red wings, featuring black veins and white spots along the edges.
  • Males, who possess distinguishing black dots along the veins of their wings, are slightly bigger than females.
• Distribution: It is found in in North America, Central America, and South America, Australia, Hawaii, India, and other locations.
• Habitat: Gardens, Managed Corridors, Agricultural Areas, and Natural and Restored Areas.
• Life Span: Each adult butterfly lives only about four to five weeks.
• Reproduction: The mating period occurs in the spring, just prior to migration from the overwintering sites. 
• Milkweed is the only plant on which monarchs lay their eggs and the only source of food for baby caterpillars
• Migration: They travel from the northeast United States, and southeast Canada to the mountain forests in central Mexico
• Threats: Illegal logging, land development, loss of milkweed plants, and climate change, all of which affect its habitat and migration.

About Subarnarekha River:

• Origin: It originates near Nagri village in the Ranchi District of Jharkhand.
• The Subarnarekha (meaning “Streak of Gold”) flows east through a copper-mining region and leaves the Chota Nagpur plateau by the Hundrugbagh waterfall.
• It flows into the Bay of Bengal.
• Tributaries: Its principal tributaries joining from right are the Kanchi, the Karkari and the Kharkai.  
• The basin is bounded by:
  • Chhotanagpur plateau on the north and the west, by the ridges separating it from Baitarani basin on the south, by the Bay of Bengal on the south-east and by the Kasai Valley of Kangsabati River on the east. 
• River Basin: It extends over States of Jharkhand, Odisha and comparatively smaller part in West Bengal.
• The basin is generally influenced by the South-West monsoon, which onsets in the month of June and extends up to October.
• Dams and Reservoirs: Getalsud Reservoir, Chandil Dam, Galudih Barrage and Icha Dam.

About Smog-eating Photocatalytic Coating:

• It is designed to neutralize harmful gases like nitrogen dioxide and volatile hydrocarbons that contribute to toxic air.
• Compound used: It usually uses titanium dioxide as a coating which has advantages for being low-cost and chemically stable.
  • Titanium dioxide is also known for its compatibility with traditional construction materials.
• It has been “demonstrated that TiO₂-based photocatalytically active construction materials can be useful for gaseous depollution and environmental cleaning processes.
• Working: Photocatalytic activity helps fight pollution by breaking down harmful substances and organic waste into less toxic or harmless matters using light energy, thereby making air and water cleaner.

What is Smog?

• Smog is used to refer to a type of air pollution caused by a combination of smoke (and other pollutants) and fog.
• Smog encompasses a broad category of air pollutants created through a multitude of processes that relate specifically to the atmospheric conditions of the formation region. 
• Two distinct types of smog are recognized: 
  • Sulfurous smog: It results from a high concentration of sulfur oxides in the air and is caused by the use of sulfur-bearing fossil fuels, particularly coal.
  • Photochemical smog: It occurs most prominently in urban areas that have large numbers of automobiles.