About Lower Kopili Hydroelectric Project:

• It is a 120 MW run-of-river hydropower project planned on the Kopili River basin in Assam.
• The project is situated in the West Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao (also known as North Cachar Hills) Autonomous District Council (ADC) areas of Central Assam.
• The project is being developed and currently owned by Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGCL).
• It is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under its Assam Power Sector Investment Program.

Key Facts about Kopili River:

• It is an interstate river in Northeast India that flows through Meghalaya and Assam.
• It is the largest south bank tributary of the Brahmaputra in Assam.
• Originating in the Meghalaya plateau, it flows through the districts of Karbi Anglong and Nagaon before merging with the Brahmaputra.

About NMDC Limited:

• NMDC Limited (formerly National Mineral Development Corporation) is a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE).
• Incorporated in 1958, it is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel, Government of India.
• Since inception, it has been involved in the exploration of a wide range of minerals, including iron ore, copper, rock phosphate, limestone, dolomite, gypsum, bentonite, magnesite, diamond, tin, tungsten, graphite, beach sands, etc.
• It is India's largest iron ore producer and exporter.
• It also operates the only mechanized diamond mine in the country at Panna in Madhya Pradesh.
• The company has been categorised by the Department of Public Enterprises as a "NAVRATNA" Public Sector Enterprise in 2008.
• It has its registered office in Hyderabad, Telangana.

About United Nations Environment Programme:

• It is the leading global authority on the environment.
• It was founded in 1972 after a UN General Assembly resolution.
• Mandate: It was conceived to monitor the state of the environment and coordinate responses to the world’s greatest environmental challenges. 
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Structure:
  • United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA): UNEA is the world’s highest-level decision-making body on environmental issues, comprising all UN member states.
    • It meets biennially to set global priorities, adopt resolutions, and guide UNEP’s overall policy direction.
  • Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR): It acts as the main advisory body to UNEA and helps in preparing its agenda.
  • Secretariat: The UNEP Secretariat, led by the Executive Director, implements UNEA decisions and oversees day-to-day operations.
  • Regional and Thematic Offices: UNEP functions through multiple regional offices in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe, Latin America, West Asia, and North America.
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Functions
  • It develops and supports global environmental treaties, such as the CBD, CITES, and Minamata Convention.
  • Hosts secretariats of major environmental conventions and supports the negotiation of new environmental agreements.
  • It publishes authoritative research and assessments, including the Global Environment Outlook and Emissions Gap Report.
  • It supports developing countries with environmental capacity building, funding, and technical assistance.
• Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya.

About Central Adoption Resource Authority:

• It is a statutory body of the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India.
  • Through Section 68 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act 2015), CARA attained the status of a statutory body.
• Mandate: Primarily deals with the adoption of orphan, abandoned, and surrendered children through its associated/recognised adoption agencies.
• It is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, ratified by the Government of India in 2003.
• Headquarters: New Delhi.
• Functions of Central Adoption Resource Authority:
  • To promote In-country adoptions and to facilitate Inter-state adoptions in coordination with State Agency;
  • To regulate Inter-country adoptions;
  • To frame regulations on adoption and related matters from time to time as may be necessary;
  • To carry out the functions of the Central Authority under the Hague Convention on protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Inter-country Adoption;
  • Any other function as may be prescribed.
  • It monitors and regulates bodies such as the State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA), Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA), Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency (AFAA), Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), and District Child Protective Units (DPUs).

About Great Indian Bustard:

• It is a large terrestrial bird endemic to the Indian subcontinent.
• Habitat: The bird is primarily found in dry grasslands and scrublands, which are rapidly declining due to agricultural expansion and development.
• Distribution: Its core population survives in the Thar Desert, mainly in Jaisalmer and Barmer districts of Rajasthan.
• Characteristics of Great Indian Bustard:
  • It is one of the heaviest flying birds in the world.
  • Life Span: The bird has a lifespan of 12–15 years.
  • Diet: These birds are opportunist eaters. Their diet ranges widely depending on the seasonal availability of food. They feed on grass seeds, insects like grasshoppers and beetles, and sometimes even small rodents and reptiles.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN: Critically Endangered
  • CITES: Appendix 1
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule 1

About Dimethyl Ether:

• It is a synthetically produced alternative to diesel for use in specially designed compression ignition diesel engines.
• Properties of Dimethyl Ether 
  • It has a very high cetane number, which is a measure of the fuel’s ignitibility in compression ignition engines.
  • Under normal atmospheric conditions, DME is a colorless gas.
  • It burns cleaner, emitting minimal amounts of soot, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), and particulate matter.
  • Furthermore, DME exhibits thermal efficiency that is comparable to traditional fuels, making it a viable substitute
  • It can be a viable alternative fuel and engine technology to adapt to conventional diesel engines used in India’s agricultural and transport sectors.
• Application of Dimethyl Ether:
  • It is used extensively in the chemical industry and as an aerosol propellant.
  • It is used in chemical industries and also to produce dyes and plastics.

About Henckelia Monophylla:

• It is a rare plant species endemic to Arunachal Pradesh.
• It is a member of the Gesneriaceae family.
• The plant was first collected in 1836 by British botanist William Griffith in the Mishmi Hills.
• Habitat: It is a perennial herb that typically grows in moist, forested habitats.

Key Facts about Botanical Survey of India

• It is the apex taxonomic research organization of the country which is under the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India.
• It was established on 13^th February 1890 under the direction of Sir George King.
• Mandate: The mandate of the organization has been broaden to biosystematics research, floristic studies, documentation, databasing of National Botanical collection, digitization of herbarium specimens etc.
• Headquarter: Kolkata

About Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary:

• Location: It is located in Tamil Nadu.
• This wildlife sanctuary serves as a buffer zone for the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala, as it is situated on the border of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
• It is home to a diverse variety of flora and fauna shrubs and evergreen forests to mammals.
• Vegetation: It mainly consists of scrub forest (at the foothills) to dense evergreen forest and shola grasslands (at the top).
• Flora: Banyan Tree, Syzygium zeylanicum, Nothopegia vajravelui, Memecylon flavescens, Symplocos oligandra, Symplocos wynadense, Meiogyne ramarowii,
• Fauna: The sanctuary is home to elephants, tigers, leopards, Nilgiri tahr, gaurs, spotted deer, barking deer, sambar deer, wild boar, porcupine, Nilgiri langur, lion-tailed macaque.
  • The wood snake is endemic to the Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary.

About Jnanpith Award:

• It is the highest literary honour of India, given to writers who have excelled in literature in different Indian languages.
• It was instituted in 1961. 
• Award: The prize carries a cash prize of Rs 11 lakh, a bronze statuette of Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), and a citation.
• It is sponsored by the cultural organization Bharatiya Jnanpith.
• Eligibility and Rules:
  • It is given every year to an author for his/her outstanding contribution towards Indian literature through creative writing in any of the Indian languages mentioned in Schedule VIII of the Indian Constitution and English.
  • Only those creative writers who are alive and are Indian citizens, can be proposed for the Award.
  • A language which receives the award in a particular year is not eligible for consideration for the next two years.
  • A writer who receives the Award once will not be considered again.
  • The Award may not be given in a particular year if the Jnanpith Award Selection Board feels that there is no suitable name which comes up to the expected standard of the Award.
• The first recipient of the award was Malayalam poet G. Sankara Kurup, who received the award in 1965 for his collection of poems Odakkuzhal.