About Petroglyphs:

• Petroglyphs (also known as rock engravings) are symbolic images sculpted or engraved on the surface of rocks by removing material from its surface layer with instruments of superior hardness.
• The word ‘’petroglyph’’ is derived from two Greek words, ‘’petros’’ meaning “stone,” and ‘’glyphein’’ meaning “to carve.“
• The techniques used to create these images include pecking, incising, abrading, sculpting, polishing, drilling, and scratching.
• These processes remove part of the rock and therefore are different from images simply painted or drawn on rock, which are called petrographs.
• Because petroglyphs are carved into rock, they tend to last longer than petrographs.
• Petroglyphs took two primary forms, as images either appear as scratches or deeper visible indentations on rock.
• Petroglyphs are typically associated with prehistoric populations. These carvings often depict animals, people, geometric shapes, and symbolic images that offer insights into the social and religious lives of ancient peoples.
• They can be found on every continent throughout the world, except Antarctica.
  • However, they are especially concentrated in Africa, South America, North America (mainly in the southwestern United States), Siberia, Australia, and Europe (Scandinavia, Spanish Galicia, Ireland, and Italy).
• Example of Petroglyph Site in India: Edakkal Caves in Wayanad, Kerala.
• Significance:
  • They are among the earliest forms of art to have existed and are therefore considered the foundation of art.
  • Ancient peoples also used petroglyphs as a form of communication or writing.
  • For example, some petroglyphs clearly indicated the borders between tribal lands, and others were astronomical markers and maps.
  • Additionally, some petroglyphs served as musical instruments and were known as “rock gongs.”

About Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS):

• It is an independent, nonprofit organization that sought to warn the public about the danger of nuclear weapons.
• The bulletin was founded by a group called the Atomic Scientists of Chicago in September 1945 at the University of Chicago.
• Its founding members and sponsors were scientists who had contributed to the development of the first atomic bombs as part of the Manhattan Project, including physicists Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Eugene Rabinowitch.
• It focuses on three main areas: nuclear risk, climate change, and disruptive technologies.
• It pursues its goals through media products, starting in 1945 as a mimeographed newsletter, then a magazine, and now as an online publication.

Key Facts about Doomsday Clock:

• To convey the particular peril posed by nuclear weapons, the BAS devised the Doomsday Clock in 1947.
• It is a symbolic clock adopted by atomic scientists to show how close human beings are considered to be to a global catastrophe, with midnight standing for annihilation, or “doomsday.”
• It is recognized as a universal symbol of threats to humanity from a variety of sources: nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, climate change, and disruptive technologies.
• The Doomsday Clock appeared on the Bulletin’s first cover when it transitioned from a newsletter to a magazine.
• Its original setting was seven minutes to midnight. Since its invention in 1947, the clock has been reset 27 times.
• In 2026 the clock was set to 85 seconds before midnight, the closest it has ever been to doomsday.

About Central Secretariat Library (CSL):

• It is one of the oldest libraries of the Government of India.
• It comes under the Ministry of Culture.
• Location: Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi.
• History:
  • The library, originally set up as the Imperial Secretariat Library in Kolkata in 1891, was moved to Delhi when the British shifted the capital in 1911.
  • It was moved to North Block after its construction in the 1930s and finally to Shastri Bhawan in 1969.
• In terms of size of collection, it is the second largest Central Government library after the National Library, Kolkata.

About Creatine:

• It is a naturally occurring nitrogen-containing organic compound.
• It is a natural source of energy that helps skeletal muscles flex (contract).
• It helps create a steady supply of energy in muscles so they can keep working, especially while exercising.
• About half of body’s supply of creatine comes from the diet, especially protein-rich foods such as:
  • Red meat
  • Seafood
  • Milk
• The body produces the other half naturally in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas from amino acids such as arginine, glycine, and methionine.
• Most creatine (about 95 percent) is stored in skeletal muscles as phosphocreatine.
  • Phosphocreatine helps make adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the primary energy currency of cells.
  • So creatine in the muscles normally is a supply for the energy needed during exercise.
• The rest of the creatine (about 5 percent) is stored in the heart, brain, and other tissues.

About Ichamati River:

• It is a transboundary river that flows through both India and Bangladesh.
• It also forms part of the boundary between the two countries.
• Course:
  • It is one of the bifurcations of the Mathabhanga River (a distributary of the Padma) and originates at Mahjdia village in the Nadia district of West Bengal.
  • It flows through the Nadia and North 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal.
  • Then it forms part of the India–Bangladesh international border.
  • Later, it enters Bangladesh’s Satkhira and Khulna districts.
  • It covers a distance of around 216 km before discharging into the Kalindi River at Hasnabad in North 24 Parganas District and finally outfalls into the Bay of Bengal near Moore Island.
• The Ichhamati River and its tributaries form a large oxbow lake complex in the North 24-Paraganas district near Bangaon.
• From 1916-2020, the channel course of Ichamati’s water has seen sharp changes, majorly due to human interventions apart from historical and geological factors.
• The river is having trouble with siltation that leads to a slender flow of water in the dry season and floods in the rainy season.

About G7 Group:

• It is an informal grouping of seven of the world’s advanced economies.
• Members: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• Evolution:
  • It was founded in 1975 in response to the oil crisis.
  • Russia was a member from 1998, the group temporarily became the G8.
  • In 2014, the group returned to the G7 format. 
  • The G7 originally dealt exclusively with issues related to the development of the global economy. 
• Major Focus Area: It now covers the entire spectrum of global issues, such as foreign and security policy, trade, climate, and development.
• Governance:
  • There is no firmly established secretariat, procedural guidelines, or administrative structures. 
  • Presidency: Its presidency rotates each calendar year among the member states. The EU does not hold the rotating presidency of the G7.
  • The changing agenda and thematic priorities of the G7 are determined by the respective presidency. 
  • Decisions are usually taken by consensus.

About Ramappa Temple:

• Location: It is located in the state of Telangana.
• It was constructed in 1213 AD during the reign of the Kakatiya Empire by RecharlaRudra, a general of Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva.
• It is also known as the Rudreswara Temple and its presiding deity here is
• The temple got its name Ramappa because of its chief sculptor Ramappa.
• Ramappa Temple is probably the only temple in India that is named after the architect.
• In 2021, the temple was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as “Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telangana”.
• Architectural Features of Ramappa Temple:
  • It features decorated beams and pillars of carved granite and dolerite with a distinctive and pyramidal Vimana (horizontally stepped tower) made of lightweight porous bricks.
  • The temple stands on a 6 feet high star-shaped platform with walls, pillars and ceilings adorned with intricate carvings.
  • Earthquake-proof: Made out of clay mixed with acacia wood, chaff and myrobalan fruit (a family of amla), the bricks used in building the gopuram of the temple are light enough to float on water.
    • Using this technique has made the temple light, meaning, in case of a natural event like an earthquake, the probability of it collapsing would be very low.
  • Sandbox technique: The temple construction was done using the sandbox technique. This is a technique where the foundation pit is filled with a mixture of sand-lime, jaggery and black myrobalan fruit.
  • This mix acts as a cushion in case of earthquakes.

About Sal Heartwood Borer:

• It is a beetle of the order- Coleoptera, family-Cerambycydae.
  • Hoplocerambyx spinicornis, commonly known as the sal heartwood borer, is a destructive pest first recorded as a threat to the trees in 1897.
• Appearance: It looks dark brown in color and is about the size of a human finger.
• It is the most devastating insect pest responsible for catastrophic damage of sal forests of the country.
• It causes extensive damage to sal trees both in standing as well as freshly felled timbers.
• The attack of the borer is considered epidemic when the sal trees affected are more than 1% of the total number of trees.

Key Facts about Sal Tree:

• Sal, or Shorea robusta, is among the dominant tree species of central India’s dry deciduous forests.
• Distribution: It is found naturally in Uttarakhand, Terai region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.
• Required Climatic Conditions for Sal Tree:
  • Temperature: It can tolerate temperatures as high as 40-45°Celcius in summers and as low as 5°Celcius in winters.
  • Soil: It can be grown in the plains, provided there is light loamy soil with good drainage and the area receives approximately 1000 mm – 3000 mm of annual rainfall.
  • Climate: It requires a warm and humid climate and can thrive at altitudes up to 1500 metres above the sea level.
• Uses of Sal Tree:
  • Sal timber has historically been prized for construction and for railway sleepers because of its strength and resistance to decay.
  • Its seed pressed for oil and used in cooking and in the soap and confectionery industries;
  • Sal leaves, stitched into plates and bowls sold across local markets; and resin tapped from the trunk, used as dhoop in religious offerings.

About Tuvalu:

• Location: It was formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island country in the west-central Pacific Ocean.
• It is the 4th smallest country in the world.
• Neighboring Countries: Its neighbours include Kiribati, to the north, and Fiji, to the south. 
• Nanumanga, Niutao, and Niulakita are the three main islands that make up Tuvalu. 
• Capital: The Funafuti atoll is the capital of Tuvalu
• Climate: There are no rivers. Tuvalu’s climate is hot and rainy.
• Economy: A small quantity of copra is produced for export, the sale of stamps accounts for modest earnings, and fees are collected from foreign fishing fleets, but the country depends heavily on foreign aid.

About Desert National Park:

• Location: It is located in the Thar Desert near the town of Jaisalmer, in Rajasthan.
• It is one of the largest national parks in the country.
• Topography: The substantial part of the park is on a landscape, which comprises of lakebed of extinct salt lakes and thorny scrubs and a considerable area consists of sand dunes.
• Climate: The area falls in the extreme hot and arid region of the very low rainfall zone (<100mm) of the country.
• One of the most interesting features of this park is the presence of fossils from the Jurassic Period.
• Vegetation:
  • The vegetation of a major part of the arid region of the Thar falls under the thorn forest type.
  • The vegetation is quite sparse with open grassland, thorny bushes, plantations and dunes as the broad habitat types.
• Lakes: There are three main lakes in this sanctuary- Rajbaugh Lake, Malik Talao Lake and Padam Talao.
• Flora: It consists of dhok, ronj, salai and palm trees. The vegetation is sparce, and patches of sewan grass and aak shrub can be seen.
  • Khejri (Prosopis cineraria) is commonly found, which is revered and protected by the local communities, especially the ‘Bishnois’.
• Fauna: Blackbuck, Chinkara, Desert fox, Bengal Fox, Indian Wolf, Desert Cat, Hare etc. Reptiles are also found in abundance and they include spiny –tailed lizard, monitor lizard, saw scaled-viper, Russel viper , Karit.
  • The Great Indian Bustard is one magnificent bird found in relatively fair numbers.