About Kshipra River:

• The Kshipra, also known as the Shipra, is a river that flows in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
• It is a tributary of the Chambal
• It is a perennial river and is considered as sacred as the Ganga River by the Hindus.
• Course:
  • Origin: It originates from the Vindhya Range near Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
  • It flows across the Malwa Plateau to join the Chambal
• Major Tributaries: Khan and Gambhir.
• Religious Significance:
  • The Puranas, or ancient Hindu texts, put forward that the Shipra originated from the heart of Varaha, Lord Vishnu’s incarnation as a boar.
  • Also on the banks of the Shipra is Sage Sandipani’s ashram or hermitage, where Krishna, Lord Vishnu’s eighth incarnation, had studied.
  • It finds mention not only in ancient Hindu texts but also in Buddhist and Jain scriptures.
  • The holy city of Ujjain is located on the right bank of the Shipra River.
  • The famous Kumbha Mela takes place in the ghats of this city, once every 12 years.
  • There are hundreds of Hindu shrines along the banks of the Shipra River.

About Kadamparai Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant:

• It is a 400 MW hydropower project located in the Kadamparai river basin in Tamil Nadu.
• Commissioned in 1987, it was the state's first pumped storage unit and remains unique for its ability to operate in both generator and motor modes.
• When the grid needs power, water is released from the upper dam at Kadamparai to the Lower Aliyar Dam, driving the turbines to generate electricity.
• During the night, with wind and solar creating surplus power in the grid, the same turbines reverse into pump mode and act as motors and push water back from the lower dam to the upper dam, effectively storing energy for the next demand cycle.

About Mule Account:

• A mule account is a bank account used to facilitate financial crimes, including money laundering, fraud and illicit fund transfers.
• The person who owns the account — called a “money mule” — may or may not know their account is being used for illegal activities.
  • Criminals recruit money mules to help launder proceeds derived from online scams and frauds or crimes like human trafficking and drug trafficking.
  • Some money mules know they are supporting criminal enterprises; others are unaware that they are helping criminals’ profit.
• Criminals exploit these mule accounts to move illegal money through legitimate banking channels, making it harder for law enforcement agencies to track the origin and destination of illicit funds.
• Mule accounts function as intermediaries, receiving and transferring funds on behalf of criminal networks.
• This layering process helps criminals obscure the money trail, making it difficult for financial institutions and regulators to detect suspicious activity.
• Moreover, these accounts are frequently utilized for swift and recurrent international transactions, further obscuring the trail of money.
• Funds are rapidly moved through numerous accounts or converted into diverse currencies, significantly complicating the efforts of law enforcement to track the money flow.

What is a Blue Moon?

• A blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month.
• That is unusual because the period from one full moon to another is about 29 1/2 days.
• So when two occur in the same month, the first of these full moons is always on the first or second day of the month.
• On average, a blue moon occurs once every 33 months or full moons, 41 times per century, or about seven times every 19 years.
• An even rarer event is when two blue moons happen in the same calendar year, which happens about four times per century.
• Sometimes, smoke or dust in the air can scatter red wavelengths of light, as a result of which the moon may, in certain places, appear more blue than usual.
• But this has nothing to do with the name “blue” moon, and the association of the colour with the term is unclear.

What is a Micro Moon?

• This refers to the apparent size of the moon as viewed from Earth.
• The moon is not always a constant distance away from the Earth.
• Its orbit around the Earth is elliptical.
• The moon is about 363,711 km away at its closest to earth, known as perigee. At apogee, or the furthest point, the moon is about 403,945 km away.
• If a full moon happens to occur close to its closest point, then we call that a supermoon. And if it’s close to its furthest point, then we call that a micromoon.
• A micromoon appears only about 14% smaller than a supermoon and about 6% smaller than a typical full moon. 

How Rare is a Blue Micromoon?

• Blue moons occur every couple of years, and micromoons occur two or three times every year.
• A blue micromoon occurs about once every couple of decades.
• However, they aren’t regular, and two such events may occur closer together or further apart.
• No special equipment is needed to observe this blue micromoon, and it should be clearly visible in the absence of clouds.

About Mesalina bishnoi:

• It is a new species of lizard.
• It has been discovered near Gajner in Bikaner district, Rajasthan.
• The species was found in an arid landscape consisting of hard, rocky soil with sparse desert vegetation.
• It marks the first confirmed record of the genus Mesalina in India.
  • The genus Mesalina comprises small, fast-moving, diurnal lizards adapted to arid and semi-arid landscapes.
  • Although a historical reference by British zoologist Malcolm A Smith in 1935 mentioned the presence of Mesalina watsonana in Jaisalmer, no specimen-based evidence existed to confirm the genus’s occurrence in India.
• Mesalina bishnoi is named in recognition of the Bishnoi community's enduring commitment to wildlife and nature conservation.
• At present, Mesalina bishnoi is known only from its type locality in the Bikaner district and is considered endemic to the Thar biogeographic province.

About Myanmar:

• It is the northernmost country of Southeast Asia.
• Bordering Countries: It is bordered by India in the west, Bangladesh in the northwest; China in the north and northeast; by Laos in the east and by Thailand in the southeast. 
• Maritime Borders: It is bounded by the Andaman Sea in the south and by the Bay of Bengal in the southwest. 
• Capital City: Naypyidaw
• Geographical Features of Myanmar:
  • Climate: It has Tropical monsoon.
  • Mountain ranges: It consists of Bago Yoma, Rakhine Yoma, and Shan Hills.
  • Highest Point: Hkakabo Razi.
  • Major Rivers: It is drained by Mekong, Irrawaddy, Salween and Chindwin.
  • Natural resources: It mainly consists of Petroleum, timber, tin, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, marble, limestone, natural gas, hydropower etc.

About AUKUS:

• It is a trilateral security partnership between the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Australia agreed in 2021.
• It aims to boost defense capabilities, accelerate technological integration, and expand the industrial capacity of all three nations as a part of a collective effort to stabilize the Indo-Pacific region.
• AUKUS is intended to strengthen the ability of each government to support security and defense interests, building on longstanding and ongoing bilateral ties.
• It consists of two key pillars:
  • Pillar 1: It focuses on supporting Australia to acquire its first conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine fleet. It does not involve the transfer of nuclear weapons to Australia.
  • Pillar 2: It focuses on cooperation in eight advanced military capability areas: artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technologies, innovation, information sharing, and cyber, undersea, hypersonic, counter-hypersonic, and electronic warfare domains.

About Majuli Island:

• Location: It is located in the Brahmaputra river system, in Assam.
• It is the world’s largest river island located in Assam.
• Formation: It is formed by the Brahmaputra River in the south and the Kherkutia Xuti, a  branch of the Brahmaputra, joined by the Subansiri River in the north.
• Crops cultivated: Rice cultivation is the primary livelihood for the residents of Majuli, with several unique varieties of rice, such as Komal Saul and Bao Dhan, grown in the region.
• Tribes: Most of the islanders belong to three tribes-Mishing, Deori, and Sonowal Kachari, with the non-tribal Assamese comprising the rest.
• Culture: The island has also been the hub of Assamese neo-Vaishnavite culture, initiated around the 16th century by the great Assamese saint-reformer Srimanta Sankerdeva and his disciple Madhavdeva. 
  • They initiated the tradition of Satras (monastic institutions), and these Satras have preserved Sattriya dance, literature, bhaona (theatre), dance forms, mask making, and boat-making. 
• Apart from Satras or Vaishnavite monasteries, Majuli is famous for mask-making and has a tradition of pottery making.

About Project UDAYAK:

• It is an initiative of the Border Roads Organisation.
• The Project was aptly named 'Udayak', meaning the Rising Sun as the first rays of the rising sun in the country fall in the AOR of the project.
• History:
  • It was raised on 01 Jun 1990 at Doomdooma, Assam as part of the restructuring undertaken to focus on the development on the far-eastern area of the country.
  • Its two task forces, 48 BRTF and 752 BRTF were carved out of Projects Vartak and Sewak respectively, to form the two executive arms of the Project.
• Achievements of Project UDAYAK:
  • It has been instrumental in the development and maintenance of strategic road infrastructure in the easternmost regions of Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Assam.
  • The Project plays a vital role in enhancing connectivity in remote and strategically significant areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the Indo–Myanmar border.
  • The Project is currently undertaking construction of roads and border fencing infrastructure, along the Indo-Myanmar border, strengthening national security and improving accessibility in border regions.