18th June 2026

Explanation – It is located in the foothills of the Himalayas in Assam. It shares a border with Bhutan's Royal Manas National Park. The park's elevation ranges from 60 to 1,500 meters (200 to 4,900 feet) above sea level, contributing to its rich biodiversity.

• River — The Manas River (a major tributary of the Brahmaputra River), from which its name has been derived, flows through the west of the park and is the main river within it.
• The area has the unique distinction of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a Tiger Reserve, an Elephant Reserve, a Biosphere Reserve, and an Important Bird Area.
• It is one of the first reserves included in the tiger reserve network under Project Tiger in 1973.
• The park is inhabited by several indigenous communities, including the Bodo.

Vegetation: It consists of semi-evergreen and mixed deciduous forests, interspersed with grasslands and riparian vegetation (in the core area).

Flora: The most presiding plant species found here are hoolong trees. Some other prominent species available here are Amari, Dewa Sam, Himolu, Garjan, etc.

Explanation – It is India's first dedicated digital platform for streamlining the wind energy supply chain. It is aimed at strengthening the country's domestic wind manufacturing ecosystem and accelerating its clean energy ambitions. It has been developed under the aegis of the Ministry for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) with support from the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA).

Key Features:

• Visibility — It is designed to improve visibility across the wind energy supply chain.
• Approved List of Models and Manufacturers Linkage — It facilitates compliance with domestic sourcing requirements under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) framework.
• Collaboration — It supports supplier discovery and qualification, strengthens collaboration among stakeholders and enhances export readiness.

Explanation – Tasgaon Lift Irrigation Scheme is an important irrigation infrastructure initiative in Maharashtra.

• The scheme falls under the administrative jurisdiction of the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC), Pune.
• It encompasses the construction of a comprehensive water distribution system for a command area of 2,277 hectares across six villages in Satara Taluka (tehsil). These villages are Tasgaon, Varne, Karandwadi, Devkarwadi, Degaon, and Nigadi.
• Unlike gravity-fed canal systems, lift irrigation relies on electrically powered pumping infrastructure to raise water from a lower source body and push it through a pressurised distribution network to farmlands at higher elevations.
• The scheme includes multiple work fronts such as head works, pump houses, switch yards, rising mains, delivery chambers, and a closed-pipe distribution network.
• It aims to improve water availability and irrigation access across the region by supporting long-term agricultural and rural development.

Explanation – Cosmic Rays were discovered more than a century ago. They are considered to be the most energetic particles in the universe.

• Our planet is constantly bombarded by them from outer space, almost uniformly from all directions at a constant rate.
• They enter Earth's atmosphere and induce a shower of particles that travel to the ground almost at the speed of light.
• The shower particles constitute electrons, photons, muons, protons, neutrons, etc.
• They have been observed over a remarkably wide energy range (10⁸ to 10²⁰ eV).

Explanation – Gamma Ray Astronomy PeV EnergieS phase-3 (GRAPES-3) is designed to study the origin, acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays through measurement of extensive air showers. It is induced by primary cosmic rays or gamma rays entering the Earth's atmosphere in tera to peta electronvolt energies. It also studies solar and thunderstorm phenomena using cosmic ray muons.

• GRAPES-3 employs an array of plastic scintillator detectors and a large area muon detector based on proportional counters.
• Location: It is located in Ooty, India.
• It is operated by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.