About Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary:

• It is located in the Ladakhi Changthang plateau in the Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir.
• It is home to the highest altitude water lakes, namely, Tso Moriri, Pangong Tso, and Tso Kar.
• The Changthang region is inhabited by nomadic pastoral communities, primarily the Changpa tribe, who lead a traditional way of life herding yaks, goats, and sheep across the vast grasslands.
• This region is steeped in Tibetan Buddhist culture and heritage.
• It includes one of the world’s highest villages, Korzok Village, which attracts tourists to the Korzok Monastery.
• Flora: It is home to many species of wild plants that grow in the higher pastures and are food for the animals inside the sanctuary.
• Fauna:
  • The major attraction of this place is the Snow Leopard.
  • Along with that, it is one of the few places in India which is the abode of the Kiang, or Tibetan wild ass, along with the dark-necked crane.
  • It also houses a huge variety of animal species, which include the Tibetan Wolf, Wild Yak, Bharal, Brown Bear, Tibetan Argali, Tibetan Gazelle, and the Mormot.
  • It also serves as the habitat for numerous species of avifauna, including Brahminy Ducks and Brown Headed Gulls, etc.

About Taklamakan Desert:

• The Taklamakan Desert, located in southwest Xinjiang in northwest China, is one of the world’s largest sandy deserts.
• It sits right in the middle of the largest inland basin in China—the Tarim Basin.
• It is the world’s second-largest shifting-sand desert, and 85% of its total area is composed of crescent-shaped dunes.
• It is flanked by two towering mountain ranges-Tien Shan to the north and Kunlun mountain ranges to the south.
• It also has the Pamir Mountains and Tian Shan (ancient Mount Imeon) to the west and the famed Gobi Desert to the east.
• There is a gradual transition to the Lop Nur basin in the east; in the south and west, between the sandy desert and the mountains, lies a band of sloping desert lowland composed of pebble-detritus deposits.
• The place has a typical continental climate with strong gusts of wind, very little precipitation, and a significant shift in temperature from daytime to nighttime and vice versa.
• The continuously shifting nature of the sand in the desert has extended Taklamakan to about 100 km southward during the last thousand years.
• There are also small mountain ranges in the desert as well as the Tarim River that flows through its Northern edge.

About MQ-9 Reaper:

• The MQ-9 Reaper (Reaper MQ-9A) is an armed, multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
• It is developed by the American company General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (a United States-based aerospace and defence company), primarily for the United States Air Force (USAF).
• It is an upgraded version of the MQ-1 Predator and was first deployed in Afghanistan in October 2007.
• It is used for strategic and operational reconnaissance, battlefield surveillance, and can directly engage targets.
• Features:
  • It has a wingspan of 66 feet (20 meters) and endurance of more than 27 hours.
  • It is equipped with a fault-tolerant flight control system and triple redundant avionics system architecture
  • It is powered by a turboprop engine, integrated with Digital Electronic Engine Control (DEEC), which significantly improves engine performance and fuel efficiency, particularly at low altitudes.
  • It cruises at roughly 322 to 370 kilometers per hour and can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet (15,240 meters), giving it reach across wide areas of operation.
  • It can be armed with air-to-ground Hellfire missiles as well as laser-guided bombs.
  • It is remotely operated by a two-person team consisting of a pilot and an aircrew member who operates sensors and guides weapons.

About Sankh River:

• It flows across Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha states in India.
• The river is also known locally as the Shankh River and is a key tributary in the Brahmani River system.
• Course:
  • The river starts 1,000 metres above sea level in the Lupungpat village in Gumla district in Jharkhand and flows 67.5 kilometres in the state before entering Chhattisgarh.
  • It runs a distance of about 50 kilometres in Chhattisgarh and enters Jharkhand again to flow for another 78 kilometres.
  • The river finally enters Odisha and travels another 45 kilometres before merging with the Koel.
  • The South Koel enters Odisha and joins the Sankh River at Vedavyas near Rourkela, from where it is called the Brahmani.
• A major feature along its course is the 60-metre-high Sadni Falls located at the edge of the Ranchi plateau, known as a scarp or knick-line waterfall.

About Ariosoma cmfriense:

• It is a new species of conger eel.
  • Conger eels are powerful fish with an elongated, snake-like body which is smooth and scaleless.
• It was found in the waters off Kollam, Kerala.
• The discovery was made by scientists from the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, as part of the research component under the Deep Ocean Mission (DOM), a national programme of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).

About Gallium Nitride Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (GaN MMIC) Technology:

• It is a tiny, super-powerful computer chip built on a special chemical material that handles extremely high-frequency wireless signals without melting.
• It’s an all-in-one chip that combines tiny parts like transistors, resistors, and capacitors—onto a single piece of material to manage invisible wireless waves (microwaves).
• It is designed for applications up to the X-band frequency range.
• Origin: DRDO developed the GaN MMIC technology in 2024 and helped India quietly entered an elite club of seven countries: US, Russia, France, Germany, South Korea and China.

Why is GaN important?

• It is a material with exceptional thermal and electrical properties, making it critical for advanced defence applications such as sensors, radars, satellites, and missiles.
• A single indigenous GaN chip, measuring 3.5 x 3 mm can deliver up to 30 watts of power and operate at speeds 300 times faster than silicon.
• Gallium Nitride (GaN) is considered one of the most important semiconductor technologies for modern defence systems.
• It offers: Higher power output, Better energy efficiency, Faster signal processing, Reduced size and weight, Improved thermal performance, Greater reliability in harsh environments.

About Indian Council of World Affairs:

• Origin: It was established in 1943 by a group of Indian intellectuals as a think tank.
  • It was registered as a non-official, non-political and non-profit organisation under the Registration of Societies Act 1860.
  • By an Act of Parliament in 2001, the Indian Council of World Affairs has been declared an institution of national importance.
  • It was established by a group of eminent intellectuals led by Sir T.B. Sapru and Dr. H.N. Kunzru to create an Indian perspective on international relations and foreign policy issues. 
• The Vice President of India is the ex-officio President of ICWA.
• It is funded by the Ministry of External Affairs and enjoys full autonomy.
• Functions: It is devoted exclusively for the study of international relations and foreign affairs.

About Dadasaheb Phalke Award:

• It is given by the Indian government for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.
• It was instituted in 1969 the birth centenary year of Dadasaheb Phalke.
• It is the highest award in the field of cinema in India.
• It was introduced by the Government of India to commemorate Dadasaheb Phalke’s contribution to Indian cinema.
• The award’s inaugural recipient was Devika Rani, aptly titled “the first lady of Indian cinema”.
• The recipients are recognized for their ‘outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema’.
• Award includes: The award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of ₹10 lakh.
• It is presented by the President of India.

Key Facts about Dhundiraj Govind Phalke

• He was born on April 30, 1870, in Trimbak, Maharashtra.
• He was a film director who is considered the father of Indian cinema.
• He directed India’s first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra in 1913.

About Black-headed Ibis:

• It is a species of wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae.
• It is also known as the Oriental white ibis, Indian white ibis, and black-necked ibis.
• Adaptability: These are called wader birds due to their adaptability to a wide variety of aquatic environments.
• Habitat: Found primarily around wetlands including agricultural fields and occasionally around coastal areas, but also seen foraging in dry fields and human-modified landscapes.
• Distribution: It is found in South- and Southeast Asia from India to the west and as far east as
• Conservation Status: It is classified as ‘Least Concern’ under the IUCN Red List.