About Mtkvari River:

• The Mtkvari River, also known as the Kura River, is a significant watercourse in the South Caucasus mountains.
• It is the longest river in the Caucasus region.
• It flows through the countries of Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
• It is an east-flowing river that originates in eastern Turkey, enters Georgia, and flows through the valley between the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus mountains before reaching the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan.
• The river has a total length of 1515 kilometers, with the longest portion in Azerbaijan, followed by Georgia, and Turkey.
• The Araxes (Aras) River is the largest tributary of the Mtkvari.
• Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, is the largest city located along the river.
• Historical Context:
  • The Mtkvari River has been a cradle of civilization for millennia.
  • Ancient settlements along its banks date back to the Bronze Age.
  • Historically, the river served as a vital trade route, connecting the Caucasus with the larger Eurasian trade networks.

About Mettur Dam:

• It is located at Mettur, Salem District, in Tamil Nadu.
• It is one of the largest dams in India and the largest in Tamil Nadu.
• It is constructed in a gorge, where the Kaveri River enters the plains.
• Built in 1934, it took 9 years to complete. The entire work was supervised by the then Governor of Madras, Sir George Stanley.
• It was constructed for the main purpose of capturing Kaveri waters for irrigation, drinking water supply, and power generation.
• Features:
  • It is a masonry gravity dam.
  • The reservoir formed by the dam is known as the Stanley Reservoir. It has the contribution to produce 240 MW of hydroelectricity.
  • There is a park adjoining the dam on the opposite side with lawns and fountains and also has the Muniappan/Aiyanar statue in the vicinity.
• The dam receives inflows from its own catchment area, Kabini Dam, and Krishna Raja Sagara Dams located in Karnataka.
• It provides irrigation facilities to parts of Salem, the length of Erode, Namakkal, Karur, Tiruchirappali, and Thanjavur districts for 271,000 acres of farmland.

About Doctrine of Promissory Estoppel:

• It is a legal doctrine that states that if someone reasonably relies on a promise and acts (or fails to act) in a way that causes them some harm because of that promise, the promise can be enforced.
• Promissory estoppel prevents the promisor from arguing against the enforcement of a promise.
• When is the doctrine applied?
  • The doctrine applies when the promisor has made a promise to the promisee.
  • The promisee must have relied on the promise and suffered a detriment due to the non-performance of the promise.
  • The doctrine prevents the promisor or enterprise from going back on its word or promise.
  • The doctrine enables the injured party or the promisee to recover on a promise.
  • The doctrine seeks to protect the rights of a promisee or aggrieved party against the promisor.
  • Thus, Promissory estoppel requirements include a clear promise (whether oral or in writing), reliance on that promise by the promisee, a detriment suffered, and a need to avoid injustice.
• Example:
  • A vendor makes an oral promise to the customer to replace the goods if they do not fit the customer’s size requirements.
  • The customer purchases the clothes and takes them home.
  • However, the customer proposes to return the clothes to the vendor relying on the vendor’s oral promise.
  • Here, the vendor is estopped from refusing the clothes returned.
• The doctrine varies from country to country. Cases of promissory estoppel can result in either reliance or expectation damages, depending on the jurisdiction and circumstances.
• In a 1981 decision in Chhaganlal Keshavalal Mehta v. Patel Narandas Haribhai, the SC lists a checklist for when the doctrine can be applied.
  • First, there must be a clear and unambiguous promise.
  • Second, the plaintiff must have acted relying reasonably on that promise.
  • Third, the plaintiff must have suffered a loss.

About Giant Malabar Squirrel:

• The Malabar Giant Squirrel, also known as the Indian Giant Squirrel, is a large multicoloured tree squirrel species endemic to India.
• It is one of the largest squirrels in the world.
• Scientific Name: Ratufa indica.
• Habitat and Distribution:
  • It is found primarily in the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats, and Satpura Range.
  • It is found in areas with elevation ranging from 180 to 2,300 metres in tropical deciduous, semi-deciduous, and wet evergreen forests and
  • It is arboreal and spends most of its time in the upper canopy, leaping from tree to tree with incredible agility, jumping up to 6 metre length.
  • It makes its shelter within holes in trees.
  • It is Maharashtra’s state animal and locally known as Shekru.
• Features:
  • They are typically solitary animals, being seen only rarely in pairs during the breeding season.
  • Instead of running, it frequently freezes or flattens itself against the tree stem when threatened.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Least Concern

About Beaufort Castle:

• Beaufort Castle — known locally as Qalaat al-Shaqif or the “Castle of the High Rock", is a medieval fortress situated atop a commanding hill near the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon.
• Originally built by Crusaders in the 12th century, the castle has changed hands multiple times throughout history, passing through Crusader, Muslim, Mamluk, and Ottoman control.
• It is one of the best-preserved examples of medieval castles in the Near East.
• Its impressive architecture, with a high castle and a low castle, demonstrates its defensive role in the Middle Ages.
• It overlooks vast stretches of southern Lebanon, the Litani River valley, and parts of northern Israel, making it a position of considerable strategic value.
• The castle has also been at the centre of fighting in the past.
  • In 1982, amid the Lebanon War, Israel captured Beaufort Castle from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and held it until it withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.

About Design Linked Incentive Scheme:

• It is a key instrument in advancing India’s ambition to develop a strong fabless capability.
• Aim: The scheme aims to reduce import dependence, strengthen supply chain resilience, and enhance domestic value addition.
• Eligibility: Start-ups and MSMEs are eligible for financial incentives and design infrastructure support for semiconductor product design & deployment.
  • Other domestic companies are eligible for financial incentives for deploying semiconductor designs.
• The DLI Scheme supports: Semiconductor design across the full lifecycle—from design and development to deployment—covering Integrated Circuits (ICs), chipsets, Systems-on-Chip (SoCs), systems and IP cores.
• It is implemented by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under the Semicon India Programme.
• Nodal Agency: C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing).
• Financial Incentives:
• Product Design Linked Incentive:
  • Reimbursement of up to 50% of eligible expenditure.
  • The reimbursement is capped at ₹15 crore per application.
  • The support is available to entities involved in semiconductor design for: Integrated Circuits (ICs) Chipsets Systems on Chips (SoCs) Systems & IP Cores Semiconductor-linked designs.
• Deployment Linked Incentive:
  • Incentives of 6% to 4% of net sales turnover are provided for five years.
  • The incentive is capped at ₹30 crore per application.
  • The minimum cumulative net sales required over Years 1–5 is 1 crore for startups/ ₹ MSMEs and 5 crore for other domestic companies.

About Indopottia Himalayensis:

• It is a new moss species discovered from high-altitude forests of the Western Himalayas in Uttarakhand state.
• It is only the third species of its kind ever identified globally.
• Other two species reside far away in the Western Ghats of southern India and the mountains of  Thailand.
• The research team chose the name Indopottia himalayensis as a tribute to the magnificent Himalayan mountain range.
• Features:
  • It is entirely terrestrial, thriving directly on soil-covered rocks.
  • This moss produces a single, upright, cylindrical spore-capsule.
  • This capsule features a distinctive lid that bends sideways when dry.
  • Its leaves lack the specific patch of transparent, bulging cells found in its closest relatives.

Key Facts about Moss:

• It is a small nonvascular spore-bearing land plant belongs to the taxonomic division Bryophyta.
• It is among the earliest land plants and has colonised some of the harshest environments on the planet, including Antarctica, volcanic fields, and deserts.
• Types of Moss: There are three main types: peat moss, granite moss and true moss.
• Distribution: Mosses are distributed throughout the world except in salt water.
• Habitat: It is the small plant commonly found in damp, shady spots is already known for its resilience on Earth.

About Mongolia:

• It is a landlocked country in north-central Asia.
• Bordering Countries: Mongolia is bordered by two nations: China in the south and Russia in the north.
• Capital City: Ulaanbaatar
• Geographical features of Mongolia:
  • Climate: Mongolia has a pronounced continental climate because of its high latitude and elevation and distance from oceans.
  • It has four main vegetation zones that run from north to south and from mountains to basins: forest-steppe, steppe, semidesert, and desert.
  • Major Mountains: Khentii Mountains, Khangai Mountains, and the Altay Mountains.
  • Highest Point: The highest point of Mongolia is Nayramadlin Orgil
  • Major River: Orkhon River (Orkhon River valley was inscribed by UNESCO in the World Heritage List).
  • Lake: Hovsgol Nuur, one of Asia's largest freshwater lakes is located on its border with the Russian Federation.
  • Natural Resources: Mongolia possesses large deposits of coal and fluorite (fluorspar) and of copper, gold, silver, and other metallic ores.

About James Webb Space Telescope:

• It was launched in December 2021.
• It is the largest and most powerful space observatory built through collaboration between NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
• JWST orbits the L2 Lagrange Point, about 1.5 million km beyond Earth, enabling a stable position for deep-space observation.
• The telescope operates primarily in the infrared spectrum and is equipped with components such as:
  • Optical Telescope Element (OTE): It collects light from distant objects.
  • Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM): It houses all cameras and instruments.
  • Sunshield: It protects sensitive instruments from solar radiation.
  • Spacecraft Bus: It provides necessary operational support.
• Objectives of James Webb Space Telescope:
  • To look for galaxies that formed just after the Big Bang.
  • To determine the evolution of galaxies from their creation to the present.
  • To examine the stages of star creation till the formation of planetary systems.
  • To investigate the potential for life in planetary systems by measuring their physical and chemical features.

About Ahilyabai Holkar:

• Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar (31 May 1725 – 13 August 1795) was a ruler of the Malwa territory, a part of the Maratha Confederacy, from 1767 to 1795.
• She is known as Punyashlok(“One as Pure as the Sacred Chants”).
• John Keay, the British historian, gave the queen the title of ‘The Philosopher Queen’.
• Early Life and Marriage:
  • She was born on May 31, 1725, in the village of Chondi in Jamkhed, Ahmednagar(Maharashtra), and her father Mankoji Rao Shinde was the village head.
  • She got married to Khanderao Holkar (son of Malhar Rao Holkar) in 1733.
• Rise to Power:
  • Ahilyabai's husband Khanderao Holkar was killed in the battle of Kumbher in 1754.
  • Her father-in-law, Malhar Rao passed away in 1766, and in the following year, she lost her son, Male Rao.
  • She ascended the throne and became the ruler of Indore on December 11, 1767.
  • She had appointed Tukoji Rao Holkar as the commander of her army.
  • She made Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh as the capital of the Holkar dynasty.
• Key Contributions:
  • Temple Construction: She was instrumental in rebuilding major temples, notably the Kashi Vishwanath temple in 1780, and supported infrastructure such as rest houses and public ghats at various pilgrimage sites.
  • Cultural: She patronised stalwarts such as Marathi poet Moropant, Shahir Ananta Gandhi, and Sanskrit scholar Khushali Ram.
  • Promotion of craft: She established a textile industry in Maheshwar, which today is very famous for its Maheshwari sarees.
  • Understanding the importance of education, she established many gurukuls and schools.
  • In a revolutionary move for her time, she formed a women’s army and trained them in warfare, self-defense, and administrative security.