About Banni Grassland:

• Location: It is located along the northern border of Kachchh district in the state of Gujarat.
• The Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary and Chhari Dhand Conservation Reserve are part of the Banni Grasslands.
• It is also home to the ethnic groups, the majority of whom are pastoralists such as the Maldharis, the Rabaris, the Jats, the Mutwas, and the Meghwals.
• It is home to great biological diversity, having many grass species, bird species, and domesticated animals like Buffalo, Sheep, Goat, Horses and Camel, as well as wildlife. 
• Flora: The vegetation here mainly comprises Prosopis Juliflora, Cressa critica, Cyperus spp, Sporobolus, Dichanthium, and Aristida.
• Fauna: It is home to mammals such as the Nilgai, Chinkara, Blackbuck, Wild boar, Golden Jackal, Indian Hare, Indian Wolf, Caracal, Asiatic Wildcat and Desert Fox etc.

About Gamgul Siyabehi Wildlife Sanctuary:

• Location: It is located in Himachal Pradesh.
• It is nestled in the catchment of Siul nala (a tributary of Ravi River).
• It is adjoined at the northern end by the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
• The famous Kashmir Stag has been reported to be found only in this sanctuary located in Himachal Pradesh.
• Vegetation: Western Mixed Coniferous Forests, Moist temperate deciduous forests, Kharsu Oak forest, Birch/ Rhododendron forests and Alpine pastures.
• Flora: The typical high altitude vegetation found here includes deodar forests, coniferous forests and alpine pastures.
• Fauna: Asiatic Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus), Ibex (Capra ibex), Himalayan Tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), Common Leopard (Panthera pardus), Red Fox, Himalayan Tahr, small populations of Musk Deer, and Pheasants. etc.

About Lokayan 26:

• It is a 10-month transoceanic expedition of INS Sudarshini ship.
• It will visit 18 foreign ports across 13 countries.
• During the course of the voyage, Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard trainees will undergo intensive sail training, gaining invaluable experience in long-range ocean navigation and traditional seamanship at sea. 
• It will strengthen India’s maritime cooperation and advancing the vision of MAHASAGAR.

Key Facts about  INS Sudarshini

• It is an indigenously built Sail Training Ship (STS).
• It was built by Goa Shipyard Limited and based at Kochi, Kerala under the Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy. 
• It was successfully built and was commissioned on 27 Jan. 2012.
• The aim of using such ships is to make sailors sea-friendly, as they are taught how to survive alone at sea, understand rough weather conditions and train themselves to become good sailors.
• It has a very high endurance and can be deployed at sea continuously for a period of twenty days.

About Nickel:

• It is a silver-white shiny appearing metal with the chemical symbol Ni.
• It is the fifth-most common element on earth and occurs extensively in the earth’s crust and core.
• Occurrence:
  • It is usually found in laterite deposits.
  • It occurs naturally in soil and water. It is also an essential nutrient for plants. 
  • It is also a common element in meteorites.
• Properties:
  • It is high ductility, toughness, and provide strength.
  • Nickel occurs principally as oxides, sulphides and silicates in India.
  • It is highly resistant to corrosion and oxidation.
  • It has high thermal and electrical conductivity.
• India has substantial nickel laterite reserves, particularly in Odisha’s Sukinda region.
• World Distribution: Indonesia (22%), Australia (21%), Brazil (17%), Russia (7%), Cuba (6%) and Philippines (5%) are the major countries having reserves of Nickel.
• Applications of Nickel:
  • Alloying Agent: Its biggest use is in alloying – particularly with chromium and other metals to produce stainless and heat-resisting steels.
  • Electric Vehicles: It is an important metal used in several clean energy technologies, especially Electric Vehicles (EVs).
  • Batteries: It is used in batteries, including rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries used in hybrid vehicles.
  • Nickel is often used to form protective coatings on other metals using electroplating.

About Border Security Force:

• It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CSPFs) of the Union of India under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. 
• It was raised in the wake of the 1965 War on 1 December 1965.
• Mandate: It is meant to secure India’s borders with its neighbouring nations and is empowered to arrest, search and seize under several laws.
• Currently, BSF is deployed at the Indo-Pakistan International Border, the Indo-Bangladesh International Border, and Line of Control (LoC) along with the Indian Army, and in Anti-Naxal Operations.
• Role: 
  • The primary role of BSF is to protect the country’s land borders during peacetime and prevent transnational crime. 
  • They help the Indian Army during wartime as they are familiar with local people and topography. 
• Motto: The motto of BSF, “DUTY UNTO DEATH” is placed at the bottom. 
• It has a separate camel and dog wing that lets them expand their reach into varied terrain such as the India-Pakistan border in the Rann of Kutch.
• BSF is the only CAPF to have its own Air Wing, Marine Wing, and artillery regiments, which support the General Duty Battalions in their operations. 
• Powers: It has been given powers of arrest, search, and seizure under various Acts. “These Acts include Passport Act 1967, Passport Act (Entry into India) 1920, Customs Act, NDPS Act and Arms Act. 
• The head of the BSF is known as the Director General (DG), and he should be an officer from Indian Police Services (IPS).

About Lavender Cultivation:

• Lavandula (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae.
• It is a small, perennial aromatic herb shrub.
• Appearance: The flowers may be blue, violet or lilac in the wild species, occasionally blackish purple or yellowish.
• These flowers grow in temperate areas and are drought-resistant crops.
• A single lavender plant bears flowers for up to 15 years, requires minimal maintenance, and can be harvested from the second year onward.
• It is a crop native to Europe but was introduced in the temperate regions of Jammu &Kashmir state by the CSIR Aroma Mission.
• Propagation: Propagation of lavender can be done by seeds, rooted cuttings, tissue culture, and layering.
• Required climatic conditions:
  • Climate: It is a hard and temperate plant that can tolerate drought and frost conditions. The ideal climatic conditions are cool winters and cool summers.
  • It requires a good amount of sunlight.
  • Soil: It can grow well in light well-aerated soil rich with organic matter. It grows best in neutral to alkaline soil which is free draining.
    • It is very sensitive to waterlogging however can go well with poor or eroded soil.
  • Rainfall: It can produce well with an annual rainfall range from 300 to 1400 mm per year.
• Applications: Food and flavouring, Pharmaceutical and therapeutic, Cosmetic, and Industrial purposes etc.

About SkyCast System:

• It is an advanced integrated aviation weather monitoring system.
• It is developed under "Mission Mausam".
• The scientific foundation of SkyCast comes from the Winter Fog Experiment (WiFEX), jointly initiated by IITM and IMD under the Ministry of Earth Sciences at IGI Airport in 2015. 
• India becomes 19th in the world to deploy advanced integrated aviation weather monitoring system.
• Key Features of SkyCast System:
  • The system integrates state-of-the-art atmospheric remote sensing technologies which includes:
    • Radar Wind Profiler: It forms the core of the system and measures wind speed, wind direction, turbulence, vertical velocity and boundary-layer dynamics.
    • Ground-based Fog Aerosol Spectrometer (GFAS): It is an advanced fog monitoring instruments which provides detailed information on fog droplets, aerosols and aerosol-fog interactions. 
    • CL61 Lidar-based Ceilometer: It monitors the vertical structure of fog and visibility conditions in real time.
    • It improves understanding of fog formation and atmospheric behaviour affecting aviation operations.
  • It brings together real-time measurements of fog, aerosols, turbulence, moisture, visibility and atmospheric conditions into a single advanced aviation weather intelligence framework.
  • It can assess atmospheric conditions from the surface up to nearly 10 km altitude and generate aviation meteorological parameters (wind shear, turbulence, fog formation indicators and icing potential).
• Significance:
  • It will provide real-time weather intelligence to Pilots, reducing flight delays, diversions and cancellations caused by fog and turbulence.
  • It will support advanced forecasting models, artificial intelligence-enabled decision support systems, urban weather forecasting, pollution management, transport advisories and disaster preparedness initiatives.