About Gorakhnath Temple:

• It is a Hindu temple situated in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.
• The temple belongs to the Nath monastic group of the Nath tradition (a Shaiva sub-sect in Hinduism), which was instituted by Guru Matsyendranath.
• It is named after the Guru Gorakhnath, who was one of the notable disciples of Guru Matsyendranath and well-known for his Hatha Yoga, a renowned branch of Yoga.
• It serves as the epicenter of the Nath tradition.
• Features:
  • It is a blend of traditional and modern North Indian architectural styles, reflecting the heritage and simplicity of the Nath sect.
  • The heart of the Gorakhnath Temple is the central shrine, which houses a sacred image of Gorakhnath as a deity and a Shiva Linga, as the Nath sect sees Gorakhnath as an incarnation of Lord Shiva.
  • Intricate stonework and marble structures surround the inner shrine.
  • Carved pillars and symbolic motifs around the sanctum highlight the Nath sect’s emphasis on inner spirituality.
  • One of the striking features is the temple’s dome, which is tall and conical, visible from a distance.
  • A significant feature of the Gorakhnath Temple is the Samadhi (final resting place) of Gorakhnath, which is a sacred spot within the temple complex. 

About Lake Natron:

• It is located in the Arusha region of Northern Tanzania.
• It is a soda and salty water lake very close to the Kenyan border in the Gregory Rift, which is the eastern part of the East African Rift.
• It was designated as a Ramsar Site of International Importance in 2001.
• Primarily, the lake is fed by the Ewaso Ng’iro River, which originates from the central region of Kenya.
• One of the most striking features of this lake is its striking red coloration. The primary reason for its hue lies in its extreme alkalinity.
• As water cannot flow out of the lake, evaporation levels are very high, and this leaves behind natron (sodium carbonate decahydrate) and trona (sodium sesquicarbonate dihydrate).
• The high concentration of natron gives the lake extreme alkaline levels, and it is one of the deadliest lakes on the planet.
• The saline waters make the lake inhospitable for many plants and animals, yet the surrounding saltwater marshes are a surprising habitat for flamingos.
• In fact, the lake is home to the highest concentrations of lesser and greater flamingos in East Africa, where they feed on spirulina – a green algae with red pigments.

About Finke River:

• It is a major but intermittent river of central Australia.
• Course:
  • It starts in the MacDonnell Ranges in the Northern Territory.
  • The river forms where two smaller creeks, Davenport and Ormiston, meet.
• It is often called "the oldest river in the world."
  • A combination of geological records, weathering profiles, and radionuclide measurements in the surrounding sediments and rocks has enabled scientists to date this river system to the Devonian (419 million to 359 million) or Carboniferous (359 million to 299 million) period.
• Most of the time, the Finke River looks like a series of waterholes. But after heavy rains, it can turn into a powerful, fast-flowing river.
• During big floods, its water can even reach the Macumba River and eventually Lake Eyre.
• Some of its main smaller rivers that flow into it are Ellery Creek and the Palmer and Hugh Rivers.

About RBS-15 Missile:

• The RBS-15 (Robotsystem 15) is a fire-and-forget surface-to-surface and air-to-surface anti-ship missile with land attack capability.
• The missile was developed by the Swedish company Saab Bofors Dynamics.
• Features:
  • It can hit targets up to 200 km, moving at a subsonic speed of Mach 0.9.
  • It is a low sea-skimming missile performing unpredictable evasive manoeuvres.
  • The RBS15 guidance and control system includes an inertial navigation system and a GPS receiver, a radar altimeter, and a Ku-band radar target seeker.
  • The missile features a low radar cross section and IR signature.
  • It has sophisticated target discrimination and selection capabilities.
  • It is extremely resistant to chaff, active jammers, decoys, and other electronic countermeasures (ECM).
  • The missile engagement planning system (MEPS) provides an advanced user interface for generating plans for different scenarios.

About Similipal National Park:

• It is situated in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha.
• The park is named after the Simul (silk cotton) tree, which grows in abundance here.
• Not only a National Park, Similipal is also a Tiger Reserve, Wildlife Sanctuary, Biosphere Reserve, and also a part of the Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve.
• Situated in the Deccan Peninsular Bio-geographic Zone, it harbours a unique blend of Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats, and eastern Himalayan biodiversity.
• It has some beautiful waterfalls like Joranda and Barehipani.
• It is surrounded by high plateaus and hills, the highest peak being the twin peaks of Khairiburu and Meghashini.
• It is also home to various tribes, including Kolha, Santhala, Bhumija, Bhatudi, Gondas, Khadia, Mankadia, and Sahara.
• Vegetation: The forest is predominantly moist mixed deciduous forest with tropical semi-evergreen forest in areas with suitable microclimatic conditions and sporadic patches of dry deciduous forests and grasslands.
• Flora:
  • Sal is the dominant tree species here.
  • The park also has extensive grasslands that are grazing grounds for many of the herbivores.
• Fauna:
  • It is known for the tiger, elephant, and hill mynah.
  • It holds the highest tiger population in Odisha.
  • It is the only tiger reserve in the country to boast of melanistic tigers.
  • Apart from the tiger, the major mammals are the leopard, sambar, barking deer, gaur, jungle cat, wild boar, four-horned antelope, giant squirrel, and common langur.

About Kawal Tiger Reserve:

• Location: It is located in the state of Telangana.
• It is along the banks of river Godavari, forming part of the Deccan peninsula-central highlands.
• The reserve is nestled in the Sahyadri Mountain Ranges.
• The government of India declared Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary a Tiger Reserve in 2012.
• Rivers: The reserve is the catchment for the rivers Godavari and Kadam, which flow towards the south of the sanctuary.
• Geographically, the reserve is situated at the southernmost tip of the Central Indian Tiger Landscape, having linkages with the Tadoba-Andhari (Maharashtra) and Indravati (Chhattisgarh) tiger reserves.
• Habitat: It has diverse habitats comprising dense forests, grasslands, rivers, streams and water bodies.
• Vegetation: Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest.
• Flora: It consists of teak along with Bamboo and other species like Anogeissus latifolia, Mitragyna parviflora, Terminalia crenulata, Terminalia arjuna, Boswellia serrata, etc.
• Fauna: It includes Nilgai, chousinga, chinkara, black buck, sambar, spotted deer etc.

About Jamma Bane Lands:

• The word Jamma means hereditary.
• The Jamma Bane tenure is a form of land holding prevalent in Kodagu district of Karnataka.
• It is distinctly different from other classes of land holdings in the state.
• History: These lands were originally granted by erstwhile kings of Coorg and the British to local communities in return for military service.
• These lands comprise both wetlands, used for paddy cultivation, and forested highlands, which have transformed into the now-famous coffee estates of Coorg.
• Relevant Acts: The Coorg Land Revenue and Regulations Act, 1899 was in place to govern land ownership in the region till the introduction of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964.
• Issue with Jamma Bane Lands:
  • Ownership: The Jamma Bane land ownership is registered in the name of the original pattedar from a family.
  • Over generations, the names of the new owners are added alongside the name of the pattedar.
  • The land ownership name could not be changed to reflect new owners.

About Karan Fries

• It is developed by the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) in Karnal, Haryana.
• It is a cross between indigenous Tharparkar cows and Holstein-Friesian bulls.
• The synthetic Karan Fries cow breed combines high productivity with resilience, delivering peak daily milk yields of up to 46.5 kg.

About Vrindavani

• It is developed by ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh.
• It is a blend of exotic breeds - Holstein-Friesian, Brown Swiss, and Jersey - with the indigenous Hariana cattle.

Key facts about Indian Council of Agricultural Research

• It is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• It is the apex body for coordinating, guiding, and managing research and education in agriculture, including horticulture, fisheries, and animal sciences, throughout the country.
• History: Formerly known as the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research, it was established on 16 July 1929 as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, in pursuance of the report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture.
• Headquarters: New Delhi.

About Voyager 1:

• It is a space probe launched by NASA in 1977.
• Objective: To explore the outer planets in our solar system.
• It is the first spacecraft to travel beyond the solar system and reach interstellar space.
• It is currently the most distant human-made object from Earth.
• Voyager 1’s mission has included flybys of Jupiter and Saturn, with the goal of studying their moons, rings, and magnetic fields.
• Instruments of Voyager 1: Cosmic Ray Subsystem, Plasma Wave Subsystem, Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer and Radiometer (IRIS) etc. 

Key Achievements of Voyager 1:

• It was the first spacecraft to cross the heliosphere, the boundary where the influences outside our solar system are stronger than those from our Sun.
• It crossed into interstellar space in 2012, making it the first human-made object to venture out of the solar system.
• It discovered a thin ring around Jupiter and two new Jovian moons: Thebe and Metis.
• It also found five new moons and a new ring called the G-ring at Saturn.

About Pufferfish:

• Pufferfish belong to the order Tetraodontiformes.
• Other names: They are locally known by names such as toadfish, patkafish, balloonfish and fugu.
• Habitat: Pufferfish are omnivorous and benthic in habitat.
• Distribution: It is primarily found in the Western Ghats and major basins such as the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Mahanadi. 
• Freshwater pufferfish species reported from India are often endemic to specific geographical areas and serve as indicators of healthy river ecosystems.
• They can inflate into a ball shape to evade predators.
• Conservation Status of Pufferfish:
  • IUCN: Vulnerable 

Pufferfish Poisoning:

• Some puffer fish carry tetrodotoxin (TTX) which is one of the most potent neurotoxins known in nature.
  • Tetrodotoxin blocks nerve sodium channels and can cause paralysis, respiratory failure and death.
• Evidence suggests that pufferfish do not synthesise the toxin themselves.
• Instead, TTX is believed to originate from symbiotic or ingested bacteria such as Vibrio, Pseudomonas, Aeromonas and Bacillus.