About Swarnamukhi River:

• It is a river in Andhra Pradesh.
• It is an east-flowing river basin having a small catchment area of 3,225 sq.km.
• Course:
  • It rises at an elevation of 300 m in the Eastern Ghat ranges near Pakala village in the Chittur district of Andhra Pradesh.
  • It runs generally in the northeastern direction passing through the famous Tirupati hills before joining into the Bay of Bengal.
  • Its total length is 130 km.
• It flows through the sacred regions of Tirumala and Srikalahasti, where notable Hindu temples like the Srikalahasteeswara Temple are located.
• Unlike larger river systems, the Swarnamukhi is independent, meaning it does not join or receive water from major river networks. Its flow is heavily dependent on rainfall, particularly in its upper catchment.
• The average annual rainfall in the Swarnamukhi basin decreases from 1270 mm at the eastern extremity of the basin to 762 mm at the western extremity.
• Its main tributary is the Kalyani River, across which the Kalyani Dam was constructed in 1977.

About Air Quality Life Index (AQLI):

• It measures particulate air pollution's impact on life expectancy.
• Developed by Michael Greenstone and Energy Policy Institute (EPIC) at the University of Chicago, the AQLI quantifies pollution's effects.
• The AQLI combines research on long-term air pollution exposure with global particulate pollution measurements.
• It provides insight into the true cost of air pollution on communities worldwide.
• Highlights of the AQLI 2025 Report:
  • Air pollution has emerged as India’s most severe health threat, reducing the country’s average life expectancy by 3.5 years.
  • Toxic air robs Indians of nearly twice as many years as childhood and maternal malnutrition and more than five times the impact of unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing.
  • All 1.4 billion Indians live in areas where pollution levels exceed the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) safe limit of 5 µg/m³ for PM2.5.
  • The northern belt is still the world’s most polluted zone, with 544.4 million people (38.9 percent of India’s population) living under severe air pollution.
  • Delhi-NCR is the worst hit, with residents facing a loss of 8.2 years in life expectancy (based on WHO’s standard).
    • Bihar: 5.6 years lost
    • Haryana: 5.3 years lost
    • Uttar Pradesh: 5 years lost
  • Even by India’s weaker PM2.5 standard of 40 µg/m³, Delhi-NCR residents would still lose 4.74 years of life expectancy.
  • Shockingly, the report notes that 46 percent of Indians live in areas that exceed even India’s own PM2.5 standards.
  • If pollution levels were reduced to meet this national benchmark, Indians could gain an average of 1.5 years of life expectancy.
  • Meeting WHO’s stricter 5 µg/m³ guideline could add up to 9.4 months even in cleaner regions.
  • The AQLI report underlines that South Asia is the most polluted region globally, with PM2.5 concentrations rising 2.8 percent in 2023 after a brief dip in 2022.
  • Air pollution:
    • Cuts 3 years off average life expectancy across the region.
    • Reduces life by more than 8 years in the most affected zones.

About Typhon Missile System:

• Typhon, also called the Mid-Range Capability (MRC), is a surface-to-surface missile system.
• Manufactured by U.S. firm Lockheed Martin, the Typhon Weapon System leverages a modular design that allows it to fire various missile types.
• It is equipped to launch SM-6 and Tomahawk cruise missiles.
  • The SM-6 missile provides engagement ranges beyond 320 kilometers, while the Tomahawk cruise missile offers deep-strike capability out to 1,500 kilometers.
• Typhon is containerized, road-mobile, and highly survivable, enabling U.S. forces to disperse precision-strike assets across allied territory and quickly target both land and maritime threats in contested environments.
• The system's dual capability makes it particularly effective for both sea denial missions and precision land attacks.
• A full Typhon Weapon System battery comprises four launchers, a command post, and reload and support vehicles, all on trailers.

About Clopidogrel:

• Clopidogrel is a medication that belongs to the class of antiplatelet agents that prevent blood clots from forming.
• It is commonly prescribed to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes in people and those with peripheral arterial disease or unstable angina.
• Clopidogrel works by blocking the action of platelets, which are blood cells that play a key role in forming blood clots, to reduce the risk of serious cardiovascular events.
• Some of the common uses of Clopidogrel include:
  • Preventing heart attacks
  • Preventing strokes
  • Treating peripheral artery disease
  • Preventing blood clots after certain medical procedures
  • Preventing blood clots in patients with atrial fibrillation.
• Clopidogrel is usually taken orally, with or without food.
• However, the dosage and frequency of the medication will depend on the individual's medical condition, age, and response to treatment.
• Clopidogrel is typically taken once daily, preferably at the same time each day, to maintain consistent levels of the medication in the body.

About Mauritania:

• It is a country in northwest Africa.
• It occupies an area of 1,030,000 sq. km.
• It is a country of the Sahel region (a belt across Africa between the arid Sahara to the north and the humid savannas to the south).
• It borders four other nations: West Sahara, Senegal, Algeria, and Mali. The Atlantic Ocean lies to the west.
• Approximately 90% of its landmass is located within the Sahara Desert.
• The most prominent feature of this region is the Guelb er Richat, also known as the Eye of the Sahara, which is a deeply eroded dome consisting of a variety of intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks.
• The Senegal River is the most important waterway in the country.
• People:
  • Most of the people are Moors.
  • These are the descendants of Arabs and Berbers (the original inhabitants of North Africa).
• Much of the population clings to the coastal cities or by the Senegal River in the south.
• Mauritania became independent from France in 1960.
• In 1981, Mauritania became the last country in the world to outlaw slavery.
• Capital: Nouakchott
• Language:
  • The main language is Arabic.
  • The Fulani, Soninke, Wolof, and French languages are also common.
• Islam is the national religion.
• Economy:
  • Mauritania has an abundance of natural resources, including iron ore, gold, copper, gypsum, and phosphate.
  • Extractive commodities make up 75 percent of Mauritania's total exports (exploration for oil is ongoing), with fishing making up another 20 percent.
  • The nation's coastal waters are said to be among the richest fishing areas in the world.

About Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) Tolling System:

• It is a barrier-less tolling system that enables transactions through reading of FASTag and Vehicle Registration Number (VRN) by High performance RFID Readers and ANPR Cameras.
• Significance of Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) Tolling System
  • It enables seamless toll collection without stopping vehicles at fee plazas, reducing congestion and travel time leading to enhanced fuel efficiency and lowering emissions.
  • Implementation of MLFF will also contribute towards improving toll revenue collection and creating a smarter, faster and more efficient National Highway network across the country.

Key Facts about NHAI

• It is India’s premier highway infrastructure creator entrusted with developing, maintaining, and managing National Highways.
• It is a statutory body under the administrative control of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
• It was constituted under National Highways Authority of India Act, 1998 and made operational in February 1995.
• Composition: It consists of a full time Chairman, and not more than five full time Members and four part time Members who are appointed by the Central Government.
• The part time Members are the Secretary (RT&H), Secretary (Expenditure), Secretary (Planning) and DG (RD) & SS.

About Srivilliputhur–Meghamalai Tiger Reserve:

• It is spread across the districts of Theni, Virudhunagar and Madurai in Tamil Nadu.
• It lies in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats region.
• It was formed in February 2021 by combining Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary and Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It functions as a connecting link between Kerala’s Periyar Tiger Reserve and Tamil Nadu’s Southern Kalakkad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.
• The Srivilliputhu Megamalai Tiger Reserve (SMTR) area primarily relies on three perennial rivers: Vaigai, Suruliyaru, and Shanmuganathi.
• Flora: It’s a blend of tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, dry deciduous and moist mixed deciduous woods, and grasslands.
• Fauna:
  • Mammals: Elephants, Tiger, Leopard, Nilgiri Tahr, Gaur, Spotted Deer, Barking Deer, Sambar Deer, Wild Boar, Porcupine, Nilgiri Langur, Lion-Tailed Macaque etc.
  • Birds: Red-Whiskered Bulbul, Common Iora, White-Browed Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Pied Bush Chat etc.
  • Reptiles: Wood Snake, Monitor Lizard, Chameleon, etc.

About PRATUSH Radiometer:

• Probing ReionizATion of the Universe using Signal from Hydrogen (PRATUSH) is a radio telescope to be sited on the moon’s far side.
• It is built by the Raman Research Institute(RRI) in Bengaluru with active collaboration from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
• PRATUSH will carry a wideband frequency-independent antenna, operating over the frequency band 30-250 MHz, a self-calibratable analog receiver, and a digital correlator with high spectral resolution.
• The observing strategy of PRATUSH will be to continually observe large sky regions, and recording spectra of the beam-averaged radio emission with a high spectral resolution of 100 kHz.
• The nominal lifetime of the payload will be two years for achieving high signal-to-noise ratio with sufficient sky-coverage.
• The preferred orbit for the payload will be a circumlunar orbit to enable a measurement of radio sky spectrum from the dark and far side of the Moon.
• At the heart of PRATUSH’s innovative design lies an unexpectedly modest piece of technology: a compact single-board computer (SBC). Built initially around a Raspberry Pi, the SBC is serving as the master controller for the radiometer system.
• The SBC coordinates PRATUSH’s entire operation:
  • Managing the antenna that collects cosmic signals
  • Overseeing the analog receiver that amplifies them
  • Controlling the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) that converts these signals into digital fingerprints, mapping the brightness of the sky at different frequencies
  • Recording and storing high-speed data streams while also carrying out preliminary data processing and calibrations.

About Killer whales:

• It is also known as Orcas which is found across the world and it is the ocean’s top predator.
• It is the largest member of the Delphinidae family, or dolphins and are the most widely distributed of all cetaceans.
• Members of this family include all dolphin species, as well as other larger species, such as long-finned pilot whales and short-finned pilot whales, whose common names also contain “whale” instead of “dolphin”.
• Behavior: Killer whales are highly social, and most live in social groups called pods (groups of maternally related individuals seen together more than half the time).
• Killer whales rely on underwater sound to feed, communicate, and navigate.
• Appearance: They are one of the most recognizable marine mammals, with their distinctive black and white bodies.
• Habitat: Globally, killer whales occur in a wide range of habitats, in both open seas and coastal waters.
• Threats: Killer whales are at high risk of becoming entangled in fishing gear. Also habitat loss is a major concern.
• Conservation Status: IUCN: Data Deficient.

About Exercise Yudh Abhyas:

• It is the joint military exercise held between India and USA.
• The Indian contingent, comprising personnel from a battalion of the Madras Regiment is taking part in this exercise.
• Over two weeks, troops will rehearse a spectrum of tactical drills including heliborne operations, employment of surveillance resources and unmanned aerial systems, rock craft, mountain warfare, casualty evacuation, combat medical aid and the integrated use of Artillery, Aviation and Electronic Warfare systems.
• In addition, subject-matter experts from both armies will conduct working groups on critical domains such as UAS and Counter-UAS operations, information warfare, communications and logistics.
• The exercise will culminate in jointly planned and executed tactical manoeuvres, ranging from live-fire exercises to high-altitude warfare scenarios, with a focus on improving capabilities for United Nations peacekeeping operations and strengthening preparedness for multi-domain challenges.

Other Exercises between India and USA

• Army: Vajra Prahar
• Navy: MALABAR (Multilateral)
• Air Force: Cope India, Red Flag (Multilateral).

About Koya Tribe:

• The Koya are one of the few multi-racial and multi-lingual tribal communities in India.
• They live in the forests, plains, and valleys on both sides of the Godavari River, in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.
• According to the 2011 census, the total population of these tribes in India is 7,38,629.
• The Koyas call themselves "Koithur".
• They are said to have migrated to central India from their original home in Bastar, northern India.
• Language:
  • Koyas speaks the Koya language, also known as koya basha, and is a member of the Dravidian language family. It is closely related to Gondi and has been strongly influenced by Telugu.
  • Most Koyas speak either Gondi or Telugu, in addition to Koyi.
• Occupation:
  • Traditionally, they were pastoralists and shifting cultivators, but nowadays, they have taken to settled cultivation supplemented by animal husbandry and seasonal forest collections.
  • They grow Jowar, Ragi, Bajra, and other millets.
• Society and Culture:
  • All Koya belong to one of five sub-divisions called gotrams. Every Koya is born into a clan, and he cannot leave it.
  • The Koyas have a patrilineal and patrilocal family. The family is called “Kutum”. The nuclear family is the predominant type.
  • Monogamy is prevalent among the Koyas.
  • The Koya usually live in villages located near dependable water sources.
  • Villages vary in size from three to more than sixty houses.
  • The chief of every Koya village is called “Peda’.
  • The Koya practice their own ethnic religion, but also worship a number of Hindu gods and goddesses.
  • Many Koya deities are female, the most important being the “mother earth.”
  • They maintain community funds and grain banks at the village level to help the needy families and provide food security.
  • Koyas either bury or cremate the dead. They erect menhirs in memory of the dead.
  • Their main festivals are Vijji Pandum (seeds charming festival) and KondalaKolupu (festival to appease Hill deities).
  • Koyas perform a robust, colourful dance called Permakok (Bison horn dance) during festivals and marriage ceremonies.

About Great Salt Lake:

• It is a saline lake located in northern Utah, United States.
• It is the largest inland body of salt water in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most saline inland bodies of water in the world.
• The lake is fed by the Bear, Weber, and Jordan rivers and has no outlet.
• The lake has fluctuated greatly in size, depending on the rates of evaporation and the flow of the rivers that feed it.
• Its surface area has varied from about 6,200 sq.km. at its highest levels in 1873 and the mid-1980s to about 2,300 sq.km. at its lowest level in 2022.
• It has a length of 120 km and a maximum width of 45 km.
• The lake reaches an average depth of 4.9 m and a maximum depth of 10 m.
• Like the Dead Sea, the Great Salt Lake exists within an arid environment and has chemical characteristics similar to that of the oceans.
• It has a much greater salinity than the oceans, however, since natural evaporation exceeds the supply of water from the rivers feeding the lake.
• Surrounded by great stretches of sand, salt land, and marsh, the Great Salt Lake remains eerily isolated from the nearby cities, towns, and other human habitations.
• The salts are primarily sodium chloride, but there are also sulfates, magnesium, and potassium.

About Dhauliganga Hydroelectric Project:

• It is a 280 MW hydropower project located on the Dhauliganga River near Dharchula in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand.
  • The Dhauliganga River is one of the prominent tributaries of the Alaknanda River, which is a key component of the Ganga River system.
• The project construction commenced in 2000 and subsequently entered into commercial operation in 2005.
• The project is currently owned by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).
• It is a run-of-river project.
• It consists of a concrete-faced rock-fill embankment dam with a height of 56 meters and a length of 315 meters.
• The hydro reservoir capacity is 6.2 million cubic meters.
• The gross head and net head of the project are 310 m and 297 m, respectively.

About Bordeaux Mixture:

• Bordeaux mixture is a bactericide and fungicide made by mixing copper sulfate and lime (calcium hydroxide) with water.
• Discovered in the late 19th century in France's Bordeaux region, from which it takes its name, Bordeaux mixture has stood the test of time and continues to be a reliable solution for disease management, particularly in organic farming systems.
• This mixture is especially effective in controlling fungal and bacterial diseases in various crops such as fruits, vegetables, and plantation crops.
• It has a low aqueous solubility and is not volatile.
• It persists in rainy weather and can provide long-lasting protection against a variety of diseases.
• Bordeaux mixture is usually applied after harvest, before rainy weather starts.
• Additionally, because it contains copper, it has a multi-site mode of action and may be a particularly useful spray in a pesticide resistance management program.
• However, applying Bordeaux mixture to newly growing leaves, however, can cause injury to the new growth.

About Exercise Yudh Kaushal 3.0:

• It was conducted by the Indian Army in the high-altitude Kameng region of Arunachal Pradesh.
• The exercise demonstrated an impressive integration of advanced technology, operational innovation, and professional expertise by the troops.
• The large-scale manoeuvres highlighted the Army’s capability to operate across multi-domain environments, with demonstrations including drone surveillance, real-time target acquisition, precision strikes, air-littoral dominance, and coordinated battlefield operations.
• A key feature was the operational debut of the newly raised ASHNI platoons, showcasing how next-generation technology, combined with proven tactical experience, can provide a decisive advantage in both current and future conflicts.
• A unique aspect of Exercise Yudh Kaushal 3.0 was the active involvement of the Indian Civil Defence Industry, reflecting India’s ongoing “Decade of Transformation.”
• The exercise validated the Army’s readiness to operate in high-altitude, harsh climatic conditions and reaffirmed its commitment to integrating emerging technologies, including unmanned systems, precision weaponry, and multi-domain operational strategies.

About Indian Rosewood:

• Indian Rosewood i.e Dalbergia sissoo (North Indian rosewood) is often called the “ivory of the forests,”
• Indian Rosewood is a fast-growing, hardy, deciduous crooked rosewood
• Distribution: It is native to the foothills of the Himalayas, ranging from Afghanistan in the west to Bihar, India, in the east.
• Habitat: It is primarily found growing along river banks above 200 m (700 ft) elevation, but can range naturally up to 1,400 m (4,600 ft).
• It has long, leathery leaves and whitish or pink flowers.
• Indian rosewood is prized for its rich grain, deep colour, and exceptional durability.
• It serves as both a premium timber resource for the furniture and handicraft industries and a keystone ecological species.
• It is commonly used for furniture, musical instruments, decorative items and veneers.
• Ecological Significance: Rosewood trees improve soil fertility through nitrogen fixation, support bird and insect diversity, and act as long-term carbon sinks.
• Conservation status of Indian Rosewood
  • IUCN: Near Threatened
  • CITES list: Appendix II
• Concerns: Researchers observed that populations are dominated by mature, ageing trees with almost no regeneration in the wild. Seedlings are rare, and in many areas, entirely absent.

About Dioscorea balakrishnanii:

• It is an edible tuber found in the Western Ghats region of Wayanad district of Kerala.
• It is a new species of the genus Dioscorea.
• This yam species is locally known as ‘chola kizhangu’among the Kattunayikar tribes of Wayanad. The tubers are edible when cooked and are said to have an excellent flavour
• Habitat: It is found only in the sholas of evergreen forests.
• Since there are male and female varieties, Dioscorea balakrishnanii was continuously observed for the last ten years and the differences in the flowers have been recorded.
• The Wayanad region of the Western Ghats is rich in unique wild tubers, relatives of the commonly cultivated tubers known as kachil or kavat (purple yam).
• These belong to the plant family Dioscoreaceae and 23 different forms of more than 14 species.
• Significance: The discovery of this new tuber is of significance for the conservation of unique ecosystems and unique wild relatives as well as food security and the medicinal sector.
• The species holds potential as a tuber variety for food security and cultivation as a food crop with low glycemic index.

About Mira Stars:

• Mira, also known as Omicron Ceti, is a star that remarkably changes its brightness over time, in a regular pattern.
• The name, Mira, means "the wonderful" in Latin, and it lived up to that name by becoming the prototype for an entire class of stars known as Mira variables.
• With the variability first measured by astronomers in the 17th century, Mira was the first known example of a "variable star"—a star that doesn't shine with a constant brightness.
• Mira variables are a type of giant star that go through regular cycles of expanding and contracting.
• These cycles cause their brightness to vary in a predictable way, typically over periods ranging from 100 to 1,000 days.
• These stars are relatively cool, with surface temperatures around 3,000 Kelvin (about half the temperature of the Sun’s surface), and they are in the late stages of their life.
• One of the most important things about Mira variables is that there is a strong relationship between how bright they are and how long their pulsation cycles last.
• This relationship allows astronomers to use them as "standard candles."
• A standard candle is an object in space whose true brightness is known. By comparing how bright the object appears from Earth to how bright it actually is, scientists can calculate how far away it is.
• This is a key method used to measure distances in the universe, forming part of what astronomers call the "extragalactic distance ladder."

About Blue Sea Dragon:

• The blue dragon (Glaucus atlanticus) is a type of mollusk known as a nudibranch.
• They also are known as blue sea slugs, blue angels, and sea swallows. 
• Distribution: It can be found drifting on the surface of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans in temperate and tropical waters.
• Diet of Blue Sea Dragon
  • They feed on venomous siphonophores such as the Portuguese man-o-war and bluebottle, which also occur in ocean surface waters.
  • When a blue sea dragon consumes its venomous prey, it doesn’t just digest the toxins. Instead, through a complex biological process, it transports the stinging cells or nematocysts from its digestive system to specialised finger-like projections called cerata on its back and sides.
  • They incorporate these cells into multiple finger-like structures protruding from their body which provides them with a potent form of protection from predators.
  • The slug isn’t venomous all on its own, however, it stores the stinging nematocysts created by the creatures on which it feeds.
• Its sting can cause problems, especially to children and elderly.
• One sting from this little creature can lead to nausea, pain, vomiting, acute allergic contact dermatitis, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
• They are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female reproductive organs.

About Ramon Magsaysay Award:

• It is Asia’s premier prize and highest honor, celebrates greatness of spirit and transformative leadership in Asia.
• The Awardees, annually selected by the RMAF board of trustees, are presented with a certificate and a medallion with an embossed image of Ramon Magsaysay facing right in profile.
• From 1958 to 2008, the Award was given in six categories annually:
  • Government Service: To recognize outstanding service in the public interest in any branch of government, including the executive, judicial, legislative, or military;
  • Public Service: To recognize outstanding service for the public good by a private citizen;
  • Community Leadership: To recognize leadership of a community toward helping the disadvantaged have fuller opportunities and a better life;
  • Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts: To recognize effective writing, publishing, or photography or the use of radio, television, cinema, or the performing arts as a power for the public good;
  • Peace and International Understanding: To recognize contributions to the advancement of friendship, tolerance, peace, and solidarity as the foundations for sustainable development within and across countries.
  • Emergent Leadership: To recognize an individual, forty years of age or younger, for outstanding work on issues of social change in his or her community, but whose leadership may not yet be broadly recognized outside of this community.
  • The category of Emergent Leadership was inaugurated in 2000 and is supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation.
• Starting in 2009, the Ramon Magsaysay Award is no longer being given in fixed Award categories, except for Emergent Leadership.
• The winners are presented with a certificate and a medallion with an embossed image of Ramon Magsaysay.
• It is presented in formal ceremonies in Manila, Philippines on August 31st, the birth anniversary of the much-esteemed Philippine President whose ideals inspired the Award’s creation in 1957.