P4P Prelims 2021: Geography + Mapping

P4P Prelims 2021
Geography + Mapping
Booklet Part I- May 2020- Feb 2021
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
Hi Friends ✋✋✋
In This PDF We’re Providing You Following
Comprehensive Content Exclusively For UPSC
Prelims 2021. This PDF Will Help You To Reduce
Your Extra Efforts In Searching Below Content,
We Have Compiled It From Daily The Hindu,
Indian Express, PIB, AIR, Down To Earth, Ministries
Websites & Various Monthly Magizenes etc. Get
All Important Content Over Here Utilize This
Content Properly, It Will Be Helpful.
Keep Studying. All The Best !!!
Regards,
Team KBsIAS
2|Page Join @KBsIAS

GEO+MAP KBsIAS
INDEX
May’20- February’21
1. PLACES IN NEWS- INDIA SPECIFIC………………………………………………05
2. PLACES IN NEWS- INTERNATIONAL……………………………………………..24
3. PLACES IN NEWS- NP, WLS etc. ………………………………………………….49
4. PLACES IN NEWS- LAKES, ISLAND etc. …………………………………….......63
5. PLACES IN NEWS- RIVERS IN NEWS……………………………………............84
6. PLACES IN NEWS- MISC. ………………………………………...........................88
3|Page Join @KBsIAS

GEO+MAP KBsIAS
4|Page Join @KBsIAS

GEO+MAP KBsIAS
1. PLACES IN NEWS- INDIA SPECIFIC
POLITICAL MAP OF INDIA-Click Here
5|Page Join @KBsIAS

GEO+MAP KBsIAS
NEW POLITICAL MAPS OF J&K AND LADAKH
 The new maps depicting the new UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, as created on 31
October 2019, along with the map of India, are prepared by Survey General of India.
 The newly created UT of Ladakh consists of two districts of Kargil and Leh while the rest of the
erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir is in UT of J&K. The Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is
the part of UT of J&K, while Gilgit-Baltistan is in UT of Ladakh.
 These were created after on recommendation of Parliament, the President effectively
dismantled Article 370 of Indian Constitution and gave assent to the Jammu and Kashmir
Reorganisation Act, 2019.
 In the history of India, this is for the first time that a state was converted into two UTs. The
total number of states in country has now risen to 28, while the total UTs have gone up to 9.
 The UT of J&K will now have a legislature such as Puducherry while Ladakh will stay a UT
without legislature such as Chandigarh.
6|Page Join @KBsIAS

GEO+MAP KBsIAS
AKSAI CHIN
 Aksai Chin is a disputed
border area between China
and India since 1950s.
 China controls Aksai Chin
area, while India claims that it
is part of Indian Territory
(Union territory of Ladakh).
 Aksai Chin is mainly a part of
Hotan County in Xinjiang
Autonomous Region in China.
 Aksai Chin is a southwestward extension of the Plateau of Tibet. India claims Aksai Chin
as a part of the Ladakh region of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
 During the time of British rule in India, two borders between India and China were
proposed- Johnson’s Line and McDonald Line.
GILGIT BALTISTAN
 It is one of the disputed territories of

India.
 It has functioned as a ‚provincial
autonomous region‛ since 2009.
 It is located in the northern Pakistan.
It borders China in the North,
Afghanistan in the west, Tajikistan
in the north-west and Kashmir in the
south east.
 China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
(CPEC) also passes through this
region.
 3 of the world’s longest glaciers outside the polar regions are found in Gilgit-Baltistan.
 Pakistan announced to elevate GB to the status of a full-fledged province with all
constitutional rights.
7|Page Join @KBsIAS

GEO+MAP KBsIAS
INDIA CHINA BORDER ISSUE
 Recently Rekindling tensions over

boundary claims, Indian and
Chinese troops have clashed at
two points along the LAC
recently..
 The incidents took place in the
Naku La sector and in a contested
area near Pangong Tso, a lake in
Ladakh.
 Naku La sector is a pass at a
height of more than 5,000 metres above Mean Sea Level (MSL) in the state of Sikkim.
 It is located ahead of Muguthang or Cho Lhamu (source of River Teesta).
 The other passes located in the state of Sikkim are Nathu La Pass and Jelep La Pass.
BORDER DISPUTE BETWEEN INDIA AND NEPAL
 Currently, India and Nepal have border disputes over Kalapani- Limpiyadhura-
Lipulekh trijunction between India-Nepal and China and Susta area.
 Kalapani is a valley that is administered by India as a part of the Pithoragarh district of
Uttarakhand. It is situated on the Kailash Mansarovar route.
 The Kali River in the Kalapani region demarcates the border between India and Nepal.
 The Treaty of Sugauli signed by the Kingdom of Nepal and British India (after Anglo-
Nepalese War) in 1816 located the Kali River as Nepal's western boundary with India.
 Kali river originates in springs well below the Lipu-lekh pass, and the Sugauli Treaty
does not demarcate the area north of these streams.
SUSTA AREA
 It is one of the disputed territories between India

(Uttar Pradesh) and Nepal.
 Main reason for disputes: The change of course
by the Gandak river.
 It is located on the bank of the Gandak river
 It is called Narayani river in Nepal.
8|Page Join @KBsIAS

GEO+MAP KBsIAS
DIAMER BHASHA DAM
 Recently Pakistan government has signed a

contract with a joint venture of a Chinese state-
run firm for the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha
dam in the PoK.
 Construction, on the River Indus between Kohistan
district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Diamer
district in Gilgit Baltistan.
 Other Dams: Mangla and Tarbela dams.
KAILASH MANSAROVAR- NEW ROAD
 The Link Road is named as the Kailash-

Mansarovar Yatra Route under which the Border
Roads Organisation (BRO) achieved road
connectivity from Dharchula (Pithoragarh,
Uttarakhand) to Lipulekh.
 Lipulekh Pass also known as Lipu-Lekh
Pass/Qiangla or Tri-Corner is a high altitude
mountain pass situated in the western Himalayas
with a height of 5,334 metre or 17,500 feet.
 There is no air travel involved and the majority
of the travel (84%) is in India and only 16% in
China compared to other routes where 80%
road travel is in China.
 The road was made under directions of the China Study Group (CSG) and is funded by
Indo-China Border Road (ICBR).
ANAKKAMPOYIL-KALLADI-MEPPADI CORRIDOR
 It would run parallel to the landslip-prone Thamarassery pass that links Kozhikode to
Wayanad.
 Kerala’s longest road tunnel is at Kuthiran between Thrissur and Palakkad at 962
meters.
9|Page Join @KBsIAS

GEO+MAP KBsIAS
PLACES IN NEWS
Mentioned as part of 32nd session of the Dekho Apna Desh webinar series of Ministry of
Tourism titled ‚Trekking in the Himalayas- Magical Experiences‛.
1. Kuari Pass (Uttrakhand): This trek was explored by Lord Curzon and is also knows as
the Curzon trail.
2. Brahma Taal (Uttrakhand): It is a hidden and secluded lake amidst the ridge, where
Lord Brahma meditated according to the mythology.
3. Fotoksar is a picturesque village in Ladakh. It is the part of the Lingshed- Padum trek
(also known as The Great Zanskar trek).
4. Roopkhund (Uttarakhand): It is a high altitude glacial lake. It lies in the lap of Trishul
massif.
DEPSANG
 There have been reports of a heavy Chinese

presence at Depsang.
 It is an area at a crucial dip (called the Bulge)
on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
 The Chinese Army occupied most of the plains in
1962.
 India controls the western portion of the plains
as part of Ladakh, whereas the eastern portion is part of the Aksai Chin region, which
is controlled by China and claimed by India.
 The ‚Depsang plain‛ is one of the few places in the Western Sector where light armour
(vehicles) would have ease of manoeuvre, so any Chinese buildup there is a cause for
concern.
DOBRA-CHANTI BRIDGE
 Recently, Dobra-Chanthi suspension bridge is inaugurated in Tehri Garhwal district.

 The 440-metre long bridge is India’s longest motorable single lane suspension
bridge.
 Built over Tehri Lake, it will cut travel time between Tehri and Pratapnagar districts
from 5.5 to 1.5 hours.
10 | P a g e Join @KBsIAS
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
GAIRSAIN
 Gairsain becomes Uttarakhand's summer capital:

 It was formally declared as the summer capital of Uttarakhand.
 It would be developed as an ideal seat of the administration.
 The Legislative Assembly of the state is located at Dehradun, the winter capital city.
STRATEGIC DARBUK-SHYOK-DAULAT BEG OLDI (DSDBO) ROAD
 Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to fast-track the

work on the strategic DSDBO road.
 DBO is India’s northernmost corner, which in army
parlance is called Sub-Sector North and building a
road till here has been of vital importance to India.
 DSDBO road runs almost parallel to the Line of
Actual Control (LAC) at Aksai Chin.
 China has been objecting to Indian road and
infrastructure development at several points along
the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
 DSDBO road is also objected by the Chinese.
CHUSHUL
• It is a village in Leh, Ladakh, India. It is located in

the Durbuk tehsil,
• It is close to Rezang Laand Panggong Lake at a
height of 4,360 metres.
• Chushul is one of the five officially agreed Border
Personnel Meeting points between the Indian
Army and the People’s Liberation Army of China for
regular consultations and interactions between the
two armies to improve relations.
• This place is famous for the Indian Army who
fought to the ‘last man, last round’ at Rezang La
(Chushul) on November 18, 1962. Without this
crucial victory, the territory might have been captured by China.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
WORLD’S LONGEST HIGH-ALTITUDE SHINKUN LA TUNNEL
 National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) has

speeded up the detailed project report (DPR) work on this Tunnel.
 The tunnel is 13.5 Km long.
 The tunnel connects the UT of Ladakh and tribal Lahaul & Spiti of Himachal Pradesh.
 On completion of this tunnel, the Manali - Kargil highway will remain open throughout
the year.
NAKU LA SECTOR
 Indian and Chinese Soldiers have clashed

at the Balwan area in this Pass in Sikkim.
 It is a pass at a height of more than 5,000
meters above Mean Sea Level(MSL) in
the state of Sikkim.
 It is located ahead of Muguthang or Cho
Lhamu (source of River Teesta).
 The other passes in Sikkim Nathu La Pass
and Jelep La Pass.
 While Nathu La pass is located on the east
side of Sikkim, Naku La pass is located on
the northern border of Sikkim.
KOLKATA PORT TRUST
 Cabinet approves renaming of Kolkata

Port Trust as Syama Prasad Mookerjee
Trust. The decision announced on
January 12 at the inaugural ceremony of
the 150th anniversary celebrations of
the port.
 The Kolkata port is the only riverine port
in the country, situated 203 km from the
sea. The river Hooghly, on which it is located, has many sharp bends, and is
considered a difficult navigational channel.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
 The Farakka Barrage, built in 1975, reduced some of the port’s woes as Ganga waters
were diverted into the Bhagirathi-Hooghly system.
PETRAPOLE
 It is the Indian side of

Petrapole-Benapole
border checkpoint
between India and
Benapole of
Bangladesh, on the
Bangladesh-India
border, near Bongaon
in North 24 Parganas
districtof West Bengal.
 Petrapole border is the
only land port in south Bengal. It is also the largest land customs station in Asia.
 The landport alone accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the bilateral trade between India
and Bangladesh.
NECHIPHU TUNNEL
 Recently Foundation stone for Nechiphu Tunnel in
Arunachal Pradesh has been laid.
 The tunnel is in the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT)
road in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.
 The 450m-long tunnel will bypass the existing road,
will be D-shaped and comprise two lanes of 3.5m
width each.
 Another 1.8 km-long tunnel is also being
constructed on the BCT road and both will reduce
distance to the area bordering China by 10km.
 This project is of strategic importance and provide
connectivity to remote areas.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
ATAL TUNNEL
 World‘s longest highway tunnel at Rohtang was recently inaugurated.

 It is a 9.02 km-long-tunnel, at an altitude of above 3,000 metres.
 It connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley.
 It is built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
 It provides all-weather connectivity to the landlocked valley of Lahaul-Spiti, which
remains cut-off for 6 months due to bad weather connection.
 It is also strategically important as it provide better connectivity to the armed forces in
reaching Ladakh.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
ZOJILA TUNNEL
 Union Transport Ministry has launched the first blasting for construction-related work
at this tunnel that will provide all-year connectivity between Srinagar valley and Leh.
 It is set to be Asia’s longest bi-directional tunnel.
 It will connect Srinagar, Dras, Kargil and Leh via a tunnel through the Zojila Pass.
 Located at more than 11,500 feet above sea level, the all-weather Zojila tunnel will be
14.15 km long and ensure road connectivity even during winters.
 It will make the travel on the 434-km Srinagar-Kargil-Leh Section of NH-1 free from
avalanches, enhance safety and reduce the travel time from more than 3 hours to just 15
minutes.
SADHNA PASS
 Previously called as Nastachun pass, is a

mountain pass in Jammu and Kashmir.
 It is located in the Himalayas and
connects Karnah tehsil of Kupwara
district with the rest of the Indian
administrated Kashmir valley.
 It is located in the vast Shams Bri
mountainous range.
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
The year 2020 marks 100 years of discovery

of IVC or also known as Harappan
Civilization., and a new study has shown that
dairy products were being produced by the
Harappans as far back as 2500 BCE.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
ASSAM-MIZORAM BOUNDARY ISSUES
 The dispute stems from a notification of 1875 that

differentiated Lushai Hills from the plains of
Cachar, and another of 1933 that demarcates a
boundary between Lushai Hills and Manipur.
 Mizoram borders Assam’s Barak Valley; both
border Bangladesh.
BAGHJAN OILFIELD
 It is located in Tinsukia
district of Assam, in June
2020, a gas leak has
occurred at the oil well
following a blowout.
 The Baghjan well is a purely
gas-producing well in
Tinsukia district, and is at an
aerial distance of 900
metres from the Dibru-
Saikhowa National Park.
 NGT‘s principal bench headed by AK Goel, constituted a committee led by former
Judge BP Katakey June 26 to investigate the cause and the impact of the blowout.
PANGDA VILLAGE
 It is a new border village built by

China.
 The village is located on territory
disputed by China and Bhutan.
 The area is east of the India-Bhutan-
China trijunction on the Doklam
plateau, the site of a 72- day standoff
in 2017.16
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
LAKSHADWEEP FIRST UT TO BECOME 100% ORGANIC
 The ministry of agriculture has declared the

Lakshadweep island as organic.
 Lakshadweep is the first Union Territory
(Sikkim- 1st ) to become 100 per cent
organic as all farming is carried out without
the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides.
Union Territory Lakshadweep:

 India’s smallest UT is an archipelago consisting
of 36 islands with an area of 32 sq km.
 It is a uni-district Union Territory and
comprises 12 atolls, three reefs, five
submerged banks and ten inhabited islands.
 It comprise 32 sq km. The Capital is Kavaratti and it is also the principal town.
MOUNT EVEREST
 The Foreign Ministers of Nepal

and China jointly certified the
elevation of Mount Everest at
8,848.86 metres above sea
level — 86 cm higher than what
was recognised since 1954.
 The earlier height was
determined by the Survey of
India in 1954, using
instruments like theodolites
and chains.
 The devastating earthquake of
April 2015 triggered a debate whether it had affected the height of the mountain.
 It is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-
range of the Himalayas.
 The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
SUMDORONG CHU
 In 1986–87, a military standoff took place between India and China in the Sumdorong
Chu Valley bordering the Tawang district, Arunachal Pradesh and Cona County, Tibet.
 The standoff was the first military confrontation along the disputed McMahon Line
after the 1962 war and gave rise to fears of escalation.
DZUKOU VALLEY
 A huge wildfire in Dzukou valley located

on the Manipur-Nagaland border caused
severe damage to the environment.
 It is located at the border of states of
Nagaland and Manipur.
 It is a sanctuary for the endangered
Blyth's tragopan - Nagaland's State Bird.
 Famous for its wide range of flowers in
every season.
 Rare Dzükou Lily is found only in this
valley.
 This valley is ‘Valley of flowers’ of the
Nagaland State
 The Asian Highway 1 and also the NH-2 passes through its foothills.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
K2 MOUNTAIN
 A team of climbers from Nepal become the first mountaineers to successfully

complete a winter attempt on the summit of K2.
 It is the only mountain over 8,000 metres that had not been summitted in winter.
 It is situated in the Karakoram Range to the northeast of the Himalayas.
 It is surrounded by five of the world’s 17 highest mountains.
 It is the world’s second tallest peak after Mount Everest. Located in Pakistan
occupied Kashmir.
NAMRUP
 It is a small town situated close to the foothills of the great Patkai Mountain Range
(Purvanchal Range connecting to Myanmar) in the extreme south-eastern part of
Assam.
 The river Dihing or Disang flows through it.
 It is the first place in India where a natural gas based fertilizer factory was
established - It made use of natural gas, water (in the form of steam) and Nitrogen (from
air) to produce urea.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
KOCHI-MANGALURU NATURAL GAS PIPELINE
 The PM dedicated the Kochi-Mangaluru

Natural Gas Pipeline to the nation.
 It was built by Petronet LNG in 2013.
 KKBMPL is a cross-country RLNG (Re-gasified
Natural Gas) project of 16-MMSCD capacity.
 Being executed by the Gas Authority of India
(GAIL), it would cover 938 km, traversing
Kerala (510 km), Tamil Nadu (310 km), and
Karnataka (70 km).
DHUBRI – PHULBARI BRIDGE AND MAJULI BRIDGE
 The Prime Minister has

launched multiple initiatives
in Assam. It includes the
Mahabahu-Brahmaputra
Programme and the 2
bridges across the
Brahmaputra.
 It is a proposed bridge over

the Brahmaputra River. It
will connect Assam’s
Dhubri with Meghalaya’s Phulbari.
 The bridge is planned to be completed by 2026–27. It would be India’s longest bridge
over water, which is more than 19 km.
Majuli Bridge:
 The Bridge will connect Jorhat to Majuli (Nemati ghat to Kamlabari ghat). The total length
of this bridge is 6.8 Km.
 This bridge will provide connectivity to Majuli Island. This island is the cultural capital and
cradle of Assamese civilization for the past 500 years.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
Majuli Island
 It is the world’s largest river island located in the Brahmaputra River, Assam. In 2016, it
became the first island to be made a district in India.
 It is formed by the River Subansiri in the north and River Brahmaputra in the south.
 The island is the nerve centre of neo-Vaishnavite culture. It has many ‘Sattras’ (religious
and cultural institutions).
 The tribal communities living on the island :Misings, Deoris, Sonowal Kacharis.
RAM SETU/ ADAM’S BRIDGE
 Centre gives green light to underwater

study to determine Ram Setu origins. The
study aims to determine the age of the
chain of corals and sediments forming
the Ram Setu.
 It is a 48-km long bridge-like structure
between India and Sri Lanka.
 The Ramayana mentions the bridge but
there is little scientific knowledge
about its formation.
 It connects DhanushKodi tip of the
Pamban Island (Rameswaram Island) of Tamil Nadu with north-western coast of Sri
Lanka.
 It separates Gulf of Mannar from the Palk Strait.
SIGUR PLATEAU
The Supreme Court appointed conservationist

Nandita Hazarika as Member of a Technical
Committee constituted by it on October 14,
2020 to hear complaints by land owners against
the action taken by the Nilgris Collector.
 The corridor is situated in the

ecologically fragile Sigur plateau.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
 Sigur Plateau is a plateau in the north and east of Nilgiri District in the Nilgiri Hills of
Tamil Nadu.
 It connects the Western and the Eastern Ghats and sustains elephant populations and
their genetic diversity.
 It has the Nilgiri Hills on its southwestern side and the Moyar River Valley on its
north-eastern side.
 The elephants cross the plateau in search of food and water.
DONIMALAI MINES, KARNATAKA.
 It is commissioned in 1977, the mine is located

in Bellary region of Karnataka.
 It produces 4 million tonnes of Run of Mine
(‚ROM‛ means ore in its natural, unprocessed
state) ore per year.
 The average grade of ore extracted has 65%
Iron.
 Port of Export: Chennai outer harbour and
Maragos Port, Goa.
 It is being mined by the National Mineral
Development Corporation (NMDC).
LITHIUM RESERVES IN KARNATAKA
 Atomic Minerals Directorate issues clarification

on media reports about Lithium Reserves in
Karnataka.
 The Directorate has clarified that exploration
efforts have so far established ~1600 tonnes of
lithium in the inferred category (low level of
confidence).
 Lithium is a chemical element with the symbol Li
and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white
alkali metal.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
2. PLACES IN NEWS- INTERNATIONAL
WORLD MAP: POLITICAL
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
OCEANS & WATER BODIES
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
POLITICAL MAP OF WESTERN ASIA, THE MIDDLE EAST
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
POLITICAL MAP OF SOUTHEAST ASIA
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
JUBALAND
 It is an autonomous region in
southern Somalia.
 Its eastern border lies 40–60 km
east of the Jubba River, stretching
from Gedo to the Indian Ocean,
while its western side flanks the
North Eastern Province in Kenya,
which was carved out of Jubaland
during the colonial period.
 Its largest city is Kismayo, which is
situated on the coast near the
mouth of the Jubba River.
MISSION SAGAR
 It was India’s initiative to deliver

Covid-19 related assistance to the
countries in the Indian Ocean
Littoral states.
 India has sent Indian Naval Ship
(INS) Kesari, carryingfood items and
medical assistance teams, to
countries in the southern Indian
Ocean to deal with Covid-19
pandemic.
 This is the first time that a single
assistance mission is covering all island countries of the western Indian Ocean in one
go — except Sri Lanka, for which set of medicines have been airlifted.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
INDIA RESUMES PALM OIL IMPORT FROM MALAYSIA
 The former Prime Minister had

criticised India’s Citizenship
Amendment Act (CAA) which was
considered as an interference in the
internal matter of India.
 The renewed purchases come
amid improving trade relations
between India and Malaysia after
the formation of a new government
in Malaysia.
INDIA’S PALM OIL IMPORT:

 India is the world’s biggest buyer of edible oils.
 India buys more than two-thirds of its total edible oil imports as palm oil.
 India has been the biggest buyer of Malaysian Palm Oil for the past 5 years
 Malaysia is the world’s second largest producer of palm oil after Indonesia.
 Malaysian palm oil is available at a discount price compared to supplies from
Indonesia. On the other hand, Indonesia has also raised its palm oil export levy.
INDO-BANGLA PROTOCOL ROUTE
 Protocol on Transit and Trade

through inland waterways between
Bangladesh and India was first
signed in 1972 (immediately
after independence of
Bangladesh).
 India and Bangladesh signed the
2nd Addendum to the Protocol
on Inland Water Transit and
Trade in Dhaka. This agreement
will operationalise five new ports of
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
call and two new protocol routes to boost the bilateral trade.
New Routes added are:
 Sonamura-Daudkandi route on Tripura’s River Gomti – It will improve the connectivity

of Tripura and adjoining States with Indian and Bangladesh's economic centres.
 Rajshahi-Dhulian routes is expected to augment infrastructure in Bangladesh and
reduce export cost from India.
ONE SUN ONE WORLD ONE GRID
 T
his idea was first floated by PM Modi in 2018 during the first assembly of the
International Solar Alliance (ISA). Policy experts describe it as part of India’s answer to
China’s ‚One Belt One Road‛ project.
 The plan focuses on a framework for facilitating global cooperation, building a global
ecosystem of interconnected renewable energy resources (mainly solar energy) that
can be seamlessly shared.
 It has been taken up under the technical assistance program of the World Bank.
 According to the draft plan of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE),
the ambitious OSOWOG will connect 140 countries through a common grid that will be
used to transfer solar power.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
JAPAN TO RENAME ISLANDS DISPUTED WITH CHINA
 A local council- assembly of

Ishigaki city- in southern Japan
has voted to rename an area,
including islands disputed with
China and Taiwan, a move Beijing
denounced as illegal and a
‚serious provocation‛.
 It has approved a plan to change
the name of the area covering
the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku
Islands — known by Taiwan and
China as the Diaoyus — from ‚Tonoshiro‛ to ‚Tonoshiro Senkaku‛.
 The uninhabited islands are at the centre of a festering row between Tokyo and Beijing.
 Besides, Taiwan says the islands are part of its territory, and also protested the move.
About Senkaku Islands:
 The Senkaku Islands are located in the East China Sea between Japan, the People's
Republic of China, and the Republic of China (Taiwan). The archipelago contains five
uninhabited islands and three barren rocks, ranging in size from 800 m2 to 4.32 km2.
OIL SPILL IN RUSSIA’S ARCTIC REGION
 Russia has declared a state of

emergency after a power plant
fuel leak in its Arctic region
caused 20,000 tonnes of diesel
oil to escape into a local river,
turning its surface crimson red.
 The oil has been discharged
into Ambarnaya river, The
river is part of a network that
flows into the environmentally
sensitive Arctic Ocean.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
 The power plant is located near the Region’s Norilsk city, around 3000 km northeast of
Moscow.
 The thermoelectric power plant at Norilsk is built on permafrost, which has
weakened over the years owing to climate change. This caused the pillars that
supported the plant’s fuel tank to sink., leading to aloss of containment on May 29.
 Reports said that around 20,000 tonnes of diesel oil was released into the Ambarnaya
river, which has since drifted 12 km on its surface.
 The Ambarnaya river flows to the Pyasino lake and river Pyasina, which connects it to
the Kara sea, a part of the Arctic Ocean.
TRIPOLI
 Libya’s UN-backed govt announces taking over Tripoli

from the militias of Haftar.
 Tripoli is the capital city and the largest city of Libya.
 It is located in the northwest of Libya on the edge of
the desert, on a point of rocky land projecting into
the Mediterranean Sea and forming a bay.
CHALLENGER DEEP
 On June 7, astronaut and

oceanographer Kathy Sullivan, who
was the first American woman to
walk in space in 1984, became the
first woman and the fifth person in
history to descend to the Challenger
Deep. Sullivan is now the only human
who has walked in space and reached
the deepest point in the ocean.
 It is the deepest known point in the Earth's oceans, with a depth of 10,902-10,929 m.
 It is located in the Western Pacific Ocean, at the southern end of the Mariana Trench
near the Mariana Islands group. This location is in the ocean territory of the Federated
States of Micronesia.
 The depression is named after the British ship HMS Challenger, whose expedition of
1872–1876 made the first recordings of its depth.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
SHWE PROJECT IN MYANMAR
 ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) will be

investing an additional $121.27
million towards further development
of Shwe oil & gas project in
Myanmar. The Cabinet Committee
on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has
given clearance in this regard.
 OVL has been associated with
exploration and development of Shwe
gas project in Myanmar since 2002.
DEATH VALLEY
 Recently, Death Valley (USA) registered a
temperature of 54.4°C which, once verified, could be
the highest temperature in more than a century.
 The temperature was recorded at the USA National
Weather Service’s automated weather station at
Furnace Creek on 16th August 2020.
 The Death Valley in southeastern California is the
lowest point in the North American continent, and
is a National Park. It is also the hottest and driest
part of the continent.
OIL SPILL IN MAURITIUS
 The indigenously developed helicopters - Dhruv

Advanced Light helicopter and Chetak helicopters
are being used extensively in Mauritius for
salvage and rescue missions to clear the oil spill.
 The spill occurred after a Japanese owned cargo
ship MV Wakasio ran aground 40 km off the
capital Port Louis.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
BEIRUT
 A huge explosion recently devastated the port area

of the capital Beirut. The blast was caused by 2,750
tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely in a
warehouse.
 It is the capital and largest city of Lebanon.
 Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of
Lebanon's Mediterranean coast,
 Beirut is an important regional seaport.
LIBYA
 The internal conflict in Libya that has been

running since 2011 has shown signs of de-
escalation as the rival authorities in the country
have called for a ceasefire.
 It is mostly desert and oil-rich country in
northern Africa.
 It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the
north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the SE, Chad
to the south, Niger to the SW, Algeria to the
west, and Tunisia to the NW.
 It has the largest oil reserve in Africa and one of
the largest oil producers in the world.
 Instability in Libya may increase oil prices globally.
BARAKAH (BLESSING) NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
 Recently the power plant achieved its

criticality, the first step towards power
production.
 It is the Arab world‘s first nuclear
reactor started by UAE. It was built by
Korea Electric Power Corporation.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
 Criticality of a nuclear power plant - A nuclear reactor is said to be critical when the
nuclear fuel inside a reactor sustains a fission chain reaction.
TURKEY-GREECE TUSSLE
 Recently, France has deployed its military in

the eastern Mediterranean Sea amid
tensions between Greece and Turkey over
recently-discovered gas reserves in the
region.
 Turkey and Greece have overlapping claims
to areas of gas-rich waters in the Eastern
Mediterranean. Greece’s position is that
each of its islands—and there are
thousands of them—is entitled to its own
continental shelf with exclusive drilling
rights.
ISRAEL-UAE PEACE DEAL
 The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has

agreed to normalize relations with Israel.
The UAE and Israel have signed an
agreement in this regard. The deal, known
as Abraham Accord, was brokered by
the USA.
 The deal promises to establish normal
relations between the two countries.
 Israel, on its part, has agreed to suspend
declaring sovereignty over territories it
occupies in the West Bank, as highlighted
in the Joint Statement released after the
signing of peace deal.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
CHORA MUSEUM AND NEW GAS FIELD
Recently, the Turkish President reconverted the Chora museum into a mosque. This is the second
museum after Hagia Sophia to be converted into a mosque. Turkey has also found a new gas field
in Black Sea.
Chora Museum:
 It was built initially as a church in 534 AD, during the early Byzantine period.
 In the 11th century, its internal walls, pillars and domes were covered with mosaics and
frescoes showing scenes from biblical stories.
Gas Field in Black Sea:

 Recently, Turkey has found its biggest
ever (a 320 billion cubic metre) natural
gas field discovery in Black Sea. The gas
field will become functional in 2023.
 Turkey is determined to become a net
energy exporter.
NAZCA LINES
 Recently, Peru’s famous Nazca Lines

was in news.
 A massive carving of a resting cat on
the slope of a steep hill was
discovered there.
 The Nazca Lines are a group of very
large geoglyphs made in the soil of
the Nazca Desert in southern Peru.
 They were created between 500 BCE and 500 CE by people making depressions or
shallow incisions in the desert floor, removing pebbles and leaving differently coloured
dirt exposed.
 Geometric shapes, such as triangles, trapezoids and spirals, are also found.
 Some designs have been associated with astronomical functions as well.
 The Lines were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN CONFLICT
 Recently, territorial
dispute between Armenia
and Azerbaijan over the
Nagorno-Karabakh
region has erupted with
heavy clashes.
 Armenia and Azerbaijan
are part of Transcaucasia
or South Caucasia
(geographical region).
 Nagorno-Karabakh is a breakaway region that is inside Azerbaijan but is run by
ethnic Armenians.
 It broke away from Azerbaijan in a conflict that broke out as the Soviet Union
collapsed in 1991.
Reasons for Dispute:
 Territorial: Nagorno-Karabakh region has 95%of the population as ethnically

Armenian and is controlled by them but it is internationally recognized as part of
Azerbaijan.
 Religious: Armenia is Christian majority, while Azerbaijan is Muslim majority country.
 Domestic Politics: The leaders of both the nation shave fueled the issue time and again
for their vested political interests.
PANTANAL, BRAZIL
 It is World's Largest Wetland and sprawls over more than 150,000 sq km in Brazil
and also extends into Bolivia and Paraguay.
 It is burning as vegetation compacted under the marshy flood water during the wet
season dries out as ponds and lagoons evaporate, leaving flammable deposits
underground.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
DJIBOUTI CODE OF CONDUCT (DCOC/JA) / JEDDAH AMENDMENT
 India has joined the Djibouti Code of

Conduct/ Jeddah Amendment, as Observer,
following the high-level meeting of the
DCOC/JA held virtually.
 DCOC/JA is a grouping on maritime matters
comprising 18 member states adjoining the
Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, the East coast of
Africa and Island countries in the IOR.
 India joins Japan, Norway, the UK and the US
as Observers to the DCOC/JA.
 It was established in January 2009, is aimed at repression of piracy and armed robbery
against ships in the Western Indian Ocean Region, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
AMAZON RAINFOREST
 A study was conducted on the state of

Amazon Forests under Global Fire
Emissions Database project run by
NASA. The report has been released.
• Fires in the Amazon region in 2019
were unprecedented in their
destruction. Thousands of fires had
burned more than 7,600 square
kilometres by October that year.
• But, fires in the Amazon in 2020
surpassed those of 2019.
• As of 2019, an estimated 17 per cent
of the Amazon’s forest cover has been clear-cut or burned since the 1970s.
• Amazon rainforest covers approximately eight million square kilometres — an area
larger than Australia — and is home to an astounding amount of biodiversity.
• It helps balance the global carbon budget by absorbing carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere, and plays a key role in the global water cycle, stabilizing global climate
and rainfall.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
Spread of Amazon:
 These are large tropical rainforest occupying the drainage basin of the Amazon River
and its tributaries in northern South America and covering an area of 6,000,000 sq km.
 Comprising about 40% of Brazil’s total area, it is bounded by the Guiana Highlands to
the north, the Andes Mountains to the west, the Brazilian central plateau to the south,
and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.
The basin is shared by eight countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela,
Guyana and Suriname), as well as the overseas territory of French Guiana.
CHILE
 In a referendum held recently, People of Chile have

voted overwhelmingly in favour of rewriting the
country’s nearly four-decade-old constitution
 It is a country in Western South America.
 It occupies a long, narrow strip of land betn the
Andes to the east & the Pacific Ocean to the west.
 It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the NE,
Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in
the far south.
 Chile claims about 1,250,000 square km (sqkm) of Antarctica under the Chilean
Antarctic Territory.
 On October 30, 2019, the Chile Government cancelled the APEC summit and the
COP25 conference due to the ongoing protest in country.
KYRGYZSTAN
 Street protests erupted in Kyrgyzstan earlier this

week following recent parliamentary election.
 It is a landlocked country with mountainous
terrain.
 It is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north,
Uzbekistan to the west and SW, Tajikistan to the
SW and China to the east.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
 19th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO's) Heads of State was
held in June 2019 at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
 In 2011, the Joint ‘Khanjar’ series of exercises was started.
NEW CALEDONIA
 The South Pacific territory of New Caledonia

chose to remain French, narrowly rejecting
independence from France in a referendum.
 Located in the SW Pacific Ocean, to the south of
Vanuatu, east of Australia.
 It is part of Zealandia.
 Part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the
main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty, the
Chesterfield, the Belep archipelago etc.
 The Diahot River is the longest river of New Caledonia.
New Caledonia was classified as an overseas territory beginning in 1946, but as a result of the
1998 Nouméa Accord, it gained a special status (statut particulier or statut original) in 1999.
KASTELLORIZO
 Recently, Turkey’s redeployment of

the Oruc Reis survey vessel for new
energy exploration around Kastellorizo
has reignited tensions over sea
boundaries between Greek islands,
Cyprus and Turkey's southern coast.
 It is a Greek island and municipality of
the Dodecanese in the Eastern
Mediterranean.
 It lies roughly 2 km off the south coast
of Turkey, about 570 km SE of Athens.
 It is the easternmost Greek island and is situated in the Levantine Sea.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
TRISTAN DA CUNHA
 It is a remote group of volcanic islands in the

south Atlantic Ocean.
 It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the
world It is a British Overseas Territory.
 It is declared as the largest fully protected marine
reserves in the Atlantic Ocean.
 It is also home to the World Heritage Site of Gough
and Inaccessible Islands.
 After joining the UK‘s Blue Belt Programme, It will
become the largest no-take zone in the Atlantic and the fourth largest on the planet.
 This means fishing, mining and any such activities will not be allowed.
PUERTO RICO
 For the third time in ten years, the US territory of

Puerto Rico has voted in favour of statehood.
 It is a Spanish-speaking island located in the
Caribbean Sea.
 Since its discovery by the explorer Christopher
Columbus in 1493, Puerto Rico was a part of the
Spanish Empire for over 4 centuries until 1898,
when it was annexed by the United States.
TIGRAY REGION
 Ethiopia‘s administration has ordered troops

to counter an allegedly violent attack by
armed forces in the country‘s northern
Tigray region.
 It is the northernmost of the nine regions
(kililat) of Ethiopia.
 Bordered by Eritrea, Amhara, Afar Region.
 It is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob and Kunama peoples, Mekelle is its capital and
largest city.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION (APEC SUMMIT)
 Recently the virtual meeting of the APEC forum was held.

 It was established in 1989, it has 21 members.
 Member Nations are -
Australia, Brunei,
Canada, Chile, China,
Hong Kong, Indonesia,
Japan, South Korea,
Malaysia, Mexico, New
Zealand, Papua New
Guinea, Peru,
Philippines, Russia,
Singapore, Chinese
Taipei, Thailand,
Vietnam and the United States.
 Its 21 member economies are home to around 2.8 billion people and represented
approximately 59% of world GDP and 49% of world trade in 2015.
 India had requested membership in APEC, and received initial support from the United
States, Japan, Australia and Papua New Guinea.
 India was invited to be an observer for the first time in 2011.
 In the meeting, APEC leaders adopted the Putrajaya Vision 2040, a new 20-year
growth vision to replace the Bogor Goals.
THE OPEC-INDIA DIALOGUE

 The OPEC Secretariat hosted the
4th High-Level Meeting of the
OPEC-India Dialogue via video
conference.
 It is a permanent,
intergovernmental Organization
created at the Baghdad
Conference in 1960 by Iran, Iraq,
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and
Venezuela.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
 Its aim is to manage the supply of oil in an effort to set the price of oil on the world
market and to avoid fluctuations that might affect the economies of both producing
and purchasing countries.
 Members: Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya,
Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. HQ: Vienna, Austria.
INDIA - GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL (GCC) DIALOGUE
 India had a virtual meeting with the Gulf

Cooperation Council (GCC).
 It is a regional intergovernmental
political and economic union established
in 1981. HQ: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
 Members: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia and UAE.
 Its objective is to have coordination,
integration and inter-connection between
Member States in all fields, strengthening
ties between their peoples, formulating
similar regulations in various fields and
encouraging cooperation of the private sector.
GAZA
 Islamist groups from Gaza fire rockets into sea to

mark the anniversary of the start of the 2008
conflict with Israel.
 Gaza is a densely populated strip of land that is
mostly surrounded by Israel and peopled almost
exclusively by Palestinians.
 Israel used to have a military presence, but
withdrew unilaterally in 2005.
 It is governed by the Islamist group Hamas, which
formed in 1987 as a militant ‚resistance‛ group
against Israel.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
INDIAN OCEAN REGION (IOR)
 It is the third-
largest of the
world's oceanic
divisions (after
Pacific and
Atlantic), covering
19.8% of the water
on Earth's surface.
 IOR is home to
1/3rd of the
world’s
population.
 This densely populated IOR is also highly vulnerable to natural disasters.
MOROCCO- ISRAEL
 Recently, Morocco and Israel have agreed

to normalize relations in a deal brokered by
the USA.
 It makes Morocco the fourth Arab country,
after the UAE, Bahrain (Abraham Accords)
and Sudan, to setaside hostilities with Israel
in the past four months.
INDIA- QATAR
 Recently, India’s External Affairs Minister met

the top leaders of Qatar.
 The visit is part of India’s ongoing outreach
to West Asia, which the country sees as part
of its extended neighborhood.
 Qatar is a member of the Gulf Cooperation
Council.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
INDIA-UZBEKISTAN SUMMIT
In a recent virtual summit, India and

Uzbekistan have deliberated on expanding
bilateral ties aiming to expand cooperation
in a range of areas, including new and
renewable energy, digital technologies,
cybersecurity and sharing of information.
‚Dustlik 2019‛, first ever joint military

exercises.
SAN ISIDRO MOVEMENT IN CUBA
 Recently, the Movimiento San Isidro (MSI) has

become a platform for Cuban dissidents both within and
outside the nation.
 The Movimiento San Isidro, or the San Isidro
Movement (MSI), started two years ago to protest state
censorship of artistic works.
SUDAN
 The United States formally rescinded

Sudan's status as a state sponsor of
terrorism.
 The State Department continues to
designate North Korea, Iran & Syria as
state sponsors of terrorism
 Sudan was designated as a state
sponsor of terrorism in 1993, in part
for its support of militant Palestinian
organizations such as Hamas etc.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
ISRAEL- BHUTAN
 Recently, Israel has established diplomatic ties with Bhutan.

 Earlier, Israel has supported Bhutanese human resource development since 1982.
 The two nations established a formal diplomatic relation and agreed to work closely
together in various sectors.
 The two sides will not be setting up embassies and will coordinate through their
missions in Delhi.
SEA OF GALILEE
 The Sea of Galilee, well Sea of Galilee

known in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic
lore, has swelled up due to heavy
rainfall in the surrounding areas.
 It is a freshwater lake in Israel.
 It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth
and the second-lowest lake in the world
(after the Dead Sea, a saltwater lake).
 It is located at levels between 215
metres and 209 metres below sea level.
 The lake is fed partly by underground
springs but its main source is the Jordan River, which flows through it from north to
south and exits the Sea at the Degania Dam.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
ARGENTINA
 Argentina’s has legalised abortions up to the

14th week of pregnancy.
 Argentina, country of South America, covering
most of the southern portion of the continent.
 The country is bounded by Chile to the south
and west, Bolivia and Paraguay to the north,
and Brazil, Uruguay, and the Atlantic Ocean to
the east.
CATALONIA
 Spain's Catalonia voted in an election
overshadowed by the pandemic.
 It is an autonomous community in the north-
eastern corner of Spain.
 It consists of four provinces: Barcelona,
Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona.
 It is bordered by France (Occitanie) and
Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to
the east, and the Spanish autonomous
communities of Aragon to the west and
Valencia to the south.
DENMARK’S ARTIFICIAL ENERGY ISLAND PROJECT
 The Danish government approved a plan to

build an artificial island in the North Sea as
part of its effort to switch to green energy.
 An energy island is based on a platform that
serves as a hub for electricity generation from
surrounding offshore wind farms.
 The artificial island will be located about 80 km
into the North Sea and the majority of it will be
owned by the Danish government.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
NORD STREAM 2 PIPELINE
In a development that could increase

tensions between the USA and Germany,
the association which is building the Nord
Stream 2 pipeline has said that it has
resumed work on the controversial project.
 In 2015, Gazprom and 5 other

European energy firms decided to
build Nord Stream 2, valued at
around $11 billion.
 The 1,200 km pipeline will run from Ust-Luga in Russia to Greifswald in Germany.
 It will carry 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
 The under-construction pipeline will run along with the already-completed Nord
Stream 1 system, and the two together will supply an aggregate of 110 billion cubic
meters of gas to Germany per year.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
3. PLACES IN NEWS- NP, WLS etc.
DIBRU-SAIKHOWA NATIONAL PARK
 It is a National Park as well as a Biosphere Reserve situated in the south bank of the
river Brahmaputra in Assam.
 It is one of the 19 biodiversity hotspots in the world.
 The forest type of Dibru-Saikhowa comprises semi-evergreen forests, deciduous
forests, littoral and swamp forests and patches of wet evergreen forests.
 It is the largest swamp forest in north-eastern India.
 It is an identified Important Bird Area (IBA) notified by the Bombay Natural History
Society. It is most famous for the rare white-winged wood ducks as well as feralhorses.
TRANSLOCATION OF TIGERS
 The Odisha forest department has asked Madhya Pradesh to take back the translocated
tigress 'Sundari', after she killed two people in the Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR).
 Sundari was shifted from MP's Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) to Satkosia Tiger
Reserve (STR) in Odisha's Angul district in 2018.
 NTCA had initially okayed the translocation of six tigers from MP to Odisha, but only two
were shifted. The Rs 26 crore worth project – shared between Centre and state
governments – has now been suspended following furious protests by Odisha villagers.
MONKEY PARK
 The Karnataka government is planning to establish a monkey park, on the uninhabited

islands inthe Sharavathi backwaters region.
 Following a spike in the cases of monkeys raiding agricultural and plantation crops in
Malnad region in recent times, the farmers had staged several protests demanding that
the State government address the problem.
 As a solution to the menace, the State government took a decision to establish the park
and in the 2020-21 budget, ₹6.25 crore was allocated for the purpose.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
HALDWANI BIODIVERSITY PARK
 Uttarakhand forest department opened the first biodiversity park in Haldwani, which is
the state’s biggest on World Environment Day.
 The park includes wild edible plant species, fruits as well as plants of medicinal and
commercial importance with cultural, religious and historical significance.
 The main objective of Biodiversity Park is to conserve the biodiversity of the specific
area and to maintain the genetic stock available therein.
 In biodiversity Park, special thrust is also to be given for the conservation of rare,
threatened and endangered species.
SARISKA TIGER RESERVE
 It is located in Alwar District of Rajasthan in lap of Aravali hills.

 Famous for Royal Bengal Tiger population.
 Its Wild life comprises Royal Bengal Tiger, Leopard, Jungle Cat, Caracal, Striped Hyena,
Golden Jackal, Chital, Sambhar, Blue Bull, Chinkara and Four Horned antelope.
 Flora of Sariska is found as Dhok tree, Salar, Kadaya, Dhak, Gol, Ber, Khair, Bargad,
Arjun, Gugal and Bamboo etc.
 The topography of Sariska supports scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests,
rocks and grasses.
 Sariska was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1955 and was declared the tiger reserve later
in 1978, making it a part of India's Project Tiger.
MOUNT HARRIET NATIONAL PARK:
 It is located in the south of the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

 Mount Harriet is the third-highest peak in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago next
to Saddle Peak in North Andaman and Mount Thuillier in Great Nicobar.
TADOBA ANDHARI TIGER RESERVE (TATR)
 A new prey and predator estimation in TATR in Chandrapur district.

 It is located in Chandrapur district in Maharashtra.
 It is Maharashtra’s oldest and largest national park.
 It is one of India's 50 "Project Tiger" reserves.
 The first Tiger Reserve established in the State is Melghat Tiger Reserve (1973-74).
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
DEHING PATKAI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
 It is located in the districts of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia.

 The DehingPatkai forms the largest stretch of tropical low land rainforests in India.
 DehingPatkai is a deciduous rainforest interspersed with semi-evergreen and lush
green flora, the only patch of virgin rainforest in Assam.
 Ethnic groups living in the area include the indigenous Assamese communities,
particularly Tai Phake, Khamyang, Khampti, Singpho, Nocte, Ahom, Kaibarta, Moran and
Motok, Burmese, and non-indigenous Nepali people.
KAWAL TIGER CORRIDOR
 Kawal Tiger Reserve is located at Adilabad district in Telangana state of India.

 The reserve is the oldest sanctuary in the northern Telangana region of the state.
 This sanctuary is catchment for the rivers Godavari and Kadam, which flow towards the
south of the sanctuary.
 The Government of India declared Kawal wildlife sanctuary as Tiger Reserve in 2012.
DIBRU-SAIKHOWA NATIONAL PARK
 Dibru-Saikhowa is a National Park as well

as a Biosphere Reserve situated in the
south bank of the river Brahmaputra in
Assam.
 The park is bounded by the Brahmaputra
and Lohit Rivers in the north and Dibru
river in the south. It mainly consists of
moist mixed semi-evergreen forests,
moist mixed deciduous forests,
canebrakes and grasslands.
 It is an identified Important Bird Area (IBA), notified by the Birdlife International. It is
most famous for the rare white-winged wood ducks as well as feral horses.
 It is a haven for many endangered species and rich in fish diversity.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
VIKRAMSHILA GANGETIC DOLPHIN SANCTUARY
 The Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary

(VGDS), from Sultanganj to Kahalganj on the
Ganga in Bihar is the only dolphin sanctuary in
the country.
 located in Bhagalpur District of Bihar, India.
 National Waterway-1 connecting Haldia to
Varanasi passes through the Vikramshila
Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary (VGDS).
NETRAVALI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
 It is located in South Eastern Goa and constitutes one of the vital corridors of the
Western Ghats.
 It is bounded by Cotigao wildlife sanctuary on the eastern side and Bhagwan Mahaveer
Sanctuary and Mollem National Park on the northern side.
 Netravali or Neturli is an important tributary of River Zuari, which originates in the
sanctuary.
ERAVIKULAM NATIONAL PARK
 Recently, landslides have been reported at the

Nayamakkad tea estate at Pettimudy which is
located about 30 km from Munnar, adjacent to
the Eravikulam National Park (ENP), Kerala.
 It is located in the Southern Western Ghats

near Idukki, Kerala.
 It was declared a Sanctuary in 1975 with the
intention of protecting the indigenous
population of Nilgiri Tahr and declared as a
National Park in 1978.
 This is also the land of ‚Neelakurinji‛, a flower
that blooms once in twelve years.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
 Anamudi (2695 m), South India’s highest peak is situated in this park.
 Three major types of plant communities found in the park are: Grasslands,
Shrub Land and Shola Forests.
Landslide is the movement of a mass of rock, debris or earth down a slope. Landslides are a type
of mass wasting (a geomorphic process) which denotes any down-slope movement of soil and rock
under the direct influence of gravity.
Causes: Slow weathering of rocks as well as soil erosion, earthquakes and volcanic activity.
PAPUM RESERVE FOREST
 A study based on satellite data has flagged

a high rate of deforestation in this area
which is also a major hornbill habitat in
Arunachal Pradesh.
 It is located between two IBAs, Itanagar
Wildlife Sanctuary to the east and Pakke
Wildlife Sanctuary to the west.
 It is an Important Bird and Biodiversity
Areas (IBAs) in Arunachal Pradesh.
 The Reserve Forest forms part of the
Eastern Himalayas Endemic Bird Area.
 Papum RF is a nesting habitat of three
species of the large, colourful fruit-eating hornbills Great, Wreathed and Oriental Pied.
PANNA TIGER RESERVE INCLUDED IN WNBR
 Biosphere reserves are sites established by countries and recognized under UNESCO's
Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme to promote sustainable development
based on local community efforts and sound science.
 World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) is a unique global network of
biosphere reserves (BR) explicitly linking sustainable development and biodiversity
conservation.
 Presently, there are 18 notified biosphere reserves in India of which 12 are
recognised under MAB Program
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
About Panna Tiger Reserve:
 It is situated in the Vindhyas nearer

to the confluence of the Deccan
Peninsula, Upper Gangetic Plain and
Semi-Arid Gujarat Rajputana
reflecting the influence of three
bio-geographic regions.
 It was formed in 1981.
 In 2011 Panna was notified a
biosphere reserve by the Union
ministry of environment and forests.
 Panna is the third Biosphere Reserve included in WNBR from Madhya Pradesh after
Pachmarhi and Amarkantak.
ASAN CONSERVATION RESERVE

In News: The Asan Conservation Reserve (ACR) was declared as a site of international
importance under the Ramsar Convention becoming Uttarakhand state’s first entry into the
coveted list and 38th Ramsar Wetland Site of India.
Asan Conservation Reserve:

 It is located on the banks of Yamuna river near Dehradun district in Garhwal region of
Uttarakhand.
 It is home to species such as white rumped vulture(Critically Endangered), ruddy
shelduck (Least Concern), red-headed vulture (Critically Endangered), Asian woolly
neck(Vulnerable) among others.
 The wetland also acts as host to several migratory birds from October till March.
Ramsar Convention on Wetland (1971): It is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the

framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use
of wetlands and their resources
Montreux Record: It is a register of wetland sites on the List of Ramsar wetlands of

international importance. It shows such sites where there has been or likely to be adverse
ecological changes due to anthropogenic activities. Indian sites in the Montreux Record are
Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan), Loktak Lake (Manipur).
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
SHIVALIK ELEPHANT RESERVE: UTTARAKHAND
 Recently, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has asked
the Uttarakhand government to consider avoiding sensitive areas of the Shivalik
Elephant Reserve while exploring land suitable to use for the expansion of Dehradun’s
Jolly Grant Airport.
 Shivalik Elephant Reserve: It was notified in 2002 under the Project Elephant.
 Project Elephant was launched by the Government of India in 1992 as a Centrally
Sponsored Scheme.
 Objectives: Protect elephants, their habitat and corridors.
TWO MORE RAMSAR SITES
In News: India has recently added two more Ramsar sites. One is Lonar lake in Maharashtra,
another is Sur Sarovar, Uttar Pradesh.
Lonar Lake:
 It is a notified National Geo Heritage Monument located at Lonar, Maharashtra.
 It is believed to have been formed when a meteorite crashed into Earth around 50,000
years ago.
 It is mentioned in the Skanda Purana, the Padma Purana and the Ain-i-Akbari.
 It was declared as a Wetland of International importance under Ramsar Convention.
Soor Sarovar Lake:

 It is also known as Keetham lake and is situated alongside river Yamuna in Agra ,Uttar
Pradesh.
 The lake is situated within the Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary which was declared as a
bird sanctuary in the year 1991.
 It also has a Bear Rescue centre for rescued dancing bears.
 It was declared as a Wetland of International importance under Ramsar Convention.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK AND TR (KNPTR), ASSAM
 Formed in 1908 on
the recommendation
of Mary Curzon, the
park is located in the
edge of the Eastern
Himalayan
biodiversity hotspots
– Golaghat and
Nagaon district.
 It hosts two-thirds
of the world’s great
one-horned
rhinoceroses.
 It is a World Heritage
Site, Important Bird Area (BirdLife International)
 Much focused on the 'big four' species- Rhino, Elephant, Royal Bengal tiger and
Asiatic water buffalo.
 It is crisscrossed by four main rivers -Brahmaputra, Diphlu, Mora Diphlu & Mora
Dhansiri.
PILIBHIT TIGER RESERVE (PTR), UTTAR PRADESH
 It has bagged the first international award, TX2, among the 13 tiger ranging countries
for having doubled the number of tigers in less than the stipulated time.
 In 2014, All India Tiger Estimation had estimated 25 tigers in Pilibhit and 2018
estimation showed an increase by projecting 65 tigers.
 It forming part of the Terai Arc Landscape in the upper Gangetic Plain Biogeographic
Province. It was declared as a tiger reserve in 2008.
 The northern edge of the reserve lies along the Indo-Nepal border while the southern
boundary is marked by the river Sharada and Khakra.
What is TX2?: It is the global award which was set up in 2010 in St. Petersburg,
Russia by international organizations working for tiger conservation like WWF, UNDP,
IUCN, Global Tiger Fund (GTF), CATS and The Lion's Share.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
BIODIVERSITY HERITAGE SITES (BHS)FOR KARNATAKA
Karnataka Biodiversity Board has decided to declare

following sites as BHS: o Antaragange Betta in Kolar;
o Aadi Narayana Swamy Betta in Chickballapur;
o Mahima Ranga Betta in Nelamangala,
Bengaluru;
o Urumbi area on the Kumaradhara river basin in
Dakshina Kannada.
 BHS are well defined areas that are unique,

ecologically fragile ecosystems – terrestrial,
coastal and inland waters and, marine.
 Under Biological Diversity Act, 2002, the State
Government in consultation with local bodies can
notify BHS.
THE TRANSBOUNDARY MANAS CONSERVATION AREA
 Recently, The Transboundary Manas

Conservation Area receives the
Conservation Excellence Award, 2020.
 It was established in 2011.
 Its vision is to jointly develop n
manage a transboundary
conservation area between Bhutan
and India,
 It forms a vital mosaic of conservation
spaces across the Eastern Himalayas.
 It covers the entire Manas Tiger Reserve in India, four protected areas in Bhutan and
also two biological corridors.
 The Manas Tiger Reserve in India and Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan form the
core of this biologically outstanding trans-boundary region.
 The Manas River also flows through them.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
MINI KAZIRANGA
 Too many cattle are competing

against the one-horned rhinos of
Assam’s Pobitora Wildlife
Sanctuary, referred to as ‘Mini
Kaziranga’ for nutritious food.
 It is situated in the flood plains
of River Brahmaputra in the
district of Morigaon.
 In 1987, Pobitora was declared a
wildlife sanctuary.
 It harbors the highest density of
Rhinoceros in the world and second highest concentration of Rhinoceros in Assam
after Kaziranga National Park.
 It is an Important Bird Area and home for more than 2000 migratory birds and
various reptiles.
SATKOSIA TIGER RESERVE, BHUBANESWAR

 Recently, the National Tiger
Conservation Authority has asked
Odisha to submit a status report on
the adverse impact of tourism on
Satkosia Tiger Reserve.
 It comprises two adjoining
sanctuaries of central Odisha
named as Satkosia Gorge
Sanctuary and Baisipalli Sanctuary.
These two sanctuaries together
covering an area of 963.87 sq km
were notified as Tiger Reserve in December 2007.
 Lying in a transitional zone extending between the Chhota Nagpur Plateau and the
Deccan Plateau, the tiger reserve exhibits endemic life forms of both biotic
provinces.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
 The area supports moist deciduous forest, dry deciduous forest and moist peninsular
Sal forest.
 This area is the home for Tiger, Leopard, Elephant, Gaur, Chousingha, Sloth bear, Wild
dog, varieties of resident and migratory birds, reptilian species, etc.
UMRED PAONI KARHANDLA WLS, NAGPUR (MAHARASHTRA)
 A tigress and her two cubs were

found dead in the this Wildlife
Sanctuary.
 It has a connection with Tadoba
Andhari Tiger Reserve through
forest along Wainganga river (a
tributary of Godavari).
 The sanctuary is home to resident
breeding tigers, herds of Gaur,
wild dogs and also rare animals like
flying squirrels, pangolins and
honey badgers.
SULTANPUR NP, GURGAON (HARYANA)
 In news due to confirmed cases of

bird flu reported from Delhi.
 It was declared as a National park
in the year of 1991.
 It is a bird paradise for bird
watchers. It is famous for its
migratory as well as resident birds.
 Mammals like Blackbuck, Nilgai,
Hog deer, Sambar, Leopard etc.
and Birds like Siberian Cranes,
Greater Flamingo, Demoiselle
Crane etc. found in park.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
FIRST WILDLIFE SANCTUARY EXCLUSIVELY FOR WOLVE
 Karnataka’s first wolf sanctuary may come up in Koppal.

 It is proposed in the drylands of Bankapur of the Kalyana Karnataka region.
 The proposed sanctuary is good for the conservation of not only wolves but also
striped hyena, Indian fox, gold fox and other animals.
KANHA TIGER RESERVE
 Recently a tigress was found dead in the

buffer zone of Kanha tiger reserve in
Madhya Pradesh.
 It was created in 1955 and in 1973 was
made the Kanha Tiger Reserve.
 It stretches over an area of 940 square
km in the two districts – Mandla and
Balaghat – of Madhya Pradesh.
 The present-day Kanha area was divided
into two sanctuaries, Hallon and
Banjar.
 Kanha National Park is the largest
National Park in Central India.
 Fauna: The State animal of Madhya Pradesh – Hard Ground Barasingha (Swamp deer) is
found exclusively in Kanha Tiger Reserve. Other like Tiger, Leopard, Dhole, Bear, Gaur
and Indian Python etc.
 Flora: Evergreen Sal forests (Shorea Robusta).
 It is the first tiger reserve in India to officially introduce a mascot, ‚Bhoorsingh the
Barasingha‛.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
KARLAPAT WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
 It is a wildlife sanctuary located in

the Kalahandi district in Odisha. The
sanctuary is famous for the lush
green dry deciduous forest.
 The sanctuary is home to a plethora
of wildlife animals such as leopard,
gaur, sambar, nilgai, barking deer,
mouse deer, soft claws ottawa and
a wide variety of birds.
 The sanctuary consists of flora like
Sal, Bija, Asan, Harida, Amala,
Bahada, and Bamboo and varieties of medicinal plants.
 There are several small and big waterfalls inside the sanctuary like Phurlijharan,
Ghusrigudi, Dumnijhola, Kamalajharan, Koyirupa, Kuang, and Raja Rani.
VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK
 Recently six rangers have been killed in

the Virunga National Park in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC).
 It is a national park in the Albertine
Rift Valley in the eastern part of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
 Established in 1925, it is Africa’s first
national park, which is famous for its
mountain gorillas
 It is a UNESCO designated World
Heritage Site since 1979.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
4. PLACES IN NEWS- LAKES, ISLAND etc.
INDIA-CHINA BORDER DISPUTE: IMPORTANCE OF PANGONG TSO
 Amid military talks, reports of Chinese build-up at Pangong.

 Pangong Tso literally translates into a "conclave lake". Pangong means conclave in Ladakhi
and Tso means a lake in Tibetan language.
 Situated at over 14,000 feet, Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake is about 135 km long.
 It is formed from Tethys geosyncline. It is a salt water lake.
MAGURI-MOTAPUNG WETLAND
 It is less than 10 km from Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and part of the Dibru-
Saikhowa Biosphere Reserve.
 The wetland derives its name from ‚Magur‛, the local word for the catfish ‘Clarius
batrachus’.
 It is an Important Bird Area notified by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
SUKHNA LAKE DECLARED AS WETLAND
 Chandigarh Wetlands Authority

issued a notification for the
declaration of Sukhna Lake as a
wetland under Wetland
(Conservation and Management)
Rule 2017.
 It is a man-made lake in
Chandigarh built-in 1958. It is
situated at foothills of Shivalik Hills
and was designed to collect runoff water from the Hills.
 Earlier, the lake was also declared a living entity/legal person.
 Activities like commercial mining, setting up of industries, establishment of large scale
commercial livestock and poultry farms, use of plastic carry bags etc won’t be allowed
in Sukhna Lake.
 List of wetlands in India is developed based on wetlands definition of the
RamsarConvention (ratified by India).
 It defines wetlands as ‘areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial,
permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt,
including areas of marine water the depth of which, at low tides, does not exceed six
meters.
KOLE WETLANDS
 It is spread over Thrissur and Malappuram

districts of Kerala.
 It is a Ramsarsite and IBA (Important Bird
and Biodiversity Area)
 It accounts for more than 40% of the rice
production in the State.
 It is situated in the Central Asian Flyway of
migratory birds.
 37 species of dragonflies and damselflies
have been reported from the wetlands so far.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
LADAKH’S TSO KAR WETLAND COMPLEX
 Tso Kar Wetland Complex is India’s 42nd Ramsar

site and a second one in Ladakh. Tso Moriri
wetland is another Ramsar site in Ladakh.
 It is a high-altitude wetland complex consisting
of two principal water bodies, Startsapuk Tso &
Tso Kar itself.
 Startsapuk Tso is a freshwater lake to the south &
Tso Kar is a hypersaline lake to the north.
 It is an A1 Category Important Bird Area as per Bird Life International and a key
staging site in Central Asian Flyway (area of Eurasia between Arctic and Indian
Oceans and associated island chains).
 A1 category has Globally threatened species.
HARIKE WETLAND
 Also known as "Hari-ke-Pattan" is the largest

wetland in northern India and is located in
Punjab.
 The wetland and the lake were formed by
constructing the headworks across the Sutlej
river in 1953.
 The headworks is located downstream of the
confluence of the Beas and Sutlej rivers just
south of Harike village.
 It is marked as Wetland of International importance under Ramsar Convention.

 It is spreads into the three districts of Tarn Taran Sahib, Ferozepur and Kapurthala in
Punjab and covers an area of 4100 ha.
 Birds such as the Eurasian coot, greylag goose, bar-headed goose, gadwall and the
northern shoveler are the prominent ones that could be sighted at Harike.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
KATCHAL ISLAND
 The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) towed a fuel tanker

back to safe waters which was dangerously drifting
towards this pristine Island.
 It was previously known as Tihanyu.
 It is inhabited by Nicobari Tribes and Migrated
Tamilians (For Rubber plantation workers under Sastri-
Srimao Bandaranayaka Pact of 1964).
AGATTI ISLAND
 NGT has granted an interim stay on felling of

coconut trees on Agatti Island in Lakshadweep for
the purpose of forming a beach Road.
 It is a 7.6 km long island, situated on a coral atoll
called Agatti atoll in the UT of Lakshadweep, India.
 It is at a distance of 459 km from Kochi and is
located to the west of Kavaratti Island.
 Fishing is the most important industry which is
perhaps the only island besides Minicoy getting
surplus fish.
 The lagoon area is habitat of coral growth and
multicolored coral fishes in the lagoons.
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
 Chinese fishing fleet entered the

Galapagos region and Ecuador has
officially expressed its ‚discomfort‛
to China over the fishing vessels.
 It spread over almost 60,000 sq
km, are a part of Ecuador, and are
located in the Pacific Ocean
around 1,000 km away from the South American continent.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
 The giant tortoises found here – ‘Galápagos’ in old Spanish– give the islands its name.
 Ecuador made a part of the Galapagos a wildlife sanctuary in 1935, and the
sanctuary became the Galapagos National Park in 1959. In 1978, the islands became
UNESCO’s first World Heritage Site.
 It host a wide array of aquatic wildlife, including marine iguanas, fur seals, and waved
albatrosses.
CRETE ISLAND
• It is the largest and most populous

of the Greek islands.
 Crete became part of Greece in
December 1913.
 It is located in the southern part of the
Aegean Sea separating the Aegean
from the Libyan Sea.
THOUSAND ISLANDS
Recently Boeing 737-500 operating Sriwijaya Air Flight 182

aircraft crashed near the Thousand Islands.
Thousand Islands (KepulauanSeribu)
 These are chain of islands north of Jakarta’s coast,

Indonesia.
 There are exactly 110 islands that together form a
District, encompassing the PulauSeribu National
Marine Park.
 These islands are initially caused by the volcanoes.
 Later, the shifting of tectonic plates results in their consolidation as a grouping of small
islands in a relatively small area.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
SULAWESI ISLAND
 A team of archaeologists has

discovered what may be the
world’s oldest known cave painting
dating back to more than 45,000
years in Sulawesi island.
 The cave painting depicts a wild
boar endemic to the Sulawesi
island of Indonesia, where the
painting was found.
 The central Indonesian island,
which occupies an area of over 174,000 sq. km, is situated between Asia and Australia
and has a long history of human occupation.
GIBRALTAR
 Recently, Spain has signed a deal before the

Brexit transition period ended with United
Kingdom to maintain free movement to and
from Gibraltar.
 It a small portion of land on the southern
tip of the Iberian Peninsula that Britain
controls but Spain claims as its own.
 Officially remaining a British Overseas
Territory, Gibraltar will now be part of the
Schengen zone and follow EU rules.
 Gibraltar, with an area of just 6.8 sq km and
a population of around 34,000 people, has been the subject of intense dispute
between Spain and Britain for centuries.
 The territory, which is connected to Spain by a small strip of land and surrounded by
sea on three sides, serves as the only opening from the Atlantic Ocean into the
Mediterranean Sea.
 It is a key location on the shortest sea route between Europe and Asia via the Suez
Canal.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
LONAR LAKE/SODA LAKE (LONAR CRATER)
 Locals in the area have said that while the water turns reddish almost every year, this
year the colour is much deeper than the usual shade.
 It is a crater-lake at Lonar in Buldana and is part of the Lonar sanctuary.
 Formed in basaltic rock & is famous for being the world’s largest basaltic impact crater.
 Its water is both saline and alkaline in nature which makes it unique
 Its unusual geochemistry enables the growth of specific types of microorganisms,
some of which are not found anywhere else in the world.
 It is a National Geo-Heritage site and is a popular tourist hub and also attracts
scientists from all over the world.
SAMBHAR LAKE
Recently, the Rajasthan government has decided to build temporary shelters for migratory
birds near the Sambhar Lake (near Jaipur) before 2020’s winter season.
 Every year, a large number of birds from the cold northern regions of Central Asia
come to Sambhar Lake.
 In 2019, more than 20,000 migratory birds died due to avian botulism in the lake.
Sambhar Lake
 It is India’s largest inland saline water
body located near Jaipur in Rajasthan.
 Surrounded on all sides by the Aravali hills.
 It is the source of most of Rajasthan’s salt
production.
 Sambhar has been designated as a Ramsar
site (recognised wetland of international
importance) because the wetland is a key
wintering area for tens of thousands of
flamingos and other migratory birds.
Avian Botulism
 It is a neuro-muscular illness caused by Botulinum (natural toxin) that is produced by
bacteria, Clostridium botulinum. The bacteria is commonly found in the soil, rivers,
and seawater. It affects both humans and animals.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
LAKE CHAD
 India has expressed serious

concern over the security
situation in the Sahel and Lake
Chad region in West Africa.
 It is a historically large,
shallow, endorheic lake in
central Africa.
 The freshwater lake is located
in the Sahelian zone of West-
central Africa.
 It is mainly in the far west of
Chad, bordering on northeastern Nigeria.
 It is the largest lake in the Chad Basin.
 The Chari River, fed by its tributary the Logone, provides over 90% of the lake’s water,
with a small amount coming from the Yobe River in Nigeria/Niger.
 Despite high levels of evaporation, the lake is fresh water.
CHITAURA/ASHTWARKA JHEEL OR LAKE, UTTAR PRADESH
 Recently, the Prime Minister has announced that he will lay the foundation stone of
Maharaja Suheldev Memorial and development work of Chittaura Lake.
 It is a Hindu pilgrimage site, centred around a pond in Bahraich district in Uttar
Pradesh, India. River Teri Nadi flows from this lake.
 The site is believed to be the place where the fight between Raja Sukhdeo and Ghazi
Saiyyad Salar Masud took place in June 1033.
MANSAR LAKE PROJECT
 Mansar Lake Development Plan in Jammu and

Kashmir was inaugurated recently.
 Mansar Lake is situated 62 km from Jammu.
 Surinsar-Mansar Lakes are designated as Ramsar
Convention in November 2005.
 Distress Migration in Bonda Tribes
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
VEMBANAD/ PUNNAMADA/ KOCHI LAKE
 During Mann ki Baat address, Prime

Minister has praised the efforts of a Kerala
man. He engages in cleaning the
Vembanad Lake despite his physical
challenges.
 It is the longest lake in India and the
largest lake in the state of Kerala.
 The lake is situated at sea level and is
separated from the Laccadive Sea by a
narrow barrier island.
 Vallam Kali (Nehru Trophy Boat Race) is
a Snake Boat Race held every year in the
month of August in Vembanad Lake.
 The unique characteristic of the lake is the Thanneermukkom saltwater barrier.
 It was constructed to prevent tidal action and intrusion of saltwater into the Kuttanad
low-lands.
 In 2002, the lake was included in the list of wetlands of international importance, as
defined by the Ramsar Convention. ( 2nd largest Ramsar site in India, 1st Sunderbans
West Bengal)
 The Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is located on the east coast of the lake.
DIBANG MULTIPURPOSE PROJECT, ARUNACHAL PRADESH
 Dibang Valley Project is a storage-

based hydro-electric project located
on river Dibang in Arunachal Pradesh.
 The project has been delayed for over
six years because it required diverting
1,165 hectares of forest in a region of
rich biodiversity.
 This is the largest ever Hydro Electric
Project to be constructed in India.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
MARINE SALVAGE INDUSTRY OF ALANG
 Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat.

 It is considered the world's largest graveyard of ships.
 The shipyards at Alang recycle approx half of all ships salvaged around the world.
 In the past three decades, its beaches have become a major worldwide centre for
ship breaking.
KOHALA HYDROPOWER PROJECT
 China will set up a 1,124-megawatt Kohala

Hydropower project in POK This project will be
executed under the CPEC framework.
 The project will be built on the Jhelum River
and aims at annually providing more than five
billionunits of clean and low-cost electricity for
consumers in Pakistan.
 India has opposed this project on the grounds that the entire territory of the Union
Territories ofJammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of
India.
ATHIRAPPILLY HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT
 The Kerala government has issued a fresh no-objection certificate (NOC) for the
state electricity board to proceed with the implementation of the proposed
Athirapally hydro-electric project,
 The project will have an installed capacity of 163MW.
 Under the project, a dam is proposed to be constructed on the Chalakudy River.
 The Chalakudy River is a tributary of the Periyar River and originates in the Anamalai
region of Tamil Nadu.
LUHRI HYDROPOWER PROJECT, SHIMLA AND KULLU DISTRICTS
 Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved funding to the tune of
₹1,810.56 crore for the 210 megawatt (MW) Luhri hydropower project on the Satluj
river in Himachal Pradesh.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
LOWER ARUN HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT
 The government of Nepal has allotted the 679 MW Lower Arun Hydro Electric
Project in Nepal to SJVN – the largest Indian Hydroelectric company through
competitive bidding.
 It is located in Sankhuwasabha and Bhojpur Districts of Nepal.
 The Projects being developed by SJVN in Nepal would result in the overall development
and boost mutual economic growth in India & Nepal.
THOUBAL MULTIPURPOSE PROJECT. RECENTLY LAUNCHED IN

IMPHAL BY UNION HOME MINISTER.
TAPOVAN VISHNUGAD HYDROPOWER PROJECT
 The rescue operations are still undergoing in Uttarakhand from a Tapovam tunnel
located at the this project.
 It is a 520 MW run-of-river hydroelectric
project. constructed by (NTPC on
Dhauliganga River in Chamoli District of
Uttarakhand.
 The power plant is located on the
downstream on the Alaknanda River (one
of the two headstreams of the Ganges).
 It was severely damaged in February 2021
due to flash flood caused by Uttarakhand
glacier burst.
TEHRI DAM, UTTARAKHAND
 It is the highest dam in India and the

4th highest in the world.
 It is part of the Tehri Dam and Hydro
Power Project (the multi-purpose
river valley project) taken up for
construction on River Bhagirathi.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
SHETRUNJI AND BHADAR DAMS OF GUJARAT
In News: Due to heavy rains, Shetrunji and Bhadar dams, the two largest reservoirs in the
Saurashtra region (Gujarat), have overflowed simultaneously.
Shetrunji and Bhadar Dam:
 Shetrunji is located in Bhavnagar district and has a designed gross storage capacity of
308.68 million cubic metre (mcm), the largest in Saurashtra region.
 Bhadar is located in Rajkot district and has a gross storage capacity of 188.14 mcm, the
second largest in the Saurashtra region.
The two dams are across Shetrunji and Bhadar rivers. These rivers flow in opposite
directions and the two dams have different catchment areas. Geographical location of these
dams in Saurashtra makes them a good indicator of rainfall distribution in the region.
LALANDAR SHATOOT DAM
 Signing ceremony of MoU for the

construction of the Lalandar
‚Shatoot‛ Dam in Afghanistan.
 The dam would come upon the
Maidan river tributary of Kabul river.
 The project is a part of the New
Development Partnership between
India and Afghanistan.
 The dam will provide irrigation, drinking water for the Kabul province of the country.
 This is the second major dam being built by India in Afghanistan, after the India –
Afghanistan Friendship Dam [Salma Dam], which was inaugurated in June 2016.
HAZIRA-GHOGHA RO-PAX FERRY SERVICE
 It will work as a Gateway to South Gujarat and

Saurashtra region.
 It will reduce the distance between Ghogha and Hazira
from 370 Kilometres to 90 Kms.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
INTERNATIONAL BLUE CERTIFICATION
International Blue Flag hoisted at 8

beaches across the Country.
India had secured the International

Blue Flag Certification for these 8
beaches on 6th October 2020,
Blue Flag Beach:

It is an ‘eco-tourism model’ and marks
out beaches as providing tourists and
beachgoers clean and hygienic bathing
water, facilities/amenities, a safe and
healthy environment, and sustainable development of the area.
The Blue Flag Programme:
 It is run by the international, non-governmental, non-profit organisation the Foundation

for Environmental Education.
 Spain tops the list with more than 560 such beaches; Greece and France follow.
 India is now in the league of 50 “BLUE FLAG” countries.
SAROD PORTS
 The Ministry of Shipping recently launched

‘SAROD-Ports’ (Society for Affordable
Redressal of Disputes - Ports). It is a dispute
redressal mechanism for all kinds of disputes
related to maritime sector.
 It will advise and assist in the settlement of
disputes through arbitrations in the
maritime sector.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
MUNDRA PORT
 Mundra Port terminal deal under scrutiny over link with Chinese company. In this regard,
the government is evaluating an agreement between the Adani Ports' French joint
venture partner CMA CGM and the China Merchants Group.
 It is the largest private port of India located on the north shores of the Gulf of
Kutch.
VADHAVAN PORT PROJECT
 The Vadhavan port will be India’s 13th major port.

 It has been planned as an ‘All Weather, All Cargo’ satellite port to enhance capabilities
in handling deep draft ships and larger vessels.
 The port project is part of the Centre’s Sagarmala initiative that aims to make Indian
ports major contributors to the country’s GDP.
 The Port will have a dedicated road and rail service so as not to interfere with the local
traffic, thereby avoiding any clutter within the local transportation.
 It will be developed on a ‚landlord model‛.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
SITWE PORT
 Recently India announced

a grant of two million US
Dollars for the construction
of the border Haat Bridge
at Byanyu/Sarsichauk in
Chin State.
 It is situated at the mouth
of the Kaladan River.
 The project will link Kolkata
to Sittwe in Myanmar and
then from Myanmar‘s Kaladan river to India‘s north-east.
 It is being financed by India as a part of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport
Project, a collaboration between India and Myanmar.
JINGTANG PORT
 The ship named Jag Anand been

awaiting anchorage at the Chinese port
Jingtang near Tangshan in China's Hebei
province since June this year.
 The Port of Jingtang is an artificial deep-
water international seaport on the coast
of Tangshan Municipality, Hebei, in
Northern China.
 Jingtang port is located in Bohai bay (Bohaisea) close to the port of Tianjin.
MOTO TUNNEL
 Recently, Pakistan’s Ministry of Climate Change opened the 129-year-old Moto

Tunnel for tourists after its revival at the Ayubia National Park in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province.
 It is 250-feet long Moto Tunnel carved out of stones and clay.
 It is part of the longer ‘nature pipeline walk’ in the Ayubia National Park.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
MOUNT GIRNAR
 A 2.3-km-long ropeway project (Longest temple ropeway in Asia) was recently

launched by PM Modi on Mount Girnar in Junagadh city.
 Lord Dattatreya performed penance at the top of the hill.
 Also a kshetra where 22nd Tirthankar Lord Neminath attained Nirvana.
 Located near Junagadh in Junagadh district, Gujarat.
MOUNT KILIMANJARO
 Recently, a fire has broken out on the
slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, the
highest peak in Africa. The cause of the
fire is not clear but strong winds and dry
weather have caused it to spread fast.
 Located in Tanzania, It is Africa’s tallest
mountain at about 5,895 meters.
 It is also the largest free-standing
mountain rise in the world, meaning it
is not part of a mountain range.
 Kilimanjaro is a stratovolcano or
composite volcano and is made up of three cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira.
 The mountain is also known for its snow-capped peak which might disappear within
the next 20 years or so as per the warnings by the scientists.
 In 1973, the mountain and its six surrounding forest corridors were named
Kilimanjaro National Park in order to protect its unique environment.
 The park was UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.
MOUNT ILI LEWOTOLOK
 Recently it was erupted.

 It is a volcano located in eastern Indonesia erupts.
 The 5,423-meter mountain is one of the three currently erupting in Indonesia along with
Merapi on Java Island and Sinabung on Sumatra Island.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
MOUNT MERAPI/ MOUNTAIN OF FIRE
 Its an active volcano in Indonesia,

erupted twice on 21st June, 2020.
 It is the most active of
Indonesia’s 130 active volcanoes.
 It rises to 2,911 metres and has
steep slopes with dense
vegetation on its lower sides.
 It is located near the centre of the
island of Java and Indonesia’s
cultural capital, Yogyakarta.
 Mt Merapi’s last significant eruption was in 2010. At that time, more than 300 people
were killed and some 2,80,000 residents were forced to evacuate the surrounding areas.
MT. SINABUNG
 Recently, Mt. Sinabung, an
active volcano on
Indonesia’s Sumatra island
has erupted. Mount Sinabung
is located in Karo regency,
North Sumatra.
 It is among more than 130
active volcanoes in
Indonesia, which is prone to
seismic upheaval due to its
location on the Pacific’s Ring
of Fire.
 The volcano was dormant for 400 years before exploding in 2010. It exploded again in 2014
and 2016.
Ring of Fire: The Ring of Fire, also referred to as the Circum- Pacific Belt, is a path along the
Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
KILAUEA VOLCANO/ MOUNT KILAUEA
 Recently erupted followed by an

earthquake.
 It is located in Hawaii Volcanoes
National Park on the southeastern
part of the island of Hawaii, U.S.A.
 It is the most active of the five
volcanoes that form the Island of
Hawaii. Recently, the volcano’s
summit has collapsed to form a
caldera.
SEMERU VOLCANO
 It was erupted recently.
 Located in Indonesia’s East Java province.
 It is the highest volcano in Java and one of the
most active.
SUPER CYCLONE AMPHAN
 Cyclone Amphan is a tropical cyclone

formed over the Bay of Bengal that
has intensified and likely to turn into a
‚super cyclonic storm (Max speed is
224 kmph)‛.
 It has been named by Thailand.
 The higher than normal
temperatures in the Bay of Bengal
(BoB) with the countrywide lockdown
due to Covid-19 pandemic have played a role turning a storm into a super cyclone.
 The super cyclone Amphan is the strongest storm to have formed in the BoB since the
super cyclone of 1999 that ravaged Paradip in Odisha.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
CYCLONE NISARGA
 Cyclonic Storm formed over East central Arabian

Sea has been named Nisarga. The name in the new
list was suggested by Bangladesh.
 The cyclone track — issued by India
Meteorological Department (IMD) authorities —
show that Nisarga will cross very close to the
Mumbai coast while entering the land.
Maharashtra and Gujarat are on pre-cyclone alert
as very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall is
expected in parts of the states.
 Tropical Cyclone is any large system of winds that circulates about a center of low
atmospheric pressure in a counter-clockwise direction north of the Equator and in a
clockwise direction to the south.
TROPICAL STORM CRISTOBAL
 Recently, a tropical Cyclone

named Cristobal has formed
in the southern Gulf of
Mexico.
 Hurricanes, typhoons and
cyclones - all are tropical
storms
 In the North Atlantic
Ocean and Northeast
Pacific, they are called
hurricanes.
 But if the same type of disturbance takes place in the Northwest Pacific Ocean, it is
known as a typhoon. And in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, cyclone is the correct
term.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
HURRICANE NANA
 Atlantic Hurricane Nana has
made landfall on the coast of
Belize, a country located on the
northeast coast of Central
America.
 A few days back, Hurricane
Laura made landfall in
southwestern Louisiana (South
Central USA).
TYPHOON MAYSAK AND TYPHOON HAISHEN
 Recently,
Korean
Peninsula and
Japan were hit
by two typhoons
named Maysak
and Haishen.
TYPHOON MOLAVE
 Recently, Vietnam has been hit by Typhoon

Molave, one of its biggest storms in two decades.
 Vietnam is prone to natural disasters in the rainy
season between June and November, with central
coastal provinces commonly impacted, but the
storms have notably worsened in recent years.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
TYPHOON GONI
 It has made landfall in the eastern Philippines.

 It is a tropical cyclone that recently made
landfall as an extremely powerful Category 5–
equivalent super typhoon in the Philippines.
HURRICANE ETA
 Recently, Hurricane Eta has hit northeastern Nicaragua

with life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds and flash
flooding occurring over portions of Central America.
 It is categorized as a Category 4 hurricane. A Category 4
storm has wind speeds between 130-156 mph and can uproot
trees and bring down power lines.
CYCLONE NIVAR
 Recently, It has made landfall along the

Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coast.
 Landfall refers to the phenomenon of a
cyclone’s outer wall moving over the
coastline and beyond.
CYCLONE BUREVI
 Recently cyclone Burevi (Named by:

Maldives) has made a landfall on Sri Lanka’s
Northern and Eastern provinces, before heading
towards south India.
 This comes days after Cyclone Nivar hit the
Puducherry coast.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
5. PLACES IN NEWS- RIVERS IN NEWS
PAMPA / PAMBA RIVER
 It originates at Pulachimalai hill in the

Peerumedu plateau in the Western
Ghats in Kerala and then flows west
before emptying into the Vembanad
Lake.
 Pampa is the third longest river in Kerala
after Periyar and Bharathappuzha.
 Sabarimala temple dedicated to Lord
Ayyappa is located on the banks of the
river.
 The river is also known as ‘Dakshina Bhageerathi’ and ‘River Baris’.
KRISHNA-GODAVARI (KG) BASIN
 According to a study by the Pune-based Agharkar

Research Institute (ARI) of the Science &
Technology Ministry, Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin
holds a massive reserve of methane hydrate
and a rich source of cleaner natural gas.
 It is a clean and economical fuel and is a major
constituent of natural gas. Compared to other
hydrocarbon fuels, methane produces less
carbon dioxide for each unit of heat released.
 Methane Hydrate is a solid clath rate compound
in which a large amount of methane is trapped
within a crystal structure of water forming a
solid similar to ice.
 It is formed when hydrogen bonded water and methane gas come into contact at high
pressures and low temperatures in oceans.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
PEARL RIVER
 The Pearl River estuary includes Hong Kong,

Macau as well as the mainland Chinese cities
of Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Dongguan.
 About 22 million people live in the area.
 The estuary is one of the busiest shipping
lanes in the world.
RIVER BHAGIRATHI
The river stream originates in the Garhwal Himalaya and after reaching Devprayag, it meets
another headstream, Alaknanda and forms the river Ganga.
TSARI CHU RIVER
 Satellite image shows China built new village in

Arunachal.
 The settlements are situated on the banks of
Tsari Chu river in Upper Subansiri district of
Arunachal.
 The village lies south of the McMahon Line. The
McMahon Line demarcates between Tibet and
India’s Northeast, which is disputed by China.
DHAULIGANGA RIVER
 It is one of the six source streams of Ganga River,

also known as Dhauli River.
 It emerges Deovan Himani and ends in
Vishnuprayag where it meets Alaknanda River.
 It rises at an altitude of 5700m in the Niti Pass at
Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.
 It is a major tributary of River Kali.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
JIADHAL/ KUMOTIYA/ SAMPARA RIVER
Thousands descended on the National Highway-15 to protest against the state government’s
alleged tardiness to control erratic flooding of the Jiadhal river.
 It is a Northern Sub-tributary of
the river Brahmaputra originates
in the sub-Himalayan mountains
of Arunachal Pradesh.
 After passing through a narrow
gorge in Arunachal Pradesh, the
river enters the plains of Assam in
Dhemaji district where it flows in
braided channels.
 The river finally debouches into
the river Brahmaputra near
Selamukh.
 But after construction of the embankment over the KherkutiyaSuti of the Brahmaputra,
the river falls into the Subansiri River.
SHETRUNJI AND BHADAR RIVER

Due to heavy rains, Shetrunji and Bhadar dams, the two largest reservoirs in the Saurashtra
region (Gujarat), have overflowed simultaneously.
Shetrunji River: It originates from the Amreli district. It is an east flowing river and outfalls
into the Gulf of Khambhat.
Tributaries: Safara, Shel, Khari, Talaji, Stali, Thebu, Gagadia, Rajwal and Kharo.
Bhadar River: It originates from Jasdan taluka of Rajkot.
Tributaries: Gondali, Chapparwadi, Phopal, Utawali, Moj, Venu, Vasavadi, Surwa and Galolia.
Bhadbhut project, Bharuch
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
5. PLACES IN NEWS- MISC.
CORAL TRIANGLE DAY
Every year the Coral Triangle Day is observed on June 9. The Day is observed by the Coral
Triangle Initiative.
Coral Triangle Initiative
 Coral Triangle Initiative The Initiative

is a multilateral partnership of six
countries namely Malaysia,
Indonesia, Philippines, Solomon
Islands, Papua New Guinea, Timor-
Leste.
 It is also called the Coral Triangle
Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries
and Food Security (CTI-CFF).
The Coral Triangle
 It is the world epicentre of marine diversity that is spread across the above 6 countries.
 The region is important as it consists of 76% of coral species,
 37% of coral reef fish and 53% of world coral reef. It is one of the three mega
complexes on the Earth.
HEATWAVE IN NORTH INDIA
 Recently, many North Indian States have been

experiencing severe to very severe
heatwave conditions.
 Heatwaves occur over India between March
and June.
 A heatwave spell generally lasts for a
minimum of four days.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
 Heatwaves are common over the Core Heatwave Zone (CHZ) — Rajasthan, Punjab,
Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, West Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa,
Vidarbha in Maharashtra, parts of Gangetic West Bengal, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana, as categorised by IMD.
 Originating in the Mediterranean Sea, Western Disturbances are eastward-moving
winds that blow in lower atmospheric levels.
AMERY ICE SHELF
 The Amery Ice Shelf is a broad ice shelf in

Antarctica at the head of Prydz Bay between
the Lars Christensen Coast and Ingrid
Christensen Coast.
 It is one of the largest glacier drainage
basins in the world, located on the east coast
of Antarctica, at about 70ºS Latitude, 70ºE
Longitude.
MILNE ICE SHELF
 Milne ice shelf is in Ellesmere Island, Canada and

recently it was broken.
 These are large floating pieces of ice that form
when a glacier/ ice sheet flows into the sea surface.
 It lost more than 40 % of its ice over 2 days end of
July 2020.
 This has increased concerns over the rapid
melting of ice and the breaking of old ice shelfs
due to global
 This also meant the last known Epishelf Lake, a
water body dammed by the ice shelf and floating
on the ocean surface on the Milne ice shelf, no longer exists.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
ICEBERG A68A
 Iceberg A68a, which calved from Antarctica
in 2017, has been floating off the coast of
South Georgia island.
 This has prompted fears about the impact
the iceberg could have on the island’s
abundant wildlife.
 An iceberg is ice that breaks off from
glaciers or shelf ice and is floating in open
water.
NIOGHALVFJERDSFJORDEN GLACIER
 A massive chunk of ice has broken off

from this ice shelf because of warmer
temperatures in Greenland.
 It is located in Northeast Greenland.
 It is Arctic's largest ice shelf.
STATE OF WORLD FOREST REPORT 2020
 United Nations
Environment
Programme (UNEP)
and Food and
Agriculture
Organization (FAO) has
jointly released a
report titled The State
of the World’s Forests
(SOFO) 2020.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
 It examines the contributions of forests, and of the people who use and manage them,
to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
 According to the report among the world’s regions, Africa had the largest annual rate of
net forest loss in 2010–2020, at 3.9 mha, followed by South America, at 2.6 mha.
 More than 54 per cent of the world’s forests were in only five countries — the Russian
Federation, Brazil, Canada, the United States of America and China.
 Forests provide more than 86 million green jobs and support the livelihoods of an
estimated 880 million people worldwide, most of them women.
LOCUST ATTACK IN INDIA
 Swarms of locusts have invaded

vast swathes of land in India since
April 11th this year. They entered
several districts of Rajasthan via
Pakistan’s Sindh province. Few
days later, they entered the
neighbouring State of Madhya
Pradesh. Many districts in Uttar
Pradesh have now been put on
alert.
 A huge challenge is likely to
emerge when they start breeding. Last year, mature locusts had entered parts of India
after a gap of 26 years.
 Union government issued a warning to 12 states including Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana
and Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra regarding the locust attack.
BONDA TRIBES
 In recent times they are being forced leave their pristine hamlets for low-paid jobs in
distant towns of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and States even farther.
 They are classified as one of India‘s Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)
 They are known for their distinctive cultural traditions, the Bondas are divided into two
groups: Lower Bondas and Upper Bondas.
 According to the 2011 census, there are 12,231 Bondas and they speak Remo, one of
the Mundari group of languages spoken by Munda peoples in India.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
PRINCIPLE AQUIFER SYSTEMS
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
YANOMAMI TRIBE OF SOUTH AMERICA
 The Yanomami tribe has launched a
global campaign to expel 20,000 gold
miners from their land amid the
coronavirus pandemic.
 The Yanomami live in the rainforests
and mountains of northern Brazil and
southern Venezuela, and are,
according to Survival International, the
largest relatively isolated tribe in
South America
 Guarani, Kaingang, Pataxó, Hã Hã Hãe,
Tupinambá, Yanomami, Tikuna and Akuntsu are popular tribes of the Amazon basin.
Amazon is a river of South America and its basin is the largest tropical rainforest in
the world.
EASTERN DEDICATED FREIGHT CORRIDOR
 PM to inaugurate
the New
Bhaupur- New
Khurja section
and the
Operation
Control Centre of
Eastern
Dedicated
Freight Corridor.
 Length: 1856 km.
 It consists of
two distinct
segments: an
electrified
double-track
segment & an electrified single-track segment
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
 Starts from Sahnewal near Ludhiana (Punjab) and will pass through the states of
Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand to terminate at Dankuni in West
Bengal.
 Constructed by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL),
that has been set up as a special purpose vehicle to build and operate Dedicated Freight
Corridors.
COASTAL REGULATION ZONE (CRZ) NORMS
 The six-member panel constituted by the National Green Tribunal recently conducted a
field-level investigation.
 Under the section 3 of Environment Protection Act, 1986 of India, Coastal Regulation
Zone notification was issued in February 1991 for the first time.
 In 2018-19, fresh Rules were issued, which aimed to remove certain restrictions on
building, streamlined the clearance process, and aimed to encourage tourism in coastal
areas.
 They restrict certain kinds of activities — like large constructions, setting up of new
industries, storage or disposal of hazardous material, mining, reclamation and bunding-
within a certain distance from the coastline.
GEO+MAP KBsIAS
HALDIBARI-CHILAHATI RAIL LINK
 It was made functional from Dec 17.

 It is the 5th rail link between India and
Bangladesh.
 This rail link was operational till 1965. This
was part of the broad gauge main route
from Kolkata to Siliguri during partition.
 However, the war of 1965 effectively
cut off all the railway links between
India and the then East Pakistan.
 After the partition in 1947, seven rail
links were operational between India
and the then East Pakistan (up to
1965).
 Presently, there are four operational rail links between India and Bangladesh.
HYDERABAD RECOGNISED AS A ‘TREE CITY OF THE WORLD’
The Arbor Day Foundation and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation have recognised
Hyderabad as ‘2020 Tree City of the World’.
Tree Cities of the World programme is an international program. It recognises cities and towns
for properly and sustainably maintaining their urban forests and trees.
Criteria: To receive recognition, a town or city must meet five core standards:
1. Establish Responsibility
2. Set the Rules
3. Know What You Have
4. Allocate the Resources
5. Celebrate Achievements
GEO+MAP KBsIAS

P4P Prelims 2021: Geography + Mapping

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

P4P Prelims 2021: Geography + Mapping

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

P4P Prelims 2021: Geography + Mapping

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

P4P Prelims 2021

2|Page Join @KBsIAS

1. PLACES IN NEWS- INDIA SPECIFIC………………………………………………05

2. PLACES IN NEWS- INTERNATIONAL……………………………………………..24

3. PLACES IN NEWS- NP, WLS etc. ………………………………………………….49

4. PLACES IN NEWS- LAKES, ISLAND etc. …………………………………….......63

5. PLACES IN NEWS- RIVERS IN NEWS……………………………………............84

6. PLACES IN NEWS- MISC. ………………………………………...........................88

3|Page Join @KBsIAS

4|Page Join @KBsIAS

POLITICAL MAP OF INDIA-Click Here

5|Page Join @KBsIAS

6|Page Join @KBsIAS

 It is one of the disputed territories of

7|Page Join @KBsIAS

 Recently Rekindling tensions over

BORDER DISPUTE BETWEEN INDIA AND NEPAL

 It is one of the disputed territories between India

8|Page Join @KBsIAS

 Recently Pakistan government has signed a

KAILASH MANSAROVAR- NEW ROAD

 The Link Road is named as the Kailash-

9|Page Join @KBsIAS

 There have been reports of a heavy Chinese

 Recently, Dobra-Chanthi suspension bridge is inaugurated in Tehri Garhwal district.

 Gairsain becomes Uttarakhand's summer capital:

STRATEGIC DARBUK-SHYOK-DAULAT BEG OLDI (DSDBO) ROAD

 Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to fast-track the

• It is a village in Leh, Ladakh, India. It is located in

 National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) has

 Indian and Chinese Soldiers have clashed

KOLKATA PORT TRUST

 Cabinet approves renaming of Kolkata

 It is the Indian side of

 World‘s longest highway tunnel at Rohtang was recently inaugurated.

 Previously called as Nastachun pass, is a

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

The year 2020 marks 100 years of discovery

 The dispute stems from a notification of 1875 that

 It is a new border village built by

 The ministry of agriculture has declared the

Union Territory Lakshadweep:

 The Foreign Ministers of Nepal

 A huge wildfire in Dzukou valley located

 A team of climbers from Nepal become the first mountaineers to successfully

 The PM dedicated the Kochi-Mangaluru

DHUBRI – PHULBARI BRIDGE AND MAJULI BRIDGE

 The Prime Minister has

 It is a proposed bridge over

RAM SETU/ ADAM’S BRIDGE

 Centre gives green light to underwater

The Supreme Court appointed conservationist

 The corridor is situated in the

DONIMALAI MINES, KARNATAKA.

 It is commissioned in 1977, the mine is located

LITHIUM RESERVES IN KARNATAKA

 Atomic Minerals Directorate issues clarification