Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Chalcolithic culture in India
Mains level: Not Much
The Chalcolithic cultures of Central India are adequately investigated and studied informed the Ministry of Culture in particular reference to the sites of Eran and Tewar.
Major sites in Central India
[1] Eran (Dist. Sagar, MP )
- Eran (ancient Airikina) is situated on the left bank of the Bina (ancient Venva) river and surrounded by it on three sides.
- The recent excavation has unearthed a variety of antiquities including a copper coin, an iron arrowhead, terracotta bead, stone beads along with copper coins, stone celt, beads of steatite and jasper, etc.
- The occurrence of few specimens of plain, thin grey ware is noteworthy.
- The use of iron was evidenced by few metallic objects at the site.
[2] Tewar (Dist. Jabalpur, MP)
- Tewar (Tripuri) village is located 12 km west of Jabalpur district on Jabalpur – Bhopal highway.
- This excavation did not reach the natural soil and revealed four folds of cultural sequences i.e. Kushana, Shunga, Satvahana, and Kalachuri.
- Antiquarian remains in this excavation include viz remains of sculptures, hopscotch, terracotta balls, Iron nails, copper coins, terracotta beads, implements of Iron and terracotta figurine, ceramics red ware etc.
- It also revealed structural remains consist of brick wall and structure of sandstone columns.
Back2Basics: Chalcolithic Culture in India
- A completely different kind of culture known as Chalcolithic Culture was developed in central India and Deccan region by the end of the Neolithic period.
- It is characterized by the use of both stone and bronze implements.
Major Chalcolithic complexes in India
- Ahar culture c. 2,800-1,500 B.C.
- Kayatha culture c. 2,450-700 B.C.
- Malwa culture c. 1,900-1,400 B.C.
- Savalda culture c. 2,300-2,000 B.C.
- Jorwe culture c. 1,500 -900 B.C.
- Prabhas culture c. 2,000-1,400 B.C.
- Rangpur culture c. 1,700-1,400 B.C.
Important features
- The people of Chalcolithic culture had used unique painted earthenware usually black-on-red.
- The use of copper and bronze tools also evidenced on a limited scale.
- The economy was largely based on subsistence agriculture, stock-raising, hunting, and fishing.
- They, however, never reached the level of urbanization in spite they were using metal.
- They were contemporary of the Harappan culture, but some other were of later Harappan age.
Their locations
- The centers of Chalcolithic cultures flourished in semi-arid regions of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
- The settlements of Kayatha culture were mostly located on the Chambal River and its tributaries.
- The settlements of Malwa culture are mostly located on the Narmada and its tributaries.
- The three best known settlements of Malwa culture are at Navdatoli, Eran, and Nagada.
- Navdatoli was one of the largest Chalcolithic settlements in the country spread in almost 10 hectares.
- The settlements of Rangpur culture are located mostly on Ghelo and Kalubhar rivers in Gujarat.
- More than 200 settlements of Jorwe culture are known. Greater numbers of these settlements are found in Maharashtra.
- The best known settlements of Jorwe culture are Prakash, Daimabad, and Inamgaon. Daimabad was the largest one that measured almost 20 hectares.
Development of Agriculture
- They cultivated both Kharif and Rabi crops in rotation and also raised cattle with it.
- They cultivated wheat and barley in Malwa region. Rice was cultivated in Inamgaon and Ahar.
- They also cultivated jowar, bajra, kulth, ragi, green peas, lentil, and green and black grams.
- Largely, the Chalcolithic cultures flourished in the black cotton soil zone.
Trade and Commerce
- The Chalcolithic communities traded and exchanged materials with other contemporary communities.
- A large settlement serves as the major centers of trade and exchange.
- Some of them were Ahar, Gilund, Nagada, Navdatoli, Eran, Prabhas, Rangpur, Prakash, Daimabad, and Inamgaon.
- The Ahar people settled close to the copper source and were used to supply copper tools and objects to other contemporary communities in Malwa and Gujarat.
- Identical marks embedded on most of the copper axes found in Malwa, Jorwe, and Prabhas cultures that might indicate that it may be the trademarks of the smiths who made them.
- It is found that Conch shell for bangles was traded from the Saurashtra coast to various other parts of the Chalcolithic regions.
- Gold and ivory come to Jorwe people from Tekkalkotta in Karnataka and semiprecious stones may have been traded to various parts from Rajpipla in Gujarat.
- Wheeled bullock carts were used for long distance trade, besides the river transport. The drawings of wheeled bullock carts have been found on pots.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2019. It is dicey, but you cannot escape such questions.
Q. Which one of the following is not a Harappan site?
(a) Chanhudaro
(b) Kot Diji
(c) Sohgaura
(d) Desalpur
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Buxa Tiger Reserve
Mains level: Success of Tiger Conservation
In a major success for tiger conservation, a photograph of a tiger was captured in a camera trap in West Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve since 1998.
Locate all major tiger reserves in India.
Buxa Tiger Reserve
- Buxa Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in northern West Bengal, India, covering an area of 760 km2 (290 sq mi).
- In altitude, it ranges from 60 m in the Gangetic Plains to 1,750 m bordering the Himalayas in the north.
- Its northern boundary runs along the international border with Bhutan.
- The Sinchula hill range lies all along the northern side of BTR and the eastern boundary touches that of the Assam state.
Key features of BTR
- It is the easternmost extension of extreme bio-diverse North-East India and represents highly endemic Indo-Malayan region.
- The fragile “Terai Eco-System” constitutes a part of this reserve.
- The Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary of Bhutan is contiguous to the north of BTR.
- It serves as an international corridor for Asian elephant migration between India and Bhutan.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sahel Region
Mains level: Great Green Wall Project
Africa’s Great Green Wall (GGW) program to combat desertification in the Sahel region is an important contribution towards combating climate change, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a study.
Note the countries swept by the GGW project on the African map.
About GGW Program
- The Great Green Wall project is conceived by 11 countries located along the southern border of the Sahara and their international partners, is aimed at limiting the desertification of the Sahel zone.
- Led by the African Union, the initiative aims to transform the lives of millions of people by creating a mosaic of green and productive landscapes across North Africa.
- The initial idea of the GGW was to develop a line of trees from east to the west bordering the Saharan Desert.
- Its vision has evolved into that of a mosaic of interventions addressing the challenges facing the people in the Sahel and the Sahara.
Why was such project incepted?
- The project is a response to the combined effect of natural resources degradation and drought in rural areas.
- It aimed to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030; only four million hectares had been restored between 2007 and 2019.
- It is a partnership that supports communities working towards sustainable management and use of forests, rangelands and other natural resources.
- It seeks to help communities mitigate and adapt to climate change, as well as improve food security.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nuclear Projects in India
Mains level: Nuclear Energy
If built on time, Jaitapur Project in Maharashtra would be the largest nuclear power generating station in the world by net generation capacity, at 9,900 MW.
Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project
- Jaitapur Project is a proposed nuclear power plant in India.
- The power project is proposed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and would be built at Madban village of Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra.
- It is being built with technical cooperation from France.
Project description
- It is proposed to construct 6 European Pressurized Reactors designed and developed by Framatome (former Areva) of France, each of 1650 MW, thus totaling 9900 MW.
- These are the third generation pressurized water reactors (PWR).
- The cost of building the plant is about ₹20 crore (US$2.7 million) per MW electric power compared with ₹5 crore (US$660,000) per MW electric power for a coal power station.
- A consortium of French financial institutions will finance this project as a loan. Both French and Indian government will give sovereign guarantee for this loan.
Issues with the project
(I) Liability for nuclear damage
- The lack of clarity on the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010 passed in Indian Parliament in August 2010 is a hurdle in finalizing deal.
- This Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010 has a clause that deals with the legal binding of the culpable groups in case of a nuclear accident.
- It allows only the operator (NPCIL) to sue the manufacturers and suppliers. Victims will not be able to sue anyone.
(II) Clearance issue
- Environmental effects of nuclear power and geological issues have been raised by anti-nuclear activists of India against this power project.
- Even though the Maharashtra state govt completed land acquisition in 2010, only few people had accepted compensation cheques.
(III) Seismicity of the area
- Since Jaitapur is a seismically sensitive area, the danger of an earthquake has been foremost on the minds of people.
- According to the Earthquake hazard zoning of India, Jaitapur comes under Zone III. This zone is called the moderate Risk Zone and covers areas liable to MSK VIII.
- The presence of two major creeks on the proposed site has been ignored while clearing the site.
(IV) Nuclear waste disposal
- It is not clear where the nuclear waste from the site will be shipped for recycling or removed for disposal.
- The plant is estimated to generate 300 tonnes of used nuclear fuel each year.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Solomon Islands
Mains level: NA
Australia has announced sending police, troops and diplomats to the Solomon Islands to help after anti-Government demonstrators.
Solomon Islands
- Solomon Islands is a sovereign country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu.
- Its capital, Honiara, is located on the largest island, Guadalcanal.
- The country takes its name from the Solomon Islands archipelago, which is a collection of Melanesian islands that also includes the North Solomon Islands (a part of Papua New Guinea).
- It excludes outlying islands, such as the Santa Cruz Islands and Rennell and Bellona.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Majuli Island
Mains level: Not Much
Soil erosion, coupled with changing climatic conditions, has been writing a cruel destiny for the inhabitants of Majuli in Assam, the largest river island in the world.
About Majuli Island
- Majuli is a riverine island in the Brahmaputra River, Assam and in 2016 it became the first island to be made a district in India.
- Majuli has shrunk as the river surrounding it has grown.
- It had an area of 880 square kilometers (340 sq mi) at the beginning of the 20th century but having lost significantly to erosion it covers 553 square kilometers as at 2014.
- It is the abode of the Assamese neo-Vaishnavite culture.
Its formation
- The island is formed by the Brahmaputra River in the south and the Kherkutia Xuti, an anabranch of the Brahmaputra, joined by the Subansiri River in the north.
- It was formed due to course changes by the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries, mainly the Lohit.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mudumalai TR
Mains level: Not Much
P
PC: MapsOfIndia
A tiger believed to have been responsible for the death of two herders in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve was finally captured.
Read all the tiger reserves in India through this map. Put more focus on South Indian states and the NE region.
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
- Mudumalai National Park is a national park in the Nilgiri Mountains in Tamil Nadu.
- It is located in the Nilgiri District and shares boundaries with the states of Karnataka and Kerala.
- It is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and was declared a tiger reserve in 2007.
- It harbours several endangered and vulnerable species including Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, Indian elephant and gaur.
Try this PYQ:
Q. Recently there was a proposal to translocate some of the lions from their natural habitat in Gujarat to which one of the following sites?
(a) Corbett National Park
(b) Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary
(c) Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary
(d) Sariska National Park
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Jim Corbett NP
Mains level: Tiger Conservation
The Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recently proposed to change the name of Corbett National Park to Ramganga National Park.
Who was Jim Corbett?
- Born in Nainital in 1875, Edward James Corbett lived in India till Independence, after which he left for Kenya where he died in 1955.
- India’s best known hunter, Corbett earned fame after he tracked down and killed a number of man-eating tigers and leopards (he is said to have killed over a dozen).
- An ace shot, Corbett was called upon regularly by the government to track and shoot man-eaters in the villages of Garhwal and Kumaon in Uttarakhand.
Corbett National Park
- Jim Corbett National Park is a national park in India located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand state.
- The first national park in India, it was established in 1936 during the British Raj and named Haily National Park after a governor of the United Provinces in which it was then located.
- It was renamed Ramganga National Park, named after the river that flows through it, shortly after Independence and was rechristened yet again as Corbett National Park in 1956.
- Jim Corbett had played a leading role in its establishment and had died the year before.
- The park was the first to come under the Project Tiger initiative.
The tiger reserve
- The national park along with the neighbouring 301-sq km-Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary together make the critical tiger habitat of the Corbett Tiger Reserve.
- With its hills, grasslands and streams, it is ideal tiger territory.
- The place from where Project Tiger was launched in 1973, with its tiger population at 163, it boasts of a single largest tiger population in a tiger reserve and one of the highest tiger densities in the country.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bhoramdeo Tiger Reserves
Mains level: Not Much
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) approved the Chhattisgarh government’s proposal to declare the combined areas of the Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve.
Bhoramdeo Tiger Reserve
- The new Reserve is located in the northern part of the state, bordering Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
- This will be the fourth Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh, after the Udanti-Sitanadi, Achanakmar, and Indravati Reserves.
- The proposal was considered under Section 38V(1) of The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- This section says that the State Government shall, on the recommendation of the Tiger Conservation Authority, notify an area as a tiger reserve.
A decade in making
- The Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary was identified as part of the Sarguja Jashpur Elephant Reserve in 2011.
- The Guru Ghasidas National Park used to be part of the Sanjay National Park in undivided Madhya Pradesh.
- Both were identified as reserve forests, and had been in line to be notified as Tiger Reserve since 2011.
Medium-sized reserve
- The constituent units of the new Tiger Reserve, Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary, are spread over 1,44,000 hectares (1,440 sq km) and 60,850 hectares (608.5 sq km) respectively.
- Guru Ghasidas National Park is in Koriya district; Tamor Pingla is in Surajpur district in the northwestern corner of Chhattisgarh.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Weddel Sea, Mapping of Southern Ocean
Mains level: NA
India has extended support for protecting the Antarctic environment and for co-sponsoring the proposal of the European Union for designating East Antarctica and the Weddell Sea as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
About Weddell Sea
- The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre.
- Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula.
- Much of the southern part of the sea is covered by a permanent, massive ice shelf field, the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf.
- The sea is contained within the two overlapping Antarctic territorial claims of Argentine Antarctica, the British Antarctic Territory, and also resides partially within the Antarctic Chilean Territory.
Major ice shelves
- Various ice shelves, including the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, fringe the Weddell sea.
- Some of the ice shelves on the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula, which formerly covered roughly 10,000 square kilometres of the Weddell Sea, had completely disappeared by 2002.
- The Weddell Sea has been deemed by scientists to have the clearest water of any sea.
India’s support for the Antarctic
- India supports sustainability in protecting the Antarctic environment.
- The proposed MPAs are essential to regulate illegal unreported and unregulated fishing.
- India had urged the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) member countries to ensure Antarctic conservation.
- India remains associated with the formulation, adaptation and implementation mechanisms of these MPAs in future.
What is CCAMLR?
- CCAMLR is an international treaty to manage Antarctic fisheries to preserve species diversity and stability of the entire Antarctic marine ecosystem.
- CCAMLR came into force in April 1982.
- India has been a permanent member of the CCAMLR since 1986.
- Work pertaining to the CCAMLR is coordinated in India by the Ministry of Earth Sciences through its attached office, the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) in Kochi, Kerala.
Back2Basics: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
- An MPA is a marine protected area that provides protection for all or part of its natural resources.
- Certain activities within an MPA are limited or prohibited to meet specific conservation, habitat protection, ecosystem monitoring, or fisheries management objectives.
- MPAs can be conserved for a number of reasons including economic resources, biodiversity conservation, and species protection.
- They are created by delineating zones with permitted and non-permitted uses within that zone.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Zoji La Pass and other himalayan passes
Mains level: Critical border infrastructures
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways has inspected the work on Zojila and Z Morh tunnels.
Zojila Tunnel
- The Zojila is set to be Asia’s longest bi-directional tunnel.
- It will connect Srinagar, Dras, Kargil and Leh via a tunnel through the famous 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.
- The speed limit inside the tunnel is likely to be the same as in the Atal tunnel – 80 kmph.
Z-Morh tunnel
- The Z-Morh tunnel — being developed at Sonmarg — will provide it all-weather connectivity with Srinagar allowing it to remain open to tourists all year round.
- It is likely to be ready by December 2023 and is being developed at a cost of ₹2,378 crore.
Significance of these tunnels
- The project holds strategic significance as Zojila Pass is situated at an altitude of 11,578 feet on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National Highway and remains closed during winters due to heavy snowfall.
- At present, it is one of the most dangerous stretches in the world to drive a vehicle and this project is also geo-strategically sensitive.
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Back2Basics: Major Passes in India
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MMD Biosphere Reserve, BRs in India
Mains level: Not Much
UNESCO has designated Mura-Drava-Danube (MDD) as the world’s first ‘five-country biosphere reserve’.
About Mura-Drava-Danube BR
- The biosphere reserve covers 700 kilometres of the Mura, Drava and Danube rivers and stretches across Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia.
- The total area of the reserve — a million hectares — in the so-called ‘Amazon of Europe’, makes it the largest riverine protected area on the continent.
- The reserve is home to floodplain forests, gravel and sand banks, river islands, oxbows and meadows.
- It is home to continental Europe’s highest density of breeding white-tailed eagle (more than 150 pairs), as well as endangered species such as the little tern, black stork, otters, beavers and sturgeons.
- It is also an important annual resting and feeding place for more than 250,000 migratory birds, according to WWF.
- Almost 900,000 people live in the biosphere reserve. (UPSC may ask if it is uninhabited.)
Significance of this BR
- The new reserve represented an important contribution to the European Green Deal and contributes to the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy in the Mura-Drava-Danube region.
- The strategy’s aim is to revitalize 25,000 km of rivers and protect 30 per cent of the European Union’s land area by 2030.
- The declaration as BR puts river revitalization, sustainable business practices enhancing cross-border cooperation into focus.
Ignore at your own risk! Its better to correct it here itself.
Such PYQs are ought to repeat any number of times in UPSC CSE.
Q. Consider the following statements:
- The boundaries of a National Park are defined by legislation.
- A Biosphere Reserve is declared to conserve a few specific species of flora and fauna.
- In a Wildlife Sanctuary, limited biotic interference is permitted.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Post your answers here.
Back2Basics: UNESCO Biosphere Reserves
- Biosphere reserves are ‘learning places for sustainable development’.
- They are nominated by national governments and remain under the sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they are located.
- They are designated under the intergovernmental MAB Programme by the Director-General of UNESCO following the decisions of the MAB International Coordinating Council (MAB ICC).
- Their status is internationally recognized. Member States can submit sites through the designation process.
- Biosphere reserves include terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems.
They integrate three main “functions”:
- Conservation of biodiversity and cultural diversity
- Economic development that is socio-culturally and environmentally sustainable
- Logistic support, underpinning development through research, monitoring, education and training
(a) Core Areas
It comprises a strictly protected zone that contributes to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation
(b) Buffer Zones
It surrounds or adjoins the core area(s), and is used for activities compatible with sound ecological practices that can reinforce scientific research, monitoring, training and education.
(c) Transition Area
The transition area is where communities foster socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable economic and human activities.
UNESCO recognized BRs in India
Year of
recognition
|
Name
|
States
|
| 2000 |
Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve |
Tamil Nadu |
| 2001 |
Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve |
Tamil Nadu |
| 2001 |
Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve |
West Bengal |
| 2004 |
Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve |
Uttarakhand |
| 2009 |
Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve |
Madhya Pradesh |
| 2009 |
Nokrek Biosphere Reserve |
Meghalaya |
| 2009 |
Simlipal Biosphere Reserve |
Odisha |
| 2012 |
Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve |
Chhattisgarh |
| 2013 |
Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve |
Great Nicobar |
| 2016 |
Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve |
Kerala and Tamil Nadu |
| 2018 |
Kanchenjunga Biosphere Reserve |
Part of North and West Sikkim districts |
| 2020 |
Panna Biosphere Reserve |
Madhya Pradesh |
|
|
|
|
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
Mains level: Not Much
A herd of around 25 elephants from Nepal’s Shuklaphanta National Park reached the tiger reserve in Uttar Pradesh almost a month back.
Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
- Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is located in Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh and was notified as a tiger reserve in 2014.
- It is one of the few well-forested districts in Uttar Pradesh.
- It forms part of the Terai Arc Landscape in the upper Gangetic Plain along the India-Nepal border.
- The habitat is characterized by sal forests, tall grasslands and swamp maintained by periodic flooding from rivers.
- The Sharda Sagar Dam extending up to a length of 22 km is on the boundary of the reserve.
- The tiger reserve got the first international award TX2 for doubling the tiger population in a stipulated time.
Try answering this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following protected areas:
- Bandipur
- Bhitarkanika
- Manas
- Sunderbans
Which of the above are declared Tiger Reserves?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Post your answers here.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Thamirabarani Civilization
Mains level: Ancient Indian Civilizations
A carbon dating analysis of rice with soil, found in a burial urn at Sivakalai in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu has yielded the date of 1155 BC, indicating that the Thamirabarani civilization dates back to 3,200 years.
About Thamirabarani River
- The Thamirabarani or Tamraparni or Porunai is a perennial river that originates from the Agastyarkoodam peak of the Pothigai hills of the Western Ghats.
- It flows through the Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts of the Tamil Nadu state of southern India into the Gulf of Mannar.
- It was called the Tamraparni River in the pre-classical period, a name it lent to the island of Sri Lanka.
- The old Tamil name of the river is Porunai.
Its history
- Its many name derivations of Tan Porunai include Tampraparani, Tamirabarni, Tamiravaruni.
- Tan Porunai nathi finds mention by classical Tamil poets in ancient Sangam Tamil literature Purananuru.
- Recognised as a holy river in Sanskrit literature Puranas, Mahabharata and Ramayana, the river was famed in the Early Pandyan Kingdom for its pearl and conch fisheries and trade.
- The movement of people, including the faithful, trade merchants and toddy tapers from Tamraparni river to northwestern Sri Lanka led to the shared appellation of the name for the closely connected region.
- One important historical document on the river is the treatise Tamraparni Mahatmyam.
- It has many ancient temples along its banks. A hamlet known as Appankoil is located on the northern side of the river.
Significance of the carbon dating
- This has provided evidence that there was a city civilisation in south India as long back as 3,200 years ago, the later part of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
- Vicinity to the ancient port of Muziris, now known as Pattanam, in Kerala add another significance to the trade history of this site.
- Now, research would be conducted at Quseir al-Qadim and Pernica Anekke in Egypt, which were once part of the Roman empire, as well as in Khor Rori in Oman, to establish the Tamils’ trade relations with these countries.
- Potsherds bearing Tamil scripts have been found in these countries.
- Studies would also be conducted in Southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, where King Rajendra Chola had established supremacy.
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Also read
Sangam era older than previously thought, finds study
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Qeqertaq Avannarleq
Mains level: Impact of climate change
A group of researchers who went out to collect samples off the coast of Greenland in July found themselves on a tiny, uninhabited and previously unknown island.
Qeqertaq Avannarleq
- Measuring 60×30 metres and with a peak of three metres above sea level, it has now become the new northernmost piece of land on Earth.
- Before this, Oodaaq was marked as the Earth’s northernmost terrain.
- The new island is made up of seabed mud and moraine, i.e. soil, rock and other material left behind by moving glaciers, and has no vegetation.
- The group has suggested the discovery be named ‘Qeqertaq Avannarleq’, which is Greenlandic for “the northernmost island”.
How this island came to existence?
Ans. Undoubtedly, climate change in Greenland
- Global warming has had a severe effect on the ice sheet of Greenland.
- The new island, which was exposed by shifting pack ice, is, however, not a direct consequence of climate change.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pantanal Wetlands
Mains level: Not Much
Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetlands is facing a severe crisis due to wildfires and climate change.
Pantanal Wetlands
- The Pantanal is a natural region encompassing the world’s largest tropical wetland area, and the world’s largest flooded grasslands.
- It is located mostly within the Brazilian and extends to some portions of Bolivia and Paraguay.
- It sprawls over an area estimated at between 140,000 and 195,000 square kilometer.
- Roughly 80% of the Pantanal floodplains are submerged during the rainy seasons, nurturing a biologically diverse collection of aquatic plants and helping to support a dense array of animal species.
Risks faced
- Unlike the Amazon rainforest, vegetation in the Pantanal has evolved to coexist with fire — many plant species there require the heat from fires to germinate.
- Often caused by lightning strikes, those natural fires spring up at the end of the dry season, but the surrounding floodplains prevent them from spreading.
- What’s different now is the drought, contributing further to the unusually dry conditions and exacerbating the fire risk.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Deeper Beel
Mains level: Wetland conservation
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the eco-sensitive zone of the Deepar Beel Wildlife Sanctuary on the south-western edge of Guwahati.
Deepar Beel
- Deepar Beel is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Assam and the State’s only Ramsar site besides being an Important Bird Area.
- It is located to the south-west of Guwahati city, in Kamrup Metropolitan district.
- It is a permanent freshwater lake, in a former channel of the Brahmaputra River, to the south of the main river.
- It is also called a wetland under the Ramsar Convention which has listed the lake in November 2002, as a Ramsar Site for undertaking conservation measures on the basis of its biological and environmental importance.
Major threats
- Deepar Beel has long been used as a sponge for Guwahati’s sewage via a couple of streams.
- The wetland has also suffered from seepage of toxins from a garbage dump at Boragaon adjoining it.
- It has for decades been threatened by a railway track — set to be doubled and electrified — on its southern rim, a garbage dump, and encroachment from human habitation and commercial units.
- The water has become toxic and it has lost many of its aquatic plants that elephants would feed on.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sambhar Lake
Mains level: Not Much
The world-famous Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan is constantly shrinking with the degradation of soil and water quality and a decline in the population of migratory birds.
Sambhar Lake
- The lake, situated 80 km south-west of Jaipur, is the country’s largest inland saline water body which attracts thousands of migratory birds every year.
- The death of more than 20,000 birds belonging to about 10 species which migrate annually to the lake had made international headlines in 2019.
- The lake receives water from six rivers: Mantha, Rupangarh, Khari, Khandela, Medtha and Samod.
- Sambhar has been designated as a Ramsar site because the wetland is a key wintering area for tens of thousands of pink flamingos and other birds that migrate from northern Asia and Siberia.
Threats: Illegal mining
- 30% of the Sambhar Lake’s area had been lost to mining and other activities, including the illegal salt pan encroachments.
- It has also threatened the livelihoods of local people who have always lived in harmony with the lake and its ecology.
Try answering this:
Which one of the following is an artificial lake? (CSP 2014)
(a) Kodaikanal (Tamil Nadu)
(b) Kolleru (Andhra Pradesh)
(c) Nainital (Uttarakhand)
(d) Renuka (Himachal Pradesh)
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Volanic eruptions in news
Mains level: Volcanic landforms
Geologists have detected a swarm of earthquakes at Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, though it was not erupting.
Kilauea Volcano
- Kilauea is about 200 miles south of Honolulu, on the Big Island of Hawaii.
- It is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, having erupted 34 times since 1952. In Hawaiian tradition, Kilauea is home to the volcano goddess Pele.
- From 1983 to 2018, it erupted almost continuously, in some cases sending streams of lava that covered farms and homes.
- At the end of this decades-long eruption, Kilauea spewed lava from vents in a residential neighborhood on its eastern flank and destroyed more than 700 homes.
- In December, Kilauea erupted at the crater, creating a lake with enough lava to fill 10 Hoover dams. That eruption ended in May.
Do not skip answering this PYQ:
Consider the following statements:
- The Barren Island volcano is an active volcano located in the Indian Territory.
- Barren Island lies about 140 km east of Great Nicobar.
- The last time the Barren Island volcano erupted was in 1991 and it has remained inactive since then.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2014)
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1 and 3 only
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Back2Basics: Volcanic Landforms
- Note the intrinsic and extrinsic types of volcanic landforms
- A volcano has 3 main characteristics
- Cone shaped mountain
- Formed by rock or ash thrown from the inside of the earth
- At times, opening or depression at top
- The three main types of volcanos are:
- Cinder cone Volcano: The cinder cones are small volcanoes with steep sides. Even though they are small, these are the ones you probably hear about. They are very explosive and made of ash and rock. Most of the cinder cones are small and less than 500 meters high. A famous cinder cone is Sunset Crater Volcano in Arizona.
- Shield Volcanoes: A shield is a low and broad volcano that usually has a very wide crater (a dent in the Earth’s surface). It is formed from thin layers of lava after consistent low-grade eruptions. The largest volcano in the world is a shield volcano. It is located in Hawaii.
- Composite volcanoes: They are the tallest type of volcano. They look very impressive but do usually have quiet and slow lava flows. They sometimes have small eruptions that cause ash and rock to go flying. One of the most famous volcanoes in the world is a composite volcano. It is Mount Fuji in Japan.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indira Point
Mains level: NA
The Swarnim Vijay Varsh Victory Flame was taken to Indira Point, the southernmost tip of the country on August 22, 2021, as part of its voyage to the Nicobar Group of Islands.
Indira Point
- Indira Point is the southernmost point of Indian Territory.
- It is a village in the Nicobar district at Great Nicobar Island of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India.
- Rondo Island, Indonesia’s northernmost island in Sabang district of Aceh province of Sumatra, lies 163 km south of Little Andaman Island and 145 km or 80 nautical miles from Indira point.
- The point was formerly known as Pygmalion Point and Parsons Point. It was renamed in honour of Indira Gandhi during mid-1980s.
- Galathea National Park and Lighthouse are the major attractions here.
India and Indonesia are upgrading the deep sea port Sabang under the strategic military and economic collaboration to protect the channel between Great Nicobar Island and Rondo Island which is 612 km or 330 nautical miles from Indira Point.
What is Swarnim Vijay Varsh?
- It marks the 50th anniversary of the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
- Vijay Diwas is celebrated every year on December 16 to mark India`s triumph in liberating Bangladesh.
- The journey of the Victory Flame is taken from north to south corners of India.
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