Prelims Mantra (Day-46)

Economy

World’s First Integrated Renewable Energy Storage Project in Andhra Pradesh:

• • Located at Pinnapuram near Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh.
  • It includes 4000 MW of solar, 1000 MW of wind and 1680 MW of pumped hydropower
  • It is set up by Greenko, a world’s leading energy transition and decarbonization solutions company.
  • With a storage capacity of 10,080 MWh per day in a single cycle, the dispatchable, carbon-free energy generation, the Pinnapuram project supports green steel, green aluminum, and green hydrogen production industries

Ecology & Environment

Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD):

• • ‘Environment Ministry must roll back order on desulphurising coal plants’, says a study commissioned by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, and executed by the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru.
  • FGD is a process of removing sulphur compounds, particularly sulphur dioxide (SO2), from exhaust emissions of fossil-fuel based power plants.
  • It can remove up to 95 % of the sulphur dioxide from exhaust gases with the help of absorbents.
  • Substances like ammonia or sodium sulphite, lime or limestone slurry are used as absorbents.
  • 92% of the coal used in Indian plants has low sulphur content (0.3%-0.5%).
  • Installing FGD devices in all plants in India would increase power consumption as well as freshwater consumption in the plants resulting in additional CO2 emissions.

 

Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary:

• • Two Kuno cheetahs to be moved to Gandhi Sagar on April 20, 2025.
  • It lies in northwestern Madhya Pradesh along the Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan border.
  • It forms part of Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.
  • Chambal River flows through sanctuary and divides it in two parts.
  • It is declared as Important Bird and Biodiversity Area.
  • It houses Chaurasigarh, Chaturbhujnath Temple, Bhadkaji rock paintings, Hinglajgarh Fort,and Taxakeshwar Temple.

 

International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA):

• • International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) signed an agreement with the central government formalising India as the headquarters and secretariat of the alliance, over two months after it came into force as a full-fledged treaty-based intergovernmental organisation.
  • IBCA was launched at the initiative of India to focus on global conservation of seven big cats —the tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, puma, jaguar and cheetah.
  • Prime Minister of India launched IBCA in April 2023 during the 50th year celebrations of Project Tiger.
  • India formally joined the IBCA in September 2023.
  • After five signatory countries—India, Liberia, Eswatini, Somalia, and Nicaragua—ratified the IBCA framework agreement, the alliance came into force as a global legal entity.
  • It is implemented through National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
  • Membership is open to all UN Member States.

History, Art & Culture

UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register:

• • Bhagavad Gita and Natyashastra added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.
  • UNESCO launched the Memory of the World (MoW) Programme in 1992 with the aim of guarding against the collective amnesia, calling upon the preservation of the valuable archive holdings and library collections all over the world, and ensuring their wide dissemination.
  • Beginning in 1997, Register has been biennally updated – with the exception of a lengthy gap between 2017 and 2023 – with between nine (in 1999) and 78 (in 2017) additions.
  • In any year, at most two submissions from a country are added.
  • With latest additions, Register now contains 570 entries.
  • The Register contains 13 submissions by India, including two joint-submissions.
  • NATYASHASTRA: Traditionally attributed to the sage Bharata,Natyashastrais an ancient Sanskrit treatise on performing arts. Comprising 36,000 verses, the “Naṭyashastra embodies a comprehensive set of rules that define natya (drama), abhinaya (performance), rasa (aesthetic experience), bhava (emotion), sangita (music),” the UNESCO citation says.
  • BHAGAVAD GITA:Traditionally attributed to the sage Vyasa, Bhagavad Gitais a Sanskrit scripture comprising 700 verses that are organised in 18 chapters, embedded in the sixth book (Bhishma Parva) of the epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is essentially a dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna, which takes place just before the beginning of the great war of Mahabharata.

Defence & Security

Operation ATALANTA:

• • European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Operation ATALANTA, which operates in Western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, has proposed a joint exercise with Indian Navy towards end of May 2025.
  • Operation ATALANTA, launched in 2008, is EU’s counter-piracy mission in Western Indian Ocean and Red Sea.
  • Initially, it primarily focused on preventing piracy and armed robbery off Somali coast.
  • Its mandate has since expanded to include protecting World Food Programme vessels and other vulnerable shipping; contributing to implementation of arms embargo on Somalia; and monitoring narcotics trafficking, arms trafficking, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and illicit charcoal trade, among other tasks.

 

International Maritime Bureau:

• • Global Maritime piracy and armed robbery incidents have seen a noticeable increase in first three months of 2025, as reported by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).
  • It is a non-profit-making organisation established in 1981.
  • Its objective is to act as a focal point in the fight against all types of maritime fraud, malpractice, and piracy.
  • It is a specialised division of the International Chamber of Commerce.
  • IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) is located at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • Services of PRC are provided free of charge to all ships irrespective of their ownership or flag.

Science & Technology

Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology:

• • Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) have initiated a pilot project to explore implementation of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology across the State.
  • It refers to technologies that enable EV batteries to send power back to the grid.
  • When an EV is not in use, it can act as a decentralised battery energy storage device. An idle EV, when connected to a bi-directional charger, can provide support to distribution grid.
  • Overall, ability of EV batteries to transfer power encompasses many possibilities such as V2G, Vehicle to Home (V2H), Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) etc. Among these, V2G is the most popular use case.
  • In U.K. and Netherlands, EV owners are compensated for supplying excess energy back to grid during peak hours. In places like California, EV users are actively encouraged to participate in ancillary services segment of electricity market, helping improve grid stability and reliability.

 

‘K2-18 b’ planet:

• • Scientists using James Webb Space Telescope have obtained biosignature – an indicator of a biological process on this planet.
  • They have observed traces of the two gases – dimethyl sulphide, or DMS, and dimethyl disulphide, or DMDS – on the planet named K2-18 b. These gases are generated on Earth by living organisms, primarily microbial life such as marine phytoplankton – algae.
  • K2-18 b is 8.6 times as massive as Earth and has a diameter about 2.6 times as large as our planet.

Government Schemes & Programs

Mission Amrit Sarovar:

• • Launched in 2022 as a flagship initiative under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
  • It aims to construct and rejuvenate 75 water bodies in each district across the country, thereby fostering water conservation, ensuring sustainability, and reviving traditional community water bodies through public participation.
  • As on March 2025, over 68,000 Sarovars have been completed.
  • Anchored by the Ministry of Rural Development, the initiative involves seven ministries: Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
  • This mission is also supported by the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N).
  • National Informatics Centre (NIC) has provided a centralized digital platform—amritsarovar.gov.in—which tracks real-time progress at granular level, ensuring transparency and enabling coordination between departments and states.
  • Each Amrit Sarovar is designed to have a pondage area of minimum of 1 acre (0.4 hectare) with water holding capacity of about 10,000 cubic meter.
  • Mission Amrit Sarovar works are being taken up by the states and districts with convergence from various ongoing schemes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS), 15th Finance Commission Grants, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichayi Yojna sub-schemes such as the Watershed Development Component, Har Khet ko Pani, besides States’ own schemes

 

PRACTICE MCQS

Q1. Consider the following statements about Mission Amrit Sarovar:

1. It was launched in 2024 as a flagship initiative under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

2. It aims to construct and rejuvenate 75 water bodies in each district across the country.

3. Works under the mission are being taken up by the states and districts with convergence from various ongoing schemes.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 and 2 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: B

 

Q2. Consider the following statements about the Operation ATALANTA:

1. It is Naval security operation of U.S. Navy.

2. It operates in Western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea to primarily check the issue of piracy.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: B

 

Q3. Consider the following statements about the Memory of the World (MoW) Programme:

1. It is launched by the UNESCO in 1992.

2. It aims to preserve the valuable archive holdings and library collections all over the world.

3. Bhagavad Gita and Natyashastra were added to the Memory of the World Register in 2025.

4. In any one year, at most four submissions from a country are added.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

a) 1 and 2 only

b) 1, 2 and 3 only

c) 2, 3 and 4 only

d) 2 and 4 only

Answer: B

 

Q4. World’s First Integrated Renewable Energy Storage Project has been set up in which of the following states of India?

a) Telangana

b) Tamil Nadu

c) Karnataka

d) Andhra Pradesh

Answer: D

 

Q5. Consider the following statements with reference to the International Big Cat Alliance:

1. It is launched in April 2023 during the 50th year celebrations of Project Tiger.

2. It is implemented through National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

3. Initially, the membership of alliance is limited to countries having habitat of seven big cats.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2 only

c) 2 only

d) 2 and 3 only

Answer: B

 

 

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