What is the News ?

The tiger population at the Amangarh Tiger Reserve has increased from 21 mature tigers and six cubs in 2021 to 28 mature tigers and four cubs now.

Facts About:

Amangarh Tiger Reserve is situated in Amangarh, Bijnor district, Uttar Pradesh, covering an area of approximately 97 square kilometres.

• It shares its boundaries with Uttarakhand's Jim Corbett National Park.

Originally a part of Jim Corbett National Park, Amangarh became a separate reserve in Uttar Pradesh when Uttarakhand was carved out of UP..

• It received the status of a tiger reserve in 2012.

The reserve features diverse ecosystems, including grasslands, wetlands, and dense forests.

Wildlife: The reserve is home to a variety of wildlife.

• Among the mammals present are tigers, elephants, swamp deer, sambar, cheetal, hog deer, kakar, langur, sloth bear, porcupine, and otter.
• The bird population includes hornbills, red jungle fowl, pea fowl, Bengal floricans, fishing eagles, serpent eagles, ospreys, woodpeckers, shamas, Indian pittas, paradise flycatchers, orioles, and emerald doves.
• Additionally, the reserve is inhabited by reptiles such as monitor lizards, turtles, pythons, Gangetic dolphins, muggers, and gharial.

What is the News ?

The Bru refugees have been granted permanent settlement in Tripura as part of a centrally sponsored rehabilitation arrangement, which means they won't be taking part in Mizoram elections for the first time.

Facts About:

• The Bru refugees, also known as Reang, are an indigenous community primarily residing in the Northeast of India, particularly in Tripura, Mizoram, and Assam.

               In Tripura, they hold the status of a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, recognized by the government.

• Ethnically, they can be classified into two main clans, Meska and Molsoi, and they belong to the Indo-Mongoloid racial stock.

               Their languages are affiliated with the Austro-Asiatic groups within the Tibeto-Burman family.

• They speak a language called "Kaubru," which shares some tonal features with the Kuki language, although it broadly falls under the Kok-Borok dialect.
• Occupation-wise, they continue to maintain their nomadic traditions, with a significant number of them engaged in Hilltop Jhum Cultivation and various food-gathering activities.
• Their beliefs encompass a belief in spirits and the existence of the soul.
• Religiously, they follow Hinduism, with most of their deities being akin to gods and goddesses of the Hindu faith.

                Traditionally, they practice endogamy, not marrying outside their community.

• In their cultural tradition, the village council chief, known as "RAI," has the authority to approve divorce and widow marriages.

What is the News ?

Indian Navy launches 'Mahabali', a 25-ton BP Tug, showcasing India's self-reliance in shipbuilding.

Facts About:

• ‘Mahabali’ is a 25-ton Bollard Pull (BP) tug.
• It is one of three tugs of its kind that the Ministry of Defence and the Shipyard jointly commissioned.

                 It was built at the Shoft Shipyard in Bharuch, Gujarat.

• It has been built in compliance with the Indian Register of Shipping's (IRS) classification guidelines.
• It will become indispensable in supporting naval vessels and submarines in berthing and unberthing procedures and in manoeuvring through restricted waters.
• It has the capability to improve a ship's ability to put out fires while anchored and while cruising at port.
• Additionally, it has limited search and rescue capabilities.

What is the News ?

The Subsurface Water Ice Mapping (SWIM) project, funded by NASA, has released its fourth map pinpointing potential subsurface water ice locations on Mars.

Facts About:

The Subsurface Water Ice Mapping (SWIM) project goal is to find the best locations to access water ice buried beneath the Mars' surface.

Recently, they released their fourth set of maps, which are the most detailed and accurate maps so far since the project began in 2017.

This project is led by the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

• They gather data from various NASA missions like the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), the 2001 Mars Odyssey, and the now-inactive Mars Global Surveyor.

To create these maps, SWIM utilized two high-resolution cameras on the MRO.

• They used Context Camera data to make better maps of the Northern Hemisphere.
• For the first time, they used HiRISE (High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) data to get the closest, most detailed view of the ice's edge near the equator.

The SWIM project was done in two phases.

• The first phase, finished in 2019, focused on the northern hemisphere, and
• The second phase, completed in 2020, included the southern hemisphere.

One exciting thing about the new map is that it shows 'polygon terrain,' where the ice beneath the surface causes the ground to crack into polygonal shapes.

• This suggests there's more ice hidden below.

What is the News ?

The Chandrarayaan-3 Lander Module produced an amazing 'ejecta halo' of lunar material, according to recent information released by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

Facts About:

An ejecta halo is a bright, irregular patch of lunar material that surrounds a lander after it has landed on the Moon.

• It is caused by the thrust from the lander's engines and the impact of the lander on the lunar surface, which displaces and ejects lunar regolith (soil) and dust.
• The ejecta halo can be several meters in diameter and can extend tens of meters from the lander.

The Vikram lander of the Chandrayaan-3 mission created a spectacular ejecta halo when it landed on the Moon in August 2023.

• Scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) estimate that about 2.06 tonnes of lunar regolith were ejected and displaced over an area of 108.4 square meters around the landing site.

Ejecta halos can be studied to learn more about the composition and structure of the lunar regolith.

• They can also be used to calibrate remote sensing instruments and to develop new methods for landing spacecraft on the Moon.