GS1

Recently, the Vice-president of India visited monuments at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi in Vijayanagara district, Karnataka. Important points: The site of Hampi comprises mainly the remnants of the capital city of the Vijayanagara Empire (14th-16th century CE), the last great Hindu Kingdom. It encompasses an area of 4187, 24 hectares, located in the Tungabhadra …

Recently, the Prime Minister paid tributes to Sree Narayana Guru on his birth anniversary. Earlier, the Vice President of India launched “Not Many, But One”, an English translation of poems of Sree Narayana Gurudev. Important points: Sree Narayana Guru was born on 22nd August, 1856 to Madan Asan and his wife Kuttiyamma in Chempazhanthy, a village …

Recently, the government has announced that India is going to have 35 more earthquake observatories by the end of the 2021 and aims to add 100 more earthquake observatories by 2026. The announcement came at the inaugural function of the Joint Scientific Assembly of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA) – International Association of …

World Sanskrit Day (Viswa Samskrita Dinam) was celebrated on 22nd August 2021. In India, Sanskrit is a Classical and an Eighth Schedule language. In 2020, the Uttarakhand Government decided to develop ‘Sanskrit Grams’ across the state to teach use of Sanskrit regularly. Important points: It is an annual event aimed to promote revival and maintenance of Sanskrit Language. It is celebrated …

Recently, as per the age-old tradition related to the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, the holy mace (Chhari Mubarak) of Lord Shiva was brought to the ancient Shankaracharya Temple. Important points: It is also known as the Jyesteshwara temple or Pas-Pahar by Buddhists. Persians and Jews call it Bagh-i-sulaiman or the Garden of King Solomon. Persian inscriptions are also found inside …

According to a recent study, more than 3,56,000 people died in 2019 as a result of extreme heat and that number is likely to grow in the future. Recent heat waves across the world have been alarming in terms of global warming and have been attributed to climate change. Important points: Heat wave is a condition of air temperature …

Recently, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has identified certain geological sites across the Northeast for promotion of geo-tourism. 12 locations in the Northeast have been included in the 32 approved geo-tourism or geo-heritage sites in the country. Important points: Geo-heritage refers to the geological features which are inherently or culturally significant offering insight to earth’s evolution or history to earth …

A new research paper has provided some new insight on the linguistic culture of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) Earlier, a study found that the diet of the people of IVC had a dominance of meat, including extensive eating of beef. In July 2021, UNESCO announced the Harappan city of Dholavira in Gujarat as India’s 40th world heritage …

The Karez System of Afghanistan is in threat whereas a similar system named Surangam in South India is thriving. Surangams resemble the karez System both in structure and spread. Important points: The surangam or suranga is usually found in northern Kerala and southern Karnataka. Surangam is basically a tunnel dug through a laterite hillock from …

Recently, the Narayankoti temple (Uttarakhand) has been included under the Centre’s Adopt a Heritage project Important points: Launched on 27th September, 2017 (World Tourism Day), it is a collaborative effort by the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), State/UTs Governments. To develop tourism amenities at heritage/ natural/ tourist sites spread across India to make …