Category Social Sciences

What are grasslands?

Grasslands are huge plains of grass, trees and bushes. They grow in warm, dry places where there’s too little rain for forests to grow, but enough rain to stop the land turning into a desert.

Amazing! Grassland animals eat different bits of the grass to avoid competition – zebras eat the tops, wildebeest eat the stems.

What are grasslands used for?

People use grasslands for grazing animals such as cattle which are raised for their meat. They also grow crops such as wheat and barley in gigantic fields. One wheat field in Canada was the size of 20,000 soccer pitches.

Why did grassland turn to dust?

In the 1930s, farmers in the south-west USA ploughed up the grasslands to grow wheat. But a terrible drought turned the soil to dry, useless dust which blew away in the wind. This was called a dustbowl.

Is it true? Rice is a type of grass.

Yes. Rice is a cereal plant, which belongs to the grass family. The grains of rice come from the flower-heads. Rice grows in flooded fields in South East Asia.

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What is the New Education Policy of India 2020?

The Union Cabinet approved a new National Education Policy (NEP) on July 29 after a gap of 34 years. It promises major changes at every level. Key proposals include a standardized entrance test for universities, four-year undergraduate degrees and abolition of the M.Phil programme. The school system will change to a 5+3+3+4 structure, while the medium of instruction will be the mother tongue or local language till Class V.

The proposed school curricular structure will replace the existing 10+2 (Class 1 to 10 of general education followed by two years of foundational education, 3 years of preparatory, 3 years of middle school and 4 years of secondary school. This will bring the hitherto uncovered age group 3-5 under the formal education system.

It proposes inclusion of vocational education and internships from Class 6. There will be no rigid separation of vocational and academic streams. Instead of just scores, the report card of students will reflect their skills and capabilities. Board exams will continue for Classes 10 and 12, but will be made easier with the aim of ensuring holistic development of students.

For higher education, a single regulator has been proposed to govern all higher education institutions (HEIs), except law and medical colleges. Norms for both, public and private HEIs will be made the same. There will be at least one HEI in each distinct. Top foreign universities will be allowed to set up campuses in India. Flexible undergraduate education of 1 year duration with multiple entry-exit and points appropriate certification is a major change for students.

Another sweeping change was the Ministry of Human Resource Development was renamed the Ministry of Education.

First education policy of the Century

India has had three education policies so far. The first education policy was announced in 1968 when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, and the second in 1986 during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure as PM. The 1986 policy was revised in 1992 when P.V. Narasimha Rao was the PM. The third is what has been approved by the Union Cabinet under PM Modi recently. A new NEP was part of the BJP manifesto ahead of the 2014 elections. The NEP committee was headed by former ISRO chief K. Kasturirangan.

 

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Is there a Third Pole?

If we asked you what are the polar regions of Earth. You would instantly say North Pole and South Pole. But did you know there is a region North of India that glaciologists call the Third Pole?

The Tibetan plateau, home to the vast Hindu Kush-Himalaya ice sheet, is referred to as the Third Pole, because it contains the third largest amount of snow and ice after the Arctic and the Antarctic. It covers an area of about 1,00,000 sq km and has some 46,000 glaciers.

The Third Pole spans eight countries – from Afghanistan to Myanmar. The frozen glaciers are the source of 10 major rivers, including the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yellow, Mekong and the Indus. They support at least 1.6 billion people directly in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan. (That’s nearly one fifth of the world’s population.) These rivers are the main source of water for drinking, agriculture and hydropower. The rivers indirectly support the livelihoods of millions of people in these countries.

The bad news

The sad news is that the Third Pole is melting quickly. Researchers suggest that it could lose more than a third of its volume by the end of the century, even if the internationally agreed target of limiting global warming by 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels is adhered to. And if greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current levels, the region could lose as much as two-thirds of its ice. Research has also found that more than 500 small glaciers have disappeared altogether and the biggest ones are shrinking rapidly.

The continuous glacier melting will be catastrophic for the people who depend on its water. While initially more water is expected to pour into river basins, causing flooding, eventually that will dry up, resulting in drought and desertification.

Reasons for melting

The melting is due to global warming. Because it is high above sea level, the Third Pole is also sensitive to changes in temperatures. Its high elevation means it absorbs energy from rising, warm, moisture-laden air quickly.

Dust and pollution are the second main reasons. Black carbon or soot from car exhausts and coal burners is settling on the ice, causing it to absorb the rays of the Sun, rather than reflect them away.

 

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Across which river does Mullaperiyar Dam lie?

Mullaperiyaru Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in the Indian state of Kerala. It is located 881 m (2,890 ft) above mean sea level, on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala, South India. It was constructed between 1887 and 1895 by John Pennycuick and also reached in an agreement to divert water eastwards to the Madras Presidency area (present-day Tamil Nadu). It has a height of 53.6 m (176 ft) from the foundation, and a length of 365.7 m (1,200 ft).

The Periyar river which flows westward of Kerala in to the Arabian sea was diverted eastwards to flow towards the Bay of Bengal to provide water to the arid rain shadow region of Madurai in Madras Presidency which was in dire need of a greater supply of water than the small Vaigai River could provide. The dam created the Periyar Thekkady reservoir, from which water was diverted eastwards via a tunnel to augment the small flow of the Vaigai River. The Vaigai was dammed by the Vaigai Dam to provide a source for irrigating large tracts around Madurai. Initially the dam waters were used only for the irrigation of 68,558 ha (169,411 acres).

The Periyar National Park in Thekkady, a protected area of Kerala, is located around the dam’s reservoir, the 26 km2 (10 sq mi) Periyar lake. 62 different kinds of mammals have been recorded in Periyar, including many threatened ones. Periyar is a highly protected tiger reserve and hosts 35 tigers above two-years of age as of January 2017 in the reserve. Declared an elephant reserve on 2 April 2002, the population of Indian elephants in 2005 was estimated at 1100, however Periyar suffers greatly from poaching of elephant being the worst affected of South Indian sanctuaries.

 

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Which mountain range forms the background for the Malampuzha Dam?

Malampuzha Dam is the largest dam and reservoir in Kerala[2], located near Palakkad, in the state of Kerala in South India, built post independence by the then Madras state. Situated in the scenic hills of the Western Ghats in the background it is a combination of a masonry dam with a length of 1,849 metres and an earthen dam with a length of 220 metres making it the longest dam in the state.

The dam project was begun in 1949 and completed in 1955. foundation stone for the project was laid on 27 March 1949, by the then Public Works Minister of Madras State, Sri M. Bhaktavatsalam as Palakkad was a part of the Madras Presidency during those times. The dam was constructed in record time, and on 9 October 1955, the then Chief Minister of Madras State, Sri. K Kamaraj, inaugurated the dam. The total catchment area is 145 square kilometres, while the reservoir has a capacity of 8000 cubic meters of water. The canal systems serve to irrigate farmland while the reservoir provides drinking water to Palakkad and surrounding villages.[4] The dam was constructed by the Madras government but upon the Creation of linguistically reorganized states ,The Malabar District encompossing the Dam became a part of the Kerala State.

This is a beautifully laid garden with a variety of brilliant and colourful flowers. It has the meticulously manicured grass lawn, the marvellous meadows and fabulous fountains displaying an orchestrated water show. The site of the Malampuzha Dam lies in the cauldron formed by the Western Ghats. The great stretch of the serene lake formed by the dam provides boating facilities. During the cool dark night, numerous lights sparkle like bright pearls arranged on a black sheet of cloth. This is a rare beauty. These lights are usually illuminated only in the weekends.

 

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Across which river does the Banasura Sagar Dam lie?

The Banasura Sagar Dam traps the waters of the Karamanathodu, a tributary of the Kabini River. The goal of the project is to support the Kakkayam Hydro electric power project and satisfy the demand for irrigation and drinking water in a region known to have water shortages in seasonal dry periods.

In the dam’s reservoir there is a set of islands that were formed when the reservoir submerged the surrounding areas. The islands with the Banasura hills are in the background view. It is the largest earth dam in India and the second largest of its kind in Asia. The dam is made up of massive stacks of stones and boulders.

The Banasura Sagar Dam is located 21 km from Kalpetta, in Wayanad District of Kerala in the Western Ghats. It is the largest earthen dam in India and the second largest in Asia and a starting point for hikes into the surrounding mountains. It is an important tourist attraction. Banasura Sagar Dam is at the foot of the Banasura Hill.

 

Picture Credit : Google