• Under Article 3, the Constitution empowers Parliament to form a new State by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State.

• The Constitution further states that Parliament has the power to increase or diminish the area of any State or to alter the boundaries or names of any State.

• For example State of Bombay was bifurcated in Gujarat and Maharashtra on May 1, 1960. In January 2007 Uttaranchal was renamed to Uttarakhand.

Diwan E Khairat was established during the reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq.

•  Diwan E Khairat was established for helping poor Muslim parents in marriage of their daughter.

•  Sayyid Amir Miran oversaw this department.

•  Firoz shah Tughlaq also founded many cities like Firozabad, Fatehabad, Hissar, Jaunpur, Firozpur etc.

• Primary Deficit = Gross fiscal deficit – net interest liabilities.

• It is generally used as a basic measure of fiscal irresponsibility.

• The difference between fiscal deficit and primary deficit reflects the amount of interest payments on public debt incurred in the past.

* Nuakhai festival is major festival celebrated in Orissa.

* The festival is dedicated to welcome the new rice of the season.

* It is observed on Panchami of Bhadrapad month of Hindu calendar.

* It has a big significance for farmers and the agricultural community.

* The nine colour rituals of Nuakhai are- Beheren, Lagna Dekha, Daka Haka, Spaha Sutura, Ghina Bika, Nua dhan khuja, Baki paka, Nuakhai and Juhar Bhet.

• Sri Lanka is not a member of ASEAN countries.

• ASEAN is a regional group of South East Asian countries which comprises of ten members.

• The ten members of ASEAN are-Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines and Singapore.

• Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste are two observer countries of ASEAN.

• ASEAN is a regular partner of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The ASEAN Secretariat is situated at Jakarta, Indonesia.

Pteridophytes are classified under Vascular Plants.

* Vascular plants are those plants which have vascular vessels to carry water and food to all the different parts of the plant.

* They are also called cryptograms. They neither prodice seed nor flower.

* Some examples includes – Ferns, Spikemosses etc.

Parsistaparvan book was written by Hemachandra.

• This book gives details of conversion of Chandragupta Maurya to Jainism.

• According to Degambara legends Chandragupta Maurya lived ascetic life at Shravanbelagola during his last period of life.

• Note here that VIshakadatta wrote Mudraraksha book and this book also gives information about Mauryan Period.

The Himalayas is the Youngest Fold Mountains of the world.

• Himalayas are lifted by the subduction of the Indian tectonic plate under the Eurasian Plate.

• Himalayan rocks consist mostly of uplifted sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.

• Himalayan Glaciers are the world’s largest ice cap regions outside Polar Regions.

• Himalayan mountains have come out of a great geosyncline called the Tethys Sea and that the uplift has taken place in different phases.

Currency notes and coins are called as ‘Fiat Money’.

• Fiat money is government-issued currency that is not backed by a physical commodity, such as gold or silver, but rather by the government that issued it.

• They are also called legal tenders as they cannot be refused by any citizen of the country for settlement of any kind of transaction.

• Cheques drawn on savings or current accounts, however, can be refused by anyone as a mode of payment. Hence, demand deposits are not legal tenders.

• In January 2020, the World's largest meditation centre was inaugurated at Kanha Shanti Vanam in Hyderabad, Telangana.
• This centre is built to mark the 75th anniversary of the formation of Shri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM) and Heartfulness Institute.
• It was inaugurated on 28th January 2020.