Prelim Bits 20-01-2017

Second capital of Himachal Pradesh:

• Dharamshala is declared as the second capital of Himachal Pradesh.
• Dharamshala is located in the Kangra Valley, in the shadow of the Dhauladhar mountains.
• The major water body at Dharamshala is Dall Lake and Kakeri Lake.
• It is the ‘Capital in exile’ of The Dalai Lama and also serves as the headquarters for Tibetan government in India.
• It is predominantly influenced by the Tibetan culture and the Namgyal Monastery serves the devotees of Buddhism.
• The famous festival is Hindu Lohri festival and folk dance is called as “Lhamo”.

Primate Species:

• Primate is a biological order that included all the species commonly related to the lemurs, monkeys, apes and humans.
• The most distinguishing feature of primates is fingernails.
• Primates have large brains relative to other mammals, five fingers, a generalized dental pattern, and a primitive body plan.
• Though primates are found all over the world, they are mainly in regions of Africa, South America, Madagascar and Asia.
• Worldwide, around 60 per cent of the 500 known primate species are threatened with extinction.
• Golden snub-nosed monkey, ring-tailed lemur, Javan slow loris, Azara's night monkey are the important primate species in the tropical and sub-tropical regions.

Cryogenic engine and GSLV MkIII:

• CE20is the new cryogenic rocket engine recently passed the high altitude flight acceptance test.
• It is being developed to power the upper stage for the first flight of the country’s most powerful satellite launcher GSLV-Mark III.
• The cryogenic stage is vital for a GSLV rocket as it gets its final and biggest push in space in this stage.
• GSLV MkIII, will double ISRO’s lifting power for communications satellites by lifting a four-tonne satellite to  Geostationary Transfer Orbit (36,000 km high).
• ISRO plans to launch 3,200 kg communication satellite, GSAT-19 via GSLV MKIII.