Kurinji or Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthianus) is a shrub that is found in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in South India.
Nilgiri Hills, which literally means the blue mountains, got their name from the purplish blue flowers of Neelakurinji that blossoms only once in 12 years.
Besides the Western Ghats, Neelakurinji is also seen in the Shevroys in the Eastern Ghats, Anamalai hills Idukki district and Agali hills in Palakad in Kerala and Sanduru hills of Bellary district in Karnataka.

1 and 2 are correct.
On an average, salinity decreases from equator towards the poles. It may be mentioned that the highest salinity is seldom recorded near the equator though this zone records high temperature and evaporation, but high rainfall reduces the relative proportion of salt. Thus, the equator accounts for only 350 /00 salinity.
The temperature of the oceans varies vertically with increasing depth. Refer the graph on temperature and depth.

A palaeochannel is a remnant of an inactive river or stream channel that has been filled or buried by younger sediment.
These paleochannels reveal the course of rivers that have ceased to exist. A palaeochannel is distinct from the overbank deposits of currently-active river channels, including ephemeral water courses that do not regularly flow because the river bed is filled with sedimentary deposits unrelated to the normal bed load of the current drainage pattern.
Palaeochannels are important to geology for a number of reasons:
• Understanding movements of faults, which may redirect river systems and so form stranded channels that are, in essence, palaeochannels.
• Preserving Tertiary, Eocene and Holocene sediments and fossils within them.
• Preserving sedimentary records, which is useful for understanding climatic conditions Palaeochannels can host economic ore deposits of uranium, lignite, precious metals such as gold and platinum, heavy minerals such as tin, tungsten, and iron ore preserved as paleo-placer deposits. The Union Water Ministry has excavated an old, dried-up river in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) that linked the Ganga and Yamuna rivers.

Indira Point is a village in the Nicobar district at Great Nicobar Island of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Oil palm growers in Andhra Pradesh are facing big trouble as plantations in the northern part of the State, particularly in East and West Godavari districts, have been hit by white fly infestation. Vast stretches of oil palm plantation in the State have been hit by white fly, which reportedly crossed over from infected coconut groves in the vicinity. The attack left the farmers poorer by 35-40 per cent in yields last year.
Andhra Pradesh accounts for the bulk of oil palm fruit production in India. Of the two lakh hectares under oil palm cultivation in the country, Andhra Pradesh accounts for 1.5 lakh acres.
Whitefly sucks out all the nutrients from the leaves, resulting in yield losses. “Oil palm doesn’t require much water. It consumes much less water than paddy and sugarcane. But what it requires is timely supply of water,”