Why in news?

• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company, introduced a 19-seater aircraft ‘Hindustan 228’ in a first of its kind attempt to develop small civil transport aircraft under the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) Scheme.
• The Hindustan 228 aircraft can be operated even in semi-prepared and unpaved airstrips.
• Also the multi-utility aircraft can be used as an ambulance, cargo, and parajam or paradrop etc.
• The design of Hindustan 228 is based on the Germany based Dornier GmbH Aircraft. In 1983, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) acquired a production licence for the Domier 228 and manufactured the aircraft for the Asian market.
• Dornier 228 is a twin-engine general-purpose aircraft, capable of transporting up to 19 passengers or various cargoes.

About UDE DESH KA AAM NAAGRIK (UDAN) scheme

• The Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) scheme was launched as a Regional Connectivity Scheme(RCS) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation in 2016. in is a regional airport development programme of upgrading underserved air routes. Objectives: Facilitate regional air connectivity by making it affordable through
• Concessions by Central Government, State Governments and airport operators
• Financial (Viability Gap Funding or VGF) support
• To provide connectivity to un-served and under-served regions through revival of existing air strips and airports.
• The Airports Authority of India (AM) is designated as the implementing agency.
• lt is a key component of National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016.

Why in news?

• Central government has told the Supreme Court (SC) that certain States, where Hindus or other communities are less in number, can declare them as minorities within their own territories, to enable them to set up and administer their own institutions.
• Centre’s response came in a plea seeking minority status for Hindus in states (Mizoram, Punjab etc.) in accordance with the principle laid down by the SC in its TMA Pai ruling (2002).
• In TMA Pai Case, SC said, for the purposes of Article 30, religious and linguistic minorities have to be considered state-wise.
• The centre has clarified that under the Constitution, both Parliament and state legislatures” have concurrent powers to enact law to provide for the protection of minorities and their interests”.
• Currently, only those communities notified under section 2(c) of the National Minorities Commission Act, 1992, by the central government are regarded as minorities.
• They are Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains.

Constitutional provisions on minorities

• Though not defined in the constitution, expression “minorities” appears in Article 29, 30 and 350.
• Article 29, which deals with the “Protection of interests of minorities” while Article 30 deals with the “right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions’:
• Article 350B says there shall be a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to be appointed by the President whose duty is to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities.

Why in news?

• It is reported that GBR, which is the world’s largest coral reef system is suffering a “mass bleaching event, the fourth since 2016.
• GBR has suffered three mass bleaching events during heatwaves in 2016, 2017 and 2020.
• GBR stretches for more than 2,300 kilometres along the northeast coast of Australia.
• It was declared a World Heritage Area in 1981 because of its ‘outstanding universal value.
• This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps.
• Bleaching occurs when healthy corals become stressed by spikes in ocean temperatures, causing them to expel algae living in their tissues, which drains them of their vibrant colours.
• This is despite the cooling effect of the La Nina weather phenomenon which is currently influencing Australia’s climate.

About Corals

• Coral reefs are large colonies of invertebrate, tiny soft-bodied animal called Coral polyps, that live in symbiotic relationship (mutually beneficial) with small algae like organism called zooxanthellae.
• Coral polyps provide protection to zooxanthellae in return of nutrient. Zooxanthellae also provide them the colourful hues.
• India has 4 coral reef areas: Gulf of Mannar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep islands and Gulf of Kutch.
• Coral reefs are some of the most bio diverse and productive ecosystems.
• They act as natural barriers to shorelines, protecting them from damage and flooding from storms, hurricanes, and cyclones.

Why in news?

• Bucharest Nine rejected the Russian claim about the eastward “expansion” of NATO.
• B9 is a group of 9 NATO countries in Eastern Europe that became part of the US-led military alliance after end of Cold War.
• It was founded in 2015, and takes its name from Bucharest, the capital of Romania.
• All members of B9 are part of European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
• B9 members are Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and three Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Why in news?

• It is an initiative by Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and has been recently launched in Chandigarh.
• ICCC acts as the “nerve center” for operations management, day-to-day exception handing and disaster management.
• Smart Cities project provides for developing 100 citizen-friendly and self-sustainable urban settlements, includes setting up ICCCs for each city as a vital step.
• A unique feature is real time data visualisation which is then analysed by for the administration to take corrective steps. For eg. about spread of a particular disease in an area.

Why in news?

• Bangalore Rose onion received the Geographical Indication tag in 2015.
• It is a unique variety of onion that is found only in and around Bangalore, Karnataka.
• It is also known as gulabieerulli.
• It has flat base bulb, spherically shaped, deep scarlet red colour, high pungency and packed with phenols and anthocyanins.
• It has higher levels of protein, phosphorous, iron and carotene.

Why in news?

• Taliban are preserving Bamiyan buddhas, with eye to attract Chinese investment.

About Bamiyan Buddhas:

• It is situated in the Hindu Kush in the central highlands of Afghanistan.
• Bamiyan Buddhas date back to the 5th century AD and were once the tallest standing Buddhas in the world.
• They were locally known as Salsal and Shamama.
• They were great examples of a confluence of Gupta, Sassanian and Hellenistic artistic styles.
• In 2001, Taliban began blowing up the two statues.
• Following this, UNESCO included the remains in its list of World Heritage Sites in 2003.

Why in news?

• World Theatre Day is celebrated annually on March 27, promoted by the International Theatre Institute (ITI) through its centres, and supported by theatre communities all over the world. This year, the World Theatre Day celebration will focus on the young, the next generation, the emerging artists, who have been a strong special focus of ITI in the recent past.
• Through this 60-year-old ITI flagship event, ITI wishes to offer the next generation of artists and art professionals a platform to exchange ideas and present themselves to the world.
• The day was initiated by ITI, following President Arvi Kivimaa’s June 1961 proposal at the ninth World Congress of the ITI in Vienna — on behalf of the ITI’s Finnish Centre — for a World Theatre Day to be instituted. The proposal was supported by the Scandinavian centres of the ITI and publicized with enthusiasm.
• Since 1962,World Theatre Day has been celebrated by ITI Centres, ITI Cooperating Members, theatre professionals, theatre organizations, theatre universities and theatre lovers all over the world on the 27^th of March.

Why in news?

• October 5 has been designated as National Dolphin Day by the union environment ministry and it will be observed annually starting from this year.
• The National Board for Wildlife’s (NBWL) standing committee took this decision to designate October 5 as National Dolphin Day.
• The day will focus on generating awareness as it is an integral part of dolphin conservation including the Gangetic Dolphin.
• People’s participation to conserve Dolphins will also be focused upon on this day.
• Focus will also be given to improving the Ganga and its tributaries’ water quality and flow so that Gangetic dolphins can survive.

About Gangetic Dolphins

• The Gangetic dolphin acts as an indicator species. The status of this species provides information on the ecosystem’s overall condition along with information related to the other species that are present in that ecosystem.
• Gangetic Dolphins have been categorized as endangered species under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List. In 2012 and 2015, the Uttar Pradesh forest department along with WWF- India recorded 1,272 dolphins in the Ganga, Chambal, Yamuna, Betwa, Ken, Sharda, Son, Gahagra, Geruwa, Rapti, and Gandak.
• The Gangetic Dolphins are threatened due to water diversion, pollution, habitat fragmentation,

Why in news?

• A Research team of the Department of Environment and Forest in Lakshadweep has reported the first-ever live sighting of rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) in Indian waters.

About Rough Toothed Dolphin:

• Found in tropical and warmer temperate waters all over the world but little is known about them.
• Grow up to 8.5ft in length and have grey body with white lips and throat and a speckled belly.
• Conservation status:
• IUCN: Least Concern.
• CITES Appendix II.