Why in News

• Recently, Union Minister of Communications and Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) signed the Host Country Agreement (HCA).

About the agreement

• HCA was signed in a virtual ceremony during the World Telecommunications Standardization Assembly-20 (WTSA-20) being held in Geneva, Switzerland.
• HCA provides the legal and financial framework for the establishment and operations of the Area Office and innovation center of ITU in New Delhi, India.

About the Area Office and innovation center

• The Area Office and Innovation Centre is expected to be operational by mid-2022.
• Innovation Centre will provide opportunities to academics, start-ups, and Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to showcase their innovation on a global stage.
• It will serve Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

• ITU is the United Nations specialized agency responsible for information and communication technologies (ICTs).
• It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It was established in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, making it the oldest UN agency.
• ITU currently has a membership of 193 countries.

World Telecommunications Standardization Assembly (WTSA)

• WTSA is a four-yearly global conference of ITU dedicated to standardization of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs).
• WTSA defines general policy and adopts working methods and procedures for ITU-T.
• Article 18 of the ITU Constitution and Article 13 of the ITU Convention provides the  functions of the WTSA.
• India has proposed to host the next WTSA to be held in 2024.

Why in News

• The Kaliyattam festival is an annual Theyyam festival held in the temples in Kerala’s Malabar region.

About Theyyam Festival

• Theyyam is the name of a grand dance festival that is held in different parts of Kerala, including Kasargod.
• Theyyam consists of thousand-year-old rituals, traditions, and customs. The people of these districts where this festival is celebrated consider Theyyam as a channel to a god and they thus seek blessings.
• There are around 456 different varieties of Theyyam. Males perform Theyyam, with the exception of the Devakoothu Theyyam, which is the only Theyyam ritual done by women. It can only be seen at the Thekkumbad Kulom temple.
• Theyyam is performedin the North Malabar region consisting of present-day Kannur Districts, Kasargod, Vadakara and Koyilandy Taluks of Kozhikode and Mananthavady Taluk of Wayanad.

Performance of the Ritual

• Generally, the dance is performed in front of the village shrine. It is also practiced as ancestor worship in homes, with elaborate rituals and rites.
• For the performance, there is no stage, curtain, or another similar setup. The devotees would either be standing or sitting in front of the shrine on a sacred tree. The shrine’s performance of a particular deity, depending on its hierarchy and significance, lasts 12 to 24 hours with intervals. The chief dancer who worships the shrine’s central deity has to reside in the rituals.
• The dancer, accompanied by the drummers, recites the ritual song, which narrates the stories and tales of the shrine’s deity or the folk deity to be worshipped. Folk musical instruments are played in the background.

Why in News

• Human rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and Ukraine’s ambassador to the USA, accused Russia of using thermobaric weapons in the ongoing war against Ukraine.

About thermobaric weapon

• A thermobaric weapon is one of the most devastating weapons as they cause significantly greater destruction than a conventional bomb of comparable size.
• It uses oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion.
• It is also known as an aerosol bomb, fuel-air explosive (FAE), or vacuum bomb.
• The fuel-air explosive is one of the best-known types of thermobaric weapons. Different fuels can be used, including toxic powdered metals & organic matter containing oxidants.
• It can be fitted to hand-held launchers, can be fired as rockets from tank-mounted launchers, or dropped from aircraft.

Mechanism

• These weapons generally work in two stages.
• As the weapons hit the target, a first explosion occurs and it will open the bomb’s fuel container, releasing a cloud of fuel and metal particles that spreads over a large area.
• Then a second explosion occurs to ignite the aerosol cloud into a giant ball of fire and send out intense blast waves that can cause huge destruction.

Comparison with conventional weapons

• Conventional explosives consist of flue-oxidizer premix-like black powder which contains fuel and oxidizer in the ratio of 25:75. On the other hand, thermobaric weapons are almost 100% fuel and rely on atmospheric oxygen.
• The blast wave of a thermobaric weapon lasts longer than that of a conventional condensed explosive. However, their dependence on atmospheric oxygen makes them unsuitable for use underwater, at high altitudes, and in adverse weather.

International law

• Thermobaric munitions are not explicitly prohibited for use against military targets.
• However, their use against civilian populations in built-up areas, schools, or hospitals, could attract action under the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907.
• The use of weapons in indiscriminate attacks – those that cannot distinguish between combatants and civilians – is forbidden by the Geneva Conventions. A thermobaric weapon might be targeted specifically at military installations but it will kill civilians too.

Why in News

• Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh has created a Guinness record by lighting 71 lakh clay lamps (diyas) in 10 minutes. The diyas were lighted as part of the ‘Shiv Jyoti Arpanam Mahotsava’ on the occasion of Mahashivratri.
• The certificate was received by Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
• With this they broke the earlier record of lighting 9.41 lakh diyas created in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh on 03 November 2021. Ujjain is also known as the ‘Land of Mahakal’.
• It was a zero-waste programme. The clay from the lamps will be used to prepare idols, while the oil left in the lamps will be offered to gaushalas. The plastic used for the I-cards will be used to make chairs and other items for public gardens.

Why in news?

• World Obesity Day is observed every year on March 04. It is observed to spread awareness about obesity and encourage action towards its elimination.
• The day is organised by the World Obesity Federation, a non-profit body that is in official relations with the World Health Organisation.
• The theme of World Obesity Day 2022 is ‘Everybody Needs to Act’. The campaign aims to improve the world’s understanding, prevention and treatment of obesity.
• Significance-Obesity is one of the biggest health crises in the world, affecting 800 million people with millions more at risk, according to worldobesity.org.
• Background: World Obesity Day goes way back to the year 2015,wherein a non-profit organization worked closely with World Health Organisation and Lancet Commission in helping spread awareness.
• Later in 2016,the focus was shifted to childhood obesity, while later in 2017, the idea was to treat obesity now and avoid consequences later.

Why in news?

• March 4 is observed as National Security Day in India. It is also known as Rashtriya Suraksha Diwas and is celebrated to honour the National Security Day.
• The day aims to show gratitude to our security forces which include military, para-military, commandos, police officials, guards, and India’s security forces and to those who maintain peace and security of our country.
• March 4 marks the day when the National Safety Council of India was established in 1966. The Ministry of Labour under the Government of India took this decision and National Security Day was celebrated for the first time in 1972.
• National Security Council, the apex agency looks into the country’s political, economic, energy and strategic security concerns which were established by the then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee on November 19, 1998

Why in news?

• Indian shooter, Saurabh Chaudhary has won the gold medal in Men’s 10m Air Pistol event at the ongoing 2022 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Cairo, Egypt.
• The silver medal has been won by Germany’s Michael Schwald while Artem Chernousov of Russia claimed the bronze medal.

Why in news?

• Swiss International Air Lines AG (SWISS or Swiss Air Lines), a part of the Lufthansa Group, has signed a new strategic collaboration with Switzerland based solar fuels start-up, Synhelion SA (Synhelion) to use their solar aviation fuel.
• SWISS is set to become the world’s first airline to use Solar Aviation fuel (“sun-to-liquid” fuel).
• Synhelion is set to build the world’s first facility to industrially produce solar fuel in Julich, Germany. The plant will become operational from 2022 onwards.
• SWISS will become the first customer of solar kerosene in 2023.
• As per the agreement, SWISS and Lufthansa will also support the commercial fuel production facility of Synhelion in Spain.
• Solar Aviation fuel: SWISS and the Lufthansa Group have concluded a strategic collaboration with Synhelion, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) spinoff, to bring solar aviation fuel to market.
• Synhelion has developed a key technology for manufacturing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from renewable energy sources
• The process uses concentrated solar heat to manufacture syngas which can then be synthesized into carbon-neutral kerosene using standard industrial processes.
• This sun to liquid fuel will only produce as much as carbon dioxide as used in to its manufacture.
• This fuel will contribute to effectively decarbonizing air transport.

Why in news?

• The Government of India approved the proposal for continuation of the seven existing sub schemes under the Umbrella Scheme “Relief and Rehabilitation of Migrants and Repatriates” for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 with a total outlay of Rs.1,452 crore.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) launched these seven schemes at different points of time.
• The scheme will aid and assist the migrants and repatriates to earn a reasonable income and promote their inclusion in economic activities.

The assistance provided for 7 schemes are –

• Relief and Rehabilitation of displaced families of Pakistan Occupied Areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Chhamb,
• Relief assistance to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees,
• Relief assistance to Brus lodged in relief camps in Tripura,
• Enhanced relief to 1984 Anti-Sikh Riot Victims,
• Financial Assistance and other facilities to the families of affected civilian victims of terrorist violence including militancy, insurgency, communal/ Left Wing Extremism violence and cross border firing and victims of mine/IED blasts on Indian Territory,
• Grants-in-aid to Central Tibetan Relief Committee (CTRC),
• Grants in Aid to Government of West Bengal for infrastructure development in 51 erstwhile Bangladeshi enclaves in Cooch Behar and resettlement of 922 returnees from erstwhile Indian enclaves in Bangladesh.

Why in news?

• As a part of nationwide celebrations of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsave, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) is celebrating the International Women’s Day week from 1st to 8th March, 2022.
• The inaugural event of the week was organised by the MoWCD in collaboration with Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) to raise awareness on safety and security of women.
• During the event, an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh was announced for the workers of One Stop Centres (OSC), established in 2015 under Nirbhaya fund to provide mental, legal and medical aid to distressed women.

Launch of Stree Manoraksha Project

• MoWCD launched the ‘Stree Manoraksha Project’ in collaboration with National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru, Karnataka with an aim to improve the mental health of women in India.
• The project will focus on building on capacity building of 6000 OSC functionaries on the tools and techniques as to how to handle the cases of women approaching the OSCs, particularly the women who have suffered violence and distress with due sensitivity and care.
• In this regard, Minister, WCD launched the advance certificate course for OSC Councilors and also released the resource material for capacity building of OSC Staff.
• The Training module is carved out by NIMHANS.

Legal Services provided by Government

• MoWCD is looking forward for a pilot on ‘Naari Adalat’ with the help of NALSA so that women victims can get speedy justice.
• Nyaya Bandhu (Pro-bond Legal Services) is a programme to link the persons eligible to avail free legal aid under Section 12 of LSA Act, 1987 with lawyers.
• Tele-law programme, provides legal advice to public including persons entitled for free legal aid under Section 12 of LSA Act, 1987, at pre-litigation stage by the Panel Lawyers through 75,000 Common Service Centre (CSC) at the Panchayats.