Why in news?

• Kerala Nattukala Kshema Sabha has demanded that Karakattam (known as Kumbakkali in certain parts) be recognised as agricultural art form of Kerala.
• Karakattam is an ancient folk dance of Tamil Nadu performed in praise of the rain goddess Mariamman. It’s performed in different parts of Kerala as well.
• It is performed at festivals, roadshows and primarily at Mariamman festivals.
• It involves balancing a large number of pots of decreasing size on the head of the dancers while dancing and expressing theme of the dance.
• Mariamman pooja is held in the month of Medam after Makarakkoythu (harvest season) in Kerala.

Why in news?

• 96th round of the Industrial Outlook Survey of the Manufacturing Sector for Q3 2021-22 released.
• Conducted: by RBI
• It Assesses
• Business sentiments relating to demand conditions,
• Financial situation in terms of finance availability,
• Employment conditions,
• And the prevailing price situation in the economy.
• Highlights of current survey
• It shows improved demand conditions for manufacturers in terms of production, order books, and employment.
• Input cost for the business is likely to remain elevated.

Why in news?

• Germany has suspended the certification process of Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.
• Nord Stream 2 is 1,230-kilometer-long natural gas pipeline run from Ust-Luga in Russia to Greifswald in Germany through the Baltic Sea, and will carry 55 billion cubic metres of gas per year.
• It is designed to double Russia’s gas exports to Germany.
• It runs parallel to an earlier Nord Stream pipeline which has been working since 2011 and would double its capacity, to 110 billion cubic meters of gas a year.
• Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom owns half of Nord Stream 2.

Why in news?

• Sea cucumber related seizures increased in 2019 and 2020, making Gulf of Mannar/Palk Bay region a global hotspot for sea cucumber smuggling.
• Sea cucumbers are being harvested in India and Sri Lanka owing to high demand from East Asia where they are considered a delicacy, eaten both fresh or dried, and are also used in traditional Chinese medicine.
• Though India banned sea cucumber fishery in 2001, Sri Lanka tried to restrict the trade through a system of permits. This disparity allowed Indian fishers to exploit Sri Lanka’s legalised sea cucumber trade.
• About Sea Cucumbers
• Sea cucumbers are part of animal group called echinoderms (marine invertebrates) that live on the seafloor.
• Their body shape is similar to a cucumber, but they have small tentacle-like tube feet that are used for locomotion and feeding.
• Habitat: Found in virtually all marine environments throughout the world- shallow to deep-sea environments.
• Threats: climate change and ocean acidification, habitat destruction, illegal fishing, and water pollution.
• Sea cucumber in India is treated as an endangered species listed under schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.

Why in News

• The Gram Panchayat Atal Gyan Kendra initiative of the Kullu administration, launched in last year.
• As many as 25 Atal Gyan Kendras have been established while the process to open 25 more libraries in panchayats is going on.
• Inspired by DC Ashutosh Garg’s initiative of opening libraries (Atal Gyan Kendras).
• These kendras provide a 24-hour library facility to students near their homes.
• The students also get free Internet facility to prepare for competitive examinations.
• To increase competition among panchayats, rewards have been announced for outstanding kendras.
• The administration has announced a reward of Rs 3 lakh for the panchayat that secures the first position, Rs 2 lakh for the runnerup and Rs 1 lakh for the third position holder.

Why in news?

• India’s teen chess Grandmaster, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has created history as he defeated world number one chess champion, Magnus Carlsen, of Norway in an online chess tournament.
• The Airthings Masters is the first of the nine events of the 2022 Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, being held from February to November 2022.
• The 16-year-old Pragg achieved the feat in the eighth round of the Airthings Masters, an online rapid chess tournament, in 39 moves with black pieces.
• Praggnanandhaa is also only the third Indian grandmaster to win against Magnus Carlsen apart from Viswanathan Anand and Pentala Harikrishna.

Why in news?

• The festival of Byanjana Dwadashi ended recently in Odisha’s temple town of Puri.
• It is celebrated by adherents of Vaishnavism, the largest sect within Hinduism, which considers Vishnu and his incarnations such as Krishna as the Supreme Godhead.
• The festival celebrates a variety of food (Byanjana in Odia) on the 12th day (Dwadashi) of the Sukla Paksha or waxing phase of the moon in the month of Margashira (mid-December to mid-January).
• Vaishnavites, through this festival, commemorate an episode of the Mahabharata where Yashoda observes that her son Krishna is pale and weak. 
• It is believed that on this day Mother Yasoda used to prepare hundreds of dishes for Lord Krishna.
• This episode was re-enacted in the Vaishnava mutts of Puri by the medieval seer and mystic, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu after he reached Puri around 500 years ago.
• This tradition of celebrating varieties of traditional food and sharing them has been going on since then and is prevalent in the Vaishnava mutts of not only Puri and other parts of Odisha, but throughout the country.
• The special feature of Byanjan Dwadashi at Gourbihar mutt is that every year more items are added to the menu.

Why in news?

• World Thinking Day(WTD) is annually observed across the globe on 22nd February by the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 150 countries across the world to speak up on gender equality and climate change.
• The day is annually celebrated and organised by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).
• World Thinking Day, celebrated since 1926, is a day of international friendship.
• The theme for World Thinking Day 2022 is “Our World, Our Equal Future: The Environment & Gender Equality”.
• WTD 2022 starts a 3-year journey for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts to become environmentally conscious leaders.
• World Thinking Day theme 2022-2024:
• The World Thinking Day theme from 2022-2024 will be ‘Our World, Our Future.’
• Each year will build on the environmental theme and explore the relationship between the environment and other global concerns.
• 2022: Our World, Our Equal Future; The Environment and Gender Equality.
• 2023: Our World, Our Thriving Future; The Environment and Global Poverty.
• 2024: Our World, Our Peaceful Future; The Environment, Peace and Security.

About World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS):

• WAGGGS is the World’s largest voluntary movement dedicated to girls and young women.
• WAGGGS was formed at the fifth International Conference, Hungary in 1928.
• It is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Why in news?

• On 17th February 2022, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released the ” 4th edition of Frontiers report titled “Frontiers 2022: Noise, Blazes and Mismatches -Emerging Issues Of Environmental Concern” which predicts that wildfires will worsen in the upcoming years and decades. The report states that wildfires are becoming more frequent, larger, and more intense due to climate change.
• The report has attributed this to climate change and human activities.

About Frontiers

• The Frontiers reports of UNEP identify and draw attention to the emerging issues of environmental concern.
• The Frontiers report was first published in 2016.
• The Frontiers 2022 report has identified the 3 most important environmental issues that have emerged due to climate change: wildfires, noise pollution, and shifts in the biological life cycles of plants and animals.
• The 3 chapters of Frontiers 2022 are,
• Listening to Cities: From Noisy Environments to Positive Soundscapes
• Wildfires Under Climate Change: A Burning Issue
• Phenology: Climate Change Is Shifting the Rhythm of Nature
• Wildfire affected region:
• Between 2003 and 2016, a total of 13 million individual fires (lasting for 4-5 days) have occurred. The Savannah (mixed woodland – grassland) ecosystem accounts for 77% of these.
• Between 2002 and 2016, an average of about 423 million hectares (4.23 million square km) of the earth’s land surface was burnt every year.
• According to the report, around 67% of the annual global area burned by all types of fires was in Africa.

Why in news?

• India has won the Bid to Host 2023 IOC Session in Mumbai after 40 Years.
• During the 139th International Olympic Committee’s session (IOC) in Beijing, China, India won the bidding rights to host the 2023 IOC session in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• India will host for the first time in 40 years since 1983.
• The IOC session is the general meeting of the Members of the IOC.
• The session will be hosted at the state-of-the-art, Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai.
• IOC session was last held at New Delhi in 1983.

About International Olympic Committee (IOC)

• Established in 1894 and headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.
• The IOC has a total of 105 member’s active members.
• Additionally, it consists of 45 honorary members, 1 honour member who do not have the right to vote and 206 individual National Olympic Committees.
• In addition to the members, senior Representatives (President & Secretary-General) from more than 50 International Sports Federations (summer and winter sporting disciplines) attended the session.
• From which, Mumbai received a historic 99% of the votes in favour of its bid from the delegates, with 75 members endorsing its candidature in the session held in Beijing.
• An ordinary Session of IOC is held once a year, while Extraordinary Sessions may be convened by the President or upon the written wiliest of at least one-third of the Members.
• Activities of International Olympic Committee(IOC) Session:
• The IOC session discusses the global Olympics movement including adoption or amendment of the Olympic Charter.
• Election of IOC members and office bearers.
• Election of the host city of the Olympics.