Why in news?

• World Pangolin Day is celebrated on the “Third Saturday of February” every year.
• In 2022, the annual World Pangolin Day is being celebrated on 19 February 2022.It marks the 11th edition of the event.
• The day aims to raise awareness about these unique mammals and speed up conservation efforts. Pangolin numbers are rapidly declining in Asia and Africa.

About Pangolins

• Pangolins are the only mammal to be covered in scales.
• They are the most smuggled mammal in the world because people want their meat and scales.

Pangolins in India

• Out of the eight species of pangolin, the Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) and the Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) are found in India.
• Indian Pangolin is a large anteater covered by 11-13 rows of scales on the back. A terminal scale is also present on the lower side of the tail of the Indian Pangolin, which is absent in the Chinese Pangolin.
• Habitat
• Indian Pangolin is widely distributed in India, except the arid region, high Himalayas and the North-East. The species is also found in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
• Chinese Pangolin is found in the Himalayan foothills in Eastern Nepal, Bhutan, Northern India, North-East Bangladesh and through Southern China.
• Threats to Pangolins in India: Hunting and poaching for local consumptive use (e.g. as a protein source and traditional medicine) and international trade for its meat and scales in East and South East Asian countries, particularly China and Vietnam.
• IUCN Red List
• Indian Pangolin: Endangered
• Chinese Pangolin: Critically Endangered
• Both these species are listed under Schedule I, Part I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Why in news?

• World Day of Social Justice is celebrated annually all over the world on 20 February.
• The International Labour Organization unanimously adopted the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization on 10 June 2008.
• Social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations.
• World Day of Social Justice 2022 Theme: Achieving Social Justice through Formal Employment.

Why in news?

• The International Mother Language Day (IMLD)is observed annually on the 21st of February. The day aims to raise awareness regarding linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism.
• The 2022 theme is “Using technology for multilingual learning: Challenges and opportunities”. 
• The UN mentioned in its statement that this year’s theme raises the potential role of technology to advance multilingual education and support the development of quality teaching and learning for all.
• International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)in November 1999. The UN General Assembly welcomed the proclamation of the day in its resolution of 2002.

Why in news?

• Recently, Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar announced that, February 15 would now be commemorated as “ShahidDiwas”.
• February 15 would be commemorated as ShahidDiwas, in the honour of 34 freedom fighters who were killed by police 90 years ago, in Tarapur town in Munger district of Bihar.
• These freedom fighters had never got their due, even though this was the biggest massacre carried out by the British police after JallianwalaBagh in 1919 in Amritsar.

About Tarapur Massacre

• This incident took place on February 15, 1932, when a group of young freedom fighters had planned to hoist “Indian national flag” at Thana Bhavan in Tarapur.
• Police were not aware of their plan but several officers were present at the spot. During this, police carried out a brutal lathi charge on them. Despite the lathi charge, one of the freedom fighters (Gopal Singh) succeeded in raising the flag at Thana Bhavan.
• A strong crowd of 4,000 pelted the police with stones, in which an officer of civil administration was injured. In response, police opened indiscriminate fire on the crowd. Around 75 rounds were fired, after which 34 bodies were found at the spot.

Why in news?

• English club, Chelsea has defeated Brazilian club Palmeiras, 2-1, to win the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup final. Chelsea has won the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time.
• The decisive goal was scored by Kai Havertz with 3 minutes of extra time to go. Kai Havertz’ nerveless 117th-minute penalty settled a gruelling Club World Cup final.
• The final was held at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

Why in news?

• JP Morgan has become the world’s first bank to set up shop in the metaverse. The largest bank in the US has opened a lounge in the blockchain-based world
• Users can create their virtual avatars, build virtual spaces and roam in the lounge christened ‘Onyx Lounge’ after its suit of Ethereum-based services. The lounge also features a digital image of the bank’s CEO Jamie Dimon.

About Metaverse

• Metaverse is a virtual universe where users can do multiple activities like socialising, shopping or even attending events through their avatar.
• Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) headsets are becoming more pocket-friendly, and both technologies have together contributed to a significantly enhanced user experience.

Why in news?

• According to World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), India reported an outbreak of highly contagious H5N1 bird flu virus on a poultry research farm in state of Bihar and at a small farm in Thane, Maharshtra.

About H5N1

• Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 is a subtype of “influenza A virus’’. It can cause illness in humans and many other animal species.
• A bird-adapted strain of H5N1 is the highly pathogenic causative agent of H5N1 flu, commonly called as avian influenza (or bird flu).
• It is enzootic in many bird populations, particularly in Southeast Asia.
• One strain of HPAI A(H5N1) is spreading across the globe, after first appearing in Asia. It is epizootic and panzootic, that kills millions of birds.
  • An epizootic is defined as an outbreak of disease in which there is an unusually large number of cases, whereas an enzootic refers to a low level of disease that is constantly present in a population.
  • A panzootic is an epizootic that spreads across a large region, or even worldwide.

Why in news?

• During the recently heldPasuvulaPanduga cattle festival, many people were reportedly injured.

About the festival

• Pasuvula Panduga is a cattle festival that is observed annually during Kanuma (3^rdday of the Sankranthi Festival), to appease the gods for improving and protecting livestock.
• This festival is held in the Rangampet village of Andhra Pradesh.
• Before the start of this event, the cows and bulls are colourfully decorated with trophies being attached to the horns. After that, the animals are forced to go through the narrow road leading to the fields, with villagers on either side.
• The purpose of this sport is to snatch the trophies from the horns of the cattle as it runs via the snaky path of the village. At times money ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 is also tied to the horns with a winner takes it all policy. Organizers provide all the prizes that are attached to the horns of the cattle.

Why in news?

• Tamil Nadu government has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that it would not permit the proposed INO at Bodi West Hills in Theni district.
• Affidavit raised following concerns over INO Project
  • Tunnelling work would create the problems like construction waste material, rock bust and roof collapse movement in the eco-fragile area.
  • Biodiversity impact as the region harbours many endemic species.
  • The area is a significant watershed and catchment zone for the rivers Sambhal and Kottakudi, and supports livelihoods in five districts of Tamilnadu.
  • The project area links Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala with Srivilliputhur Meghamalai Tiger Reserve. Quarrying and construction activities will upset wild animals which use the corridor for seasonal migration.

About Indian Neutrino Observatory (INO)

• It is a multi institutional effort aimed at building a world-class underground laboratory and an Iron Calorimeter (ICAL) detector for studying neutrinos.
• It aims to assess the properties of neutrino particles and to make precision measurements of the parameters related to neutrino oscillations.
• It is jointly funded by the of Atomic Energy and the Dept. of Science and Technology.

About Neutrinos

• Neutrinos are tiny neutral, elementary particles which interact with matter via the weak force. The weakness of this force gives neutrino the property that matter is almost transparent to them.
• The Sun and all other stars, produce neutrinos copiously due to nuclear fusion and decay processes within their core.
• Neutrinos provide a tool to study structure of nucleons (protons and neutrinos), to learn how matter evolved from simple particles into more complex composites of particles.

Why in news?

• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced that Nepal will be the first foreign country to adopt India’s UPI system.
• It is expected to serve the larger digital public good in Nepal and bolster interoperable real-time person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions.
• Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features.
• Key Features of UPI: Instant transfer of funds, bill sharing facility, can be used 24 hours and on all public holidays etc.