• Japanese scientists have developed one of the world’s most unique spacecraft- a wooden satellite.
• The LignoSat probe is made of magnolia wood, which has been shown in studies on the International Space Station (ISS) to be highly robust and crack-resistant.
• Plans are currently being finished for its launch on a US rocket.
• The satellite is being developed in an effort to test the viability of using biodegradable materials, like wood, as environmentally friendly substitutes for the metals that are currently used to construct all satellites.
• One of the missions of the satellite is to measure the deformation of the wooden structure in space.
• It has been built by researchers from Kyoto University and the logging company Sumitomo Forestry.
• The probe, which is about the size of a coffee cup, is anticipated to stay in orbit for at least six months before being permitted to enter the upper atmosphere.
• LignoSat will only emit a fine spray of biodegradable ash when it burns up and re-enters the atmosphere after finishing its mission.

• The four-day tribal fair Sammakka Saralamma Jatara, popularly known as Medaram Jatara, commenced recently in Medaram, Mulugu district, Telangana.
• The biennial Sammakka-Saralamma Jatara, is said to be Asia’s biggest tribal congregation.
• The tribal fair is devoted to commemorate and revere the brave tribal women Sammakka and Saralamma, the mother-daughter duo who waged a valiant fight against the mighty Kakatiya rulers for levying taxes on tribals during the 12th century, according to local legend.
• Medaram Jatara is the second-largest fair of India, after the Kumbh Mela, celebrated by the second-largest Tribal Community of Telangana- the Koya tribe for four days.
• People offer bangaram/gold (jaggery) of a quantity equal to their weight to the goddesses and take holy bath in Jampanna Vagu, a tributary to River Godavari.
• It was declared a State Festival in 1996.

• Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the Shri Kalki Dham Temple in Sambhal district, Uttar Pradesh.
• The Shri Kalki Dham Temple is being constructed by the Shri Kalki Dham Nirman Trust.
  • It will also have 10 sanctums, each to house the deities of the 10 incarnations of Vishnu.
• According to Garuda Puran, both Ram and Krishna are avatars (reincarnations) of Vishnu, in the Treta and the Dwapar yugas.
• Like Lord Ram was the seventh incarnation of Vishnu in treta yug, Kalki would be the tenth and the final one to arrive, riding a horse at the end of the Kaliyuga.
• Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh is significant because, according to Hindu beliefs, Kalki, Vishnu’s avatar of Kaliyuga, will appear here.
• Hindu mythology says the descent of Kalki will end the dark, degenerating and chaotic kaliyuga and usher the next, Satya Yuga.
• Sambhal had a centuries-old temple dedicated to Kalki, which was allegedly destroyed on the orders of Babur in the 16^th

• Shashi Tharoor has received France’s highest civilian award, “Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur”.
• French Senate President Gerard Larcher honoured the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram.
• The accolade was announced in August 2022 but awarded recently on February 20.
• France recognised Tharoor for his efforts to strengthen the bond between India and France, his dedication to global peace and his friendship with France.

ABOUT THE AWARD

• The Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.
• It is France’s highest civilian award that acknowledges extraordinary accomplishments and services rendered to France.
• It covers contributions in arts, literature, science and public service, among others.
• Indian winners
  • Durga Charan Rakshit was the first Indian to receive the honour in 1896.
  • Mohamed Haniff – the Deputy Mayor of Pondicherry in French India – got it in 1937.
  • In independent India, Elattuvalapil Sreedharan “Metroman of India” received the honour in 2005.
  • Other winners-
    • Cedric Prakash, Anjali Gopalan , Shah Rukh Khan , Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Sivaji Ganesan , Kamal Haasan , Soumitra Chatterjee , industrialist Nadir Godrej , fashion designer Manish Arora and Wipro founder Azim Premji.

• Prime Minister inaugurated the 9th edition of Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi.
• Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis joined the inaugural session as the Chief Guest.
• The three-day India’s flagship conference will address the most challenging issues facing the international community, including geopolitics and geo-economics.
• The theme of the 2024 edition is “Chaturanga: Conflict, Contest, Cooperate, Create”.
• The 9th Raisina Dialogue will witness the participation of representatives from over 100 countries including Ministers, former Heads of State and Heads of Government, Military Commanders, Captains of Industry, and Technology Leaders.
• Over 2500 participants from about 115 countries will be joining the Dialogue in-person.

ABOUT RAISINA DIALOGUE

• The Raisina Dialogue is an annual conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics, which aims to address the most challenging issues faced by the world.
• Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation, in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs, hosts the conference.

• Achieving one of the three priority areas agreed upon during India’s G20 presidency in 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH) virtually.

ABOUT GIDH

• The Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH) is a WHO Managed Network aiming to amplify and align resources toward country-led digital health transformation through strengthened collaboration and knowledge exchange.
• It acts as a vehicle to facilitate the implementation of the Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020-2025.
• The Initiative aims to achieve the following objectives through collaborative efforts:
  • Assess and prioritize country needs for sustainable digital health transformation.
  • Increase the alignment of country-level digital health resources and unfunded priorities.
  • Support the accelerated achievement of the strategic objectives of the Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020-2025.
  • Build capacity and converge efforts to encourage local development, maintenance, and adaptation of digital health technologies to continuously changing needs.
• It will be a network of networks with four main components —
  • country needs tracker,
  • country resource portal (a map of resources available in a country),
  • transformation toolbox that will share quality-assured digital tools, and
  • knowledge exchange.
• Membership- Membership is open to all institutions engaged in digital health.

• The 11th International Puppet Festival was kicked off at Tagore Theatre in Chandigarh.
• The festival started with a mesmerizing performance by the Novosibirsk Regional Puppet Theatre from Russia, presenting the renowned puppet show “Petrushka.”
• The exhibition has featured live demonstrations of puppet making, offering a deeper understanding of the intricate craft behind these captivating creations.

• Every year on 20^th February the World Day of Social Justice is observed worldwide.
• The theme of World Day of Social Justice 2024 is “Bridging Gaps, Building Alliances”.
  • The United Nations chose this theme to emphasise the importance of collaboration and partnership in addressing the world’s challenges.
• On 26^th November 2007, the United Nations General Assembly declared that starting from the sixty-third session of the General Assembly, 20^th February will be celebrated annually as the World Day of Social Justice.
• The International Labour Organization (ILO) unanimously adopted the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization on 10 June 2008.

• Khelo India University Games (KIUG), which is being hosted by northeastern states this year, started on February 17, 2024.
• The Games have begun formally in Guwahati.
• As many as 4,500 athletes are participating in the 11-day KIUG.
• A total of 213 universities from across the country will participate in the event.
• Mascot- Ashtalakshmi in the shape of a butterfly, symbolizing the Northeast’s aspirations taking flight.
• KIUG is a part of the Centre’s Khelo India initiative to promote grassroots sports and identify young talents from across the country.
• The participants will vie for a total of 262 gold, 263 silver and 297 bronze medals across 20 sports disciplines, ranging from athletics, rugby, swimming, and badminton to hockey and football, among others.

• In a monumental discovery reshaping our understanding of celestial bodies, scientists have uncovered traces of water on the surface of two asteroids.
• The study sheds light on the distribution of water molecules throughout the solar system
• It also offers tantalizing clues about the origins of water on Earth.
• It utilized data from the retired NASA mission, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).
• The analysis of SOFIA’s observations unveiled distinctive spectral signatures indicative of water molecules on the asteroids Iris and Massalia.
  • Both asteroids are more than half a million kilometres away from our planet.
  • With diameters measuring 124 miles and 84 miles respectively, these asteroids serve as reservoirs of liquid water, potentially stored within silicate glass beads or bound to mineral surfaces.