• THE three-day state-level Sair fair was inaugurated at Arki in Solan.
• During the festival colourful cultural programs are organized and stalls are also exhibited for buying and selling of goods.
• It is also famous for Bull fight and visitors can enjoy this spectacular event / fair.

• World Bamboo Day is observed on September 18 every year to raise awareness about bamboo worldwide.
• The purpose of World Bamboo Day is to increase awareness among the public about the economic advantages of bamboo and the significance of its cultivation in emerging industries.

• Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz has won the Singapore Grand Prix.
• He ended the Formula 1 leader Max Verstappen’s record run of 10 wins in a row.
• McLaren’s Lando Norris finished a close second and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took third place.

• Rabindranath Tagore’s “abode of peace” Santiniketan, which embodies the poet’s vision of a place of learning that transcends religious and regional boundaries, was officially recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site — the 41st in India and third in Bengal.

• The decision to include Santiniketan on this prestigious list was made by members of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in

ABOUT SANTINIKETAN

• It is a town located in Birbhum district of West Bengal.
• It was established by Maharshi Debendranath Tagore in 1862, father of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Later, Rabindranath Tagore envisioned it as a university town and established a school.
• It was set up in 1901 and called Brahmachary Ashram (was later called Patha Bhavan).
• He also established Sriniketan (for rural reconstruction) Kala Bhavan, Sangit Bhavan (cultural institutions) and Visva Bharati university(1921) at Santiniketan.
  • Visva-Bharati in Santiniketan is Bengal’s only central university whose chancellor is the Prime Minister.
• Shantiniketan was founded on the principles of the ancient Indian Gurukul system, where education was provided in a natural setting, fostering a strong connection between students and their environment.

• The Defence Ministry has cleared the proposal of buying a regiment of Pralay tactical ballistic missiles for the Indian Army.
• It is the first time that a ballistic missile will be inducted into the services for conventional operations.

ABOUT PRALAY MISSILE

• IT can strike targets at 150–500 km.
• It is propelled by a solid-propellant rocket motor.
• Speed- Mach 1 to 1.6
• It is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of about 350 kg to 700 kg.
• It can also carry a high explosive preformed fragmentation warhead, penetration-cum-blast (PCB) and runaway denial penetration submunition (RDPS).
• It incorporates cutting-edge technologies in its guidance system, including state-of-the-art navigation and integrated avionics.
• It exhibits the capability to alter its trajectory mid-flight after covering a certain distance.
• ‘Pralay’ is classified as a quasi-ballistic surface-to-surface missile, featuring advanced capabilities designed to thwart interceptor missiles.
• The Pralay missiles are currently being mass-produced and are expected to be ready for operational service soon.

• The Army, which has ordered 114 Dhanush artillery guns, and has one regiment operational already, is expecting to receive all the guns by 2026.

ABOUT DHANUSH GUNS

• Dhanush is a 155 mm, 45-calibre towed artillery gun with a range of 36 km, and it has demonstrated a range of 38 km with specialised ammunition.
• It is an upgrade of the existing 155 mm, 39-calibre Bofors FH 77 gun.
• The Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited, carved after corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board, now manufactures the Dhanush guns.
• It is the first indigenously built long-range artillery gun.
• Features include
  • Inertial navigation system with global positioning system- (GPS) based gun recording and auto-lying,
  • an enhanced tactical computer for onboard ballistic computations and an onboard muzzle velocity recording.
  • Automated gun sighting system equipped with camera, thermal imaging and laser range finder.

• The Sangeet Natak Akademi recently announced special one-time awards, commemorating 75 years of India’s independence to 84 artists, who are above the age of 75 years and haven’t been accorded any national honour in their career so far.
• The ‘Amrit’ awards would be given away by Vice-President.
• Sangeet Natak Akademi Amrit Awards is a national honour bestowed by the country on performing artists, teachers and scholars in the field of performing arts.
• The recipients have been selected by the Akademi’s General Council, consisting of distinguished musicians, dancers, theatre artists and scholars in these disciplines as well as nominees of the Centre, States and Union Territories.
• The honour carries a purse money of Rs. 1,00,000/- (Rupees one lakh) besides a Tamrapatra and Angavastram.
• The awards have been given in various categories like Hindustani and Carnatic vocal and instrumental, folk, classical dance forms like Bharatnatyam and Kathak and playwriting and direction.

• Recently, in a captivating display of celestial beauty, NASA’s Juno mission has treated space enthusiasts to an extraordinary photo of Jupiter and its volcanic moon, Io.
• This breathtaking image was taken just hours before NASA’s Juno mission completed its 53rd close flyby of Jupiter on July 31, 2023.

ABOUT JUPITER

• It is the fifth and largest planet in our solar system.
• The size of Jupiter is more than twice as massive as all the other planets combined.
• The stripes and swirls of the Jupiter are cold, windy clouds of ammonia and water.
• These are floating in an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium.
• The planet also has several rings, but unlike the famous rings of Saturn, Jupiter’s rings are very faint and made of dust.

JUPITER MOONS

• Jupiter has more than 80 moons and 4 largest of these are- Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
• They were first discovered by the astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1610.
• The surface of Io is the most volcanically active in the solar system.
  • Io is marked by hundreds of regularly erupting volcanoes along with molten lava and sulfurous gases.

ABOUT JUNO MISSION

• It was launched by NASA in 2011 and entered a polar orbit of Jupiter on July 5, 2016, to begin a scientific investigation of the planet.
• Aim: To probe beneath Jupiter’s dense clouds and the origin and evolution of Jupiter, solar system, and giant planets in general across the cosmos.
• After completing its mission, Juno will be intentionally deorbited into Jupiter’s atmosphere.

• India hosted the inaugural United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) South Asia conference.
• The conference was organised jointly by the Ministry of External Affairs, UNCITRAL and the organisation’s national coordination committee for India.

ABOUT UNCITRAL

• UNCITRAL was established in 1966 with a recognition that “international trade cooperation among States is an important factor in the promotion of friendly relations and, consequently, in the maintenance of peace and security”.
• UNCITRAL is described as “the principal legal entity within the United Nations system dedicated to international trade law.”
• It aims to modernize and harmonize rules on international business.
• HQ- New York, USA
• Annual sessions take place once each year usually in the summer and are held alternatively in New York and at the Vienna International Centre in Vienna.
• Membership
  • The UN General Assembly elects members for terms of six years.
  • These aren’t unison, though, as the terms of half of the members expire every three years.
  • Membership of UNCITRAL is determined by the U.N. General Assembly.
  • The original membership comprised 29 member states of the U.N.
  • But this number was expanded to 36 in 1973, in 2002 to 60 states, and again in 2022 with a total of 70 member states.

• The first batch of eight cheetahs from Namibia arrived on September 17, 2022, officially launching Project Cheetah, India’s cheetah introduction programme.

PROJECT CHEETAH

• The goal of the introduction of African cheetahs is to “establish viable cheetah metapopulation in India that allows the cheetah to perform its functional role as a top predator and provides space for the expansion of the cheetah within its historical range thereby contributing to its global conservation efforts.”
• Translocated to- Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh
• Target- 50 Cheetahs to be introduced in various National Parks over five years.
• Project Implementation by: National Tiger Conservation Authority, a statutory body under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change(MoEFCC).

POPULATION STATUS

• In total, 20 adult African cheetahs have been imported so far– 8 from Namibia and 12 from South Africa.
  • Six of the cheetahs which came from Africa have died. Four while still in captivity and two in the wild.
• In late March 2023, one of the females gave birth to a litter of four cubs which were conceived in India.
  • 3 of the four cubs have died and the only remaining cub is being hand reared as its mother has rejected it.

ABOUT CHEETAHS

• A keystone species of dry forests, scrub forests, and savannahs.
• The cheetah is the fastest land animal.
• Global distribution
  • African Cheetah– Found all over the African continent in thousands of numbers.
  • Asiatic Cheetah- Found only in Iran with less than 100 individuals left.
• African Cheetah is slightly larger than the Asiatic counterpart.
• Protection status
  • IUCN Red list status
    • African Cheetah- Vulnerable
    • Asiatic Cheetah- Critically Endangered
  • CITES –Appendix 1