• The Irinjadappilly Sree Krishna Temple in Kerala‘s Thrissur district has become the first in the country to use a mechanical, lifelike elephant for temple rituals.
• The temple priests performed ‘Nadayiruthal’ or ceremonial offering to the deity, of Irinjadappilly Raman, a magnificent, lifelike mechanical or “robotic” elephant.
• Irinjadappilly Raman’ will help conduct ceremonies at the temple in a safe and cruelty-free manner and thereby support real elephants’ rehabilitation in forests.

• Argentina’s Lionel Messi has bagged the Best FIFA men’s player prize for 2022.
• Messi outclassed his Paris Saint Germain (PSG) teammate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid captain Karim Benzema to lift the famous trophy at Salle Pleyel in Paris.
• Messi became the first player, male or female, to win seven FIFA best player awards.

• Recently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) approved a new variant of the Hindustan 228-201 LW Aircraft.
• Features: This variant of the Hindustan 228-201 LW aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of 5,695 kg with 19 passengers.
• Developed by: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• HAL is building civil aircrafts to promote the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) Scheme.
  • HAL is a public-sector aircraft manufacturing company. It has also made the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
• This variant provides several operational benefits for operators, such as reduced pilot qualification requirements enabling pilots with Commercial Pilot Licence to fly the aircraft, enhanced availability of pilot pool for the aircraft, reduced operational cost, reduced training requirements for flying and ground crew, including aircraft maintenance engineers.
• It will promote the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) Scheme.
  • Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) was launched as a regional connectivity scheme under the Ministry of Civil Aviation in 2016.
  • It is an innovative scheme to develop the regional Aviation market.
  • The central government aims to set up 1,000 new air routes and establish 100 new airports, under the UDAN scheme.

• Japan has extended the ODA for Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link Project.
  • ODA is defined as government aid that promotes and specifically targets the economic development and welfare of developing countries.
• India has been the largest recipient of Japanese ODA loans for the past decades.
• Japan initiated its economic cooperation with India in 1958.
• Japan’s ODA for India is one of the important tools to strengthen Japan-India relations set forth by “Japan-India Strategic and Global Partnership.”

• Malabar Tree toad found in Mollem National Park.
  • Mollem National Park is located in Sanguem taluk in Goa close to the border with Karnataka.
  • This park also has several temples dating back to the Kadamba Dynasty.

About Malabar tree toad

• It is a small species found in a forest along the Western Ghats in wet hollows.
• It is believed to be the only toad to dwell on high canopies.
• Conservation IUCN status: Endangered.
• It finds mention in the updated checklist on Indian Amphibians released by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).

• Officials and scientists are unsure as to what could have caused the start of the mass nesting or ‘Arribada’ of Olive Ridley turtles at the Rushikulya rookery in Odisha’s district.
• Rushikulya beach is considered the second biggest rookery for sea turtles in India after Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, Odisha.
• Suitable climatic and beach conditions were some of the reasons for the early mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles.

About Olive Ridley turtles

• These are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world.
• These turtles are carnivores and get their name from their olive-coloured carapace.
• They are best known for their unique mass nesting called Arribada, where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.
• Olive Ridley Turtes are found in warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
• Protection Status-
  • included in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972,
  • listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List
  • mentioned in appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

• National Science Day is celebrated in India every year on the 28th of February to commemorate the discovery of the Raman Effect by Indian Physicist Sir C V Raman, on this day in 1928.
• This day was designated by the Government of India in 1986.
• This year the theme is ‘Global Science for Global Wellbeing’.

About C V Raman

• Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (1888 – 1970) was an Indian physicist known for his work in the field of light scattering.
• He became the first Indian director of the Indian Institute of Science in 1933.
• He founded the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1933.
• He established the Raman Research Institute in 1948.
• In 1954, the Government of India honoured him with the first Bharat Ratna.

Raman effect

• Using a spectrograph, he discovered that when light traverses a transparent material, the deflected light changes its wavelength and frequency. This phenomenon was subsequently termed the Raman effect or Raman scattering.
  • Raman received the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery
  • He was the first Asian to receive a Nobel Prize in any branch of science.

Importance of Discovery

• The character of the scattered radiations enables us to obtain an insight into the ultimate structure of the scattering substance.
• The discovery would also find its use in chemistry, giving birth to a new field known as Raman spectroscopy as a basic analytical tool to conduct non-destructive chemical analysis for both organic and inorganic compounds.
• It has a wide variety of applications, from studying art and other objects of cultural importance in a non-invasive fashion to finding drugs hidden inside luggage at customs.

• The Attukal Pongala held in Attukal Temple, Thiruvananthapuram is the largest congregation of women for a festival in the world.
• Pongala, which means ‘to boil over’, is the ritual in which women prepare sweet payasam (a pudding made from rice, jaggery, coconut and plantains cooked together) and offer it to the Goddess or ‘Bhagavathy’.
• ‘The ten-day-long celebration commences in the Malayalam month of Makaram-Kumbham (Feb – March)on the Karthika star.

• For the first time ever, Ministry of Culture has announced a year-long commemoration of birth anniversary of Banjara Dharmaguru Santh Sevalal Maharaj.
• He was born in 1739 in Shivamogga district of Karnataka.
• He was a social reformer and spiritual teacher of Banjara Community.
• Having sound knowledge in Ayurveda and Naturopathy, he eradicated myths and superstitions prevalent among forest dwellers and nomadic tribe.
• In states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, Sevalal Maharaj is a revered figure, and his birth anniversary is celebrated every year throughout the month.
• His final resting place or Samadhi is situated at Pohradevi in Maharashtra’s Washim district, also known as Banjara Kashi.

About Banjara Community

• Spread across India, Banjara Community is a nomadic community with nearly 10-12 crore population.
• They are classified as SC, ST and OBC in different states.
• They converse in Gor Boli, also known as Lambadi, a language of the Indo-Aryan Group. No script exists for Lambadi.

• The fisheries sector is a direct source of livelihood for more than 20 million fishers and fish farmers; contributes INR 1.75 trillion annually to the gross value added to India’s economy.
• India is the third largest fish-producing country.
• Fisheries are the country’s single-largest agriculture export.
• Recently, the Union Minister of Fisheries launched three national flagship programmes for the development of the fisheries sector. These include-

National Surveillance Programme for Aquatic Animal Diseases (NSPAAD) Phase-II

• Phase-II is sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana programme (PMMSY).
  • Phase 1 has been implemented since 2013.
• The phase-II will be implemented at the pan-India level and state fisheries departments to be an integral part.
• It envisages development of the National Information System on Aquatic Diseases.

Genetic improvement program of Penaeus indicus (Indian white shrimp)-Phase-I

• Shrimp farming sector mostly depends on one exotic Specific Pathogen Free stock of Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) species.
• Program will help to break single species dependence and promote indigenous species vis-à-vis exotic shrimp species.
• Program sanctioned with an outlay of Rs.25 crores under PMMSY to establish a National Genetic Improvement Facility for shrimp breeding.

Shrimp Crop Insurance product

• Developed by ICAR-CIBA
• It charges a differential premium based on location and requirements of the individual farmer from 3.7 to 7.7 % of input costs.
• Farmers will be compensated to the tune of 80 % loss of input cost in the event of total crop loss. i.e., more than 70% crop loss.