Why in news?

• Herath or the ‘Night of Hara(Shiva)’, generally known as Maha Shivratri, is the main festival celebrated by the Kashmiri Pandits across Jammu and Kashmir(J&K).
• The festival marks the marriage anniversary of Lord Shiva and Goddess Uma(Parvathi). 2022 Herath Festival was celebrated on 28th February 2022.
• Herath Festival is celebrated on “Trayodashi” or the 13th day of the dark half of the month of Phalguna (Hindu calendar), between February and March. The rest of the nation celebrates the Maha Shivratri on Chaturdashi or the 14th of Phalguna.
• The Kashmiri Pandits celebrate the festival by distributing walnuts as a mark of respect to the Hindu deities.

Why in news?

• Telangana became the top performing state in India with a population over one crore in terms of growth rate of Per Capita Net State Domestic Product at Current Prices by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
• It succeeded other states like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
• The Gross State Domestic Price (GSDP) of Telangana increased from Rs 359434 crores in 2011-12 to Rs 1,154,860 crores in 2021-22.
• It recorded GSDP growth by 31.12 per cent from 2011-12. It is one of the highest growth rates for any state in the country.
• In terms of the percentage growth in GSDP, Telangana has shown the most rapid increase in its growth rate by around 17% from 2020 to the present.
• Telangana provided more impetus to policies to transform the agricultural sector and simultaneously boost the growth for the IT (Information Technology) and the pharma sectors.
• Major projects including Rythu Bandhu scheme for farmers, world’s largest lift irrigation Kaleshwaram project to provide water to the fields and Arogya Laxmi scheme for pregnant and lactating women.

Why in news?

• India’s first ambulance for street animals has been launched in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It has been started by the Blue Cross of India in collaboration with the international animal welfare organization “Four Paw”.
• The Stray Animal Care programme will be a “hospital on wheels” with an onboard veterinarian to provide on-site treatment to injured and sick street animals.
• Apart from the veterinarian, the animal ambulance will also include a para veterinary-worker-cum-driver.
• The ambulance will include a treatment table, two fans, an inverter, a fridge, and drawers for sterile products and bandages. It will also come with a washbasin, an anti-skid shock-absorbing mat, a stretcher trolley, a retractable doctor’s seat, a retractable tarpaulin, dog-catching equipment, two movable cages to hold dogs, and overhead cupboards.
• There will also be a provision to administer intravenous fluids and oxygen on board.

Why in news?

• The World Wildlife Day is observed every year on March 3 to raise awareness about the world’s wild fauna and flora.
• The day also reminds us of the need to fight against wildlife crime and human-induced reduction of species causing various wide-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts.
• Theme of the day: World Wildlife Day will be celebrated in 2022 under the theme “Recovering key species for ecosystem restoration”, as a way to draw attention to the conservation status of some of the most critically endangered species of wild fauna and flora, and to drive discussions towards imagining and implementing solutions to conserve them.
• The day was proposed by Thailand and recognised in 2013by United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
• March 3 has been chosen as it is the day of signature of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973.

Why in news?

• On February 27, 2022, India’s indigenous INS Visakhapatnam was dedicated to the City of Destiny, Visakhapatnam, formally.
• The destroyer was dedicated by Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Jagan Mohan Reddy, in a formal ceremony at the Naval Dockyard.
• It has been designed, developed and built indigenously in India.
• It is on her first visit to the City of Destiny for Ex MILAN-22 and Presidential Fleet Review.

About INS Visakhapatnam

• INS Visakhapatnam was commissioned in 2021. It will help the Indian Navy in dealing with emerging threats in Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
• This destroyer is made in India and has onboard state of the art weapons and sensors as well as modern surveillance radars. The destroyer will also augment the mobility, flexibility and reach of Indian Navy.

Project 15B

• INS Visakhapatnam is India’s first among four stealth guided missile destroyers under Project 15B. It has 75 percent indigenous content.
• It has been constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Mumbai.

Features of the destroyer

• This destroyer is the most technologically advanced guided destroyer worldwide. It has a displacement of 7, 400 tonnes.
• It is the most potent warship to be constructed in India.
• It measures 163m in length while 17m in breadth.
• It has the capability of speed in excess of 30 knots. It has anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
• It is propelled by four powerful Gas Turbines, in a Combined Gas and Gas (COGAG) configuration.
• It has stealth features. It comprised of reduced Radar Cross Section (RCS), full beam superstructure design, plated masts, and efficient shaping of hull.
• It is also equipped to be deployed to fight in Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare conditions.

Why in news?

• World Civil Defence Day is annually observed across the globe on 1^st March to honour the significance of Civil Defence and the personnel who have sacrificed their lives for it.
• The purpose of the Day is to promote public awareness about civil defence, civil protection and emergency management in order to better prepare the civilian population to protect itself in the event of an emergency and to reduce the risk of disaster.
• The theme of World Civil Defence Day 2022 is “Civil defence and management of displaced populations in face of disasters and crises; role of volunteers and the fight against pandemics”.

Why in news?

• Recently, Tamil Nadu (TN) Chief Minister launched a skill development scheme for the students named “Naan Mudhalvan” which means ‘I am the first’, at the Kalaivanar Arangam in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Objective

• To improve the educational skills, knowledge, talent, and efficiency of 10 lakh young people annually.
• To make all students and youth stand out in the spheres of education, research, thought, action and talent.

About Naan Mudhalvan

• The scheme is designed to bridge the talent gap in the employment market.
• The scheme will hone the skills of a particular individual in a selected sector and will also include training students on their choice of subjects/area, languages, technical knowhow and others.
• Under this scheme the students will be given modern-day coding and robotics classes while experts will mentor them on aspects related to physical health and behaviour.
• The Guidance centres will be set up in schools while there would be a separate syllabus aimed at Classes 9 to 12.

Why in news?

• In the backdrop of Indian delegation visiting Namibia, the Cheetah capital of the world, grounds are being prepared for appointing Namibian cheetahs as the country’s goodwill ambassadors for India’s 75th year of Independence.
• Background- Supreme Court lifted its seven-year stay on a proposal to Introduce African cheetahs from Namibia into the Indian habitat on an experimental basis.
• In 2013, SC had rejected this owing to lion translocation in the same Kuno-Palpur sanctuary and doubt of lack of prey base for Cheetah.
• Also, an ‘Action plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India was launched to Introduce 50 Cheetahs over 5 years.

About Cheetah Reintroduction

• African Cheetahs (IUCN status: Vulnerable), are being considered for reintroduction as Asiatic Cheetah (IUCN: critically endangered) are low in numbers which is known to occur only in Iran now.
• Cheetah is a keystone species of dry forests, scrub forests, and savannahs.
• It was declared extinct in India in 1952 due to over-hunting and loss of habitat.
• It is also the world’s fastest land mammal.
• Part of Appendix 1 of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Why in news?

• Recently, Assam government decided to set up ‘Naamghars’ (Vaishnavite Monasteries) across the places where 15th-century saint and social reformer Srimanta Sankardeva spent at least one night during his journey from Batradava (Assam) to Cooch Behar (West Bengal).

About Srimanta Sankardeva

• Srimanta Sankardev was a 15th–16th century Assamese polymath, a saint-scholar, playwright, musician, poet, dancer, actor and artist social-religious reformer.
• He was a figure of importance in cultural and religious history of Assam.
• He is widely credited with building on past cultural relics and devising new forms of theatrical performance (Ankia Naat, Bhaona), music (Borgeet), literary language (Brajavali) and dance (Sattriya). He was a multi-faceted spiritual guru of 15th and 16th centuries.
• He was a great soul who infused nationalistic fervour among Assamese people.
• Sankardev inspired the Bhakti movement in Assam just like Guru Nanak, Namdev, Ramananda, Kabir, Basava and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Why in news?

• Australia is currently facing catastrophic weather events as a result of global warming.
• Australia’s third-most populous city, Brisbane, was underwater Monday after heavy rain brought record flooding to some east coast areas and killed eight people.

About Rain Bomb

• Rain bombs are also known as Wet Microbursts.
• A microburst is a small column of sinking air known as downdraft that forms within a thunderstorm and has a diameter of less than or equal to 2.5 miles.
• Microbursts can cause significant surface damage and can also be life-threatening. Wet microbursts and dry microbursts are the two main types of microbursts. Wet microbursts are accompanied by a lot of rain.
• Process-
• It begins with the formation of a thunderstorm and the water droplets or hailstones suspended within the updraft. An updraft can sometimes be so strong that it suspends huge amounts of these hailstones and water droplets in the upper reaches of a thunderstorm. Cooling due to evaporation occurs and this causes a decrease of the updraft.
• Once this happens, the thunderstorm’s huge core of rain or hail will no longer be able to hold it. Thus, the core falls to the ground. It spreads out in all directions as soon as it strikes the ground. The area where the microburst initially hits the earth has the strongest winds and the most damage.