Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards

President of India to confer Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for the Years 2022 and 2023.

• Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Fellowships (Akademi RatnaSadsya) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) are two awards presented annually.
• These awards are recognised as the most coveted national honours bestowed on performing artists as well as teachers and scholars of performing arts.
• The award will be given to the eminent persons from the field of tribal music, dance, theatre and traditional folk arts.
• The Akademi Awards have been conferred since 1952.
• The Awards in Hindustani and Carnatic music were instituted as early as in 1951, even before the Akademi was set up and these were known as Presidential Awards.
• With the formation of the Akademi the Awards came to be known as Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards and the investiture became the responsibility of the Akademi.
• The Presidential Awards for 1952 and 1953 were subsequently incorporated in the list of Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards.
• Sangeet Natak Academy - The Sangeet Natak Akademi was set up in 1953 for the promotion of performing arts.
• The Sangeet Natak Akademi is an Autonomous Body under the Ministry of Culture.
• It acts at the national level for the:
  1. Promotion and growth of Indian music, dance and drama;
  2. Maintenance of standards of training in the performing arts;
  3. Revival, preservation, documentation and dissemination of materials as well as instruments relating to various forms of music, dance and drama.
  4. Recognition of outstanding artists.
• The Akademi is also responsible for the establishment and maintenance of institutions and projects of national importance in the field of performing arts.
• The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) is implementing Cultural Heritage Young Leadership Programme, aimed at promotion of social values and community engagement amongst the youth of the Country.

Article 371

In the backdrop of protests across Ladakh, the Centre is mulling granting Article 371-like protection to the Union Territory.

• Articles 371 to 371-J in Part XXI of the Constitution of India contain special provisions for 12 states:
  • Maharashtra; Andhra Pradesh; Telangana; Sikkim; Mizoram; Arunachal Pradesh; Gujarat; Nagaland; Assam; Manipur; Goa; Karnataka.
• Purpose - The purpose behind them is to meet:
  1. The aspiration of the people of backward regions of the states.
  2. To protect the cultural and economic interests of the tribal people of the states.
  3. To deal with the disturbed law and order condition in some parts of the states.
  4. To protect the interests of the local people of the states.

• Article 371 - It explicitly provides for provisions related to Maharashtra and Gujarat.
• The President is authorized to provide that the Governor of Maharashtra and that of Gujarat would have special responsibilities.

• Article 371A - It grants special provisions to Nagaland (Naga Hills, Tuensang area).
• It was inserted into the Part XXI of the Indian Constitution in the year 1962.
• Article 371B - Special provision (administration) with respect to the State of Assam (Bodoland territorial area).

• Article 371C - It makes special provisions for the state of Manipur.
• Articles 371D and 371E - They contain the special provisions for Andhra Pradesh.
• In 2014, Article 371-D was extended to the State of Telangana by the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act of 2014.
• Article 371F - It makes special provisions for the state of Sikkim.
• Article 371G - It makes special provisions for the state of Mizoram.
• Article 371H - It makes special provisions for the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
• Article 371I - Provides that the Goa Legislative Assembly is to consist of not less than 30 members.
• Article 371J - The President is empowered to provide that the Governor of Karnataka would have special responsibilities.

Holistic Progress Card (HPC)

The National Council for Educational and Research Training (NCERT) is introducing a new ‘holistic progress card’ (HPC).

• Holistic Progress Card is a 360 degree, multidimensional report of progress.
• The HPC will measure apart from academic performance, a child’s progress in interpersonal relationships, self-reflection, creativity, and emotional application in classrooms.
• The HPCs have been devised by Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH).
• PARAKH is a standard-setting body under the NCERT.
• HPCs is set up for the foundational stage (Classes 1 and 2), preparatory stage (Classes 3 to 5) and middle stage (Classes 6 to 8), as per suggestions by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
• Report cards for the secondary stage (beyond Class 9) are still being prepared.
• Objectives - It helps to map the status of each child's learning for foundation literacy and numeracy skills and focuses on the uniqueness of each learner.
  1. To present a picture of the student’s progress and provide evidence as well as an opportunity to a child to present his or her growth in the progress review over years.
  2. To document a child's own expression of self as well as the teacher’s assessment of the child based on the competencies.
  3. It will form an important link between home and school and makes parents an integral part of a child’s learning process.
• Features - Participatory, Inclusive, and based on learner centric approach.
• It includes self-assessment, peer assessment and parent’s feedback.
• Asses through project-based and inquiry-based learning, quizzes, role plays, group work, portfolios, etc.
• Explicit learning outcomes are defined which are the pathways for competency acquisition.
• Approach to developing skills among children is progressive.
• Builds on self-awareness and self-esteem by communicating the strengths and areas of improvement
• Provides space for children to learn at their own pace.
• Based on three Developmental Goals
  1. Health and Wellbeing
  2. Effective Communicators
  3. Involved Learners
• A key feature of the HPC is that students will have a say too, evaluating their own as well as their classmates’ performance. 

Dry Ice

Dry ice, was mistakenly offered to a party of diners at a Gurugram restaurant and subsequently caused them to vomit blood.

• Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide (CO2) at a temperature of approximately -78.5°C (-109.3°F).
• Sublimation - It is formed by compressing and cooling gaseous carbon dioxide until it reaches its solid state without passing through the liquid phase, a process called sublimation.
• Dry ice undergoes sublimation when exposed to warmer temperatures, transitioning directly from a solid to a gas, releasing CO2.
• Applications - It is commonly used as a cooling agent for food products like ice cream, frozen desserts etc.
• It is frequently used for food items that are needed to be cold or frozen, without the use of mechanical cooling. 
• Threats - Both liquid nitrogen and dry ice can cause severe damage to skin and internal organs if mishandled or accidently ingested due to the extremely low temperatures they can maintain.
• As such, liquid nitrogen and dry ice should not be directly consumed or allowed to directly contact exposed skin.
• As it comes into contact with moisture in the mouth or digestive tract, dry ice rapidly sublimates, releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide gas.
• This can cause potentially life-threatening complications such as perforation of the stomach or intestines, or even asphyxiation due to the displacement of oxygen.

Erythraean Sea

The waters of the Red Sea, are at an ‘environmental risk’ after Belize-flagged, UK-owned bulk carrier Rubymar sank in the southern part of the Sea. 

• Red Sea is a direct translation of the Ancient Greek Erythra Thalassa.
• The Red sea itself was once referred to as the Erythraean Sea by Europeans. 
• The Red Sea stretches from the Egyptian, Israeli (Port of Eliat) and Jordanian (Port of Aqaba) coasts in the north to the Yemeni, Djiboutian, Eritrean and Somali coasts in the south.
• It connects with the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean through the human-made Suez Canal and to the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean through the Strait of Bab el Mandeb (‘Gate of Tears’ in Arabic).
• It was a vital trade artery in antiquity, connecting Greece, Rome, Syria, the Holy Land and Egypt with India.
• The most famous work on the Red Sea from the ancient world is Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, attributed to an unknown Greek sailor and trader.

Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (RSGA) ecosystems

• The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (RSGA) ecosystems supports a rich biological diversity with a distinct high proportion of endemic species, according the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
• The RSGA ecosystems is home to the Socotra Archipelago, Dungonab Bay and Senganeeb Atoll, which are UNESCO Natural Heritage Sites.
• Farsan and Dahlak Archipelagos in the southern Red Sea (where the Rubymar has sunk) and coral reefs in the northern and central parts of the Red Sea are also distinctive features of the region.
• Red Sea is among the top areas of high fish endemism in the world.
  • Endemism is a term used in biology to talk about the distribution of a taxon limited to a small geographic area and which can therefore be found naturally in this place.
• Malpelo is a small oceanic island in the eastern Pacific Ocean, located about 500 km west of the Colombian mainland.