About International Mother Language Day:

• It is observed every year on February 21 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity across the world.
• The day highlights the importance of preserving mother languages and encouraging multilingual education for inclusive and sustainable societies.
• With over 40% of the world's languages vulnerable, the day reinforces the global commitment to safeguarding languages that are at risk of disappearing.
• History:
  • The day commemorates the 1952 Bengali Language Movement in Bangladesh, where students protested for recognition of their mother tongue.
  • Their sacrifice led to global recognition of linguistic rights and diversity.
  • The day was first proposed by Bangladesh.
  • In 1999, UNESCO declared February 21 as International Mother Language Day, and it has been observed worldwide since 2000.
• Theme for 2026: This year’s theme, “Youth voices on multilingual education,” emphasises the crucial role young people play in preserving and promoting linguistic diversity.

About Lake Baikal:

• It is located in the southern part of eastern Siberia, south-central Russia, near the border with Mongolia.
• It is the oldest existing freshwater lake on Earth.
• It is also the world’s largest freshwater lake.
• It is also the world’s deepest lake.
• Barguzini, Selenga, Upper Angara, Sarma, and Turka are the major rivers that drain into the lake.
• However, the lake has only one outlet, the Angara River.
• It is also home to the Buryat people, who follow the Tibetan Buddhist religion and reside on the eastern side of the lake, rearing goats, camels, cattle, and sheep.
• The lake was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
• Known as the 'Galapagos of Russia', its age and isolation have produced one of the world's richest and most unusual freshwater faunas.

About Lunar New Year:

• It marks the beginning of a new year in the lunisolar calendar, which was developed in ancient China.
• Often known in the West as Chinese New Year, the Lunar New Year occurs on the first new moon of the lunar calendar.
  • Lunar calendars consist of 12 months, each month corresponding roughly to one cycle of the moon.
  • Because 12 lunar cycles do not fill a whole year an extra month is added periodically to Lunar calendars to stay close to the solar year.
• Since the lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, the date of Lunar New Year is different each year.
• However, it is usually in January or February.

About Tetrodotoxin (TTX):

• It is an extremely potent marine neurotoxin.
• It naturally occurs in the skin, intestine, and liver of some fish in the family Tetraodontidae.
  • Examples include puffer fish, porcupine fish, ocean sunfish, and some species of newts and salamanders.
• Human poisonings occur when the flesh and/or organs of the fish are improperly prepared and eaten.
• TTX interferes with the transmission of signals from nerves to muscles and causes an increasing paralysis of the muscles of the body.
• Its toxicity is more than 1000 times greater than sodium cyanide.
• TTX poisoning can be fatal.
• It has no known antidote. Treatment is mainly supportive.

About Contarinia icardiflores:

• It is a new species of blossom midge.
  • Blossom midges of the genus Contarinia are small insects known to be serious pests of ornamental and food crops
  • The larvae feed inside flower buds or blossoms, often causing severe yield loss in agricultural and horticultural crops.
• icardiflores has been named in honour of ICAR-DFR, acknowledging the institute’s contributions to floriculture research.
• Although C. icardiflores closely resembles C. maculipennis — the only other midge known to attack jasmine — it is genetically distinct.
• The findings provide essential biological insights and lay the groundwork for developing targeted and eco-friendly pest management strategies for jasmine farmers in the country.