About Thrissur Pooram:

• It is one of the most popular temple festivals in Kerala.
• It is held at the Thekkinkadu Maidanam of Vadakkunnathan Temple in the heart of the Thrissur district, every year in the Malayalam month of Medam (April-May).
• The history of Thrissur Pooram dates back over 200 years.
• Often called the "Mother of all Poorams." It was the brainchild of Raja Rama Varma, or famously known as Sakthan Thampuran, the Maharaja of Cochin (1790–1805).
• It unites ten temples in a spectacular display of devotion and rivalry.
• Major participants include Paramekkavu Bhagavathy Temple and Thiruvambady Krishna Temple.
• Highlights:
  • Elephant Processions: Over 50 richly adorned elephants carry idols amid Panchavadyam music and melam beats.
  • Kudamattam: Thrilling parasol exchanges between rival groups showcase precision and flair.
  • Fireworks Spectacle: Midnight display features aerial bursts and ground effects lasting hours.
  • Panchapradakshinam: Deities circle the ancient Vadakkunnathan Temple in a sacred ritual.
  • Ilanjithara Melam: A mesmerizing performance of traditional instruments. 

About  Bnei Menashe:

• The Bnei Menashe, known in India as the Shinlung, is an ethnic community that hails from the northeastern states of Mizoram and Manipur.
• They are a community of about 10,000 people from Tibeto-Burman ethnic group They include members of the Chin, Kuki, and Mizo groups.
• The population claims to be descendants of the Biblical tribe of Manasseh, one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, which were exiled by the Assyrian Empire in 722 BC.
• They are Christians converted into Jews and observe traditional Jewish practices and celebrate holidays such as Sukkot.
• After a centuries-long exodus through Persia, Afghanistan, Tibet, and China, the community reached India's northeast and settled in Manipur and Mizoram.
• Historians believe this community may have arrived in India within the last 300–500 years.
• Their ancestors were exiled long before the Roman dispersion, but they continued to practice Judaism across the generations, even if not in a contemporary Orthodox way.
• Once they came into contact with Israel and global Jewry in the 1980s, they embraced modern Jewish learning and practice.
• Nearly half of the ‘Bnei Menashe’ population migrated to Israel over a period of time and became its citizens.
• Operation Wings of Dawn:
  • In 2025, the Israeli government launched ‘Operation Wings of Dawn’ to facilitate the immigration of the remaining members of the Bnei Menashe community to Israel.
  • The programme includes flights, conversion classes, housing, Hebrew lessons, and other benefits.
  • According to the recent Israeli Government plan, approximately 1,200 community members are expected to immigrate to Israel by the end of 2026.
  • A second stage, slated for completion by 2030, will bring an additional 4,600 people, effectively completing the arrival of the entire community.

About Kawasaki Disease:

• Kawasaki Disease, also known as Kawasaki syndrome or mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome, is a rare disease that causes fever and inflammation of the blood vessels.
• It occurs mostly in children younger than 5 years old and affects boys more often than girls.
• The disease was first described in Japan by Tomisaku Kawasaki in 1967, and the first cases outside of Japan were reported in Hawaii in 1976.
• The cause of Kawasaki disease is unknown, although more cases happen in late winter and early spring.
• It is the most common form of acquired (not present at birth) heart disease in children in developed countries.
• The condition causes the immune system to attack blood vessels, which become inflamed and swollen.
• It tends to affect the coronary arteries, which carry blood to the heart muscle.
• It can also cause problems with lymph nodes, skin, and the lining of a child’s mouth, nose, and throat.
• It is not contagious, so it cannot spread from person to person.
• Symptoms: Symptoms of Kawasaki disease can appear in two phases and may last several week Common symptoms include:
  • A high fever lasting more than five days.
  • A rash on the main part of the body or in the genital area.
  • An enlarged lymph node in the neck.
  • Very red eyes without a thick discharge.
  • Red, dry, cracked lips and a red, swollen tongue.
  • Swollen, red skin on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. Later the skin on fingers and toes peels.
• Treatment:
  • It is often treatable. With early treatment, most children get better and have no long-lasting problems.
  • It is usually treated in the hospital with an intravenous (IV) dose of immunoglobulin (IVIG) antibodies.

About Leaf Spot Diseases:

• Leaf spot is the name given to a group of plant diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, or other microorganisms.
• These pathogens exploit the leaf’s surface and, once established, can quickly proliferate, producing visible spots or lesions.
• The spots on the leaves can be small or large. Leaf spot also interferes with the plant's photosynthesis.
• If left untreated, leaf spot can eventually severely damage the plant’s foliage.
• Heavily infected leaves turn yellow and brown, shrivel, and drop prematurely.
• Almost every region around the world is susceptible to some form of leaf spot disease.
• The prevalence and severity depend on local climate conditions, with humid and wet environments particularly conducive to the spread and growth of these pathogens.
• They are common on vegetables, bedding plants, fruit trees, ornamental trees and shrubs.
• The two main types of leaf spot are either fungal or bacterial, with 85% of plant diseases caused by fungi.
• While not caused by a pathogen, certain environmental conditions can cause symptoms that resemble leaf spots.
  • Factors such as water stress, sun scald, chemical burn from pesticides or herbicides, or nutrient imbalances can lead to spot-like lesions on leaves.
• Leaf spot diseases present a serious threat to global agriculture, impacting food production, economic stability, and environmental health.
• Controlling and preventing leaf spot diseases require a combination of cultural, biological, and chemical methods.

About INS Kalpeni:

• It is a fast attack craft of the Indian Navy.
• It belongs to a series of 10 Fleet Car Nicobar class Waterjet Fast Attack Craft (FAC) built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata for the Indian Navy.
• It was commissioned into the Indian Navy on October 14, 2010.
• The ship is named after Kalpeni Island in the Lakshadweep group of islands.
• The ship is based at Kochi under the Southern Naval Command with the primary role of Coastal Surveillance and Defence.
• It specialises in anti-smuggling, Vessel Boarding Search & Seizure as well as Search & Rescue operations.
• Armaments:
  • The main armament of the ship is 30 mm CRN 91 Gun with an Optronic Pedestal Sight as its Director.
  • In addition the 49-metre-longship has been fitted with 11 Machine guns of various types and shoulder launched IGLA Surface to Air Missiles to neutralise aerial threats.

About Pushkarmema curajae:

• It is a new species of cyanobacteria.
• It was identified from Pushkar Lake in Ajmer, Rajasthan.
• The genus name Pushkar and species name curajae are dedicated to Pushkar Lake and Central University of Rajasthan.
• curajae could potentially be used to develop drugs, biofertilizers, and even nutrient-rich supplements that improve immunity and overall health.

Key Facts about Cyanobacteria:

• They are photosynthetic microscopic organisms found naturally in all types of water.
• They were originally called blue-green algae (though they are not true algae) because dense growths often turn the water green, blue-green, or brownish-green.
• They are usually unicellular, though they often grow in colonies large enough to see.
• They are prokaryotic organisms (lack a true nucleus and membrane-bound organelles).
• While often a green or blue-green colour, they can also be white, brown, blue, yellow-brown, or red.
• They live in fresh, brackish (combined salt and fresh water), and marine water.
• They photosynthesise like plants and have similar requirements for sunlight, nutrients, and carbon dioxide to grow and produce oxygen.
• In addition to being photosynthetic, many species of cyanobacteria can also “fix” atmospheric nitrogen—that is, they can transform the gaseous nitrogen of the air into compounds that can be used by living cells.
• They have the distinction of being the oldest known fossils, more than 3.5 billion years old.
• The cyanobacteria have also been tremendously important in shaping the course of evolution and ecological change throughout earth's history.
• The oxygen atmosphere that we depend on was generated by numerous cyanobacteria during the Archaean and Proterozoic Eras.
• High nutrient concentrations can promote a population explosion of these organisms and result in algal blooms, especially during warm weather.
  • Cyanobacterial blooms lead to deterioration of water quality and production of toxins by some species.
  • Exposure to algal toxins has been linked to fatalities of livestock, wildlife, and pets.

About New Zealand:

• It is an island country and one of the many islands that make up Oceania.
• It is located in the South Pacific Ocean to the southeast of Australia, south of New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga Islands. 
• It is primarily divided into two main islands, the North Island and the South Island, separated by the Cook Strait.
• Capital City: Wellington
• Geographical Features of New Zealand:
  • It is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire—the circum-Pacific seismic belt marked by frequent earthquakes and considerable volcanic activity. 
  • Climate: New Zealand's climate is complex and varies from warm subtropical in the far north to cool temperate climates in the far south.
  • Highest Peak: Mount Cook at 12,316 feet is the highest peak of New Zealand
  • Active Volcano: Mount Ruapehu
  • Glacier: Tasman Glacier, the largest in New Zealand
  • Lake: Lake Taupō which is the largest natural lake.
  • Natural Resources: It consists of gold, silver, iron sands, phosphate and limestone etc.

About Doppler Weather Radar:

• It is specialized radar that uses the Doppler Effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance.
• These radar systems can provide information regarding the movement of targets as well as their position.
• Working of Doppler weather Radars:
  • In radars, a beam of energy, called radio waves, is emitted from an antenna.
  • When this beam strikes an object in the atmosphere, the energy scatters in all directions, with some reflecting directly back to the radar.
  • The larger the object deflecting the beam, the greater is the amount of energy that the radar receives in return.
  • Observing the time required for the beam to be transmitted and returned to the radar allows weather forecasting departments to “see” raindrops in the atmosphere, and measure their distance from the radar.
  • Types of weather Radar Bands: Varying frequencies like S-band, C-band and X-band — are commonly used by the IMD in India.
• Applications of Doppler weather Radars:
  • Weather System: It is used to track the movement of weather systems and cloud bands, and gauge rainfall over its coverage area of about 500 km.
  • X-band radar is used to detect thunderstorms and lightning, whereas a C-band radar helps in cyclone tracking.

About Abhilekh Patal Portal:

• It is a full-featured web-portal to access the National Archives of India’s reference media and its digitized collections through the internet.
• It is a digital repository thoughtfully curated by the National Archives of India (NAI).
• It has a mission to provide easy access to India's historical archives, comprising of an astounding 7 million records.
• Purpose: Its purpose is to ensure the effortless accessibility of historical records, reaching across geographical borders to engage a diverse global community.
• The archival collections available through the Abhilekh Patal portal cover a wide range of historical records preserved by the National Archives of India. These include:
  • Public records transferred from various Ministries and Departments of the Government of India
  • Private papers of eminent personalities
  • Archival reference media such as photographs, maps, microfilms and rare documents
  • Digitised historical government files and archival collections maintained by NAI

Key facts about the National Archives of India

• It was established on 11 March 1891 at Calcutta (Kolkata) as the Imperial Record Department, it is the biggest archival repository in South Asia.
• It is the repository of the non-current records of the Government of India and is holding them in trust for the use of record creators and general users.
• It has a vast corpus of records viz., public records, private papers, oriental records, cartographic records and microfilms, which constitute an invaluable source of information for scholars-administrators and users of archives.
• Head office: New Delhi
• It has one Regional Office in Bhopal and three Records Centres at Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Puducherry.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Culture, Government of India.