Notes:
According to the recent ‘Annual Frontier Report, 2022’ published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad is the second-most noise polluted city globally.
The area recorded noise pollution of 114 decibels at its highest (dB) in 2021, against the WHO standard of 55 dB. Dhaka tops the list of 61 cities around the world, which includes five Indian cities.

Notes:
The country has over 50,000 ODF plus villages, the government recently announced. An ODF plus village is one that sustains its open-defecation-free status, ensures solid and liquid waste management and is visually clean.
The top-performing states include Telangana with 13,960 ODF Plus villages; Tamil Nadu with 11,477; Madhya Pradesh with 3,849.

Notes:
A Marine Mammals Research (MMR) team of the Department of Environment and Forest in Lakshadweep has reported the first-ever live sighting of rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) in Indian waters.
During their diversity and distribution monitoring surveys, the marine mammal research team witnessed the species at Cheriyapani and later at Kavaratti.

Notes:
Under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav 2022 was inaugurated in Andhra Pradesh by the Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan.
Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav is the flagship festival of the Ministry of Culture which aims to preserve, promote, and popularise the rich cultural heritage of India. The first Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav was organised in 2015.

Notes:
In the 94th Academy Awards, Sian Heder’s ‘CODA’ created history by becoming the first movie from a major streaming service to win an Oscar for best picture.
Will Smith was declared the best actor for ‘King Richard,’ and Jessica Chastain won the best actress award.  Ariana DeBose created history by becoming the first queer woman of colour to bag the award for the film ‘West Side Story’.