• Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has claimed his first Australian Grand Prix 2023.
• Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who drove superbly in his Mercedes, finished second, while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso filled third spot on the podium.

• Norwegian company Norled has successfully launched the world’s first ferry that runs on liquid hydrogen.
• The vessel, called MF Hydra, is a hybrid that uses both batteries and liquid hydrogen fuel cells.
  • It underwent sea trials for two weeks after initial testing at Hjelmeland quay earlier this year.
• The Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) has given final approval for the ferry to operate.

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has announced that it will return 15 Indian sculptures that were trafficked and sold.
  • All the works were sold by Subhash Kapoor, a convicted Indian-American antiquities smuggler. Kapoor was arrested by Interpol in Germany in 2011 and is currently imprisoned in India.
• The works date from the 1^st century BCE to the 11th century CE .
• These include terracotta, copper, and stone artifacts such as a Celestial Dancer (Apsara) valued at over $1 million and a stone bust of Kamadeva, the God of Love from the 8th century CE and a Svetambara enthroned Jina from the 8th century CE.
• Before Independence, the Antiquities (Export Control) Act was passed in 1947 to ensure that no antiquity could be exported without a license.
• Antiquities in India are governed by the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 which falls within the purview of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Union Ministry of Culture.

• Recently, the Punjab government has issued a “hue and cry notice” against the fugitive pro-Khalistan preacher Amritpal Singh.
• Its origins lie in England’s 13th and 14th-century policing system.
• The ‘Statute of Winchester’ signed by King Edward I in 1285 mandated that anyone who witnessed a crime not only had to report it but take up a cry to alert the police.
• These notices are governed by specific rules and procedures and are used sparingly to stress the seriousness of the matter and create panic among the public.
• A ‘hue and cry’ notice is issued by the state or central authorities when it comes to any fugitive. A hue and cry notice is the process of seeking the help of the public in nabbing a criminal. This means that the public can tip off the police to help them catch a fugitive.
• A ‘hue and cry’ notice against a fugitive contains a description of the criminal and the last known location, as well as a tip line number that the public might call regarding the information on the fugitive or if they have seen him somewhere.
• While the term ‘hue and cry’ may have diminished in usage in contemporary times, it remains a legal procedure that must be followed to alert other states about fugitives.

• Nagri Dubraj rice variety from Chhattisgarh recently got a geographical indication tag.
• After Jeeraphool rice in 2019, Dubraj is the second brand to get the GI tag.
• A women’s self-help group “Maa Durga Swasahayata Samuh” of Nagri in Dhamtari district has been harvesting Dubraj and had applied for the GI tag.
• The Nagri Dubraj is known as the Basmati of Chhattisgarh because of its fragrance.
• The rice is of an indigenous variety and has small grains.
• The grain finds reference in Valmiki Ramayana.

• Poothan and Thira’ is an ancient folk dance was performed during celebration of Thiramahotsavam in Thrissur district, Kerala.
• Poothan and Thira are usually performed every year during the Pooram festival.
• According to mythology, Thira and Poothan are the lieutenants of Lord Siva who were sent along with Goddess Kali to kill the demon king Darika.
  • After slaying the demon, Thira and Poothan danced along with Kali to celebrate their victory.
• This dance form is usually performed by people belonging to Mannan and Perumannan
• Artistes clad in vibrant costumes, simple makeup and huge semi-circular headgear that is made of intricately carved wooden pieces perform the Thira, and this dance is a true delight to watch.
• The main musical instrument used is Para (a percussion instrument).

• Recent Rehabilitation efforts have caused significant cultural Trauma for the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups in the region.
• Many PVTG’s like Konda Reddis have their life intertwined with the river. Rehabilitation of such groups far away from the river causes unbearable harm to their Tribal culture.

About the project

• Polavaram is a National multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh.
• It will facilitate an inter-basin water transfer from the Godavari River to the Krishna river.
• Its reservoir spreads in parts of Chhattisgarh and Orissa
• The project is a multipurpose major terminal reservoir project for the development of irrigation, hydropower and drinking water facilities.
• The project was started in 2008, accorded national status in 2014 in the Andhra Pradesh Bifurcation Act.
• Although The Andhra Pradesh government extended the completion date to the 2022 Kharif season, work is still pending on the project.

• Recently, ISRO successfully carried out the landing experiment of the Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration (RLV-TD) programme.
• Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomus Landing Mission (RLV LEX) test was the second of five tests that are a part of ISRO’s efforts to develop RLVs or space planes/shuttles under the RLV-TD Programme.
• RLV is essentially a space plane with a low lift to drag ratio and can travel to low earth orbits to deliver payloads and return to earth for use again.
• This vehicle will be scaled up to become the first stage of India’s reusable two-stage orbital (TSTO) launch vehicle.
• RLV-TD Programme aims at developing essential technologies for a fully reusable launch vehicle to enable low-cost access to space.
• It includes technologies like hypersonic flight (HEX), autonomous landing (LEX), return flight experiment (REX), powered cruise flight, and Scramjet Propulsion Experiment (SPEX).
  • NASA is using RLV for long time and private space agencies such as Space X demonstrating partially reusable launch systems
• RLV is considered a low-cost, reliable, and on-demand mode of accessing space.
• However, issues like- Selection of materials like special alloys, composites, and insulation materials, crafting of its complex parts, highly skilled manpower requirement, still remain

 Global precedents

1. NASA– Reusable space vehicles have been in existence for a long time with NASA space shuttles carrying out dozens of human space flight missions.
2. Space X: The use case for reusable space launch vehicles has revived with the private space launch services provider Space X demonstrating partially reusable launch systems with its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets since 2017. SpaceX is also working on a fully reusable launch vehicle system called Starship.

• Project Tiger was launched in the year 1973 to protect Tigers in India.
• It is a centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) providing central assistance to the tiger States for tiger conservation in designated tiger reserves.

About NTCA

• National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is its implementing authority established in 2005 under Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• It has overarching supervisory/coordination role and approves the Tiger Conservation Plan prepared by the State Governments.
• NTCA consists of the Minister in charge of the MoEFCC (as Chairperson), the Minister of State in the MoEFCC (as Vice-Chairperson), 3 MPs, Secretary, MoEFCC.
• A Success story
  • With a current population of about 3,000 tigers, India is home to more than 70% of the global tiger population.
  • While Project Tiger initially covered 9 tiger reserves, India now has 53 reserves covering approximately 4% of the country’s geographical area.
  • India achieved a doubling of tiger population in 2018, 4 years ahead of the targeted year 2022.

Protection status for Tiger

• IUCN red list categorises – Endangered
• Appendix I of CITES

Included in Schedule I and Schedule IV of Wildlife Protection Act

The ENP has got its first fernarium.

About Ferns

• Ferns are part of the Epiphytic family. They grow naturally in a soilless condition. The plants obtain water and nutrients through leaching from trees.
• Ferns are a diverse group of plants that do not produce flowers or seeds but instead reproduce through spores.
• Some ferns are used for food.

 About Eravikulam National Park (ENP)

• It is located in Southern Western Ghats near Idukki, Kerala.
• Anamudi is the highest peak at 2695 meters (also the highest peak of the Indian Peninsula).
• Vegetation includes grasslands, shrublands and Shola forests.
• It was declared a sanctuary in 1975 and later a National Park (1978) with the intention of protecting the indigenous population of Nilgiri Tahr (IUCN status- endangered). Other animals include Nilgiri Marten, Ruddy Mongoose, Small Clawed Otter, etc.
• “Neelakurinji”, the flower that blooms once in twelve years grows here.