About Australia-India Strategic Research Fund: 

• It is a bilateral program that supports collaborative research projects between Australia and India.
• It aims to strengthen the scientific relationship between the two countries and address common challenges through joint research efforts.
• It is a platform for bilateral collaboration in science, jointly managed and funded by the governments of India and Australia.
• Objectives
  • To increase the uptake of leading-edge science and technology (S&T) by supporting collaboration between Australian and Indian researchers in strategically focused, leading-edge scientific research and technology projects, and strengthening strategic alliances between Australian and Indian researchers;
  • Facilitate India’s and Australia’s access to the global S&T system.
  • The priority areas for collaborative research projects in Round Fifteen of the Indo-Australian S&T Fund are Artificial Intelligenceandmachine learning, New and Renewable energy technologies (particularly ultra-low-cost solar and clean hydrogen), and Urban mining and electronic waste recycling.

Q1: What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

It involves the development of algorithms and models that enable computers to perform tasks that would typically require human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making.

Source: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh announces results of Australia-India Strategic Research Fund

About Leang Karampuang Cave: 

• It is a limestone cave located on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
• Key findings
  • A scene of humans interacting with a pig painted on a cave wall is found in the cave.
  • The scene, dominated by a representation of a pig that is standing upright along with three smaller human-like figures, is painted in a single shade of dark red pigment.
  • One figure seems to be holding an object near the pig’s throat. Another is directly above the pig’s head in an upside-down position with legs splayed out.
  • The third figure is larger and grander in appearance than the others; it is holding an unidentified object and is possibly wearing an elaborate headdress.
  • This painting predates the cave paintings of Europe, which is at El Castillo in Spain, dating to about 40,800 years ago.
• The researchers interpreted the painting as a narrative scene, which they said would make it the oldest-known evidence of storytelling in art.
• The earliest Sulawesi rock art is not 'simple, it is quite advanced and shows the mental capacity of people at the time.

Q1: What is a stalagmite?

It is an upward-growing mound of mineral deposits that have precipitated from water dripping onto the floor of a cave.

Source: World's oldest cave painting in Indonesia shows a pig and people

About International Council on Monuments and Sites: 

• It was established in 1965 in Warsaw (Poland) as a result of the Venice Charter of 1964 and offers advice to UNESCO on World Heritage Sites.
• It is an international non-governmental organisation that is composed of professionals, experts, representatives from local authorities, companies and heritage organisations, and is dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of the architectural and landscape heritage throughout the world.

Key facts about Moidams

• The Moidams (also Maidams) are the mound-burial system of the Ahom dynasty (13th century-19th century).
• The mound-burial system of the royals of the Ahom dynasty in Assam’s Charaideo district can be likened to the royal tombs of ancient China and the Pyramids of the Egyptians Pharaohs (kings of ancient Egypt).
  • The Ahom rule lasted for about 600 years until the British annexed Assam in 1826.
  • Charaideo, more than 400 km east of Guwahati, was the first capital of the Ahom dynasty founded by Chao Lung Siu-Ka-Pha in 1253.
• However, after the 18th century, the Ahom rulers adopted the Hindu method of cremation, entombing the cremated bones and ashes in a Moidam at Charaideo.
• The Moidams enshrine the mortal remains of Ahom royalty and are highly venerated.
• With the shift of Ahom capital south and eastwards, Moidams have been seen in different parts of Northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Northern Burma, Southern China and Northeast India - together defining the region where Tai-Ahom culture prevailed.

Q1: What is the Global Geoparks Network?

It is a non-profit International Association officially established in 2014 subject to French legislation. It is the official partner of UNESCO for the operation of the UNESCO Global Geoparks.

Source: Ahom 'Moidam' recommended for inclusion in UNESCO World Heritage List

About Palm Trees:

• Palm is any member of the Arecaceae, or Palmae, a single family of monocotyledonous flowering plants of the order Arecales.
• These evergreen plants can grow in the form of shrubs, trees, or long, woody vines called lianas.
• Distribution: The great centres of palm distribution are in America and in Asia, from India to Japan and south to Australia and the islands of the Pacific and Indian oceans, with Africa and Madagascar as a third but much less important palm region. 
• They are characterized by a tall, unbranched stem or, rarely, by a dichotomous branching stem (Hyphaene), and of the same diameter all along from base to top; at the apex, they beara rosette consisting of coriaceous, either palmate or pinnate, leaves, up to some meters long.
  • Palmate leaves, like hands, grow in a bunch at the end of a stem. Pinnate leaves are like feathers, growing all along either side of a stem.
• Though many species of palms are sturdy and plentiful, as many as 100 species are endangered due to deforestation and unsustainable cultivation practices, such as for the heart of palm, which comes from a part of the tree that cannot be regrown. 
• The palms with the greatest importance in world commerce are the coconut and the African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis); both are prime sources of vegetable oil and fat. 

The rarest palm tree is the Hyophorbe amaricaulis. The only one left currently lives at the Botanic Gardens of Curepipe in Mauritius.

Q1: What are Monocotyledons?

Monocotyledons, also known as monocots, are a group of flowering plants (angiosperms) that are characterized by having a single cotyledon, or seed leaf, in their seeds.Monocots include grasses (Poaceae) such as the true grains rice, wheat and maize, the pasture grasses and sugar cane.

Source: Odisha resorts to palm tree planting to combat lightning deaths this year

About Kaveri River:

• Kaveri River, also known as Cauvery River, is one of the major rivers of southern India, which is considered sacrosanct by the Hindus.
• Course:
  • It rises on Brahmagiri Hill of the Western Ghats in southwestern Karnataka, at an elevation of 1.341m (4,400 ft.) above mean sea level.
  • It flows in the south and east through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and then across the southeastern lowlands, and finally surrenders in the Bay of Bengal through two principal mouths.
  • The total length of the river from origin to outfall is 800 km.
• It is bounded by the Western Ghats on the west, by the Eastern Ghats on the east and south and by the ridges separating it from the Krishna basinand Pennar basin on the north. 
• The Cauvery basin extends over the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, and the Union Territory of Puducherry, draining an area of 81,155 Sq.km
• Tributaries: Its important tributaries joining from left are the Harangi, the Hemavati, the Shimsha, and the Arkavati, whereas the Lakshmantirtha, the Kabbani, the Suvarnavati, the Bhavani, the Noyil, and the Amaravati joins from right.
• Dams: Dams constructed across the river are Krishna Raja Sagara Dam and Mettur Dam and the Banasura Sagar Dam on the Kabini River, which is a tributary of Kaveri River.

Q1: Which are the main tributaries of Krishna River?

The principal tributaries joining Krishna are the Ghataprabha, the Malaprabha, the Bhima, the Tungabhadra and the Musi.

Source: Bengaluru: State government forms committee to address Kaveri River contaminationBengaluru: State government forms committee to address Kaveri River contamination

About Common Grass Yellow:

• It is a small, charming butterfly species that can be found across Asia, North America, Africa, and Australia.
• Scientific Name: Eurema hecabe
• Habitat: They like to fly quickly, close to the ground, are found in open grassy or bushy terrain, hence their name. 
• Features:
  • They have vibrant yellow wings that can range from a sultry sulfur shade to a lush lemon yellow, shifting with the seasons and their location. This is known as 'seasonal polyphenism'.
  • There is black, broad, irregular outer marking on the forewing. The underside of the wing has variousblack mark with a yellow centre. 
  • They are often seen in large groups, and the females usually fly about by themselves to find nectar from a wide variety of plants.
  • They are migratory in behavior and are found migrating in large numbers across the entire African, throughout most of Asia south of the Himalayas. 
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Least Concern
  • This species is not legally protected in India under any schedules of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

Q1: Where is Mudumalai Tiger Reserve?

Mudumalai Tiger Reserve is located in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu state at the tri-junction of three states, viz, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The name Mudumalai means the ancient hill range because it is as old as 65 million years when the Western Ghats were formed. It has a common boundary with Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) on the West, and Bandipur Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) on the North.

Source: Large migration of Common Grass Yellow butterfly seen in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve

About Sampoornata Abhiyan: 

• It is a 3-month campaign to undertake a sustained effort to achieve saturation of 6 key indicators in Aspirational Districts and 6 key indicators in Aspirational Blocks across the country.
• It seeks to achieve saturation in each of the 6 identified indicators in the 112 Aspirational Districts and 500 Aspirational Blocks under the Aspirational Districts Programme and Aspirational Blocks Programme.
• Key indicators of Aspirational Blocks include:
  • Percentage of pregnant women registered for Antenatal Care (ANC) within the first trimester;
  • Percentage of persons screened for Diabetes against the targeted population in the Block;
  • Percentage of persons screened for Hypertension against the targeted population in the Block;
  • Percentage of pregnant women taking Supplementary Nutrition under the ICDS Programme regularly;
  • Percentage of Soil Health Cards generated against the soil sample collection target; and
  • Percentage of SHGs that have received a Revolving Fund against the total SHGs in the block
• Key indicators of Aspirational Districts includes
  • Percentage of pregnant women registered for Antenatal Care (ANC) within the first trimester;
  • Percentage of pregnant women taking Supplementary Nutrition under the ICDS Programme regularly;
  • Percentage of children fully immunized (9-11 months) (BCG+DPT3+OPV3+Measles 1)
  • Number of Soil Health Cards distributed;
  • Percentage of schools with functional electricity at the secondary level; and
  • Percentage of schools providing textbooks to children within 1 month of the start of the academic session

NITI Aayog, in collaboration with the relevant Central Ministries and Departments, as well as the Governments of States and Union Territories, will work together to ensure the effective and rapid development of these Districts and Blocks.

Q1: What is a Soil Health Card?

It is used to assess the current status of soil health and, when used over time, to determine changes in soil health that are affected by land management. A Soil Health Card displays soil health indicators and associated descriptive terms.

Source: Sampoornata Abhiyan’ launched by NITI Aayog

About National Green Hydrogen Mission: 

• It was approved by the Union Cabinet on January 4, 2023.
• Aim: To make India a Global Hub for the production, utilization, and export of Green Hydrogen and its derivatives.

What are the components of the scheme?

• The Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT): Under this two distinct financial incentive mechanisms will be provided
  • Targeting domestic manufacturing of electrolysers and
  • Production of Green Hydrogen
• The Mission will also support pilot projects in emerging end-use sectors and production pathways. 
• Regions capable of supporting large-scale production and/or utilization of Hydrogen will be identified and developed as Green Hydrogen Hubs.
• A public-private partnership framework for R&D (Strategic Hydrogen Innovation Partnership – SHIP) will be facilitated under the Mission.
• A coordinated skill development programme will also be undertaken under the Mission.

Norms issued for funding testing facilities

• The Scheme will be implemented with a total budgetary outlay of Rs. 200 Crores till the financial year 2025-26.
• The National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) will be the Scheme Implementation agency (SIA).
• The scheme encompasses the development of robust quality and performance testing facilities to ensure quality, sustainability, and safety in GH2 production and trade.

Q1: What is Green hydrogen?

It is also referred to as ‘clean hydrogen’ that is produced by using electricity from renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power, to split water into two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom through a process called electrolysis.

Source: Norms issued for funding of testing facilities, infra for National Green Hydrogen Mission