• Israel has announced a plan to restore and develop the southern course of the Jordan River.
• The plan aims to increase the amount of water and cut pollution in the Israeli section of the river, with the establishment of a new desalination facility that will treat the polluted and salty water and make it suitable for agricultural purposes.
• The rehabilitation of the southern Jordan River is more essential than ever and is possible due to the restoration of Israel’s relations with Jordan, which allow both sides to address the issue jointly, along with international support.
• The Israeli section of the river will develop into a clean habitat with rich biodiversity and a tourist attraction.
• Presently, only about 70 million cubic meters of water flow in the southern course per year, mostly polluted and salty due to the activity of a nearby sewage treatment plant.

• Jodhpur’s Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) scientists for the first time have devised a ‘Calcium-Magnesium’ made a battery that is flawless and non-problematic in all aspects, low cost in their raw material availability and viability in manufacturing commercially.
• According to the researchers, Next-generation rechargeable batteries based on zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), and aluminum (Al) are the most promising options.

Advantages:

• Lithium batteries’ fabrication and their reaction with nitrogen in the atmosphere is always dangerous leading to the fire. Whereas Calcium and Magnesium abundantly exist in marbles, tolerate heat up to 50 degrees Celsius of temperature, are available at a very low cost, have potential for recyclability, and have no disposable problems like Lithium made batteries.

Limitations:

• Besides the benefits, lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries have limitations and drawbacks that hinder their application for large-scale marketing and industrial applications.
• The main crisis of existing Lithium is going to be its import from Bolivia, Chilli, Brazil, USA, and China in the future as it is not produced enough in India’s Karnataka from original ore and whatever is available is usually required for Atomic Energy.

Industry expectation:

• There is an industry expectation that the market for lithium-ion batteries will expand from $30 billion in 2017 to $100 billion by 2025

• PM Narendra Modi urges people to take part in paying digital tributes to freedom fighters.
• A sky beam light has been installed at Central Park in Delhi and every tribute paid will intensify the illumination of the Digital Jyot.
• Digital Jyot uses technology and enables people to share a heartfelt message of gratitude to freedom fighters.
• As per the Ministry of Culture, “the Digital Jyot symbolises the glow of freedom that illuminates our lives. It is surrounded by an illuminated metallic floral sculpture inspired by the courage and determination of our freedom fighters and martyrs.”
• The design is inspired by the “nature and flowers linked to ideas of hope, strength, and positivity.”

• Aadi Krithigai is an important festival celebrated in the Tamil month of Adi or Aadi. In 2022, the date of Aadi Krithigai is July 23.
• The festival is dedicated to Lord Muruga or Subramanya. Incidentally, the festival is also referred as Aadi Krittika, Kirthigai, Kritika and Krithika.
• The festival is celebrated with fervor in the Murugan Temples in Tamil Nadu.

Story of Observing Aadi Krithigai

• As per some beliefs Muruga first appeared on earth on Aadi Krithigai day.
• Aadi Krithigai in some regions is celebrated to symbolize the victory of good over evil when Murugan slew the demon Surapadman. After the annihilation of the demon, Muruga blessed devotees with boons.
• According to Hindu scriptures, Lord Muruga was born as six different babies. And he was looked after by the six Krittika stars. Later, Lord Muruga was combined as a single baby with six heads by Goddess Parvati on Aadi Krithigai day. There are many variations to this legend. This is another reason for observing Aadi Krithigai.
• Krittikas, the six stars of the Pleiades, who happened to be traversing the skies, happened to hear the gurgling of a happy baby from the Saravana lake – a marshy lake in the Himalayas filled with a thicket of reeds.
• Flooded with maternal love, the six maidens rushed to pick up the charming infant. Each wanted to pick up the child. It is said that to fulfill the motherly affection of the six maidens, Muruga metamorphosed into six individual forms. The delighted krittikas each gathered a baby in their arms and suckled the infants and lavishing care on them.

The six babies represent synergy of

• Desire (Kama)
• Consciousness (Shiva)
• Earth (Parvati)
• Fir (Agni)
• Water (Ganga)
• Space (Krittika)

• Prime Minister has unveiled Varuna, India’s first passenger drone. PM Modi is seen watching the demonstration of the drone.
• Prime Minister asserted that the current government has ensured last-mile delivery of services with the help of technology, including drones.
• The Prime Minister was there to address the Naval Innovation and Indigenization Organization (NIIO)seminars Swavlamban which took place at Dr Ambedkar International Center in New Delhi.

Varuna drone:

• The makers of this indigenous pilot-less Varuna drone startup Sagar Defense Engineering demonstrated this in his presence.
• This Varuna drone has been designed and developed by a startup and has the capacity to carry one person inside.
• Varuna, India’s first drone that can carry a human payload, has a range of 25 km. The drone can carry a 130 kg payload and has 25-33 minutes of flight time.

• Trout fish will be available at half the price during the three-day-long fair launched by the state Fisheries Department on the Mall Road in Manali.
• Tourists and locals will be able to taste varieties of trout fish during the fair.
• The officials of the department gave information about the schemes being run for fish farmers in the state.
• The main objective of the fair was to make people aware of the trout fish variety. Hundreds of farmers in the state are strengthening the economy with the production of trout fish. The department is also encouraging people to adopt fish culture.
• According to the, Fisheries Department Director, 666 trout fish farmers were associated with the department.
• The main purpose of holding the fair in Manali was to encourage people from across the country and abroad to visit here and enjoy the trout fish.
• Tourists can promote trout fish in their states as well. People of other states can also strengthen their economy by producing trout fish and can spread information about it.

• The Chintpurni Temple Trust has decided to set up a museum-cum-interpretation centre for visitors to have a virtual three-dimensional (3-D) experience about various temples in the district as well as historical facts or legends associated with them.
• According to the, Deputy Commissioner Raghav Sharma, who is also the Chairman of the Chintpurni Temple Trust, the museum would be set up in the Mai Das Sadan, which is part of the multi-purpose tourist-cum-facilitation centre, near the shrine, four contiguous halls would serve as the main part of the centre.
• According to DC, “Visitors will walk through rooms having three-dimensional video animations with audio effects around them. Each room will provide a virtual tour of some of the major shrines in the district with a brief about their history. They will get a feeling of being physically present at these shrines.”
• According to the DC, “An exercise to create interiors for the right type of audio-visual effects has already begun. A detailed project report for the museum will be prepared by August 20 to be presented at the meeting of the Trustees.”
• After the approval of the State Art, Culture and Language Department, the work on the project was expected to begin in September.

• Sadio Mané was named African Player of the Year after a season in which he kicked the winning penalty for Senegal as they claimed their first Africa Cup of Nations title and repeated the feat when they secured World Cup qualification.
• Mané finished ahead of Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah, and fellow Senegalese Edouard Mendy in the voting for the award given by the Confederation of African Football.
• It was the second time the 30-year-old Mané, who last month joined German champions Bayern Munich, has won the award after receiving it in 2019.
• The Confederation of African Football did not give the award in 2020 and 2021. It now recognises a player’s accomplishments over a season rather than during a calendar year.

• The World Federation of Neurology (WFN)celebrates World Brain Day on every July 22, focusing on a different theme each year. According to WHO, good brain health is a state in which every individual can realize their own abilities and optimize their cognitive, emotional, psychological and behavioural functioning to cope with life situations.
• Theme of World Brain Day 2022: “Brain Health for all”

This year’s World Brain Day campaign consists of 5 key messages:

1. Awareness:

• Create awareness about brain and brain diseases. Give special lectures on brain to children in schools and colleges.

2. Prevention:

• Serious diseases like stroke, brain infection, epilepsy etc. can be controlled by proper preventive measures. Around 80 to 90 percent of stroke cases can be prevented by controlling its underlying causes like high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, heart diseases, obesity, smoking etc.

3. Advocacy:

• It is very important that the scientific study of brain diseases, new discoveries and treatments are accessible to the masses at an affordable cost.

4. Education:

• Education for all is still on paper in many parts of the world and all governments and non-governmental organizations of the world must join hands to overcome this socio-educational inequality.

5. Access:

• Resources for information and treatment of brain diseases should be easily accessible to everyone in all parts of the world, be it in the form of digital information or in the form of newsletters for awareness campaigns.

• According to officials, African swine fever has been reported from two farms at Mananthavady in Kerala’s Wayanad district.
• The disease was confirmed among pigs of two farms in the district after the samples were tested at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal.
• According to an official from the Animal Husbandry Department that the samples were sent for testing after pigs at one of the farms died en masse. Now the test result has confirmed the infection.
• According to the official Directions have been issued to cull 300 pigs of the second farm.
• The Department said steps are being taken to prevent the disease from being spread.
• The state had earlier this month tightened bio-security measures following an alert from the Centre that African swine fever has been reported in Bihar and a few northeastern states.
• African swine fever is a highly contagious and fatal viral disease affecting domestic pigs.