• India is exploring avenues for jointly investing in advanced processing facilities for lithium, a key component in electric vehicles (EV), in Australia, Coal and Mines. Lithium hydroxide is a key component in EV batteries.
• Dignitaries from both sides visited the Tianqi lithium processing facility in Kwinana, Perth, Australia.
• Domestic sources India imported around 627 million units of lithium­ion batteries in FY19, while during FY20 and FY21, the in­bound shipments of lithium­ion batteries stood at 539 million units and 516 million units, respectively.
• The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research is carrying out exploration for lithium in Mandya and Yadgir districts of Karnataka.
• India has been exploring to acquire mines of strategic minerals such as lithium and cobalt in producing countries like Australia, Argentina, Bolivia and Chile.
• To that effect,a Joint Venture firm, Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) with NALCO, Hindustan Copper and Mineral Exploration Corporation was also created.

• Gujarat and Karnataka have been awarded best performers among the category of states, while Meghalaya has been ranked number one among Union Territories and North Eastern states in the third edition of the States Startup India Ranking 2021.
• Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa and Telangana emerged as top performers among states, while Jammu and Kashmir was the top performer among UTs and North-East state.
• For the ranking, states are divided into five categories: Best Performers, Top Performers, Leaders, Aspiring Leaders and Emerging Start-up Ecosystems.
• This is the third consecutive year that Gujarat has been ranked the number one state in providing an enabling ecosystem for startups.
• The results were announced by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industries at the third edition of the States’ Startup Ranking 2021, released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIT).
• According to Piyush Goyal, initiatives such as Fund of Funds, Seed Fund Scheme, Income Tax exemption for three years, and resolving the issue of Angel Tax, have helped start-ups.
• India is currently the third-largest ecosystem.

• In a significant development, researchers from Bengaluru’s Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology (DST) have discovered a novel material called single-crystalline scandium nitride (ScN) that can emit, detect, and modulate infrared light with high efficiencies.
• They have utilized a scientific phenomenon called polariton excitations that occur in tailored materials when light couples with either the collective free electron oscillations or polar lattice vibrations to achieve this feat. They have carefully controlled material properties to excite polaritons (a quasi-particle) and achieve strong light-matter interactions in single-crystalline scandium nitride (ScN) using infrared light.
• These exotic polaritons in the ScN can be utilized for solar and thermal energy harvesting.  Also, belonging to the same family of materials as gallium nitride (GaN), scandium nitride is compatible with modern complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) or Si-chip technology and, therefore, could be easily integrated for on-chip optical communication devices.
• “From electronics-to-healthcare, defense and security-to-energy technologies, there is a great demand for infrared sources, emitters and sensors.
• According to Dr. Bivas Saha, Assistant Professor at JNCASR, this work on infrared polaritons in scandium nitride will enable its applications in many such devices.
• Apart from JNCASR, researchers from the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) and the University of Sydney also participated in this study published recently in the scientific journal Nano Letters.

• The 13^thEdition of Toy Biz B2B (Business to Business) International Exhibition from 2-5 July 2022 was held at Pragati Maidan.
• Prime Minister had given a clarion call on “Rebranding the Indian Toy Story” and emphasized on the availability of right kind of toys for children, using toys as a learning resource, designing of toys based on Indian value system, Indian history, and culture to strengthen domestic designing and position India as a global manufacturing hub for toys.
• All the 96 exhibitors have showcased the diverse product category ranging from traditional plush toys, construction equipment toys, dolls, building block toys, board games, puzzles, electronic toys, educational toys, ride-ons, etc.
• All the toys’ products were ‘Made in India’ product manufactured domestically by small, medium and large enterprises.
• The Toys bearing GI tag such as Chennapatna, Varanasi etc. are also being displayed. The exhibition is showcasing toys based on Indian ethos & value system duly endorsing ‘Vocal for Local’ theme. Each toy category has affordable and high-end versions. This is a major shift from the 12th edition of the exhibition held in 2019, wherein of 116 stalls, 90 stalls exhibited only imported toys.
• This exhibition witnessed a footfall of over 3,000 visitors from India and international buyers’ delegation from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bhutan, USA etc.
• The import of toys is down by 70% in the last three years.

• Odisha has been adjudged the top ranked State followed by Uttar Pradesh at the 2^ndspot and Andhra Pradesh at third amongst the General Category States in ‘State Ranking Index for NFSA’.
• Among the Special Category states/UTs, Tripura stood first followed by Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim respectively.
• Further, among the 3 UTs where Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)- Cash is operational, Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu is the top ranked UT.
• This State ranking Index for NFSA, attempts to document the status and progress of implementation of NFSA and various reform initiatives across the country, post consultation with states.
• It highlights the reforms undertaken by States and UTs and create a cross-learning environment and scale-up reform measures by all states and union territories.
• The present Index is largely focused on NFSA Distribution and will include procurement, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) Distribution in future.
• The Index for ranking the states and UTs is built on three key pillars which covers the end-to-end implementation of NFSA through TPDS. These pillars are: i) NFSA— Coverage, targeting and provisions of the Act, ii) Delivery platform, and iii) Nutrition initiatives.
• The National Food Security Act (NFSA) was enacted on July 5, 2013 and in order to celebrate the day, the conference was organized to deliberate and discuss nutritional security, food security, best practices followed in Public Distribution System, crop diversification, reforms in PDS and storage sector.
• The system of digitized, Aadhaar linked Public Distribution will be used to issue Ayushman Bharat Card.
• Uttar Pradesh is using the system to issue Ayushman Bharat card.
• Immunization of migrant kids can also be linked with the system to ensure medical facility to them.

• Dr SS Guleria took oath as Information Commissioner of the State Information Commission.
• The oath ceremony took place at Raj Bhawan in the presence of Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.
• Chief Secretary Ram Subhag Singh conducted the proceedings.
• DGP Sanjay Kundu, Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of various commissions and boards and senior government officers were present on the occasion.

• Paragpur, the first heritage village of the Himachal Pradesh located in the foothills of the Dhauladhars in the Kangra valley near Dehra Gopipur, 70 km from Palampur.
• The village got the heritage village tag 25 years ago but no development has taken place there.
• This village reflects the essence of an earlier era. Mature buildings, fine work, remarkable architecture and old shops are the core of the heritage zone. But with the passage of time, some of the historic buildings are decaying.
• In 1997, the state government had promised to come out with a master plan for the development of the village. A high-level committee was also constituted to submit its report to the government so that it could be developed as a major tourist destination, particularly for foreigners.
• However, no headway was made and the condition of the village turned from bad to worse. Most streets are in poor shape, water is overflowing on roads, there is no arrangement to clean the roads and streets regularly.
• Paragpur is also a shooting spot for many Punjabi and Hindi movies.
• This heritage zone can give a boost to tourism if the government takes care of historic monuments which are on the verge of collapse
• Villagers say that the government should set up a development board for the upkeep of the village. The board should have members from the area and also from the Sood community, whose ancestors are said to have built this village.

• The avalanche took place on the Marmolada, which at more than 3,300 metres is the highest peak in the Dolomites, a range in the eastern Italian Alps straddling the regions of Trento and Veneto.
• Rising average temperatures have caused the Marmolada glacier, like many others around the world, to shrink steadily over recent decades.
• According to the polar sciences institute of the National Research Council (CNR), For weeks the temperatures at high altitudes in the Alps have been well above normal values, while this past winter there has been little snow, which hardly protects the glacial basins anymore.

• The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans) had received a grant of Rs 10 crore in April from the Ministry of Ayush for integrative medicine research involving Ayurveda and yoga.
• They are looking for suitable professionals in the field to start their research in the coming months.
• Dr Shivarama Varambally of the Department of Integrative Medicine said the grant is for a period of three to five years.
• The research on integrated benefits of yoga and Ayurveda would be beneficial for treating disorders like schizophrenia, clinical depression, Alzheimer’s disease dementia, etc.
• They have a plan to create awareness among people to know about an integrative medicine department and its research work.
• Nimhans ex-director and now emeritus professor in Delhi, Dr BN Gangadhar, explained they have done a lot of work in the past for Yoga helping in healing mild and cognitive impairments.
• He added that multiple inputs were going on since two to three years and new courses were also added to generate more human resources.

KEY POINTS:

• Centre of Excellence on Satellite & Unmanned Remote Vehicle Initiative (CoE-SURVEI) has developed an Artificial Intelligence-based software which can automatically detect change on ground, including unauthorised constructions and encroachments in a time series using Satellite Imagery.
• The CoE-SURVEI, established by Directorate General Defence Estates at National Institute of Defence Estates Management, leverages latest technologies in survey viz. satellite imagery, drone imagery and geo-spatial tools for effective land management and urban planning.
• This Change Detection Software has been developed by CoE-SURVEI in collaboration with knowledge partner Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Visakhapatnam.
• The CoE-SURVEI has developed tools for vacant land analysis and 3D imagery analysis of hill cantonments for land management.
• By leveraging technology, it is trying to ensure optimum use of defence land through Geographic Information System (GIS)-based land management systems