Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Current Affairs- July 26, 2022
INDIA
– 4 Cong MPs suspended from Lok Sabha for rest of session for disrupting proceedings
– Droupadi Murmu takes oath as India’s 15th President
ECONOMY & CORPORATE
– Fresh milk and pasteurised milk fully exempted from Goods and Service Tax, clarifies Government
– Multi-Agency Group set up by govt for expeditious and coordinated investigation of various categories of foreign asset cases: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
– Maersk creates fast, reliable India-Bangladesh cross-border logistics solution using inland waterways
WORLD
– India contributes $2.5 million to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UN RWA)
– Boat carrying Haitian migrants sinks off Bahamas, killing 17; 25 rescued
– Myanmar: Military rulers execute four democracy activists, the first execution conducted in the country in decades
– World Drowning Prevention Day observed on July 25
SPORTS
– World Athletics Championships in US: Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan breaks world record in women’s 100m hurdles in 12.12 seconds
July 25: World Drowning Prevention Day
On July 25, the World Drowning Prevention Day is observed across the world. This day was recognised by the United Nations in a bid to collectively start action towards drowning prevention with the objective of making the world sustainably-developed.
UN General Assembly Resolution:
- United Nation General Assembly had recognized the World Drowning Prevention Day in April 2021 through a resolution.
- This global advocacy event has now become an opportunity to put in public the tragic impact of drowning on families and communities.
- The day seeks to provide solutions in a bid to prevent the drowning as well.
The World Drowning Prevention Day is celebrated globally, in which;
- Stakeholders including UN agencies, governments, private sector, civil society organisations, academia and individuals are asked to observe this Day by focusing on the requirement of take coordinated, urgent and multi-sectoral action on proven measures to prevent drowning.
- Preparations for the World Drowning Prevention Day is done by the World Health Organisations (WHO), by producing advocacy materials, supporting local & national activities across the world and hosting a global launch event.
- In year 2022, WHO invited public to ‘do one thing’ to save lives on the occasion. It recommended to use hashtag #DrowningPrevention, on social media.
Global estimate on Drowning
As per UN, around 236,000 people drown annually. Thus, it has become a major health problem across the world. Drowning is among the major causes of death for people aged 1 to 24 years. It is the third leading cause for unintentional injury death. It accounts for 7% of all injury-related deaths. As per WHO estimate, over 90% of drowning deaths occur in low and middle-income countries.
Current Affairs-July 27, 2022
INDIA
– Lok Sabha passes Family Courts’ Amendment Bill, 2022; validates existence of the 3 family courts in Himachal Pradesh and 2 in Nagaland with retrospective effect
– 19 Opposition MPs suspended over misconduct from Rajya Sabha for a week
– Prasar Bharati signs MoU with IIT, Kanpur to develop Next Generation Broadcast solution
– Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrated across the country on July 26; marks victory in Operation Vijay in 1999
– Gujarat: Death toll in hooch (spurious liquor) tragedy in Botad district rises to 33
– EAM Jaishankar meets USAID (United States Agency for International Development) Administrator Samantha Power in New Delhi
– India lost 329 tigers in last 3 years due to poaching, natural and unnatural causes: Govt.
ECONOMY & CORPORATE
– Bidding for first ever auction of 5G spectrum begins; Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Adani Data Networks in the fray
– Defence ministry approves arms procurement proposals worth Rs 28,732 cr
– Defence’s Ministry iDEX-DIO (Innovations for Defence Excellence–Defence Innovation Organization) signs its 100th innovation contract
– IMF slashes India’s 2022-23 GDP growth forecast by 0.8% to 7.4%
– 8% decline in amount of bank frauds in last two years: MoS for Finance Bhagwat Karad
– Non-Performing Assets of Scheduled Commercial Banks in country declined in last four years: Govt
WORLD
– Russia will withdraw from International Space Station (ISS) project after 2024; jointly run by space agencies of Russia, USA, Europe, Japan and Canada since 1998
– IMF cuts growth forecast for global economy in 2022 to 3.2% in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) report
– US actor Paul Sorvino dies at 83, famous for his role in the gangster classic “Goodfellas”
SPORTS
– Hosts US top medals tally at World Athletics Championships; Armand Duplantis of Sweden breaks own world record in men’s pole vault with 6.21 metres
Five new Ramsar Sites designated by India
Three wetlands from Tamil Nadu and One each from Mizoram & Madhya Pradesh have been identified under the Ramsar Convention, which is also called as “Convention on Wetlands”. Thus, India has added Five new Ramsar Wetlands Sites of international importance. With the latest addition, total number of Ramsar Sites in India has reached to 54, as opposed to 49 earlier.
New Ramsar Sites include;
- Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest, Tamil Nadu: It is a freshwater marsh in Chennai. It is the only surviving wetland ecosystem Chennai. It is counted among last remaining natural wetlands of South India.
- Karikili Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu: It is a 61.21-hectare protected area located in Kancheepuram District of Tamil Nadu. It is located at a distance of 75 km from Chennai.
- Pichavaram Mangrove, Tamil Nadu: It is located near Chidambaram in Cuddalore District of Tamil Nadu. It covers an area of 1100 hectares and thus counted among largest mangrove forests in country.
- Pala wetland, Mizoram: It is the largest natural wetland in Mizoram. The wetland is surrounded by green woodlands. It is known for rich diversity of animal species including several species of animals and birds.
- Sakhya Sagar, Madhya Pradesh: This lake is an integral part of Madhav National Park in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh.
About Ramsar Convention:
The Ramsar convention was established by UNESCO on February 2, 1971. It is an intergovernmental environmental treaty, named after Ramsar city in Iran because it was signed there. The convention came into effect on 1975. It encourages the international cooperation and national action to conserve the wetlands and sustainably use their resources. Under it, wetlands of international importance are identified worldwide.
Monkey Pox: Why WHO declared it a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)?
Over 16000 cases of monkeypox have been identified across 75 countries since May 2022. On July 23, World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Majority of the cases are being reported in WHO European Region. In India, 4 cases have been reported till date. Currently, most cases are being resolved without hospitalization or any medication. Death rate is also less.
- The WHO had constituted a committee in June 2022, to study if monkeypox is PHEIC.
- It reconvened the committee on July 21 and declared the monkey pox a PHEIC.
- Last time WHO declared an PHEIC was in 2020 for covid-19.
- Monkeypox disease is caused by monkeypox virus.
- It involves fever for few days and lymph node swelling and a rash, that can leave scars.
- It is much less severe than Covid-19 and spreads less easily. This is why, WHO declared an emergency.
Monkeypox was declared PHEIC because, it is fulfilling the first two criteria of an emergency:
- Spread of the Virus outside West and Central Africa are unusual pattern
- It has already spread internationally, with cases in 75 countries.
PHEIC vs Pandemic:
PHEIC is different than the pandemic. Pandemic is an epidemic that occur over a wide area and affects large number of people. On the other hand, PHEIC is a carefully defined term. It is defined as a situation that is under control, but has potential to grow out of control. Till date, only 6 PHEICs have been declared including Zika, Ebola and Covid-19.
Metaverse has potential to revolutionize e-commerce
E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the buying and selling of products and services or the transfer of data and funds over the internet. These are business transactions that occur in ways such as business to business (B2B), business to consumer (B2C), consumer to consumer (C2C) or consumer to business (C2B).
Since the option to purchase goods over the internet was first introduced via technology, there has been a fixed divide between the real and digital worlds. This was the case until the introduction of the metaverse, a combination of multiple technologies, built to work together.
This includes a series of technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and even games. The metaverse enables multi-modal interactions with digital items, virtual environments, and real people, thus providing an immersive multi-user experience for anyone accessing it around the globe.
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