Current Affairs One - Liner : 5th July 2024

The Bihar government is indeed offering MBBS in Hindi as a medium of instruction from the upcoming academic session. This is a big step towards making medical education more accessible to students for whom Hindi is the primary language of education. Bihar is the second state to take this initiative, following Madhya Pradesh.

Air pollution is a major global health issue, causing 8.1 million deaths worldwide in 2021. Children under five are particularly vulnerable, with over 700,000 child deaths linked to air pollution. In India, 33,000 deaths annually are attributed to poor air quality.

On July 1, 2024, Hungary assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union from Belgium. This marks Hungary’s second time holding the EU Presidency. During its term, Hungary will chair meetings at various levels within the Council, contributing to the consistency of the EU’s work.

The Paytm Health Saathi plan, available for Paytm merchant partners, offers affordable healthcare benefits. For just ₹35 per month, it includes unlimited teleconsultations with doctors, in-person doctor visits, and income protection coverage for business interruptions.

Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Jagdish Devda recently presented the state budget for the fiscal year 2024–25. The budget is worth ₹3,65,067 crore, which represents a 16% increase compared to the previous year’s budget. Notably, there are no new taxes proposed in this budget.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) signed an MoU in New Delhi on 5th July 2024, to develop a framework and assess logistics costs in India. This collaboration aims to study logistics costs for 2023-24, identify determinants influencing logistics, and reduce the percentage of logistics cost to GDP.
Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV) Vadodara and Airbus signed a MoU on Friday, July 5th, 2024 at Rail Bhawan, New Delhi to collaborate in teaching and research in aerospace. The collaboration includes full scholarships for GSV students, an Airbus Aviation Chair Professor position, and a joint Centre of Excellence. This partnership aims to boost the Indian aviation sector through skilled workforce development and cutting-edge research.

India is now part of SERA's human spaceflight program for countries new to space exploration. Selected Indian citizens will travel on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket on an 11-minute suborbital trip past the edge of space. They'll experience weightlessness for a few minutes before returning.

The Indian Army has introduced its first indigenous chip-based 4G mobile base station from Signaltron. Developed using India’s own Signalchip technology, the Sahyadri LTE base stations weigh just 7 kg and offer secure wireless communication for audio, video, and data.

Justice Sheel Nagu became Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 4, 2024. This filled a vacancy that had existed since October 2023. The recommendation for his appointment came from the Supreme Court Collegium in December 2023.
Dhirendra K Ojha was appointed the principal spokesperson of the central government on July 4, 2024. He is a senior Indian Information Service (IIS) officer and a 1990-batch officer. In addition to this role, he will also hold the charge of the principal director general of the Press Information Bureau (PIB).
On 3rd July 2024, the Ministry of Law and Justice notified the appointment of Dr. Justice Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi, Judge, High Court of Orissa, as the 15th Chief Justice of the High Court of Jharkhand.

Sopna Kallingal, an agriculturist from Kallingal Plantation in Thrissur, was honored with the prestigious Spice Award 2024 on July 4, 2024. The ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research recognized her outstanding work in business diversification and integrated crop management.

Robert Towne, the legendary Oscar-winning screenwriter known for his contributions to films like “Chinatown,” “The Last Detail,” and “Shampoo,” passed away at the age of 89 on July 1, 2024. He died peacefully at his home in Los Angeles.

Questions:

1 Who received the Spice Award 2024?

2 What is the focus of the collaboration between GSV Vadodara and Airbus?