Free internet for all: Private member’s Bill
- Free internet facility should be provided to all. The central government has taken up the individual bill to provide access to internet like other places mainly to the people of backward and remote areas.
- Marxist-Communist Rajya Sabha member V. Sivadasan presented this private member bill in December 2023.
- It said, ‘No fee should be charged from the people of the country for using the internet facility.
- It was said that companies which are already providing this service should be given subsidy and free internet service should be provided to the people.
- Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
- A private member’s bill is introduced in Parliament by an individual member.
- Two types of Bills are introduced in Parliament for legislative procedure.
- Public and Private Bills Public Bills are called Government Bills and Private Bills are called Private Member’s Bills.
- A bill introduced by a member of parliament (MP) who is not a minister i.e. a non-government member is called a private member’s bill.
Population of elderly in India to double by 2050:
- The number of elderly people in India will double by the year 2050, said Andrea Wojnar, the head of India for the UN Population Organization.
- World Population Day is observed on 11th July.
- The country’s population of 60 years and above is expected to double to 34.6 crore by 2050.
- India is expected to be 50 percent urbanized by 2050.
Beginning of Budget Session:
- The budget session of Parliament will begin on July 22.
- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the entire budget for the current financial year.
- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget for the seventh consecutive time and create a historic record.
- He is about to break the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai who presented 5 consecutive full budgets and one interim budget.
- Nirmala Sitharaman was appointed as the full-time finance minister of the country in 2019.
- After the independence of the country and Nehru taking office as the Prime Minister, the first budget was presented by the Finance Minister R.K. Shanmukham chetty.
- Morarji Desai presented the budget 10 times while serving as the finance minister in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri, and held the honor of presenting the most number of budgets.
- 6 new bills including the Disaster Management Amendment Bill, the Bill to replace the 90-year-old Aviation Act, and the Finance Bill-2024 will be introduced in the budget session.
- The Banks Regulation Act-1949 and Banking Companies (Acquisition, Transfer of Liability) Act-1970 are also to be amended.
Nipah virus:
- Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus that is transmitted from animals to humans.
- In its victims, it causes a variety of illnesses, ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe respiratory disease and fatal encephalitis.
- It infects animals and causes severe illness and death in humans.
- Nipah virus was first detected in 1999 when it spread among pig farmers in Malaysia.
- Nipah virus is transmitted to humans through bats or pigs or contaminated food, and also directly from human to human.
Discovery of potsherds inscribed with Tamil characters in Chennanur excavations:
- In the ongoing excavations at Chennanur, Krishnagiri district, potsherds inscribed with Tamil characters have been found.
- In this excavation, antiquities such as Neolithic stone tool, flint stamp, conch bangle fragments, circular chips, glass bangle fragments have been found.
- At present 90 cm in Chennanur excavation. First 108 cm. Three potsherds inscribed with Tamil script were found at a depth of up to
Leander Paes, Vijay Amritraj in International Tennis Hall of Fame:
- The International Tennis Federation (ATP) inducts the world famous tennis players into the Hall of Fame.
- Indian legends Leander Paes and Vijay Amritraj have both been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
- Both of them also got the distinction of being the first two players in the Asian continent to receive this honour.
- So far a total of 267 legends from 28 countries have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
July 22: National Flag Day
- National Flag Day is observed on 22nd July every year to celebrate the adoption of the tricolor flag designed by Pingali Venkayya as the flag of India.
July 22: World Brain Day
- World Brain Day or International Brain Day has been observed on July 22 every year for the past nine years.
- This year 2024, the theme of World Brain Day is: “Brain Health and Prevention”.
- This includes emphasizing the importance of early detection and effective management of risk factors for neurological diseases and disseminating global education on prevention strategies.
Important Facts:
- The Congress MP has been awarded the Oommen Chandy Award for public service in honour of the late former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. Rahul Gandhi has been pardoned.
- Indian Oil Company has introduced a unique fuel called ‘Strom X’ for racing vehicles.
- Italy’s Matteo Berrettini won the Swiss Open ATP tennis tournament singles title.
- BCCI has announced a financial assistance of Rs 8.5 crore to the Indian Olympic Association for the Paris Olympics.