Today in History (July, 31^st, 1940)

31st July marks the date when Comrade Udham Singh achieved martyrdom in 1940. Shaheed Udham Singh Kamboj was one of the most popular political activists and a great patriot of India.

Summary of Today’s News

Humayun’s Tomb World Heritage Site Museum 

• Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, inaugurated theHumayun’s Tomb World Heritage Site Museum at the Humayun’s Tomb, a UNESCO World Heritage site in New Delhi.

The key points

• It is the country’s first sunken museum that displays over 500 never-before-seen artefacts.
• The layout is inspired by the medieval ‘baolis’,or traditional water tanks, showcases the legacy of Mughal emperor Humayun.
• Background: It is an UNESCO recommendation that interpretation centres/ site museums be provided at the entrance zone of significant World Heritage Sites to provide thecultural context of the heritage site and thus significantly enhance the visitor experience.
  • The Museum is designed to be underground so as to retain the visual integrity of the monuments located in the complex.

Humayun’s Tomb

• The tomb of Humayun, second Mughal Emperorof India, was built by his widow, Biga Begum (Hajji Begum), in 1569-70, 14 years after his death.
• The architect wasMirak Mirza Ghiyath. 
• Humayun’s garden-tomb is also called the‘dormitory of the Mughals’ as in the cells are buried over 150 Mughal family members.
• The tomb stands in an extremely significant archaeological setting, centred at the Shrine of the 14th century Sufi Saint, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. 
• It was thefirst garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent.
• It inspired several major architectural innovations, culminating in the construction of the Taj Mahal.

Oropouche Fever

• Recently, Brazil has reported the first-ever deaths from Oropouche Fever, a mosquito-borne diseasewith symptoms similar to dengue.

Key points about the Oropouche Fever

• It is caused by theOropouche virus, which belongs to the Orthobunyavirus genus. It was first detected in Trinidad and Tobago back in 1955.
• Transmission:The Oropouche virus primarily spreads through the bite of a tiny insect called the Culicoides Paraensis Midge.
  • These minuscule midges are stealthy and efficient carriers of this virus.
  • However, there’s no evidence of human-to-human transmission.
• Symptoms: Symptoms are eerily similar to dengue—think fever, chills, muscle pain, and joint discomfort.

Internship Program Announced in Budget 2024

• The industries and the academia are waiting for the details of the internship programme announced in theUnion Budget by the Finance Minister

Key points about

• The details of the internship programme are not yet out.
• The Budget announcement says that the government will bear a large part of the cost and companies will have to fund 10% from their corporate social responsibility (CSR) fund. 
• It will make it very easy for the companies. Internships and apprenticeships are strategic tools of up-levelling skills and building the right talent for the company.

QUAD and Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA)

• Recently, the Foreign Ministers of the Quadrilateral Group (QUAD) intended to expand the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA)into the Indian Ocean Region.

About the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA)

• It is a strategic initiative, launched during the 2022 Tokyo Quad Leaders’ Summit, that emerged from the Quad—a collaborative framework involving four democratic nations: Australia, India, Japan, and the United States.
• It aims to enhance maritime security and awareness in the Indo-Pacific region, and focusing on monitoring and understanding maritime activities in near-real-time.
  • It specifically targets ‘dark shipping’ which refers to vessels that operate without proper identification or tracking systems.
• It aims to build a comprehensive maritime picture by integrating data from three critical regions—the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean Rim (IOR).

Expanding Geographically

• Initially, the IPMDA was centred around the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. However, recent developments indicate an expansion to theIndian Ocean region.
• It reinforces the commitment of Quad nations to a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific.
• TheIndian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre in Gurugram aims to play a crucial role in extending the IPMDA’s reach to the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)..

Quad’s Broader Ambitions

• Beyond the IPMDA, the Quad Leaders have set their sights on several other critical areas, like Infrastructure Development, Quad Infrastructure Fellowship, Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience, Quad Investors Network (QUIN) and Space, Health, and Emerging Technologies etc.