Today in History

The Netherlands became the first country in the world to grant equal marriage rights to same-sex couples under the Registered Partnerships Act, 1989. As of 2023, same-sex marriages are legally recognised in 34 countries. Andorra is the latest country to legally recognize same-sex marriages since February 17, 2023.

CERT-IN
The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in) is the nodal agency under the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) which responds to cyber security threats on the Indian Internet Domain. It also coordinates with public and private organisations in India when cyber incidents like data breaches and ransomware attacks are reported. In April, 2022, CERT-in issued directions that require Virtual Private Network (VPN) providers and crypto-currency firms to preserve data on all users.

XBB.1.16 responsible for the surge in COVID cases in India
According to WHO, India witnessed the highest proportional increase of new COVID-19 cases in South-East Asia, followed by Indonesia and Thailand. India has reported 18,310 new cases in the last month which is 1.3 new cases per 1 lac population. XBB.1.16, a recombinant variant of BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75, is responsible for a spike in COVID-19 cases in India. The three additional mutations in XBB.1.16 are responsible for increased transmissibility, pathogenicity, and decreased antibody neutralisation.

U.K. to join Trans-Pacific Trade partnership
The United Kingdom has acceded to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). CPTPP is a free trade agreement between 11 countries of the Asia-Pacific Region which accounts for 13% of global GDP. It succeeded the Trans-Pacific Partnership after the U.S. withdrawal in 2017.

Finland to become a member of NATO.
After the Turkish Parliament ratified Finland’s accession to NATO, Finland is set to become the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). NATO is a collective defence treaty headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Jens Stoltenberg is the incumbent Secretary-General of NATO.

CAD narrows to 2.2% of GDP in Q3 of FY23.
According to the RBI Balance of Payments data, India’s Current Account Deficit (CAD) declined to 2.2% of GDP in Q3 of FY23. It was mainly due to the narrowing of the merchandise trade deficit, robust services export, and private transfer receipts, including remittances.