Today in History (May 6th, 1937)
The Hindenburg disaster, also known as the Hindenburg burst, was a catastrophic event that occurred on May 6, 1937, in Lakehurst, New Jersey, USA. The Hindenburg was a German commercial airship traveling from Frankfurt to Lakehurst when it burst into flames and crashed to the ground.
Summary of Today’s News
WHO declares COVID-19 as no longer an emergency.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency. The pandemic had been on a downward trend for over a year, and most countries had already returned to life before COVID-19. WHO has cautioned that the pandemic has not ended, and Southeast Asia and West Asia witnessed a recent spike in COVID-19 cases.
Battlefield Surveillance System
A new Battlefield Surveillance System aims to have surveillance centers for all field formations by December 2025. It seeks to integrate thousands of sensors to facilitate real-time, integrated surveillance pictures, from the Commander on the ground to the Corps level, for quick decision-making. Bharat Electronics Limited, Ghaziabad, is the project’s system integrator and has a success rate of more than 95%.
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
The European Union plans to introduce a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) that monitors imports from producers deploying non-green technologies starting from October 2023 and a tax levy from January 2026. It will impact Indian exports to the European Union. The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry is exploring several options to counter Carbon Tax, including retaliatory tariff measures, a challenge at WTO, and measures to help small Indian exporters.
National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has renamed the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, and Cardio-vascular diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) as the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) due to the addition of many new diseases and health initiatives such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, chronic kidney disease, etc. The NPCDCS is implemented under the National Health Mission.