World Health Organization (WHO) has declared monkeypox a global health emergency.

• It came at the end of the second meeting of the WHO''s emergency committee on the virus.
• The classification is the highest alert that the WHO can issue and follows a worldwide upsurge in cases.
• WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 16,000 cases have now been reported from 75 countries. There have been five deaths so far as a result of the outbreak.
• There are only two other such health emergencies at present - the coronavirus pandemic and the continuing effort to eradicate polio.

New ''industry'' status buoys up Rajasthan''s tourism units

• The power tariff and other taxes levied on tourism operators have now been brought on a par with other industries, against the much-higher commercial rates levied earlier.
• Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had announced in his 2022-23 Budget speech in the State Assembly in February this year that the tourism and hospitality sector would be granted industry status.
• The concessions to the tourism sector as an ‘industry’ would bring a financial burden of ₹700 crore a year on the State exchequer.

National Broadcasting Day was observed on July 23

• On this day in 1927, the first-ever radio broadcast in the country went on the air from the Bombay Station under a private company, the Indian Broadcasting Company.
• On the 8th of June, 1936, the Indian State Broadcasting Service became All India Radio.
• Since 1927, Radio has been an important part of people''s life in India. All India Radio has been serving to inform, educate and entertain the masses truly living up to its motto - ''Bahujan Hitaya, Bahujana Sukhaya''.

Tricolour can now stay hoisted day & night

• The provision earlier allowed the flag, when displayed in the open, to be flown from sunrise to sunset as far as possible.
• Now, a member of the public, a private organisation or an educational institution is allowed to hoist the flag on all days and occasions, ceremonial or otherwise, consistent with dignity and honour of the national flag. The move comes ahead of 75th anniversary of Indian Independence.
• The Flag Code of India was earlier amended on December 30, 2021, allowing the use of polyester, apart from cotton, wool, silk and khadi for making hand-spun, hand-woven and machine-made flags.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon people to hoist the Tricolour or display it in their homes between 13th and 15th August. Mr Modi said, this Har Ghar Tiranga movement will deepen our connect with the national flag as the nation is marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav this year.

Rules for boarding specially-abled people on aircraft

• The DGCA said it has amended its regulations to improve accessibility of boarding and flying for the specially abled.
• In its new Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), the DGCA has said that if an airline decides to deny boarding after getting medical opinion, it will have to immediately inform the passenger in writing and mention the reasons.
• According to the earlier rules, airlines could deny boarding to any person on the basis of disability if it opined that “transportation of such persons would or might be inimical to the safety of flight”.
• The airlines, however, were bound to specify in writing the basis of such refusal.

Scientists worry as GST exemption removed for science equipment

• On July 18, the 47th GST Council meeting in Chandigarh approved changes to rates on a host of goods and services.
• This included a decision to do away with concessional GST rate of 5% applicable to scientific equipment and increasing it to “applicable rates” meaning anywhere between 12% and 18%.
• This would mean a 6%-12% hit on research funds available to laboratories for their expenditure.
• The Union Ministry of Science and Technology was earmarked ₹14,217 crore in the 2022-23 Union Budget — a drop of 3.9% from last year.
• In April 2021, scientists from labs all over the country had signed a petition and written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pointing out that the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” policy had made import of scientific equipment and reagents an “extremely tedious and time-consuming process” requiring approval at the level of the Secretaries of Ministries or departments.

Bat habitats in South Western Ghats lie predominantly outside protected areas

• The authors based their study area around 1,600 km of the Southern Western Ghats, encompassing biodiverse regions in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
• Six major biodiversity hotspots — Agastyamalai, Periyar Tiger Reserve, Anamalai, the Nilgiris, the Wayanad-Mudumalai complex and Brahmagiri — were part of the study area.
• The Southern Western Ghats was home to rare and endangered bat species such as Salim Ali’s fruit bat (Latidens salimalii) and the Pomona roundleaf bat (Hipposideros pomona).
• Seven of the 37 bat species studied in the region had broad distribution ranges, exceeding 20,000 sq km, 19 species had intermediate distribution ranges between 10,000 and 20,000 sq km, and 11 species were restricted to ranges less than 10,000 sq km.
• Worryingly, only two species of bats had a distribution range that was significantly located in protected areas. Meanwhile, the distribution ranges of 35 other species lay primarily outside protected areas.

BAL RAKSHA MOBILE APP

• Union Minister of Ayush Shri Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Vaccination Centre for children at the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA).
• He also launched the Bal Raksha mobile app, which is aimed at creating awareness of paediatric preventive healthcare through Ayurveda intervention amongst parents.
• The app will also collect feedback from parents regarding the impact of the kit on their children''s health and immunity.
• The All India Institute of Ayurveda, an autonomous organisation under Ministry of Ayush, aims at bringing synergy between the traditional wisdom of Ayurveda and modern tools and technology.