News In Shorts: 09 October 2024

World Health Organisation (WHO)

About World Health Organisation (WHO):

• Specialised agency of the United Nations, responsible for International public health
• Founded in: 1948
• Headquartered: Geneva, Switzerland
• Membership: 194 member states.
• World Health Assembly (WHA): Highest decision-making body of WHO
  • Comprises representatives from all member States. 
  • WHA Appoints:  Director-general every five years and votes on matters of policy and finance of WHO, including the proposed budget.
• Secretariat: Responsible for carrying out the policies and programs approved by the WHA.
• Regional Offices: Six regional offices
  • Africa, the Americas, Southeast Asia, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, and Western Pacific. 
• Meetings: Meets annually to set policies, approve the budget and elect the Director-General.
• Funding mechanism: Two Main Sources: 
  • Assessed contributions: Dues countries pay in order to be a member of the Organization.
  • Voluntary contributions: From Member States (in addition to their assessed contribution) or from other partners like United Nations organisations, intergovernmental organisations, philanthropic foundations, the private sector etc.
• Between April 2022 and April 2023: Assessed contributions totalled $956.9 million (12.1 per cent of total revenue to date)
  • Voluntary contributions totalled $6.92 billion (87.5 percent of total revenue to date), and “Other revenue” totalled $28.1 million (0.4 percent)

Fattah 2

Key Features of Fattah 2:

• It is equipped with a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV) warhead, which allows the missile to manoeuvre and glide at speeds between Mach 5 and 20.
• Fattah-2 boasts a range of 1,500 km, only slightly more than its predecessor, the Fattah-I.
• The missile can accelerate outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
• Its aerodynamic control surfaces allow for steering within the atmosphere.

ISRO Third Launch Pad 

Need for a new Launch Pad:

• To ensure redundancy and accommodate the New Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV)
• The Launch pad will feature horizontal integration and tilting, unlike the traditional vertical launches.
• Currently, the second launch pad is the only one capable of handling larger vehicles like GSLV and LVM-3, but there is no backup if it becomes inoperable.
• The first launch pad was initially designed for PSLV and cannot support cryogenic stages, limiting its use for newer vehicles.
• NGLV is being developed to meet future demands, with a goal of launching 20-tonne payloads to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), compared to the current 9.2 tonnes with LVM-3.

Academic Freedom Index

About the Academic Freedom Index:

• The Academic Freedom Index is part of the “Free to Think 2024” report by the Scholars at Risk (SAR) Academic Freedom Monitoring Project.
• SAR is a network of 665 universities globally, including Columbia University, Duke University, and New York University.

Key Findings About India

• India is now ranked as “completely restricted” in terms of academic freedom, according to the index.
• Restrictions on student protests have been imposed by universities:
• • Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) banned protests near academic buildings.
  • South Asian University (SAU) prohibited student protests on campus entirely.
• The Union government is also involved in disputes with State governments over control of higher education.
  • Example: In Kerala, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan clashed with the State over a legislative amendment to remove him as Chancellor of universities.