For 18th Lok sabha a pro-tem Speaker will be chosen to swear in the new Members of Parliament.

About Speaker Pro tem

• The office of the Speaker becomes vacant immediately before the first meeting of the new Lok Sabha.
• The duties of the Speaker are to be performed by a Member of the House appointed for this purpose by the President as Speaker pro tem.
  • The President administers the oath to the Speaker pro tem.

• Normally, the senior most Members (in terms of number of years of membership of the House) are chosen for the purpose.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) suggested the removal of the ‘Angel Tax’.

About Angel Tax

• It was first introduced in 2012 under Income-tax Act,1961.
• It is levied on the capital raised via the issue of shares by unlisted companies if the share price of issued shares is seen in excess of the fair market value of the company.
• It helps in curbing money laundering and make it easier for businesses to comply with the tax norms.

Nine of Indian ports have found their position among top 100 global ports in CPPI in 2023.

About CPPI (2023)

• It is developed by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence.
• The Index is a comparable assessment of performance based on vessel time in port.
• It helps to identify opportunities to improve a terminal or a port that will ultimately benefit all public and private stakeholders.
• Top-ranked container port in the CPPI 2023 is Yangshan Port (China).

NFRA is planning to increase the number of audit firms it inspects annually.

About NFRA (HQ: New Delhi)

• Genesis: Constituted in 2018 by Government of India under Section 132 (1) of Companies Act, 2013.
• Objective: To continuously improve the quality of all corporate financial reporting in India.
• Composition: Consists of a chairperson, appointed by Central Government and such other members not exceeding 15 consisting of part-time and full-time members.
• Functions and Duties:
  • Recommend accounting and auditing policies and standards to be adopted by companies for approval by Central Government.
  • Monitor and enforce compliance with accounting standards and auditing standards.
• Accounts Audit: By Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.

Ministry of Defence has issued Request for Proposal to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for procurement of 156 LCH.

About LCH

• First indigenous Multi-Role Combat Helicopter designed and manufactured by HAL.
• Capable of firing air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles.
• Possesses modern stealth characteristics, robust armour protection and formidable night attack capability.
• Capable of operating from high altitude terrain and carrying out precision strike at high altitude targets areas (like Siachen glacier).
• Uses radar-absorbing material to lower radar signature and has a significantly crash-proof structure and landing gear.

Fire in Kuwait that killed 49 people raised questions about the kafala system.

The Kafala (Sponsorship) System 

• It emerged in the 1950’s to regulate the relationship between employers and migrant workers in many countries in West Asia.
• Objective was to provide temporary, rotating labour that could be rapidly brought into the country in an economic boom.
• The migrant worker cannot enter the country, transfer employment nor leave the country for any reason without first obtaining explicit written permission from the sponsor.

Recently, a tech millionaire was reported to have gone under gene therapy to edit his DNA.

• A gene is defined as the functional unit of inheritance.
• Genes are made up of sequences of DNA and are arranged, one after another, at specific locations on chromosomes in the nucleus of cells.

Gene Therapy

• It is a technique that modifies a person’s genes to treat or cure diseases such as cancer, genetic disorders, etc. 
• Human gene therapy seeks to modify or manipulate the expression of a gene or to alter the biological properties of living cells for therapeutic use.

World Sickle Cell Day 2024 is being celebrated on 19th June.

• Theme for 2024: “Hope Through Progress: Advancing Care Globally”.

About SCD 

• It refers to a group of inherited blood disorders, wherein a genetic mutation causes abnormal haemoglobin to clump together.
• In SCD, normal round shape of red blood cells become like crescent moon.
• Sickle-shaped cells cause blockages in blood flow which can lead to anaemia, pain, infections and other complications.
• It is more common in tribal population of India, but occurs in non tribals too.
• In India, National Sickle Cell Elimination Mission was launched to eliminate SCD by 2047.