Current Affairs | National | International | SSC | UPSC 25th April 2024

National News 

1. DRDO develops lightest Bullet Proof Jacket of country for protection against highest threat Level 

• A unit of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully developed the lightest bulletproof jacket in the country for protection against the highest threat level 6. 
• This jacket is based on a new design approach where novel material along with new processes has been used. 
• DRDO’s Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), Kanpur has successfully developed the lightest bulletproof jacket in the country for protection against 7.62 x 54 R API (level 6 of BIS 17051) ammunition. 
• Recently, this bulletproof jacket was successfully tested at TBRL, Chandigarh as per BIS 17051-2018. 
• The front hard armour panel (HAP) of this jacket “defeats multiple hits (six shots) of 7.62×54 R API (sniper rounds) in both ICW (in-conjunction with) and standalone design. 

About Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) 

• Founded – 1 January 1958 
• Headquarters – New Delhi 
• Motto – “Strength’s Origin is in Knowledge” 
• Chairman – Samir V Kamat 

2. Plea seeks SIT probe into graft revealed through bonds data 

• A petition was filed in the es Supreme Court on Wednesday for constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate each instance of quid pro quo, corruption, and kickbacks that had been revealed through the disclosure of details on electoral bonds. 
• The petition, filed by Common Cause and the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, said some of the country's main investigative agencies "appear to have become accessories to corruption". Several firms that were under in- vestigation had donated large sums of money to the ruling party, potentially to influence the outcomes of the probes, the petition said. 
• "Thus, the investigation in this case would not only need to unravel the entire conspiracy in each instance, which would involve officers of the company, officials of the government and functionaries of political parties but also the officers concerned of agencies like the Enforcement Directorate/Income Tax Department and Central Bureau of Investigation etc., who appear to have become part of this conspiracy," it submitted. 
• Referring to reports and extensive data mining done by The Hindu and other media outlets, the petition said the information published revealed that the bulk of the bonds appear to have been given as quid pro quo arrangements by corporate entities to political parties. 
• "Though these apparent payoffs amount to several thousand crores, they appear to have influenced contracts worth lakhs of crores and regulatory inaction by agencies worth thousands of crores and also appear to have allowed substandard or dangerous drugs to be sold in the market, endangering the lives of millions of people in the country. That is why the electoral bonds scam has been called by many astute observers as the largest scam in India so far, and perhaps in the world," the petition said. 

3. No forests or animals will be left if human-wildlife conflicts continue: SC 

• The Supreme Court Wednesday warned that human-wildlife conflicts pose a danger to the very existence of forests and wildlife, a balance has to be struck which takes care of the rights of both stakeholders. 
• "Forests and wildlife will not exist if conflict between animals and humans are not resolved," Justice B.R. Gavai observed. 
• The court's observations came while hearing a case concerning the demarcation of the boundaries of Assam's Pobitora wildlife sanctuary and the settlement of rights of villagers, drawn from the marginalized, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and backward communities, who reside within the sanctuary. 
• The Assam government submitted that it has constituted a special committee chaired by the Chief Secretary (Forests) to survey and suggest alterations in the boundaries of the sanctuary to protect the rights of the wildlife as well as the human inhabitants. A preliminary survey of the sanctuary had already been done and a map prepared. 
• The Bench said the State's proposals regarding the sanctuary would be cleared by the National Board of Wildlife and also undergo the scrutiny of the top court. The court ordered the States to include the Chief Wildlife Warden and the Field Director of the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary to be made members of the special committee to represent the concerns of the wildlife. 
• The court noted in its order that "from the prima facie perusal of the map, it appears that the State proposes to delete smaller areas of the wildlife sanctuary and include a larger area so as to account for the land of the settlers and also the issue of the growing population rhinoceros''. of  Justice Gavai said the court respects environmental activists, but the human aspect of the problem should also be taken into consideration. " 
• On March 13, the apex court stayed the Assam government's decision to denotify the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary. 

State News 

4. Sixth edition of international disaster resistant infrastructure conference started in New Delhi 

• The sixth edition of the International Disaster Resistance Infrastructure Conference started in New Delhi on 24 April 2024. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the sixth edition of the International Conference on disaster resistant infrastructure through video message. 
• He stressed the need to include flexibility in both new infrastructure projects and reconstruction efforts after disaster. Prime Minister Modi emphasized the need for collective flexibility among the nations. 
• Prime Minister Modi mentioned the CDRI program for funding the projects at 13 such places. He gave examples of flexible housing in Dominica, flexible transport network in Papua New Guinea and advanced early warning systems in Dominican Republic and Fiji. He expressed satisfaction that the focus of CDRI is also on Global South. 
• It was launched in 2019 at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York. 
• CDRI is India's second major global initiative after the International Solar Alliance (ISA). The CDRI Secretariat is located in New Delhi, India. It is a global alliance of 39 countries and 7 organizations. 

Gulf Information Safety Expo and Conference - Dubai 

• The 13th Gulf Information Safety Expo and Conference (GISEC) 2024 have been organized at the Dubai World Trade Center in the United Arab Emirates. The Data Security Council of India (DSCI) has brought 22 Indian companies together to showcase the country's growing expertise in this important field. 
• Artificial Intelligence is at the forefront of GISEC Global Ke held in Dubai. The Gulf Info and Conference (GISEC Global), the United Arab Emirates Cymopathy, and officially supported by the Dubai Electronic Safety Center, Ministry of Internal (UAE), Telecom and Digital Regulatory Authority and Dubai Police, is the largest. 

5. Haryana launches 'Voter-inQueue' app for information about queues at polling stations 

• The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Haryana has launched an app named 'Voters-in-Queue', through which voters can get information about the queue at polling stations while sitting at home and can go to vote when the crowd is less. 
• Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Aggarwal said that the 'Voter-in-Q' app has been approved for use by the Election Commission of India. He said that this app has been launched with the target of at least 75 percent voting in the Lok Sabha elections compared to 70 percent voting in the last Lok Sabha elections. 
• Haryana, which has 10 Lok Sabha constituencies, will go to polls in a single phase on May 25. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the state recorded 70% voter turnout. 
• He said that as per the important decision taken by the Election Commission, this time 'Voter-in-Q' app will be operational in 30 urban assembly constituencies. He said that this will help those voters who go away without voting after seeing the crowd at the polling station. 
• Mr Aggarwal said that voters will feed information like their area name, polling station and their name on the mobile app and they will receive an OTP. 
• Through this OTP they can directly connect with the BLO present at the booth. The BLO will update the app every hour or half hour about the number of people standing in the queue. 
• He further said that the 30 urban assembly constituencies where the "Voter-in-Q" app will be used this time include Panchkula, Ambala Cantonment, Ambala City, Jagadhri, Yamunanagar, Thanesar, Kaithal, Karnal, Panipat Rural, Panipat Urban, Sonipat. 

6. "Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know" becomes the first Indian film to be selected in 'La Cinéf' section of the 77th Cannes Festival 

• Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune student Chidanand Naik's film "Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know" has been selected in the 'La Cinef' competitive section of the 77th Cannes Film Festival, France. It is the only Indian film selected in the 'La Cinéf' section of Cannes. 
• The film is directed by Chidanand S Naik, filmed by Sooraj Thakur, edited by Manoj V and soundtrack by Abhishek Kadam.'La Cinefe' is specifically designed to encourage new talent in film schools around the world. It is the official section of the prestigious festival to present and promote the films. The festival is to be organized from 15 to 24 May 2024. The film is one of 18 shorts (14 live-action and 4 animated films) selected from a total of 2,263 films submitted by film schools around the world. 
• The jury will hand out the La Cinef Award at a ceremony before the screening of the awarded films at the Buñuel Theater on May 23, 2024. 
• The film tells the story of an elderly woman who steals the village's chicken, leading to unrest in the community. To bring the chicken back, a prophecy is enacted, sending the old woman's family into exile. 
• This is the first time that a film from a student of the 1-year television course has been selected at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. 
• It is a creation of a one-year program of FTII Film TV Wing, where four students from different disciplines i.e. Direction, Electronic Cinematography, Editing, Sound worked together for a project as a year-end coordinated exercise. 

7. India's largest climate clock launched at CSIR Headquarters, New Delhi 

• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) installed and activated India's largest climate clock at CSIR Headquarters building at Rafi Marg, New Delhi as a part of Earth Day celebrations. 
• The event reflects CSIR's objective of spreading awareness about climate change and its ill effects. 
• Speaking on the occasion, Professor Chetan Singh Solanki, IIT, Bombay and Founder of Energy Swaraj Foundation said that there is an urgent need for every citizen of the country to be energy literate. He said that every citizen should take steps to avoid or reduce energy use as much as possible. 
• Dr. Shailesh Nayak, former Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences and Director, National Institute of Advanced Studies, delivered the CSIR AMRUT Lecture on “Unraveling the Mysteries of Stimulated Earthquakes: The Lightship Project of Scientific Drilling at Koyna”. 
• Every year, April 22 is celebrated as Earth Day, an international event celebrated across the world to pledge support for environmental protection. Let us tell you that Earth Day was celebrated for the first time in 1970. 
• Climate Clock focuses on a simple tool: a clock that counts down the critical time window to reach zero emissions (our “deadline”), while tracking our progress on key solution pathways (“lifelines”). By showing us what we need to do by when, the clock outlines our critical mission – a rapid and equitable transition to a safe climate future – and puts it at the forefront of our attention. 
• Since its famous launch in New York in September 2020, Climate Clock teams have sprung up around the world from Chiapas to Kazakhstan, from Korea to Glasgow. 

International News 

8. India fourth largest arms spender in world in 2023: SIPRI 

• According to a Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report, India was the fourth largest military spender in the world in 2023 after the United States,China and Russia. 
• The Indian expenditure on military 2023 was $83.6 billion. In 2022 also India was the fourth largest military spender in the world. 
• The Indian government has increased its military spend in recent years. In the interim Union Budget of 2024-25 the government of India allocated Rs 6.21 lakh crore for defence spending. The allocation was marginally lower (0.37%) than last year’s revised estimates. 
• The 2024-25 allocation for defence accounts for 1.89% of India’s GDP. 
• According to SIPRI, the total global military expenditure increased by 6.8% to $2443 billion in 2023. This was the highest annual percentage growth in global military expenditure since 2009. 
• The increase in military expenditure was particularly high in Europe, Asia and Oceania and the Middle East (West Asia). 

About Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) 

• SIPRI is a research institute which was set up in 1966 at Stockholm, Sweden. Its main area of research is global or regional conflicts, armaments, arms control and disarmament. 
• Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden

9. Ranil bats for Global South during Iran President's visit 

• The Global South must strive for its strength and autonomy, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Wednesday, even as he thanked his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi, who inaugurated a key power and irrigation project in the island nation. 
• Expressing "gratitude to Iran for their technical support", Mr. Wickremesinghe emphasized that without Iran's assistance, Sri Lanka would not be able to execute the crucial $514-million irrigation project. Consequent to the project, around 6,000 hectares of agricultural land in three southern and central districts will receive water supply, his office said. Further, the project is expected to generate and add 120 MW to the national grid. Mr. Wickremesinghe's pitch for greater autonomy for the Global South came amid media reports in Sri Lanka of "Western pressure" on Colombo. Mr. Raisi landed in Sri Lanka 10 days after Iran launched an unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel, retaliating against the April 1 air strike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus. While the two sides appear to have backed off from a regional conflict for now, tensions remain high, with Israel continuing its attack on Gaza. During his just concluded three-day visit to Pakistan, President Raisi warned Israel that "nothing will be left of the Zionist regime" if Tel Aviv attacks Iran again. 
• Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government announced the signing of five 
• Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe with his Iranian. counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Colombo. 
• SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT 
• agreements with Iran. Sri Lanka has pledged to expand bilateral ties and development cooperation with the West Asian country, and expressed interest to tap its expertise in the energy, water, agriculture, nanotechnology, pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. In February, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited Colombo and expressed satisfaction over the barter trade agreement under which Iran supplies crude oil to Sri Lanka, in return for tea. The two countries also agreed to explore trading in Asian currencies instead of U.S. dollers 

10. NASA announced to send 'Dragonfly rotorcraft mission' to Saturn's moon Titan by the year 2028 

• NASA has confirmed its Dragonfly rotorcraft mission to Saturn's organic-rich moon Titan. In early 2023, the mission successfully passed all the success criteria of its initial design review. Updated plan presented in November 2023.
• With the release of the President's FY 2025 budget request, Dragonfly has been confirmed with a total lifecycle cost of $3.35 billion and a launch date of July 2028. 
• This represents a cost overrun of approximately two times the proposed cost and a delay of more than two times the proposed cost. From the year the mission was originally selected to 2019. 
• The rotorcraft, aiming to reach Titan in 2034, will fly to dozens of promising locations on the moon, looking for prebiotic chemical processes common on both Titan and early Earth before life evolved. 
• Using data obtained by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, scientists discovered that Saturn's moon Titan contains lakes of liquid methane. Titan and Earth are the two places in the Solar System where liquids have been found on the surface. 
• After Earth, Titan is the only celestial body on whose surface there is solid evidence of liquid places, such as canals, lakes and seas of hydrocarbons. 

Dragonfly 

• This mission is the first time that NASA will fly a vehicle for science on another planetary body. The rotorcraft has eight rotors and flies like a large drone. 
• The car-sized Dragonfly, being built by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, is to be nuclear powered. 
• In July 2022, mission engineers flew a drone similar to a dragonfly over California's Imperial Dunes, which resemble Titan's organic-rich dunes, and wind tunnels at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. 

11. US Senate approves bill to ban TikTok 

• The US Senate has approved a controversial historic bill under which TikTok could be banned in the US. The bill will now be handed over to US President Joe Biden, who has vowed to make it a law by signing it. 
• The bill was approved by a vote of 79-18. 
• If that happens, China's ByteDance, the app's owner, will have nine months to sell its stake or the app will be blocked in the US. If ByteDance is forced to sell its stake, it would still need approval from Chinese authorities. 
• Behind the legislative action are long-standing national security concerns over TikTok's Chinese ownership and the ability of the authoritarian government in Beijing to access or influence user data. 
• While TikTok says it has never shared data with Chinese authorities and stores US users' information only on servers in Singapore and the US, critics disagree. 

Britain's Parliament passes Rwandan asylum law 

• The UK Parliament has passed the Rwandan Asylum Act. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised yesterday that he would begin deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda within 10 to 12 weeks after the upper house of parliament finally passed the necessary legislation. 
• The government had booked commercial charter planes and trained staff to fly the migrants to Rwanda, Mr Sunak said. He hopes the policy will boost his Conservative Party's stellar fortunes ahead of the election later this year. 
• Thousands of migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa, the Middle East and Asia have reached Britain in recent years by crossing the English Channel in small boats on perilous journeys organized by human-trafficking gangs. 
• Critics say the plan to deport people to Rwanda rather than handle asylum seekers at home is inhumane. Banking and Financial 

12. Razorpay launches UPI Switch with Airtel Payments Bank 

• Digital payments platform Razorpay has launched its own Unified Payments Interface (UPI) infrastructure, or UPI switch, in partnership with Airtel Payments Bank. 
• The company will now provide its UPI Switch service to Airtel Payments Bank, enabling it to manage UPI transactions on the payments bank’s platform. The solution can handle up to 10,000 transactions per second (TPS). 
• Razorpay received a final approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in December last year to operate as a payment aggregator, enabling it to onboard new merchants after a nearly one-year-old regulatory ban. 
• This UPI switch will serve as a platform driving UPI innovations while supporting existing solutions like Turbo UPI and third-party payment solutions, it said. 
• In May 2023, Razorpay introduced ‘Turbo UPI,’ enabling customers of online merchants to make UPI payments directly without redirection to a third-party UPI app during checkout.
• In September, it launched ‘UPI Autopay on QR’ in collaboration with National Payments Corporation of India, simplifying challenges associated with maintaining and expanding subscription-based businesses. 

Appointment News

13 Indonesia declares Prabowo Subianto president-elect 

• Indonesia’s electoral commission formally declared Prabowo Subianto president-elect after the country’s highest court rejected challenges to his landslide victory lodged by two losing presidential candidates. 
• Subianto, who is currently defense minister, won the election with 58.6% of the votes, or more than 96 million ballots, more than twice the amount received by either of the other two candidates. 
• Subianto will take office in October, succeeding the popular Joko Widodo, the country’s first president from outside the Jakarta elite. 

Newly Appointed Prime Minister & President 

• PM of Kuwait – Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Ahmad al-Sabah 
• PM of Ireland – Simon Harris (youngest PM of nation, 37) 
• President of Slovakia – Peter Pellegrini 
• President of Egypt – Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi (3rd term) 
• PM of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – Judith Suminwa Tuluka (nation’s first female PM) 
• About Indonesia 
• Capital – Jakarta 
• Currency – Rupiah 
• Official language – Indonesian 
• President – Prabowo Subianto 

14. RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar gets One Year tenure extension 

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the re-appointment of RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar for one year from May 3 this year. 
• Sankar, who has a Master of Philosophy in Economics from the Jawaharlal Nehru University at Delhi, was appointed as RBI Deputy Governor in May 2021 for three years. 
• He was an Executive Director of RBI before being elevated to the post of Deputy Governor in May 2021. 
• Besides the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, the central bank has four Deputy Governors— M.D.Patra; M Rajeshwar Rao; J Swaminathan and T Rabi Sankar 
• In January this year, the Centre had extended the tenure of RBI Deputy Governor Michael Patra by another year (with effect from January 15). Patra is in charge of the all-important monetary policy department and is a member of the rate setting panel. 

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI) 

• Founded – 1 April 1935 
• RBI Nationalized – 1 January 1949 
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• RBI set up – Hilton Young Commission 
• 1st Governor – Sir Osborne Smith (Australia) 
• 1st Indian Governor – CD Deshmukh 
• 25th Governor – Shaktikanta Das 

• RBI Deputy Governor (4) – 

1. Tavarna Rabi Sankar 
2. J Swaminathan 
3. Michael D Patra
4. M Rajeshwar Rao 

• Five Subsidiaries of RBI 

1. Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (DICGC) 
2. Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL) 
3. Reserve Bank Information Technology Private Limited (ReBIT) 
4. Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS) 
5. Reserve Bank Innovation Hub 

• Four currencies note printing presses 

1. Nashik in Maharashtra owned by govt of India 
2. Dewas in Madhya Pradesh owned by govt of India 
3. Mysuru in Karnataka owned by RBI 
4. Salboni in West Bengal owned by RBI 

• Four mints owned by the Government of India Mumbai, Hyderabad, Calcutta and Noida 

Award News 

15. Etana Bonmati became the first woman footballer to be awarded the award of 'Laurus World Sportswoman of the Year' 

• The iconic 2024 Laurus Sports Awards ceremony held in Madrid was a grand celebration of the world's best athletes and their remarkable achievements. Hollywood star Andy Garcia hosted the award ceremony.
• During this period, Spain's World Cup winning football star and Barsilona and Spanish national team's football Aitana Bonmati, Lorius became the first footballer to be named World Sportswoman of the Year. Bonmati has also received the Ballan D'Or Award for the year 2023.
• The world's top -order tennis player and 24 -time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic for the fifth time became the Laurerus World Sportsman of the Year and recorded his name in the history of Lawrous history. 
• This achievement equaled the record of Roger Federer of the most respected men athlete in this category. Djokovic had earlier won the prestigious award in 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2019. 
• The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual program that began in 2000. Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar won the Laurus Sporting Moment Award (2000-2020). 
• Tokyo Olympic gold medalists are the third Indians after Neeraj Chopra, Vinesh Phogat and Sachin Tendulkar nominated for the Laurerus World Sports Awards. 

Other awards 

• Breakthrough of the Year: Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Belingham. Sport for Good honor - Foundation of Rafael Nadal, Fundasion Rafa Nadal. 
• Comeback of the Year: American Gymnast Simone Biles. Best Team Award of the year: Spain women's football team Action Sportsperson of the Year Award: Arisa True Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award: Deed de Group 

16. Pavuluri Subba Rao honored with Aryabhata Award 

• Pavuluri Subba Rao, Founder, CEO and Chairman of Ananth Technologies, has been honored with the prestigious ‘Aryabhata Award’ by the Aeronautical Society of India (ASI). The honor recognizes Rao's “tremendous lifetime contribution to the promotion of space science in India.” 
• Apart from the Aryabhata Award, Rao was also honored with the title of 'Distinguished Fellow' by ASI in recognition of his significant contributions to the field of aerospace and aviation. 
• In 1992, Anant Technologies Limited was formed with the aim of indigenously designing and developing sophisticated avionics for ISRO and the defense sector. 
• Under Rao's leadership, Anant Technologies has supplied key components and technologies for an impressive 98 satellites and 78 launch vehicles, strengthening its position as a trusted partner in the country's space endeavours. More than 1,600 employees across three centers of excellence in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram. 

Aryabhata Award 

• Every year, the Astronautical Society of India presents the Aryabhata Award to those The Society was founded in 1990 and has been a member of the International Astronautical Federation since 1958. 
• It is celebrated in the memory of Aryabhata, the first Indian satellite, launched on 19 April 1975. The award is normally presented by the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office. The year of establishment of this award is 1992. It has a cash prize of Rs 100000. 

Ratan Tata - KISS Humanitarian Award 2021 

• Renowned industrialist and philanthropist, Tata Group Chairman 
• Ratan Tata was honored with the prestigious KISS Humanitarian Award 2021. This award was announced in 2021, but Ratan Tata was unable to receive the award due to the COVID pandemic. 
• Initiated by Dr. Achyut Samantha in 2008, the KISS Humanitarian Award is KIIT and KISS's highest honor dedicated to recognizing individuals and organizations who embody the spirit of humanitarian work around the world. 

Science & Technology News 

17. Microsoft launches lightweight artificial intelligence model Phi-3-mini 

• Microsoft has launched Phi-3 Mini, a freely available, lightweight small language AI model. 
• The company plans to further release two other models in the same scale. 
• The model is meant to be simpler and cheaper compared to other heavyweight large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-4 Turbo. 
• This is the smallest model that Microsoft has released yet and can be run locally, which means it can run for free on a smartphone without requiring an internet connection. 
• The model can also run on the chips that power regular computer instead of the expensive and hard to find AI processors that Nvidia makes. 

About Microsoft 

• Founded – 1975 
• Founders – Bill Gates and Paul Allen 
• Headquarters – Washington DC 
• Chairman – Satya Nadella 
• CEO – Satya Nadella 
• President – Brad Smith 

Sports News 

18. Usain Bolt named ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Brand Ambassador 

• Legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has been named by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as the ambassador for the 9th ICC Men’s T-20 World Cup, which will be hosted by the West Indies and the United States of America jointly from 1 to 29 June 2024. 
• As a brand ambassador, Usain Bolt will promote the World Cup event, attend T20 World Cup matches in the West Indies, and participate in fan engagement events to promote the cricket sport within the United States. 
• 16 of the 40 matches in the group stage will be played in the USA across 3 venues in Dallas, New York and Florida. The much-anticipated India vs Pakistan contest will be played in New York on June 9. 

About 9th ICC Men’s T- 20 World Cup 2024 

• The 9th ICC Men’s T-20 World Cup will be the biggest men’s T-20 World Cup in terms of participation. 
• For the first time, 20 teams will participate in the T-20 World Cup. The West Indies and the United States of America will co-host the World Cup from 1 to 29 June 2024. 
• Of the 20 teams participating in the World Cup, the West Indies and the United States qualified as the host countries. 
• Australia, England, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and South Africa qualified based on their top-eight finishes in the previous T-20 World Cup. 
• Canada, Uganda and the United States team are playing for the first time in the ICC Men’s T-20 World Cup 

Recent Brand Ambassador 

• MS Dhoni – French carmaker Citroen 
• Sanjana Sanghi – SPACE India 
• Neeraj Chopra – Eveready Batteries 
• Nayanthar – Slice (the popular mango-flavored drink) 
• Neeraj Chopra – BPCL’s Speed Petrol Variant 
• Katrina Kaif – Chennai Super Kings Team 

19. Narsingh Yadav elected chairman of WFI’s seven-member athletes’ panel 

• Former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Narsingh Pancham Yadav was elected chairman of the Wrestling Federation of India’s Athletes’ Commission. 
• A total of eight candidates were in fray for the seven positions and after polling, conducted on ballot paper, seven members got elected. They then chose Narsingh as chairman of the commission. 
• Ahead of the 2016 Olympics, the Games-bound Narsingh had grabbed headlines when two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, who missed the qualification event due to an injury, requested for a trial bout against him. 
• Narsingh, an Arjuna awardee and Asian Championships gold medallist in 2010, competed at the 2012 London Olympic Games and lost the opening bout in the 74kg category. 

Books News

20. A book titled ‘Heavenly Islands of Goa’ released by Goa Governor 

• Shankaracharya of Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri, Jagadguru Sri Sri Vidhushekhara Bharati Swami released “Heavenly Islands of Goa”, a book authored by Governor of Goa P.S. Sreedharan Pillai in Goa. 
• The book, which is Mr. Pillai’s 221st, was released at a programme held at New Durbar Hall in the Raj Bhavan in Dona Paula. 
• Jnanpith award winner Damodar Mauzo received the first copy of the book. 

Recent Books 

• A Game of Fire – Navdeep Suri & Nanak Singh 
• Just a Mercenary?, Notes from My Life and Career – Former RBI head Duvvuri Subbarao 
• Knife – Salman Rushdie 
• The Law and Spirituality: Reconnecting the Bond – Raman Mittal and Dr. Seema Singh 
• I Can Coach – Siddharth Rajsekar 
• The Idea of Democracy – Sam Pitroda 
• From A Car Shed To The Corner Room & Beyond – S Raman 

Important day 

21. 25 April – World Malaria Day 

• World Malaria Day is observed every year on 25 April. 
• Objective – To raise awareness about the global effort to control and ultimately eradicate Malaria. 
• Theme 2024 – Accelerate the Fight Against Malaria for a More Equitable World 
• It was first held in 2008, and the day was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) Member States during the World Health Assembly of 2007. 

22. 25 April – World Penguin Day 

• World Penguin Day is observed every year on 25th April. 
• This day is significant because it coincides with the start of the northern migration of Adelie penguins. Adelie penguins are one of the 17-20 species of penguins recognized worldwide. 
• The southern hemisphere is home to most of the penguins, with a total of about 20 species known to humans.