Today's Current Affairs 20th March 2024

INTERNATIONAL

Vinay Kumar Appointed as New Indian Ambassador to Russia

• Vinay Kumar named as the next Ambassador of India to Russia. Kumar is currently serving as the Ambassador of India to Myanmar.
• Russia has been a longstanding partner of India, with diplomatic ties between the two countries forming a cornerstone of India’s foreign policy.
• Kumar will replace Pavan Kapoor, who has been appointed as the new Secretary (West) in the MEA, as India’s envoy in Moscow. 

Nepal Declares Pokhara as Its Tourism Capital

• The government of Nepal has officially declared Pokhara, a city in the Gandaki province, as the tourism capital of the Himalayan nation.
• Pokhara, known for its natural beauty and adventure tourism, has long been recognized as a tourism hub in Nepal.

About Nepal:

Capital: Kathmandu;

Currency: Nepalese Rupee;

Prime Minister: Pushpa Kamal Dahal;

President: Ram Chandra Paudel. 

NATIONAL

Meta’s Plan to Combat Misinformation in 2024 Lok Sabha Elections

• Meta unveils its strategy to tackle the growing threat of AI-generated fake content that could influence the electoral process.
• Meta will establish an India-specific Elections Operations Centre staffed by experts. 

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

CP Radhakrishnan Gets Additional Charge as Telangana Governor

• Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan has been given the additional responsibility as the in-charge governor of Telangana.
• This comes after Tamilisai Soundararajan resigned from her constitutional post as the Telangana Governor. 

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Sparrow Day 2024:

• World Sparrow Day is an annual observance held every year on March 20th to raise global awareness about the household sparrow and its alarming population decline.
• The idea of World Sparrow Day was conceived by the Nature Forever Society (NFS) of India and the Eco-Sys Action Foundation based in France.
• The first World Sparrow Day was marked in 2010. 

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Raksha Mantri Trophy for Best AFMS Hospitals 2022

• The Raksha Mantri Trophy for the Best and Second Best Command Hospitals of the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) for the year 2022 was awarded on 19th March 2024 in New Delhi.
• Command Hospital (Southern Command), Pune was judged as the Best Command Hospital, while the Command Hospital (Central Command), Lucknow was the Second Best for 2022.
• The trophies were presented by Lt Gen Daljit Singh, Director General Armed Forces.
• The Raksha Mantri Trophy was instituted in 1989 to recognize excellence in healthcare services by Armed Forces Hospitals. 

Prabha Varma Bags 33rd Saraswati Samman for ‘Roudra Sathwikam

• Noted Malayalam poet and author Prabha Varma has been selected for the prestigious 33rd Saraswati Samman for the year 2023.
• He won the award for his novel in verse ‘Roudra Sathwikam’ published in 2022.
• The Saraswati Samman, instituted by the K.K. Birla Foundation in 1991, is one of the highest literary honors in India.
• Last year’s 32nd awardee was Tamil writer Sivasankari for her novel ‘Surya Vamsam’. 

T M Krishna Awarded Prestigious Sangita Kalanidhi

• Thodur Madabusi Krishna, a renowned Carnatic musician, has been chosen as the Sangita Kalanidhi awardee for 2024.
• This award, considered the Oscar equivalent for Carnatic music, is given away by the Music Academy in Chennai.
• The awardees will receive their honors at the Music Academy’s annual events in December 2024 and January 2025. 

RANKING

Begusarai Tops Global List of Most Polluted Cities

• The city of Begusarai in Bihar is the most polluted city in the world, according to the World Air Quality Report 2023 released by IQAir, a Switzerland-based organization.
• The report states that out of the top 100 most polluted places globally, 83 are from India. After Begusarai, Guwahati is the second most polluted, followed by Delhi at third place and Mullanpur (Punjab) at fourth.
• At a national level, India ranks third behind Bangladesh and Pakistan among the five most polluted countries in the list of 134 nations.
• India’s PM2.5 level of 54.4 µg/m3 is more than 10 times higher than the WHO annual guideline, the report highlighted. PM2.5 refers to hazardous fine particulate matter. 

WMO Report Highlights Record-breaking Climate Change Indicators in 2023

• The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its State of the Global Climate 2023 report, revealing unprecedented levels of climate change indicators.
• The global average near-surface temperature in 2023 was 1.45 ± 0.12°C above the 1850-1900 average, making it the warmest year on record.