Dipendra Singh Airee

• During the ACC Men's T20I Premier Cup match against Qatar on April 12, 2024, Nepal's 24-year-old all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee made history by hitting 6 sixes in a single over.
•  Dipendra Singh Airee entered the esteemed ranks of Kieron Pollard and Yuvraj Singh, who had previously accomplished the same feat in Men's T20Is.
• During the Asian Games in 2023, the Nepali all-round player struck 6 consecutive sixes against Mongolia, but the accomplishment was divided over two overs.
•  He went on to smash Yuvraj Singh's previous record of 12 balls and achieve the fastest fifty in T20I history in that match, achieving the milestone in just 9 deliveries.

Rohit Sharma

• The former Mumbai Indians captain, Rohit Sharma, made Indian Premier League (IPL) history on April 20, 2024, when he became just the second player to appear in 250 IPL games.
•  In 2008, Rohit started his IPL career with the now-defunct Deccan Chargers.
• He has been a key member of the Mumbai Indians since 2011, helping them win an incredible five IPL championships.
• The legendary MS Dhoni, who has adorned the competition with 256 matches, is the only player with more IPL appearances than he does. Before reaching the milestone, Rohit had accumulated an incredible 6472 runs at an average of 30.10 and a scorching strike rate of 131.22 in 249 matches during his successful IPL career.

Permanent Education Number Mandatory for Academic Year 2024-25

• Beginning with the academic year 2024–2025, the state's School Education Department mandated the adoption of Permanent Education Numbers (PENs) on April 20, 2024.
• The Union Ministry of Education assigns PENs, or unique identity numbers, to each student via the UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education Plus) portal, which serves over 14.89 lakh schools, 95 lakh teachers, and 26.5 crore students.
• The introduction of PEN would facilitate the process of simplifying and expediting the transfer of pupils to a new school during the academic year 2024-25.
• The new approach ensures a smooth and informed transition by sending parents an SMS notice or welcome message upon a student's transfer to their selected school.
•  After students are admitted to Class 1, only the child ID (Aadhaar) and PEN will be needed because all paperwork is being computerized.
•  To further expedite the process, officials have also been urged to open Digilocker accounts for each kid, starting with Class 1.

Government Appointed a Committee For the LGBTQ Welfare

• The Central Government established a committee for the LGBTQ Community Welfare on April 20, 2024.
• 6 members of the group, including secretaries from important ministries, would be led by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba.
• The committee's main goal is to make recommendations for policies that will eradicate discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in a variety of contexts.
• This entails eliminating forced medical procedures or treatments, improving safety precautions, guaranteeing equitable access to products and services, and resolving inequalities in social welfare benefits.
• The committee also has the authority to address any other matters that are thought to be important for the safety and welfare of the LGBTQ+ community.

India Delivered First Batch of Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missile to Philippines

• India successfully handed over the first batch of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines on April 20, 2024.
• With this delivery, the $375 million agreement announced in January 2022 has come to fruition, and the Philippines will now be the joint venture missile's first export customer, alongside Russia and India.
• The Indian Air Force made the delivery possible by using a C-17 Globemaster cargo plane to carry the missiles and launchers to the Marine Corps of the Philippines.
• As part of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program's Horizon 2, India is to provide 3 batteries of BrahMos missiles, as well as their launchers and associated parts.
• India's dedication to strengthening defense relations with the Philippines is demonstrated by this delivery.

USA Sanctioned Chinese and Belarusian Companies

• 3 Chinese and 1 Belarusian firm were sanctioned by the US on April 20, 2024, for supplying Pakistan with ballistic missile components.
• For Pakistan's ballistic missile development, especially its long-range missile program, the Chinese enterprises Xi'an Longde Technology Development, Tianjin Creative Source International Trade, Granpect Co. Ltd., and Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant provided missile-applicable components.
• These organizations were involved in transactions or activities that either directly contributed to the spread of WMDs or the means by which they were delivered, or that carried a material risk.
•  This included any attempts by Pakistan to produce, obtain, possess, develop, transport, transfer, or use WMDs.

WHO Approved New Oral Cholera Vaccine Euvichol-S

• The World Health Organization (WHO) prequalified Euvichol-S, a novel oral cholera vaccine produced by EuBiologics Co. Ltd. in South Korea, on April 20, 2024.
• The vaccine is just as effective as current cholera vaccines, but it can be produced more quickly and cheaply because to its simpler formulation.
•  It is anticipated that this prequalification will boost the availability of oral cholera vaccines (OCV) worldwide and aid in the fight against the current global upsurge in cholera outbreaks.
• A more straightforward variant of the current Euvichol-Plus vaccine, also made by EuBiologics, is called Euvichol-S.
• The updated formulation keeps the vaccine's efficacy against important cholera serogroups while lowering the total amount of vaccine ingredients.
• Larger volumes may be produced more quickly because to this simplicity, which also reduces complexity and production costs.

New Species of Clouded Tiger Cat Found in Brazil’s Rainforest

• The clouded tiger cat (Leopardus pardinoides) is a recently discovered species of tiger found in Brazil's deep rainforests on April 20, 2024.
•  The clouded tiger cat is a comparatively small wildcat, about the size of a domestic housecat.
• Its extraordinary adaptation for survival is its ability to blend in with its surroundings thanks to its unusual speckled coat.
• The clouded tiger cat lives in cloud forests in the Andean mountain ranges and southern Central America, extending from Costa Rica to Argentina.

US Troops to Withdraw from Niger

• The US Department of State declared on April 20, 2024, that preparations for the departure of about 1000 American soldiers from Niger would begin.
• American foreign policy and military doctrine in Africa have undergone a dramatic change, especially in the Sahel region, which is a hub for extremist activity and geopolitical rivalry.
• This decision was made as Niger moved away from its prior allegiance to the West and toward greater military and geopolitical ties with Russia.

EPFO Added 15.48 Lakhs Net Members in February

• The Employees' Provident Fund Organization, or EPFO, added 15.48 lakh net members in February 2024 as of April 20, 2024.
• According to EPFO's preliminary payroll data, which was made public today, the organization enlisted over 7.78 lakh new members in the month.
• The statistics highlights the prevalence of the 18 to 25-year age group, which accounted for a noteworthy 56.36 percent of all new members recruited in February.
• It suggests that young people, mostly those seeking their first jobs, make up the bulk of those entering the formal employment.
• Payroll data also indicates that roughly 11.78 lakh members left EPFO and then returned.
•  These members changed careers and returned to work for organizations that fall under EPFO's purview.

‘Link it and Forget it’ Launched by RuPay to Promote Credit Card on UPI

• RuPay and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will launch the "Link it, forget it" campaign on April 20, 2024, coinciding with the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
• The purpose of this effort is to highlight the ease of doing away with physical wallets by showcasing the smooth integration of RuPay credit cards with UPI.
• The main objective of the campaign is to increase public knowledge of RuPay credit cards by emphasizing their integration with UPI and the resulting removal of the need for physical wallets.
• The advertisement invites viewers to accept RuPay credit cards connected to UPI, offering a simple and safe way to make payments while saying goodbye to bulky wallets.

Largest Stellar Black Hole in Galaxy (Space)

• European astronomers discovered the greatest stellar black hole in our Milky Way galaxy on April 20, 2024.
• Known as "BH-3," this massive celestial object is only 2000 light-years away from Earth and has a startling mass 33 times that of our Sun.
• The European Space Agency's (ESA) cutting-edge mission Gaia Space Observatory revealed the existence of "BH-3."
• The Gaia telescope, which was launched in 2013, is intended to map billions of astronomical objects' locations, movements, and properties with previously unheard-of accuracy.
• When scientists noticed irregularities in the spin of a star in the constellation "Aquila," they were able to identify the existence of "BH-3."
• This star's existence is made evident by its locked orbit around the enormous black hole through its gravitational influence.

Exercise Poorvi Lehar on East Coast (Defence)

• The Indian Navy held Exercise Poorvi Lehar on the East Coast on April 20, 2024.
• The goal of the exercise was to validate the protocols for evaluating the Indian Navy's readiness to handle difficulties related to maritime security in the area.
•  According to a statement from the Ministry of Defence, ships, submarines, planes, and Special Forces took part in the drill.
•  It was carried out in several stages, with the Tactical Phase involving combat training in a realistic setting and the Weapon Phase successfully executing a variety of firings to confirm the Indian Navy's capacity to deliver ordnance on target.

‘Super Large’ Cruise Missile Warhead and New Anti-Aircraft Missile Test (Defence)

• North Korea tested a new anti-aircraft missile and a "super-large" cruise missile warhead on April 20, 2024.
• It happened in a western coastal area as part of its ongoing military buildup in response to growing tensions with South Korea and the United States.
• After testing the same system over several weeks, North Korea may have made technological advancements because it carried out a similar set of tests in February without naming the cruise missile or the anti-aircraft missile.

Nalin Prabhat

• Nalin Prabhat, an Andhra Pradesh-bred Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the 1992 batch, was named Director-General of the National Security Guard (NSG) on April 20, 2024.
•  Currently holding the position of Additional Director-General for the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu & Kashmir is Nalin Prabhat.
• Nalin Prabhat's appointment as the head of the NSG will remain in place until August 31, 2028, when he supersedes.
•  The NSG is a highly skilled group that has been trained to stop hijackings, terrorist attacks, and other dangerous circumstances.

Sapna Tewari

• Sapna Tewari, an Odisha cadre IPS officer from the 1992 batch, was named Special Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) on April 20, 2024.
• At the moment, Sapna Tewari works for the Intelligence Bureau (IB) as an Additional Director.
• Her appointment is set to last for two years from the date of assumption of charge or until her superannuation on April 30, 2026, whichever comes first, according to the DoPT order.
• India's top intelligence organization, the IB, is in charge of obtaining and sharing information on counterterrorism, national security, and other important issues.

Kaushik Rajashekara

• The esteemed Engineering Academy of Japan elected Kaushik Rajashekara, a respected professor at the University of Houston's Cullen College of Engineering, as an International Fellow on April 20, 2024.
• This honor is given in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the electrification of transportation and the field of power conversion.
• He was specially recognized for his "outstanding scientific research and scientific-technical developments in the field of energy.”
• Kaushik Rajashekara was awarded the Global Energy Prize in 2022, which is widely regarded as the most coveted award in the international energy sector.
• His selection as one of just three recipients from a record 119 nominations from 43 countries cemented his reputation as a trailblazer in the energy sector.

Asunta Lakra Award

• The talented forward for the India women's hockey team, Deepika Soreng, received the coveted Hockey India Asunta Lakra Award for Upcoming Player of the Year at the Hockey India 6th Annual Awards 2023 on April 20, 2024.
•  She emerged as the second-highest goal scorer for the team with an amazing 7 goals in 6 matches, showcasing her extraordinary abilities and goal-scoring ability.
• Her contribution to the team's triumph helped India win the gold medal in the esteemed competition, enhancing her reputation as a formidable competitor in the world of hockey.
• The Asunta Lakra Award is evidence of Hockey India's dedication to identifying and developing the next generation of athletes.

3 New Archaeological Sites were Discovered in Telangana

• 3 amazing sites that provide unique insights into the ancient history of the region have been discovered by Telangana archaeologists as of April 20, 2024.
• More than 200 megalithic monuments hidden in thick woodlands, a remarkable Iron Age megalithic site with distinctive architectural styles, and 2 rock art sites exhibiting prehistoric artistic expressions are among these findings.
• More than 200 megalithic monuments, primarily "Dolmenoid Cists" that date to approximately 1000 BCE, are located in the heart of Telangana's deep forests.
• In the Mulugu district, an Iron Age megalithic site at Ooragutta, close to Bandala village, is revealed.
• 2 rock art sites in Damaratogu, in the Gundala mandal of Bhadradri Kothagudem district, have been identified.