• Each year on March 23rd, World Meteorological Day is celebrated to commemorate the establishment of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) which is a specialized agency formed by the United Nations. The day recognizes the vital role of the organization in advancing global efforts in weather, climate, and water management.
• The theme for World Meteorological Day 2024 is “At the Frontline of Climate Action.”
• The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) was established in March 1950, becoming a specialized agency of the United Nations in 1951. This marked a significant shift towards international cooperation in meteorology, hydrology, and related sciences.
• WMO has 193 members, including 187 member states and 6 territories, maintaining their own meteorological services.s

• Veteran table tennis player and CWG champion Sharath Kamal will be India’s flag bearer at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
• Also, legendary boxer MC Mary Kom was appointed the chef de mission of the country’s contingent.
• She will be assisted by luger Shiva Keshavan, who has been appointed the deputy chef de mission.
• Gagan Narang, a bronze medalist in the 10m air rifle event at the 2012 London Olympics, has been appointed to head the shooting village operations for the Paris Olympics.
• The Olympic Games will take place from July 26 to August 11.

ABOUT SHARATH KAMAL:

• Ranked World No. 88, Kamal has won the national table tennis championship a record 10 times.
• He has also claimed 13 medals at the CWG, including seven golds, and has earned two medals at the Asian Games.
• The legendary table tennis player is also a three-time bronze medalist at the World Championships.

ABOUT MARY KOM

• MC Mary Kom, the first female boxer in boxing history to have captured six world titles.
• The five-time Asian champion was also the first female boxer from India to win a gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games.

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully completed its third mission with the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) dubbed “Pushpak” on March 22, 2024.
• The major goal of the Pushpak mission is to develop essential technologies for a fully reusable launch vehicle, allowing for low-cost access to space.
• The launch vehicle was airlifted to an altitude of about 5 km by an Indian Air Force helicopter and released after meeting predetermined pillbox parameters.

ABOUT THE MISSION:

• ISRO had successfully completed previous RLV missions in 2016 and April of the previous year. The company intends to scale up the RLV-TD to become the first stage of India’s reusable two-stage orbital launch vehicle.
• The Pushpak RLV is a rocket-powered, fully reusable single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicle. It combines several key components from advanced technology demonstrations such as the X-33, X-34 testbed, and modified DC-XA flying demonstrator.
• The vehicle has a fuselage, a nose cap, double delta wings, twin vertical tails, and active control surfaces known as Elevons and Rudder.
• The Pushpak project, named after the fabled spaceship from the Ramayana, is expected to cost more than Rs 100 crore (approx. $13.5 million).
• The Pushpak expedition is named after the fabled spaceship from the ancient Indian epic Ramayana.
• The Indian Air Force played an important role in the mission by deploying a Chinook chopper to hoist the Pushpak RLV to the required height.
• Pushpak RLV combines improved elements from many technology demonstrations, such as the X-33, X-34, and the enhanced DC-XA.

• The second edition of the India Mozambique Tanzania (IMT) Tri Lateral (TRILAT) Exercise, is being conducted from 21-29 March 2024. This year it is being organized at the ports of Zanzibar in Tanzania and Maputo in Mozambique.
• India is being represented by INS Tir and INS Sujata in the IMT Tri Lateral (TRILAT) exercise.

ABOUT THE TRILAT EXERCISE:

• The first exercise of IMT TRILAT took place in October 2022. This first edition was organized in Tanzania and Mozambique. A joint maritime exercise between the navies of IMT countries began off Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
• The Indian Navy was represented by the guided missile frigate, INS Tarkash, Chetak helicopters and MARCOS (Special Forces).
• The current edition of the exercise is planned in two phases. As part of the harbour phase scheduled from 21-24 Mar 24, Naval ships Tir and Sujata will engage with the respective Navies at the ports of Zanzibar (Tanzania) and Maputo (Mozambique).
• This phase would begin with a Planning Conference followed by conduct of joint harbour training activities like Damage Control, Fire Fighting, Visit Board Search and Seizure procedures, Medical Lectures, Casualty Evacuation and Diving operations.

• Dr Neeraj Mittal was unanimously elected as co-chair of the Digital Innovation Board of International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU).

ABOUT DIGITAL INNOVATION BOARD:

• India has the opportunity to lead the Digital Innovation Board under the co-chairmanship of Neeraj Mittal.
• Mittal was unanimously elected Co-Chair of ITU’s Digital Innovation Board, formed under the auspices of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development.
• The Digital Innovation Board consists of telecommunications/ICT ministers from ITU’s 23 member states in Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America.
• The Alliance has three main vehicles: – Digital Transformation Lab, Network of Acceleration Centres and Digital Innovation Board.
• ITU has launched the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development to meet the needs of the ITU membership in the area of innovation. This was expressed in the Kigali Action Plan adopted at the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2022 and the outcomes of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2022.

INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION (ITU)

• ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs).
• It was established in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union.
• In 1947 the ITU became a specialized agency of the United Nations.
• The Organization is made up of 193 Member States and more than 1000 companies, universities and international and regional organizations.
• Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
• India has been an active member of the ITU since 1869 and has been a regular member of the ITU Council since

• The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) has released the Global E-waste Monitor 2024, which states that the world’s generation of electronic waste is rising five times faster than documented e-waste recycling.

KEY FINDINGS:

• The world’s generation of electronic waste is rising five times faster than documented e-waste recycling.
• The 62 million tonnes of e-waste generated in 2022 would fill 55 million 40-tonne trucks, roughly enough trucks to form a bumper-to bumper line encircling the equator.
• Meanwhile, less than one quarter (22.3%) of the year’s e-waste mass was documented as having been properly collected and recycled in 2022, leaving US $62 billion worth of recoverable natural resources unaccounted for and increasing pollution risks to communities worldwide.
• Worldwide, the annual generation of e-waste is rising by 6 million tonnes annually, on track to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030, a further 33% increase from the 2022 figure.
• The report also highlighted the composition of the 62 billion kg of e-waste.
• It contained 31 billion kg of metals, 17 billion kg of plastics and 14 billion kg of other materials (minerals, glass, composite materials, etc.)
• Countries in Asia generate almost half of the world’s e-waste (30 billion kg) but have made limited advances in e-waste management; moreover, relatively few of them have enacted legislation or established clear e-waste collection targets.
• Recycled waste: Less than one quarter (22.3%) of the year’s e-waste mass was documented as having been properly collected and recycled in 2022.
• Among regions, Europe has the highest rate of documented formal collection and recycling of e-waste at 42.8% while Africa generates the lowest rates of e-waste but struggles to recycle it.
• Per-capita e-waste: Europe (17.6 kg), Oceania (16.1 kg) and the Americas (14.1 kg) generated the highest amount of e-waste per capita in 2022.
• E-waste poses health and environmental risks due to toxic substances like mercury.
• Europe leads in per capita e-waste generation, while Asia generates half of the world’s e-waste.
• Despite the increase in e-waste, the growth rate of countries implementing e-waste policies is slowing down.
• Recycling rates for small equipment, comprising one-third of total e-waste, remain low at 12%.
• Urgent attention needed to address the e-waste crisis, especially amidst climate and digital progress initiatives.

STATUS IN INDIA

• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has comprehensively revised the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 and notified the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 in November, 2022 and the same is in force since 1st April, 2023.
• These new rules intend to manage e-waste in an environmentally sound manner and put in place an improved Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regime for e-waste recycling wherein all the manufacturer, producer, refurbisher and recycler are required to register on a portal developed by the CPCB.
• The new provisions would facilitate and channelize the informal sector to the formal sector for doing business and ensure recycling of E-waste in an environmentally sound manner.

ABOUT E-WASTE

• E-Waste is an abbreviation for Electronic-Waste, and it refers to old, obsolete, or abandoned electronic appliances. It comprises their parts, consumables, and spares.
• It is divided into 21 types, which are divided into two basic categories: information technology and communication equipment.

UNITED NATIONS INSTITUTE FOR TRAINING AND RESEARCH

• The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) provides innovative learning solutions to individuals, organizations and institutions to enhance global decision-making and support country-level action for shaping a better future.
• UNITAR was created in 1963 to train and equip young diplomats from newly-independent UN Member States with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate through the diplomatic environment.

• Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has received the “Order of the DrukGyalpo”, Bhutan’s highest civilian award, making him the first non-Bhutanese to be conferred with the honour.
• The award has been conferred to Prime Minister Modi in recognition of “his outstanding contribution to the growth of India-Bhutan relations and for his distinguished service to the Bhutanese nation and people.”
• PM Modi is also the first foreign head of government to receive Bhutan’s prestigious civilian honour.
• Bhutan’s King Jigme conferred the Order of the DrukGyalpo on PM Modi after the two leaders met in the capital.
• The announcement for the honour was made by the King of Bhutan during the 114th National Day celebrations on December 17, 2021.

ABOUT THE AWARD:

• The Order of the DrukGyalpo Award is the highest civilian award instituted by the Government of Bhutan. The award is given for lifetime achievement and takes precedence over all orders, decorations and medals given in Bhutan.

INDIA – BHUTAN RELATIONS:

• India and Bhutan share very close political and diplomatic ties.
• The relationship between the two countries is based on the Treaty of Perpetual Peace and Friendship, which was signed in The treaty was revised as the India-Bhutan Friendship Treaty in 2007.
• According to the treaty, both countries have agreed not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.
• Both countries will cooperate closely on issues of national interest and will not allow the use of its territory to harm the national security and interests of the other.
• The treaty provides for free trade and commerce between the two countries.
• PM Modi’s visit seeks to further cement India’s unique and enduring relations with Bhutan as part of the country’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ Policy.

ABOUT BHUTAN:

• Bhutan, also known as Druk Yul, means “Land of the Thunder Dragon.
• Bhutan is a landlocked country in South Asia. It shares international boundaries with India and China.
• Four Indian states, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Sikkim, share a land border with
• The length of India’s international border with Bhutan is 699 km.

• India launched ‘Operation Indravati’ to evacuate its citizens from violence-torn Haiti to the Dominican Republic.

ABOUT THE OPERATION:

• India does not have an embassy in Haiti and the situation in the country is being monitored by the Indian mission at Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.
• The name “Operation Indravati” is derived from the Indravati River, which flows through the Indian states of Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
• In the past, India has conducted several successful evacuation operations, including Operation Raahat in Yemen (2015) and Operation SankatMochan in South Sudan (2016).
• The Dominican Republic, where the evacuated Indians are being taken, shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Despite their geographical proximity, the two countries have stark differences in terms of political stability and economic development.

ABOUT HAITI:

• Haiti, a Caribbean country, has descended into chaos with armed gangs taking over its streets. The government has virtually disappeared.
• The ongoing chaos has prompted widespread displacement, with tens of thousands forced to flee their homes, adding to the already significant number of internally displaced persons due to gang violence.

• The 3rd edition of North East Games 2024 kick-started with a glittering opening ceremony at Regional Centre for Sporting Excellence, Sovima, Nagaland.
• More than 3000 athletes from eight North Eastern states are competing in 15 disciplines being held across 12 venues in three districts – Chumoukedima, Dimapur, and Kohima.

• Jindal Steel and Power Chairman Naveen Jindal has taken over as the President of the Indian Steel Association (ISA).
• He succeeded the Dilip Oommen the CEO of AMNS India and Executive Vice-President, Arcelor Mittal.