Current affairs 21 April 2024

TN topped in electronics exports with a record $9.6 billion in FY23-24.

• Tamil Nadu has hit $9.56 billion in electronics exports in FY23-24, being 33% of India's total.
• The exports nearly doubled from $5.37 billion in FY22-23, showcasing rapid growth.
• Tamil Nadu is leading the list significantly over Karnataka's $4.6 billion, aiming for higher records next year.
• Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi occupy the 3rd, 4th and 5th positions respectively.

Outward FDI dropped by 39% to $28.64 billion in FY24.

• India's OFDI declined to $28.64 billion in FY2024 from $46.96 billion in FY2023, marking a 39% decrease amid global economic uncertainties.
• Overseas guarantees by Indian companies dropped to $14 billion in FY2024 from $20.09 billion in the previous fiscal year.
• Equity investments formed 34% of total OFDI in FY2024, totaling $9.62 billion, down from $19.13 billion in FY2023.

India's 6-year-old sets new world record in lowest limbo skating.

• Takshvi Vaghani, 6 years old, has set a new world record in lowest limbo skating at 16 cm over 25 meters.
• She has beaten the previous record of 16.5 cm, demonstrating exceptional skill and balance.
• Limbo skating or roller limbo is a sport in which a person drives on roller skates underneath an obstacle like a horizontal pole without touching it.

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Permanent Education Number mandatory from the academic year 2024-25.

• Andhra Pradesh mandates a Permanent Education Number (PEN) for students from the academic year 2024-25.
• Implemented by the Union Ministry of Education through UDISE+, the PEN initiative covers over 14.89 lakh schools and 26.5 crore children, facilitating easier documentation and student mobility.
• Commissioner, Andhra Pradesh School Education - S. Suresh Kumar.

A Global Coral Bleaching Event has officially been confirmed.

• NOAA's Coral Reef Watch and the International Coral Reef Initiative confirmed the fourth global coral bleaching event.
• Since early 2023, over 53 countries, including Australia with its Great Barrier Reef, have reported mass bleaching.
• This marks the second significant bleaching within the last decade, the previous one spanning 2014 to 2017.