Current Affairs Update – 18th April, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 18th April, 2015.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17 April 2015 returned to India after his three-nation visit to France, Germany and Canada.
• During his nine-day visit, which took place from 9 April to 17 April 2015, he met leaders of the three nations namely French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
• The visit concluded with some major agreements which would boost Modi’s vision of Clean India, Make in India and others.
• Some major agreements include purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets with France, agreement for supply of uranium with Canada for nuclear power plants in India and Airbus plan to come to India and be a part of Make in India initiative.

• The Supreme Court of India (SC) on 17 April 2015 appointed Vivek Priyadarshi to head the team probing the Indian Premiere League (IPL) scandal. The decision was taken by a SC bench headed by Justice TS Thakur.
• At present he is working as a Superintendent of Police (SP) in Central Bureau of India’s (CBI) anti corruption unit.
• He succeeds BB Mishra as the head of the probing team who was retired on 31 March 2015.
• The bench took the decision on the recommendation of a three member panel headed by former Chief Justice of India (CJI) RM Lodha. The panel was appointed by the SC in January 2015 to decide action against Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra who were found to have indulged in betting during the T20 league.

• Vankadarath Saritha was in news as on 17 April 2015 she became the first woman bus driver of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).
• She is a 30-year-old driver from Nalgonda in Telangana. She has been posted in day-time duty at the Sarojini Nagar depot and will start working officially from 20 April 2015.
• Saritha started her career as an autorickshaw driver and has worked as a bus driver earlier in Hyderabad too. Before getting selected for the DTC, she was working as a taxi driver in Delhi.
• The recruitment of Saritha into DTC will lessen the gap of gender inequality.

• Indian journalist Rahul Pandita and Zeena Johar, founder and CEO of SughaVazhvu Healthcare, based in Tamil Nadu, are among the 2015 Yale World Fellows selected this year.Yale World Fellows is Yale University’s signature global leadership development initiative and a core element of Yale’s ongoing commitment to internationalization. Each year, the University invites a group of exemplary mid-career professionals from a wide range of fields and countries for an intensive four-month period of academic enrichment and leadership training.The 16 selectees this year bring the total number of Yale World Fellows since the program’s start in 2002 to 273 Fellows, representing 84 countries.

• Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan won an Outstanding Contribution to Cinema honour at the fifth annual The Asian Awards.
• Picking up the award for Outstanding Contribution to Sport was Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara, and the prize for Outstanding Achievement in Science and Technology went to Tejinder Singh Virdee.
• The Outstanding Achievement in Television award went to comedian, actor and broadcaster Sanjeev Bhaskar, while the Hinduja brothers were awarded as Business Leaders of the Year.

• China's e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group, has been fined 800,000 yuan ($129,000) by the price bureau in eastern Zhejiang province for violations by third-party sellers during promotions on its e-commerce platforms.
• Since Alibaba turned "Singles' Day", a November 11 Chinese response to Valentine's Day, into an online shopping festival in 2009, the event has grown to similar proportions as Cyber Monday and Black Friday in the United States.
• Sales of more than $9 billion were achieved at last year's event, and the company has copyrighted the phrase "Double 11", a reference to the date (11/11), which in turn, refers to the status of single people.
• Alibaba shares have lost more than a fifth this year, with analysts citing concern about counterfeits along with lacklustre third-quarter earnings and waning investor excitement after last September's record-setting $25-billion IPO. ($1=6.1976 Chinese yuan)

• TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) on 16 April 2015 signed an agreement with two global research institutes, namely Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI) and INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE Group. The agreement was signed for exchange of knowledge and cooperation on issues related to climate change.
• As part of MoU, the three institutes will work together to promote research and development, including policy analysis in the areas of green growth, climate change, sustainable energy, natural resource management, capacity building and knowledge exchange.

• The State Government of Maharashtra on 18 April 2015 decided to discontinue the colonial-era practice under which police guard of honour was given to ministers and top officials. Government termed the practice as a waste of time and resources.
• The directive will apply to all ministers and senior state officials. The guard of honour was given to ministers and officers during their district-level visits.
• This practice of providing the guard of honour was reserved for the Governor Generals and Viceroys during the British age.

• World Heritage Day was observed across the world on 18 April 2015. The day is observed with an aim to create awareness among the people to conserve and protect the valuable assets and cultural heritage across the world.
• The day marks the necessity of protecting the historical monuments and sites located in every part of the world by making collective efforts at international level.
• The 2015 World Heritage Day also marked 50th anniversary of International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in Tunisia.

• World Haemophilia Day was observed globally on 17 April 2015 with theme Building a family of support. The day provides an opportunity to talk to your extended family and friends, colleagues, and caregivers to raise awareness and increase support for those living with an inherited bleeding disorder.
• Hemophilia day was established in 1989 with the support of the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH). The date of 17 April was chosen to honor Frank Schnabel the founder of WFH, whose birthday falls on the same date.

• India's Y Pranjala clinched the Asian Junior Tennis championship title after a come-from-behind victory over top seed Chinese Zheng Wushuang here today.
• The second seeded Indian won with a 5-7 6-2 7-5 scoreline in the final against her formidable rival, who happened to be her doubles partner in the event.
• It was double delight for the 16-year-old Pranjala as she had won the doubles trophy yesterday.
• Coached by former Davis Cup player Ilyas Ghouse, Pranjala trains at GVK Tennis Academy in Hyderabad.

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