CURRENT AFFAIRS APRIL/20/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS APRIL/20/2015

SITARAM YECHURY TAKES OVER AS THE NEW CHIEF OF CPI(M)

• Yechury, 62, is the fifth general secretary of the CPI(M), taking over from Prakash Karat who served three terms as the party head.
• The party has never held an election for the post of general secretary as it has always been selected consensus
• Initially the headcount favoured S Ramachandran Pillai but then, some Central Committee CC members from West Bengal insisted on a vote if needed, but the party followed it's tradition of electing through consensus and not through voting following which Prakash Karat advised Pillai to withdraw.
• After which S Ramachandran Pillai candidature was withdrawn which paved the way for unanimous election of the 91-member Central Committee (CC) 

18TH APRIL CELEBRATED AS WORLD HERITAGE DAY ACROSS THE GLOBE

• UNESCO established 18 April as the International Day for Monuments and Sites which is commonly known as World Heritage Day in 1983.
• World Heritage Day aims to raise public awareness about the diversity and vulnerability of the world’s built monuments and heritage sites and the efforts required to protect and conserve them.
• Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Delhi Metro organised a'heritage walk' to spread awareness about the city's cultural and architectural legacy

VANKADARATH SARITHA THE FIRST WOMAN BUS DRIVER IN DELHI TRANSPORT CORPORATION

• Vankadarath Saritha has been appointd as the first woman driver of Delhi Transport Corporation.
• Vankadarath Saritha, 30, has been currently posted at Sarojini Nagar depot and will be put on day-time duty at a route in the central part of Delhi
• She was praised by Delhi transport minister Gopal Rai for accepting the challenge of driving a bus on the roads of Delhi
• Vankadarath Saritha hails from Nalgonda district in Telengana and was working as a private chauffeur in south Delhi when she was hired by the DTC in March

MOU SIGNED BETWEEN RAIL VIKAS NIGAM LIMITED (RVNL) AND DIGHI PORT LIMITED (DPL) TO FACILITATE PORT LED GROWTH

• The Prime Minister’s vision of Port led growth takes shape in Maharahstra with the signing of MoU between Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) and Dighi Port Limited (DPL) from Dighi to Roha integrating the region with DMIC
• Port led growth will play a very important role in the overall GDP growth of the country which is largely dependent on connectivity for industrialization and overall growth.
• Mr Fadnavis, Union Railway minister Suresh Prabhu, Union minister of heavy industries and public enterprises Anant Geete and minister of state for Railways Manoj Sinha were present on the occasion of signing of the MoU
• This is the 2nd MoU after Jaigad which was signed in 2014 for a 35 kms railway line connection.
• The entire coastline of India is 7600 kms of which 10% i.e. 760 kms is in Maharashtra so the MoU will change the entire landscape of the State and is expected to boost economical development of the country.

PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE OF INDIA DERECOGNISED BY INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE

• Paralympic Committee of India as been derecognised by the International Paralympic committee on due to infighting in the organistation
• The suspension would be for an indefinite period Following the ban, the Paralympic Committee of India has been barred from participating in any event till ban is lifted.
• This is the second time the PCI has been suspended by the world body

INDIAN-ORIGIN SATYA NADELLA THE TOP-PAID CEO IN THE US TO RECEIVE CHAMPION OF CHANGE AWARD FROM OBAMA

• US president Barack Obama will be honouring Microsoft's Indian-origin CEO Satya Nadella with the Champions of Change award for bringing certain changes within his company that would support working families.
• Microsoft recently announced that over the next year it will ensure that variety of suppliers that do business with Microsoft in the US provide at least 15 days of paid leave each year to employees who handle Microsoft work
• With a pay package of USD 84.3 million (Rs 525 crore) a year, technology giant Microsoft’s Indian-origin chief Satya Nadella has emerged as the top-paid CEO in the US,as per a new list
• He was named CEO of Microsoft in February 2014 prior to this he held leadership roles in both enterprise and consumer businesses across the company.

HARYANA’S ASHISH JAKHAR NATIONAL YOUTH RECORD IN BOYS’ HAMMER THROW

• Haryana’s Ashish Jakhar sets a national youth record in boys’ hammer throw on the second day of the 12th National Youth Athletics Championships
• Ashish hurled the 5kg ball-and-chain to a new distance of 71.92m on his opening throw and went on to 72.04m to set the first national record of the meet.
• The previous national record was in the name of Haryana’s Sukhdev Singh (70.35m) since 2009
• Chinese thrower Xu Wenjie has a better mark than Ashish in the Asian rankings, with a 72.35m throw