1. Modi Xi among Time's most influential people

1. Modi Xi among Time's most influential people

i. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who entered office this year on the promise of reviving the country’s economy, is the winner of this year’s reader poll for TIME Person of the Year. 

ii. In the final tally, Modi received more than 16% of the almost 5 million votes cast.

iii. Readers from more than 225 countries in total participated, with U.S. votes leading the pack at 37%, followed by India at 17% and Russia at 12%.

iv.  Mr. Modi was named by TIME among the 100 most influential people in the world in its annual list on Thursday, with U.S. President Barack Obama penning a flattering profile of him.

2. India to grow at 7.5 % in 2015: Moody’s

i. A week after it revised its outlook on India to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’, international credit rating major Moody’s pegged India’s growth at 7.5 percent for 2015.

ii. Low inflation rate has enabled the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut interest rates by 50 basis points in early 2015 which has helped in easing pressure on the private sector.

iii. Moody’s Analytics is of the view that “India’s state—owned companies are notoriously inefficient, with significant bureaucracy and endemic corruption.

3. Obama to honour Satya Nadella with 'Champion of Change' award

i. US President Barack Obama plans to honour Microsoft's Indian-origin CEO Satya Nadella with the 'Champions of Change' award for bringing about change within his company to support working families.

ii. Before being named CEO in February 2014, 47-year-old Nadella held leadership roles in both enterprise and consumer businesses across the company.

iii.  the White House released a Middle Class Tax report highlighting his budget proposals to help those 44 million middle-class Americans.

iv. The 'Champions of Change' programme was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities.

4. RIL Reclaims Tag of Most Profitable Indian Firm

i. Reliance Industries regained its status as the most profitable Indian company after posting an 8.5 per cent rise in consolidated net profit for the March quarter. 

ii. The operator of the world's biggest refining complex reported a net profit Rs 6,381 crore for the three months to March, 2015.

iii. RIL had lost its crown as India's most profitable firm to outsourcing giant TCS in the December quarter. 

iv. TCS, which announced its March quarter numbers on Thursday, reported a net profit of around Rs 5,900 crore (including one-time bonus for employees). 

5. UN Peace Envoy Jamal Benomar Resigns

i. United Nation (UN) peace envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar has resigned, after losing support from Gulf countries for his mission in the conflict-riven nation.

ii. His resignation comes after UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for the swift resumption of peace talks and an end to violence in Yemen.

iii. The adopted resolution adopted calls on the Huthis to withdraw from Sanaa and all other areas they have seized.

6. Pakistan, Russia to hold first-ever joint military exercises

i. Pakistan and Russia have agreed to hold first-ever joint military exercises as part of their enhanced defence cooperation, in a sign of increasing bonhomie between the Cold War-era adversaries.

ii. The agreement was reached during a meeting in Moscow between Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu.

iii. Asif is on an official visit to Moscow to attend a regional security conference. He held talks with the Russian defence minister, during which the two ministers agreed to increase military cooperation in training and import of arms and equipment.

7. Mohan Kumar appointed as new Indian Ambassador to France

i. Senior diplomat Mohan Kumar, currently India's top envoy to Bahrain, has been appointed the next Ambassador to France to succeed Arun Kumar. 

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/04/daily-gk-updates-17th-april-2015.html#ixzz3XfyQLy4O