1. Modi resigns as Gujarat Chief Minister
i. Ending his 12-year stint as Gujarat chief minister and Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi submitted his resignation to state Governor Kamla Beniwal.
ii. Modi will take oath as the prime minister on 26 May.
iii. BJP legislature party will meet in Gandhinagar in the evening to elect a new leader. Reports say that Gujarat Revenue Minister Anandiben Patel's name has been cleared by Modi and that it's just a matter of time before her name is announced.
iv. Anandeben Patel is considered to be a close aide of Modi and has been a long-standing minister in the Gujarat government. If appointed, she will be the state's first woman chief minister.
v. The swearing-in of the new Chief Minister will take place on Thursday at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhingar. Modi will attend the ceremony.
2. WHO certifies India as a polio-free nation
i. India and the 11-country South-East Asia region today received formal certificates to mark a health milestone – being polio-free.
ii. India, the largest country in region, was the most recent member to achieve the status of being polio-free for at least three years.
iii. Minister of Health Ghulam Nabi Azad received the certificate on behalf of India.
iv. According to the international guidelines, a country or region has to be polio-free at least for three years to qualify to be declared polio-free. India touched this milestone in January this year.
v. However, the country's close proximity to polio affected nations, such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, remains a danger.
3. Randstad Awards 2014 announced
i. Randstad Awards 2014 was announced on 17 April 2014 to encourage best practices for talent attraction and to identify the best Employer Brand in the country based on perceived attractiveness of a company.
ii. Randstad have awarded the Global software major Microsoft as the most attractive employer in India followed by Sony India as the runner-up. The award was won by Microsoft for the fourth consecutive year.
iii. Special recognition awards were given to Larsen & Toubro as the most attractive employer in the infrastructure industry, State Bank of India in the banking sector, Taj Group in the hospitality and Tata Power in the energy sector.
iv. The Randstad Award was instituted globally by Randstad. Randstad is a leading HR services provider. The Randstad Award is the world’s largest employer branding survey that is conducted with over 200000 respondents across 23 countries in the world.
4. Arvind Mayaram appointed as new Finance Secretary
i. Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram has been appointed as the new Finance Secretary.
ii. A Finance Ministry release issued in New Delhi today said Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved it.
iii. The post was lying vacant after Sumit Bose retired last month. Mayaram, a 1978 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS officer, has been holding charge as the Economic Affairs Secretary since 2012.
iv. A 1978 batch Rajasthan cadre Indian Administrative Service officer, Mayaram will continue to look after the Department of Economic Affairs. He has been holding charge as Economic Affairs Secretary since 2012.
v. The Finance Ministry currently has five secretaries including Mayaram.
i. Ending his 12-year stint as Gujarat chief minister and Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi submitted his resignation to state Governor Kamla Beniwal.
ii. Modi will take oath as the prime minister on 26 May.
iii. BJP legislature party will meet in Gandhinagar in the evening to elect a new leader. Reports say that Gujarat Revenue Minister Anandiben Patel's name has been cleared by Modi and that it's just a matter of time before her name is announced.
iv. Anandeben Patel is considered to be a close aide of Modi and has been a long-standing minister in the Gujarat government. If appointed, she will be the state's first woman chief minister.
v. The swearing-in of the new Chief Minister will take place on Thursday at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhingar. Modi will attend the ceremony.
2. WHO certifies India as a polio-free nation
i. India and the 11-country South-East Asia region today received formal certificates to mark a health milestone – being polio-free.
ii. India, the largest country in region, was the most recent member to achieve the status of being polio-free for at least three years.
iii. Minister of Health Ghulam Nabi Azad received the certificate on behalf of India.
iv. According to the international guidelines, a country or region has to be polio-free at least for three years to qualify to be declared polio-free. India touched this milestone in January this year.
v. However, the country's close proximity to polio affected nations, such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, remains a danger.
3. Randstad Awards 2014 announced
i. Randstad Awards 2014 was announced on 17 April 2014 to encourage best practices for talent attraction and to identify the best Employer Brand in the country based on perceived attractiveness of a company.
ii. Randstad have awarded the Global software major Microsoft as the most attractive employer in India followed by Sony India as the runner-up. The award was won by Microsoft for the fourth consecutive year.
iii. Special recognition awards were given to Larsen & Toubro as the most attractive employer in the infrastructure industry, State Bank of India in the banking sector, Taj Group in the hospitality and Tata Power in the energy sector.
iv. The Randstad Award was instituted globally by Randstad. Randstad is a leading HR services provider. The Randstad Award is the world’s largest employer branding survey that is conducted with over 200000 respondents across 23 countries in the world.
4. Arvind Mayaram appointed as new Finance Secretary
i. Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram has been appointed as the new Finance Secretary.
ii. A Finance Ministry release issued in New Delhi today said Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved it.
iii. The post was lying vacant after Sumit Bose retired last month. Mayaram, a 1978 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS officer, has been holding charge as the Economic Affairs Secretary since 2012.
iv. A 1978 batch Rajasthan cadre Indian Administrative Service officer, Mayaram will continue to look after the Department of Economic Affairs. He has been holding charge as Economic Affairs Secretary since 2012.
v. The Finance Ministry currently has five secretaries including Mayaram.
