Suresh Kumar Reddy appointed as the First ambassador to ASEAN

1.    Suresh Kumar Reddy appointed as the First ambassador to ASEAN

i. Union Ministry of External Affairs (MoEA) appointed Suresh Kumar Reddy as India's first Ambassador to the separate Indian Mission to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) & East Asia Summit.

ii. Presently, he is working as the Ambassador of India to Iraq.

iii. India has focused on ASEAN for the past couple of decades through its Look East Policy initiated in 1991.

iv. Asean and India have entered into a regional economic comprehensive partnership in 2011 resulting in trade worth 80 billion US dollar. At the heart of India's ASEAN initiative is connectivity and trade.

2.    Rs 6,700-cr World Bank loan for freight corridor link

i. The World Bank has approved $1.1 billion (about ₹6,700 crore) as the second tranche of its loan for construction of the 393-km-long electrified double line between Mughalsarai and Bhaupur sections of the eastern dedicated rail freight corridor.

ii. The loan agreement for the second phase is expected to be signed in June, an official release said.

iii. As a preparatory step, the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation Ltd (DFCCIL), the special purpose vehicle responsible for implementing the rail freight corridor project, has already shortlisted bidders for the civil construction contract of this segment. The value of the contract is expected to be Rs 3,500-4,000 crore.

3.    Japanese foods firm Nissin Foods appointed Gautam Sharma as India MD

i. Japanese foods firm Nissin Foods appointed Gautam Sharma as the Managing Director (MD) of its Indian arm Indo Nissin.

ii. He succeeds Yuji Tabeta. Yuji Tabeta was promoted to a senior role. 

iii. He is the first non-Japanese MD of Indo Nissin. He has worked earlier as Wrigley India CEO. He quit Wrigley, the second biggest confectionery firm in India following Perfetti van Melle, in 2012, after a four-year stint. 

iv. Sharma has worked with consumer goods firms such as GlaxoSmithKline, Perfetti van Melle and Gillette. 

v. Nissin Foods is the maker of Top Ramen noodles.  Top Ramen is India's third-largest instant noodles brand after Nestle's Maggi and ITC's Sunfeast YiPPee. It pioneered cup noodles in the country, which others like Nestle followed with its Maggi Cup-a-mania brand.

4.    Novartis buys GSK's cancer drugs for $16 bn in three-part deal

i. Global pharma major Novartis will acquire GlaxoSmithKline plc's (GSK) cancer drugs portfolio for USD 16 billion and sell its vaccines business in return for USD 7.1 billion, apart from forming a joint venture for the consumer healthcare business in a three-part transaction. 

ii. In separate statements, the two companies said they will combine Novartis' over-the-counter (OTC)) division with GSK's consumer business, creating a new world-leading consumer healthcare business with USD 10 billion in annual sales. 

iii. UK-headquartered GSK will have majority control with an equity interest of 63.5 percent in the venture. 
iv. Novartis, based in Basel, Switzerland, agreed to acquire GSK's oncology products for USD 14.5 billion and up to USD 1.5 billion contingent on a development milestone. 

v. Novartis would have opt-in rights to GSK's current and future oncology R&D pipeline. On the other hand, Novartis will divest its vaccines business, excluding flu, to GSK, for USD 7.1 billion plus royalties. 

vi. The joint venture of Novartis OTC and GSK Consumer Healthcare would have leading positions in four key OTC categories - wellness, oral health, nutrition and skin health, the companies said. 

5.    Arvind Kejriwal pips Narendra Modi, wins Time's poll for 100 most influential people

i. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal has won the Time magazine's readers poll of 100 Most Influential People in the world with the highest percentage of 'yes' votes.

ii. In the process, the AAP founder pushed BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to the second spot.

iii. The poll closed yesterday and results were announced on Wednesday.

iv. The AAP chief received a total of 261,114 "yes" votes from TIME readers, while BJP's PM candidate Modi managed to get 164,572 ''yes'' votes. Modi received 166,260 "no" votes, outnumbering his total "yes" votes.

v. The poll's winner was decided by raw number of "yes" votes.

vi. Rounding off the top 10 finishers were singers Katy Perry and Justin Bieber, actors Laverne Cox, and Benedict Cumberbatch, singer Beyonce, actor Jared Leto, actor Lupita Nyong'o, singer Lady Gaga and music duo Daft Punk.

vii. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi ranked 39th on the list.

viii. Each year, Time publishes an editor-curated list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

ix. Before the issue comes out, TIME runs an online poll where readers can cast their vote to decide where politicians, actors, musicians and athletes should rank on the list.

6.    Tendulkar turns 41 today

i. Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar turned 41 on Thursday and will be celebrating his birthday in his home town in the midst of Indian Premier League action in the United Arab Emirates after being with his franchise Mumbai Indians in the initial phase of the T20 league

ii. Tendulkar had returned from the UAE two days ago, according to sources close to him, and is celebrating his birthday with his family and friends in the city.

iii. This is the first birthday for the cricket great after he quit all forms of cricket in November 2013 after playing his 200th and final Test at his home ground, Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai against the West Indies.

iv. The Bharat Ratna recipient, the first Indian sports person to get the highest civilian honour, has been seen in public on very few occasions after his retirement.