Who won the Women's singles title in the 42nd edition of Porsche Tennis Grand Prix?

The Chief Economic Adviser (CEA), Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian has been included as the member of the Advisory Council to the 15th Finance Commission headed by N.K. Singh. The Advisory Council now has 12 members after inclusion of Chief Economic Adviser Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian. Other members include Dr. D.K. Srivastava, Dr. Indira Rajaraman, Dr. Arvind Virmani, Dr. Surjit S. Bhalla, Dr. Sanjeev Gupta, Prof. Pinaki Chakraborty, Sajjid Chinoy, Neelkanth Mishra, Prachi Mishra, Dr. M. Govinda Rao, and Dr. Omkar Goswami. The 15th Finance Commission was constituted in November 2017. The role of Commission is to give recommendations for devolution of taxes and other fiscal matters to the central government for 5 years, commencing from April 1, 2020.

Indian -origin journalist G D 'Robert' Govender conferred with V K Krishna Menon Award 2019 in UK for his contribution as a pioneer of decolonised journalism. The award is given to mark the 123rd birth anniversary of V K Krishna Menon, Indian diplomat and politician. Govender is the first person who has been awarded the V K Krishna Menon posthumously. He had died in the UK in 2016. Govender was the first journalist who called for an international boycott of South Africa's sports team which only had whites as their members.

India's Jagjit Pavadia was re-elected for another term to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). The 60-year-old won the election of the narcotics control board with the highest number of votes at 44. The announcement of her victory was made by India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin after the election results were announced. Pavadia has been a member of the narcotics control board since 2015 and her current term was set to come to an end in 2020. The elections were held by secret ballot by the 54-member UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). A total of 15 candidates were competing for five seats.

Raheem Sterling named the 2019 footballer of the year by the Football Writers' Association (FWA). The Manchester City and England forward topped the poll of the 400-strong FWA membership as a clear winner, with 62 per cent of the votes. It was more than 100 votes ahead of Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk. Sterling lost out to Van Dijk in the race for the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) award, but was announced PFA young player of the year.

The Asian Boxing Championship 2019 was held in Huamark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. This was the first time women and men boxing championship held together. This event was organized by International Boxing Association or AIBA.

Justice Madan Bhimrao Lokur, who retired as the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court in December 2018, has been appointed to the Supreme Court of Fiji's non-resident panel for the duration of three years. The Supreme Court of Fiji consists of the Chief Justice, who is also the President of the Supreme Court, all Justices of Appeal who are also members of the Court of Appeal and others specifically appointed as Supreme Court judges.

Rakesh Sharma, Bajaj Auto Executive Director and also a representative of SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures) has been elected as VP (Vice President) of IMMA, International Motorcycle Manufactures Association (based in Geneva) during the annual general meeting of (IMMA) at Yogyakarta in Indonesia. Rakesh Sharma has a wide range of experience in 2 and 3-wheeler industry and he is expected to efficiently direct IMMA towards being the trusted motorcycle manufacturers worldwide.IMMA's president is Johannes Loman.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) set up a 13-member committee in order to review regulatory framework on micro insurance, and suggest the steps to be taken to raise demand for such products in India by recommending product designs with customer-friendly underwriting, example, easy premium payment methods and simple claims settlement procedures. The committee is headed by Suresh Mathur, IRDAI's Executive Director. It constitutes of officials from IRDAI, life, general and health insurance companies in public and private sectors, as well as NGOs (Non-Government Organizations). The committee was formed because of less than desired offtake of micro insurance products in spite of their immense benefits in India. It will also give recommendations about alteration in distribution structure, that is, creating effective awareness programmes and making web-based technology driven solutions.

Indian spiritual leader, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, was presented with the 'Order of St. George' Award for the year 2019 as part of the Commemorative Feast at the Puthuppally St. George Orthodox Church (462-year-old ) in Kottayam, Kerala. The award was presented by the head of Kandanad East diocese, Dr. Thomas Mar Athanasius Metropolitan at the cultural conference held at the church. In 1981, Sri Sri founded the Art of Living Foundation, a volunteer-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) providing social support to the people.

The new emperor, Naruhito (59-year-old), on 1st May received the sacred imperial regalia that represents his rightful succession to the world's oldest monarchy, Tokyo, Japan. Emperor Akihito of Japan formally stepped down on 30th April 2019 as his son Naruhito prepared to take the Chrysanthemum Throne and usher in a new imperial era. Emperor Akihito abdicated the Chrysanthemum Throne three decades after he succeeded his father, the wartime emperor Hirohito. This is the first abdication for 200 years in the world's oldest monarchy. In the "Room of Pine" in Tokyo's Imperial Palace, the popular 85-year-old performed the abdication ritual in the presence of the imperial regalia, an ancient sword and the sacred jewel. Akihito (now 85 years old), took the throne in 1989. He devoted his career correcting for a war fought in his father's name. He even brought the aloof monarchy closer to people. He is the first emperor in Japan's modern history whose era did not have a war. While the role of the emperor has been chiefly ceremonial since the end of World War II, the departing monarch acted as the nation's chief consoler during times of disaster, such as the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and sought to make amends throughout Asia for Japan's wartime atrocities.