Current Affairs April 2018 - Appointments
1 - Debjani Ghosh Appointed As NASSCOM President-Designate
National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) has appointed Ms. Debjani Ghosh, former MD, Intel South Asia, as the NASSCOM President-designate, succeeding Mr. R Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM on completion of his term in March, 2018.
Debjani will be the first woman President of NASSCOM. Ms. Ghosh was the first woman to lead Intel India and MAIT (Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology). NASSCOM® is the premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of the IT-BPM industries in India.
2 - US diplomat Rosemary DiCarlo becomes first female UN political chief
American diplomat Rosemary DiCarlo was appointed to become the first woman to head UN political affairs. DiCarlo will replace Jeffrey Feltman, another American who held the post since 2012.
DiCarlo is a former deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and served in various State Department positions. She also worked for UNESCO during a more than 35-year career. She is currently president of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. DiCarlo also is a senior fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs.
3 - Chandra Bhushan Appointed Deputy Election Commissioner
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has appointed senior bureaucrat Chandra Bhushan Kumar as Deputy Election Commissioner. He is a 1995 batch IAS officer of union territories cadre.
Bhushan has been appointed for a period of five years. Election commission is multi member body and currently has three members including Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). The President appoints them all for a term, which is fixed by the President.
4 - Christian Sewing appointed as new CEO of Deutsche Bank
The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bank appointed Christian Sewing as Chief Executive Officer replacing John Cryan who will leave the bank at the end of April 2018. Additionally, the Supervisory Board has appointed Management Board members Garth Ritchie and Karl von Rohr as new Presidents.
Christian Sewing has been a member of the Management Board since January 1, 2015 and served as President in March 2017. He was Head of Group Audit from June 2013 to February 2015, prior to which he held a number of management positions in Risk.
5 - Balram Bhargava selected as new director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research
Mr.Balram Bhargava, a professor at AIIMS has been selected as the Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Secretary of the Department of Health Research. He replaced Soumya Swaminathan. He served as a professor/senior consultant cardiologist at All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Veteran scientist Renu Swaroop was appointed as Secretary of Department of Biotechnology.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest medical research bodies in the world.
6 - Boao Forum for Asia selected Ban Ki-moon as its Chairman
'Boao Forum for Asia' (BFA) selected former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as its chairman. He replaced former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. Li Baodong was appointed as BFA secretary-general. Li Baodong served as Chinese Vice foreign minister. Former central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan was selected to the post of China’s chief representative to BFA.
The Boao Forum for Asia is a non-profit organisation that hosts high-level forums for leaders from government, business and academia in Asia. BFA is modelled on the World Economic Forum.
7 - Rishad Premji selected as NASSCOM Chairman
National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) announced the appointment of Mr. Rishad Premji, Chief Strategy Officer and Member of the Board, Wipro Ltd., as its Chairman for 2018-19. Rishad has been a member of NASSCOM’s Executive Council and was the Vice Chairman for 2017-18. He replaced Mr. Raman Roy. Rishad Premchand served as the Chief Strategy officer and member of the board, Wipro Ltd.
NASSCOM, a not-for-profit industry association, is the apex body for the 154 billion dollar IT BPM industry in India. NASSCOM is a global trade body with more than 2500 members.
8 - Lt Gen PP Malhotra appointed as Director-General of NCC
Lieutenant General PP Malhotra assumed charge as Director General of National Cadet Corps (NCC), the largest uniformed youth organization in the world on 11 Apr 2018. Lt Gen Malhotra’s distinguished professional career includes various regimental, staff and command appointments.
Prior to assuming his present appointment, he was the Chief Engineer of the Army’s premier Northern Command. A graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, the General has also undergone the prestigious National Defence College course at New Delhi.
9 - Dilip Chenoy took over as Secretary General FICCI
Mr. Dilip Chenoy, took over as the Secretary General of the apex industry body, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). He took over from Dr. Sanjaya Baru who stepped down from the post. Chenoy was working as Director General of the industry body till now.
Prior to this, Chenoy was working as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for almost five years. He was also the Director General of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) from 2004 till 2010.
10 - Jim Bridenstine to head the space agency NASA
The US Senate has voted 50-49 to pick President Donald Trump's pick, Mr Jim Bridenstine as the new Chief of US space agency NASA. Jim is a congressional representative from Oklahoma, US Navy veteran and former pilot. He will become the 13th administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
NASA's previous full-time administrator, former astronaut Charles Bolden, resigned in January 2017. The NASA Chief is nominated by the president and must be approved by Congress.
11 - Senior advocate Indu Malhotra sworn-in as Supreme Court judge
Senior advocate Indu Malhotra took oath of the office as Supreme Court judge in New Delhi. She was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra.
Ms Malhotra, a renowned arbitration expert, is the first woman judge to be appointed to the top post directly from the bar. She is the seventh woman Judge in the Supreme Court's 68-year history. Malhotra was one of the members of the Vishaka Committee on sexual harassment at workplaces.
