Current Affairs January 2020 - Appointments

1 - Ravindra Nath Mahto elected as Jharkhand Assembly Speaker

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislator Ravindra Nath Mahto from Nala constituency was unanimously elected as the new Assembly Speaker of Jharkhand. He has administered the oath of the office by pro-term Speaker Stephen Marandi. The JMM-Congress-RJD pre-poll alliance stormed to power in Jharkhand with a win over 47 seats in the 81-member state assembly.

Mahato was elected for the first time from the same constituency in 2005 but he lost the seat in the subsequent elections. He won it back in 2014, following it up with his win in 2019.

2 - Air Marshal Vibhas Pande VSM assumed charge as Air Officer-in-Charge Maintenance

Air Marshal Vibhas Pande VSM took charge as Air Officer-in-Charge Maintenance of Indian Air Force with effect from 01 Jan 2020. He started his career as Engineering Officer in IAF with fighter aircraft and later also gained experience in maintenance operations on transport aircraft and helicopters.

Some of the key appointments held by him include command of a premier Base Repair Depot, Senior Maintenance Staff Officer at HQ EAC and ACAS Eng (T&H) at Air HQ. Prior to assuming his present appointment, he was holding the appointment of Director General (Aircraft).

3 - Air Marshal MSG Menon VSM assumed charge as Air Officer-in-Charge Administration

Air Marshal MSG Menon VSM took charge as Air Officer-in-Charge Administration of Indian Air Force with effect from 01 Jan 2020. The Air Marshal is a Cat ‘AYE’ Air Traffic Controller and has commanded an operational radar unit at a major flying station. He was a member of the first UN Mission to Sudan.

Prior to taking over as Air Officer-in-Charge Administration, he was the Director General (Works & Ceremonials) at Air HQ. MSG Menon VSM has served as the Commandant of the prestigious Air Force Administrative College, Coimbatore and Principal Director Ops (Air Traffic Services).

4 - Prof Suresh Chandra Sharma appointed as chairman of NMC

Dr. Suresh Chandra Sharma, Professor and Head, ENT Head-Neck Surgery, AIIMS, New Delhi has been appointed chairman of the National Medical Commission (NMC). Dr Rakesh Kumar Vats, Secretary General, Board of Governors, Medical Council of India has been appointed as Secretary, National Medical Commission.

The NMC will replace the Medical Council of India as the apex regulatory authority of medical education in the country. The NMC will have four boards as per the recommendations of the Group of Experts headed by Professor Ranjit Roy Chaudhury.

5 - H.K. Joshi appointed as CMD of Shipping Corporation of India

Harjeet Kaur Joshi has been appointed as the new Chairperson & Managing Director of the Shipping Corporation of India Ltd. She joined SCI as Director (Finance) in Feb 2015. Prior to assuming charge of the office of Director (Finance) in SCI, Mrs. Joshi was General Manager (F&A) in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd., Mumbai.

Mrs. H K Joshi is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Cost Management Accountants of India. She is also a life member of the Institute of Public Administration, Delhi.

6 - Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar appointed Advisor to J&K Lt Governor

IPS officer Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar has been appointed as an advisor to the Lt Governor of Jammu-Kashmir. Bhatnagar is a 1983-batch officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre and recently retired as the CRPF DG.

With this, the Lieutenant Governor of J&K Union Territory, Girish Chandra Murmu will have three Advisors. The other two Advisors are K K Sharma and Farooq Khan. The role of the Advisor is to assist the Lieutenant Governor in the effective discharge of his functions.

7 - A Sakthivel appointed as the new Chairman of AEPC India

Dr. A Sakthivel was elected as the Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) by the Executive Committee for the year 2020 to 2021. A Sakthivel was first elected to the board of Directors of Apparel Export Promotion Council in the year 1982 thus serving the council for almost four decades. He is also the first person in the history of AEPC, who is sworn-in for the fourth time as Chairman of the AEPC.

A Sakthivel was honored with Civilian Award “PADMA SHRI” in 2009 and with Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa) in 2011 by Bharathiyar University.

8 - M Nagaraj appointed as Chairman and MD of HUDCO

M Nagaraj was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of State-owned Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO). He has varied experience of 28 years in various sectors such as housing, infrastructure finance, skill development and micro finance.

Prior to joining HUDCO, Mr. Nagaraj was MD of PEC limited and National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Programme. He has also worked as Director in IIFCL Projects Limited handling the Portfolios of Project Finance, especially Take-out Finance Scheme of IIFCL.

9 - Michael Debabrata Patra appointed as RBI Deputy Governor

Michael Debabrata Patra has been appointed as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He will replace Viral V Acharya who had resigned from the post in June 2019. Patra has been appointed to the post for a period of three years. He is likely to retain the Monetary Policy Department handled by Acharya, as the Deputy Governor.

The RBI, headed by Governor Shaktikanta Das, can have a maximum of four Deputy Governors. N S Vishwanathan, B P Kanungo and M K Jain are the other Deputy Governors working at the central bank.

10 - Harish Salve appointed Queen's Counsel for courts of England & Wales

Advocate Harish Salve has been appointed theQueen's Counsel for the courts of England andWales. The title of Queen's Counsel is usually awarded to lawyers possessing demonstrated skill and expertise in the conduct of advocacy. The appointment is done by the Queen, on the advice of the Lord Chancellor. He is advised by an independent Selection Panel which makes recommendations.

Advocate Salve served as a Solicitor General for India until 2002. He is known for representing India before the International Court of Justice in the Kulbhushan Jadhav extradition case.

11 - Senior IPS officer AP Maheshwari appointed as Director general of CRPF

Senior IPS officer A P Maheshwari was appointed as Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), following the superannuation of its previous DG, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar. He has served in the force for nine years, including as the Inspector General (operations), and also as its IG in Kashmir. Prior to his appointment, Maheshwari was Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Union Home Ministry.

CRPF is the world’s largest paramilitary force with about 3.25 lakh personnel. The CRPF's primary role lies in assisting the State/Union Territories in police operations to maintain law and order and counter insurgency.

12 - Bipul Behari Saha elected by IUPAC as its bureau member

Dr. Bipul Behari Saha has been elected as a bureau member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). With this appointment, he became second Indian after CNR Rao (in 1979) to be elected for this position. Currently he is Director – R&D of L.R. Research Laboratories Pvt Ltd (wholly owned subsidiary of NACL Industries Limited), Hyderabad.

Founded 100 years ago, IUPAC is the largest global organization of Chemistry professionals. It has the responsibility of naming all new elements and compounds, declare atomic weights and physical constants, update Periodic table and carry out research projects.

13 - Lt Col Yuvraj Malik appointed as the Director of the National Book Trust

Lt Col Yuvraj Malik was appointed as the Director of the National Book Trust on deputation from the Indian Army. He will replace Sahitya Akademi-awardee writer Rita Chowdhury. Malik has experience of working with the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, Raj Bhawan in Jammu & Kashmir, United Nation Missions in Africa and several operational areas in administrative and operational assignments including Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Punjab and Rajasthan.

National Book Trust is an Indian publishing house, functions under aegis of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India.

14 - JP Nadda elected as National President of Bharatiya Janata Party

BJP Working President J P Nadda was elected unopposed as the National President of Bharatiya Janata Party. Party's election in-charge of organization, Radha Mohan Singh gave him the certificate of his election on the occasion.

Mr. Nadda, who is from Himachal Pradesh, was appointed as the party's working president in July 2019. He has long been a member of the BJP Parliamentary Board, its highest decision-making body. He was also the Cabinet Minister in the first tenure of the Narendra Modi Government.

15 - Centre appointed Nripendra Misra as chairman of NMML executive council

Former Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Nripendra Misra, has been appointed Chairperson of the executive council of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML). Mr Misra is a 1967-batch retired IAS officer.

Dr. A Surya Prakash, Chairperson of the Prasar Bharati board, will be the council's Vice-Chairperson. The other eminent persons on the reconstituted executive council are Rajya Sabha members Vinay Sahasrabudhhe and Swapan Dasgupta. Academic Kapil Kapoor has also been nominated as a member of the committee.

16 - Challa Sreenivasulu Setty appointed Managing Director of SBI

The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet appointed Challa Sreenivasulu Setty as the Managing Director of the State Bank of India for a period of three years. Prior to this appointment, he was serving as the Deputy Managing Director of the SBI.

Challa has worked in multiple geographies with specialized exposure in credit and stressed assets. He has served various positions in SBI such as VP (syndications) in SBI, NY branch, DGM in commercial branch Indore, GM & RH in CAG Mumbai, CGM CAG and DMD (SARG).

17 - New MD and CEOs for Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and Canara Bank

The government appointed heads of Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and Canara Bank for three years.

18 - CEC Sunil Arora assumed Chairmanship of FEMBoSA for 2020

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora has assumed Chairmanship of the Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA) for the year 2020. The Outgoing Chair of FEMBoSA, KM Nurul Huda who is also CEC of Bangladesh, handed over the Logo of FEMBoSA to Mr. Arora at the 10^th Annual Meeting of FEMBoSA held in New Delhi.

FEMBoSA was established at the 3^rd Conference of Heads of Election Management Bodies of SAARC Countries held at New Delhi in May, 2012. It represents a very large part of the democratic world.

19 - India appointed Taranjit Singh Sandhu as India’s next Ambassador to USA

Senior diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu has been appointed as next Indian Ambassador to the United States. He will succeed Ambassador Harsh Vardhan Shringla. Prior to this appointment, Taranjit Singh Sandhu was working as High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka since January 24, 2017.

Taranjit Singh has served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian embassy in Washington, first secretary (political) at Embassy of India and at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.

20 - IBA appointed Sunil Mehta its Chief Executive

Sunil Mehta was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) for 3 years. He will replace VG Kannan, who resigned from office as chief executive of IBA on December 31, 2019. At present, the managing committee of IBA includes SBI chief Rajnish Kumar as Chairman for the year 2019-20 along with 3 deputy chairmen and honorary secretary.

Indian Banks' Association is a representative body of management of banking in India operating in India. It currently represents more than 200 banking and financial institutions operating in India.