Current Affairs July 2016 - Appointments
News 1 - Shri D K Hota takes over as the CMD of BEML
Shri D K Hota, Director (Human Resources) of BEML assumed his charge as the Chairman & Managing Director of the Company. He took over from P Dwarakanath who retired on 30th June, 2016.
Prior to joining BEML, Shri Hota served in the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) for 30 years. He is an alumnus of St. Stephens, New Delhi graduating in Economic (Honours) and holds an MBA degree in Human Resources from XLRI, Jamshedpur.
BEML, a defence public sector undertaking established in May 1964, is a Mini-Ratna Category-I Listed Company.
News 2 - Lt Gen MK Unni Takes over as the new DGAFMS
Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Unni assumed the charge of the Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS). He is a graduate from the Armed Forces Medical College AFMC, Pune and has served with the Special Forces as a Regimental Medical Officer of the elite 9 Para Commandos.
He commanded the prestigious Army Hospital (Research & Referral), Delhi Cantt before becoming Director General Medical Services (Army). He has received two Presidential awards, VSM and AVSM. Lt. Gen Unni was appointed as a Honorary Surgeon to the President of India on July 01 2015.
News 3 - Madhav Dhekane took over as the Director of ISRO Inertial Systems Unit
Mr. Madhav Dhekane took over as the Director of ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), Department of Space, at Vattiyoorkavu in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He is the 7th Director of IISU.
He obtained a B-Tech degree in electrical engineering and an MTech degree in Systems and Control from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. He had joined the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in 1983. The ISRO Inertial Systems Unit is a research and development unit of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) that specializes in inertial sensors and systems in satellite technology.
News 4 - Shri N. S. Vishwanathan takes over as the RBI Deputy Governor
Shri N. S. Vishwanathan took over as the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India for a period of three years from the date of his taking over charge of the post on or after July 4, 2016 or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He was the Executive Director of the Reserve Bank before being elevated to this post.
Mr. Vishwanathan joined the Reserve Bank of India in 1981. He was also the Chief Vigilance Officer and the Head of Internal Audit, IFCI. He has been associated with various committees, working groups, and task forces.
News 5 - Shri Sudarshan Sen takes charge as the new Executive Director at RBI
Shri Sudarshan Sen has taken over as the new Executive Director at the Reserve Bank of India. He will look after the Department of Banking Regulation, Department of Co-operative Banking Regulation and Department of Non-Banking Regulation.
Mr. Sen was in charge of the Department of Banking Regulation before taking over as the Executive Director. He holds an MBA in International Banking and Finance from the University of Birmingham, UK. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Mathematics from the University of Delhi.
News 6 - MFIN appoints R Baskar Babu as their new President
Microfinance Institutions Network has appointed R Baskar Babu, CEO of Suryoday Micro Finance, as its new President. He has replaced the outgoing President Manoj Nambia, Managing Director of Arohan Financial Services. Mr. R Baskar Babu has 22 years of experience in the financial services and banking segment. He has earlier worked with First Leasing, Cholamandalam, HDFC Bank and GE Capital in various leadership positions.
MFIN has also elected Rakesh Dubey, CEO of SVCL Creditline as its new Vice President. MFIN is an industry association and self-regulatory Organisation for India's micro lending companies.
News 7 - K B Koliwad Unanimously Elected as the Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker
Senior Congress MLA K B Koliwad was unanimously elected as the 20th Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. The post was vacant after outgoing speaker, Kagodu Thimmappa, was inducted into the Cabinet.
Mr. Koliwad is a five-time MLA from Ranebennur constituency and had served as a Minister in the past. Mr. Koliwad was elected to the House for the first time in 1972. He is also the Chairman of the Joint House Committee on lake encroachments.
News 8 - Centre Selected R Thiruppathi as the Accountant General of Tamil Nadu
Senior Deputy Accountant General of Agartala, Tripura R Thiruppathi Venkatasamy has been selected by the Government as the Accountant General of Economic and Revenue Sector Audit of Tamil Nadu.
He has knowledge and experience in the field of planning and policy formulation, financing and implementation of developmental schemes and general administration. Also, he has worked in various offices of Indian Audit and Accounts Department of different locations.
News 9 - S K Kohli takes charge as the Chief Defence Accounts Auditor
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet appointed S K Kohli as the Controller General of Defence Accounts. He has been presently holding position of Indian Defence Accounts Service officer before the decision of this appointment was taken.
Mr. SK Kohli will have responsibility to audit, payment and accounting of all charges pertaining to the armed forces, including bills for supplies and services rendered and for construction and repair works, pay and allowances and pensions, among others.
News 10 - Deepak Singhal to take charge as the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh
IAS Officer Deepak Singhal has been appointed the new Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh replacing the 1978 batch officer Alok Ranjan, who retired on 30 June 2016 after a three-month extension of service. He will also hold the additional charge of Principal Resident Commissioner of UP in New Delhi, and Chairman of the Pradeshiya Industrial & Investment Corporation of UP (PICUP).
Mr. Deepak Singhal has previously served as the Principal Secretary to Department of Irrigation under Shivpal Yadav and as the commissioner of Meerut, Agra and Bareilly.
News 11 - Debshankar Mukhopadhyay to take charge as the CEO of Zee Learn
Essel Group Branch Zee Learn appointed Mr. Debshankar Mukhopadhyay to join as the CEO of its educational branch Zee Learn. The Essel Group has a diverse portfolio of assets in media, packaging, entertainment, education etc.
Mr. Mukhopadhyay has knowledge and experience of about 20 years in educational and financial sector across South Asia. Prior to joining Zee Learn, he served as the Head of Educational Sales – Financial Services and Insurance at the Manipal Global Education Services.
News 12 - Gary Fritz to take charge as the President of Asia Pacific region for TripAdvisor
The popular American travel website TripAdvisor has selected Gary Fritz as its Chief Growth Officer and President of the Asia Pacific region to perform for the company's operations and strategy throughout the Asia Pacific region.
TripAdvisor is bound to capture both inbound and outbound travel throughout the APAC region. Fritz is expected to help the company drive growth and implement the formulated strategies across all brands. Also, he will oversee all operations throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
News 13 - Indus Towers appoints former Nokia Executive Tejinder Kalra as their COO
Telecom Tower Company Indus Towers appointed Bharti Business Global Head Tejinder Kalra as its Chief Operating Officer. He has an overall experience of 26 years in the telecom and telecom services industries like Reliance Infocomm, Satyam Infoway and Sprint RPG India. Prior to this, he served as Global Head for Bharti business.
With over 26 years of experience in the telecom and telecom services industry, Kalra holds an extensive experience in strategy development, implementation and service delivery across geographies.
News 14 - Sushila Karki to take charge as Nepal's first woman Chief Justice
Nepal Parliamentary panel unanimously selected Sushila Karki as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, replacing Kalyan Shrestha. With this decision, she became the first woman Chief justice of Nepal.
Her appointment was delayed due to some technical reasons in formation of the PHSC. The Judicial Council on 10 April 2016 had recommended her for the top judicial post.
News 15 - Utpal Bora takes charge as the Chairman of Oil India
The Central Government appointed technocrat Utpal Bora as the new Chairman of Assam based Oil India Ltd, which was suggested by the P K Sinha headed a three-member searchcum-selection committee. Oil India Limited is the second largest hydrocarbon exploration and production Indian public sector company.
Prior to this appointment, Utpal Bora was holding charge as an Executive Director with ONGC and takes care of Mehsana field in Gujarat. He has been appointed to the post for five-year terms.
News 16 - Sanjay Gupta takes charge as the CMD of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited
Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) has appointed Sanjay Gupta as its Chairman and Managing Director. Prior to this appointment, he was working as the Director (Operating and Commercial) of KRCL and also as the Chief Mechanical Engineer with the Konkan Railways. He has worked for more than 30 years as a Mechanical Officer of the Indian Railways.
Mr. Gupta has worked on several prestigious and coveted posts as well as on various assignments. He has brought about several improvements in all spheres of working of Konkan Railway and has also been instrumental in taking KRCL to new heights.
News 17 - Tathagata Roy took oath as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh
The Governor of Tripura, Mr Tathagata Roy has taken over charge as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh in the Darbar Hall of Raj Bhavan in Itanagar, followed by the ceremony of Dr. Joram Begi as the Chief Information Officer of Arunachal Pradesh who replaced YD Thongchi. Tathagata Roy, will hold additional responsibility as Arunachal Pradesh governor till JP Rajkhowa returns.
Mr. Roy was sworn in as the Arunachal Pradesh Governor in the presence of Guwahati High Court Chief Justice Ajit Singh.
News 18 - Indian-American Professor Dr. Kinshuk selected as the Dean of University of North Texas College of Information
Indian-American Professor Dr. Kinshuk has been selected as the Dean of University of North Texas College of Information in the United States with effect from 15th August 2016.
Prior to this appointment, he was working as Director in the School of Computing and Information Systems. He has a vast experience in teaching, research and information technology. He has also served as an instructor at the Academy of Computer Education in India, as well as a part-time lecturer at the Government Polytechnic College in India.
News 19 - IPS officer Ashok Patnaik to take charge as the CEO of National Intelligence Grid
Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) Officer Ashok Patnaik has been appointed as the CEO of the National Intelligence Grid, a robust intelligence gathering mechanism being built up to track terror suspects and incidents. Prior to this appointment, he was serving as the additional director in the Intelligence Bureau.
NATGRID's data sources include records related to immigration entry and exit, banking and financial transactions and telecommunications. The agencies concerned include the Intelligence Bureau, local police and revenue and customs departments.
News 20 - D Rajkumar appointed as the CMD of BPCL, Utpal Bora to head Oil India
D Rajkumar and Utpal Bora have been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Oil India Ltd, respectively. Mr. Rajkumar is currently working as Managing Director of Bharat Petro Resources Ltd, a unit of BPCL. While, Mr. Bora is Executive Director in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited. They have been appointed to the posts for a five-year term.
Rajkumar will take over the charge after the current chief S Varadarajan retires in September.
News 21 - ACC appoints Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi as the Chairman of CBSE
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi as the Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for a five-year term. The post had been lying vacant since December 2014.
Mr. Chaturvedi is a 1987 batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre. Until now, Joint Secretary of the Union Human Resource Development Ministry Y S K Seshu Kumar was holding the additional charge as the Chairman of the CBSE.
The Government has also appointed IAS officer Vandita Sharma as member (Finance) in the Atomic Energy Commission; Guruprasad Mohapatra as Chairman, Airports Authority of India; BB Mallick as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs; and SP Singh Parihar as chairman, Central Pollution Control Board.
News 22 - K V R Murthy appointed as the CMD of the Jute Corporation of India
Mr. K V R Murthy has been appointed as the new Chairman cum Managing Director of the Jute Corporation of India Limited for a period of five years or till the date of his superannuation, whichever is earlier. He took over the position from 2nd July 2016. He was earlier associated with the Eastern Railways in the capacity of a Chief Commercial Manager.
The Jute Corporation of India Ltd. (JCI) is an agency of the Government of India that assists jute cultivators in states where this crop is grown, providing minimum price support.
News 23 - Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra appointed as the Chairman of the Airports Authority of India
Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra of Orissa and an IAS Officer of the Gujarat Cadre (1986) was appointed as the Chairman of the Airports Authority of India. Prior to joining AAI, he worked as a Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce in Government of India. He has extensive experience in the Power Sector, Urban Development and Industry.
He has served as the Managing Director of Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd (GACL), Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers Company Ltd (GNFC) and as the Municipal Commissioner in Surat from 1999 to 2002.
News 24 - World Bank Group appoints Paul Romer as their Chief Economist
The World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim announced the appointment of Paul Romer as the World Bank Chief Economist. Mr. Romer is currently a Professor at the New York University (NYU), Director of NYU’s Marron Institute of Urban Management, and a Professor of Economics in the NYU's Stern School of Business.
He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Romer's appointment will be effective from September 2016.
News 25 - Steve Elworthy appointed as the Managing Director of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019
ECB's Steve Elworthy has been appointed as Managing Director of the ICC Cricket World Cup, which will be held in England and Wales in 2019. He will also have an oversight of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, which will both be staged in England and Wales.
Mr. Elworthy has previously been Tournament Director for three different ICC global events. The former South Africa fast bowler has also held senior management positions in Marketing and Communications with both the ECB and Cricket South Africa. In his new role, he will oversee all aspects of the tournament including marketing, logistics, cricket operations, volunteering and security.
News 26 - Coca-Cola appoints Sarvita Sethi as the VP (Finance) for India and South West Asia
Beverage Giant, Coca-Cola has appointed Sarvita Sethi as their new Vice President (Finance) for India and South West Asia. She will replace Sanjeev Kumar and will report to Venkatesh Kini, President, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia. Sanjeev is moving to Lagos as Director Finance for Coca-Cola West Africa and will be heading the company’s finance operations for 31 countries.
Coca-Cola India and South West Asia business unit includes Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives, besides India. Ms. Sethi has been working with Coca-Cola for the last eight years and was the Commercial Finance Director for Coca-Cola Central & Southern Europe (CSE) business based in Athens.
News 27 - Western Union appoints Sohini Rajola as their new Vice President for South Asia
Western Union has appointed Sohini Rajola as their Regional Vice President, India and South Asia. She will be responsible for managing and developing the business across India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Bhutan.
Ms. Rajola was earlier the Senior Vice President and Head – Digital Banking at Axis Bank. Previously she was the bank's Head of Cards and Merchant Acquiring where she managed several partnerships and was responsible for the launch of a wide portfolio of electronic card products.
News 28 - Ajay Bhushan Pandey appointed as the CEO of UIDAI
The Union Government has promoted Director General and Mission Director of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Ajay Bhushan Pandey, as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the promotion of Pandey with effect from 12 July 2016.
Mr. Pandey is a Maharashtra cadre IAS officer of 1984 batch. He has been involved with the UIDAI established under the Aadhaar Act and implementation of Aadhaar since September 2010. He holds a Doctorate in computer science from University of Minnesota Minneapolis of the US.
News 29 - Ganesh Singh appointed as the new Chairperson of JPC on the Land Acquisition Bill
The BJP Lok Sabha member Ganesh Singh has been appointed as the new Chairperson of the Joint Committee of Parliament examining the Land Acquisition Bill. He replaces S S Ahluwalia who became the Minister of the State for Parliamentary Affairs.
Mr. Singh moved a resolution in the Lok Sabha seeking the extension of the term of the panel till the last day of the Winter session. The resolution was passed by a voice vote. The first task at hand for Singh on Friday was to move a resolution in the Lok Sabha seeking the seventh extension of the term of the panel.
News 30 - ITC appoints Sanjiv Puri as their COO
The FMCG Major ITC Ltd has re-designated Executive Director Sanjiv Puri as the Chief Operating Officer of the company with immediate effect. ITC had in December 2015, elevated Sanjiv Puri as the Director of its FMCG business replacing P Dhobale.
He is widely seen as a potential successor to chairman YC Deveshwar, who is stepping down in February 2017. Puri is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He joined ITC in 1986 and has worked with the company in several roles.
News 31 - NSE appoints three new Public Interest Directors
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has revamped its board and appointed three new Public Interest Directors including Chairman of the Manipal Global Education Services and Infosys' Former Director Mohandas Pai, Former Secretary at the Ministry of Corporate Affairs Naved Masood and KPMG India's Former Deputy Chief Executive Dinesh Kanabar.
The National Stock Exchange of India board has 10 Directors. Mr. Ashok Chawla, the Former Chief of Competition Commission of India, is the current Chairman. The Former NSE Managing Director and Chief Executive Ravi Narain is the Vice Chairman.
News 32 - Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale takes over as the CJ of Allahabad HC
Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale took over as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court. The post was lying vacant since May 2016 after former Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, was elevated to the Supreme Court.
He served as the Chairman of the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Vice-Chairman of Bar Council of India. He was elevated as a Judge of the Bombay High Court in 2001. Currently, he was serving as the Acting Chief Justice at the Hyderabad High Court.
News 33 - Buddha Rashmi Mani appointed as the Director General of the National Museum
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment of the former Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) official, Dr. Buddha Rashmi Mani as the Director General of the National Museum. The post has been vacant for a year after the abrupt transfer of Venu Vasudevan in April 2015. The post was being held by Sanjiv Mittal, a Joint Secretary in the Culture Ministry, as an additional charge.
Mani and his team courted controversy in 2003 when their excavation report stated that features of a 10th century temple were found beneath the site where the 16th century Babri Masjid stood until its demolition in 1992.
News 34 - Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari sworn in as the new Chief Justice of the Patna HC
Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari has been sworn in as the new Chief Justice of the Patna High Court by Bihar Governor Ramnath Kovind. Justice Ansari had worked twice as the Acting Chief Justice of Patna High Court since December 2014 before being sworn in as its 39th Chief Justice. He would retire on October 29, 2016.
Justice Ansari was elevated to the bench of the Guwahati High Court as the Judge on March 4, 2002. He joined the Patna High Court on November 11, 2013.
News 35 - Shri A.K. Mital reappointed as the Chairman of the Railway Board
The current Chairman of the Railway Board Shri A.K. Mital has been reappointed as the new Chairman, Railway Board for a period of 2 years, with effect from 01.08.2016.
Shri A.K. Mital was appointed as the Chairman of the Railway Board on the 31st December 2014. Prior to this appointment, Shri A.K. Mital was a Member Staff of the Railway Board. Earlier, he served as the General Manager of the South Western Railway – SWR (Headquarters Hubli) and was also looking after the additional charge of being the General Manager, South Central Railway – SCR (Headquarters Secunderabad).
News 36 - Senior IPS officer Satish Mathur appointed as the new DG of the Maharashtra Police
Senior IPS officer Satish Mathur has been appointed as the new Director General of the Maharashtra Police in Mumbai. Mr. Mathur is a 1981 batch IPS officer and currently holds the post as the Director General of the AntiCorruption Bureau, Maharashtra. He succeeds Pravin Dixit, an IPS officer of the 1977 batch, who was posted in December 2015.
Mr. Mathur has held several crucial postings in the past, including his tenure with the CBI. He was also the Pune Police Commissioner and served a nearly five-year tenure with Air India on Central Deputation.
News 37 - Jagdip Narayan Singh to be the new Chief Secretary of Gujarat
Jagdip Narayan Singh, a 1983 batch IAS officer, will be the new Chief Secretary of Gujarat. Mr. Singh, who currently holds multiple charges in the Gujarat Government including the Additional Chief Secretary at the Finance Department and the Managing Director of the State Energy Major, GSPC Group and its Group companies. He will take charge as the Chief Secretary from July 31. He will replace Mr. Ganga Ram Aloria on his retirement from the service.
Mr. Singh holds a wide and varied experience of having worked in various Departments of Government of Gujarat and Government of India such as Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd.
News 38 - Dr. Sanjiv Misra appointed as the AD and NE (Part Time) Chairman at the Axis Bank
The Reserve Bank of India has granted approval to Axis Bank for appointment of Dr. Sanjiv Misra as the Additional Director and the Non-Executive (PartTime) Chairman of the bank for a period of three years with effect from July 18, 2016, up to July 17, 2019 (both days inclusive).
Dr. Misra was a member of the Indian Administrative Service for over 35 years. He was a Secretary in the Ministry of Finance till his superannuation in 2008. Subsequently, he served as a Member of the 13th Finance Commission, a constitutional position with the rank of a Minister of State.
