April 2020 Persons in News

Sakshi Education

Sanjay Kothari took oath as Chief Vigilance Commissioner
Sanjay Kothari took oath as Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). The oath office was administered by President Ram Nath Kovind on 25 April 2020 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, and others were also present at the ceremony. Social distancing was also ensured there as chairs were kept apart.

Central Vigilance Commission:
The Central Vigilance Commission was established in February 1964. The anti-corruption watchdog is headquartered in New Delhi. The autonomous body is free of control from any executive authority.
It is responsible for monitoring all vigilance activities in the Central government. It will also advise various authorities in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work.
Suresh N. Patel took oath as Vigilance Commissioner
Suresh N. Patel took oath as Vigilance Commissioner on 19 April. He was administered the oath of office by Sanjay Kothari, Central Vigilance Commissioner on the video link, due to the social distancing norms. The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Shri Sharad Kumar, Vigilance Commissioner, Secretary, and other senior officers of the Commission.

The tenure of Vigilance Commissioner is of four years or till the incumbent attains the age of 65 years. The Central Vigilance Commission can have a Central Vigilance Commissioner and two Vigilance Commissioners.

Suresh N. Patel:
Suresh N. Patel had over 30 years of experience in the banking sector. He was the Managing Director & CEO of Andhra Bank and was an Executive Director in the Oriental Bank of Commerce.

He held various positions including being a member of Management Committee, Indian Banks' Association; Member, Bankers' Institute of Rural Development, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD); President, State Level Bankers' Committee, Andhra Pradesh and President, Bankers' Institute of Rural & Entrepreneurship Development.

Also, he is a Permanent Invitee to the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems (BPSS) of RBI. He also served as a member of the Advisory Board for Banking and Financial Frauds (ABBFF) prior to his appointment as Vigilance Commissioner.
Justice Dipankar Datta sworn in as Chief Justice of Bombay HC
A senior judge of the Calcutta High Court (HC) Justice Dipankar Datta was sworn-in as the new Chief Justice of Bombay HC on 28 April. The oath of office was administered by Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan.
Justice Dipankar Datta will replace Justice Bhushan Pradyumna Dharmadhikari whose term as Chief Justice ended on 27 April 2020.

Justice DipankarDatta:
Justice DipankarDatta was born in February 1965. He practiced in various High courts including Calcutta HC, Gauhati HC, Jharkhand HC. Occasionally, he has also practiced law in the Supreme Court of India for about 16 years in Civil, Constitutional, Labour, Service, Education, and Transport. He has specialized in Constitutional, Labour and Service matters.

He served as a Central Government Counsel and held the office of Lawyer-in-Charge of the University of West Bengal and the West Bengal School Service Commission. On 22 June 2006, he was appointed as a Permanent Judge of the Calcutta HC.
Ajay Tirkey assumes charge as Secretary of Ministry of Women and Child Development
Shri Ajay Tirkey assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) in New Delhi on 1st May, 2020. He succeeded Shri Rabindra Panwar who retired on superannuation on 30th April 2020.

Ajay Tirkey:
Ajay Tirkey is the 1987 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre. Prior to this, held the post of Special Secretary in the same Ministry. In 2017, he worked as a Joint Secretary in the Department of School Education and Literacy in the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).

From 2015 to 2017, has been Managing Director of State Cooperative Marketing Federation. He has extensive experience of handling the portfolios of Medical Education, Labour & Employment and Rural Development in his home cadre appointments. He has served as the Principal Secretary to the Governor of Madhya Pradesh
From 2004 to 2009 he was on deputation to the Ministry of Defence as Director and Joint Secretary. He has also worked as the Managing Director (MD) of State Cooperative Marketing Federation (Markfed), Madhya Pradesh. He served as the District Collector of Sidhi, Hoshangabad and Raipur. In addition, he has worked in various capacities as an officer of Indian Administrative Service in Madhya Pradesh.
Rajiv Kumar appointed as chairperson of Public Enterprises Selection Board
Former finance secretary Rajiv Kumar was appointed as the chairperson of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) on 29 April.

The appointment of Rajiv Kumar is approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He will serve as the PESB chairperson for a period of three years.

Rajiv Kumar:
Rajiv Kumar is a 1984-batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre. He retired as the finance secretary in February 2020. Previously, he has steered the banking and financial sector through the severest crisis. Kumar took over as the Secretary, Department of Financial Services in September 2017. At the time most of the public sector banks including the State Bank of India were in losses.

Later, the GoI designated him as the finance secretary in July 2019. He was also instrumental in brokering peace between the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that resulted in the smooth transfer of Rs.1.76 lakh crore of the central bank's surplus to the exchequer in 2019. Also, a massive Rs.3 lakh crore recapitalization of banks was undertaken during his tenure. Before joining the finance ministry, Kumar served as the Establishment Officer (EO) in the Personnel Ministry.
T.S. Tirumurti appointed as Permanent Representative of India to UN
T.S. Tirumurti has been appointed as the next Ambassador or Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations. He will succeed Syed Akbaruddin as India's Permanent Representative to the UN. The appointment was approved by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Kapil Dev Tripathi appointed as Secretary to President of India
Kapil Dev Tripathi was appointed as the Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind on 20 April. His appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His appointment is on a contract basis. He has been appointed for a term co-terminus with the tenure of the President of India.

The appointment of Tripathi comes nearly two months after Mr. Kothari, a 1978 batch (retired) IAS officer of Haryana cadre, was selected as the next Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). However, the government has not notified the appointment as finding his successor took time.
Karnataka Bank re-appointed Mahabaleshwara MS as MD and CEO
Karnataka Bank's board has re-appointed Mahabaleshwara MS as its MD & CEO for a further period of three years. The Private lender has also appointed P. Jayarama Bhat as a non-executive chairman till 13 November 2021. The appointments were approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

They are expected to take the bank to new heights in corporate governance and business standards. The will focus on value-creation for all the stakeholders. Their appointment comes in the time when the world is facing an unprecedented new set of challenges caused due to COVID-19 outbreak.
Birupaksha Mishra assumes charge as ED of Union Bank of India
Shri Birupaksha Mishra took charge as the Executive Director (ED) of Union Bank of India (UBI), after its amalgamation with Corporation Bank and Andhra Bank. Prior to this, he was the ED at Corporation Bank.

ShriBirupaksha Mishra:
ShriBirupaksha Mishra holds a Postgraduate degree and a CAIIB (Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers). In 1984, he started his banking career as a Probationary Officer. He has a rich experience of more than three decades in various administrative and functional capacities at many Branches, Regional Offices and mainly at the Corporate Office.

As a part of his role, he has handled the Credit and Credit Monitoring Portfolio of the Bank and headed the IT vertical of the Bank. He has served in many parts of the country.
Chess wizard Viswanathan Anand named ambassador of WWF India
Chess Master Viswanathan Anand has been appointed as the new Ambassador for World Wide Fund (WWF) India's Environment Education program.

The Environment Education Program was formed in 1976. It reaches out to school children, youth and citizens across the country.

The main objective of the organization is to generate critical thinking, problem-solving, and environmentally-conscious individuals. The Environment Education program impacts over 5 million children across 2000 schools.

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF):
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) was established in 1961. It is headquartered in Vaud, Switzerland. The NGO works in the field of wilderness preservation, and the reduction of human impact on the environment.

With over 5 million supporters worldwide, WWF India has become the world's largest conservation organization. WWF aims to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.

Viswanathan Anand:
Viswanathan Anand was born on 11 December 1969 at Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu. In 1983, he won the National Sub-Junior Chess Championship with a score of 9/9. He won the Asian Junior Chess Championship in 1984, which earned him the International Master norm.

In 2007, Anand entered the (Fédération Internationale des Échecs) FIDE World Championship Tournament in Mexico as the world's top-ranked player. Anand stood as the World Chess Champion from 2007 to 2013. He won the World Chess Championship five times in 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012. He became one of the 6 players who broke the 2800 mark on the FIDE rating list.

In 1985, he was conferred the Arjuna Award for Outstanding Indian sportsperson in Chess. In 1987, he was awarded the Padma Shri. He received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in the years 1991-92. In 2000 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan and he was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2007.
Indian-origin MP Lisa Nandy appointed as shadow foreign minister
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour Party's newly-elected Leader, named Indian-origin MP Lisa Nandy as his shadow foreign secretary on 5 April.

Starmer's new committee will be responsible for coordinating Labour's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Lisa Nandy:
Lisa Eva Nandy served as the Member of Parliament for Wigan since 2010. From 2010-12 she served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Tessa Jowell. From 2012-15, she served as the Shadow Charities Minister.

Nandy came in third in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election. She secured 16.3% of the vote and came behind Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long-Bailey.
PravinRao is appointed as the new chairman of Nasscom
Vice-Chairperson Infosys' chief operating officer, UB PravinRao, has been appointed as the new chairman of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) for the year 2020-21. He was appointed Rekha Menon of Accenture.

Rekha Menon is the Chairman and Senior Managing Director, Accenture in India. Menon will be the Vice-Chairperson for Nasscom. PravinRao, along with President Debjani Ghosh, will help Nasscom to achieve its 2025 vision for the industry.
BP Kaunungo was reappointed as the deputy governor of RBI
BP Kaunungo was reappointed as the deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) approved the extension of Kanungo's term as RBI deputy Governor by one year.

It will be effective from 3 April, when his 3-year tenure comes to an end.

BP Kaunungo:
Kanungo served as an executive director of the RBI. In April 2017, he was elevated to the post of deputy governor. He is in charge of departments like currency management, payments, and settlement, foreign exchange, internal debt management, among others.

Kanungo is a career central banker. He joined the RBI in September 1982. He has worked in several functional areas of the banks such as foreign exchange management, banking & non-banking Supervision, currency management, government and bank accounts, and public debt.
Andhra Pradesh appointed Dr. Srinath Reddy as an advisor to the state Government
The Andhra Pradesh Government has appointed Dr.Srinath Reddy as an advisor to the Government on 31 March.

Dr.Reddy is the former Head of the Department of Cardiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.

Dr Reddy, who will now act as the advisor to the Andhra Pradesh Government, has requested that he will not take any salary or perks in return for his services.
NTPC appointed Dilip Kumar Patel as Director of Human resources
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited appointed Dilip Kumar Patel as its Director Human resources on 1 April.

Dilip Kumar Patel:
Patel has more than three decades of experience in HR functions. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from NIT, Rourkela.

He gained his Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (HR & Finance) from MDI, Gurgaon. Initially, he gained experience in Mechanical Maintenance & CHP Operation and Employee Development Centre (EDC) at Korba.

In 1997, he switched his career to core HR functions. After his work as HR at Korba, he moved to become the Head of HR at Koldam where the first hydro project of NTPC was launched.

Patel has served as HR Head in various NTPC projects like NSPCL Bhilai, Sipat, and Tanda for around 12 years. He also served as the Regional Head of HR in the Eastern Region-2, before he was appointed as the Director (HR).
Sudhir Rajkumar resigns from UN Joint Staff Pension Fund
Sudhir Rajkumar, a senior official from India, has resigned from his position of Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the investment of the assets of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF).

He was appointed to the role of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in October 2017. Rajkumar did not mention any reason for his resignation. He managed the assets of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund.

Sudhir Rajkumar:
Prior to the UN appointment, Sudhir Rajkumar headed the global pension advisory program at the World Bank Treasury.

He provided advisory services to the Ministry of Finance of Brunei Darussalam, National Pension Fund of the Republic of Korea, South Africa's Government Employees Pension Fund, KWAP of Malaysia, and the Nazarbayev University Endowment in Kazakhstan and other public investment institutions globally.

In 1988, he began his career at the World Bank in Eastern Africa Operations as a Young Professional and has worked in various regions and capacities with the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, including as Principal Investment Officer.