August 2020 Persons in News

Sakshi Education

Former Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar was appointed as the Election Commissioner
Former Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar has been appointed as the new Election Commissioner. Mr Kumar will replace Commissioner Ashok Lavasa.

Rajiv Kumar will assume office when the Commissioner Ashok Lavasa leaves his office on 31st August 2020.

The outgoing Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa will join Asian Development Bank (ADB) as its vice president.

Rajiv Kumar:
Rajiv Kumar is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1984 batch from Jharkhand cadre. Kumar has over 30 years of experience in public policy and administration across various sectors. He holds B.Sc and LLB degrees, along with masters in public policy and sustainability.

Kumar served as the secretary, Department of Financial Services in the month of September, when most of the public sector banks (PSBs) were in losses. In 2019, he was designated as finance secretary. He played a major role in the major merger of 10 PSBs into four.

As financial services secretary, he took several policy decisions to promote responsive and responsible banking. Kumar also undertook a massive Rs.3 lakh crore recapitalisation of banks during his tenure. He also initiated and implemented the 59-minute loan scheme for the MSME sector.

Prior to his experience in finance ministry, he served as the establishment officer (EO) in the personnel ministry. During his term in the personnel ministry, Kumar introduced a 360 degree appraisal system for promotion and empanelment of senior bureaucrats.

He also worked to streamline the promotion and appointment process done by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). A compendium of guidelines pertaining to board-level appointments in the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) was issued by Kumar when he worked as the EO in 2017.
Satya Pal Malik appointed as Governor of Meghalaya
Satya Pal Malik took charge as Governor of Meghalaya on 18 August 2020. He replaced Tathagata Roy who completed his five-year tenure on the gubernatorial post. Satya Pal Malik who is currently serving as the Governor of Goa was transferred and appointed as Governor of Meghalaya.

Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari has been asked to discharge the functions of the Goa governor in addition to his own duties. Roy completed his five-year tenure by serving as governor of Tripura for 3 years and the remaining 2 years in Meghalaya.

Satya Pal Malik:
Satya Pal Malik started his political career at Meerut University as a student leader. In 1974, he became the MLA of Charan Singh's Bhartiya Kranti Dal from Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh. In 1984, he joined the Congress and became its Rajya Sabha MP. In 1988, he switched to the VP Singh-led Janta Dal and became an MP from Aligarh.

In 2004, Malik joined the BJP. He is the first career politician to be appointed as the governor of J&K in 51 years after Karan Singh, whose term had ended in 1967. He is the current governor of J&K. He was given the additional charge to serve as governor of Odisha till 28 May 2018.
Girish Chandra Murmu appointed as Comptroller and Auditor General of India
Girish Chandra Murmu has been appointed the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

He has replaced Rajiv Mehrishi and will have a tenure up to 20th November, 2024.

Key Points
Constitutional Body: Article 148 provides for an independent office of the CAG. It is the supreme audit institution of India.

Other Provisions Related to CAG include: Articles 149-151 (Duties & Powers, Form of Accounts of the Union and the States and Audit Reports), Article 279 (calculation of net proceeds, etc.) and Third Schedule (Oath or Affirmation) and Sixth Schedule (Administration of Tribal Areas in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram).

Profile in Brief:
Head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department - created in 1753.

Guardian of the public purse and controls the entire financial system of the country at both the levels–the Centre and the state.

One of the bulwarks of the democratic system of government in India.

The others being the Supreme Court, the Election Commission and the Union Public Service Commission.

The accountability of the executive (i.e. Council of Ministers) to the Parliament in the sphere of financial administration is secured through audit reports of the CAG.

Appointment: Appointed by the President of India by a warrant under his hand and seal.

Tenure: A period of six years or upto the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Removal: CAG can be removed by the President on the same grounds and in the same manner as a judge of the Supreme Court. He does not hold his office till the pleasure of the President.

In other words, he can be removed by the President on the basis of a resolution passed to that effect by both the Houses of Parliament with special majority, either on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.

Other Related Points:
Not eligible for further office, either under the Government of India or of any state, after he ceases to hold his office.

Salary and other service conditions are determined by the Parliament.

The administrative expenses of the office of the CAG, including all salaries, allowances and pensions of persons serving in that office are charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India (thus are not subject to the vote of Parliament).

No minister can represent the CAG in Parliament.

Duties & Powers as also under the CAG’s (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971:

Audits the accounts related to all expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India, consolidated fund of each state and consolidated fund of each union territory having a Legislative Assembly.

Audits all expenditure from the Contingency Fund of India and the Public Account of India as well as the contingency fund of each state and the public account of each state.

Audits profit and loss accounts, balance sheets and other subsidiary accounts kept by any department of the Central Government and state governments.

Audits the receipts and expenditure of the following:

Bodies and authorities substantially financed from the Central or state revenues;

Government companies; and

Other corporations and bodies, when so required by related laws.

Audits the accounts of any other authority when requested by the President or Governor. For example, the audit of local bodies.

Acts as a guide, friend and philosopher of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament.

Limitation:
The Constitution of India visualises the CAG to be Comptroller as well as Auditor General. However, in practice, the CAG is fulfilling the role of an Auditor-General only and not that of a Comptroller.

In other words, the CAG has no control over the issue of money from the consolidated fund and many departments are authorised to draw money by issuing cheques without specific authority from the CAG, who is concerned only at the audit stage when the expenditure has already taken place.

In this respect, the CAG of India differs totally from the CAG of Britain who has powers of both Comptroller as well as Auditor General.

In other words, in Britain, the executive can draw money from the public exchequer only with the approval of the CAG.
IRS Patanjali assumed charge as Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Mumbai
Senior IRS Shri. Patanjali has assumed charge as Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Pr. CCIT), Mumbai on 10th August 2020. Prior to this, Patanjali served as the Director-General of Income Tax, Investigation Wing, Bengaluru for the state of Karnataka & Goa.

Patanjali:
Shri Patanjali is one of the senior-most Indian Revenue Service officers (IRS). He began his career in Mumbai from May 1997 to April 2007. He worked in Bhopal, Indore, Bengaluru, and Gwalior and has wide experience of different verticals in the Income Tax Department like Administration, Investigation, Assessment, and Tax Deducted at Source (TDS). He holds a Masters Degree in Economics from Delhi School of Economics.

Shri Patanjali is the founder of 'Vanya Organic', a widely acclaimed food forest initiative. He is working extensively for the ‘Regenerative Farming’ for almost two decades as an ecological solution.
RBI Approved SashidharJagdishan as Next MD & CEO of HDFC Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved SashidharJagdishan as the next Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of HDFC Bank for a period of 3 years, effective from the date of taking charge i.e., October 27, 2020 under Section 35B of the Banking Regulation Act 1949.

He will succeed Aditya Puri, the bank’s longest serving CEO (26 years- since September 1994).

Aditya Puri will retire on October 26, 2020, on attaining the age of 70.

About SashidharJagdishan:
He currently serves as an additional director and Group Head of Finance, Human Resources, Legal & Secretarial, Administration, Infrastructure, Corporate Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility and the Strategic Change Agent of the HDFC Bank.

iHe joined the Bank in the year 1996 as a Manager in the Finance function and later became Business Head- Finance in 1999.

He was appointed as the Chief Financial Officer in the year 2008.

Key Info
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) capped the maximum age at 70 years for a managing director, chief executive officer or whole time director in a private bank, while the minimum age is above 21 years.

Aditya Puri is the longest-running CEO of any bank in India.
Nobel Peace Prize Winner John Hume Passed Away at 83
The Nobel Peace Prize winner (1998) and prominent Northern Ireland politician John Hume passed away at 83 in a Londonderry nursing home due to a long period of illness.

He was born on January 8, 1937 in Derry (Londonderry), Northern Ireland(a part of the United Kingdom- UK).

Key Info about John Hume
John Hume was the founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in 1970 and led the party from 1979 until 2001.

He shared the Nobel Peace Prize with David Trimble of the Ulster Unionist Party(UUP) for their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland.

They played a major role to create the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which ended the violent conflict in Northern Ireland by bringing unionists and Irish republicans into a power-sharing government.

Few Honors- International Gandhi Peace Prize, 2001; Golden Doves for Peace Journalistic Prize, 1997; Martin Luther King Peace Award, 1999.
Padma Bhushan Awardee & Former Arunachal Pradesh Governor Ram D Pradhan passed away at 92
Former Arunachal Pradesh Governor and Veteran Bureaucrat Ramachandra Dattatraya Pradhan (R.D.Pradhan) passed away at the age of 92 in Mumbai on 31st July, 2020. He was born on 27th June, 1928.

He joined as IAS officer in the erstwhile Bombay State in 1952. He has served positions in Gujarat, Maharashtra also. He has held the position of Home Secretary & Chief Secretary of Maharashtra.

Positions held:
Governor of Arunachal Pradesh – March 1987 – March 1990.

Home Secretary of India – January 1985 – June 1986.

India’s Resident Representative in Geneva to UNCTAD and GATT : 12 years

International civil servant : 5 years

He also won a seat in Maharashtra Legislative Council in June 1990 on a Congress ticket.

On 1st May, 1960 he joined Y B Chavan, Chief Minister of the newly formed state of Maharashtra, as his private secretary.

He was appointed as Maharashtra’s Home Secretary in March 1977.

Awards
R D Pradhan is a recipient of Padma Bhushan, third highest civilian award of India in 1987.

Notable Achievements
He was chairman of the High-level Enquiry Commission for November 26, 2008 Mumbai Terror Attacks.

One of the chief architects in drafting of peace accords in Punjab, Assam and Mizoram.

He has authored several books and is a prolific writer. Some of his books are “Working with Rajiv Gandhi”, “1965 War, the Inside Story: Defence Minister Y.B. Chavan’s Diary of India-Pakistan War”