February 2020 Persons in News

Sakshi Education

Supreme Court collegium approves appointment of 3 judicial officers as Judges of J&K High Court
The Supreme Court Collegium has approved the proposal for appointment of three Judicial Officers as Judges of Jammu and Kashmir High Court. The officers are – Vinod Chatterji Koul, Sanjay Dhar and Puneet Gupta.

The collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India S ABobde, in a meeting on 19 of February, also recommended the proposal for elevation of Satya Gopal Chattopadhyay, Judicial Officer, as a Judge of the Tripura High Court. Besides, it approved the proposal for elevation of Advocate Ahanthem Bimol Singh as a Judge of the Manipur High Court.

Apart from CJI Bobde, Justices N V Ramana, Arun Mishra, R F Nariman and R Banumathi are part of the new 5-judge collegium.
Sumant Kathpalia appointed as MD and CEO of Induslnd Bank Ltd
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed Sumant Kathpalia as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Induslnd Bank Ltd.

The appointment with effect from 24 March 2020. He will hold the office for tenure of three years. Kathpalia will replace Romesh Sobti.

Romesh Sobti:
Sobti has been serving as MD & CEO at Induslnd Bank since 2008. Prior to that, he served as the India head for ABN Amro Bank.

Sumant Kathpalia:
Sumant Kathpalia is a former ABN Amro employee. He currently heads Induslnd Bank's retail lending business.

The appointment of Kathpalia was nominated and remunerated by the committee of the Induslnd bank's board. It was communicated to RBI in November 2019.
Arvind Kejriwal sworn in as Chief Minister of Delhi for third time
Aam Admi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal took oath as Chief Minister of Delhi for the third consecutive time.

Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr.Kejriwal and six Cabinet Ministers at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital.

Mr.Kejriwal has retained all the Cabinet Ministers who were part of his last government. They are Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, GopalRai, KailashGehlot, Imran Hussain and RajendraGautam.

Mr.Kejriwal's first term lasted only for 49 days and completed the full tenure in the second term. The Aam Aadmi Party swept the Delhi assembly polls held last week, bagging 62 out of 70 seats.
Bengali film actor, former TMC MP Tapas Pal passes away in Mumbai
Popular Bengali film actor and former Trinamul Congress MP Tapas Pal died at a private hospital in Mumbai this morning (18th February, 2020).

He was 61.Tapas Pal acted in number of Bengali films besides two times elected in Lok Sabha from Krishnanagar Constituency in Nadia District of West Bengal.

Tapas Pal also elected in the State assembly. His acting in 'DadarKirti', Saheb, ParabatPriya and other films acclaimed appreciations.
Greatest woman golfer, Mickey Wright dies at 85
Mickey Wright, often described as the greatest woman golfer of all times, died at Florida in the United States at the age of 85 on 17th February, 2020.

Her haul of 13 major victories included four US Women's Open titles and four US Women's PGA Championships.

Wright had accumulated 82 titles of Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour titles during a professional career which stretched from 1954 to 1969. She won the 1954 World Amateur Championship before turning professional the following season.

Her retirement was in 1969 which came at the relatively early age of 34.
Australia appoints former New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell as next high commissioner to India
Australia has appointed former New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell as the next high commissioner to India. Mr O'Farrell will succeed Harinder Sidhu who has been in the office since 2016.

Mr O'Farrell served in the New South Wales Parliament from 1995-2015 and the 43rd Premier of the province. He has served as New South Wales' Special Envoy for India and made a significant contribution as the Deputy Chair of the Australia- India Council Board.

Two-way investment between the two countries, valued at 30.7 billion dollars and the contribution of around 700,000 people of Indian Origin living in Australia.
Renowned thinker, writer P Parameswaran passed away in Kerala
Renowned thinker, writer and the founder director of Bharatiya Vichara kendram P Parameswaran passed away this morning at Ottapalam in Kerala.

He was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2018 and Padma Shri in 2004. His last rites will be performed in his home town Muhamma in Alapuzha.
Padma Shri awardee Giriraj Kishore passes away
Well-known Hindi novelist and Padma Shri awardee Giriraj Kishore passed away on Sunday in Kanpur, following a cardiac arrest at his residence. He was 83 years old and is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son.

Giriraj Kishore was best known for his novel ''Pehla Girmitiya'' that was based on Mahatma Gandhi''s stay in South Africa. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the President of India and was the recipient of the Sahitya Akademi award. He was also conferred the Vyas Samman in 2000, and an honorary Ph.D. by Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj University in 2002.
Barun Mitra appointed as law Secretary, Department of Justice
The Modi administration on 11th February, 2020 appointed 1987 batch IAS officer Barun Mitra as Secretary, Department of Justice in the Ministry of Law and Justice in the Central government.

Mr. Mitra, a 1987-batch officer of the Manipur cadre, is working as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the same department.
1988 batch IAS officer Rajiv Bansal becomes Air India's new CMD
The government on 13 February, 2020 appointed the 1988 batch IAS officer of Nagaland Cadre Rajiv Bansal as the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India.

MrBansal is presently serving as the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

1987 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh Cadre Debashis Panda has been appointed as the Secretary, Department of Financial Services. Rajkumar, 1987 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre has been appointed Secretary Defence Production.

Director-General of Archaeological Survey of India, Usha Sharma has been appointed Youth Affairs Secretary. Chief Executive Officer of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India Pawan Kumar Agarwal will be Consumer Affairs Secretary.

Rajiv Ranjan has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Fisheries and Saraswati Prasad as Secretary of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
Rishi Sunak appointed as UK's new Finance Minister
Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy's son-in-law, Rishi Sunak has been appointed as UK's Finance Minister. He replaced Pakistani Chancellor Sajid Javid. After the reshuffle, three Indian origin Members of Parliament are now a part of Britain's most diverse cabinet led by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The 47-year-old Priti Patel has been appointed as the Home Minister. The 51-year-old Alok Sharma has been appointed as the Business Secretary in the British Cabinet. Sharma was elevated to the role of the secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy.
Former TERI Chief and Environmentalist RK Pachauri Dies At 79
Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, the former chief of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), passed away on 13 February, 2020 at the age of 79.

Pachauri was the chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007, when it shared the Nobel Peace Prize with former US Vice President Al Gore.

Pachauri became the chief executive of TERI in 1982, and served as the director-general from April 2001. However, the world-renowned environmentalist’s remarkable career was overshadowed by a sexual harassment scandal involving a former woman colleague at TERI.

In July 2015, he was removed from his position after the institution’s Internal Complaints Committee found him guilty. Pachauri, however, consistently refuted the allegations. The environmentalist resigned from the institution’s governing council in April 2016. A court in Delhi framed molestation charges against him in October 2018.
Gopal Baglay becomes India’s next Ambassador to Sri Lanka
Gopal Baglay has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. He will replace Taranjit Sandhu.
Britain appoints Karen Pierce as next ambassador to U.S.
Britain appointed its current UN envoy Karen Pierce as the next ambassador to the United States.

Britain's previous top diplomat in Washington Kim Darroch had resigned last year over his controversial comments on US President Donald Trump in leaked diplomatic cables.
Deepa Malik becomes president of Paralympic Committee of India
Para-athlete and India’s lone woman Paralympic medallist Deepa Malik has been elected as president of Paralympic Committee of India. She was elected unopposed as president in the PCI polls held in Bengaluru. Headquarters of Paralympic Committee of India: Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Mo O’Brien becomes the 1st deaf person to row Atlantic Ocean
Mo O’Brien (60 years) has become the first deaf person on record to row an ocean by finishing a 3,000-mile journey across the Atlantic with her daughter Bird Watts, and their friend Claire Allinson.
NASA astronaut Christina Koch returns to Earth after record-setting stay in space
NASA's astronaut Christina Koch returned from space to Earth safely. Koch returned after an 11-month mission, breaking the world record for the most time spent by a woman in space.

Koch has spent 328 days on International Space Station ISS, surpassing the previous record of 289 days held by fellow American Peggy Whitson. Koch's medical data will be especially valuable to NASA scientists as the agency draws up plans for a long-duration manned mission to Mars.
Kenya’s former President Daniel arapMoi dies aged 95
Kenya's former President Daniel arapMoi has died at the age of 95.

Mr Moi was Kenya's longest-serving president. He was in office for 24 years, until intense pressure forced him to step down in 2002.