July 2020 Persons in News

Sakshi Education

JinLiqun has been re-elected as the President AIIB
JinLiqun has been re-elected as the President of the China-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for a second five-year term.

The President stated that the bank would remain an “apolitical institution” and continue to back projects in India.

The management will look at the proposed projects from the economic and financial point of view and not with a political view.

Key Points
India and AIIB:
India was among the AIIB’s 57 founding members in 2016.

It is also its second-largest shareholder (with 7.62% voting shares) after China (26.06%).

It has received USD 4.35 billion from the Bank.

This is the highest of any country, with the bank so far approving loans of USD 19.6 billion to support 87 projects in 24 countries.

Turkey is second with USD 1.95 billion.

AIIB has approved financing projects in India in a host of sectors like energy, transport and water including the Bangalore metro rail project (USD 335 million), Gujarat rural roads project (USD 329 million) and Phase 3 of the Mumbai urban transport project (USD 500 million).

In a recent virtual meeting, India said that it expects AIIB to introduce new financing instruments, provide financing for social infrastructure and to integrate development of climate resilient and sustainable energy access infrastructure into AIIB’s recovery response to the Covid-19 crisis.

This implies that India is unlikely to alter its engagement with the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), despite a host of offensive measures announced recently to reduce its trade and investment links with China.

Chinese Angle:
In June 2020, AIIB approved USD 500 million for Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund and Health Systems Preparedness Project and another USD 750 million for Covid-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support, in a co-financing arrangement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

USD 750 million loan was approved two days after the clash in Galwan Valley in Ladakh along the India-China border.

It has supported several projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework, but is not formally linked to the plan.

India has concerns over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor - a part of the BRI.
Hemang Amin appointed as the Interim CEO of BCCI
On 13th July 2020, Hemang Amin, the current Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Indian Premier League (IPL) was appointed as the interim Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of BCCI following the resignation of Rahul Johri on 9th July 2020.

Amin joined the operations team of IPL in 2010 and became the COO in November 2015 following the resignation of Sundar Raman, who was the COO of IPL.

Amin takes over BCCI while BCCI is being forced to adopt the Supreme Court-directed administrative reforms.

Amin will be handling the roles of CEO in the interim period until the appointment of the new CEO.

The BCCI hired Korn Ferry, consulting agency to hire the first ever CEO and this time the organisation will decide on the appointment of a new CEO in the meeting on 17th July 2020 through video conferencing.
Dutch Football Player Wim Suurbier Passed Away at 75
Dutch football player Wim Suurbier (Wilhelmus Lourens Johannes Suurbier) passed away at 75 on 12th July, 2020. His cause for death was not provided. He was suffering from a cerebral hemorrhage. He was born in Eindhoven, Netherlands on 16 January 1945.

He is a defender who helped to establish the free-flowing ‘Total Football’ on Ajax (Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax) and Dutch national teams of the 1970s.

About Wim Suurbier
Key Achievements
Wim Suurbier made 509 appearances for Ajax between 1964 and 1977. He has won

60 caps for the Netherlands from 1966 to 1978.

With him on the team Ajax won European Cup for 3 consecutive years(1971, 1972 and 1973) and 7 national titles from 1964 to 1977.

He has played in 2 World Cup finals(1974, 1978) with the Netherlands.

After a long career with Ajax(13 years), he also played in Germany. In addition to it, he joined Cruyff at the Los Angeles Aztecs, USA in 1979

As a Coach– He served as the head and assistant coach for many clubs including Golden Bay Earthquakes, St. Petersburg Kickers among others.
Injeti Srinivas was appointed as the first chairman of the International Financial Services Centre Authority
Senior bureaucrat Injeti Srinivas was appointed as the first chairman of the International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) for the Gujarat International Finance Tech (GIFT) City.

Highlights:
The Department of personnel and training (DoPT), under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, appointed Injeti Srinivas, the former corporate affairs secretary, as the chairman of the newly set up regulator for three years.

Srinivas retired on 31 May 2020.

The appointment comes as the Union government has notified the setting up of the IFSCA on 28 April.

IFSCA will serve as a unified authority to regulate all financial services in international financial services centres (IFSCs) across the country.

Until now, the regulations for entities and financial services at IFSCs were governed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

The appointment will now typically lead to several key regulations and development work falling between regulatory bodies.

Injeti Srinivas:
Injeti Srinivas is a 1983 batch IAS officer from the Odisha cadre. He served at the corporate affairs ministry for nearly 3 years. Prior to that, he served as secretary, department of sports, and director-general of SAI.
PV Narasimha Rao
Recently, the Telangana Chief Minister launched the year-long celebrations to commemorate the birth centenary of former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao.

The centenary celebrations will highlight the 360-degree personality of P V Narasima Rao.

Key Points
PV Narasimha Rao was born on 28th June 1921 in erstwhile Nizam's Hyderabad state.

He was a freedom fighter, academician, and literary figure. He was also the 9th Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1996.

He published ‘SahasraPhan’, a Hindi translation of the famous Telugu Novel ‘VeyiPadagalu’.

Economic Reforms: He sought to dismantle the restrictions imposed under the license raj, reduce red tape and make Indian industries more competitive.

He is known for bringing the policy of economic liberalisation in India.

The economic liberalisation in India is referred to the liberalisation of the country's economic policies.

It was initiated in 1991 with the goal of making the economy more market- and service-oriented, and expanding the role of private and foreign investment.

Foreign Policy: In terms of foreign policy, he established diplomatic relations with Israel.

The Look East Policy of India was also initiated during his tenure.

He is also known for reversing decades of unfriendly relations between India and the United States by bringing them together.

Constitutional Reforms: The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments Act empowering local bodies were enacted during his tenure.
Dr. Joseph Mar Thoma
India has celebrated the 90th birthday of Dr. Joseph Mar Thoma, a reverend father and distinguished member of Mar Thoma Church.

He is the current Marthoma Metropolitan (higher rank of Bishop) of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church.

The Mar Thoma Church is closely linked with the noble ideals of Saint Thomas, the Apostle (each of the twelve chief disciples of Jesus Christ) of Lord Christ.

Key Points
The Mar Thoma Church is also known also as the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar.

It was founded by Saint Thomas (Mar Thoma), one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, and known by the name of the Apostle, in the year AD 52.

Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar is one of the oldest denominations of Christianity.

It is an autonomous Oriental Indian church headquartered at Thiruvalla, Kerala, India, which has over 1.6 million followers across the globe.

Oriental Indian churches: The Oriental Orthodox Churches are a group of Christian churches adhering to the ideology that Jesus is a one person in two nature's i.e. divine and human.