Current Affairs June 2020 - Persons in NEWS

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1 - R Sreelekha appointed as Kerala's first woman DGP

R Sreelekha became the first woman Director General of Police in Kerala as she assumed charge as the new head of the Fire and Rescue Services on June 1. Prior to the promotion, she was the State Transport Commissioner.

A 1988 batch IPS officer, Sreelekha became the first woman Superintendent of Police in Kerala in 1991. She is a recipient of the president’s police medal for her work with the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau.

2 - Adesh Kumar Gupta replaced Manoj Tiwari as Delhi BJP Chief

The BJP has appointed Adesh Kumar Gupta, a sitting councilor and former mayor of North Delhi, as its Delhi Unit Chief. Mr Gupta replaced Manoj Tiwari. Manoj was appointed Delhi BJP president in November 2016.

Gupta had been a part of ABVP since 1987. He was involved with BJP’s Yuva Morcha from 2004 to 2007. The BJP also named former Union Minister Vishnu Deo Sai as its Chhattisgarh State President and S. Tikendra Singh as its Manipur State Chief.

3 - 13-year-old Madurai girl appointed Goodwill Ambassador of UNADAP

In Tamil Nadu, a thirteen-year old Madurai girl Nethra was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Association for Development and Peace, the UNADAP. It was in recognition of her role in feeding the poor during the COVID-19 lockdown by her father, a hairdresser by profession.

Nethra would be given the opportunity to speak, on behalf of UNADAP, at the UN Civil Society (UN CSO) conferences in New York and in Geneva, addressing Civil Society forums and conferences. UNADAP is an agency with Special Consultative Status accredited under the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

4 - Kiran Mazumdar Shaw won EY World Entrepreneur of the year 2020

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon, was named EY World Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 for her contribution in improving universal access to affordable life-saving medicine and transforming the world in one of its kind virtual entrepreneurship award ceremony. She became first woman entrepreneur from India and the third Indian to win it. She is the second woman worldwide to hold this title.

EY World Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 was named one among the distinguished list of 46 EOY country award winners from 41 countries and territories. Mazumdar-Shaw has previously won the EY Best Entrepreneur: Healthcare & Life Sciences Award in 2002.

5 - IIFL Finance signed Rohit Sharma as brand ambassador

India’s Non-Banking Finance Companies, India Infoline Finance Limited (IIFL) signed Rohit Sharma as its first-ever brand ambassador for its public service message campaign. Rohit Sharma is known for his successful captaincy and clear approach.

IIFL Finance is one of India’s leading Non-Banking Finance Companies, with over Rs. 36,000 crore of assets under management. The company has launched 30-second message titled “Rohit Sharma Ki Seedhi Baat”, under its first-ever campaign #SeedhiBaat with Rohit Sharma, which is a public service message advising people on safety guidelines and rules to follow during lockdown to fight Covid-19 outbreak.

6 - Shobha Sekhar conferred with “Medal of the Order of Australia”

Shobha Sekhar, founder of Kalakruthi, music organisation in Australia, was honored with the “Medal of the Order of Australia” by the Governor General and Chancellor of the Order of Australia for her service to the community and the country. ShobhaSekhar is Melbourne-based artist who runs Kalakruthi music organisation in Australia. Kalakruthi is a School where Indian Classical Vocal and andVeena is taught.

The medal of the order of Australia recognises and celebrates outstanding Australians, ordinary people, who do extraordinary things for their local community and for Australia.

7 - Kathy Sullivan becomes first person to walk in space and reach ocean's deepest point

Former NASA astronaut Kathy Sullivan became the first woman to reach Challenger Deep, the deepest point in the ocean. She was also the first American woman to complete a spacewalk over 36 years ago. With the latest achievement, she has become the first human to have done both.

Sullivan completed a nearly seven-mile dive to Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. Only eight people have ever reached Challenger Deep, including "Titanic" director James Cameron.

8 - Anmol Narang becomes first observant Sikh to graduate from United States Military Academy

Second Lieutenant Anmol Narang became the first observant Sikh to graduate from the prestigious United States Military Academy. Narang will complete her Basic Officer Leadership Course at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma.

In 1987, the US Congress passed a law that prohibited Sikhs and several other religious communities from maintaining their articles of faith while in the military. The army changed its accommodation policy in 2017.

9 - Sourav Ganguly and Sunil Chhetri signed in as brand ambassadors of JSW Cement

JSW Cement has roped in former cricketer and current president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Sourav Ganguly as well as captain of the Indian national football team and Bengaluru FC, Sunil Chhetri as its brand ambassadors. Ganguly and Chhetri will also feature in the company's new multi-media marketing campaign ‘Leader’s Choice’.

JSW Cement Ltd. is part of the JSW Group Indian conglomerate with interests in Steel, Energy, Infrastructure, Cement, Ventures and Paints. JSW entered the cement market in 2009.

10 - Indian-American Scientist Dr Sethuraman Panchanathan elected as Director of the NSF

Indian-American scientist Dr Sethuraman Panchanathan was elected as the Director of National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF is the top American science funding body supporting fundamental research in non-medical fields of science and engineering. He succeeded Dr. France Córdova.

Dr Panchanathan currently leads the knowledge enterprise development at Arizona State University (ASU) and was instrumental in founding the Biomedical Informatics Department at ASU. Panchanathan is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

11 - Priyanka Chopra & Anurag Kashyap named among ambassadors at TIFF 2020

Actress Priyanka Chopra and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap are among the 50 celebrated filmmakers and actors invited as the ambassadors of Toronto International Film Festival 2020. The festival is scheduled to run from September 10 to September 19.

TIFF has opted for digital screenings and virtual red carpets for the first time due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 45^th edition of the festival plans to screen 50 films during its first five days.

12 - NASA headquarters to be renamed for Mary W. Jackson

NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C has been named after Mary W. Jackson, the first African American female engineer at NASA. Mary W. Jackson was part of a group of very important women who helped NASA succeed in getting American astronauts into space. In 2019, she was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

NASA facilities across the country are named after people who dedicated their lives to push the frontiers of the aerospace industry. Over the years, NASA has worked to honor the work of these Hidden Figures in various ways.

13 - Vini Mahajan became the first woman Chief Secretary of Punjab

1987-batch IAS officer, Vini Mahajan became the first woman bureaucrat in the history of Punjab to be elevated to the top post of the state’s Chief Secretary. She replaced Karan Avtar Singh. Vini Mahajan is wife of state DGP Dinkar Gupta and it is also the first time in Punjab’s history that both the civil and police administrations in the state are headed by an IAS-IPS couple.

Mahajan has served as additional Chief Secretary, Investment Promotion, Industries & Commerce, IT and Governance Reforms and Public Grievances. She had also participated in the global response through the G-20 mechanism.