Current Affairs Sep 2017 - Appointments

---

---

News 1 - Shri Rajiv Gauba took over as the Union Home Secretary

Shri Rajiv Gauba, IAS (Jharkhand cadre-1982 batch) took over as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Shri Gauba joined the Ministry of Home Affairs as Officer on Special Duty on June 27, 2017 and took charge as the Union Home Secretary upon the superannuation of Shri Rajiv Mehrishi. Prior to this, Shri Gauba was Secretary in the Ministry of Urban Development. He also served in the International Monetary Fund representing the country for four years on the Board of IMF.

News 2 - Shri Sunil Arora took over as the new Election Commissioner

Shri Sunil Arora assumed charge as the new Election Commissioner of India. He is a 1980 batch IAS officer from Rajasthan cadre. Prior to joining as Election Commissioner, Shri Arora was serving as Director General (DG), M/o Corporate Affairs since 15 December 2016 after his superannuation.

Mr. Arora served in several key positions namely Secretary in the M/o Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and M/o Information & Broadcasting in Government of India, Chairman & Managing Director of the then Indian Airlines between 2002 to 2005 etc.

News 3 - Rajiv Kumar took over as the New Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog

Dr. Rajiv Kumar has taken charge as the new Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog. He replaces Shri Arvind Panagariya.

Mr. Kumar was a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR). He holds a DPhil in economics from Oxford and a PhD from Lucknow University.

He was a member of the National Security Advisory Board between 2006 and 2008. He also had held senior positions in the Asian Development Bank.

News 4 - BSE Board approved another 5-year Term for Ashish Chauhan as the CEO

The Board of Bombay Stock Exchange has approved another five-year term for Ashish Chauhan as Chief Executive Officer. Ashish has been instrumental for a strong turnaround and a highly-successful initial public offering (IPO) of the bourse with strong business expansion.

Under his leadership, the BSE also set up the country's first international exchange, India International Exchange at Gandhinagar, GIFT City. Chauhan had joined BSE as deputy chief executive officer (CEO) in 2009.

News 5 - Indian Hotels Company appointed Puneet Chhatwal as their MD and CEO

The Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) has appointed Puneet Chhatwal as its Managing Director and CEO. He will take over from incumbent Rakesh Sarna. IHCL is a part of TATA Group.

Chhatwal is currently Chief Executive and Member of Executive Board of Duetsche Hospitality/Steinberger Hotels AG, a large European hotel chain. He has over two decades of leadership experience in the global hospitality industry. He has worked with some of the leading hotel groups in Europe and North America.

News 6 - Dr. R.K. Raghavan appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Cyprus

Dr. R.K. Raghavan has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Cyprus.

Dr. Raghavan, a retired IPS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, is the former CBI Director from January 1999 to April 2001. He was the director-general of Tamil Nadu’s State Vigilance Directorate from 1993 to 1999.

He is a recipient of the Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Service and the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service.

News 7 - Vedanta Resources names ex-CEO Kuldip Kaura as their interim Chief Executive

The Board of Vedanta Limited ("Vedanta") has announced the appointment of Mr. Kuldip Kaura as Interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Mr. Thomas Albanese steps down as CEO and from the Board of the company.

Kaura was the CEO of Vedanta from 2005 to 2008 and has been president of the office of the group’s chairperson since 2016.

Vedanta Ltd is a diversified natural resources company whose business primarily involves producing oil and gas, zinc, lead, silver, copper, iron ore, aluminium and commercial power.

News 8 - Rajiv Mehrishi appointed as the new CAG of India

The Union Government has appointed Rajiv Mehrishi as the new Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). He was the former Union Home secretary and was replaced by Rajiv Gauba. He will will replace current incumbent Shashi Kant Sharma.

Mr Rajiv Mehrishi is a 1978-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre. Prior to his appointment as the Home Secretary, he was the Finance Secretary. He has also served as the Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan. He holds a degree in business administration from Strathclyde Business School, Glasgow.

News 9 - Anita Karwal appointed as the CBSE Chairman

According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Anita Karwal has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

She replaced Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi, who has been transferred to the National Skill Development Agency.

Mrs. Karwal is a 1988-batch Gujarat cadre officer. She is currently posted as additional secretary in the HRD Ministry. She was the Gujarat Chief Electoral officer during the Lok Sabha election in 2014.

News 10 - Rajiv Kumar appointed as the new DFS Secretary

According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), senior bureaucrat Rajiv Kumar was appointed secretary in the Department of Financial Services (DFS). He was appointed in place of Anjuly Chib Duggal.

Kumar is a 1984 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre. He was special secretary and establishment officer in the Ministry of Personnel. The DFS looks after the functioning of banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and the national pension system.

News 11 - U. Kamachi Mudali appointed as the Chief Executive of Heavy Water Board

Nuclear scientist U. Kamachi Mudali has been appointed as the Chief Executive of the Heavy Water Board. HWB is one of the industrial units under the Department of Atomic Energy.

Prior to his appointment, Mudali was Group Director at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) at Kalpakkam.

He is an M.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. The Heavy Water Board produce heavy water required for pressurised heavy water reactors operating in India.

News 12 - Nine new Ministers inducted into Union Council of Ministers; Four ministers promoted to Cabinet rank

Four ministers − Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman, Dharmendra Pradhan and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi - were elevated to cabinet level. Arun Jaitley will keep Finance, and Piyush Goyal has been assigned Railways. Nirmala Sitharaman has been given Defence.

The other seven to join Narendra Modi's council of ministers are Uttara Kannada MP Anantkumar Hegde, former home secretary and Arrah MP R K Singh, Jodhpur MP Gajendra Singh, former Mumbai police commissioner and Baghpat MP Satya Pal Singh, Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh Shiv Pratap Shukla, Buxar MP Ashwini Chaubey and Tikamgarh MP Virendra Kumar.

For details − http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=0

News 13 - R. A. Sankara Narayanan took charge as the MD & CEO of Vijaya Bank

Mr. R. A. Sankara Narayanan took charge as MD & CEO of Vijaya Bank. He replaced Kishore Sansi, who reached superannuation on August 31.

Prior to joining Vijaya Bank, Narayanan was Executive Director of Bank of India responsible for treasury, corporate credit, recovery, risk management, compliance apart from international banking, retail, HR, IT, planning and finance. He joined Bank of India as a direct recruit officer in 1983.

Mr. Narayanan have also had overseas assignments in Tokyo and Singapore.

News 14 - Rama Moorthy joined Tamilnad Mercantile Bank as the MD & CEO

K V Rama Moorthy has taken over as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd. He has been appointed for a period of three years from the date of assuming the charge. He succeeds HS Upendra Kamath.

Prior to joining TMB, Mr. Moorthy was working as Executive Director with United Bank of India. He also worked with Bank of Baroda before joining UBI.

He has over three decades of experience in various phases of banking across operations, new products and services, retail lending, corporate banking, marketing and business expansion.

News 15 - N. Baijendra Kumar appointed as the National Mineral Development Corporation Chief

A 1985 batch IAS officer N Baijendra Kumar was appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd. Prior to this, he was performing duties of Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister, Chhattisgarh as well as Commerce & Industries and Energy Departments in the Chhattisgarh government.

He has served for about 32 years in various roles such as Administration of AIIMS New Delhi, Chairman of Naya Raipur Development Authority (NRDA) and Chhattisgarh Housing Board (CGHB).

News 16 - Viveck Goenka elected as the New PTI Chairman

The Press Trust of India has elected Viveck Goenka as the Chairman of the nation's largest news agency. Mr. Goenkaa is currently the Chairman and Managing Director of the Express group. The agency has also elected former editor-in-chief of 'The Hindu', Mr N Ravi, as the Vice-Chairman.

Mr. Goenka replaces Riyad Mathew while Mr Ravi replaces Goenka as the vice-chairman. Mr. Goenka is also a director of Indian Newspaper Society and a member of Advertising Association’s India chapter. Ravi is a director of Kasturi & Sons Ltd, which owns The Hindu and The Hindu Business line newspapers.

News 17 - Inderjit Singh appointed as the Chairperson of the NACWC

According to a release issued by Ministry of Personnel, the Appointment Committee of Cabinet has approved the appointment of Dr. Inderjit Singh as the Chairperson of National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention, NACWC with immediate effect. He is currently Additional Secretary in Cabinet Secretariat.

National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention or NACWC is an office in Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India. It serves as the primary liaison to the OPCW from the Indian government, manages routine inspections, oversee the destruction of India’s chemical weapons.

News 18 - Sushmita Dev appointed as the President of All India Mahila Congress

Sushmita Dev has been appointed as the President of All India Mahila Congress in place of Ms. Shobha Oza, who has been in the post since August 2013. Ms. Dev is a lawyer by profession.

According to a release issued by AICC, Congress President Sonia has approved the name of Ms. Sushmita Dev who is member of Lok Sabha from Silchar in Assam. The Party appreciated the work and contribution of the outgoing President of Mahila Congress Ms. Oza.

News 19 - Professor Sadanand Gupta appointed as the working President of UP Hindi Sansthan

Former head of the Hindi department in the Gorakhpur University, Sadanand Gupta, has been appointed as the working President of the Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthan.

The post was vacant since the Yogi Adityanath government came to power in March 2017. The working president of the Sansthan Uday Pratap Singh had resigned.

Professor Gupta has been honoured with Birla, Vyas and Saraswati awards for his literary contributions.

News 20 - Mahendra Pratap Mall appointed as the CMD of IRCTC

According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet has appointed Mahendra Pratap Mall as the Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Ltd.

Mr. Mall is presently serving as the Director (Finance) in IRCTC. He has been its Whole Time Director since January 21, 2013. IRCTC is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that handles the catering, tourism and online ticketing operations of the Indian railways.

News 21 - United India Insurance Co. Ltd. appointed M Nagaraja Sarma as its new CMD

According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet, has appointed M. Nagaraja Sarma as the new Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of the United India Insurance Co. Ltd for a period of five years.

Prior to his new appointment, Mr. Sarma was working as the General Manager, Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd.

The United India Insurance Company Ltd is the second largest general insurance company in India. It is wholly owned by the Government of India.

News 22 - Appointments of DG, NIA and DG, SSB

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the following −

The appointment of Shri Y. C. Modi, IPS, Additional Director, CBI as Director General, National Investigation Agency (NIA). The ACC has also approved the appointment of Shri Y. C. Modi as OSD in NIA with immediate effect, to ensure smooth takeover of responsibilities in NIA.

The appointment of Shri Rajni Kant Misra, IPS, Additional DG, BSF as Director General, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

News 23 - Ajay Bisaria appointed as New High Commissioner of India to Pakistan

India has appointed Ajay Bisaria as the new Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan replacing Gautam Bambawale. Bisaria is currently an ambassador to Poland while Bambawale will be given the role of ambassador to China.

India’s ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale was appointed economic relations secretary at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Bisaria has served as private secretary and aide to then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee from 1999 to 2004.

He also worked on India's policy for multilateral entities like SCO and the Russia-India-China trilateral dialogue.

News 24 - B Sambamurthy appointed as Interim Chairman of NPCI

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has appointed B Sambamurthy as Interim Chairman of the board. He will replace M Balachandran.

Mr. Sambamurthy has been the nominee director from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the board of NPCI since December 5, 2013.

Prior to joining NPCI, he was Director and CEO of the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT). He was also the Chairman and Managing Director of Corporation Bank.

News 25 - Shashi Shanker appointed as the CMD of ONGC

According to an order issued by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shashi Shanker as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of ONGC, until the date of his superannuation.

Mr. Shanker will replace Dinesh K Sarraf. He is currently Director (Technical and Field Services) at ONGC. He will have a three-and-a-half-year term until March 31, 2021.

Sarraf, who took over as the Chairman of ONGC on March 1, 2014, has been shortlisted to head the downstream oil regulator, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).

News 26 - Royana Singh appointed as the first woman Chief Proctor of BHU

The Banaras Hindu University has appointed Royana Singh as its chief proctor. She became the first woman to hold the post in BHU. The chief proctor's appointment was approved by Vice Chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi following the resignation of O N Singh.

Professor Royana Singh is a professor in the Anatomy Department of the Institute of Medical Sciences. She is also the chairperson of the Women's Grievance Cell of the BHU.

Ms. Singh was born in France, where she also received her primary education. She then shifted to India along with her parents, who are originally from Senapur village in Jaunpur district.