PERSONS AUGUST 2016

PERSONS AUGUST 2016

• Dinanath Pathy: Noted painter, writer and art historian Dinanath Pathy passed away on 29th August following a cardiac arrest in Bhubaneswar. A former secretary of the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi and Bhubaneswar, Pathy was one of the pioneers of the art movement in Odisha. He dedicated his life to promotion of Odia art all over the world though his art work, poetry and teaching.
  
  He published over 60 books on classical, traditional, tribal, folk, rural and contemporary art of Odisha in Odia, English and German languages. Among the books authored by Pathy are Sayonara, Punarnava, Chilika Panire Chhai and Digapandhi Ra Drawing Master. Pathy had received the prestigious
  
  International Rietberg Award of Switzerland-based Rietberg Society in 2014 in recognition of his profound contributions to research on Indian art history and his lifetime dedication to the field of art.
  
  He was also conferred with the President of India’s Silver Plaque for painting, the Orissa Sahitya Akademi Award for creative literature for his autobiography Drawing Master of Digapahandi and Jawaharlal Fellowship for his research work. Pathy was also the former principal of the BK College of Art and Crafts in Bhubaneswar.
  
• Sachin Tendulkar: Kerala government has appointed the Legendary Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador for anti- liquor and anti-drug campaign in the state. The move was part of the government's initiative to create awareness among people against alcoholism and drug abuse.
  
  The state government has also decided to open up more de-addiction centres for the benefit of the addicted. Reiterating that the government was for restriction of alcohol use gradually, widespread campaign would be conducted at district levels. Tendulkar had given consent to use his name to strengthen the campaign against liquor and drug abuse in the state, earlier.
  
• Punit Goenka: Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the representative body of television broadcasters, elected Punit Goenka as president at its 17th annual general meeting. Goenka is managing director and chief executive officer of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL). Goenka replaces Uday Shankar, the chief executive officer at Star India, at the helm of the IBF. He was serving IBF as vice-president (measurement) since 2014.
  
• Islam Karimov:Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov has died after remaining in power for over 25 years, since it gained independence from Soviet Union in 1991.
  
• S.R. Nathan: Singapore’s former President, the Indian-origin S.R. Nathan died on 22nd August. He was the sixth and longest-serving President of Singapore and served two terms from 1999 to 2011. He officially stepped down as President on August 31,2011 after announcing that he would not seek a third term. Mr. Nathan was succeeded by President Tony Tan Keng Yam.
  
  Prior to becoming President, he held key positions in the civil service, as well as in security, intelligence and foreign affairs. He was appointed as Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia in 1988 and later Singapore’s Ambassador to the United States of America from 1990 to 1996.
  
• Najma Heptulla: Acting Chief Justice of High Court of Manipur Rakesh Ranjan Prasad administered the oath of office and secrecy to Heptulla. Meghalaya Governor V Shanmuganathan is currently holding the additional charge as Manipur's governor.
  
• Sakshi Malik: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal honoured Rio bronze medal winner Sakshi Malik at Bahadurgarh. Sakshi Malik was also made ambassador to Beti Bachao Bati Padao Ambassador.
  
• Narendra Modi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pipped Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan to become the most followed Indian on social media site Twitter. As per latest count, Mr Modi has over 22.1 million followers on the social networking platform, while the bollywood actor marginally trailed with 22 million.
  
  In January, Prime Minister Modi's Twitter followers surpassed that of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. Mr Modi, then, became the second most followed Indian on Twitter with over 17,371,600 followers, compared to Khan's 17,351,100.
  
• Jennifer: Oscar-winning Jennifer Lawrence was named the world's highest-paid actress for the second year running with estimated pre-tax earnings of $46 million. The 26-year-old American raked in the lion's share from a profit share in the final "Hunger Games" movie, which grossed $650 million, Forbes magazine said.
  
  An upfront fee for the forthcoming space thriller "Passengers" also helped the 26-year-old push her pay day above second-ranked Melissa McCarthy, who pocketed $33 million.
  
  The world's 10 highest-paid actresses made a combined $205 million in the 12 months from June 1, 2015 before fees and taxes, said Forbes. But the actors' list due to be published is expected to show once again men banking far more than their female counterparts.
  
  India's Deepika Padukone -- who made $10 million -- was the only other actress from outside Hollywood to feature in the rankings. The 30-year-old, who came 10th, earns far less than her Tinseltown counterparts for her Bollywood roles, but compensates with more than a dozen lucrative endorsements, Forbes said.
  
• Jim Yong Kim: United States nominated Jim Yong Kim to be the World Bank President for a second term, saying he has "ably led" the global development lender's response to major crises and helped it focus on innovative ways to challenge issues like poverty and climate change
  
  According to the US Treasury Secretary Jacob J Lew, the President Kim had used his first term to focus the World Bank on effectively addressing most pressing global development challenges in innovative ways, from ending extreme poverty and tackling inequality, to combating climate change
  
  The US is the World Bank's largest shareholder. Lew said Kim has also "ably led" responses to major crises, including battling the Ebola pandemic and addressing the refugee crisis.
  
  Kim, who became the 12th President of the World Bank Group on July 1, 2012 is a physician and anthropologist, who dedicated himself to international development for more than two decades, helping to improve the lives of under-served populations worldwide.
  
  Prior to the Bank, he served as President of Dartmouth College, a pre-eminent centre of higher education that consistently ranks among the top academic institutions in the United States. He is a co-founder of Partners In Health (PIH) and a former director of the HIV/AIDS Department at the World Health Organisation (WHO).
  
  Born in 1959 in Seoul, South Korea, Kim moved with his family to the US at the age of five and grew up in Muscatine, Iowa. He graduated with an A.B. magna cum laude from Brown University in 1982. He earned an M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1991 and a Ph.D. in anthropology from Harvard University in 1993.
  
• Urjit Patel:Urjit Patel has been appointed as new Governor of Reserve Bank of India. He will succeed Raghuram Rajan. 52 year Urjit Patel was a RBI Deputy Governor prior to this elevation. Mr. Patel will assume office as the 24th RBI governor for three years on 5th September, a day after Rajan’s term ends.
  
  Mr. Patel is a PhD from Yale University and has worked at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), The Brookings Institution at Washington and the Massachusetts-based Boston Consulting Group.
  • He was first appointed as Deputy Governor for three years in January 2013 and was given an extension this January.
  • He will be the eighth Deputy Governor to be made Governor at RBI.
  • The appointment has been made on the recommendation of the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointment Search Committee (FSRASC) headed by Cabinet Secretary.
  • Patel, born on October 28, 1963, received his doctorate in economics from Yale University in 1990) and M Phil from Oxford (1986).
  • Prior to his appointment as the Deputy Governor at RBI in 2013, Patel was advisor (Energy and Infrastructure) with Boston Consulting Group.
  • He has worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) between 1990 and 1995 covering the US, India, Bahamas and Myanmar desks.
  • As deputy governor, Patel headed the RBI panel to draft the monetary policy report, which became the basis of the ongoing reforms at the apex bank.
  • The Patel committee report also formed the basis of the monetary policy committee, which takes away a lot of powers of RBI and the governor, as also move to create a public debt management agency.
  • Urjit Patel will take over the charge from Rajan after he demits the office on September 4. The tenure of the present governor Raghuram Rajan is ending on September 4.
  
  
• Bardish Chagger: Indian-Canadian Sikh MP Bardish Chagger has been named as the new Leader of the government in Canada’s House of Commons, becoming the first woman to hold the post in the country’s history. Chagger, an MP from Waterloo who is also the Minister of Small Business and Tourism, was among 19 Indian-origin candidates who won in last year’s general election. Ms. Chagger’s parents had immigrated to Waterloo from India in the 1970s.
  
• Luqmaan Patel: He is an Indian-origin student in the United Kingdom has developed a drone that provides communication immediately after the occurrence of a natural disaster. It will facilitate victims to quickly contact family and rescue groups. The potentially life-saving system, called Exigency, was invented by Luqmaan Patel, a student at Staffordshire University in the UK.
  
• Gurdial Singh: World famous prominent Punjabi writer, novelist and short story writer and Jnanpith awardee Gurdial Singh passed away at Bathinda on 16th August. He was 83. The award-winning Punjabi film, ‘Anne Ghore Da Daan’ (Alms of the Blind Horse), was also based on his Punjabi novel with the same title. He rose to popularity with the publication of his novel ‘Marhi Da Deeva’ in 1964 and later, in 1989; a film based on the novel also came out.
  
  His novels were translated in several Indian languages and also in English. Gurdial Singh was the recipient of various prestigious awards and honours such as Padma Shri, Jnanpith Award, Sahitya Akademi Award. Earlier this year, Sahitya Akademi announced fellowship for him which is the highest honour of the Akademi.
  
• New Governors appointed in Punjab, Assam, Manipur, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
  Former Union Minister Najma A. Heptulla has been appointed as the Governor of Manipur. According to Rashtrapati Bhawan press communique, Banwarilal Purohit will be the Governor of Assam, V.P. Singh Badnore Governor of Punjab and Jagdish Mukhi will be the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The appointments will take effect from the dates the incumbents assume their charge.
  
• Shahram Amri: In Iran, a nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri detained since 2010 has been executed. He was hanged on charge of spying, Iran’s Nuclear program to USA.
  
• Vijay Rupani: Vijay Rupani was sworn in as the new chief minister of Gujarat at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar on 7th August, along with 24 others, including Nitin Patel as the deputy chief minister.
  
• Roshamma: Dubagunta’ Rosamma, who became famous for her key role in the anti-liquor movement in the united Andhra Pradesh in the 1990s, died in her native village Dubagunta of Kaligiri mandal in the district on 7th August. A small protest she had led in the village against consumption of liquor spread far and wide, and transformed into a mass movement, forcing the government in 1993 to ban arrack.
  
  The agitation had a telling effect on the political parties, which were compelled to promise total prohibition during elections.
  
  Born in 1923, Rosamma lived in penury as her husband died early. With two children, she struggled to make both ends meet.
  
  With her sons taking to liquor and landing in financial problems, and touched by the way women of the village were being treated by drunk men, Rosamma decided to take the menace head-on.
  
  Mobilising a dozen like-minded women, she confronted the persons selling liquor and forced them to close the shops. As the news spread like wildfire, similar protests erupted across the State, which eventually transformed into a mass agitation in which women, youth, and organisations, cutting across all affiliation, took part. Since then, Vardhineni Rosamma became famous as ‘Dubagunta’ Rosamma.
  
  Taking the agitation forward, protestors in Kurnool confronted and stopped liquor shop auctions. The agitation triggered by her made the former Chief Minister, N.T. Rama Rao, put his first signature on the file pertaining to total prohibition in 1995.
  
• Vijay Mallya: In more trouble for Vijay Mallya, a non-bailable warrant was issued against him in a 2012 cheque bounce case by a Delhi court which said that coercive steps were required to ensure his appearance
  
  Metropolitan Magistrate Sumeet Anand passed the order for bringing Mallya in court on November 4, with the direction that the non-bailable warrant be sent to him by Ministry of External Affairs as he is reportedly in London.
  
  The court noted that despite repeated orders, Mallya did not appear in the court and it was inevitable for the state machinery to intervene and ensure his presence.
  
  The trial court had summoned Mallya as accused following a complaint by DIAL, which operates the capital's IGI Airport, claiming that a cheque for Rs one crore issued by Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) on February 22, 2012 was returned to them a month later containing remarks "fund insufficient".
  
  DIAL had filed four cases in June 2012 against Mallya over KFA's cheques totalling Rs 7.5 crore not being honoured. The grounded airline had issued the cheques towards payment for services availed by them at the IGI airport.
  
• Kalikho Pul: Former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Kalikho Pul allegedly committed suicide on 9th August, weeks after the Supreme Court unseated him and restored the Congress government, sparking violent protests in the northeastern state. Pul, was found dead at the chief minister's residence he was yet to vacate, police said, adding one of his wives found him hanging from the fan in his bedroom.
  
  According to doctors, the death occurred between 7 and 7:30 am. Starting as a carpenter, Pul went on to become a guard and was the longest-serving finance minister under chief ministers including Gegong Apang, Mukut Mithi, and the late Dorjee Khandu.
  
• Rani Singh Nair:Senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Rani Singh Nair is set to be appointed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairperson. Nair, a 1979-batch IRS officer, is presently working as member (legislation and computerisation) in CBDT, policy making body of the Income-Tax department. Officials said the government has issued orders for her to take over as acting chief from Jindal and fresh orders by the Prime Minister-headed Appointments Committee of the Cabinet are expected soon, for her to take charge in a full capacity.
  
• Anant Maheshwari: He will succeed Bhaskar Pramanik as the head of Microsoft in India. He will join the IT products and services major on September 1 as President and will take over the operations of the company with effect from January 1, 2017.
  Prior to this appointment, Maheshwari was President of Honeywell in India, taking care of its Aerospace, Automation and Control Solutions, the company’s Performance Materials division and its Technologies business. During his 12-year stint with the firm, Maheswari held various other positions too. Before joining Honeywell, Anant worked with McKinsey for six years.
  
  Pramanik held a key role in Microsoft’s efforts to build data centres in India and in the roll-out of the company’s Mobile First Cloud First strategy.
  
• Prachanda: In Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was elected as Prime Minister on 3rd August. The 61-year-old CPN-Maoist Centre chief was elected Prime Minister with 363 votes in favour and 210 against him.
  Out of a total 595 members, 22 did not vote. He was backed by the largest party in the House, Nepali Congress, constituents of the United Democratic Madhesi Front and the Federal Alliance and some other smaller parties.
  
  Mr. Prachanda has become Prime Minister of Nepal for the second time. He held this post during 2008 - 2009 before a disagreement with the military over his attempt to sack the army chief brought his period in office to an early end. He is also the only communist leader to become the Prime Minister of the country twice.
  
  The Prime Minister's post became vacant on 24th of last month, after CPN-UML chairman K P Sharma 'Oli' resigned. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated Mr Prachanda. Mr Modi spoke to him over phone and assured him of full support from India.
  
• Anandi Ben: Gujarat Chief Minster Anandiben Patel on 3rd August formally handed over her resignation to the Governor O.P. Kohli. Governor has accepted the resignation tendered by Ms Anandiben Patel.
  Governor has also asked her to continue as care taker Chief Minister till the alternate arrangement has been made.
  
• Nita Ambani: Noted sports promoter and founder chairperson of Reliance Foundation, Nita Ambani was elected as an individual member of International Olympic Committee on 4th August. She became the first Indian woman to join the prestigious body which governs Olympic sports in the world. After being nominated in June by the IOC Executive Board, Nita was elected by IOC members at the 129th Session of the world body in Rio de Janeiro 52-year-old Nita is the only current active individual member of the IOC from India and she will serve at the high-profile world body until she attains the age of 70.