PERSONS DECEMBER 2016
- Saumitra Chaudhuri Passed Away
Eminent economist and a former member of the erstwhile Planning Commission, Saumitra Chaudhuri, who served on the board of high-level advisory panels of the government passed away on 18th December. Chaudhuri was appointed member of Planning Commission in June 2009.
Chaudhuri had been a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council since 2005. He was also in race to become the Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), before Raghuram Rajan piped him to the post and was one of the longest serving members of the Planning Commission. He was the chairman of the Committee for Formulation of All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback 2005-06 to 2009-10 in the Ministry of Finance, where he later got an extension till date.
Before being part of the Planning Commission, Chaudhuri worked as Economic Advisor and Research Co-ordinator at ICRA Limited, a full service credit rating agency, for 16 years (1993-2009) and was the executive editor of the research publication — Money and Finance. - Priyanka Chopra Appointed as Brand Ambassador for Assam Tourism
Actor Priyanka Chopra will be the brand ambassador for Assam Tourism. The Assam government has made an agreement with her for two years.
- Cyrus Mistry resigned to all TATA group companies
Cyrus Mistry on 19th December stepped down from the board of all Tata Group companies with immediate effect. Mistry said he would now take the battle to the court. The move comes after three Tata Group entities showed Mistry the door at their respective EGMs. - Gandhian Ideologue Anupam Mishra passed away
Eminent Gandhian and environmentalist Anupam Mishra passes away after prolonged illness, his book 'Aaj Bhi Khare Hain Talab' based on his pioneering work is regarded as bible for water conservation. He has done groundbreaking work on water conservation and the ingenuity of ancient Indian water conservation techniques and was a leading figure of the environmental movement in India. - Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung resigned
Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung has resigned from his post, which said that Mr. Jung has submitted his resignation to the Centre. - Richest Bollywood stars
Salman Khan has unseated his actor-friend Shah Rukh Khan to become the top-earning celebrity of 2016 in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 List with an estimated income of Rs 270.33 crore.
The other leading names in the list include skipper Virat Kohli, actor Akshay Kumar and M. S. Dhoni chronologically. However, the 50-year-old Salman is ranked at No 2 in terms of fame, which is topped by ace cricketer Kohli. - Bill English to be the next Prime Minister of New Zealand
In New Zealand, governing National Party has officially appointed Bill English to succeed John Key as Prime Minister, It follows Mr. Key's surprise resignation in the first week of December. Social housing Minister Paula Bennett has been named as Deputy Prime Minister.
The appointments were confirmed after a meeting of the National Party's caucus. Mr. English, currently Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, will be officially sworn in at Government House in Wellington
Paolo Gentiloni named as Italy’s next Prime Minister
Paolo Gentiloni has been named as Italy's new Prime Minister following reformist leader Matteo Renzi's resignation in the wake of a crushing referendum defeat. Gentiloni, who served as the Foreign Minister under Renzi, was asked by President Sergio Mattarella to form a new centre-left government that will guide Italy to elections due by February 2018. - Antonio Guterres Sworn as UN Secretary General
Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, was on 12th December sworn in as the ninth UN Secretary-General, succeeding Ban Ki-moon as the chief of the world body.
President of the UN General Assembly Peter Thomson administered the Oath of Office to Guterres at a special plenary meeting of the 193-member General Assembly at the United Nations.
Guterres, was unanimously appointed by the General Assembly as the successor to Ban, after the 15-nation Security Council had in October decided by acclamation to send his name to the Assembly for final approval. The former UN refugee chief takes over from Ban on January 1. - Tata Industries removed Cyrus Mistry from its Director’s board
Cyrus Mistry was on 12th December removed as director of Tata Industries following shareholders' vote, the first such instance of the embattled executive being ousted from the board since his removal as Tata Group chairman.
Mistry also ceases to be the chairman of the company following his removal as director. Mistry was abruptly ousted as chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the USD 103 billion salt-to-software conglomerate on October 24.
Since then, interim Chairman Ratan Tata has moved to consolidate his position by seeking to remove Mistry from boards of key listed firms. Tata Industries is a subsidiary of Tata Sons. Tata Industries' main activities are to promote Tata’s entry into new businesses and invest in operating companies to facilitate growth.
Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, appointed as UNICEF's newest global Goodwill Ambassador, urged people from across nations to become the "collective voice" of oppressed children in the world and join forces to leave a better future for the coming generations.- Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni Won Voting of Confidence
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has won an initial vote of confidence in the Lower House of Parliament. To assume office, Gentiloni needs to win votes of confidence in both houses of parliament and easily won the first in the chamber of deputies by 368 to 105, with many opposition parliamentarians not participating in the vote in protest. - V.G. Kannan appointed as Chief Executive of IBA
V.G. Kannan on 14th December took over as Chief Executive of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). He succeeds M.V. Tanksale who demitted office as Chief Executive on August 9, 2016, after being at the helm for three years. - Indra Nooyi joined with Donald Trump
Indian-American PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi has joined Donald Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum, a team that aims to assist him in implementing his economic agenda, the presidential transition team. Ms. Nooyi is the only Indian-origin executive in the 19-member ‘Strategic and Policy Forum’, which was first announced.
Three new members were also announced in addition to the current 16. The other corporate bigwigs to join the forum are Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, and SpaceX and Tesla chairman Elon Musk.
The forum, composed of some of America’s most highly respected and successful business leaders, will meet with the President frequently to share their specific experience and knowledge as he implements his economic agenda. - Narendra Modi ranked among Forbs Most Powerful People list
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked among the top 10 most powerful people in the world by Forbes. Modi ranks 9¬th in the list topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin for a fourth straight year. Forbes said, India's populist Prime Minister remains hugely popular in his country of 1.3 billion people. It said, Mr. Modi has raised his profile as a global leader in recent years during official visits with Barack Obama and Xi Jinping.
Forbes said, he has also emerged as a key figure in the international effort to tackle climate change, as planetary warming will deeply affect millions of his country's rural and most vulnerable citizens. It also took note of Mr. Modi's demonetisation decision. - Amina Mohammed appointed as UN Deputy Secretary General
Incoming UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced the appointment of Nigeria's Environment Minister Amina Mohammed to be the UN's deputy secretary-general.
Senior Brazilian foreign ministry official, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, will serve as Guterres' chief of staff while Kyung-wha Kang of South Korea was appointed to the new position of special advisor on policy.
Guterres has made gender parity a priority of his tenure which begins from first of January, 2017. - Savita Vaidhyanathan elected as Mayor of Cupertino
For the first time, an Indo-American woman has been elected as the new Mayor of the key Californian city of Cupertino, globally known for its Apple headquarters. Savita Vaidhyanathan, an MBA who worked as a high school Math teacher and an officer in a commercial bank as well as in non-profit management, was sworn in last week in a ceremony attended by her mother who had flown in from India.
Savita is the first Indo-American Mayor of Cupertino, which according to Forbes is one of the most educated small towns in the country with local public schools ranking highly.
According to her campaign website, Savita has been a Cupertino resident for over 19 years and has been deeply involved in several community activities in the city. - Bipin Rawat Appointed as new Chief of Army Staff
The Vice Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Bipin Rawat will be the new Chief of Army Staff while Air Marshal B. S. Dhanoa, next Chief of Air Staff. They will take charge in the afternoon of 31st of December, 2016. Lt. Gen Rawat will replace General Dalbir Singh. - IB and RAW chiefs Appointed
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Rajiv Jain as the Director of Intelligence Bureau and A.K. Dhasmana, as Secretary Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) for a period of two years.
Mr. Jain, an IPS officer of 1980 batch of Jharkhand cadre, is currently working as Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau. Mr. Dhasmana, a 1981 batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, is posted as Special Secretary in the R&AW. - Sharad Pawar resigned from MCA Presidentship
Veteran politician Sharad Pawar tendered his resignation from the president’s post of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), in Mumbai on 17th December. - Van der Bellen won Austria Presidential Poll
Left-leaning Alexander Van der Bellen triumphed over his right-wing rival 4th December in the vote for Austria’s presidency.
While the Austrian presidency is a mostly symbolic post, it had attracted attention from across Europe as the next possible victory for populists after political outsider Donald Trump’s presidential win in the United States and the Brexit vote in Britain.
With all votes except for absentee ballots counted, Van der Bellen had 51.68 percent of the vote to 48.32 percent for Norbert Hofer. But pollsters predicted a final result of 53.3 percent to 46.7 percent in favor of Van der Bellen once the approximately 500,000 absentee ballots were tallied. The final result of vote was expected by 6th December at the latest. - Narendra Modi Won Online Pole for TIME Person of the Year
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won the online reader's poll for TIME magazine's Person of the Year 2016, beating out other world leaders like US President-elect Donald Trump, incumbent US leader Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr. Modi won with 18 per cent of the vote when the poll closed last night. He got significantly more votes than his closest contenders, including Obama, Trump and Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange, who all received 7 per cent of the 'yes' vote.
It is for the second time that Narendra Modi has won the online readers' poll for Time Person of the Year title, securing the honour in 2014, when he had got more than 16 per cent of the almost five million votes cast. - New Zealand Prime Minister John Key Announced his Resignation
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key unexpectedly announced his resignation on 5th December, saying it is the right time to leave politics. Key said he has no immediate future plans, but he will stay in parliament long enough to avoid a by-election for his seat. - Shavkat Mirziyoyev elected as Uzbekistan President
Uzbekistan Prime Minister and acting President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was elected the country's President in 4th December Presidential election with an overwhelming vote. The Central Election Commission of Uzbekistan said at a press briefing, Mirziyoyev won 88.61 percent of the votes, well above the required over 50 percent of valid ballots to become a President.
According to Uzbek law, the newly-elected President will serve a five-year term, according to a 2011 constitutional amendment which shortens the presidential tenure from seven years. - Italian Prime Minister announced his Resignation
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announces resignation after losing a referendum on constitutional reform by a wide margin; Italy plunges in a new phase of political uncertainty and possible economic turmoil. - Tamil Nadu C.M Jayalalitha Passed Away
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha popularly known as ‘Purutchi Talaivi’ passed away at a Chennai hospital on 5th December.
Her loyalist O. Panneerselvam has been sworn in as Chief Minister. She had scored a historic win in Tamil Nadu assembly elections about six months ago. Being a film actress Jayalalitha had entered the politics in early 1980s under the guidance of her mentor MG Ramachandran.
A five-time Chief Minister, Jayalalitha pioneered a string of social sector schemes like 'cradle to baby scheme' aimed at fighting the curse of female foeticide. She also started public welfare schemes like Amma Canteens to provide low-priced food to the urban poor. Other similar pro-poor schemes launched by her included ‘Amma salt' 'Amma water' and 'Amma medicines'. - Jagdish Singh Khehar recommended as next Chief Justice of India
Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar was on 6th December recommended as the 44th Chief Justice of India. Justice Khehar, will succeed CJI Thakur who will be demitting office on January 3, 2017. Justice Khehar led the five-judge constitution bench in the Supreme Court which had struck down the controversial NJAC Act for appointment of judges.
He has also headed a bench which had set aside the imposition of President's Rule in Arunachal Pradesh in January this year. He was also a part of the bench which sent Sahara chief Subrata Roy to jail while hearing the matter relating to the refund of money invested by people in his two companies. - Bernard Cazeneuve named as Prime Minister of France
In France, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has been named as the Prime Minister, replacing Manuel Valls. Mr. Valls who resigned in order to make a bid for the Presidency next year, presented his resignation to President Francois Hollande on 6th December.
Mr. Cazeneuve will be in charge of the Socialist government until June's Parliamentary elections. He has played a key role in managing France's security since the terror attacks in Paris in 2015.
In a move that surprised many, President Hollande announced that he would not seek a second term. He is the first president since France's Fifth Republic was created in 1958 not to seek a second mandate. - Angela Merkel re-elected as Chairwomen of CDU
German Chancellor Angela Merkel won re-election as chairwoman of her Christian Democrats (CDU) on 6th December with 89.5 per cent of votes cast by just under 1,000 party delegates, giving her a boost as she seeks a fourth term in office in 2017.
The endorsement fell short of the 96.7 percent Merkel won when she was last re-elected two years ago. Her decision last year to open Germany's doors to some 1 million migrants sapped some grassroots support and has dented the CDU's poll ratings. - Renowned Political analyst Cho Ramaswamy Passed Away
Actor, Editor and Political Analyst Cho Ramaswamy has passed away. Ramaswamy was ailing for some time and was in the hospital. He was a former BJP Rajya Sabha member. - Astronaut John Glenn Passed away
Former US astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, has died. Glenn is best known for circling the earth in 1962 aboard the Friendship 7 space capsule. His achievement marked the moment the US caught up with the Soviet Union in manned space exploration.
After returning to Earth, Glenn was elected in 1974 as a Democrat to the US Senate, where he served for 24 years. - A.K.Bhatt appointed as DGMO
Lieutenant General A K Bhatt has been appointed as new Director General of Military Operations (DGMO). Appointment Committee of Cabinet has approved his name. He will replace Lt General Ranbir Singh who is being posted as GOC, 1 Crops. - Pradeep Chandra Appointed as chief secretary of Telangana
Pradeep Chandra is the new Chief Secretary of Telangana. The outgoing Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma will do the new role of Chief Advisor to the State Government.
- Chitra Ramkrishna quits as head of NSE
The Managing director and CEO of India’s largest stock exchange NSE, Chitra Ramkrishna resigned to her position. The official statement cited “personal reasons” for the exit. Ramkrishna’s exit comes nearly 18 months ahead of the end of her five-year tenure: she was appointed in April 2013.
The stock exchange appointed Group President J. Ravichandran as interim CEO with immediate effect, and set up a selection committee to find a new chief.
Ramkrishna’s tenure was marked by allegations that NSE systems were manipulated to favour certain brokers on its algorithmic trading platform. Smaller shareholders had also alleged that the NSE management was delaying the IPO. - Urdu Poet Bekal Utsahi Passed Away
Renowned Urdu poet and former Rajya Sabha MP Bekal Utsahi passed away in Delhi on 3rd December. He was native of Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Utsahi was best known for his soulful and patriotic 'Geet', a form of poetic rendition popular both in Hindi and Urdu.
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