PERSONS JANUARY 2016

PERSONS JANUARY 2016

• Marcelo Rebelo De Sousa: In Portugal, Centre-right candidate Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has won the Presidential election. With nearly all votes counted, preliminary results on 23rd January showed Rebelo de Sousa, a former journalist and one time leader of the centre-right Social Democrats, winning 52 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a runoff.
  
  His closest rival, Socialist Antonio Sampaio da Novoa, conceded defeat after picking up around 23 percent of the vote. Left Bloc candidate Marisa Matias had 10 percent. The outcome is likely to help maintain political balance after a swing to the left in October's parliamentary ballot.
  
• KK Jalan: In a bureaucratic reshuffle, the government has transferred Central Provident Fund Commissioner KK Jalan as Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). A 1982 batch IAS officer from the Haryana cadre, Jalan will take over from current incumbent Anup K Pujari on his retirement.
  
  Also, Shobhana K Pattanayak, a 1982 Karnataka cadre officer, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, following the retirement of Siraj Hussain, a 1979 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre officer.
  
  Avinash K Srivastava, (UP-1982), at present Special Secretary, Department of Agriculture, will now be Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, following the retirement of Ranglal Jamuda (Odisha-1981).
  
  Vinod Agrawal, (Jharkhand-1980), at present Secretary, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, will take over as Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, following the retirement of Lov Verma, (Uttar Pradesh-1978).
  
  Shyam S Agarwal, (Rajasthan-1980), Secretary, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, will be the new Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
  
• J.S. Deepak: Telecom secretary Rakesh Garg, a 1980 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Uttar Pradesh (UP) cadre, has been moved out to minority affairs as part of a bureaucratic reshuffle
  
  J S Deepak, another UP cadre IAS officer of 1982 batch, will take over as the new telecom secretary. Deepak was serving as Secretary - IT.
  
  This will be Deepak’s second stint in the telecom ministry. In his earlier posting as joint secretary – telecom in 2010, he was credited with the smooth auction of 3G and broadband wireless access spectrum, which brought Rs 1.06 lakh crore revenue to the exchequer. Besides, in 2012, Deepak was roped in to handle 2G spectrum auction after the Supreme Court cancelled 121 2G licences given out during the tenure of former telecom minister A Raja.
  
• K.V. Krishna Rao: Former Army Chief General K V Krishna Rao, died on 30th January following a cardiac arrest at the military hospital in New Delhi. He played a key role in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
  
  He also served as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir at a time when militancy was at its peak in the state. He was the 14th Chief of the Army Staff of Indian Army and had an illustrious career spanning over four decades in the force. He was commissioned into the Army on August 9, 1942.
  
  As a young officer, he had served in Burma, North West Frontier and Baluchistan during the Second World War. He also participated in the 1947-48 war against Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir. He was a founder Instructor of the National Defence Academy during 1949-51.
  
  He was awarded the Param Vishist Seva Medal for displaying outstanding leadership, courage, determination and drive during this war.
  
• Dinesh Sharma: An Indian official has been elected to the board of directors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Dinesh Sharma, Additional Secretary of Ministry of Finance was elected to the 12-member board on 16th January. India is one of the founding members of AIIB and is its second-largest shareholder after China.
  
  Earlier former Chinese Finance Minister Jin Liqun was elected to head the bank based in Beijing. The inaugural meeting of the board of the governors of the bank concluded. It approved by-laws, rules and codes of conduct for the bank.
  
  Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is the designated governor of the AIIB from India. Mr. Sharma who headed the Indian delegation represented Jaitley at the meeting. With authorised capital of 100 billion dollars , AIIB will invest in sectors including energy, transportation, urban construction and logistics as well as education and healthcare. The bank is expected to begin loan approvals before the end of this year.
  
• Ramarao: Former Sikkim Governor and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ventrapragada Rama Rao passed away in Hyderabad today following an illness. Rama Rao was one of the founders of Jana Sangh in Andhra Pradesh. He was also Andhra Pradesh BJP president during 1993 and 1997. Rama Rao served as the Sikkim Governor from 2002 to 2007.
  
• Tsai Ing-Wen: Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan's main opposition party will become the island's first female president in a landslide victory over the ruling Kuomintang on 16th January, as voters turned their backs on closer China ties. The public dissatisfaction over the economy and the outgoing leader gave Tsai a huge lead over her nearest opponent from the ruling party, Eric Chu.
  
• Ashok Vajpeyi: Noted writer Ashok Vajpeyi on decided to return D.Litt given to him by Hyderabad University in protest against the suicide of a dalit student.
  
• Mamta Binani: Mamta Binani has been elected President of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) for 2016. She took charge on January 19.
  
  A commerce and law graduate and a fellow member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Binani was the all-India topper in the Intermediate examinations of The Institute of Company Secretaries of India, amongst all the lady candidates in India and had ranked 14th on an all-India basis.
  
  In the final examinations, she stood all-India first in the subject 'Company Law'. She has been practising as a Company Secretary for over 19 years now.
  
  Binani has been an empanelled trainer with ICICI Bank, and also with the mutual fund industry. She is also associated with the financial sector, the education sector, and is an experienced mentor and counsellor to young professionals and students. She also serves as an independent director on a few of the boards.
  
  She has been the Chairperson of the Eastern India Regional Council of The Institute of Company Secretaries of India in 2010. Binani was also the first CS to be conferred the 'Bharat Nirman Awards' in 2010.
  
• Mrinalini Sarabhai: Legendary classical danseuse Mrinalini Sarabhai passed away on 21st January. She was admitted in local hospital after some age related health complications. Mrinalini Sarabhai was the widow of noted space scientist Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and mother of famous danseuse and social activist Mallika Sarabhai.
  
  A Recipient of Padma Bhushan Award, Mrinalini Sarabhai was born on 11th May 1918 in Kerala, Mrinalini Sarabhai daughter of former Member of Parliment Ammu Swaminathan was also a founder of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts in Ahmedabad which is now being looked after by her daughter Mallika Sarabhai. She spent her childhood in Switzerland, where, she received her first lessons in the Dalcroze School, a Western technique of dance movements.
  
  She took her education at Shantiniketan. She then went to the United States for some time, where she enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. On returning to India, she began her training in the south Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam under Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai and the classical dance-drama of Kathakali under the legendary Guru Thakazhi Kunchu Kurup. Late Mrinalini married Dr. Vikram Sarabhai who is considered to be the Father of the Indian Space Program in 1942.
  
• Jin Liquin: The Chairman designate of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Jin Liqun visited India on 11th January. He met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said , Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) should focus on development of infrastructure like rail, road and ports with a view to promoting connectivity and growth in the Asian region.
  
  Assuring India's full support to the newly-created financial institution, the Prime Minister hoped that the multilateral institution, along with the BRICS New Development Bank, will play an instrumental role in development of infrastructure in the Asia region.
  
  The Beijing-based multi-lateral lender is scheduled to commence operations later in this month. The 100-billion USD development bank was formally set up in Beijing on 25 December
  
• Anil Ganguly: Noted director and screenwriter Anil Ganguly passed away in Mumbai after a brief illness. Ganguly worked in Hindi cinema from 1970s to the 90s and is best known for "Kora Kagaz" and "Tapasya". Both these films won the National Awards. His other notable films are "Saaheb", " Trishna", "Khandaan", "Humkadam", "Pyar Ke Kabil" and "Dushman Devta'' among others.
  
• Mohammed Abdul Rahim Qureshi: assistant general secretary and spokesman of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, died of cardiac arrest on 14th January.
  
  Qureshi was not just an Islamic scholar but also one who held a B.Sc degree in Mathematics and a law graduate from Osmania University. After a short stint with Accountant General’s office in Hyderabad, Qureshi joined the progressive cultural organisation, Tameer-e-Millat which was founded in 1950. He has been a member of AIMPLB since 1971.
  
  He was the president of Tameer-e-Millat that works in the field of educational and professional empowerment among Muslims at the time of his death.
  
  Leading community leaders in Hyderabad deemed Qureshi as a leader with a stern voice who always rose to the occasion when it came to injustices towards and within the community. Under his co-leadership, AIMPLB was marching towards a massive campaign against communalism, titled Deen aur Dastur Bachao Tehreek.
  
• Anuradha Roy: Author Anuradha Roy on 16th January won the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, 2016, for her novel Sleeping on Jupiter , which deals with violence against women. At the Fairway Galle Literary Festival, held in Srilanka its Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe handed Ms. Roy the prize. The award cash prize of $50,000 and a trophy
  
• TK Kurien: Wipro has appointed TK Kurien as the executive vice chairman and Abidali Z Neemuchwala as the chief executive officer and member of the board of the company. Both these appointments are effective February 1.
  
  Kurien has restructured Wipro and made major efforts to energize it, but the third-largest IT services company continues to lag rivals. The change of guard at Wipro signals a new order in the $7.6 billion IT firm that's transforming itself into a next generation IT services company.
  
  Neemuchwala has a strong vision around the 'as-a-service economy'. Based in Dallas, US, he has been seen as the frontrunner for the top post ever since he was roped into Wipro in March. He was previously with TCS for 23 years.
  
• Devender Kumar Sikri: A former Gujarat cadre IAS officer, has been appointed chairman of the fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI). Sikri has been appointed CCI chairman. Sixty two-year-old Sikri succeeds Ashok Chawla, whose over four-year tenure as CCI chairman ended on 7th July. Chawla was the former finance secretary and had succeeded Dhanendra Kumar, who demitted office in June 2011. Sikri will have a tenure of about two-and-a-half years till he attains the age of 65 years, the official said. Sikri has held various positions in the Centre and in his cadre state, Gujarat. He superannuated as secretary, department of justice on July 31, 2013.
  
  The former IAS officer had been secretary in the ministry of women and child development, registrar-general of census and collector of Rajkot and Jamnagar, among others.
  
• Urjit Patel: The government on 8th January re-appointed Urjit Patel as the deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India for a three-year term, ensuring continuity for the team spearheading the country's monetary policy under Governor Raghuram Rajan.
  
  Patel is the fourth deputy governor, the other three being HR Khan, R Gandhi and SS Mundra.
  
  During his tenure, Patel spearheaded a committee that in January 2014 recommended targeting consumer inflation to control historically volatile prices, shifting the focus away from wholesale prices.
  
• Premji: Azim Hashim Premji, chairman of Wipro, is the most generous Indian of the year for the third time in a row with donations worth Rs. 27,514 crore for education, according to Hurun India Philanthropy List 2015.
  
  In the list all the top five contributors belonged to the information technology industry.
  
  Premji is followed by Nandan Nilekani and wife Rohini Nilekani with donations of Rs. 2,404 crore while Infosys co-founder Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy stood third in the list with donations of Rs. 1,322 crore, according to the report by the Hurun Research Institute.
  
  The Azim Premji foundation works in the education sector of India with operations in eight states and over 3,50,000 schools.
  
  The top five are also the biggest wealth creators on the Hurun India Rich List while richest Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries (RIL), stood sixth in the list with donations of Rs. 345 crore.
  
• Kapadia: Former Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia passed away on 4th January. Kapadia was 38th Chief Justice of India. Having authored over 250 judgments, Justice Kapadia is most remembered for his verdict in the Vodafone tax verdict.
  
• Mufti Mohammad Sayeed:Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passed away on 7th January.
  
  Mufti Mohammad Sayeed served twice as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir; for three years from November 2002 till November 2005 and then again from March 2015 until his death in January 2016.
  
  He was also Home Minister of India from December 1989 to November 1990.
  
  He founded the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party, in July 1999 to "persuade the Government of India to initiate an unconditional dialogue with Kashmiris for resolution of the Kashmir problem.
  
• Adnan Sami:Pakistani singer Adnan Sami has been granted Indian citizenship. According to Officials of the Union Home Ministry, Sami will be an Indian citizen with effect from January 1st.
  
  The 46-year-old singer, who has made India his second home for the past few years, had made a representation to the Home Ministry on May 26 this year requesting his stay in India on humanitarian grounds.
  
  His Pakistani passport issued on May 27, 2010 expired on May 26, 2015 and his passport was not renewed by the Pakistan government which led him to approach the Indian government with the request to legalise his stay in India on humanitarian grounds. Sami's two songs from the album, 'Kabhi To Nazar Milao' and 'Lift Karaa De', were a sensation in the early 2000s.
  
• Shyam Saran Negi: He is considered as India’s oldest and probably first person to cast vote in first general election in India. He is from Himachal Pradesh; again he cast his vote in the Panchayti Raj Institutions election on 1st January.
  
  After Independence Shayam Saran Negi has never missed any opportunity of casting his vote in any kind of election. Therefore, this time also using his constitutional right 98 years old Shayam Saran Negi cast his vote in Panchayti Raj Institutions election. He was taken in a impressive procession by the district authorities to the Kalpa polling booth along with his relative. He was honored with Himachali Cap and Shawal by the officers after voting.
  
• AB Bardhan: Veteran CPI leader A B Bardhan, who was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Delhi following paralytic stroke last month passed away on 2nd January. He has been a leading figure of the trade union movement and left politics. He played a key role in maintaining the space for Communists in national politics.
  
• Arunima Sinha: Arunima Sinha, the amputee mountaineer who set a record by climbing the Mount Everest, has added another feather in her cap by conquering Mount Aconcagua in Argentina. Arunima said in a statement that she started her mission on the morning of December 12 and hoisted the Indian tricolour on December 25.
  
  Aconcagua is the highest mountain outside Asia, at 6,960.8 metres, and by extension, the highest point in both the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. Arunima Sinha says she has now successfully completed the 5th summit of the Mission 7 Summits.
  
  After completing this, she has made World record as First Female amputee to climb 5 Mountains of the World. Arunima had lost her left leg in a train accident in 2011 and she surprised the world by climbing Mt. Everest on May 21, 2013. She was awarded the Padmashree for her achievement.
  
• Kiran adani: Karan Adani, the eldest son of the Adani Group's founder chairman Gautam Adani, is appointed as the new CEO of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) with effective from January 1, 2016. Karan Adani is currently the executive director (non-board position) of the company. He holds a degree in economics from the Purdue University, USA.
  
  He has been deeply involved in managing the various Port operations since 2009 and now looks after the strategic development of all the Adani ports in India. He aims to build the Group's identity around an integrated logistics business model, backed by his sound understanding of new processes, systems and macro-economic issues.
  
  Sudipta Bhattacharya, CEO and whole-time director of APSEZ is taking on a new role to take over a Group position as the CEO — North America. Bhattacharya joined Adani Group four years back and led several of the key roles.