PERSONS JUNE 2013

PERSONS JUNE 2013

• Justice P. Sathasivam---- On 29 June 2013, Justice P. Sathasivam was appointed as the next Chief Justice of India (CJI) after he justified the Collegiums System of Appointment of Judges. The 64 year old Sathasivam will succeed the incumbent Chief Justice of India, Altamas Kabir, who will superannuate on 18 July 2013 from his office.
  
• He is the 40th CJI and his appointment to the post has been approved by Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India. As the 40th CJI, he will serve the nation till his 26 April 2014 He was born on 27 April 1949 He was enrolled as an advocate on 25 July 1973 at Madras.
  
• Anil Goswami----Anil Goswmi took over as Union Home Secretary on 30 June. He succeeds Raj Kumar Singh who retired from Government service. Anil Goswami is an IAS officer of 1978 batch and belongs to the Jammu & Kashmir Cadre. Before joining MHA as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) on April 27, 2013, Goswami was Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. He has served in his Cadre and at the Centre in various capacities including Additional Secretary in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
  
• Krishna Chaudhary----- Krishna Chaudhary, IPS, has been appointed as Director General, National Disaster Response Force and Civil Defence (NDRF&CD). His appointment will take effect from the date he assumes charge of the post and until his superannuation on 30.06.2017 or till further orders, whichever is earlier.
  
• The DM Act has made the statutory provisions for constitution of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for the purpose of specialized response to natural and man-made disasters. Accordingly, in 2006 NDRF was constituted. The force is gradually emerging as the most visible and vibrant multi–disciplinary, multi-skilled, high-tech, stand alone force capable of dealing with all types of natural and man-made disasters. These NDRF battalions are located at ten different locations in the country based on the vulnerability profile of country and to cut down the response time for their deployment at disaster site.
  
• V.K.DUGGAL---- The former Union Home Secretary on 21 June 2013 was appointed as the nodal officer for relief and rescue operations in the rain-ravaged Uttrakhand by the Union Government of India. Duggal will operate from Dehradun. Duggal will help in establishing coordination between different agencies involved in relief and rescue operations and the centre, as lack of coordination between the agencies was hampering the mitigation efforts. The decision of VK Duggal’s appointment as nodal officer was taken after a review meet conducted by the Union Home Minister, Sushilkumar Shinde at New Delhi. The review meet was attended by the representatives of the Ministries of Home, Defence, Food, Surface Transport and National Disaster Management Authority. He served as Indian Union Home Secretary from March 2005 to April 2007.
  
• SATYA PAL DANGE (92) ---- Veteran CPI leader Satya Pal Dang passed away in Amritsar on 15 June 2013.Satya Pal Dang was Born in 1920 in Gujranwala in Pakistan and had married to Vimla, another CPI leader, in 1952. Vimla died in 2009. The couple was known for their courage in raising their voices against terrorism in Punjab. Satya Pal Dang had contested his first Vidhan Sabha election in 1966-67 from Amritsar west constituency. He won that election after defeating then CM Gurmukh Singh Musafir. With the win he became food and civil supply minister in the coalition government. During his term he took some tough decisions to ensure that food items reached the poor through PDS. He led several struggles of various sections of the people, including peasants and workers, and was elected four times to Punjab assembly from Amritsar. Satya Pal Dang won from the same constituency in 1969, 1972 and 1977.
  
• AMOL RAJAN---- Indian-born Amol Rajan has been appointed editor of the London morning daily The Independent, making him Fleet Street's first non-white editor, the newspaper reported on 17 june. Rajan, 29, was previously the daily's comment editor. Rajan, who was born in Calcutta, as Kolkata was then called, moved to Britain when he was three and studied at a state school.
  
• JAMES COMEY (52) ----Barack Obama, the US President on 21 June 2013 nominated James Comey as the next FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) Director.James Comey is a registered Republican and former Justice Department official under President George W. Bush. He was the United States Deputy Attorney General, serving in President George W. Bush's administration from December 2003 to August 2005.His nomination awaits confirmation from the US Senate. On getting this confirmation for the post, Comey would succeed Robert Mueller. Robert Mueller held the post of FBI Director since 2001 and will retire after completing 12 years of his service to FBI as its Director. Comey is best known for his actions against White House officials over the legality of the warrantless-wiretapping program of the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2004. 

• Kanji Ram became only the second Hindu to be part of the Pakistan’s Punjab assembly after Seth Bharta Ram who was elected a lawmaker in 1997. Kanji Ram is scheduled to take oath on 17 June 2013. Moreover, Saradar Ramesh Singh Arora on 1 June 2013 became the first ever Sikh to be elected as the member of the House since Pakistan’s creation in 1947.Ram and Sikh representative Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora were both nominated by the PML-N to seats in the Punjab Assembly reserved for non-Muslims.
  
• S.K.Roy: The government is understood to have appointed SK Roy as the chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Roy, who is presently a managing director in the organization, would be succeeding D K Mehrotra, whose term as LIC chief ended on May 31. Roy would be at the helm of the insurance behemoth for a period of five years, official sources said, adding that the notification to this effect would be out soon. Roy joined the largest insurance company in the country in 1981. On May 31, 2013, he assumed charge as managing director of LIC along with Thomas Mathew and Sarkar. Prior to elevation, he was head of the International Operations. He was also zonal manager of north central zone and eastern zone of the insurance firm. LIC, which manages assets worth around Rs14-lakhcrore of over 20 crore policyholders, has the largest market share among 24 players in the industry.
  
• Sudha Sharma: A 1976 batch IRS Officer, has been appointed the new Chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes on June 2.She took over as Poonam Kishore Saxena retired on 31 May. Sudha Sharma was serving as member (legislation and computerization) in CBDT. The CBDT is a part of Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance. On one hand, CBDT provides essential inputs for policy and planning of direct taxes in India, at the same time it is also responsible for administration of direct tax laws through the Income Tax Department. The Central Board of Direct Taxes is a statutory authority functioning under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963. The Central Board of Revenue as the Department apex body charged with the administration of taxes came into existence as a result of the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1924.
  
• Susan Elizabeth Rice---- The American ambassador to the United Nations was appointed as the National Security Adviser of US President Barack Obama on 5 June 2013. She replaced Tom Donilon. She is said to be the first Jamaican-American woman to hold the office of UN ambassador. She was the principal and Managing Director at Intellibridge from 2001 to 2002.Susan Elizabeth Rice received one of the Glamour Magazine Women of the Year Awards in the year 2009. In the year 2002, she was also indicted into Stanford's Black Alumni Hall of Fame.
  
• K R Kamath---- The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) announced on 6 June 2013 that K R Kamath, the chairman and managing director of Punjab National Bank (PNB) was re-elected as the Chairman of IBA for 2013-14 tenure. At the 66th annual general meeting, IBA also elected Aditya Puri, managing director and CEO of HDFC Bank, as its Deputy Chairman. Along with this, the Chairman of State Bank of India (SBI), Pratip Chaudhuri was elected as the Honorary Secretary. Indian Banks' Association (IBA) is an association of Indian banks and financial institutions. It is based in Mumbai. The objective of the association is strengthening, development and coordination of the Indian banking. It also facilitates various member banks.
  
• Raghav Joneja----Joneja became the youngest Indian to scale the Mount Everest on 21 May 2013when he along with his five schoolmates climbed the fifth highest peak in the world. Climbing at the age of 15 years and seven months Raghav Joneja broke the record set by Nameirakpam Chingkheinganba of Manipur's, who climbed the Everest at the age 16 years seven months and 11 days.
  
• Lydia Nsekera----Lydia became the first woman elected to the FIFA executivecommitee after winning a vote on 7 June in Mauritius. The 46-year-old head of the Burundi Football Association outlasted Australia’s Moya Dodd and Sonia Bien-Aime, of Turks and Caicos. The FIFA executive board contains 24 members from across the world headed by president Sepp Blatter.FIFA co-opted Nsekera into the executive committee last year, also a first. She has led the Burundi FA for about nine years and helped organize the soccer tournaments at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. She’s also an IOC member.FIFA’s executive hasn’t included a woman since first forming in 1904.
  
• Virginius Xaxa ---- After the exit of Aruna Roy, government on 6 June, has reconstituted the National Advisory Council by inducting renowned sociologist Virginius Xaxa into the 12-member panel chaired by Sonia Gandhi. The term of the panel, which has been giving legislative and policy inputs to the government ranging from the seminal rural jobs scheme to the latest food security bill, has been made co-terminus with the term of the present government.Xaxa, the new member of the Council, has written extensively on tribal communities of the country and is a Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati.Besides chairperson Gandhi, the Council has Xaxa, Narendra Jadhav, Pramod Tandon, N C Saxena, A K Shiv Kumar, Deep Joshi, Anu Aga, Farah Naqvi, Mirai Chatterjee, Mihir Shah and Ashis Mondal as members. Last week, Roy had written to Gandhi requesting her not to consider her for another term of the Council. Gandhi had accepted the request.The term of the previous Council was till May 31.
  
• Mrs. Kushal Singh----Kushal singh has been appointed as the Chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), by the Ministry of Women and Child Development on 28 may. She was selected by a Committee headed by Smt. Krishna Tirath, Minister of Women and Child Development. The Secretary, M/O WCD is also a member of the Committee. Mrs. Kushal Singh has held several high level posts in the Government of Rajasthan and the Central Government. She was the Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan. She was also the Chairperson Board of Revenue, Rajasthan Pollution Control Board and the Commissioner for Disabled Persons, Government of Rajasthan. Mrs. Singh was the Secretary Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, Principal Secretary for various ministries such as Social Welfare and Tribal Area Development, Environment and Social Security, Government of Rajasthan.
  
• Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa was elected as the new president of Asian Football Confederation on 2 May 2013. He replaced Mohamed Bin Hammam. Bahraini Sheikh Salman won 33 votes out of 46 in Malaysia to beat his rival Yousuf Al Serkal of the United Arab Emirates as well as Worawi Makudi of Thailand. Sheikh Salman claimed the vacant seat on executive committee of FIFA as well, which was held by Bin Hammam. On this seat, Sheikh Salman defeated Qatar World Cup organizing chief Hassan Al Thawadi. It is important to note that Bin Hammam was given a lifetime ban in 2011 by FIFA on the basis of allegations that he tried to buy the votes. He eventually retired from football in July 2012 after his suspension was annulled. Sheikh Salman took over last 20 months of term of Bin Hammam as the AFC president. Next elections will be held in January 2015. The position of AFC president gives a person the control of all major football events in Asia.
  
• The Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy reconstituted A.P Women's Commission by appointing Dr.Tripurana Venkataratnam as Chairperson with six other members on 3rd June.
  
  The other members are Paruchuri Jamuna, Dr. Sunita Krishnan, Thoti Malleswari, Mukala Kasturi and L.Feroz Begum. The Scheduled Tribe category member would be nominated separately and orders to this effect will be issued soon. Dr Tripurana Venkata Ratnam is a doctorate and LL.B from Srikakulam District. She was an MLA from TDP during 1983 from Cheepurupalli and Minister in the cabinet of Sri N. Bhaskar Rao. Her father T. Raghava Dasu was a freedom fighter and was an MLC and DCC President during 1978-81. She is also a noted social worker and activist.
  
• Leader of Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N), Ayaz Sadiq was elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan on 3rd June. He won with 258 votes out of 313 votes which were cast in the election of a Speaker in lower house of the Parliament of Pakistan. The strength of National Assembly of Pakistan is 342.His opponents, Shaheryar Afridi of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf and S.A. Iqbal Qadri of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement got just 31 and 23 votes respectively. The outgoing Speaker Fehmida Mirza administered the oath of Speaker’s office to Ayaz Sadiq. He became the 19th Speaker of the Pakistan’s lower house. PML-N nominee Murtaza Javed Abbasi was elected as deputy speaker by securing a total of 258 votes.