PERSONS JUNE 2015

PERSONS JUNE 2015

• Sister Nirmala:Former Superior General of Missionaries of Charity Sister Nirmala died in Kolkata on 23rd JUne. Sister Nirmala took over the highest post in Missionaries of Charity after the death of Mother Teresa. She worked as Superior General till the year 2009. Sister Nirmala received Padmabibhusan award in the same year.
  
  Her original name was Nirmala Joshi . She was born in Ranchi and educated in Patna. Inspiring by the work of Mother Teresa Sister Nirmala joined in the Missionaries of Charity in 1976 and dedicated herself to the service of the poor till death.
  
• James Horner: James Horner, the two-time Oscar-winning composer of some of the biggest Hollywood hits like "Titanic", "Braveheart" and 'Avatar", died in a plane crash.
  
• Praful Bidwai: Praful Bidwai, a veteran journalist, author and anti-nuclear activist has died in the Netherlands
  
  The Delhi-based activist was attending a conference in Amsterdam on 23rd June. He also wrote a number of books, including the ‘1999 New Nukes: India, Pakistan and Global Nuclear Disarmament’ His latest book on the crisis in the Indian Left was due to be released later this year. After working as a senior editor for the Times of India for several years, Mr. Bidwai became a freelance commentator, writing for publications in India and abroad. He also wrote a regular column for Frontline and Hindustan Times for several years. —
  
• Pullela Sriramachandrudu: An Indian scholar and eminent writer in Sanskrit and Telugu literature Pullela Sriramachandrudu passed away on 24th June. He was born in Amalapuram on October 24, 1927, he started his academic journey as an ardent student of ‘Vyakarana Sastra’ and went on to acquire three masters degrees in Sanskrit, Hindi and English from Banaras Hindu University.
  
  Among his best-known accomplishments are translation of the Valmiki Ramayana with a word-to-word meaning and commentary in Telugu that runs into over 10,000 pages.
  
  Credited with writing several books in the two languages, he received the Padma Shri, among other honours.
  
• Tendulkar: Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has been voted the "best Test player" of the 21st century in an online poll conducted by Cricket Australia. Tendulkar amassed the highest number of votes breezing past Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, who had to settle for the second spot, reports cricket.com.au.
  
  Currently working as an advisor to the Mumbai Indians franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Tendulkar earned 23 percent of the votes followed by Sangakkara with 14 percent and former Australian hard-hitting wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist with 13 percent.
  
  The top 10 list: 
  1. Sachin Tendulkar (India) 23 percent
  2. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) 14 percent
  3. Adam Gilchrist (Australia) 13 percent
  4. Ricky Ponting (Australia) 11 percent
  5. Jacques Kallis (South Africa) 11 percent
  6. AB de Villiers (South Africa) 10 percent
  7. Shane Warne (Australia) 9 percent
  8. Glenn McGrath (Australia) 5 percent
  9. Muthiah Muralidaran (SL) 3 percent
  10. Dale Steyn (South Africa) 1 percent
  
  
• PK Sinha:Pradeep Kumar Sinha, a UP cadre IAS officer of 1977 batch, on 14th June assumed charge as Cabinet Secretary. He took over from Ajit Kumar Seth. P.K. Sinha was earlier OSD in the Cabinet Secretariat.
  He has served in different capacities in the Government of India as well as in the States.
  
• Sheila Kaul: Former Union Minister Sheila Kaul, a sister-in-law of Jawaharlal Nehru and oldest surviving former parliamentarian, died
  • She was former Himachal Pradesh Governor
  • She represented Parliament 5 times
  • She was Urban Development Minister in the PV. Narasimha Rao Cabinet, during her tenure she was accused making out-of-turn allotment of government accommodations in return for monetary gain between 1992 and 1995.
  
  
• Ajay Mahajan: IDFC, soon-to-be-turned bank, announced the appointment of Ajay Mahajan as its Head Commercial and Wholesale Banking in the bank structure to be launched later this year. Mahajan will oversee coverage of SMEs (small and medium enterprises), mid-cap and large corporates, financial institutions, government business and transaction banking, treasury and markets and investment banking
• Bimal Roy: Bimal Roy, Director of the prestigious Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) has been removed from the post on an apprehension that he may indulge in indiscipline and mischief including financial impropriety.
  The removal by the central government comes less than two months before the end of his tenure on July 31. Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Director-designate, who is at present on the faculty of the ISI, has been asked to discharge all administrative, financial and other duties of Director
  
  till July 31. She will take over as Director from August 1.
  
• Omar al-Bashir: Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes, has left South Africa, pre-empting a court ruling over an international warrant for his arrest. The Pretoria High Court was due to decide whether he should be handed over to the International Criminal Court which charged him with the crimes.
  Mr Bashir was in Johannesburg for an African Union (AU) summit. On 14th June, a judge barred Mr Bashir from leaving until the arrest application had been considered. Mr Bashir is accused of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide during the Darfur conflict.
  
• Charles Correa: Charles Correa, the face of modern architecture in India, passed away in Mumbai. Correa played a defining role in developing architecture of post-Independence India and has designed some of the most outstanding structures. He was the man behind the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial in Ahmedabad and Madhya Pradesh assembly building. In the 1970s, he was the chief architect of Navi Mumbai, the new city that came up across the harbor from Mumbai and was later appointed the first chairman of the National Commission on Urbanisation.
  Correa is also known for pioneering work on low-income housing. He won several national and international awards. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1972 and Padma Vibhushan in 2006.
  
• Suleyman Demirel: Turkey’s former President and Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel, a political giant for over half a century who survived two military coups and a ban on holding office, died on 17th June. Demirel served as Prime Minister on repeated occasions in the 1960s and 1970s and then again one final time in the 1990s before serving as head of state from 1993 to 2000. In all, he was Prime Minister of seven different governments, serving five separate stints in the post.
  
• Mahesh Neelkanth Buch: Former IAS officer and noted urban planner Mahesh Neelkanth Buch died on 7th June. He is widely regarded as the architect of new Bhopal. Buch, a 1957 batch officer, was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2011.
  
  In his career, he held a number of important positions, including Vice Chairman of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in 1977 and took voluntary retirement from service in 1984. Born on October 5, 1934, Buch originally hails from Gujarat. After taking VRS, he founded NGO National Centre for Human Settlements and Environment (NCHSE) in Bhopal. He was also awarded UNEP award for implementation of desertification control programme in 1994-95 and Aga Khan Award for architecture in 1998.
  
• Dasaradhi Rangacharya: Legendary Telugu writer Dasaradhi Rangacharya died in Hyderabad on 8th June. Born in 1928 in a tiny village in Khammam district, he took part in the armed struggle against the erstwhile Nizam ruler. Inspired by Marxism and socialism equally, he wrote a number of books highlighting the life and agony of the people at the grass roots level especially in the then Telangana region.
  
  His novels Moduga Poolu, Chillara Devullu are well known for their inspiring role in influencing Telugu people against oppression by the rulers. He received Sahitya Academy award for Chillara Devullu. He translated all four Vedas into Telugu besides Ramayana and Mahabharata.
  
• Vijai Sharma, KV Chowdary:Senior most Information Commissioner Vijai Sharma has been appointed as the new Chief Information Commissioner,CIC while former Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes, K V Chowdary has been named as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner, CVC.
  
  Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Bank, T.M. Bhasin has been appointed as the Vigilance Commissioner in the Central Vigilance Commission. Similarly, former Secretary in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Sudhir Bhargava has been appointed as the Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission.
  
• Anshu Jain: Germany's biggest lender, Deutsche Bank, appointed John Cryan as its new chief executive on 7th June, after Co-CEOs Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen, resigned following criticism from investors
  
  India-born Anshu Jain resigned as the Co-CEO of Germany's biggest bank Deutsche Bank loosing the top spot to former UBS banker John Cryan, who will serve as the Co-CEO and will become the "sole CEO" after 19th May. Jain is the second Indian to resign from a global bank after Vikram Pandit who stepped down as the CEO of Citigroup in 2012. Anshu Jain spent 20 years building Deutsche Bank into a global investment bank that rivalled Wall Street's giants.
  
  The Germany-based bank appointed former UBS banker Cryan as the Co-Chief Executive Officer, effective next month, and he will succeed the existing CO-CEOs Jurgen Fitschen and Jain.
  
• Tayal: Senior IPS officer RC Tayal has been appointed as the new chief of the elite counter-terror force National Security Guard (NSG). The 1980-batch Assam-Meghalaya cadre officer is currently serving as the Special Director General in paramilitary CRPF and is heading its formation in Jammu and Kashmir. Tayal, who is from Haryana, has earlier served as an Additional DG in the Sashastra Seema Bal during his stint at the centre.
  
• MK Sharma: The Board of Directors of ICICI Bank has approved the appointment of MK Sharma as its new non-executive Chairman for a period of five years. Sharma was formerly Vice-Chairman of Hindustan Unilever.
  
  Sharma will succeed KV Kamath, who will step down from the Board to take on a bigger role as the first President of New Development Bank, established by BRICS nations. Sharma was an independent director on the board of ICICI Bank for eight years from 2003 to 2011.At present, he is an independent director at two subsidiaries of ICICI Bank — ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company and ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company.
  
• Sanath Jayasuriya: Former Cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya and three other Sri Lanka Freedom Party Parliamentarians joined the government of President Maithripala Sirisena as Deputy Ministers. Jayasuriya was sworn in as Deputy Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Development.
  
• Dhoni: Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni is among Forbes magazine's 100 highest-paid athletes in the world, the onlyIndian sportsman on the list that has been topped again by American boxer Floyd Mayweather and includes golfer Tiger Woods, tennis star Roger Federer and Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo.
  
  Dhoni has ranked 23rd on the Forbes list of The World's highest-paid athletes 2015, dropping a notch from his ranking of 22 last year. Dhoni's total earnings stood at $31 million, including amount from salary/winnings at $4 million and endorsements worth $27 million.
  
  He is also co-producing M S Dhoni: The Untold Story, an upcoming biopic that has been "fraught with delays but has already funneled some three millions into the Indian star's pockets".
  
  The earnings figures include salaries, prize money and bonuses paid out between June 2014 and June 2015. Mayweather retains the top spot this year with earnings of $300 million, more than double the previous high for an athlete. This is the third time in four years that Mayweather was ranked as the world's highest-paid athlete, Forbes said.
  
  Only two women made the 2015 Forbes list, after the retirement of Chinese tennis player Li Na last year. Russian professional tennis player Maria Sharapova is the top-ranked woman at number 26, with earnings of $29.7 million.
  
  Sharapova bounced back from an injury-riddled 2013 to win the 2014 French Open, triggering lucrative bonuses from sponsors like Nike and Head, Forbes said.
  
  American tennis player Serena Williams earned $24.6 million and ranks number 47 on the list. The world's top-ranked tennis player recently captured her 20th Grand Slam singles title at the French Open. Her $72 million in career prize money is double that of Sharapova, her closest competitor. The 100 highest-paid athletes made $3.2 billion in all over the past 12 months, up 17 per cent from the previous year.Pacquiao ranks second on the list with total earnings of $160 million followed by Real Madrid's Ronaldo with earnings of $79.6 million.
  
  Federer ranks fifth with earnings of $67 million, including $58 million from sponsors, exhibitions and appearance fees. Federer dropped to number seven in the world tennis rankings in 2013 but he rebounded last year to finish 2014 in second. LeBron James is the National Basketball Association's top-earning player and ranks sixth among all athletes at $64.8 million.
  
  The list also includes tennis player Novak Djokovic ranked 13 with earnings of $48.2 million, German Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel (21), tennis star Rafael Nadal (22), soccer player Wayne Rooney (34) and Jamaican runner Usain Bolt (73).
  
• Nek Chand: Rock Garden creator and Padma awardee Nek Chand Saini passed away on 11th June. Nek Chand was born in Berian Kalan village, now in Pakistan on December 15, 1924. He emigrated to India with his family and settled in Chandigarh in 1950. It's here that his transformation from a public transport official to creative genius acclaimed the world over took place.
  
  His death comes days before his 40 figurative mosaic sculptures were to be put on display for the first time in the UK Pallant House Gallery in the charming setting of historic Chichester (West Sussex) from June 13 to October 25. The works are on loan from the Nek Chand Foundation in London.
  
  Pursuing a vision, Nek Chand started off by clearing an area of jungle on the city's outskirts. He amassed stones, bricks and materials retrieved from the city's rubbish heaps in order to construct the Rock Garden. Today this extends over two hectares and is adorned by several hundred sculptures lined up on a series of terraces, arches, waterfalls and winding paths. In 1972, the municipal authorities discovered this environmental marvel, and decided to provide a team of labourers and financial support to enable him to continue his work. The site, which came to be known as the Rock Garden, was officially recognised in 1976, and is a key tourist attraction of Chandigarh.
  
• Chiril Gaburuci: Moldova's Prime Minister Chiril Gaburuci on 12 June 2015 resigned from his post after he was questioned about the authenticity of his high school and university degrees. Gaburuci became the Prime Minister of Moldova in February 2015. He headed a pro-European government that relies on the Communist Party of Moldova. Earlier, he had been Chief Executive Officer of Azerbaijan’s mobile telecom company Moldcell until January 2015.
  
• Vinita Bali: Vinita Bali was appointed as the Chair of Board of Directors of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). Vinita succeeded Jay Naidoo, who led GAIN in the global fight against malnutrition since its creation in 2002. Vinita has been on the board of GAIN since 2010 and has led large companies in a variety of marketing and general management roles in the India, UK, Nigeria, South Africa, Chile and the US.
  
• MikheilSAakshvili:
  Former Georgian President MikheilSaakashvili has been appointed Governor of Ukraine's southern Odessa region. Announcing the surprise move in the Black Sea port of Odessa, President Petro Poroshenko said MrSaakashvili had been granted Ukrainian citizenship.
  
  MrSaakashvili is widely credited with carrying out radical reforms in Georgia during his terms in office in 2004-13. However, current Georgian authorities accuse him of abuse of power and have demanded his extradition. MrSaakashvili left Georgia after his term as President ended in 2013. He denies the charges against him, which he says are politically motivated.
  
• Kunhikrishnan:
  Dr. P. Kunhikrishnan took charge as director of the SatishDhawan Space Centre (SDSC), also known as the Sriharikota Range, at Sriharikota near Sullurupeta in Nellore district on 31st May. He takes the place of Dr. M.Y.S. Prasad who retired after a term of four years.
  
  Dr. Kunhikrishnan, who was earlier deputy director at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, joined the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) back in 1961 after taking a B.Tech degree in electronics and communications engineering from the College of Engineering at Trivandrum.
  
  In his previous assignments, Dr. Kunhikrishnan played a key role as the certifying authority for the quality of avionics systems, electrical integration and check-out systems used in satellite launch vehicles.
  
• Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa: Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa was on 1st June sworn-in as the governor of Arunachal Pradesh. Rajkhowa’s appointment was necessitated after Lt General (Retired) Nirbhay Sharma was transferred to Mizoram. Rajkhowa was the former Chief Secretary of Assam. He is a retired Indian Administrative Service officer from 1968 batch.
  
• Names of CIC, CVC chiefs cleared
  Government and the opposition on 1st June agreed on the names of Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), the posts that have been lying vacant for over nine months.
  
  The agreement came at two meetings between Prime Minister NarendraModi and Leader of Congress in LokSabhaMallikarjunKharge in two different committees.
  
  The panels have met and their recommendations have been sent to President's office. All the names against the vacant posts have been sent to the President.
  
  A formal announcement of the names will take place after President Pranab Mukherjee, to whom the recommendations have gone, gives his assent. Both the selection panels are headed by Prime Minister. The last meeting of the panel held on 23rd May had remained inconclusive.
  
• AmeenahGurib-Fakim
  The government of Mauritius 1st June designated AmeenahGurib-Fakim as the Indian Ocean Island nation's new president, making her the first woman to hold the ceremonial position. The appointment of Gurib-Fakim, an internationally-renowned scientist and biologist, is subject to parliament approval
  
  Gurib-Fakim, will be the first female President of the Island, which gained independence from Britain in 1968 and which replaced Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state in 1992.Former President KailashPurryag, who had been put in place by the previous government, stepped down as the island's figurehead on 29th May.
  
  He had served as president since July 2012, when he was appointed by the island's previous Labour party government of former premier NavinRamgoolam.
  
  The previous government had fought the elections on a platform of delivering constitutional reform, notably with a divisive proposal to strengthen presidential powers.
  
  Ramgoolam himself had hoped to eventually run for the new, strengthened position. Since his election defeat Purryag has been seen as an unwanted figurehead, while Ramgoolam has been embroiled in corruption allegations that have shocked the country.Mauritius is one of the richest, and least corrupt, countries in Africa, a middle-income country of some 1.3 million people with a per capita GDP of just over $9,000 (7,200 euros).
  
  Once dependent on sugar exports, the island has built up a strong outsourcing and financial services sector, and an important tourism industry.
  
• ISRO appoints new directors for major centres
  ISRO has named new directors for three major centres.K Sivan, Scientist and Director at Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Thiruvananthapuram, will take charge as Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram.
  
  S Somanath, Scientist and Associate Director (Projects), Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), as well as Project Director of GSLV Mk-III, has taken over as the Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Thiruvananthapuram.
  
  P Kunhikrishnan, Scientist and Deputy Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), has taken over as the Director of SatishDhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. He obtained his B.Tech degree in Electronics and Communication from College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram.
  
• George Yeo
  Former Foreign Minister of Singapore George Yeo will be the new Chancellor of the Nalanda University, the External Affairs Ministry announced on 30th May. The announcement came over two months after Nobel laureate AmartyaSen withdrew his candidature to the post for a second term. 60-year-old Yeo, who was conferred Padma Bhushan in 2012, is currently serving as a member of the governing board of the prestigious university at Rajgir area of Bihar.
  
  In February, Sen had withdrawn his candidature as Chancellor for a second term, saying the NarendraModi government does not want him to continue, a contention which was rejected by the Government.
  
  The former Singapore Foreign Minister has been playing a key role in reviving the the ancient seat of learning and has been praised for his contribution in the field of “public affairs”. The idea to revive Nalanda University was first mooted in 2005 by then President APJ Abdul Kalam. The university is being built near the ruins of the historic academic place by the same name in Bihar and a number of member countries of the East Asia Summit grouping is involved in the project.
  
  The government had enacted the Nalanda University Act, 2010 to implement the decisions arrived at the Second East Asia Summit held in January, 2007 in the Philippines and subsequently at the Fourth East Asia Summit in Thailand for establishment of the Nalanda University.
  
  East Asia Summit is a forum for co-operation between various countries of the region with ASEAN and includes Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the US, in addition to the ten ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries.
  
• Bashir
  Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was sworn in on 2nd June for another five years after he swept elections in April marked by a low turnout and an opposition boycott.Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges, won the elections with more than 94 percent of the vote.
  
• Prem Nath
  Prem Nath, a gold medallist at the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games, has passed away on 2nd June.Prem Nath, a student of the legendary Guru Hanuman, had hit the headlines at an early age when he made it to the 1972 Munich Olympics and finished fourth in the freestyle bantamweight category.Two years later, he bagged the 57kg Commonwealth Games title in New Zealand.He got the Arjuna Award for the year 1972.
  
• Ashton Carter
  The US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter who is on a three day India visit and held talks with Defence Minister ManoharParikar today. He also met Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj
  
  Renewal of the 10 year old Defence Framework Agreement and bilateral talks on the DTTI are on the agenda. Ashton Carter is considered to be the architect of the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative signed between Prime Minister NarendraModi and President Obama this year.