PERSONS OCTOBER 2013

PERSONS OCTOBER 2013

• Air Marshal Arup Raha --- The Government of India on 29 October 2013 decided to appoint Air Marshal Arup Raha as the next Chief of the Air Staff. He will take the charge after the retirement of present Chief of the Air Staff N.A.K. Browne on 31 December 2013. Air Marshal Arup Raha is presently the Vice Chief of Air Staff. Arup Raha was commissioned into the IAF on 14 December 1974 in the Fighter Stream of the Flying Branch. During a career spanning over nearly 39 years, he has held various command, staff and instructional appointments. He has commanded Central Air Command and Western Air Command. He is one of the Honorary ADCs to the Supreme Commander.
  
• Subhash Goswami-----The director of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy appointed as the Director General (DG) of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on 30 October 2013. He will succeed Ajay Chadha, IPS. Subhas Goswami is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. He served as IGP of CRPF between February 2001 and February 2008. He was decorated with the Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2001 and the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Services in 2007.The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is an Indian force conceived on 24 October 1962 for security along the India's border with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. ITBP is a specialized mountain force.
  
• Srishti Rana---- Srishti Rana of India was crowned Miss Asia Pacific World 2013 in Busan, South Korea, on 30 October 2013. Srishti Rana, 21, is the second Indian in a row to win the oldest Miss Asia Pacific World 2013. Earlier, Zeenat Aman (1970), Tara Anne Fonseca (1973), Dia Mirza (2000) and Himangini Singh Yadu(2012) won Miss Asia Pacific World titles. She was Finalist of Femina Miss India 2013 on 24 March 2013. She was also crowned Femina Miss Fashion Icon.
  
• G.K. Pillai --- The former Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai was appointed as the Chairman of the MCX-SX on 1 November 2013.Thomas Mathew .T, the former acting chairman of the Life Insurance Corporation has been appointed as the Vice President of the bourse. The appointments were cleared by the board of directors on 24 October 2013 and have been also cleared by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). In October 2013, SEBI had also renewed the license of the exchange after extensively exam the same. MCX-SX (MCX Stock Exchange Limited) is a new stock exchange of India. It is recognized by the Securities and Exchange Board of India under Section 4 of Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956. MCX-SX became the recognized stock exchange by the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 21 December 2012, under Section 2(39) of the Companies Act, 1956
  
• P.S. Raghvan ---- P.S. Raghvan was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Russia on 28 October 2013. At present, Raghvan, the IFS of 1979 batch is serving as the current Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He will succeed Ajai Malhotra, who will retire on 30 November 2013. Raghvan is expected to join the assignment shortly.
  
• Vijay Soni (76) ---- Noted painter and theatre personality Vijay Soni passed away on 27 October 2013 in New Delhi. Vijay Soni travelled for studying the innovative methods of theatre to America and Europe in 1960s and beginning of 1970s. He came as the face in the theatre scene during 1970s. He polished his skill as a theatre director while he was at the Bread and Puppet Theatre, Odin Theatre in Stockholm and the Theatre Laboratory of Jerzy Grotowski at Wroclaw He was popular with the name Viko.
  
• Manna Dey (94), the legendary singer died on 23rd October 2013 in Bangalore hospital. He was treated for respiratory illness died of cardiac arrest. He sang many songs in different languages like Malayalam, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Hindi, Assamese, Punjabi and Bhojpuri. In 2005 he also received the Padmabhusan Award by the Government of India. In 2007 he was given the Dadasaheb Phalke Award from Government of India
  
• Shah Rukh Khan, the star actor of Bollywood, was on 23rd October 2013, appointed as the goodwill ambassador for South Korea. He was appointed as the public diplomat as well as an ambassador of India’s soft power. Shah Rukh Khan will visit South Korea before the maiden visit to the President of South Korea- Park Geun-hye. Shah Rukh Khan was also invited by the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on his first visit to India at the formal dinner with the prime minister. In the year 2008, Shah Rukh Khan was given the title of Datuk, which is equivalent to the British Knighthood. This title was given to him by the Governor of Malaysia’s southern Malacca state, Mohamad Khalil Yaacob.
  
• Arunendra Kumar -----Arunendra Kumar has been appointed as Chairman, Railway Board (Ministry of Railways) and ex-officio Principal Secretary to Government of India. Kumar took charge as Chairman Railway Board on 16th October. Prior to this Arunendra Kumar had been holding additional charge of Chairman, Railway Board since 1st July 2013 besides his regular posting as Member (Mechanical) Railway Board and ex officio Secretary to the Government of India.
  
• Kumar Mangalam Birla---- The Central Bureau of Investigation on 15th October, filed an FIR naming Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and former Coal Secretary P.C. Parekh for having allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy to facilitate the partial allocation of an Odisha coal block to the group’s subsidiary Hindalco Industries about eight years ago. The FIR said the Coal Ministry Screening Committee’s recommendation that the block be allocated to public sector units (PSUs) was, in a way, circumvented to “accommodate” aluminum major Hindalco. According to the CBI, Mr. Birla would soon be examined along with the other accused.
  
• Gireesh B. Pradhan---- Union Government of India appointed on 17th October 2013 Gireesh B. Pradhan, former Secretary of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, as the Chairperson of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). Gireesh B. Pradhan , a Maharashtra Cadre IAS officer of the 1977 batch. He retired from the post of Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in June 2013.Central Electricity Regulatory Commission is a statutory body functioning under section 76 of the Electricity Act 2003.It was initially constituted under the Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act, 1998 on 24 July 1998.
  
• Dr. Ravuri Bharadwaja---- Eminent Telugu writer and Gyanpeeth award recipient, Dr. Ravuri Bharadwaja passed away in Hyderabad on 18th October 2013. He was 86. Ravuri Bharadwaja won Gyanpeeth award for the year 2012 for his well known Telugu novel, Paakudu Raallu, which depicted the real life behind the silver screen of the film industry. Bharadvaja was born in 1927 and is a Telugu novelist, short-story writer, poet and critic. He studied only till Class VIII, but his works and write-ups turned up to be a basis for many research works and are prescribed as text books in universities. He has written six short novels for children namely Kadambari, Pakudurallu, Jeevana Samaram, Inupu Tera Venuka and Koumudi – these novels have been translated into several Indian languages as well as English. Earlier he has been awarded with awards like Sahitya Akademi Award, Soviet Land Nehru Award, Balsahitya Parishad Award, and Telugu Akademi Award. He was also awarded with an honorary doctorate from Nagarjuna University.
  
• Syed Ibne Abbas----Government of Pakistan decided on 9th October 2013 to appoint Pakistani veteran diplomat Syed Ibne Abbas as the new Pakistani envoy to India. He will succeeded by Salman Bashir. He served as Counsellor (Political) at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. His appointment comes at a time when tensions along the LoC have increased. He also served as the Director of Kashmir Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  
• Arundhati Bhattacharya (57) ---- Arundhati Bhattacharya on 7th October 2013 took over as the Chairperson of the State Bank of India (SBI). She is the first woman to take charge as the Chairperson of SBI, the largest bank of India. She succeeded Pratip Chaudhuri who retired on 30 September 2013.Before being elevated to the post of Chairperson of SBI, she was the Managing Director and the Chief Financial Officer of SBI. She is the first woman Chairperson of the State Bank of India, which has the long history of 206 years. Apart from this, she is the only woman banker on the list of Fortune 500 company giants anywhere in the world.
  
• Justice D. K. Jain---- The President of India has accepted the resignation of Justice D. K. Jain from the post of Chairperson, Law Commission of India, with effect from the afternoon of 5th October 2013.Justice D. K. Jain has taken over as the President, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, on the afternoon of 5th October 2013.
  
• Sitaram Sharma---- Sitaram Sharma has been nominated by Govt. of India as Chairman of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies (MAKAIAS), Kolkata, an autonomous body under Union Ministry of Culture, for a term of two years. Late Prof. S. Nurul Hasan, the then Governor of West Bengal was the first Chairman of the Institute, founded in January 4, 1993. Mr. M.K. Narayanan, Governor of West Bengal is the President of the MAKAIAS, Society. The Institute is a centre for research on the life, times and work of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, and the study of social, cultural, political and economic developments in Asia from the middle of the 19th century. The Maulana Azad Museum is located in one of the earlier residences of Maulana Azad (at 5 Ashraf Mistry Lane), where it maintains a museum of memorabilia, photographs and documentary film.
  
• Lalu Prasad Yadav----Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad was sentenced to five-year rigorous imprisonment in a corruption case on 1 October. The sentence immediately disqualifies him from Parliament and bars him from elections for 11 years, raising questions over the leadership of his party ahead of Lok Sabha elections due next year. Special CBI Judge Pravas Kumar Singh sentenced the two-time former Chief Minister, another former Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra, Jagdish Sharma, JD(U) MP from Jahanabad, and other convicts, lodged in the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi, through videoconferencing. Mr. Prasad, 65, who was convicted on September 30 in a fodder scam case, was also fined Rs. 25 lakh. Like other politicians, he was convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act. He claimed he was innocent. Mr. Mishra, 76, was sentenced to four-year rigorous imprisonment and was asked to pay a fine of Rs. 2 lakh. Mr. Sharma also faces disqualification in the light of a Supreme Court judgment that an MP or MLA would lose his seat immediately after he was convicted by a court for crimes with a punishment of two years or more.
  
• Ranjan Mathai--- Former Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai on 20 September 2013 was appointed as India's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He will succeed noted economist and veteran diplomat Dr. Jaimini Bhagwati. However, he will take up the charge of the office later. Ranjan Mathai joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1974 and has served in Indian embassies in Vienna, Colombo, Washington, Tehran and Brussels. He played a critical role in the Indo-Bangla Ganges Water Sharing accord during Sheikh Hasina's first stint as the Prime Minister. Ranjan Mathai served as Foreign Secretary for a period of two years and handed over the charge to his successor Sujatha Singh in July 2013.
  
• Ranjib Biswal---- NCA Chairman Ranjib Biswal was on 29 September 2013 appointed as chairman of the IPL during the Annual General Meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at Chennai. Prior to this appointment Ranjib Biswal was manager of the Indian Cricket team during the ICC World Cup 2011 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. He is also the head of Orissa Cricket Association. Ranjib Biswal was replaced Rajeev Shukla as chairman of Indian Premier League (IPL). Rajiv Shukla, who resigned at the end of his tenure.Ranjib Biswal was currently National Cricket Academy (NCA) chairman.
  
• Rahul Dravid---The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 5th September 2013 announced former Indian cricket team captain Rahul Dravid as Brand Ambassador for its National Tobacco Control Campaign. The national anti-tobacco control campaign has to continue till it achieves desired results. It shows that India is committed towards tobacco control. World Health Assembly aims a target of 30 per cent relative reduction in tobacco use by 2025.