FEBRUARY

APPOINTMENTS

TV Journalist Rahul Mahajan named Rajya Sabha TV Editor-in-Chief

Ø  Television journalist Rahul Mahajan has been appointed as editor-in-chief of the television channel Rajya Sabha TV. Mahajan’s name was recommended by a five-member selection committee headed by Prasar Bharti chairman A. Surya Prakash and was approved by the vice-president of India M.Venkaiah Naidu. The committee also included Swapan Dasgupta, Shashi Shekhar Vempati, P.P.K. Ramacharyulu and Rahul Srivastava.

Ø  Bangladesh appoint Courtney Walsh as coach

Ø  Bangladesh has named former West Indies cricketer Courtney Walsh as the interim coach for upcoming tri-nation Twenty20 series. Walsh, who has been Bangladesh’s bowling coach since 2016, takes over as interim coach from former Zimbabwean cricketer Richard Halsall. Position of Bangladesh’s head coach had been vacant since Oct, when Chandika Hathurusingha quit after three years at the helm.

Ø  Arvind Jamkhedkar to be next Chairman of ICHR

Ø  Archaeologist and historian Arvind P. Jamkhedkar will be the next Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). He will replace Prof. K. Sudershan Rao. The post fell vacant after Prof. Rao’s retirement. Prof. Jamkhedkar is at present Chancellor of Deccan College, Pune, known in academic circles for its archaeology department.

Ø  Haruhiko Kuroda reappointed as Bank of Japan Chief

Ø  Japan’s government has reappointed Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda for another term and chose an advocate of bolder monetary easing as one of his deputies, a sign the central bank will be in no rush to dial back its massive stimulus program. The government also submitted to parliament its nomination of Masazumi Wakatabe, a professor at Waseda University and an advocate of aggressive monetary easing, as deputy governor.

Ø  Ashok Das appointed Indian envoy to Brazil

Ø  Ashok Das, a 1987 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, was named India’s new Ambassador to Brazil. Das, presently additional secretary in the external affairs ministry, is expected to take up his assignment shortly, according to a ministry statement. Both India and Brazil are members of the BRICS economic grouping that also includes China, Russia and South Africa.

Ø  Chandrashekhara Kambara elected New President of Sahitya Akademi

Ø  Kannada litterateur Chandrashekar Kambar has been elected as president of the Sahitya Akademi in the election held for the post. He has replaced Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari. Hindi poet Madhav Koushik has been elected as vice-president. This is the second time election was held in the history of Sahitya Akademi, after Ananthamurthy’s election to the post. Prof. Kambar has served as the member of the Akademi executive board for over 10 years and was vice-president for 2013-18.

Ø  Abhilasha Kumari sworn in as first women Chief Justice of Manipur HC

Ø  Abhilasha Kumari was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court. She was administered oath of office by Governor Najma Heptulla at the Raj Bhavan. With this, she became first women and third full-time Chief Justice of Manipur High Court.

Ø  NPCI appoints Biswamohan Mahapatra as Non-Executive Chairman

Ø  National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) appointed Biswamohan Mahapatra as non-executive chairman for two years with immediate effect. He succeeds B Sambamurthy who was the interim chairman.

Ø  PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi becomes ICC’s 1st Independent Female Director

Ø  PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi has been appointed as the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) first-ever independent female director. Nooyi will join the cricket body in June 2018 for a 2-year term. The introduction of an Independent Director, who must be female, was approved by the ICC in June 2017, aimed at improving the global governance of the sport.

Ø  Antony Dominic sworn in as Chief Justice of Kerala

Ø  Acting Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court Antony Dominic was on 9 February, 2018 sworn in as the Chief Justice of Kerala. With this, Justice Dominic became the first keralite to occupy the post of Chief Justice of Kerala in 17 years. The last Keralite who occupied the top post was Justice KK Usha, who served the court in the year 2001.

Ø  Jerome H Powell sworn in as 16th Chairman of Federal Reserve

Ø  Jerome H Powell was sworn in as the 16th Chairman of the Federal Reserve for a four-year term. Mr Powell has succeeded Janet Yellen, the first woman to lead the US central bank in its 100-year history. Powell was nominated for the post in November 2017 by President Donald Trump. The oath was administered by Vice Chairman Randal K. Quarles in the Board Room.

Ø  Mahmud Hossain Appointed New Chief Justice Of Bangladesh

Ø  The President of Bangladesh, Abdul Hamid appointed Syed Mahmud Hossain as the new Chief Justice of the country. Justice Hossain is the 22nd chief justice of Bangladesh. President administered the oath of office to Justice Hossain.

Ø  John Hennessy appointed Alphabet’s New Board Chairman

Ø  Alphabet has appointed John L. Hennessy as the new board chairman of the company. Hennessy has been on the board since 2004 and Lead Independent Director since 2007. He has replaced Eric Schmidt. Schmidt will remain as a “technical advisor” to Alphabet. Hennessy is a former president of Stanford University and has had an extensive career in the tech industry.

Ø  Dinesh Srivastava takes over as chief executive of Nuclear Fuel Complex

Ø  Distinguished scientist Dinesh Srivastava took over as Chief Executive of Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC). He has succeeded G Kalyanakrishnan who retired on superannuation. Srivastava will also be Chairman of NFC board. Prior to this assignment, he was holding the position of Deputy Chief Executive at NFR.

Ø  Neelam Kapoor appointed as Director General of Sports Authority of India

Ø  The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed senior bureaucrat Neelam Kapoor as Director General (DG) of the Sports Authority of India (SAI). ACC was headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She is 1982 batch officer of Indian Information Service (IIS). At present, she is Principal Director General of the Directorate of Field Publicity. She was Principal Director General of Press Information Bureau (PIB) in UPA Government headed by then PM Manmohan Singh. As PIB chief, she was in-charge of information officers attached to every central government ministry.  

Ø  Lt. Gen Anil Chauhan takes charge as DGMO of Indian Army

Ø  Lt. Gen Anil Chauhan took charge as the new Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of the Indian Army. He succeeds Lt General A K Bhatt. Lt Gen Chauhan has held several important posts in the Army and is known for his expertise in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.