General Awareness

PERSONS IN NEWS - March 2019

Mar 2019

Jul 26, 2019

Subhash Garg Takes Charge as Power Secretary

Senior bureaucrat and former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg will take over as the power secretary even as he waits for the government's approval to his request for voluntary retirement on October 31, 2019.
He took over as finance secretary in March, 2019.
Garg was secretary in the Department of Economic affairs (DEA) and was designated as finance secretary since he was the senior-most bureaucrat among the five secretaries in the finance ministry.
According to retired bureaucrats, the position at the finance ministry is considered a highprofile posting in comparison to the position of the power secretary.
Garg was due to retire in October 31, 2020, when he turned 60 years. He joined the service in 1983 as an IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre. He was appointed DEA secretary on June 21, 2017.
In March 2019, Garg was elevated as the finance secretary after the retirement of Hasmukh Adhia in December 2018.

Jul 24, 2019

Li Peng Dies

Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests that ended with a bloody crackdown by troops, has died. He was 90.
Li died of an unspecified illness.
Li, a keen political infighter, spent two decades at the pinnacle of power before retiring in 2002. He left behind a legacy of prolonged and broad-based economic growth coupled with authoritarian political controls.
While broadly disliked by the public, he oversaw China's reemergence from post-Tiananmen isolation to rising global diplomatic and economic clout, a development he celebrated in often defiantly nationalistic public statements.
Li, who became acting premier in November 1987, triumphed over pro-reform party leader Zhao Ziyang in 1989 after the fellow native of Sichuan province was toppled from power for sympathising with the student protesters.

Johnson Chosen New UK Leader

Boris Johnson was elected leader of the ruling Conservative party and will become the next British prime minister, taking up the Brexit challenge that consumed his predecessor, Theresa May.
Johnson, 55, a former journalist educated at Eton and Oxford, won the leadership contest against foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt.
He polled 92,152 of the 1.6 lakh votes from members of the party, which is leading a minority government with the Democratic Unionist Party.
May will formally step down before Queen Elizabeth after attending her last Prime Minister's Question Time in the House of Commons. Johnson will then be invited to the Buckingham Palace and will return to 10 Downing Street as PM and address the nation.
The Tory government has a thin majority of just two in the House of Commons, which may dwindle further if the party loses the Brecon and Radnorshire bypolls in Wales. It is one of the first tests Johnson will face as prime minister.
Johnson is expected to bring back Priti Patel to the cabinet, and promote junior ministers Alok Sharma and Rishi Sunak, son-in-law of Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy.

Jul 23, 2019

UK minister quits before Johnson becomes PM

A UK minister and critic of Boris Johnson quitted, the latest resignation before the presumed new PM takes office with a "do or die" pledge to leave the EU with or without a deal.
The resignation of Alan Duncan, a junior foreign office minister, underlines the strength of feeling in the governing Conservative Party and parliament against a no-deal Brexit which many businesses say would be catastrophic for the economy.
Duncan follows Margot James, who stepped down as a culture minister in July 2019, describing as "quite incredible" Johnson's promise to leave the EU by October 31, 2019 with or without a divorce deal.
Finance minister Philip Hammond also said that he would resign.

Chronicler of Maharashtra renaissance passes away

Noted academician J V Naik, who flew the banner of the 19th century renaissance in Maharashtra and combined history with the ancient art of story-telling to celebrate Mumbai, passed away in the city .
His family was quoted as saying that he succumbed to renal failure. He was 85.
Naik was the general president of the Indian History Congress and played a key role in hosting the IHC session at IIT in Mumbai in 1980. He was trustee of the Mani Bhavan public library and Asiatic Society.
His much-toasted works include 'The Jervis Brothers: Founders and Guardians of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai' and two volumes of the 'Unsung Heroes: A Tribute' in which he has chronicled the life and times of political statesmen, revolutionaries and freedom fighters of the last two centuries.
The Asiatic Society has published a collection of his essays, 'Reform and Renaissance in Nineteenth Century Maharashtra'.

Lt Gen Naravane to be the next Vice Chief of Army

Eastern Army commander Lieutenant General MM Naravane will take over as the next Vice Chief of Army, replacing Lieutenant General Devraj Anbu who retires on August 31, 2019.
Narawane will be the senior most general when army chief General Bipin Rawat retires on December 31, 2019, and if the government decides to go by seniority the former could take over from the latter.
Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan will replace Narawane at the Kolkata-based Eastern Command, responsible for guarding India's borders with China in the eastern sector.
Lieutenant General AS Kler will be the next chief of the Jaipur-based South Western Command. He will succeed Lieutenant General Cherish Mathson who retires on August 31, 2019.
Lieutenant General RP Singh will replace Lieutenant General Surinder Singh at the Chandi mandir-based Western Command on the latter's retirement on July 31, 2019.
Lieutenant General IS Ghuman will head the Lucknow based Central Command after Lt General Abhay Krishna retires on September 30, 2019.

Jul 22, 2019

MP Ramchandra Paswan Dies at 57

Lok Janshakti Party MP from Bihar's Samastipur Ramchandra Paswan died, following a brief illness. He was 57.
Ramchandra Paswan, the younger brother of Union minister and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan, breathed his last at 1.24 pm at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi. He was admitted to the hospital after suffering a heart attack.
His body will be kept at his residence in New Delhi, at the LJP office in Patna for paying last respects. He will be cremated in the Bihar capital.
He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.

Johnson Tipped to Win Race to be UK PM

Pollsters and bookmakers have predicted an overwhelming win for former foreign secretary Boris Johnson in the election for the next Conservative leader to replace Theresa May as the UK prime minister.
Barring a major upset, Johnson is far ahead of his rival, foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, in the polls.
The election was prompted by May's resignation after parliamentarians failed to agree on a Brexit deal that carves out conditions for UK's exit from the EU.
May will appear at her last Prime Minister's Question Time in the House of Commons and later, hand over reins to the next PM.

Raghuram Rajan Front Runner of IMF Managing Director's Post

Former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan is among the front runners for the post of International Monetary Fund's managing director, days after Britain's Foreign Office was urged to back an Indian for the job.
The IMF role fell vacant after current MD Christine Lagarde announced her resignation after she was nominated by the European Council as president of the European Central Bank.
Her resignation takes effect from September 12.
As demands grow for the next IMF MD pick to be from outside Europe and America — as British foreign affairs committee chairman Tim Tugendhat wrote in a letter to foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt – The Sunday Times mentioned 53-year-old Rajan among the likely candidates.

Jul 21, 2019

Anandiben is new UP guv

Anandiben Patel, 77, who was appointed as the governor of Madhya Pradesh in January 2018, has been shifted to UP where current governor Ram Naik has completed his term.
BJP veteran from Chhattisgarh Ramesh Bais, who was denied a party mandate in 2019, has been appointed as governor of Tripura.
Retired Intelligence Bureau special director N Ravi, who was the Centre's interlocutor for Naga talks, has been appointed the governor of Nagaland.
The 1976-batch IPS officer has worked closely with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and broadly worked on a treaty with dominant Naga group NSCN-IM to reach an agreement with the government.

Sheila Dixit Dies at 81

Congress veteran Sheila Dikshit, credited with transforming Delhi into a modern, contemporary city during her three terms as its chief minister, died after a cardiac arrest.
Dikshit, who was 81 years old, had been ailing for sometime and her death was mourned by politicians cutting across party lines.
A multi-disciplinary team of doctors, led by Dr Ashok Seth, Chairman, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, carried out advanced resuscitative measures.
Her condition stabilised temporarily. However, she had another cardiac arrest and despite all the resuscitative efforts, passed away at 3:55pm on July 20, 2019.7.22.
The Delhi government declared two days of mourning in the national capital in homage to Dikshit,the longest-serving chief minister of the city-state.

Padmini Singla takes over as CMD of Delhi Transco

Padmini Singla, an IAS officer of AGMU cadre (2002 batch) has taken over as Chairperson and Managing Director of Delhi Transco Limited.
Singla is Post Graduate in Commerce from Delhi School of Economics.
A very dynamic and result oriented administrator, she has also completed her Executive Masters in Urban Governance from EPFL Switzerland.

Petronas Towers Architect Dies

Cesar Pelli, the Argentine architect and creator of Malaysia's Petronas Towers and New York's One World Financial Center, has died at the age of 92.
After graduating from the University of Tucuman, Pelli left for the US in 1952, where he studied on a scholarship.
He was dean of Yale's architecture faculty from 1977 to 1984, and counted the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal among his many accolades.
His most high-profile achievement was the Petronas Towers in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur - a 452-metre high structure that was the world's tallest building when it was completed in 1998.
Pelli's legacy also includes dozens of theaters and cultural centres across the world, and he oversaw the expansion of New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1984.
He also designed the International Financial Centre that towers over Hong Kong's waterfront and the Gran Torre Santiago in Chile.

Michelle, Priyanka voted most admired women in the world

Michelle Obama, Queen Elizabeth II and Priyanka Chopra are among the most admired women in the world, a new survey finds.
YouGov's annual survey asked 42,000 people from 41 countries who they most admired.
They found that the former first lady, Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie were the three most admired.
Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen were among the Indian women on the list. In terms of men, Bill Gates, Barack Obama and Jackie Chan topped the list.

Sidhu's Resignation Accepted

Nearly a week after Navjot Singh Sidhu quit the Punjab cabinet and made his decision public on social media, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh accepted his resignation and sent it to governor VP Singh Badnore.
With this, it is curtains on the four-time parliamentarian and first-time MLA's current stint in power.
The CM's office cited Sidhu's refusal to take over the power ministry as the reason for acceptance of the resignation.

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