General Awareness

PERSONS IN NEWS - May 2019

May 2019

Nov 07, 2019

BSP Reappoints Danish Ali as its LS leader

Ahead of the winter session of Parliament that commences on November 18, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati reappointed Kunwar Danish Ali as the party's leader in the Lok Sabha.
Mr. Ali was removed as the party leader in the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha after he differed with it over crucial political issues such as the triple talaq Bill and the abrogation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370.
While the BSP supported both the issues, Mr. Ali had registered his opposition on the floor of the House.

Senior IAS Officer Arvind Singh Takes Over As AAI Chairman

Arvind Singh, a 1988-batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, took charge as the chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The AAI, which comes under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, owns and manages more than 100 airports across the country.
Prior to this appointment, Singh was the additional chief secretary (Energy) of Maharashtra government.
He also worked as chairman and managing director of Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited and Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited.

1948 Olympics Cycling Champion Jacques Dupont Dies Aged 91

French cyclist Jacques Dupont, who won a gold medal at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, has died at the age of 91.
Dupont, who was born and died in the village of Lezat sur Leze in the south-west of France, achieved his gold medal at the Herne Hill Velodrome on August 11, 1948.
Aged 20, Dupont eclipsed the field in the 1000 metre time trial, beating Belgian Pierre Nihant by one second. The Briton Tommy Godwin took the bronze.

Nov 06, 2019

Lindsay Hoyle Appointed as UK Parliament Speaker

British MPs have selected Labour lawmaker Lindsay Hoyle to be parliament's new speaker, replacing John Bercow in a role once little-noticed but now reshaped by the fractious turmoil over Brexit.
Hoyle, a Labour MP for 22 years and Bercow's deputy since 2010, beat out six other contenders in a protracted day of voting in the House of Commons, winning the support of 325 of 540 members of parliament in a fourth and final round of votes.

Chirag Paswan Chosen as LJP President

After steering the Lok Janshakti Party for 19 years, Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan announced that his son Chirag Paswan has been unanimously chosen as the new party president.
The entire episode of passing the baton was smooth as Chirag's name was proposed by his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras and received unanimous support from party leaders including newly elected MP, Prince Raj from Samastipur. Prince is son of late Ramchandra Paswan.

Punit Goenka to Remain Zee's MD

Zee Entertainment's (Zee's) Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Punit Goenka has been reappointed to the position, effective January 1, 2020, as lenders prepare to sell their pledged shares.
In principle approval for Goenka's reappointment for a period of five years was finalised by its board of directors in a meeting.
Goenka, who is the elder son of Essel group promoter and Zee chairman Subhash Chandra, has been MD of the media firm since January 1, 2010.
He was appointed CEO in July 2008 after then CEO Pradeep Guha stepped down. The top-level rejig at that time was viewed as Chandra's attempt to put succession planning in place at Zee, which is the flagship firm of the Essel Group.
While Zee is among the leading broadcasters in India, the others being Star, Sony and Viacom18, the firm in the last one year has faced intense scrutiny amid concerns over mounting debt.

Nov 05, 2019

McDonald's Fires CEO Steve Easterbrook

McDonald's chief executive officer has been pushed out of the company after violating company policy by engaging in a consensual relationship with an employee.
The fast food giant said former president and CEO Steve Easterbrook demonstrated poor judgment, and that McDonald's forbids managers from having romantic relationships with direct or indirect subordinates.
The board of directors named Chris Kempczinski, who recently served as president of McDonald's USA, as its new president and CEO.

Flamboyant TV Astrologer Adored by Millions Dies

Walter Mercado was known across Latin America and the US for his melodramatic predictions and colourful appearance, which frequently included capes and huge gemstone rings.
Mercado was one of Latin entertainment's best-loved faces, but stumbled into his career by pure chance.
Mercado died on 2 November 2019, reportedly from renal failure, at Auxilio Mutuo Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
He was aged 87 or 88 when he died.

Aditya Mishra Appointed Chairman of Land Ports Authority of India

Senior IPS officer Aditya Mishra was appointed as the chairman of the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), according to an order issued by the personnel ministry.
Mishra is a 1989 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Mishra as the chairman of the LPAI on the recommendations of a search-cum-selection panel, the order said.
Mishra has been appointed for a period of five years from the date of assumption of the charge.

Chief Secretary LVS shunted out

Barely seven months after his appointment by the Election Commission of India as Chief Secretary of the Government of Andhra Pradesh (A.P.), L.V. Subrahmanyam was transferred and posted as Director General of A.P. Human Resources Development Institute at Bapatla.
Chief Commissioner of Land Administration Neerabh Kumar Prasad has been made in-charge CS in accordance with GO RT No. 2478 issued by Principal Secretary to the CM Praveen Prakash, who is also Principal Secretary (Political) in the General Administration Department.
Mr. Subrahmanyam was posted as CS just before the general elections on April 11, 2019 in the place of Anil Chandra Punetha who was the CCLA at that time.
He continued to be the CS in the new government and is due to attain superannuation in about five months (April 2020).

Nov 04, 2019

Former IRS Officer Kumar Appointed Expenditure Observer For Jharkhand Poll

The Election Commission appointed former Indian Revenue Service officer B Murali Kumar as special expenditure observer for Jharkhand Assembly poll.
A Commission statement said that he will supervise and monitor work being done by electoral machinery and ensure stringent and effective enforcement action against abuse of money power to allure voters.
Given his past experience in the investigation wing of Income Tax Department, Kumar was also appointed Special Expenditure Observer for Vellore Parliamentary Constituency in Tamil Nadu and for the recently concluded assembly elections in Maharashtra.

Billionaire Ajay Piramal Plans To Step Down From Shriram Capital

Ajay Piramal plans to resign as chairman of Shriram Capital Ltd., the Indian non-bank finance company backed by South Africa's Sanlam Group, as he works to sell his stake in Shriram's parent group.
Piramal, who was named chairman of unlisted Shriram Capital in 2014, is exiting the Chennai-based group after failing to consolidate his holdings into a non-banking financial behemoth amid a cash crunch in India's financial system.
He is now planning two funds to invest in embattled realty projects and lend to retail borrowers after announcing a $770 million capital raise.

Industrialist And Son Of Modinagar's Founder, K K Modi Passes Away

The scion of one of the oldest business families in the country - the Modi family - and the eldest son of late Rai Bahadur Gujarmal Modi (founder of the city of Modinagar), Krishan Kumar Modi passed away. He was 79.
K K Modi served as the chairman of Modi Enterprises, which includes companies like Godfrey Phillips, Indofil Industries and Modicare. Modi Enterprises has interests in education, agriculture, tea and beverages among others. Modi was also a former president of FICCI. Modi led FICCI in 1997 and was also the president of Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry from 2002 to 2006.

Nov 03, 2019

Indusind Bank Finalises Sumant Kathpalia As New MD & CEO

Sumant Kathpalia has been chosen by private sector lender IndusInd Bank as the successor to Romesh Sobti.
Kathpalia is the head of consumer loans at the Hindujas-promoted lender. Sobti, who has been at the helm for over a decade, will be retiring in March 2020 after hitting 70.
The 55-year-old Kathpalia has also been with the bank since 2008 and is credited with building consumer loans portfolio from scratch, as part of a strategy to diversify the loan book adopted by the bank.

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