General Awareness

PERSONS IN NEWS - June 2019

Jun 2019

Mar 01, 2021

Ligia Noronha Appointed UN Assistant Secretary-General

UN chief Antonio Guterres has appointed leading Indian economist Ligia Noronha as Assistant Secretary-General and head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Noronha will succeed fellow Indian and development economist Satya Tripathi to whom Secretary-General Guterres is grateful for his leadership and dedicated service during his tenure.
Noronha is an economist with over 30 years of international experience in the field of sustainable development.
She has worked since 2014 as Director of UNEP's Economy Division based in Nairobi, leading UNEP's work on climate mitigation and energy transitions; on inclusive green economies, sustainable consumption and production, as well as on trade and sustainable finance, and the nexus of environment, pollution and health.

Tarun Bajaj Gets Additional Charge of Revenue Secretary

Department of economic affairs secretary Tarun Bajaj has been given the additional charge of revenue secretary.
Present revenue secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey retired on February 28.
The change takes place amid the Budget session in Parliament, which is currently in recess. The second part of the session will begin March 8 and go on till April 8 during which the Finance Bill will be discussed.
Pandey, a 1984 batch IAS officer from the Maharashtra cadre, was appointed finance secretary last year in March, more than a year after he was appointed as revenue secretary in December 2018.

Feb 26, 2021

Vijay Sampla Assumes Charge of Chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes

Former Union Minister Vijay Sampla, who assumed the charge of Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, said, that he would be adopting a three-tier priority to resolve all the issues being faced by the Dalit community.
Sampla served as Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment from 2014 to 2019. He is counted amongst the prominent Dalit faces of the BJP in Punjab.
Sampla joined BJP in 1998.
After winning the Lok Sabha election from Hoshiarpur, he served as THE Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment from 2014 to 2019.

Osamu Suzuki to Retire, Become Senior Adviser

Suzuki Motor Corp said that its 91-year old chairman, Osamu Suzuki, is retiring in June.
Suzuki who served as the Japanese carmaker's chief executive for 22 years and then as chairman for another two decades will step down from his current role following a shareholders' meeting in June.
The chairman will be appointed as senior adviser upon retirement.
With almost half a century at the helm, Suzuki is widely credited with turning the carmaker into what it is today.

Feb 25, 2021

Wipro Names Rene Mulder as Country Head and MD of Switzerland

IT services major Wipro announced the appointment of Ren Mulder as Country Head and Managing Director of its Switzerland operations.
Prior to joining Wipro, Mulder served in leadership roles with Siemens, Swisscom, T-Systems and DXC Technology in Switzerland as well as in countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Mulder has proven experience in leading large organisations and has a successful track record of driving growth, building profitable businesses and creating sustainable and successful relationships with customers, partners and local authorities.
Switzerland is an important market for Wipro, with a solid customer base and growing demand for digital transformation as companies expand their offerings.

Former TRAI Chairman Rahul Khullar Passes Away

Former chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Rahul Khullar passed away in New Delhi.
Khullar, a 1975-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, was appointed as TRAI chief in May 2012. He served at TRAI for three years. Before being appointed as TRAI chief, he was a secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Trade.

U.S. Senate Confirms Linda Thomas-Greenfield as U.N. Ambassador

The US Senate in February 2021 confirmed Linda Thomas-Greenfield as US ambassador to the United Nations. Greenfield's name was nominated for the post by US President Joe Biden.
The Senate voted 78-20 to confirm Thomas-Greenfield for the Cabinet-level position. Greenfield is the eighth confirmed member of President Joe Biden's Cabinet.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield is a US diplomat with vast experience in Africa. She is a three-decade veteran of the US State Department.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield is exceptionally qualified and in her new role, she will have to work to rebuild America's reputation and reasserting the first instrument of American power and diplomacy.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield is a retired foreign service veteran, who had resigned during the Trump administration.

Jindal Power Appoints Anil Kumar Jha as New Chairman

Jindal Power Ltd (JPL) announced the appointment of former bureaucrat Anil Kumar Jha as its Chairman.
A veteran of the mining industry, Jha is the former chairman of Coal India Limited.
JPL is a subsidiary of steelmaker Jindal Steel & Power Limited (JSPL).
Jha brings with him a rich experience of over three decades in the field of mine planning, production, management, supervision, direction and control of underground as well as open cast mines.
Jha is a mining graduate, he also holds an M.Tech degree from Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad.

Feb 24, 2021

RBI Ropes in Punjabi Rapper for Awareness Campaign on Cyber Fraud

Amidst an unprecedented rise in cyber frauds and manifold jump in online financial transactions, the Reserve Bank, in a quirky bid to drive its public awareness campaigns, has roped in Punjabi singer-rapper Viruss to drive home its points this time.
What's interesting about the latest campaign is that the central bank, which since the lockdowns has been very active on social media, has deployed a peppy rap music to issue its latest directives to the public on how they can and should protect themselves against cybercrimes and identity theft.
The campaign appeals and encourages the public, especially the tech-savvy netizens who tend to transact online, on staying 'satark' or alert against some common fraudsters and cybersecurity threats.

Shantanu Mitra to Rejoin Temasek-backed Fullerton India as CEO

Shantanu Mitra will re-join Temasek-backed Fullerton India Credit Company Limited (Fullerton India), as its chief executive and managing director from April 2.
Earlier, he was MD and CEO of the company in 2017. Rajashree Nambiar stepped down as MD & CEO in January 2021 after a three-year stint to pursue outside interests.
Mitra has over 20 years experience at Standard Chartered and Citibank, where he had stints in India, Singapore and Thailand.
His role in Standard Chartered was Senior Regional Risk Officer, India, Middle East & Africa, based in Mumbai. His previous experience with Fullerton included a stint from 2010 to 2017, initially as the head of consumer risk for the parent company Fullerton Financial Holdings and subsequently a very successful tenure as CEO & MD.

Yamani, the Saudi Oil Minister who Brought the West to its Knees Dies

Saudi Arabia's Sheikh Zaki Yamani, the embodiment of the ascent of Arab petroleum power and the face of the 1973 oil embargo that brought the West to its knees, has died.
Yamani was a witness to the 1975 murder of the Saudi king who had plucked him, a non-royal, from obscurity to be oil minister. Later the same year Yamani was kidnapped at an OPEC meeting by Ilyich Ramirez Sanchez, known as Carlos the Jackal.
Known for his elegant manner and trademark goatee beard, Yamani's 24-year tenure running the oil affairs of the world's biggest crude producer made him a global celebrity during the inflationary "oil shocks" of the 1970s.

Feb 23, 2021

TVS Motor Company Appoints Timothy Prentice as Vice President

TVS Motor Company appointed Timothy Prentice, a globally renowned motorcycle designer, as its vice-president for design. Prentice brings with him an experience of 35 years in motorcycle designing, project management and product development. His appointment was expected, TVS said, to boost its ability to stay ahead of rapid changes in design trends and maintain its competitive edge in future technology.
Prentice specialised in advanced design planning, and his experience in designing high-performance electric vehicles (EV) would take the company's EV line-up design to the next level.
Through his design studio 'Motonium Design Inc', Prentice has worked on design, project management and creative direction for many clients.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

August GK, July GK, June GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26