General Awareness

PERSONS IN NEWS - July 2019

Jul 2019

Aug 07, 2019

Mahesh Verma is new IP varsity V-C

Development of infrastructure, focus on multidisciplinary research, ensuring student and employee welfare measures will be the focus areas of Mahesh Verma, the new vice chancellor of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU).
The education department of GGSIPU announced Verma's name as the new V-C.
The appointment will be for five years.
Verma has previously served as the director of Maulana Azad Medical Institute of Dental Sciences.
A Padma Shri recipient, Verma is also a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons & Physicians, Glasgow; fellow, Royal College of Surgeons, England; fellow, Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh; fellow, International College of Oral Implantologist and an honorary member of the American Dental Association.

Toni Morrison, 'Beloved' author and Nobel laureate, dies at 88

Toni Morrison, author of seminal works of literature on the black experience such as "Beloved," "Song of Solomon" and "Sula" and the first African-American woman to win a Nobel Prize, has died at the age of 88.
Morrison's novels gazed unflinchingly on the lives of African Americans and told their stories with a singular lyricism, from the post-Civil War maelstrom of "Beloved" to the colonial setting of "A Mercy" to the modern yet classic dilemmas depicted in her 11th novel, "God Help the Child."
A decorated novelist, editor and educator -- among other prestigious academic appointments, she was a professor emeritus at Princeton University.
Morrison said writing was the state in which she found true freedom.

Towering BJP leader dies of cardiac arrest

Former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who extended a helping hand to many Indians in distress abroad and acquired a reputation as one of the most accessible ministers in the first term of the Narendra Modi government, died suddenly after a cardiac arrest. She was 67.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

1. Sushma Swaraj became India's youngest Cabinet Minister at the age of 25.

2. 1979: Sushma Swaraj became the Janata Party's State President in Haryana at the age of 27.

3. Sushma Swaraj holds the record of becoming the 1st woman spokesperson of the national - level political party

4. Sushma Swaraj holds the credit of becoming the 1st woman Chief Minister of Delhi

in 1998.

5. Sushma Swaraj was the 1st woman Union Cabinet Minister.

6. Sushma Swaraj was the 1st woman Leader of Opposition.

7. Sushma Swaraj was awarded the Best Speaker by Haryana State Assembly

8. Sushma Swaraj was awarded the Best Parliamentarian award two times in 2008 and 2010.

RK Srivastava takes charge as ONGC Director (Exploration)

Rajesh Kumar Srivastava has taken charge as the new Director (Exploration) of energy major Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited.
A post graduate from Lucknow University, with a Masters Degree in Engineering Geology from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Srivastava joined ONGC as Geologist in 1984.

Sandeep Kumar Gupta takes over as Director (Finance), IndianOil

Sandeep Kumar Gupta has taken over as Director (Finance) on the Board of IndianOil.
Earlier, he was Executive Director (Corporate Finance) at IndianOil's Corporate Office and was also functioning as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Officer in-charge of corporate accounts, treasury, investment appraisal and risk management.

Aug 06, 2019

Ex- Myntra CEO Narayanan Joins Medlife as Co- Founder

More than six months after his exit from Walmart-owned Myntra, Ananth Narayanan is back as a CEO, this time with e-pharmacy platform Medlife. Narayanan will be involved in the company's day-to-day operations, besides handling fundraising and mergers and acquisitions. This comes at a time when Medlife is in talks with multiple financial and strategic investors to raise over $150 million. Narayanan had recently invested an undisclosed amount in the company, and has also been recognized as a co-founder.

Romila Thapar, Raghu Rai may be Part of City's Oral History Initiative

Delhi Veteran writer and journalist RV Smith, historian Romila Thapar, dancer Uma Sharma, and photographer Raghu Rai are a few of the names under consideration for the Delhi government's oral history initiative. The programme, will be carried out by Delhi Archives in collaboration with Ambedkar University. The project, which aims to fill gaps in history by capturing the memories and experiences of Delhi's citizens from different walks of life, will record 100 interviews in a span of two years.

Aug 05, 2019

Franky Flies Over The Channel

Franky Zapata on his jet-powered 'flyboard' flies past the belfry of the city hall of Calais after he took off from Sangatte, northern France, during his successful attempt to cross the 35km English Channel.
Escorted by three helicopters, the Frenchman soared across the water and landed after 22 minutes in the St Margaret's Bay in Dover.

Aug 03, 2019

Mindtree Gets New CEO

Former Cognizant executive Debashis Chatterjee was appointed as its new chief executive officer and managing director of IT services firm Mindtree.
The company appointed named S.N. Subrahmanyan, CEO of Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T), as its non-executive vice chairman.
Both the appointments are from immediate effect.
Chatterjee was president, global delivery and global leader for digital systems and technology practice at Cognizant.

Guruprasad Assumes Charge as DPIIT Secretary

Guruprasad Mohapatra assumed charge of the office of Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
Prior to taking over as DPIIT secretary, Mohapatra served as chairman of Airports Authority of India (AAI). He is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer of 1986 batch.
He had earlier served as Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce, Public Procurement and Project Exports (Financing & Insurance).

Aug 01, 2019

Rakesh Asthana Gets Additional Charge

Ex-CBI special director Rakesh Asthana was given the additional charge of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India. Asthana, a 1984 batch officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS), is currently serving as the Director-General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
The appointment comes at a time when drug problem in several states, especially in Punjab, has assumed alarming proportions. Earlier this month, the National Investigative Agency (NIA) carried out a 532 kg Heroin haul from the Wagah-Attari Border, a designated customs and immigration point between India and Pakistan.
The appointment of Asthana coincides with Vivek Johri, also a 1984 batch-IPS officer, who has been appointed as the director-general of Border Security Force (BSF) – the force that guards the Punjab-Pakistan border among others. Also, the government appointed Samat Goel, who was the operations chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), as the head of RAW.
Asthana is also expected to restructure the agency, bringing more synergy between various stake-holders.

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