General Awareness

PERSONS IN NEWS - August 2019

Aug 2019

Sep 11, 2019

Trump Fires John Bolton as National Security Adviser

President Donald Trump said that he had fired national security adviser John Bolton after a string of disagreements, removing one of the most hawkish voices in Trump's inner circle on a number of issues, including Taliban negotiations and China trade talks.
Trump announced that he had asked for Bolton's resignation, saying he had "disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions."

Pawan Munjal To Be Inducted To Asia Pacific Golf Hall Of Fame

Hero MotoCorp Chairman and Managing Director Pawan Munjal will be inducted to the 2019 Asia Pacific Golf Hall of Fame later in 2019 for his support to the sport in India and around the world.
The induction ceremony will be held on November 6, 2019 at the Asian Golf Awards Gala Banquet to be held at DLF Golf & Country Club in Gurugram.
His induction into the Asia Pacific Golf Hall of Fame will be permanently installed at the Dr David Chu Golf Museum at Shenzhen in China, the new home of the Hall of Fame.
Munjal joins legendary players such as Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and other leading personalities such as David Chu, the founder of Mission Hills golf resort, to have been bestowed with the highest honour in the Asia Pacific golf industry.

Urmila Matondkar, Kripashankar Singh Resign From Congress

Actor-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar and former Maharashtra Minister Kripashankar Singh announced their resignations from the Congress.
Matondkar, who unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election in April 2019 from Mumbai, said that she is quitting owing to petty politics in the party.
Mr Singh said that he was leaving the Congress, as he did not agree with party's stand to oppose abrogation of Article 370.

Rajiv Kumar Appointed as MD of Microsoft India R&D

Microsoft said it has appointed Rajiv Kumar as the new managing director of Microsoft India (R&D) Pvt Ltd (MIRPL).
Rajiv, who is currently the Corporate Vice-President of Microsoft's Experiences and Devices (E+D) Group, will replace Anil Bhansali, who held this role for six years.
Anil will continue as the Corporate Vice President of Cloud & Enterprise and will be relocating to Redmond, USA.
Rajiv has a track record of strong people leadership, innovation and sharp business acumen, all along in his 27-year long career at Microsoft.

Sep 10, 2019

Gyanesh Bharti South Corporation's New Commissioner

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) is set to get a commissioner after three months of the post lying vacant.
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) issued an order appointing senior IAS officer, Gyanesh Bharti, for the job.
Bharti is an officer with the Union Territory cadre, of the 1998 batch. He was posted as joint secretary, cabinet secretariat, with the Government of India before being repatriated to his parent cadre in July 2019.
The north corporation's commissioner, Varsha Joshi, was holding the additional charge of SDMC after the previous south body commissioner, Puneet Kumar Goel, was transferred to Goa in June 2019.

Sep 09, 2019

Nissan CEO Set To Resign After Admitting To Receiving Overpayments

The CEO of crisis-hit Japanese auto giant Nissan plans to resign, days after admitting he received more pay than his entitlement.
The reports said it was not immediately clear when Hiroto Saikawa would step down, as the firm struggles with the aftermath of the arrest of its former chief Carlos Ghosn on charges of financial misconduct.
Nikkei said Saikawa has told several Nissan executives of his intent, but that no date for his resignation nor a successor has been decided.

Actor, Kathak Dancer Veeru Krishnan Passes Away

Actor and Kathak dancer Veeru Krishnan passed away in Mumbai. He was best known for his work in films like Raja Hindustani, Dulhe Raja, Akele Hum Akele Tum among others.
Veeru Krishnan trained several actresses in dance over the years including Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif and Athiya Shetty, to name a few.
Priyanka along with other celebrities paid tribute to their "guru" on social media afer the news of his death.

Sonia Dhawan Rejoins Paytm Group

Sonia Dhawan, a former Paytm executive and the prime accused in an alleged extortion case involving the company's founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, has joined Paytm First Games.
Gamepind Entertainment, which owns Paytm First Games, is a joint venture between Alibaba's AGTech and Paytm's parent One97 Communications.
The case against Dhawan is still pending.

DC Udhampur Bicycles 70 Km To Spread Message Of 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao'

In Jammu and Kashmir, a senior district official set a unique example to spread the message for 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao'.
District Development Commissioner, Udhampur, Dr. Piyush Singla bicycled from Udhampur to Jammu for nearly 70 Kms wearing 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' T-shirt to generate awareness on this flagship program.
He was accompanied by group of other 15 riders from Udhampur who raised slogans while crossing various habitations and market areas. The riders were also flanked by a 'BBBP Van'.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Singla said group awareness through cycling catches attention very fast and help in propagating the message and objective of the programme.
The journey culminated at Jammu. This unique effort of District Development Commissioner, Udhampur has been widely appreciated as it also incorporates the spirit of Fit India Movement besides motivating the youth for such social causes.

Sep 08, 2019

Noted Lawyer & Former Union Minister Ram Jethmalani Passes Away

Noted lawyer and former Union Minister Ram Jethmalani passed away at his residence in New Delhi. He was 95.
Jethmalani a sitting Member of the Rajya Sabha, was ill for some time due to age-related ailments. He was cremated at Lodhi Road crematorium in New Delhi.
The President, the Vice President and the Prime Minister have expressed grief over the demise of Ram Jethmalani.
Ram Boolchand Jethmalani was an Indian lawyer and politician. He served as India's Union Law Minister, as chairman of the Indian Bar Council, and as the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association. He is noted in the Indian legal fraternity for his forte in criminal law and high-profile civil cases.

Madras HC Chief Justice Tahilramani Resigns After Collegium Transfer Order

Days after the Supreme Court Collegium declined her request for reconsideration of transfer to Meghalaya, Madras High Court Chief Justice Vijaya K Tahilramani has resigned.
Vijaya K Tahilramani tendered her resignation to President Ram Nath Kovind and sent a copy of it to Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.
The collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, had recommended transfer of Justice Tahilramani, who was elevated as the Madras High Court's Chief Justice on August 8 in 2018, to the Meghalaya High Court.
The collegium had recommended her transfer on August 28, after which she had made a representation requesting it to reconsider the proposal.
Vijaya K Tahilramani had protested against the collegium's decision to not consider her request against transferring her to the Meghalaya High Court.

Saudi King Replaces Energy Minister, Naming One Of His Sons

Saudi Arabia's King Salman replaced the country's energy minister with one of his own sons, naming Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman to one of the most important positions in the country as oil prices remain stubbornly below what is needed to keep up with government spending.
The new energy minister is an older half brother to 34-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and an experienced oil industry figure in Saudi Arabia. He has been minister of state for energy affairs since 2017, but the brothers are not known to be close.
Prince Abdulaziz replaces Khalid al-Falih, who had been removed just days ago as board chairman of the state-owned oil giant Aramco, a company that he once ran as CEO.
Al-Falih had also seen his Cabinet portfolio diminished recently when mining and industry were removed from his purview and spun off into a new ministry.

Sep 07, 2019

Pakistan Leg-Spin Great Abdul Qadir Dies Aged 63

Legendary Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir died after suffering a cardiac arrest in Lahore. The former Pakistan cricketer was 63.
Abdul Qadir was rushed to the Services Hospital in Lahore but all the efforts to save him went in vain. Qadir is survived by his wife, 4 sons and a daughter who is married to Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Umar Akmal.
Abdul Qadir had represented Pakistan in 67 Tests and 104 ODIs between 1977 and 1993. The leg-spinner, known for his unusual action, picked up 236 wickets in the longest format of the game and finished his ODI career with 132 scalps.
Abdul Qadir, who made his Test debut in 1977, has the best figures for a Pakistan spinner -- 9/56. The leg-spinner, who bamboozled batsmen demolished a Vivian Richards-led West Indies batting unit in Fasilabad in 1986.

Sahitya Akademi Award-Winning Writer Kiran Nagarkar Dies At 77

Sahitya Akademi Award-winning writer Kiran Nagarkar died at the age of 77. He suffered a brain haemorrhage on September 2, 2019 and breathed his last on September 5, 2019.
Nagarkar began his career as an educationist, a journalist and then later as a screenplay writer in the advertising industry. His advertisment campaigns with close friend and poet Arun Kolatkar were considered path-breaking.
Nagarkar wrote his first book Saat Sakkam Trechalis in 1974 in his mother tongue, Marathi. Its English translation (Seven Sixes are Forty Three) was published in 1980 and then re-released in 2017 as a paperback version by Harper Collins.

B. Bala Bhaskar Is Newly Appointed Ambassador To The Kingdom Of Norway

Dr. B Bala Bhaskar is appointed as the next Indian Ambassador to Norway. The ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Bala Bhaskar (IFS: 1993) is appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Norway.
He will replace Krishan Kumar heading the Indian mission in Norway since July 2018. An IFS of 1993 batch will take up the assignment shortly.

KVIC Chief Gets 3 Year Extension

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena will continue to head the organisation for another three years.
An official from the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) said that the Centre granted the extension to Saxena, the only person in the government from corporate side heading an autonomous body, with effect from September 5, 2019.
Saxena, first appointed KVIC Chairman in October 2015, explored untapped streams of Khadi and Village Industries and implemented many innovative schemes like 'Honey Mission', 'Kumhaar Sashaktikaran Scheme' and leather artisans development scheme.

IAS Officer Sasikanth Senthil Resigns

S. Sasikanth Senthil, a 2009 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer and Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district, has resigned from the civil services.
In a note, he said it was "unethical" on his part to continue as civil servant when "fundamental building blocks of diverse democracy are being compromised".
The coming days would present extremely difficult challenges in the basic fabric of the Nation. As such it would be better to be outside IAS to continue his work.

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