♦ The US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) appointed Tarun Bajaj (61) as the head of the US-India Tax Forum.
♦ He is the former Revenue Secretary and ex-secretary of Economic Affairs.
♦ Bajaj joined USISPF as an advisor to the Board of Directors in January 2024.
♦ He is a 1988-batch Haryana Cadre IAS officer.
Posted Date: April 11, 2024Persons in News
♦ Executive Chairman of Bharat Biotech, Krishna M Ella has taken over as President of the Indian Vaccine Manufacturers Association (IVMA) for two years.
♦ He takes over the Presidency from Adar C Poonawala who held the post from 2019 to 2024.
♦ For the current two-year term, Mahima Datla, Managing Director of Biological E assumes the role of Vice President, T. Srinivas, CFO of Bharat Biotech, will be Treasurer and Harshavardhan, will continue as Director General of IVMA.
♦ IVMA is a non-government apex organisation, that aims to fortify collaboration between vaccine manufacturers, researchers, and policymakers to accelerate the development of new vaccines and improve production processes.
Posted Date: April 29, 2024♦ Sixty-year-old Alejandra Marisa Rodriguez was crowned Miss Universe Buenos Aires 2024. She is the first woman her age to receive such a prestigious honour. Her victory came just a year after the Miss Universe organisation removed age limits for contestants. Now, any woman over 18 can compete in the beauty pageant. Earlier, only women aged between 18 and 28 could enter the competition.
♦ Alejandra from La Plata, Argentina. She is a lawyer and a journalist. She is the winner of the Miss Universe Buenos Aires 2024. Now, Ms Rodriguez is gearing up to represent Buenos Aires in the Miss Universe Argentina competition in May 2024. If she wins, she will compete in the Miss Universe World competition in Mexico on September 28, 2024.
♦ Intel has appointed Santhosh Viswanathan as the Managing Director (MD) for its India region.
♦ In March, the company announced India as a separate region within its SMG (Sales, Marketing, and Communications Group) organisation, to capitalise on the country’s rapid growth and business opportunities.
♦ The company also appointed Hans Chuang as General Manager (GM) of SMG Asia Pacific and Japan.
Posted Date: April 20, 2024♦ Swami Gautamanandaji Maharaj (95) was elected as the 17th president of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission on 24 April 2024.
♦ He succeeds Swami Smarananandaji Maharaj, who passed away in Kolkata on March 26.
♦ Swami Gautamanandajiwas born in Bengaluru in 1929. In 2017, he was elected as vice-presidents of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission.
Posted Date: April 24, 2024♦ Amitabh Chaudhry was reappointed as MD & CEO of the Axis Bank for three years on 25 April 2024.
♦ His tenure will be effective from January 1, 2025. Chaudhry joined Axis Bank as its MD and CEO in January 2019.
Posted Date: April 25, 2024♦ Arun Alagappan was appointed as Executive Chairman of fertiliser firm Coromandel International Ltd on 25 April 2024.
♦ He has been the Executive Vice Chairman of the company since February 2021.
♦ His appointment comes as A. Vellayan retires from the position of Chairman and Non-Executive Director.
Posted Date: April 25, 2024♦ Professor Naima Khatoon was appointed as the Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on 22 April 2024. Khatoon is the first woman to be appointed to the post in the varsity's 123-year history. Begum Sultan Jahan became the Chancellor of AMU in 1920, making her the first and only woman to hold the position.
♦ With that, AMU has also become the third central university to have a woman Vice-Chancellor. While Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit is is the current VC of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Najma Akhtar completed her tenure as the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia in 2023.
♦ Naima Khatoon started her professional journey as a lecturer at AMU in August 1988. She served as the Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Psychology before being appointed Principal at Women's College in July 2014.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Ajith Kumar KK as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dhanlaxmi Bank on 19 April 2024. He succeeded JK Shivan. He will be in this position for three years since he took charge. Presently, Ajith Kumar is the chief human resources officer in Federal Bank Limited in the cadre of President.
Senior IPS officer Nalin Prabhat was appointed as the Director-General of National Security Guard (NSG) on 19 April 2024. Prabhat is a 1992 batch IPS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre. He is currently posted as Additional Director-General, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu and Kashmir. NSG is the country’s counter-terrorism and counter-hijack force.
♦ Vice-Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi was appointed as the Chief of Naval Staff on 19 April 2024. He is currently the Vice-Chief of the Navy. He will take over on superannuation of the current chief, Admiral R. Hari Kumar on April 30.
♦ Dinesh Kumar was born on 15 May 1964. He was commissioned into the Executive Branch of the Indian Navy on 1 July 1985. Before taking over as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, he had served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Naval Command.
♦ TIME Magazine released its ‘100 Most Influential People of 2024’ report on 17 April 2024. The yearly list included the 100 influential people globally across six categories: artists, icons, leaders, titans, innovators and pioneers.
♦ Several Indians and people of Indian origin are included in this list. They are: Actor Alia Bhatt, Wrestler Sakshi Malik, World Bank President Ajay Banga, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, British actor-director Dev Patel, US Department of Energy’s Loan Programmes Office director Jigar Shah, Professor of Astronomy and Professor of Physics at Yale University Priyamvada Natarajan; Indian-origin restaurateur Asma Khan.
♦ The World Economic Forum has named Nykaa co-founder and Nykaa Fashion CEO Adwaita Nayar as a ‘2024 Young Global Leader’. Nayar was chosen to join a group of 90 individuals worldwide for her work as a change-maker and entrepreneur.
♦ The World Economic Forum’s Forum of Young Global Leaders celebrates individuals under the age of 40 who are making a significant impact in their respective fields.
♦ The World Economic Forum for Young Leaders completed two decades in 2024. It has recognised a wide range of business leaders as well as current Prime Ministers and billionaires in its time.
BharatPe said it has appointed its interim CEO and CFO Nalin Negi as full-time Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on 16 April 2024. Negi was given charge of interim CEO in January 2023. Before joining BharatPe, Nalin Negi held several senior leadership positions at renowned financial service organizations including SBI Cards and GE Capita.
♦ Kristalina Georgieva was re-appointed as the Managing Director (MD) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a second 5-year term. Her tenure will start from 1 October 2024. She has been serving as IMF's MD since October 1, 2019.
♦ A Bulgarian national, Georgieva has previously served as World Bank's CEO from January 2017. She was also interim president for the World Bank Group between February and April, 2019. She has also served at the European Commission as Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response along with its Vice President for Budget and Human Resources.
Indian-American actor Avantika Vandanapu (19) was named the South Asian Person of the Year by Harvard University. She was reportedly recognised for her outstanding achievements and impact on the international and Indian entertainment industries. Avantika was born to a Hyderabad-origin Telugu family in California’s San Francisco Bay in the United States.
Justice Aniruddha Bose was appointed as the Director of The National Judicial Academy (NJAC), Bhopal. He was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019. He was made a permanent judge of the Calcutta High Court in January 2004, and on August 11, 2018, he was elevated as the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court.
Senior bureaucrat Vandita Kaul was appointed as the Secretary, Department of Posts. Kaul is a 1989-batch Indian Postal Service (IPoS) officer. Currently she is serving as Member (Banking & Direct Benefit Transfer), Postal Services Board. She succeeded Vineet Pandey.
♦ Jain Acharya Lokesh Muni has become the first Indian monk to be honoured with the American President’s Gold Volunteer Service Award. He got this award in recognition of his contribution to the public good and humanity. Lokesh is a founder of Ahimsa Vishwa Bharati and World Peace Center in India.
♦ The American President’s Volunteer Service Award was established in 2003 during George Bush’s presidency. The award is given to individuals who have provided at least 500 hours of voluntary service in the United States and whose work has positively impacted communities and inspired those around them.
Sachidananda Mohanty was appointed as a member of the University Grants Commission (UGC) for a period of three years. He is a former professor and Head of the Department of English, University of Hyderabad (UoH). He was the former vice chancellor of the Central University of Odisha.
Social worker and a leader of the Sarvodaya and Chipko movements, Murari Lal (91) passed away on 12 April 2024. Lal was the president of the Dasholi Gram Swarajya Mandal, the mother organisation of the Chipko movement.
Indian-origin Gopichand Thotakura was selected as a tourist set to go to Space on board the Blue Origin. He will become the first Indian to go to space as a tourist and the second Indian to head to space after wing commander Rakesh Sharma in 1984. Gopichand is selected to be part of the six-member crew for Blue Origin's New Shephard-25 (NS-25) mission. The other five persons are - Mason Angel, a venture capitalist, Sylvain Chiron, an entrepreneur, Kenneth L Hess, a software engineer and entrepreneur, Carol Schaller, a retired CPA and Ed Dwight, an astronaut.
♦ Lindy Cameron was appointed as British High Commissioner to India on 11 April 2024. She replaced Alex Ellis.
♦ Lindy is the first woman to serve in this role since Britain and independent India established diplomatic relations in 1947.
♦ Before this appointment, she served as CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
♦ This is the UK’s principal technical authority on cyber security.
Posted Date: April 11, 2024Air India has appointed Jayaraj Shanmugam as the head of its global airport operations. Shanmugam was the chief operating officer at the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) and led the operationalisation of the new terminal 2. Previously he worked with renowned companies such as Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Jet Airways.
♦ India's Jagjit Pavadia was re-elected to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) for the term 2025-2030. The election was conducted by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on 9 April 2024. She secured 41 votes out of the 53 voting members of the ECOSOC. Pavadia has been a member of the International Narcotics Control Board since 2015. She served as President of the Board for 2021-2022.
♦ The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) was established in 1968 to serve as an independent and quasi-judicial monitoring body for the implementation of the United Nations international drug control conventions.
♦ The INCB comprises 13 members elected by the Economic and Social Council, serving in their capacity rather than as government representatives.
♦ Manoj Panda was appointed as full-time member of the Sixteenth Finance Commission on 8 April 2024. He is former director of the Institute of Economic Growth. The chairman of the Sixteenth Finance Commission is Arvind Panagariya.
♦ The Sixteenth Finance Commission is expected to submit its report by October 31, 2025, outlining financial recommendations for the upcoming five-year period starting from April 1, 2026.
IPS officer Love Kumar was appointed as the Inspector General (IG) in the Special Protection Group (SPG) for a period of two years. He is a 2004 batch IPS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre. Love Kumar is currently a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in the SPG. The Special Protection Group (SPG) is a special force in India responsible for providing security to the Prime Minister, former Prime Ministers, and their immediate families.
♦ Bilquis Mir became the first woman from India to represent the country as a jury member at 2024 Summer Olympics. She is from Jammu and Kashmir. 2024 Summer Olympics is to be hosted by Paris from July 26 to August 11.
♦ Her appointment as a jury member for the Paris Games was officially conveyed through a letter from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to the Jammu and Kashmir administration.
♦ Bilquis also served a jury member at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. She started her journey in 1998 as a canoeist from Kashmir and subsequently represented the country.
Srinivas Pallia was appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of Wipro on 6 April 2024. He succeeded Thierry Delaporte. Pallia has been with Wipro for over three decades and most recently served as the CEO for Americas 1, Wipro's biggest and fastest-growing strategic market. Pallia is a member of the Wipro Executive Board.
♦ Dr. Meenesh Shah was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India Ltd. (NCDFI) on 5 April 2024. Previously, Meenesh Shah served as the Chairman of several prestigious institutions, including the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Mother Dairy, IDMC, Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL), National Cooperative Organics Ltd (NCOL), NDDB Dairy Services (NDS), Institute of Rural Management (IRMA), NDDB CALF, NDDB MRIDA, and Anandalaya.
♦ NCDFI is a national-level apex dairy cooperative registered on December 7, 1970, and is governed under the provisions of the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2023. It has 20 Regular Members, 14 Associate Members and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) as its Institutional Member.
England's John Alfred Tinniswood became the world’s oldest living man. Guinness World Records (GWR) confirmed this on 5 April 2024. As of this date, Tinniswood age was 111 years and 223 days old. He was born in 1912 in Merseyside, Northern England. He inherited the Guinness World Records title from Venezuelan Juan Vicente Perez Mora (114) who died on 2 April 2024.
♦ American business magazine Forbes released its "Forbes World's Billionaires List 2024: The Top 200", which features 200 Indians, up from 169 last year. The total wealth of these Indian billionaires is a record $954 billion — up 41 per cent from $675 billion in 2023.
♦ Chairman of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani is at the top of the list in India with a net worth of $116 billion, making him the first Asian to break into the $100 billion club. Ambani retained his position as the ninth richest person in the world and both India's and Asia's richest person.
♦ According to the list, Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group is the second richest Indian, with a net worth of $84 billion.
♦ The richest woman in India is Savitri Jindal, now the fourth richest Indian, up from sixth a year ago. She has a net worth of $33.5 billion.
Here are India's 10 richest people in Forbes World's Billionaires List 2024: The Top 200
♦ Mukesh Ambani — net worth $116 billion
♦ Gautam Adani — net worth $84 billion
♦ Shiva Nadar — net worth $36.9 billion
♦ Savitri Jindal — net worth $33.5 billion
♦ Dilip Shanghvi- net worth $26.7 billion
♦ Cyrus Poonawalla — net worth $21.3 billion
♦ Kushal Pal Singh — net worth $20.9 billion
♦ Kumar Birla — net worth $19.7 billion
♦ Radhakishan Damani — net worth $17.6 billion
♦ Lakshmi Mittal — net worth $16.4 billion
Posted Date: April 3, 2024Santosh Kumar Jha was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd., (KRCL). He is an Indian Railway Traffic Services (IRTS) officer of 1992 batch Jha was the Director (Operations and Commercial) with KRCL, a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways.
♦ Sanjay Nayar took charge as the President of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) for 2024-25 on 2 April 2024. He is the Founder-Chairman of Sorin Investment Fund. He replaced Ajay Singh, Co-Founder of low-cost airline SpiceJet, who has completed his tenure at the apex industry chamber.
♦ Sanjay Nayar also serves as a Non-Executive Director at NYKAA founded by him and his wife Falguni Nayar. Nayar was recently appointed as a non-official member of the Board of Trade, representing the private sector, and is a member of the National Startup Advisory Council.
♦ Lieutenant General JS Sidana assume charge as the 33rd Director General of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (DG EME) and Senior Colonel Commandant of the Corps of EME. He succeeded Lt Gen Tumul Varma. Prior to this appointment, JS Sidana served as the Commandant of the Military College of EME for two years. He also held the position of Master General of EME at HQ Central Command and commanded the Army Base Workshop & EME Centre.
♦ Lieutenant General JS Sidana is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and was commissioned into the Corps of EME from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun on December 14, 1985.
♦ The Corps of Electronics & Mechanical Engineers (EME) holds a rich heritage of innovation and technological advancement. It was originally known as the Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME) during the Second World War, post-independence the Corps evolved and played pivotal roles in various conflicts including the war of 1962, 1965, and 1971 as well as operations such as Op Pawan, Op Meghdoot, Op Vijay, and most recently Op Parakram.
Atul Mehra was appointed as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Axis Capital on 1 April 2024. He succeeded Salil Pitale. Mehra was the joint MD at JM Financial.
♦ Ravi Kota took charge as the 51st Chief Secretary (CS) of Assam state. He is a 1993 batch Assam-Meghalaya cadre IAS officer. Ravi hails from Kotapadu village of Santabommali mandal in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. He took over after the retirement of outgoing Chief Secretary Pabankumar Borthakur.
♦ Kota is the first doctorate holder to take charge as Chief Secretary of Assam. He also hold the additional responsibilities of CS, Industries, Commerce, Public Sector Enterprises, and Additional Special Secretary of Finance.
