Current Affairs : Person
 
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  • The Reserve Bank of India has appointed its former Deputy Governor, R Gandhi, on the board of private sector lender YES Bank as an additional director.
  • "This is to inform you that the RBI. in exercise of powers conferred under sub-section (1) of Section 36AB of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, appointed R Gandhi, Ex Deputy Governor, RBI as Additional Director on the board of the bank for a period of two years with effect from May 14, 2019 to May 13, 2021 or till further orders, whichever is earlier," YES Bank said in a regulatory filing.
  • Welcoming the appointment, it said this will significantly strengthen YES Bank's board composition and the bank will immensely benefit from Gandhi's experience and wisdom.
  • The RBI has the power to appoint additional directors on the board of a bank if it feels it is in the interest of the banking company or its depositors.
  • The move comes after the bank reported a Rs 1,507 crore loss in the fourth quarter of 2018-19. The YES Bank scrip on 15th May fell over 4 per cent on BSE.
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  • GS Lakshmi has become the first female match referee after the International Cricket Council (ICC) named the 51-year-old in its list of elite match officials on 14th May.
  • Earlier this month Australian, Claire Polosak became the first woman to officiate a men's One-Day International (ODI) in the World Cricket League Division 2 finals in Windhoek
  • “We are committed to ensuring greater gender parity among our officials, but all appointments are made purely on merit,” said Adrian Griffith, ICC Senior Manager - Umpires and Referees.
  • Eloise Sheridan of Australia, who was the reserve umpire for two matches in the men's Big Bash League 2018-19, has joined Polosak on the ICC Development Panel of Umpires as its eighth member, the world governing body said.
  • “Elevation is as a result of a thorough evaluation process that identifies the most talented match officials breaking through to an international level,” Griffth added.
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  • ITC Group announced on 13th May managing director Sanjiv Puri will be the company's new chairman and managing director.
  • Puri, 56, was promoted after the death of Y C Deveshwar, ITC's legendary leader, on 11th May.
  • Puri, an alumnus of IIT-Kanpur and Wharton School of Business, has spent his career with ITC, reported the Economic Times on 13th May. He joined the company in 1986 and rose through the ranks like Deveshwar, his mentor
  • Puri, in 2014, was made president of the FMCG businesses, a new position that was created to take overall charge of the entire segment comprising cigarettes, packaged food, personal care, education and stationery products, safety matches and agarbattis, reported Economic Times.
  • "The Board of Directors of the company at the meeting held today appointed Sanjiv Puri, Managing Director, also as the Chairman of the Company with effect from May 13, 2019. Consequently, Puri's new designation is Chairman and Managing Director of the company," ITC said in a regulatory filing.
  • In 2017, ITC had split the role of the Executive Chairman between Chairman and Chief Executive Officer as part of succession planning in the company.
  • Deveshwar, 72, had stepped down from executive role in 2017 but remained as a chairman in non-executive capacity.
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  • Dhruv Patel, who has interests in insurance, pharmacy and property, has become the first Indian-origin chairman of London’s largest independent grant giver after his election to the City of London Corporation’s key committee.
  • The corporation is the governing body of the City of London, the historic financial district spread over a square mile that is home to the Bank of England, stock exchange and a large number of global banks and insurance companies.
  • Patel, an elected member of the corporation since 2013, was elected chairman of the City Bridge Trust Committee, replacing Alison Gowman.
  • The committee is the funding arm of the corporation’s charity, Bridge House Estates, making grants of £20 million a year to tackle disadvantaged communities across the capital.
  • Patel, 35, who founded the City Hindus Network, will lead the delivery of ‘Bridging Divides’, the committee’s five-year funding programme, which will see £100 million distributed to the capital’s charity organisations to help Londoners most in need.
  • Awarded an OBE in 2018 for voluntary service to the British Hindu community and to social cohesion, Patel said: “It is a great privilege to be in the leadership role of one of the UK’s most important supporters of civil society”.
  • “Together we will continue to help give all London’s communities the opportunityto thrive, and give young people, in particular, the best possible start in life.”
  • The City Bridge Trust has awarded nearly 8,000 grants totalling over £400 million since 1995
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  • Indian actress Dia Mirza and Alibaba chief Jack Ma are among the 17 global public figures appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the new advocates to drive action and solidify global political will for the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • The new class of SDG Advocates' are 17 influential public figures "committed to raising awareness, inspiring greater ambition and pushing for faster action on the SDGs, which were adopted by world leaders on September 25, 2015, according to a statement issued by the UN Spokesperson's office.
  • We have the tools to answer the questions posed by climate change, environmental pressure, poverty and inequality.
  • They lie in the great agreements of 2015 - the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change," Guterres said."But tools are no use if you don't use them. So, today, and every day, my appeal is clear and simple.
  • We need action, ambition and political will. More action, more ambition and more political will, said the Secretary-General.
  • Co-Chairs of the Secretary-General's SDG Advocates are President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg.
  • Founder and Executive Chairman of Chinese multinational conglomerate Alibaba Group Jack Ma has been an SDG Advocate since 2016.
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  • Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka was sworn-in as the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court here on 10th May.
  • Karnataka Governor Vajubhai R Vala administered the oath of office to Justice Oka at the Raj Bhavan.
  • "Oka took the oath in English as the new Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court at the Glass House in Raj Bhavan," an official told reporters here.
  • Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, judges of the high court and other dignitaries, including state government officials, were present on the occasion.
  • Justice Oka, 58, of the Bombay High Court, succeeded Justice Dinesh Maheshwari who was elevated as a Supreme Court judge in January.
  • The central government on April 30 notified Oka's appointment by President Ram Nath Kovind on the recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium on April 8.
  • Oka was appointed additional judge of the Bombay High Court in August, 2003 and was made a permanent judge of the same court in November, 2005.
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  • Saaivu Naarkkaali (The Reclining Chair), released in 1995, bagged him the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1997.
  • Noted novelist and Sahitya Akademi awardee Thoppil Mohamed Meeran, 74, died at his residence at Veerabahu Nagar in Pettai near here at around 1.30 a.m. on 10th May.
  • He is survived by his wife Jaleela and two sons Shameem Ahmed and Mirzad Ahmed.
  • Born in the coastal hamlet of Thaengaaipattinam in Kanniyakumari district on September 26, 1944, Mohamed Meeran authored the novels Oru Kadalora Graamaththin Kathai, Thuraimugam, Koonan Thoppu, Saaivu Naarkkaali and Anju Vannam Theru between 1988 and 2011. Of these, Saaivu Naarkkaali (The Reclining Chair), released in 1995, bagged him the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1997.
  • His short story collections Anbukku Muthumai Illai, Thangarasu, Ananthasayanam Colony, Oru Kutti Theevin Varippadam, Thoppil Mohamed Meeran Kathaigal and Oru Maamaramum Konjam Paravaigalum and translations gave him a prominent place in the literary world.
  • In recognition, he received 8 awards including the Sahitya Akademi Award and Tamil Nadu Kalai Ilakkiya Perumantram Award in 1992.
  • “His mastery over both Tamil and Malayalam was amazing as he could use both the languages in his novels effortlessly.
  • The speciality of all his literary works is that his novels lucidly narrated the fisherfolk’s life with finer and intricate details in Tamil laced with Malayalam, the slang found only in Kanniyakumari district,” Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Vaiko said in his condolence message.
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  • Renowned academician Dr N R Madhava Menon, pioneer of Indian legal education, died at a private hospital here due to age-related ailments, family sources said 8th May.
  • The Padmashri recipient was 84 and survived by wife and son.
  • "He was undergoing treatment for the past one week for age-related ailments at a private hospital here. He left us around 11.30 PM yesterday," a source close to the family told PTI.
  • The last rites of Menon were held at Shanti Kavadam, public crematorium here 8th May with full state honours.
  • Neelakanta Ramakrishna Madhava Menon revolutionised the field of legal education by setting up among others, the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, besides conceptualising the five year LLB course in place of the three year course.
  • Known as the Father of modern legal education in India, Menon, who was born in 1935, obtained his BSc and BL degrees from Kerala University after which he enrolled as an Advocate in Kerala High Court in 1956 at the age of 21.
  • After completing his MA from Punjab University, and LLM and PhD from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Menon moved to academics and joined the AMU as a faculty in 1960.Later he moved to Delhi University in 1965 and headed the prestigious Campus Law Centre.
  • In 1986, Menon shifted to Bengaluru at the invitation of Bar Council of India to set up NLSIU and served as its Founding Vice-Chancellor for 12 years.
  • Later, the West Bengal government headed by the late Jyothi Basu invited him to establish a similar law school in Kolkata.
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  • India scored another victory at the United Nations 7th May when Jagjit Pavadia was re-elected to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) for another term, posting the highest tally of 44.
  • Next were the candidates fielded by Morocco and Paraguay with 32 and 31 votes respectively. Voting was on till the filing of this report, with two more members remaining to be elected. There were in all 15 candidates competing for 5 seats.
  • Pavadia has been a member of the International Narcotics Control Board since 2015, and second vice-president and chair of the standing committee on estimates since 2015 and 2017.
  • The INCB says its a is an independent, quasi-judicial expert body established in 1968 as a monitoring body for the implementation of the United Nations international drug control conventions.
  • “Thanks to the support extended by many friends of India,” Syed Akbaruddin, permanent representatives to the United Nations, wrote on Twitter, announcing Pavadia’s victory.
  • It has 13 members, each elected for a period of five years.. “Once they have been elected, INCB members serve impartially in their personal capacity, independently of Governments,” says the INCB website.
  • India has been on roll at UN elections in recent year, including the most celebrated re-election of Dalveer Bhandari to the International Court of Justice in 2017, beating the UK nominee in a testimony to India’s growing clout globally.
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  • Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has been appointed as the first non-British president of the Marylebone Cricket Club.
  • The wicketkeeper-batsman, whose nomination was announced by current president Anthony Wreford on 1st May, will begin his one-year tenure in October.
  • The 41-year-old, who is already an honorary life member of MCC and has sat on its influential world cricket committee for the past seven years, said: “It is a huge honour to be named the next president of MCC and it is a role that I am thoroughly looking forward to.
  • “For me, MCC is the greatest cricket club in the world, with its global reach and continued progress for cricket on and off the pitch.”
  • MCC, which owns Lord's and acts as the guardian of the laws of the game, was founded in 1787 and lists 168 presidents in its history.
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  • Former ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar was Thursday conferred with France's highest civilian award - Chevalier de l'Ordre national de la Lgion d'Honneur - for his contribution to India-France space cooperation.
  • According to an official statement, on behalf of the President of France, Ambassador of France to India, Alexandre Ziegler conferred Kumar with the highest civilian honour of France.
  • Jean-Yves Le Gall, Chairman of CNES, the French space agency, was present at the special investiture ceremony held at the Residence of France here, it said.
  • "France's highest civilian honour comes in recognition of A S Kiran Kumar's invaluable contribution to the development of India-France space cooperation," the statement said.
  • Throughout his career at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), including as its chairman from 2015 to 2018, Kumar fostered the historic and ambitious space cooperation between India and France.
  • He directly contributed to making it cooperation of peoples as well as one of the cornerstones of Indo-French strategic partnership, it said.
  • Created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Ordre national de la Lgion d'Honneur (National Order of the Legion of Honour) is the highest civilian award given by the French for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipient.
  • The President of the French Republic is the Grand Master of the Ordre national de la Lgion d'Honneur
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  • Former Army chief Dalbir Singh Suhag has been appointed as India's next high commissioner to Seychelles, a country which is of strategic importance to India in the Indian Ocean region.
  • "He is expected to take up the assignment shortly," the Ministry of External Affairs said while making the announcement.
  • General (retired) Suhag was the Army chief from July 31, 2014, to December 31, 2016. He was also part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka in 1987.
  • His appointment as Indian High Commissioner to Seychelles comes amid deepening military ties between India and the island nation.
  • India is developing Assumption Island in Seychelles as a naval base to expand its footprint in the strategically-key region where China has been trying to enhance its military presence.
  • An agreement to develop the island was inked in 2015 between India and Seychelles.
  • In June last year, Seychelles President Danny Faure visited India during which both countries agreed to work together on the Assumption Island project.
  • Before his visit to India, there were reports from the island nation that it was cancelling the pact with New Delhi to develop the naval base in Assumption island.
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  • Twitter India on 22th April appointed Manish Maheshwari, former CEO of Network18 Digital, as Managing Director for the country operations nearly eight months after its Country Director Taranjeet Singh quit.
  • Balaji Krish, who has been leading Twitter India’s team in the interim, will return to Twitter’s global headquarters in San Francisco to resume his role as Global Head of Revenue Strategy and Operations at Twitter.
  • Reporting to Maya Hari, Twitter’s Vice President and Managing Director of Asia Pacific, Maheshwari will be responsible for driving an integrated business strategy to accelerate Twitter’s audience and revenue growth in the country, the company said in a statement.
  • Based out of Delhi, he will oversee Twitter India’s teams in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, starting from April 29.
  • “India is one of our fastest growing audience markets for Twitter in the world and our purpose is to serve the public conversation in India. We are thrilled to have Manish join us at this important time to take our Indian business to the next level,” said Hari.
  • Prior to Network18, Maheshwari held various positions at Flipkart, txtWeb, Intuit, McKinsey and P&G.
  • “With premium Indian content on the rise in multiple regions across the country, I believe we are scratching the surface of what’s possible with Twitter in India,” said Maheshwari
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  • Professor Najma Akhtar was Thursday appointed as the first woman vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, making her the first woman to hold the charge.
  • In exercise of powers conferred under Statutes of Jamia Millia Islamia Act, 1988, the President of India, in his capacity as the Visitor of the JMI, has been pleased to appoint Prof Najma Akhtar, NIEPA, New Delhi as the vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, for a period of five years, an official order said.
  • The other persons, who were shortlisted by the government for the post were S M Ishtiaque of IIT-Delhi and Furqan Qamar, currently the secretary-general of Association of Universities.Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla is the chancellor of the varsity.
  • The varsity had been functioning without a VC after Talat Ahmad resigned from the post last year to join as the head of Kashmir University.
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  • Najma Akhtar, who was the head of the department of educational administration at NIEPA, specialises in institution building, distance education, education of minority and educational decentralization
  • Jamia Millia Islamia got its first woman vice-chancellor as President Ram Nath Kovind has approved the name of Najma Akhtar for the post on Thursday, April 11.
  • “In exercise of powers conferred under Statutes of Jamia Millia Islamia Act,1988, the President of India, in his capacity as the Visitor of the JMI, has been pleased to appoint Prof. Najma Akhtar, NIEPA, New Delhi as the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, for a period of five years,” mentioned the varsity release.
  • An internationally renowned educational administrator, Najma Akhtar has four decades of academic scholarship in educational leadership.
  • She is known for spearheading international educational administrators’ course for senior officials from 130 countries for more than 15 years at NIEPA.
  • She has established and successfully developed first state-level management institute (SIEMET) at Allahabad for developing educational administrators for the country.
  • She has managed affairs of premier educational institute in various critical statutory positions such as Controller of examination and Director Academic Programs at Aligarh Muslim University.
  • At IGNOU, she led many distance educators capacity building courses at national and international level
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  • Senior US Treasury official David Malpass selected as World Bank President. Mr. Malpass was a senior economic adviser to the U.S. President during his 2016 election campaign.
  • Senior US Treasury official David Malpass has been selected as President of the World Bank.
  • The World Bank's executive board unanimously selected 63-year-old Malpass as the bank's 13th President for a five-year term last night.
  • The World Bank President is Chair of Boards of Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and International Development Association.
  • Malpass has served on the boards of the Council of the Americas, Economic Club of New York, and the National Committee on US-China Relations.
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  • Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, finalized the biggest divorce settlement in history on 4th April, leaving him with 75 per cent of their stock in the tech giant and giving her nearly $36 billion in shares.
  • MacKenzie Bezos said she would give all of her stake in The Washington Post and the space exploration firm Blue Origin to her husband the world’s richest man as well as voting control of her remaining Amazon stock.
  • Jeff Bezos, 55, and MacKenzie, 48, a novelist, married in 1993 and have four children. Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in their Seattle garage in 1994 and turned it into a colossus that dominates online retail.
  • In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Amazon, which has a market capitalization of some $890 billion, said MacKenzie Bezos will control four percent of the company’s outstanding common stock.
  • At Amazon’s current share price that would be worth some $35.6 billion.
  • According to Forbes magazine, the divorce settlement makes MacKenzie Bezos the third wealthiest woman in the world after L’Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers and Walmart’s Alice Walton.
  • Jeff Bezos, who now owns 12 percent of Amazon, remains the world’s richest man and the largest shareholder in the company with an estimated fortune of $110 billion, Forbes said, ahead of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett.
  • Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos announced their separation in January and posted Twitter messages on 4th April revealing the divorce settlement.
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  • The All India Football Federation President Praful Patel is set to become first Indian to be elected as a member in the FIFA Executive Council for a four-year term.
  • According to AIFF sources, Patel is all but sure to be a part of the five FIFA Council members from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) when the regional body holds its elections in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on April 6.
  • The election will be for the term 2019 to 2023 and will be held during the 29th AFC Congress.
  • “Out of eight candidates, five will be selected and Patel is sure to be one of them. He has 90 per cent chance of becoming a FIFA Executive Council member. It will be the first time an Indian will be in the top committee of the world body,” a top AIFF official said.
  • December 6, 2018 was the deadline for the member associations to submit their nominations.
  • The AFC Electoral Committee carried out eligibility checks on the candidates running for the positions and the FIFA Review Committee conducted eligibility checks on candidates running for FIFA Council positions
  • The AFC Electoral Committee will be responsible for all tasks relating to the organisation, running and supervision of the elections.
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  • Riding a wave of public fury over corruption, liberal lawyer Zuzana Caputova won Slovakia's presidential election, bucking a trend that has seen populist, anti-European Union politicians make gains across the continent.
  • Caputova, a pro-EU political novice who will be the euro zone country's first female president, had 58.3 percent of the votes after results from 98.1 percent of voting districts were counted, ahead of European commissioner Maros Sefcovic who took 41.7 percent.
  • Caputova, who was the front runner having won the first round more than 20 percentage points ahead of Sefcovic, campaigned to end what she calls the capture of the state "by people pulling strings from behind," a message that opinion polls show resonates with younger, educated voters.
  • The 45-year old member of a liberal non-parliamentary Progressive Slovakia party which she pledged to leave if elected has been endorsed by opposition parties and a junior party in the ruling coalition that represents the ethnic Hungarian minority, as well as outgoing President Andrej Kiska.
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  • The first woman to win the Afghan version of American Idol says she will fight the Taliban with her music, embracing a victory rich in symbolism as her country faces an uncertain future
  • Zahra Elham won the 14th edition of Afghan Star last week, after male contestants took the prize in the hugely popular televised singing competition 13 years in a row.
  • Elham, from Afghanistan’s ethnic Hazara minority, enchanted audiences with her high-pitched, raspy voice, performing Hazara and Persian folk music in traditional loose, colourful Afghan dresses and heels.
  • The result made international headlines at a time when many women in the deeply patriarchal country fear their hard-won rights may come under threat as Washington, seeking a way out of the war, holds talks with the Taliban.
  • Elham, who spoke to AFP in an interview at private television channel Tolo, which produces Afghan Star, appeared taken aback by her new fame more than a week on but determined to use it to inspire other girls.
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  • Government on 23rd march appointed Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, as the next Chief of Naval Staff
  • Singh will succeed Admiral Sunil Lanba who retires on May 31. Karambir Singh Belongs to Jalandhar in Punjab. He is a Helicopter Pilot and has flown Chetaks and Kamovs.
  • He has commanded four ships at various stages of his career.
  • At present, Vice Admiral Singh is serving as the Flag Officer Commanding in Chief of the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam.
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  • BJP MLA Pramod Sawant has been sworn- in as the new Chief Minister of Goa. Governor Mridula Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to Sawant.
  • The Governor also administered oath to 11 other ministers including Sudin Dhavalikar of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and Vijai Sardesai of Goa. Forward Party MGP and GFP are allies of the BJP-led Goa government.
  • The swearing-in ceremony took place at Raj Bhavan in Dona Paula.
  • The new government was sworn-in with the support of 20 MLAs, including 11 from the BJP and three each from GFP, MGP and Independents.
  • Before taking oath as the Chief Minister, Sawant resigned from the post of Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly.
  • Later Talking to reporters, Sawant credited Manohar Parrikar for brining him into politics.Sawant said his party BJP has given him a big responsibility.
  • Newly sworn in Chief Minister sawant is a farmer and an ayurvedic doctor by profession.
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  • Manohar Parrikar was 17th chief minister in the country and second in Goa who died while still in office.
  • Parrikar, 63, a former defence minister, died on Sunday at his private residence in Dona Paula near the state capital after battling a pancreatic cancer for over last year.
  • Before Parrikar, Dayanand Bandokar, the leader of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), died in August 1973 while occupying the post.
  • He had swept the polls in 1963 to become the first chief minister of Goa. Under his leadership, the party swept the 1967 and 1972 polls in the state.The MGP is currently an ally of the BJP in the state.
  • Tamil Nadu witnessed deaths of three sitting chief ministers. The first one was C N Annadurai, a mentor to future chief ministers of the state.
  • Under his leadership, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) defeated the Congress in the 1967 assembly polls. The Congress has been out of power in the state since then. Annadurai died just two years after being in the office.
  • The legendary thespian M G Ramachandran, and the founder of All Indian Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) also died while in office in December 1987.
  • Ramchandran’s protege and AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa won the assembly polls for the fourth time in May 2016. However, her tenure was short-lived as she died in December 2016
  • Chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir Sheikh Abdullah and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed died while they were in office.
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  • Former Supreme Court judge Pinaki Chandra Ghose is likely to be the first Lokpal of the country, officials in the know of developments said.
  • Justice PC Ghose’s name was cleared by the selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, and senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi.
  • Justice Ghose’s name was among the top 10 names that was shortlisted by the Lokpal Search Committee.
  • After retiring in May 2017 from the Supreme Court, Justice Ghose joined the National Human Rights Commission.
  • Justice Ghose is a former judge of Calcutta high court and has also served as the former chief justice of Andhra Pradesh high court.
  • Jutice Ghose’s appointment has come nearly five years after the Lokpal Act was notified on January 16, 2014. The law provides for a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states to probe cases of corruption against public servants.
  • The Supreme Court, while hearing a PIL filed by NGO Common Cause, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, in a hearing on January 4, this year, had urged the government to appoint a Lokpal at the earliest, saying “much time has elapsed, something needs to be done”.
  • In a letter to the PM, he wrote that he would attend the meeting only after relevant changes are effected in the law. He had also hit out at the Modi government for not amending the Lokpal Act to facilitate the participation of the opposition in the Lokpal’s selection process.
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  • IT czar Azim Premji has earmarked economic benefits of about 34 per cent of his shares in Wipro, worth Rs 52,750 crore, for his foundation involved in philanthropy, according to a statement.
  • With this, the total value of the endowment corpus, which supports Azim Premji Foundation’s philanthropic activities, contributed by Premji has swelled to a staggering Rs 1.45 lakh crore, which includes 67 per cent of economic ownership of Wipro Ltd, it said.
  • Wipro Chairman Premji, who is also the chairman of Azim Premji Foundation, announced on Wednesday that he has increased his commitment to philanthropy, by irrevocably renouncing more of his personal assets and earmarking them to the endowment corpus.
  • “He has done this (contribution) by additionally earmarking all economic benefits for philanthropic purposes, in approximately 34 per cent of the shares in Wipro Limited (current market value Rs 52,750 crore), held by certain entities controlled by him,” according to the statement by the Azim Premji Foundation.
  • This is in addition to his earlier donations to philanthropy, which included Wipro’s shares, as well as other assets owned by him.
  • The promoter holding in Bengaluru-based IT services giant Wipro Ltd stood at 74.3 per cent as on December 2018.
  • The Azim Premji Foundation works in education in the country and supports other not-for-profit organisations working in some specific areas through multi-year financial grants.
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