Current Affairs April 2019 - Appointments

1 - Zuzana Caputova becomes Slovakia's first female president

Liberal lawyer Zuzana Caputová won Slovakia's Presidential election, becoming the country's first female head of state.

A member of the Progressive Slovakia party, Caputová won 58.3% votes after results from 98.1% of the voting districts were counted.

Caputová defeated European Commission Vice President, Maroš Šefcovic, who was backed by the ruling party, SMER-SD.

She is due to be sworn in on 15 of June.

Caputova will now become Slovakia's fifth president since its independence in the 1993 split of Czechoslovakia.

Slovakia becomes the eighth country in the European Union to currently have a woman in power.

About Slovakia

Capital: Bratislava

Currency: Euro

Official language: Slovak

2 - Mahesh Singh is appointed the Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area

National Defence Academy, Rear Admiral Mahesh Singh takes charge as the Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area.

Mahesh Singh is a post graduate from Defence Services Staff College and he headed Navigation and Direction School at Kochi and the Maritime Warfare Centre at Vishakhapatnam.

He was commissioned into the Indian Navy in January 1987.

3 - ECI appoints Viswajeet as Intelligence Chief for AP

The Election Commission of India appointed Additional Director-General of Police Kumar Viswajeet as Intelligence Chief for Andhra Pradesh. A 1994 batch IPS officer, Mr. Viswajeet, is presently Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh State Level Police Recruitment Board (APSLPRB). He will take charge immediately.

The top post fell vacant with the Election Commission transferring former Intelligence DG, A.B. Venkateswara Rao.

The Intelligence wing plays a key role in guiding the police and the election authorities on mobilisation of forces in critical and cut-off villages.

Election Commission of India (ECI)

ECI is responsible for administering election processes in India
Formed: 25 January 1950
Headquarters: New Delhi
Chief Election Commissioner: Sunil Arora
Election Commissioner: Ashok Lavasa

4 - Manu Sawhney took over as ICC Chief Executive with immediate effect

India-born Manu Sawhney, the ex-CEO of Singapore Sports Hub and ex-Managing Director of ESPN Star Sports, has been working alongside the outgoing Chief Executive David Richardson for last six weeks to ensure a smooth transition.

Richardson will remain with the International Cricket Council (ICC) until July to oversee the delivery of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019.

5 - Eicher Motors Ltd. Vinod K.Dasari as the CEO of Royal Enfield

Eicher Motors Ltd. has appointed Vinod K. Dasari as the Chief Executive Officer of Royal Enfield. He will also join the board of Eicher Motors as executive director with immediate effect.

Mr. Dasari stepped down as MD and CEO of Ashok Leyland on March 31. He takes over from Siddhartha Lal, who will continue as the MD of Eicher Motors.

The company also plans to invest Rs.700 crore in capital expenditure for 2019-20. The planned expenditure will include completion of construction work of the Technology Centre, Phase-2 of the Vallam Vadagal plant in Tamil Nadu and towards the development of new platforms and products.

6 - Rakesh Malhotra next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Cameroon

Shri Rakesh Malhotra, Who was a Consul General, Consulate General of India, Melbourne appointed as the High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Cameroon.

About Cameroon

Capital: Yaounde
Currency: Central African CFA franc (XAF)
President: Paul Biya
Prime Minister: Joseph Ngute

7 - Vipin Anand assumed charge as new Managing Director of LIC

Vipin Anand was appointed as the Managing Director of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), by the government last month.

He was instrumental in setting up LIC's operations in Singapore and Bangladesh.

He served more than 35 years in LIC.

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) executive board comprises of one chairman and four managing directors (MDs).

The government appointed MR Kumar as the Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and TC Suseel Kumar as the managing director (MD) on March 13.

About LIC

LIC - Life Insurance Corporation of India
It is the largest insurance company in India.
Headquarters: Mumbai
Founded: 1 September 1956
Owner: Government of India

8 - Former Bollywood Actress, Mayoori Kango appointed as the Industry Head of Google India

She will lead Google engagement with Publicis (Parent Company of Performics) and DAN.

Before joining Google India, Mayoori has worked as a Managing Director in Performics, which is part of Publicis Groupe.

She has been instrumental in engaging and retaining accounts of firms like Uber, Airtel and Nestle.

9 - American David Malpass selected as the new President of the World Bank

David Malpass is currently US Treasury Department's Under Secretary for International Affairs.

He was a senior economic adviser to US President Donald Trump during his 2016 election campaign.

The 63-year-old, nominated by Trump, was the only candidate for the job.

Malpass succeeds Jim Yong-kim, who stepped down on February 1 to join an investment firm.

Kristalina Georgieva, chief executive officer of the bank, has been acting as the interim President.

10 - Nasscom appoints Keshav Murugesh as CEO

IT industry body Nasscom has appointed WNS Global Services Group CEO Keshav Murugesh as its chairman for 2019-20. He takes over from his previous role as vice-chairman of Nasscom. He succeeds Rishad Premji (Wipro chief strategy officer and board member).

Nasscom has appointed Infosys COO U.B. Pravin Rao as its vice-chairman for 2019-20.

11 - Vikram Kirloskar appointed as CIIs president

Vikram Kirloskar, CMD of Kirloskar Systems Ltd., and vice-chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor has assumed office as President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 2019-20. He takes over from Rakesh Bharti Mittal, vice-chairman, Bharti Enterprises.

Uday Kotak, founder and MD & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, is the president-designate of CII for 2019-20. T.V. Narendran, CEO & MD of Tata Steel Limited, takes over as CII vice-president for 2019-20.

12 - Praful Patel becomes 1^st Indian to be elected as member of FIFA Executive Council

Praful Patel is the current president of All India Football Federation (AIFF).

He got 38 out of 46 votes.

His membership in the council will be for four years, from 2019 to 2023. Patel was accompanied by AIFF general secretary Kushal Das and senior vice-president Subrata Datta.

FIFA Council member election was held during the 29^th Asian Football Confederations (AFC) Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

About FIFA Council

FIFA - Fédération Internationale de Football Association
It is the governing body of association football.
Headquarters: Zurich, Switzerland
President: Gianni Infantino
Senior Vice President: Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa

13 - Graham Reid appointed as chief coach of India men's hockey team

Reid was part of the silver-medal winning Australian team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Reid's appointment till the end of 2020 was ratified after Hockey India received necessary clearance from the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

India had been without a chief coach since Harendra Singh was sacked after last year's World Cup.

Reid will be in charge of the team during their next international assignment -- tour to Australia in May 2019.

About Hockey India

Founded: 2009
Affiliation: International Hockey Federation (FIH)
Headquarters: New Delhi, India
President: Mohammad Mushtaq Ahmed
India men's hockey team Captain: Manpreet Singh
Manager: Arjun Halappa
FIH ranking: 5 (16 December 2018)

14 - SUN Group chairman Vikramjit Sahney elected as president of ICC India

SUN Group Chairman Vikramjit Singh Sahney elected as the new president of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) - India.

He will succeed Jawahar Vadivelu.

About ICC

The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its 6 million members in over 100 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise.

ICC has three main activities: rule setting, dispute resolution, and policy advocacy.
Founded: 1919
Headquarters: Paris, France
Motto: We make business work for everyone,everyday, everywhere.

15 - Benjamin Netanyahu elected for 5^th term as Israel's Prime Minister

Netanyahu defeated centrist ex-military chief Benny Gantz, whose nascent Blue and White party emerged as a viable alternative to Netanyahu's decade in power.

With over 97% votes counted, Netanyahu's Likud party tied with the Blue and White party, winning 35 seats each in the 120-member Knesset.

Netanyahu's victory came amid allegations of corruption against him and his wife.

His campaign has focused heavily on his friendship with President Donald Trump and his success in cultivating new allies, such as China, India and Brazil.

About Benjamin Netanyahu

He is the first Israeli Prime Minister born in Israel after the establishment of the state.

He is the Chairman of the Likud party.

He became the leader of Likud in 1993 and won the 1996 elections, becoming Israel's youngest-ever Prime Minister, serving his first term from June 1996 to July 1999. About Israel;

Capital: Jerusalem
Currency: Israeli new shekel
Population: 87.1 lakhs (2017) World Bank
President: Reuven Rivlin
Parliament called: Knesset

16 - Algeria MPs elect Abdelkader Bensalah as first new president in 20 years

Abdelkader Bensalah was appointed president for a three-month transitional period after weeks of mass protests led to the resignation of long-serving former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on April 2.

Algeria's newly appointed interim President Abdelkader Bensalah announced the election would be held on July 4 to vote for a new president.

However, the 77-year-old Bensalah is barred under the constitution from running in the upcoming election.

About Algeria

Capital: Algiers
Currency: Algerian dinar
Continent: Africa
Prime Minister: Noureddine Bedoui

17 - Nitin Chugh likely to be appointed as MD & CEO of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank

Nitin Chugh, digital banking head of private sector lender HDFC Bank, is likely to succeed Samit Ghosh, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank. Mr.Ghosh, who is also the founder of Ujjivan SFB, will retire in November 2019.

The Bengaluru-based small finance bank has already applied to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for approval to appoint Mr.Chugh as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Mr.Chugh has over 23 years of experience.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank

Type: Small finance bank
Industry: Banking, Financial services
Founded 1: February 2017
Founder: Samit Ghosh
Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka
Non-Exe Chairman: Sunil Patel
MD & CEO: Samit Ghosh

18 - Jean Michel Lapin elected as Haiti's new prime minister

Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise announced that Jean Michel Lapin, who once served as a courier in the public administration, to be the new prime minister of the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.

He succeeds Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant.

The former culture and communications minister, Lapin was named acting prime minister on March 21.

Lapin is the third head of government under President Moise, since he came to office in February 2017.

The formation of a new government in Haiti is an International Monetary Fund (IMF) pre-requisite for the disbursement of the first tranche of a US$229 million loan to Haiti.

In 2018, Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, had a record US$290 million deficit, while its national budget was estimated at US$1.8 billion.

About Haiti

Capital: Port-au-Prince
Currency: Haitian gourde
Continent: North America

19 - Murali Kartik named as the new brand ambassador of Fantasy 11

Funtasy11, a fantasy sports platform, has roped in former Indian cricketer Murali Kartik as its brand ambassador.

Fantasy Gaming Space is rapidly growing and is expected to reach 100 million users by 2020.

Karthik was the ‘Official Fan Management Partner’ for the recently conducted Premier Badminton league.

Before Karthik, appointment of brand ambassadors made by famous online gaming industries are listed below −

Dream 11 - MS Dhoni
CricPlay - Gautam Gambhir
HalaPlay - Hardik Pandya and his brother Krunal
Fantain - Suresh Raina
Fanmojo - Prithvi Shaw

20 - Jamia Millia Islamia gets its First Woman Vice-Chancellor

The Ministry of Human Resources and Development issued a statement about appointing Professor Najma Akhtar as vice–chancellor of Jamia Millia Islam about

Professor Najma Akhtar as vice–chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMI) by the President of India.

She is appointed for a period of five years.

Professor Najma Akhtar will be the first woman to hold the post.

Professor Najma Akhtar is a gold medallist from Aligarh Muslim University.

She has a PhD in Education from Kurukshetra University.

Professor Najma Akhtar a Commonwealth Fellow for University.

21 - Gargi Kaul appointed as Secretary of Defence Finance

The Central government appointed Gargi Kaul as Secretary, Defence Finance. She is a 1984-batch officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS).

About Defence Ministry

Formed: 1776 (as Military Department), 1947(as Ministry of Defence)
Headquarters: New Delhi
Minister: Nirmala Sitharaman
Deputy Minister: Dr.Subhash Ramrao Bhamre
It is responsible for coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Indian armed forces

22 - New Palestinian government sworn in a second time after botched oath

Palestine’s New Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtayeh, a veteran peace negotiator and harsh critic of Gaza’s Hamas rulers, and his 22-member cabinet took the oath of office a second time, on April 14, 2019.

The ministers neglected to include a clause pledging faithfulness “to the people and its national heritage” during ceremony on April 13.

The 18^th Palestinian government since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1995 was sworn in according to a presidential decree issued by Mahmoud Abbas.

The new Cabinet replaces a technocratic government formed by Rami Hamdallah in 2014 after an agreement between Fatah and Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has run the Gaza Strip after ousting Fatah and evicting the Palestinian Authority in 2007.

Ishtayeh faces challenges, with the Palestinian Authority in a deep financial crisis after U.S. sanctions and Israel's decision to withhold $138 million in tax revenue it collects on behalf of the Palestinians.

23 - Ajay Kumar Dixit appointed as CEO of Cairn Oil

Cairn Oil & Gas, a division of Vedanta Ltd, has announced the appointment of Ajay Kumar Dixit as its Chief Executive Officer. Dixit succeeds Sudhir Mathur, who after seven successful years with the company, moves on to pursue personal endeavors.

Dixit had joined Vedanta in 2015 from Siemens where he was CEO-Energy for South Asia. He is an alumni of Delhi College of Engineering and had served as the acting CEO of Vedanta’s Aluminium and Power business before being elevated to this new role.

The company expects that his leadership will support Cairn’s vision to realize the full potential of Barmer block, grow the offshore business and appraisal of new blocks under OALP I and discovered small fields (DSF-II).

24 - redBus appoints Mahendra Singh Dhoni as brand ambassador

Bus ticketing platform redBus has appointed cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its brand ambassador.

The cricketer will appear in a hockey player avatar in his first cameo for the brand, slated to be launched soon.

Dhoni’s brand endorsement deals can be in the range of ? 3-10 crore.

At present, Dhoni is the brand ambassador of sports firm Dream11, Colgate, MasterCard, Orient Fans, BharatMatrimony, Indigo Paints, SRMB Steel, and health supplement brand Revital H.

Recently, Fantasy sports platform HalaPlay Technologies has appointed cricketers Krunal and Hardik Pandya as its brand ambassadors.

About Redbus

redBus, which started in 2006, works with over 2500 bus operators’ and claims to have sold more than 180 million bus tickets till date.

redBus is a part of the MakeMyTrip group and the platform claims to have a customer base of around 20 million users.

CEO: Prakash Sangam

Headquarters: Bengaluru

25 - PwC India names Padmaja Alaganandan as chief people officer, Jagjit Singh steps down

PwC India announced the appointment of Padmaja Alaganandan as the firm’s new Chief People Officer (CPO).

She takes over the role from Jagjit Singh.

Padmaja associated with PwC for the last eight years.

She was the Technology sector lead for PwC’s Advisory Line of Service.

The leader of the firm’s People and Organisation Consulting practice.

Before joining PwC in 2011, Padmaja worked in leadership roles in different organisations such as Mercer Consulting and AF Ferguson.

She is a member of CII’s National HR Committee and the Committee on Skill Development.

Padmaja was inducted into the firm’s leadership team.

26 - Shri N. Kashinath designated as Member (Signal & Telecom) of Railway Board

Shri N. Kashinath took over as Member (Signal & Telecom) of Railway Board.

He was associated with Train Describer Project, Survey for the Mobile Train Radio Communication in Northeast Frontier Railway,

Shri N. Kashinath belongs to the 1980 Batch of the Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE).

Industry: Rail transport
Founded: 8 May 1845 (173 years ago)[1]
Headquarters: New Delhi, India
Key people: Piyush Goyal (Minister of Railways)
Vinod Kumar Yadav (Chairman, Railway Board)

27 - Ravinder Kumar Passi appointed as a new Chairman of Export Promotion Council for Handicraft (EPCH)

Export Promotion Council for Handicraft (EPCH) board appointed Ravinder Kumar Passi (previously a vice chairman of EPCH), to the post of Chairman of EPCH.

He will take charge for the post of Chairman shortly from his predecessor O P Prahladka.

Ravinder Kumar Passi served EPCH in various important position including the post of chairman during 2001-2002.

About Export Promotion Council for Handicraft (EPCH)

EPCH is a non-profit organisation, established under Companies Act of 1956 in the year 1986-97.

28 - Twitter appoints Manish Maheshwari as new India MD

Manish Maheshwari, who previously served as the CEO of Network18 Digital, takes over the new role from April 29.

Prior to Network18, Maheshwari has worked with Flipkart, txtWeb, Intuit, McKinsey and P&G.

Manish will be responsible for driving an integrated business strategy to accelerate Twitter’s audience and revenue growth in the country, overseeing Twitter India’s teams in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

He will be based in Delhi.

Manish will report to Maya Hari, Twitter’s vice president and managing director of Asia Pacific.

The appointment comes amid growing concerns over spread of misinformation on social media platforms across the world, including India.

India is among one of the biggest markets for internet companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter, given the large base of young population.

Twitter, which has over 30 million users in India (according to statista.com), had appointed Krish as an interim country head.

29 - Dalbir Singh appointed as Indias High Commissioner to Seychelles

Former Indian Army Chief General (Retired) Dalbir Singh Suhag was appointed as India's High Commissioner to the island nation Seychelles on April 25, 2019. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly.

Dalbir Singh

He was the Army Chief from August 1, 2014 to December 31, 2016. He was also part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka in 1987.

India-Seychelles relations

The diplomatic ties were established with Seychelles, after its independence, with India in 1976. In 2015, Seychelles agreed to allocate land on Assumption Island for India to build its first naval base in the Indian Ocean region.

India has also extended a USD 100 million line of credit and decided to gift a Dornier aircraft to Seychelles. There has also been a high-level exchange of visits between both nations.

According to the estimates of the Ministry of External Affairs, India exported goods worth USD 101.16 million and imported goods worth USD 0.548 million from Seychelles during January to October 2017. In 2017, India stood at 8^th position by way of exports to Seychelles.

About Seychelles

Capital: Victoria
Official languages: English
President: Danny Faure
Vice President: Vincent Meriton
Currency: Seychellois Rupee (SCR)

30 - President Sirisena appointed General S.H.S Kottegoda as the Defence Secretary

President Maithripala Sirisena on 29^th April appointed General S.H.S Kottegoda, a former Army commander, to the post of Defence Secretary. He replaces Hemasiri Fernando who resigned from the post after the Easter blasts that killed over 250 people.

President Sirisena also named Deputy Inspector-General Chandana Wickramaratne as the acting police chief as the incumbent Pujith Jayasundara is currently on compulsory leave. President Sirisena squarely blamed the Defence Secretary and the IGP for failing to pass on the information to him.

As per Sri Lankan law, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) can be removed from the post only with a parliamentary resolution backed by a majority and based on a subsequent inquiry by a committee.