- Current Affairs August 2020
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Current Affairs August 2020 - Appointments
1 - ICRA appointed N. Sivaraman as MD and Group CEO
Domestic Rating Agency ICRA has appointed N Sivaraman as its Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer. He has rich experience of leading and transforming businesses, firmly putting those businesses on the path of growth and profitability. Prior to the appointment, he has been with L&T for over 34 years.
ICRA Group plays a critical role in the Indian capital market with its analytical views, independent rating opinions and data and analytics.
2 - Hardik Satishchandra Shah appointed as new Private Secretary to PM Modi
Hardik Satishchandra Shah, a 2010 batch IAS officer was appointed as Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prior to this appointment, he was serving as Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). Therefore he has been appointed on co-terminus basis.
Hardik Satishchandra Shah has experience of handling post of Private Secretary to Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar.
3 - Sashidhar Jagdishan to be new CEO of HDFC Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Sashidhar Jagdishan as the next Chief Executive Officer of HDFC Bank for three years. He will take over from Aditya Puri. Mr. Puri will retire by October 2020.
Jagdishan currently holds the position of Additional Director and Head of Finance, HR. He was appointed as Chief Financial Officer in 2008, and was replaced by Srinivasan Vaidyanathan in 2019. Jagdishan joined the bank in 1996 as a Manager in the finance function.
4 - Government extended SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi's term for another 18 months
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved an extension of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman Ajay Tyagi's term of appointment by 18 months. His current tenure was due to end on August 31, 2020.
Mr. Tyagi is an IAS Officer of the 1984-batch Himachal Pradesh cadre. He had earlier been granted a six-month extension ahead of the expiry of his three-year tenure on March 1, 2020. Tyagi took over as SEBI chief in 2017.
5 - Dr. Pradeep Kumar Joshi took oath as Chairman of UPSC
Dr. Pradeep Kumar Joshi took oath as Chairman of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Joshi will have tenure till April 4, 2022. Prof. Joshi joined the Commission as a member in the year 2015. Prior to joining the UPSC, he was the chairman of the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission and the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission.
Prof. Joshi served as Director of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration. During his career, Dr. Joshi taught more than 28 years at post-graduation level and held many important positions in various policy making, academic and administrative bodies.
6 - Girish Chandra Murmu appointed as new CAG of India
President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Girish Chandra Murmu as the new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Murmu was the Lt. Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He will succeed Rajiv Mehrishi.
Murmu is a 1985-batch IAS officer and was the first Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He has served as Expenditure Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. He also served as Principal Secretary to Narendra Modi during his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister.
7 - Former Union Minister Manoj Sinha to be new L-G of Jammu & Kashmir
Former Union Minister Manoj Sinha has been appointed as Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He replaced Girish Chandra Murmu who resigned to join as CAG of India.
Mr. Sinha was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1996 and repeated the term in 1999. He was elected for the thid time to the Lok Sabha in 2014. He was former Minister of State for Railways and later held an independent charge of Ministry of Communication.
8 - Hardayal Prasad appointed as new MD & CEO of PNB Housing Finance
PNB Housing Finance announced the appointment of the former SBI Card head, Hardayal Prasad as its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Hardayal Prasad will replace Neeraj Vyas the current interim M.D. and C.E.O. of the company. Hardayal Prasad has worked with SBI cards. He has held multiple leadership positions at State Bank of India.
PNB Housing Finance Ltd is one of the top housing finance companies in India offering home loan, fixed deposits, and loan against property at attractive interest.
9 - Pramod Bhasin appointed as new Chairman of ICRIER
Pramod Bhasin has been appointed as a new Chairman of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). Bhasin will replace Isher Judge Ahluwalia who resigned as Chairman.
Prior to the appointment, he was Vice-Chair of the board of governors at ICRIER. He was the President & CEO of GE Capital in India from 1994 to 2005, and GE Capital Asia from 1998 to 2001. He founded Genpact in 1996 (as a subsidiary of GE Capital, India) and built it from start into a Global business.
10 - Soma Mondal selected as next Chairman of SAIL
The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has selected Soma Mondal as the next Chairman of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). She is currently serving as the Director (Commercial) of SAIL. If approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), she will be the first woman chairperson of SAIL.
Soma Mondal will replace Anil Chaudhary who is due to retire at the end of 2020. She has also served as the Director (Commercial), NALCO, Bhubaneswar.
11 - Rakesh Asthana appointed DG of Border Security Force
The government has appointed Rakesh Asthana as the new Director General of Border Security Force, BSF. He is an IPS Officer of 1984 batch of Gujarat cadre. He is presently the Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, BCAS. He will continue to hold the additional charge of DG, Narcotics Control Bureau.
The government has also appointed 1986-batch IPS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre, V. S. K. Kaumudi as Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Home Ministry. Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS officer Md Jawed Akhtar has been appointed the DG, Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guard.
12 - Kaushik Khona appointed as new CEO of GoAir Airlines
GoAir Airlines appointed former CEO and Wadia Group veteran Kaushik Khona as its new Chief Executive Officer. He will replace Vinay Dube. Kaushik Khona has varied experience of working with Dunlop tyre group, Shipping Venture, a financial and business restructuring for a German - India joint venture, MTalati & Talati LLP, Wadia Group, etc.
GoAir is a Mumbai based Indian Airline, owned by the Indian business conglomerate Wadia Group. GoAir operates to a network of 38 destinations – 27 domestic and 11 international to Thailand (Bangkok and Phuket), Muscat, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Kuwait City, Singapore and Male.
13 - GP Garg took charge as SEBI’s new Executive Director
The Securities and Exchange Board of India appointed GP Garg as executive director (ED). Prior to this appointment, he was Chief General Manager in SEBI. He was closely associated with SEBI’s initiatives on Financial Literacy and Investor Education in the country.
GP Garg played key role in establishment of National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) including setting up of the new state of the artcampus at Patalganga. The Securities and Exchange Board of India is the regulator of the securities and commodity market in India owned by the Government of India.
14 - Rajiv Kumar appointed as new Election Commissioner
Former finance secretary Rajiv Kumar has been appointed as new election commissioner. He will replace Ashok Lavasa, who resigned to join Asian Development Bank. A 1984-batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, Rajiv Kumar has over three decades of experience in public policy and administration across various sectors.
Rajiv Kumar played a major role in merging 10 public sector banks into four. During his two-and-half year stint as financial services secretary, he took several policy decisions to promote responsive and responsible banking. He is known to have initiated and implemented the 59-minute loan scheme for the MSME sector.
15 - Satya Pal Malik appointed as Governor of Meghalaya
President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Satya Pal Malik as the Governor of Meghalaya. He will replace Tathagata Roy who completed his five-year tenure on the post. Mr. Malik was serving as Governor of Goa.
Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Governor of Maharashtra, has been given additional role as Governor of Goa. Malik was the governor of Jammu and Kashmir from August 2018 to October 2019. It was during his tenure that the decision to abrogate Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was taken in August 2019.
16 - Satpal Singh Satti appointed as Chairman of 6th State Finance Commission of Himachal Pradesh
Mr. Satpal Singh Satti has been appointed the Chairman of 6th State Finance Commission of Himachal Pradesh. The newly-constituted commission will review the financial position of the panchayats and municipalities and devolution of resources to these institutions.
Mr. Satti will attain the status of a Cabinet Minister. The commission will make its report available by December 31, 2021 covering a period of five years from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2027.
17 - Ashwani Bhatia appointed as Managing Director of SBI
The Union Government has appointed Ashwani Bhatia as the Managing Director of the State Bank of India (SBI). He will replace P K Gupta on his superannuation. Bhatia is currently working as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at SBI Mutual Fund.
Mr. Bhatia has also been associated with SBI Capital Markets, as President and Chief Operating Officer and Whole Time Director. He has been associated with SBI for over 33 years.
18 - DRDO chief G Satheesh Reddy got two-year extension
Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, Head of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has been given a two-year extension as the Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development and Chairman DRDO beyond his tenure of August 26, 2020. He was appointed to the post in August 2018 for two years.
Dr G. Satheesh Reddy is well known for his significant contributions towards indigenous design, development, deployment of diversified Missiles & Strategic Systems, Guided Weapons, Avionics technologies and for sustained efforts in advancement of Aerospace technologies & Industries in India.
19 - Vinay Tonse appointed as MD and CEO of SBI Funds Management
Vinay M Tonse has been appointed as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of SBI Funds Management. He replaced Ashwani Bhatia who has rejoined parent SBI as its Managing Director. Tonse has been with SBI for more than 32 years.
Tonse has headed the operations at SBI Osaka branch in Japan as CEO for four years. He has also worked as an officer with the bank's Singapore office. SBI Funds Management is a joint venture between State Bank of India (SBI) and European asset manager Amundi.