Current Affairs Quiz - new

Persons in News

• Shashi Tharoor - [New]
• Lalit Modi - [New]
• P.T.Usha
• A.R.Rahman
• Dr.Y.S.Raja sekara Reddy
• Michael Joseph Jackson

Persons in News September 2019

• Sonu Nigam :He is an Indian playback singer, composer, live performer, host, and actor. He sings predominantly in Hindi and Kannada language films. He has also sung in English, Bengali, Manipuri, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Tulu, Assamese, Odia, Nepali, Maithili, Malayalam and various Indian languages. He has been honoured with the Magnificent Performing Arts Award at the annual 21st Century Icon Awards in London. He was among a host of winners across a range of categories at a gala awards ceremony last week, devised as a celebration of dynamic entrepreneurs and successful individuals chosen from hundreds of nominations from around the world.
• Madhukar Kamath :He is the chairman emeritus of DDB Mudra group and mentor of Interbrand India, has been elected chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for 2019-20. Kamath has also been the president of Advertising Agencies Association of India IAAAI) and chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).He has more than 4 decades of experience in advertising and marketing services. He was unanimously elected for the top post at the 71st annual general meeting of the ABC. He has served as chairman of brand consultancy Interbrand and has led several industry bodies.
• ABC:It refers to Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) of India. It is a voluntary organisation initiated in 1948 that operates in different parts of the world. It is a non-profit circulation-auditing organisation. It certifies and audits the circulations of major publications, including newspapers and magazines in India.
• Amitabh Bachchan :He is an Indian film actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s for films such as Zanjeer, Deewaar and Sholay, and was dubbed India's "angry young man" for his on-screen roles in Bollywood. He was initially named Inquilaab Srivastava later changed to Amitabh. His father was Harivansh Rai Bachchan who was an Indian poet of the Nayi Kavita literary movement of early 20th century Hindi literature and mother Teji Bachchan, who was a social activist. He has starred in a multitude of films. Amitabh Bachchan's career spans over five decades in the Hindi film industry. Amitabh Bachchan has been selected for the highest Indian film honour- Dadasaheb Phalke award for the year 2019. The actor was awarded with the Padma Shri in 1984. In 2001, he received the Padma Bhushan, 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015. He was also bestowed with France's highest civilian honour, the Knight of the Legion of Honour, by the French Government in 2007 for his "exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond". He also won the prestigious National Award for his performances in 'Agneepath', 'Black', 'Paa' and 'Piku'.
• Dadasaheb Phalke Award:The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema introduced by the Government of India to commemorate Dadasaheb Phalke's contribution to Indian cinema. Dadasaheb Phalke who is often regarded as "the father of Indian cinema", was an Indian filmmaker who directed India's first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913). It is presented anually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It was first presented in1969. The award is awarded for "outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema" and is selected by a committee consisting of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry.As of 2017, the award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of ?1,000,000.
• Greta Thunberg :She is a Swedish environmental activist focused on the risks posed by global warming. Greta Thunberg wins The Right Livelihood Award which is also known as the Alternative Nobel. She is being recognized 'for inspiring and amplifying political demands for urgent climate action reflecting scientific facts.' The teen activist, whose impassioned speech at the U.N. Climate Action Summit made international headlines this week. The Right Livelihood Award is an international award to "honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facrd by the world. The prize was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob von Uexkull, and is presented annually in early December.
• Ponung Doming :She is the first woman army officer from Arunachal Pradesh to become Lieutenant Colonel In Indian Army. She is a resident of Pasighat in East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. She was commissioned into the Indian Army in 2008. She then got a degree in civil engineering.She served the UN Peace keeping force in Congo in 2014.She is currently posted in Pune, Maharashtra. The Indian army for the first time in 2019 issued notification inviting female applicants for the position of Soldier General Duty, personnel below officer rank. Initially, women in armed forces were recruited only in the officer’s rank till 2018. In India, females are not allowed to serve in combat units like armoured corps, infantry and Mechanised infantry. With the introduction of Indian Military Nursing Service by the British Raj, the role of woman in the Indian Army began and it was only in 1992 that the Indian Army started recruiting women in non-medical roles also. Later in 2007, the UN first all female peace keeping force was deployed to Liberia by India. This was first of its kind not only in India but throughout the world.
• Justice P Lakshmana Reddy:Justice P Lakshmana Reddy, a retired judge of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh High Court was sworn-in as the first Lokayukta of Andhra Pradesh. His oath to office was administered by Governor Biswabhusan Hairchandan at a function held in Vijayawada. Chief Minister of state Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, judges of High Court and senior state government officials presided over the event. He would serve in office of Lokayukta for 5 years.He is the first Lokayukta to be assuming charge since the state bifurcated in 2014. The current YSR Congress government headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy amended the Lokayukta Act in recent state budget session. This enabled the appointment of a retired judge as Lokayukta, paving the way for constituting corruption-probing body. The legislation establishing Lokayukta is part of state government policy to provide transparent and corruption-free governance. Lokayukta is an anti-corruption ombudsman organization in the Indian states. A Lokayukta investigates allegations of corruption and irregularities against officials and is tasked with speedy redressal of public grievances.
• Ajay Kumar Singh :AK Singh a Political Journalist, has been appointed as the new press secretary of President Ram Nath Kovind after he was approved by The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) led by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He succeeds Ashok Malik, whose term ended in July. Ajay Kumar Singh (55) worked in various organizations during his career like Times of India, Hindustan Times, Business Standard, and Star News among others.
• Nirmal Chander Dandriyal:He is a film director. The documentary film Moti Bagh directed by him has been nominated for the Oscars.The film is based on the life of a farmer called Vidyadutt, who belongs to a remote village in Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal region. Film Moti Bagh shows how the 83-year-old struggles to keep his farm alive and till the uninhabited hilly lands. The film highlights the issues of migration of locals from several villages in the Garhwal and Kumaon regions of the state in disturbing proportions with villages after villages lying empty and no one to till the land. It also covers Nepali farmers, who settle in the region to plug in the gap and face discrimination at the same time with locals calling them names like Nepali and Bahadur. However, the film highlights how these Nepali farmers are feeding the whole Uttarakhand.
• Ravish Kumar:Indian journalist Ravish Kumar has been honoured with the prestigious 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award. The four other winners of the Award are Ko Swe Win from Myanmar, Raymundo Pujante Cayabyab from the Philippines, Angkhana Neelapaijit from Thailand, and Kim Jong-Ki from South Korea. The prestigious award is widely regarded as the Asian version of the Nobel Prize.
• Veeru Krishnan :Legendary actor and Kathak dancer Veeru Krishnan, popular for films like 'Ishq', 'Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke' and 'Raja Hindustani', passed away on Saturday. His final rites were performed at a crematorium in suburban Santacruz. The veteran, who graced silver screen during the '90s in supporting roles, often shared screen space with Aamir Khan. Besides acting in films, Krishnan a trained kathak dancer used to teach Kathak. He trained several film and TV actors like Priyanka Chopra,Lara Dutta, Katrina Kaif, Athiya Shetty, Karanvir Bohra and others. A host of celebrities took to social media to express their grief and offer condolences to the departed soul.
• Pramod Kumar Mishra:71 year old Pramod Kumar Mishra a A Gujarat cadre Indian Administrative Service officer belonging to the 1972 batch, who was previously an Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, also held posts like Secretary Agriculture & Cooperation and Chairman, State Electricity Regulatory Commission has been appointed as the new Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, effective September 11. He will replace Nripendra Misra, the Prime Minister's long-serving aide who resigned last month after a five-year stint as the top bureaucrat in the central government. Mr.PK Mishra who holds a PhD in Economics / Development Studies from the University of Sussex in England, was conferred a prestigious United Nations award for disaster management and disaster risk reduction.
• Pramod Kumar Sinha:Former Cabinet Secretary Pramod Kumar Sinha who is a 1977 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed the principal advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prior to this appointment he served as the Power Secretary of India, and was the Shipping Secretary of India before that. Sinha was appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the PMO on August 30, 2019..The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of P K Sinha, currently functioning as OSD in the Prime Minister's Office, as Principal Advisor to Prime Minister with effect from 11th September, 2019.
• Recipients of Visitor’s Awards 2019:Recipients of Visitor’s Awards 2019 for research in various fields were announced by President’s Secretariat. President’s secretary Shri Sanjay Kothari, headed the committee along with other officials, assisted by a Sub-Committee selected people for 2019 Visitor’s award. The award will be conferred by President President Ram Nath Kovind at an event to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The awards will be awarded to –

  Dr Partima She is from Special Centre for Nanoscience in Jawaharlal Nehru University.This year the Visitor’s Awards 2019 will be awarded to her for her research on biosensors and nano-bio interactions especially early-stage cancer diagnosis using nanomaterials bases biosensing platform. She will be awarded this award for her research in Biological science.

  Professor AsadUllah Khan He will be awarded The Visitor's Award 2019 for his contribution to biological science for identifying Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)problem in India: mechanism of spread and control of AMR. He is from Inter-disciplinary Biotechnology Unit in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

  Prof. Sibnath Deb He is from Department of Applied Psychology, Pondicherry University. He will be awarded Visitor's Award 2019 for Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Award, for his research in field of child protection, especially his focus on child abuse and neglect, student’s mental health and HIV/AIDS.

  Professor Sanjay Puri He is from School of Physical Sciences in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). He will be awarded the Visitor's Award 2019 for Technology Development for his research in field of non-equilibrium statistical physics and nonlinear dynamics.

  Dr Shaon Ray Chaudhuri She is from Department of Microbiology in Tripura University. She is awarded for Technology Development, for developing microbial biofilm reactor for conversion of dairy wastewater into biofertilizer. Awards are awarded to promote healthy competition amongst Central Universities as well as motivate them to adopt best global practices in pursuit of excellence.

• Vikram Sampath:He is a Bengaluru-based historian. His book titled Savarkar: Echoes from a forgotten past, 1883-1924, published by Penguin was released on the 11th of September 2019. This book describes the life of freedom fighter and Philosopher Vinayak Damodar Savarkar who was popularly known as Veer Savarkar. The first volume of the two-volume series covers the life of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (Veer Savarkar). It expresses and explains the incidents from his birth in 1883 to his conditional release to Ratnagiri in 1924. The uniqueness of the new book is the historian Vikram Sampath brought out the often missed aspects of politician Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s life and times.
• Padma Vibhushan:It is the highest civilian award after Bharat Ratna. Mary Kom, the Manipur boxer, who is the only woman to become World Amateur Boxing champion for a record six times, and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the seven world championships, becomes the first woman athlete to be recommended by the Sports Ministry for Padma Vibhushan.
• Padma Bhushan:It is the third highest civilian award. PV Sindhu has been nominated for Padma Bhushan. She became the first Indian to win the BWF World Championships in August.She has been recommended for the Padma Bhushan. The 24-year old Hyderabadi shuttler had got the Padma Shri in 2015.
• Padma Shree:It is the forth highest civilian award. The names of wrestler archer Tarundeep Rai, hockey Olympian MP Ganesh, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, table tennis star Manika Batra, cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur (T20Is), hockey captain Rani Rampal, former shooter Suma Shirur and mountaineer twin sisters, Tashi and Nungshi Malik have been sent for Padma Shri.
• Navdeep Singh Suri:He is Indian Ambassador to UAE. He was awarded the First Class Order of Zayed II award by the UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It is a rare honour given to any diplomat. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, presented the Order to the Indian Ambassador Navdeep Puri in Abu Dhabi. He was awarded in recognition of his efforts during his tenure and his contribution to the development and strengthening of friendly relations and co-operation between the two friendly countries.
• Amit Sharma:Amit Sharma a resident from New Delhi, has made a world record by creating World’s largest static website www.cheapflightsall.com which consists of 31 Crore 84 Lakh 60 Thousand 567 pages. The website size is 5 TB and it took 23 days to develop and 4 months to upload and the same was launched on 25th September 2016.

• Venkaiah Naidu:Vice President of India M.Venkaiah Naidu released the Books on President’s speeches titled ‘Loktantra Ke Swar (Khand 2)’ in Hindi and ‘The Republican Ethic (Volume 2)’ in English in a function organized at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi. It is a compilation of 95 speeches delivered by President of India Ram Nath Kovind during his 2nd year in office starting July 2018 to July 2019 represents vision, aspirations and ethos of the country and also represents contours of New India. The books are a collections of the Presidents's wisdom and visionary world view and also a testament of faith in strength of India .
• Veteran Lawyer And Former Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani Passes Away At 95:Veteran Indian lawyer and former Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani passed away early morning on Sunday at the age of 95. He breathed his last at his New Delhi residence. Jethmalani was keeping ill since long and in the last two weeks he had been on constant medical assistance, reports said. His last rites will be performed at 4pm at Lodhi crematorium. Ram Boolchand Jethmalani (14 September 1923 – 8 September 2019) was born in Shikarpur, Sindh in the Sindh division of the then Bombay Presidency, now part of Pakistan in the family of Boolchand Gurmukhdas Jethmalani and Parbati Boolchand. He got a double promotion in school and completed matriculation at the age of 13. He secured an LL.B. degree from Bombay University with a first class first at the young age of 17. He received LL.M. from Bombay University, since Sindh did not have a university of its own at that time. He was an Indian lawyer and politician. He had served as India's Union Law Minister and as chairman of the Bar Council of India. He has represented a sweep of cases from the high-profile to the controversial for which he has often faced severe criticism. He was the highest paid lawyer in the supreme court of india. He was elected a member of parliament in the 6th and 7th Lok Sabha on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket from Mumbai. He has served as Law Minister of India and also as Minister of Urban Development during the prime ministership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee against whom he later contested election in the general elections of 2004 from Lucknow constituency. However, in 2010 he came back to BJP and was elected to Rajya Sabha on its ticket from Rajasthan. He has been criticised as being opportunistic because of this. Jethmalani was a well known face amongst the legal community in India. Even though his forte was criminal law, he had appeared in many high-profile civil cases. From 1993 to 1998, he was one of the lawyers who represented Harshad Mehta during the Harshad Mehta scam and the Narasimha Rao bribery case. On 7 May 2010, he was elected as the president of Supreme Court Bar Association.
• Sameer:The renowned Bollywood lyricist who has written the song titled ‘Tujhe Bhulega Na Tera Hindustan’ which was released recently to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas (26th July 2019). The song features Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Olympic bronze medallist boxer Mary Kom, actors Salman Khan, Vicky Kaushal, Anupam Kher, Kangana Ranaut, and Suniel Shetty. The Kargil War was between India and Pakistan took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district and along the Line of Control (LOC) after which India launched Operation Vijay to clear the Kargil sector occupied by the Pakistani Army.

Persons in News July 2019

• Bibek Debroy:He headed the committee set up to suggest ways to mobilise resources for the Indian Railways and restructure the Railway Board. It has favoured privatisation of rolling stock: wagons and coaches. Key recommendations made by Debroy committee: Link increase in passenger fares to better passenger services. Create a separate company for railway infrastructure. Open access for any new operator who wishes to enter the market for operating trains. Separate suburban services and run them as joint ventures with state governments. Private entry into running both freight and passenger trains in competition with Indian Railways. Separation of rail track from rolling stock

• Kalraj Mishra:The former Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises & a veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, was sworn in as the 26th governor of Himachal Pradesh replacing Acharya Devvrat, who has been transferred and appointed as the Governor of Gujarat. Acharya Dev Vrat (60) sworn in as the 20th governor of Gujarat. He took the oath in Sanskrit. He succeeded Om Prakash Kohli.
• PT Usha:India’s track and field legend has been nominated for the IAAF’s ‘Veteran Pin’ for her outstanding service to the sport. The International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jon Ridgeon informed about this recently. She has been invited to participate in the award ceremony which will be held during the opening ceremony of the 52nd IAAF Congress at the Qatar National Convention Centre in Doha on the eve of September 24, 2019. She had won five gold medals in 100m, 200m, 400m, 400m hurdles, and the 4x400m relay and a bronze medal in the 1985 Asian Athletic Championships which were held in Jakarta, Indonesia. In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, she became the first Indian to reach the finals of the 400m hurdles, but lost the bronze by one-hundredth of a second.
• Sunil Mishra:He is the author of the book ‘Who Stole My Job’ whose second print was announced by India’s leading publishing house Srishti publishers and distributors. The book was first released in April 2019 and has received a very positive response from readers across the globe.“Who Stole My Job” is a work of business fiction that relates to new technological disruptions in the age of Artificial Intelligence and their impact on daily and work lives.
• Amit Shah:India’s Home Minister who will head the Union Government reconstituted the Group of Ministers (GoM) called the Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM) on Air India disinvestment. The 3 other ministers are finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, commerce, and railway minister Piyush Goyal and civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri. The panel will work out modalities for sale of Air India

• Subhash Palekar:The Maharashtrian agriculturist and Padma Shri recipient is credited for promoting Zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) which is a method of chemical-free agriculture drawing from traditional Indian practices. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman thrusted upon zero budget farming in the first Budget speech of the 17th Lok Sabha,calling for a “back to the basics” approach.Instead of commercially produced chemical inputs, the ZBNF promotes the application of jeevamrutha— a mixture of fresh desi cow dung and aged desi cow urine, jaggery, pulse flour, water and soil — on farmland. This is a fermented microbial culture that adds nutrients to the soil, and acts as a catalytic agent to promote the activity of microorganisms and earthworms in the soil. The ZBNF method promotes soil aeration, minimal watering, intercropping, bunds and topsoil mulching and discourages intensive irrigation and deep ploughing.
• Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi:She was India’s first legislator and also known as woman of many firsts. Google has created a doodle on Muthulakshmi Reddi’s 33rd birth anniversary. Tamil Nadu Government declared that every year hospitals will celebrate her birth anniversary as ‘Hospital Day.’ She became the first female surgeon in a government hospital and the first woman legislator in the country during British India.

Persons in News June 2019

• Jaganmohan Reddy

  He recently became the 1st CM in Andhra Pradesh to step into his father’s shoes. Since the birth of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy is the first CM-elect whose father was a chief minister himself. This after the state has seen 16 chief ministers, with some of them serving second terms. While northern states have seen nearly a dozen father-son duo as CMs, there are just two instances in the southern parts. Karnataka was the first state to see an ex-CM’s son sit on the chief minister’s chair when HD Kumaraswamy became the chief minister. Kumaraswamy’s father HD Deve Gowda served as the chief minister from 1994 to 1996. On the other hand, Jaganmohan Reddy’s father YS Rajasekhara Reddy served as the chief minister of AP from 2004 till his death in 2009.

• Veer Savarkar

  He is the freedom fighter whose birth anniversary was observed on 28th May, 2019. In Pune, Savarkar founded the “Abhinav Bharat Society”. He was also involved in the Swadeshi movement and later joined Tilak’s Swaraj Party. His instigating patriotic speeches and activities incensed the British Government. As a result, the British Government withdrew his B.A. degree.

• Nandan Nilekani

  He led the panel on digital payments which recently submitted its recommendations. The major recommendations are: Targets: It has set a target for the government and regulators to achieve a ten-fold volume growth in digital payments over the next three years through customer-friendly pricing mechanisms and broadening access infrastructure. Measures to increase the outreach: Banks need to ensure that no user is more than 5 kms away from a banking access point and if such areas are found, these must be considered ‘shadow areas’ and a local vendor be made a banking correspondent (BC) as he deals in money and stays there. Measures to less-cash economy: removing transaction charges on digital payments made to government, inducing a competitive Merchant Discount Rates (MDR) pricing structure and easing KYC costs to banks are amongst the key recommendations put forward by the committee. Role of the governments: committee has put the onus on government to be at the forefront of the transition by taking steps such as removing transaction charges on all digital payments made by customers to the government. The committee recommends that the Government, being the single largest participant in payments, take the lead on all aspects of digitization of payments. Committee has also asked RBI to set an interchange rate for transaction between customers and leave the MDR on competitive market pricing which would reduce the transaction cost for customers. The panel has also asked the government to set up special risk mitigation and complaint registering digital portals.

• Chandrani Murmu

  A tribal woman from Odisha, aged 25 of Biju Janata Dal (BID) party became the youngest MP in the country. She defeated the two-time BJP MP Ananta Nayak by a margin of 66,203 votes and claimed the Keonjhar constituency, Odisha. She replaced Dushyant Chautala who was elected at the age of 26 from the Hisar Lok Sabha seat in 2014. She defeated the two-time BJP MP Ananta Nayak by a margin of 66,203 votes and claimed the Keonjhar constituency with her victory.

• Anita Bhatia

  The Indian-origin woman who was recently appointed as Deputy Executive Director in UN Women. A veteran in strategic partnerships, resource mobilization, and management, has been appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) for Resource Management, Sustainability, and Partnerships. The agency focussed on women empowerment and gender equality.

• Pratibha Patil

  The Former Indian President who has been conferred the "Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca" (Order of the Aztec Eagle), the highest civilian award of Mexico given to foreigners, on 1 June 2019. The Ambassador of Mexico to India, Melba Pria, conferred the award on Patil, who created history as this country's first woman President (2007-2012), at a special ceremony held in the MCCIA Bhavan, Pune.

Persons in News May 2019

• M Jayshree Vyas

  She has been appointed as the first Independent Woman Director to Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) board. Earlier, M Jayshree Vyas worked as the managing director of Shree Mahila Sewa Sahakari Bank, Ahmedabad since 1986. She had also helped in launching the first financial literacy program in Sewa bank in 2001.

• A.S.Kiran Kumar

  The former ISRO Chief was recently conferred France’s highest civilian award “Knight of the Legion of Honour”. This award is for his invaluable contribution to the development of the India-France space cooperation. The award has presented by Ambassador of France to India, Alexandre Ziegler, on the behalf of President of the French Republic. The Padma Shri awardee served as the ISRO chief from 2015 to 2018.

• Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian

  The Chief Economic Adviser (CEA), has been included as the member of the Advisory Council to the 15th Finance Commission headed by N.K. Singh. The Advisory Council now has 12 members after inclusion of Chief Economic Adviser Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian. Other members include Dr. D.K. Srivastava, Dr. Indira Rajaraman, Dr. Arvind Virmani, Dr. Surjit S. Bhalla, Dr. Sanjeev Gupta, Prof. Pinaki Chakraborty, Sajjid Chinoy, Neelkanth Mishra, Prachi Mishra, Dr. M. Govinda Rao, and Dr. Omkar Goswami. In April 2018, 15th Finance Commission had constituted an Advisory Council.The 15th Finance Commission was constituted in November 2017. The role of Commission is to give recommendations for devolution of taxes and other fiscal matters to the central government for 5 years, commencing from April 1, 2020.

• Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty

  India’s most reputed cardiac surgeon and humanitarian, was recently awarded 27th P.C. Chandra Puraskaar, the annual national award from the P.C. Chandra Group at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre. He is also known as ‘The Man with Divine Hands’. In 2003, he has won Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan for medicine in 2013.

• KS Radhakrishnan

  The former Supreme Court judge, has been appointed as a member of Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal (CSAT) for a term of 4 year, from 1st of June, 2019 to 31st of May, 2023.He had earlier served as a Supreme Court judge from November 2009 to May 2014. He has also served as the Chief Justice of the High Courts of Gujarat and J&K.

• Chhaya Sharma

  The IPS officer who oversaw Nirbhaya case was recently conferred with the 2019 McCain Institute Award for Courage and Leadership. She has guided teams in the detection and investigation of sensitive criminal cases and protection of human rights. In 2017, Chhaya has performed a crucial role in drafting Standard Operating Procedures and Guidelines to Combat Trafficking of Persons in India. The award is granted to those who manifest courage on behalf of human rights, humanitarian compassion, justice, freedom, and human dignity. Other famous awardees are-MalalaYousafzai (2015) and DikembeMutombo (2016).

• Dia Mirza

  The Indian Actress and Jack Ma, the chief of Alibaba Group are among the 17 new advocates appointed by The United Nations Secretary–General Antonio Guterres to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The appointed UN advocates must drive action and strengthen the global political will to achieve the SDGs. The newly appointed UN advocates are the 17 influential global figures. It is the responsibility of these advocates to raise awareness, inspire greater ambition and strive hard for the faster action on the SDGs, which were adopted by the world leaders on September 25, 2015. The other newly appointed SDG Advocates are Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Founder, Education Above All Foundation (State of Qatar), British screenwriter, producer and film director Richard Curtis, Nobel Laureate Nadia Murad, Director of Centre for Sustainable Development, Columbia University Jeffrey Sachs, Brazilian footballer and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative, Forest Whitaker.

• Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

  The Indian spiritual leader, was recently presented with the ‘Order of St. George’ Award for the year 2019 as part of the Commemorative Feast at the Puthuppally St. George Orthodox Church (462-year-old) in Kottayam, Kerala. The award was presented by the head of Kandanad East diocese, Dr. Thomas Mar Athanasius Metropolitan at the cultural conference held at the church. In 1981, Sri Sri founded the Art of Living Foundation, a volunteer-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) providing social support to the people.

• Sujatha V Kumar:

  Visa, the global leader in digital payments technology, announced the appointment of Sujatha V Kumar as Head of Marketing for India and South Asia. She will be driving overall marketing strategy and execution including consumer, retail and digital marketing initiatives for India and the emerging markets of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Maldives. She will succeed Manmeet Vohra. Prior to this, she worked with Google as Head in Brand & Reputation, Marketing and Strategy. She has 20 years of experience and extensive knowledge of consumer insights, brand development, go-to-market approaches, category management, retail strategy and promotions.

Persons in News March 2014

• Could not believe, says civil services exam topper

  Gaurav Agrawal initially reacted with disbelief when he was informed Thursday that he has topped the prestigious civil services examination this year.

  "Initially I could not believe. Then I started receiving calls from my friends, father, mother and wife congratulating me," the 29-year-old from Jaipur told IANS.

  Gaurav, who passed the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) exam in the second attempt, is currently undergoing training at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy here.

• Rohatgi Appointed Attorney General Of India

  The Narendra Modi government Thursday appointed senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi as the new attorney general of India.

  Rohatgi, who appeared for the Gujarat government in several 2002 post-Godhra riot-related cases, will serve as attorney general of India for a period of three years, a statement said.

  He succeeds G.E. Vahanvati who resigned following the rout of the Congress-led UPA in the 2014 general election.

• Indian Plant Scientist Sanjaya Rajaram Wins World Food Prize

  Eminent Indian plant scientist, Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram, has been named winner of the 2014 World Food Prize in recognition of his outstanding work in the improvement of wheat crop.

  Rajaram, who is now settled in Mexico, is credited with increasing world wheat production by more than 200 million tons in the years following the Green Revolution, which has had a far-reaching impact in alleviating world hunger.

• Indian writer Pankaj Mishra wins $150,000 Yale literary prize

  Indian writer Pankaj Mishra is one of eight writers from seven countries winning a $150,000 Yale University prize each in recognition of their achievements and to support their ongoing work.

  Mishra, an Indian essayist, memoirist, travel writer and novelist, won the Windham Campbell Literature Prize in non-fiction category, The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale announced.

• Mukesh Ambani richest Indian as Bill Gates returns to top

  Mukesh Ambani again emerged as the richest among ten Indians in the Forbes annual list of a record 1,645 billionaires with an aggregate net worth of $6.41 trillion, up from $5.4 trillion last year.

  Ambani, with a net worth of $18.6 billion was ranked 40th as Microsoft founder Bill Gates was back on top as the world's richest person on Forbes' 28th annual ranking of the world's billionaires after a four-year hiatus. His younger brother Anil Ambani was valued with a net worth of $5 billion.

• Literary giant Khushwant Singh dies at 99 after 'rich, full life'

  Khushwant Singh, author, journalist, commentator, wit and raconteur par excellence, died at his home here Thursday morning, in his 100th year of birth, after having led a life that, in the words of his son, "touched the stars" and left an indelible and acerbic mark on Indian journalism and contemporary writing.

  He died quietly at his leafy Sujan Singh Park apartment, a landmark for oldtimers of the capital, a city in whose construction his grandfather, Sir Sujan Singh, had a big hand. Pre-deceased by his wife Kawal, he is survived by son Rahul and daughter Mala. He would have been 100 on Feb 2, 2015.

• Notorious Wildlife Poacher Sansar Chand Dead

  Notorious wildlife poacher Sansar Chand died of cancer at a hospital here Tuesday, a doctor said.

  Sansar Chand, who was undergoing trial on charges of killing several tigers in Rajasthan's Sariska Tiger Reserve, was admitted to the Sawai Man Singh Hospital here few days ago, a doctor told IANS.

Persons in News September 2013

• Inflation, rupee may force RBI to keep rates on hold

  Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan is likely to maintain his predecessor Duvvuri Subbarao's "hawkish" policy and keep key rates on hold due to continued inflationary pressure and the volatility in rupee, analysts say.

• Chhatar Singh appointed as a member of UPSC

  Former IAS officer Chhatar Singh has been appointed a member of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

Persons in News January 2011

• AR Rahman nominated for two Oscars

  AR Rahman does it again. The Indian musical wizard has been nominated for two Oscars for his compositions in Danny Boyles movie ‘127 hours’. The film has earned wide scale appreciation in various festivals and was also recently nominated under different categories at the recently concluded Golden Globe awards. ‘If I rise’ sung by Rahman himself and English Pop star Dido has been nominated in the Best Song Category. He has also received a nomination for Best Original Score.

• Classical music legend Bhimsen Joshi passes away at the age of 88

  Legendary vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi passed away after a prolonged period of illness. He was put on life support for age related ailments and was admitted in one of the hospitals in Pune. A pale of gloom descended in the city with people queuing up at his residence in large numbers to pay their last respects. This Bharath Rathna awardee was one of India’s most influential and celebrated Hindustani classical singers. He was a member of the Khirana Gharana school of music who enthralled audiences with his mellifluous renditions of khayals, abhangs and bhajans. His Sant Vani recitals with a flair of marathi bhakthi sangeeth renditions have been hugely popular in both Karnataka and Maharashtra. Bhimsen Joshi was a prolific performer and has toured extensively both home and abroad giving many noteworthy performances.

• Jaganmohan Reddy names new party 'YSR Party'

  Former Congress MP from Kadapa, Jaganmohan Reddy submitted an application to the Election Commission to register his own new party called YSR party. It has been named after his father and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh YS. Rajashekar Reddy who died in a helicopter crash on September 2 in 2009, while serving his second term in office. Jaganmohan had resigned from the party after the Congress expressed anger over the episodes telecast on Sakshi television channel owned by him, which criticized the party leadership.

Persons in News December 2010

• Congress Veteran Karunakaran passes away

  Veteran congress leader Karunakaran finally breathed his last after a prolonged bout of illness. He was 92 and is survived by his daughter Padmaja Venugopal and son K Muraleedharan. He was a four time CM of Kerala and is affectionately called ‘Leader’ by his admirers. He was known to be a master tactician and often played the role of troubleshooter for his party.

• Premji Donates 8,846 crores to improve education in India

  Aziz Premji . Chairman of WIPRO will transfer 213 million equity shares valued at 8846 crores to an irrevocable trust for charity. This will add a lot of muscle to the Aziz Premji Foundation which was set up few years back in its quest to improve the standard of education. The foundation will focus on providing quality education in rural India and the the government has also pitched in to open the Aziz Premji foundation where higher education will be provided.

Persons in News November 2010

• Leslie Nielson passes away

  Beloved actor Leslie Nielson best remember as bumbling police detective Lt. Frank Drebin of the Naked Gun series of movies, passed away recently aged 84 from complications arising as a result of Pneumonia. He was surrounded on his death bed y his loving wife, friends and long time agent. Leslie Nielson had over a 60 year long career in motion pictures which started back in the 1950s. He was initially cast as a leading man in serious movies such as The Forbidden Planet and Poseidon Adventure. The former flopped while the latter was a big success in its time. However, Nielson soon found his forte in comedy movies when he first acted in the 1980 comedy motion picture, Airplane. The movie was a huge hit and Nielson’s popularity as a comedy actor soared. He then appeared in a number of comedy movies, the most famous of them being the Naked Gun series, all of which were big hits. Some of these were repossessed, Dracula- dead and loving it and Spy hard. Leslie was married thrice in his lifetime and has two daughters with his second wife.

• I-phone versus Google Android

  Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc. recently praised the operating system on Google’s smart phones. The operating system called Android was further praised by Mr. Wozniak who said that these phones had more features to offer as compared to the I-phone. He however, further added that while Google’s smart phones offer people more number of choices, Apple I-phones on the other hand were much better in terms of quality.

Persons in News August 2010

• Michael Kirk Douglas diagnosed with throat cancer

  Michael Kirk Douglas, winner of three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards, was diagnosed with throat cancer in August this year. He received the AFI (American Film Institute) Life Achievement Award in 2009. The 65-year-old actor, a heavy smoker, was informed of his condition labeled as Stage 4 cancer after his doctor's appointment for an extremely sore throat. Douglas who is to undergo chemotherapy and radiation is optimistic about his chances for recovery

• Archie Panjabi

  Recently 62nd Emmy awards were held and the best part was to hear about actress Archie Panjabi from the Indian-origin who has won the award for best supporting actress in the movie “The Good Wife”. Her performance has been rated to be the best in the international release recognized as “Bend it like Beckham”. Many others were nominated for the same designation but because the best performance deserves to be on the top hence the results proved it and Archie Panjabi took the award.

• Anil Aggarwal to overtake Mukesh Ambani

  It was Anil Aggarwal who laid the foundation of Vedanta Resources Corporation, a UK based corporation and all by the virtue of it that he has been designated as the non-resident Indian billionaire. By this effort he has become the largest promoter of a corporate house thus overtaking Mukesh Ambani.

• Pallava Bagla

  Pallava Bagla from India has won the David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism by American Geophysical Union (AGU). Pallav won this award for his articles on the impact of change in climate on the Himalayan glaciers. Bagla is an author and freelancer for BBC and the likes. His latest book is "Destination Moon: India's Quest for Moon, Mars and beyond".

Persons in News July 2010

• Fidel Castro

  Fidel Castro a Cuban revolutionary visited Havana scientific facility; it was his first public appearance.

  The former Cuban President, now 83, who went into seclusion four years back after falling ill looked healthy said the reports.

• Roman Polanski

  The Swiss government rejected US government’s request to extradite Roman Polanski where he is charged with unlawful sex with a minor on the ground that the US authorities failed to provide confidential testimony about Polanski's sentencing procedure in 1977-1978. Polanski, who has been held under house arrest in Switzerland since December, has been declared a free man by the Swiss authorities. However, the American prosecutors vowed to continue their pursuit of the film director.

Persons in News June 2010

• Former CJI K G Balakrishnan is appointed as Chairman of National Human Rights Commission.
• O P Bhatt has been elected as Chairman , Indian Banker’s Association for the year 2010-11.
• Tenzin Norzon, a resident of Varanasi crowned as Miss Tibet 2010.
• J G Farrell won the Lost Man Booker Prize for his novel ‘Troubles’.
• Sachin Tendulkar conferred with Indian Air Force’s honorary rank of Group Captain. Till now 21 persons have been granted honorary ranks by the IAF. The first person was Raja of Jawhar- Raja Yaswant Rao in 1994. Tendulkar is the first sportsperson to be conferred with this honour.
• Sharad Pawar will be 7th President of ICC. He become 2nd Indian after Jagmohan Dalmia to occupy the position. He succeeded David Morgan.
• Wrestler and 1970’s Asian Games Gold medalist, Chandagi Ram Kaliram died.

Persons in News May 2010

• Gita Gopinath an Indian origin associate professor at Harvard Univ has been appointed a full professor, the first Indian woman in the Institution’s history to ge given this appointment.
• Former Vice President of India, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat died.
• Rima Fakih was crowned Miss USA 2010. She became the first ever muslim American Miss USA. She is of Lebanese muslim descent.
• Singer Christina Aguilera was named Ambassador against hunger by the United Nations World Food Programme.
• Rushanara Ali became first person of Bangladesh origin to be elected to the British Parliament.
• David Cameron elected Prime Minister of Britain. Nick Clegg became the Dy Prime Minister. Britain gets first coalition govt since World War-II. It is between Conservative and Liberal Democrats.
• Justice S H Kapadia sworn as new Chief Justice of India.
• Hari S Bhartia elected as President of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for 2010-11.
• Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail unassisted around the world in a yatch.

Persons in News April 2010

• Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra was sworn in as Judge of Supreme Court of India. She became the 4th women judge to be elevated to the Supreme Court of India.
• Justice S H Kapadia will be next Chief Justice of India.
• Mukul Sangma shown in as Meghalaya Chief Minister.
• Poland’s President Lech Kaczynski died in a air crash at Moscow.
• Juan Antonia Samaranch, Former President of International Olympic Committee (IOC) died.

Persons in News March 2010

• Rajan Bharti Mittal appointed President FICCI.
• Major Dimple Singla became first women army officer in the country who has been sentenced to imprisonment for corruption.
• Bhubneshwar Kalita has been choosen as the Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent at Commonwealth Games 2010.
• Cricketer Kapil Dev has been inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
• Former Supreme Court judge P V Reddy appointed as Chairman, Law Commission of India.
• Lt Gen V K Singh appointed as new Army Chief.
• Sonia Gandhi appointed head of National Advisory Council. NAC advice the govt on policy matters, monitor flagship programmes and prepare the ground for other pro-poor legislatures.
• Lyricist Javed Akhtar, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Dr Ram Dayal Munda, Dr Balchandra Mungekar and Kannada Actress B Jayashree are among other persons nominated to Rajya Sabha.
• Austrian base jumper Felix Baumgartnar will became the first person to leaps from the edge of space at a height of 37 km above earth’s surface. He become the first man to break the speed of sound hitting a top speed of about 11000km/hr. He will jump on 11 April 2010.
• Katie Spotz became the youngest person to complete a solo journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
• Girija Prasad Koirala, Nepal Ex Prime Minister died. He was 5th time Nepal PM.

Persons in News February 2010

• Horst Kochler , Germany President visit India in Feb 2010.
• Abdullah Gul, Turkey President visit India in Feb 2010.
• Economist Kokkadan Nandanath Raj, who made a significant contribution in the preparation of first Five Year Plan(1951-56) died.
• Sharad Chandra Sinha is appointed as Director General of National Investigation Agency(NIA).
• Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President visit India in Feb 2010.
• Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob of Malaysia appointed Chairman, International Atomic Energy Agency.
• Govt appointed R S Pandey as its mediator for talk with NSCN(IM) in Nagaland to carry forward the peace process.
• Former Justice P V Reddy will be appointed as Chairman, Law Commission of India.
• Ram Baran Yadav, Nepal President visit India in Feb 2010. It was the first visit by Yadav to any foreign country after taking over as Nepal’s President. Yadav is the first President of Nepal since monarchy ended in 2008. India extended $ 250 million soft line of credit to Nepal.
• Rajinder Singh became first non-white and also first Asian member of the right wing British National Party, after it amended its constitution to allow black and Asian to be its member.
• Amitabh Bachan became the brand ambassador of Gujarat state.
• Amnesty International, the global human right organization has appointed Salid Shetty as its next Secy General from June 2010. He will be the first Indian to head the organization.
• Shah Rukh Khan & Kajol become the first Indian bollywood actors to ring the opening bell of the world’s biggest stock exchange’ NASDAQ’.
• Rajiv Satav appointed President, Indian Youth Congress.
• Katrina Kaif awarded with 2009 Excellence in Performing Arts Award established by ASSOCHAM.
• M H Hussain, famous painter accepted citizenship of Qatar.

Persons in News June 2019

• Billy Arjan Singh, wildlife conservationist and Padma Shri awardee died.
• P D Dinakaran, Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court faces impeachement motion. The process was initiated in the Parliament. He is the first High Court Chief Justice against whom impeachment motion have been initiated. Justice V Ramaswami is the only judge to have faced impeachment proceedings in parliament.
• Justice V S Sirpurkar appointed to head a three member panel to look into allegation of land grab and misconduct against Chief Justice P D Dinakaran in the wake of impeachment motion initiated against him in Parliament.
• Fahmida Mirza is the first woman Speaker of Pakistan National Assembly.
• Ricky Ponting, Australian cricket team captain, has been named as ESPN Cricinfo Player of the Decade for 2000.
• Jyoti Basu, former West Bengal Chief Minister, died.
• Mrinal Pande, appointed as Chairman, Prasar Bharti Board.
• Lee Myung Bak, South Korea President was the Chief Guest at 2010 Republic Day Parade.
• Shiv Shankar Menon is appointed as National Security Advisor.
• Vikram Srivastava appointed as Director General of CRPF(Central Reserve Police Force).
• Ranjit Kumar Bhatia appointed as Director General of ITBP (Indo Tibetan Border Police).