List of Appointments in the month of January

New envoys to Mexico, Vietnam appointed

• Senior IFS officer Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi has been appointed India’s next Ambassador to Mexico.

• Pardeshi, a 1991-batch IFS officer, is currently posted as Joint Secretary (Passport division) in the Ministry of External Affairs.

Datta Padsalgikar appointed as Commissioner of Police of Mumbai

• Senior IPS officer Datta Padsalgikar was appointed as the Commissioner of Police of Mumbai with effect from 31 January 2016.

• He succeeds Ahmed Javed, who was appointed as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Atulesh Jindal to be New CBDT Chief

• Senior Indian Revenue Service officer Atulesh Jindal is all set to take charge as the new chairman of the CBDT, the controlling body of the income tax department.

• He will succeed incumbent A K Jain.

Vice Admiral Girish Luthra Assumes Command of Southern Naval Command

• Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, AVSM, VSM, took over charge as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command from Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM.

• Vice Admiral Luthra laid wreath at the War Memorial, prior to assuming command, as a tribute to the thousands of martyrs who had fought for the country.

Leslie Berland appointed as CMO of Twitter Inc

• Leslie Berland has been named as Twitter’s new chief marketing executive.

•Hailing from the financial sector, Berland was Executive Vice President, Global Advertising, Marketing & Digital Partnerships at American Express.

Kamlesh Kumar Pandey – Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities

•        Dr. Kamlesh Kumar Pandey has been appointed as the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) for a period of three years.

•        Dr. Pandey is a Science Graduate from University of Allahabad and Medical Graduate from Agra University in 1990.

Gurdeep Singh appointed as CMD of NTPC

•        Gurdeep Singh was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of NTPC Ltd.

•        Singh will be the first person to be appointed to the top job at a Maharatna company through a search committee route.

Justice Sanjay Mishra appointed as Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh

•        Justice Sanjay Mishra was appointed as Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh. His appointment was approved by the Supreme Court.

•        The apex court bench comprising Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Prafulla C Pant recalled the earlier order dated 16 December 2015 appointing Justice Virendra Singh for the post following the objections raised against Singh's appointment.

Alice Vaidyan, new CMD of GIC Re

·        Alice Vaidyan has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re), the National Reinsurer.

·        GIC Re is the 14th largest reinsurer globally and is presently the only reinsurance company in India.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa won Presidential Election of Portugal

•        Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa won the Presidential election of Portugal.

•        Sousa, a centre-right Social Democrats candidate and a former journalist, won the election by securing 52 percent of votes.

•        The outcome is likely to help maintain political balance after the inconclusive parliamentary ballot in October 2015.

10 new EDs appointed in public sector banks

Name	Bank
Mayank K Mehta	Bank Of Baroda
Dina Bandhu Mohapatra	Canara Bank
Vinod Kumar Kathuria	Union Bank of India
R Subramania Kumar	Indian Bank
Rajkiran Rai G	Oriental Bank of Commerce
Nageswaro Rao	Vijaya Bank
A S Rajeev	Indian Bank
Ramesh S Singh	Dena Bank
G Subramaia Iyer	UCO Bank
Sunil Mehta	Corporation Bank

Ashok Kumar Mehta appointed PS to President

•        Senior revenue officer Ashok Kumar Mehta has been appointed as Private Secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee.

•        Mehta, a 1987 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, is working as Commissioner in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, as per his service records.

Atulesh Jindal appointed new CBDT chief

•        Senior revenue service officer Atulesh Jindal has been appointed as the Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex policy-making body of the income tax department.

•        He will succeed A K Jain, who completes his term at the end of this month. The appointments committee of the cabinet has approved the appointment of Jindal as chairman CBDT, an order issued by department of personnel and training.

Moldovan parliament appointed Pavel Filip as Prime Minister

•        Moldovan parliament appointed Pavel Filip as the Prime Minister.

•        He would be the third prime minister of Moldova in less than a year.

PayU appoints Laurent Le Moal as new global CEO

•        PayU, one of the world’s largest payment services platforms, has appointed Laurent Le Moal as its new global CEO.

•        PayU has operations in 16 countries and is part of the leading global media and internet group, Naspers.

Tata Motors Appoints Guenter Butschek as CEO & MD

•        Tata Motors has announced appointment of ex-Airbus COO Guenter Butschek as its Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, two years after the death of its former MD Karl Slym.

Dinesh Sharma elected to board of directors of AIIB

•        India, one of the founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), has been elected to the board of directors of the China-sponsored AIIB.

•        Dinesh Sharma, Additional Secretary of Ministry of Finance has been elected to the 12-member board for which a secret ballot was held.

•        The AIIB was formally launched by President Xi Jinping recently.

Mindtree appoints Ravanan as CEO, Natarajan as executive chairman

•        Mindtree has appointed Rostow Ravanan as the CEO and managing director, and Krishnakumar Natarajan as the executive chairman of the company.

Ashish Saraf appointed as Airbus Group’s vice president

•       Airbus Group announced the appointment of Ashish Saraf as Vice-President - Industry Development, Strategic Partnerships and Offsets.

•       Saraf will look over the Group's existing Make in India initiatives and conceive new ones for all the businesses of Airbus Group India with the aim to increase their industrial footprint in the country.

Capgemini appoints Srinivas Kandula as CEO of India operations

•       French IT services firm Capgemini has appointed Srinivas Kandula as the chief executive officer of its India operations.

•       Kandula played a key role in the acquisition of Patni by iGate in 2011, and of iGate by Capgemini in 2015.

South Korea appoints Yoo Il-ho as finance minister

•       South Korea appointed Yoo Il-ho as its new finance minister, the presidential Blue House putting him in charge of Asia’s fourth-largest economy amid slow growth and low inflation.

DHL Express appoints Ken Lee as new Asia Pacific CEO

•       Global logistics provider DHL Express has named a new Chief Executive Officer for Asia Pacific region that includes India Ken Lee, who has an experience of over 20 years in the logistics industry, including 18 years at DHL will succeed Jerry Hsu, who is retiring after an illustrious career with DHL Express since 2001.

Vikas Thapar appointed as Vice President of Micromax

•       Homegrown smartphone maker Micromax has appointed Vikas Thapar as its Vice-President for Finance

•       He will also responsible for steering external relationship developments with key partners including bankers, investors, equity partners and the government.

•       He will also look after company’s financial and management accounting, financial resourcing and fund syndication, and group operations.

Burkina Faso’s president named Paul Kaba Thieba as Prime Minister

•       Burkina Faso’s president named economist Paul Kaba Thieba as prime minister.

•       Thieba, who has little political experience, is charged with forming President Roch Marc Kabore’s government as the country continues with a democratic transition after 27 years under leader Blaise Compaore, who was overthrown in October 2014. 

•       Thieba, 56, worked for many years as an economist for the West African central bank, BCEAO, in Ivory Coast.

RBI Deputy Governor Urjit Patel gets second term

•       Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Urjit Patel, who drafted historic changes to monetary policy in the country, is likely to get re-appointed after his three-year term ends next month.

•       The government will send Patel’s name to the appointments committee of the cabinet for final approval. Patel, who joined the RBI in January 2013, heads its monetary policy department and is widely considered to be a trusted lieutenant to Governor Raghuram Rajan.

Mary Barra elected as Chairman of General Motors Board of Directors

•       Mary Barra was elected as Chairman of General Motors (GM) Board of Directors with immediate effect.

•       Barra succeeds Theodore Solso, who will continue serving as the Lead Independent Director of the Board.

Devender Kumar Sikri appointed as Chairman of Competition Commission of India

•       Devender Kumar Sikri was appointed as Chairman of fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI).

•       He succeeds Ashok Chawla, whose tenure as the Chairman of CCI ended on 7 January 2016 itself.

Sailesh appointed as Registrar General and Census Commissioner

•       Mr. Sailesh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, has been appointed as Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary.

AB Khare appointed CMD of Madras Fertilizers

•       The Centre has appointed AB Khare as the Chairman and Managing Director of the state-run Madras Fertilzers for a five-year term.

•       In August 2015, the government headhunter Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) had recommended the name of Khare for the post of CMD at Madras Fertilizers Ltd (MFL).

Pavan Kapoor appointed India’s new ambassador to Israel

•       Senior diplomat Pavan Kapoor has been appointed India’s ambassador to strategically important Israel, where he will succeed Jaideep Sarkar.

•       Mr Kapoor, a 1990 batch Indian Foreign Service Officer, is currently India’s High Commissioner in Mozambique capital Maputo.

Sikh-American appointed top prosecutor in US County

•       A Sikh-American attorney Gurbir Grewal has been appointed as the top prosecutor in the most populous county in New Jersey, becoming the first South Asian to occupy the post in the state.

Sam Pitroda appointed as Technical Advisor of Odisha Government

•       Renowned telecom engineer and inventor Sam Pitroda has been appointed as Technology Advisor to the Odisha Government.

Gajendra Chauhan appointed Chairman of FTII

•       TV actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Gajendra Chauhan has been appointed as the Chairman of the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).

•       More than 40 students protested with banners proclaiming ‘Silent Emergency’ and ‘Tyranny of the Elected’.

IAMAI appoints Freecharge founder Kunal Shah as chairman

•       Industry body the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has named Kunal Shah, co-founder and chief executive officer of FreeCharge as the new chairman of the association.

•       Shah would replace current chairman Nishant Rao, who recently moved to Chennai from Gurgaon to join a startup called Freshdesk as its global Chief Operating Officer.

•       Shah co-founded FreeCharge in August 2010.

Filippo Grandi takes charge as UN High Commissioner for Refugees

•       Senior United Nations (UN) official Filippo Grandi from Italy has taken the charge as new UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Abid Ali Neemuchwala appointed as CEO of Wipro

•       India’s third largest IT exporter Wipro Limited has appointed Abid Ali Z. Neemuchwala as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Member of the Board of the company.

RK Mathur sworn in as 8th Chief Information Commissioner

•       Former Defence Secretary Radha Krishna Mathur has sworn in as the eight Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of the Central Information Commission.

•       He was administered the oath of office by the President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremony held in Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Air Marshal R K Singh Bhadauria takes over as Deputy Chief of Air Staff

•       Air Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria has taken over as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, a post that oversees the critical procurement process of the force.

•       Prior to taking over as DCAS, Air Marshal Bhadauria was Senior Air Staff Officer at Central Air Command of IAF.

CMPDI Chairman assumes charge

•       Shekhar Saran has taken over as Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Ranchi-based Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Ltd (CMPDI). Prior to this, he served as the Director (Technical) of CMPDI.