1. Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar appointed as the Chairman of UGC
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Prof. Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar,Vice-Chancellor,Jawaharlal Nehru University has been appointed to the post of Chairman,University Grants Commission(UGC) by the Government of India.
- He has been appointed for a period of five years.
- The post of the UGC chairman fell vacant on December 7 after Prof D P Singh, who had taken charge in 2018, resigned upon turning 65. .
- Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar is an academician, administrator and author who has been the acting Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) since January 2021 after completion of his tenure in December 2020.
- He was earlier a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Delhi.
2. Neeraj Chopra nominated for Laureus World Sports Award
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Tokyo Olympic 2020 gold medalist, Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has been nominated for the prestigious 2022 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year award.
- He is the third Indian to be nominated for a Laureus award after cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar (for the best sporting moment in the last 20 years in 2020) and wrestler Vinesh Phogat (for the World Sporting Comeback category for 2019).
- The other five sportspersons who have been nominated for the Breakthrough award are:
- Britain’s Emma Raducanu (Tennis)
- Russian' Daniil Medvedev (Tennis)
- Spanish Footballer, Pedri
- Venezuelan athlete Yulimar Rojas (Triple jump)
- Australia’s Ariarne Titmus (Swimmer)
Laureus World Sports Awards
It is an annual award ceremony established in the year 1999 by the patrons of Laureus Sport for Good Foundation to honour successful individuals and teams from the sporting world.
3. Ramesh Deo passes away
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Prominent film personality Ramesh Deo passed away in Mumbai on 2 February 2022. He acted in a number of Hindi and Marathi films. His notable films were Anand,Khilona, Mere Apne etc. where he played supporting roles.
4. Atul Kumar Goel appointed as new MD of PNB
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Atul Kumar Goel assumed the charge as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Punjab National Bank on 1 February 2022.
Punjab National Bank
- It is a public sector bank owned by the Government of India. It is the third largest public sector bank after SBI and Bank of Baroda.
- The headquarters of PNB: New Delhi
5. Government has extended the tenure of LIC Chairman
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The Government of India has extended the tenure of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) chairman Mr. M. R. Kumar by one year. He will remain in office till March 2023 or until he attains the age of superannuation, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest.
- The government has done this to facilitate smooth Initial Public Offerings (IPO) of LIC, which is expected to be completed by March 2022.
- The LIC IPO is expected to be the largest IPO in India.
- The largest IPO in India was Paytm at Rs 18,300 Crore in 2021.
Initial Public Offering (IPO)
When an unlisted company issues its shares to the public it is called an Initial Public Offering. Here unlisted company means those companies whose shares or capital receipts are not listed on any stock exchange.
6. Noted educationalist Baba Iqbal Singh Ji passes away
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Noted sikh educationalist and Padma shri awardee Baba Iqbal Singh Kingara passed away on 29 January 2022.
- He was the Founder President of The Kalgidhar Trust, The Kalgidhar Society and Baru Sahib.
- In 2022, he was conferred with the Padma Shri by the Government Of India for his contributions in the field of social work.
7. 10-year-old Sai Patil cycles from Kashmir to Kanyakumari
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Sai Patil, a 10-year-old girl from Balkum in Thane, has created history by cycling 3,600 km from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.
- She began the journey that was completed in 38 days on December 16 2021 and completed it on January 20, 2022.
- She cycled for more than 120km per day.
Sai Patil has been practicing for this journey since the lockdown and aspires to do many such journeys including East to West in India and India to Russia.
8. Tejasswi Prakash is the winner of the Bigg Boss season 15
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The Television reality show Bigg Boss season finale came to an end on 31 January 2022 and Tejaswwi Praksh was crowned as the winner by the show host Salman Khan.
- She also won Rs 40 lakh as prize money.
- Pratik Sehajpal and Karan Kundrra were declared as the first and second runners- up respectively.
- This show is telecasted on Sony TV.
9. Xiomara Castro: Honduras’ first woman President
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Xiomara Castro has been sworn in as Honduras' first female president on 27th January 2022.Castro blasted the outgoing administration for leaving her a heavily indebted country where poverty and a lack of opportunity have driven hundred of thousands of Hondurans to migrate in recent years.
- She was sworn in during a ceremony at a national stadium in the capital, Tegucigalpa.
- Castro is taking over from right-wing President Juan Orlando Hernandez.
Honduras:
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras is a Central American country.
Capital: Tegucigalpa
Currency: Honduran lempira
Official Language: Spanish
10. Anantha Nageswaran takes over as Chief Economic Advisor
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Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran an academic and former executive with Credit Suisse Group AG and Julius Baer Group has been appointed as the Chief Economic Advisor to the government of India on 28th January 2022.
- Dr. Nageswaran was a part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India from 2019 to 2021.
- Dr. Nageswaran has worked as a writer, author, teacher and consultant prior to his appointment to this post and was the Dean of the IFMR Graduate School of Business and a distinguished Visiting Professor of Economics at Krea University.
- Nageswaran succeeds Krishnamurthy Subramanian, who returned to academia in October 2021 after completing his three-year tenure.
Role of the Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance:
- Advises the Government of India on matters related to finance, commerce, trade, economy and heads the Economic Division under the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA).
- The CEA reports directly to the Minister of Finance.
