1. Nick Walker is the new CEO of Vedanta Cairn Oil & Gas
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Cairn Oil & Gas, a Vedanta group company, announced the appointment of Nick Walker as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
An overview of the news
Prior to this appointment, Nick Walker was President and CEO of Lundin Energy, one of Europe's leading independent E&P companies.
Walker has more than 30 years of international experience, serving as a technology, commercial and executive officer in companies such as BP, Talisman Energy and Africa Oil.
Cairn Oil & Gas Company
The Vedanta Group, led by industrialist Anil Agarwal, bought the company in 2011 from UK-based oil and gas exploration company Cairn Energy Plc (now Capricorn Energy Plc).
Vedanta Group
It is a multinational company headquartered in London, England.
Vedanta Limited is an Indian subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, the holding company of the Vedanta Group.
It is into the business of Zinc-Lead-Silver, Iron Ore, Steel, Copper, Aluminium, Power, Oil and Gas.
Chairman of Vedanta Group: Anil Agarwal
2. Praveen Sharma appointed as Director of National Health Authority
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Praveen Sharma has been appointed as the Director in the National Health Authority (Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
An overview of the news
Sharma has been appointed to the post under the Central Staffing Scheme for a period of five years.
Sharma is a 2005 batch Indian Defense Service of Engineers (IDSE) officer.
National Health Authority (NHA)
The National Health Authority implements India's public health insurance scheme called "Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)".
NHA was established to implement PM-JAY at the national level.
About Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission
Beginning - 27 September 2021 by PM Narendra Modi
It connects digital health solutions of hospitals across the country.
It not only simplifies the procedures of the hospitals but also enhances the ease of living.
With the implementation of this scheme, old medical records may not get destroyed as each and every record will be stored digitally.
The project has been implemented in pilot phase in six states and union territories.
3. Aruna Miller becomes first Indian-American to be elected Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
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Hyderabad-born Aruna Miller has become the first Indian-American politician to be elected as the lieutenant governor of the US state of Maryland.
An overview of the news
Aruna Miller was sworn in as the 10th Lieutenant Governor of the State of Maryland with her hand on the Bhagavad Gita.
Miller has been a two-term member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2010 to 2018.
In her inaugural address, Miller, 58, credited her success to her family.
Miller's father was a mechanical engineer who immigrated to the US in the late 1960s.
Aruna Miller got US citizenship in the year 2000.
Maryland is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
Blacks in three high positions in Maryland
Wes Moore is elected governor, Aruna becomes lieutenant governor, and Anthony Browne becomes attorney general.
4. Renowned Assamese poet Nilamani Phukan passes away
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Renowned Assamese poet and Jnanpith awardee Nilamani Phukan passed away at the age of 89 at Guwahati Medical College, Hospital.
Nilamani Phukan was born on September 10, 1933 in Dergaon, Assam.
He started his career as a lecturer in 1964 at Arya Vidyapeeth College, Guwahati.
He was awarded theSahitya Akademi Award in 1981 for his poetry collection 'Kabita'.
He was conferred with the56th Jnanpith Award 2020.
The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1990.
His major works include Juria Henu Naami Aahe E Nodiyadi, Kabita and Gulapi Jamur Lagna.
5. Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation as Prime Minister of New Zealand
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On 18 January 2023, the Prime Minister of New Zealand 'Jacinda Ardern' has announced her resignation from her post at the annual meeting of her party.
An Overview of the news
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will hold the post of Prime Minister till 7 February 2023 and will resign after that.
The 2023 general election in New Zealand is going to be held on 14 October.
Prime Minister Ardern's shock decision comes after five and a half years in office as she led New Zealand through the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Ardern is one of the world's youngest female heads of state at the age of 37 when she came to power in 2017.
Jacinda Ardern
Ms Ardern began her political career in the office of former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.
Ardern has also served as a policy advisor in Tony Blair's government in the UK.
She was elected to the Parliament of New Zealand in 2008 and became Deputy Leader of Labor in March 2017.
Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation as Prime Minister of New Zealand
New Zealand
Capital: Wellington
Currency: New Zealand Dollar
Prime Minister: Jacinda Ardern
President: Debbie Hockley
6. World’s oldest person, Lucile Randon dies at the age of 118
Tags: Person in news International News
World's oldest person, Lucile Randon, died on 17 January at the age of 118.
An overview of the news
Ms Randon, who was known as Sister André, died in her sleep at her nursing home in Toulon, France.
She was born on 11 February, 1904 in Southern France.
Despite being blind and dependent on a wheelchair, Andre took care of other elderly people.
In the year 2022, the world's oldest person Ken Tanaka of Japan died. He was 119 years old.
After Tanaka's death, 118-year-old Sister Lucille Randon became the oldest person in the world.
Guinness World Records had officially recognised her status in April 2022.
Randon became a Catholic when she was 19 years old. Eight years later she became a nun.
7. Retired DG of BSF Pankaj Kumar Singh appointed Deputy National Security Adviser
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Retired director general of the Border Security Force (BSF) Pankaj Kumar Singh was appointed on 17 January as the Deputy National Security Adviser in the National Security Council Secretariat for a period of two years.
An overview of the news
Pankaj Kumar Singh, a 1988 batch IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre, has been appointed on re-employment contract. He retired as the BSF chief on December 31, 2022.
He had earlier served as Inspector General of CRPF in Chhattisgarh and IG (Operations) at CRPF Headquarters in Delhi.
He also worked in BSF before becoming BSF DG.
As head of the Eastern Frontier, he played a key role in reducing cattle smuggling through the borders of West Bengal and Assam.
There has been an 87% decline in cattle smuggling along the Indo-Bangladesh border between 2015 and 2021.
He was also instrumental in demonstrating motorcycle riding acrobatics to women soldiers of the BSF at the Republic Day parade.
His father Prakash Singh, a retired 1959 batch IPS officer, also headed the BSF from June 1993 to January 1994.
Pankaj Singh is considered the architect of police reforms in the country.
National Security Adviser - Ajit Doval
8. Vietnam President Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigns amid allegations of corruption and scandals
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Vietnam's President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has submitted his resignation on January 17 after the ruling Communist Party found him responsible for corruption, scandals and wrongdoings.
An overview of the news
The anti-corruption campaign has led to the sacking of several ministers in Vietnam.
Earlier, two deputy prime ministers who served under President Phuc had quit.
The resignation of the President requires approval from the National Assembly.
Former Prime Minister Phuc had assumed the office of President from 2021.
Phuc, 69, served as Vietnam's prime minister from 2016 until April 2021, when he was elected president.
Vietnam is a country with single party rule and any political changes are very carefully managed for political stability and continuity.
However, it is not clear who will be the new President.
About Vietnam
It lies in South East Asia and it is a member of Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN)
Capital: Hanoi
Currency: Dong
9. British home secretary Suella Braverman clears Sanjay Bhandari’s extradition
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Two months after a Westminster court in London ordered the extradition of fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari to India, British Home Secretary Suella Braverman has given her approval on the matter.
An overview of the news
It is noteworthy that on November 7, District Judge Michael Snow ordered Bhandari's extradition which was sent to Home Secretary Suella Braverman for approval.
Bhandari, 60, has been under investigation since 2019 for corruption in a Rs 2,985-crore deal in 2009 to buy 75 PC-7 trainer aircraft from Swiss aircraft maker Pilatus Aircraft.
He is also facing a probe for alleged money laundering in properties linked to Robert Vadra, son-in-law of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi in London.
What is Extradition?
Extradition is the formal process of surrendering a person from one state to another.
The purpose of this process is the prosecution or punishment for offences committed by a person within the jurisdiction of the requesting country.
The extradition of a fugitive criminal to India is regulated under the Indian Extradition Act, 1962.
The Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) Division, Ministry of External Affairs is the central/nodal authority to administer the Extradition Act.
Extradition process can be initiated in case of under-investigation, under-trial and convicted criminals.
10. The last Nizam of Hyderabad Mukarram Jah Bahadur passes away
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Prince Mukarram Jah Bahadur (89), the eighth Nizam of Hyderabad, passed away in Istanbul, the capital of Turkey on 14 th January.
An overview of the news
According to his last wish, the last rites will be performed in Hyderabad.
The body will be taken to the Chowmahalla Palace, and after completing necessary rituals, will be buried at the Asaf Jahi family mausoleum.
Mukarram Jah was born on October 6, 1933, to Mir Himayat Ali Khan alias Azam Jah Bahadur, the first son of Mir Osman Ali Khan and the seventh Nizam of the princely state of Hyderabad before its merger with the Indian Union in 1948.
His mother, Princess Durru Shaver, was the daughter of Abdul Majeed II, the last Sultan of Turkey (Ottoman Empire) who died in the early 2000s.
Prince Mukarram Jah was nominated by his grandfather as the head of the Asaf Jahi dynasty on June 14, 1954.
Since then, he has been identified as the eighth and the last Nizam of Hyderabad.
His succession was recognized in principle by the Government of India.
He was officially called the Prince of Hyderabad until 1971, when the title and privy purse were abolished by the Indian Union.
