1. Ashok Leyland appoints Shenu Agarwal as new managing director, CEO
Tags: Person in news
Ashok Leyland, the flagship company of the Hinduja group and India’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturer, on 8 December announced the appointment of Shenu Agarwal as its new managing director and chief executive officer.
Important facts
Shenu joins Ashok Leyland from Escorts Kubota Ltd, where he was president.
He was the Chief Executive of the agri business for over seven years and was instrumental in making Escorts a leading company by introducing contemporary global standards of design, quality and manufacturing.
Dheeraj Hinduja, Executive Chairman, Ashok Leyland said, “Shenu has a proven track record as a leader from a business conglomerate and is an all-rounder who has worked in various capacities across multiple disciplines.
Agarwal is an MBA from Duke University, USA and B.Tech from NIT Kurukshetra and brings with him over 30 years of experience.
He has worked across sales and marketing, product development, R&D, strategy, and project management.
The board of Ashok Leyland was looking for a suitable person for the post of MD and CEO after Vipin Sondhi stepped down due to personal reasons in 2021.
Sondhi served as MD & CEO of the company between December 2019 and December 2021.
2. Ishan Kishan makes world record of fastest double century in ODI
Tags: Sports Person in news
Ishan Kishan made a world record of making the fastest double century in a One Day International (ODI). He scored his double century in just 126 balls against Bangladesh in the match played at Chattogram, Bangladesh on 10 December 2022.
The record was earlier held by Chris Gayle of West Indies who scored a 138 balls double century against Zimbabwe in the 2015 World Cup .The quickest double in all ODIs [across men and women] was held by Amelia Kerr of New Zealand . She scored her double century in 134 balls against Ireland in 2018.
Youngest player to score a double century in men’s ODI
Ishan Kishan also became the youngest player to score a double hundred in men’s ODI. He was 24 years 145 days old when he scored his double century. The previous youngest was of Rohit Sharma, who was 26 years and 186 days old at the time of his first double in 2013 against Australia.
He also became the first player to score a double century against Bangladesh in an ODI.
Other records made
First time any team has made 400 or more runs against Bangladesh in an ODI.
In the match batting first the Indian team made 409 for 8 in their allotted 50 overs. However India’s highest score in ODIs remains to be 418 for five against the West Indies back in December 2011 in Indore. Bangladesh leads the three match ODI series 2-0.
3. India’s first carbon neutral farm inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinnari Vijayan at Aluva, Kerala
Tags: Environment Person in news State News
Kerala Chief Minister Pinnari Vijayan on 10 December 2022 inaugurated Kerala's State Seed Farm located in Aluva, Ernakulam district. It is the first farm in India which is carbon neutral.
The farm practices carbon-neutral farming which involves absorption of all the carbon that gets released during various agriculture practices in the soil itself.
The farm avoids using fossil fuels, energy-consuming equipment, and chemicals during cultivation by practicing mixed farming, keeping native breeds of goat, chicken, ducks and cows and producing vermicompost.
Mixed farming involves the cultivation of crops and raising of livestocks.
How the farm is made carbon neutral
- The main crop in the farm is high-yielding paddy and a variety of this crop is grown including njavara, rakthashali, Japanese violet, chottadi, and pokkali. By mixing five different varieties there is reduction in attacks by pests and diseases thereby avoiding the use of pesticides completely?
- Farming of goats, cows, chicken, ducks, bees, fish, vermicompost and azolla has also helped in cutting down waste generation. Converting agriculture waste into compost provides fertiliser for the fields as doe’s cow dung. The ducks and hens in the farm help in controlling pests.
- The animals on the farm are fed fodder, grass, hay and barn, all of which are produced at the farm. To become completely carbon-neutral, the farm has solar panels on the roof which helps in meeting the need for power.
4. NTPC Gurdeep Singh wins the S&P Platts Global CEO of the Year Award
Tags: Awards Person in news
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of India’s largest power company
भारत की सबसे बड़ी बिजली कंपनी एनटीपीसी लिमिटेड के अध्यक्ष और प्रबंध निदेशक (सीएमडी) गुरदीप सिंह को एसएंडपी प्लैट्स ग्लोबल सीईओ ऑफ द ईयर अवार्ड से नवाजा गया है।24वां वार्षिक प्लैट्स ग्लोबल एनर्जी अवार्ड्स जिसे "ऊर्जा उद्योग का ऑस्कर" भी माना जाता है, न्यूयॉर्क, संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका में आयोजित किया गया था।
एस एंड पी प्लैट्स ग्लोबल सीईओ ऑफ द ईयर अवार्ड संपूर्ण ऊर्जा और रसायन स्पेक्ट्रम में कॉर्पोरेट और व्यक्तिगत नवाचार, नेतृत्व और अनुकरणीय प्रदर्शन को मान्यता देता है।
Gurdeep Singh has been named the S&P Platts Global CEO of the Year Award. The 24th annual Platts Global Energy Awards which is also considered as the “Oscars of the energy industry” was held in New York, United States of America.
The S&P Platts Global CEO of the Year Award recognize corporate and individual innovation, leadership and exemplary performance across the entire energy and chemicals spectrum.
5. Indian TV artist Dev Joshi to accompany Yusaku Maezawa for a trip around Moon
Tags: Person in news
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has picked Indian TV actor Dev Joshi to accompany him around for a trip around the moon on a private SpaceX flight as early as next year. Dev Joshi is best known for portraying the role of Baal Veer in Sony Sab's Baal Veer and Baalveer Returns.
Yusaku Maezawa has also picked American DJ Steve Aoki ,Korean rapper TOP,YouTuber Tim Dodd, Irish photographer Rhiannon Adam, American documentary filmmaker Brendan Hall, UK photographer Karim Iliya, Czech dancer Yemi AD for his private SpaceX flight.
In 2018 ,the Japanese fashion mogul booked a space flight to the moon with the Elon Musk Space Exploration Technologies Corporation also known as SpaceX . The company is developing a new generation rocket named Starship which will take tourists around the moon. However the rocket is yet to be tested.
Maezawa has already been to space. In December 2021, he flew to the International Space Station (ISS) on a Russian Soyuz rocket. He lived on the ISS for a little less than two weeks.
6. Veteran US sports journalist Grant Wahl dies in Qatar during FIFA World Cup match
Tags: Person in news
Grant Wahl, one of the most well-known soccer writers of the United States, died on 10 December while covering the World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands in Qatar.
Important facts
The US media present near him at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar told that Grant Wahl suddenly fell from his seat.
This was the 8th World Cup for Wahl, who has been covering football continuously since 1996.
Wahl was detained a day earlier in Qatar for wearing a rainbow shirt in support of the LGBTQ community.
At the beginning of the World Cup, Grant Wahl said that the security did not give him entry in the match against America and Wales and asked him to take off the rainbow shirt.
7. Government appoints Meenesh C Shah as the Managing Director of NDDB
Tags: Economy/Finance Person in news
The government of India in an order issued on 9 December 2022 has appointed Meenesh C Shah as the Managing Director of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) with effect from 15 November 2022. There has been no regular chairman at NDDB since December 2020.
Presently Meenesh Shah was also holding the additional charge of the Chairman NDDB.
The Union Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Parshottam Rupala on 9 December 2022 , said in the Rajya Sabha that government proposes to extend the tenure of Meenesh C Shah as the Chairman, NDDB, for a period of six months with effect from December 1, 2022 or till the regular chairman is appointed.
National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)
It was set up in 1966 as a society under the Societies Act 1860. The first chairman of NDDB was Verghese Kurien. Kurien is also called as the father of White Revolution in India.
NDDB was merged with Indian Dairy Corporation by the NDDB Act 1987 with effect from 12 October 1987.
NDDB has been given Institution of national importance status.
It comes under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
Headquarters: Anand, Gujarat
Managing Director: Meenesh Shah,
It launched operation flood in India which has made India, largest producer of milk in the world. The massive increase in the production of milk and dairy products in India is called as White revolution.
8. Meghna Ahlawat becomes TTFI’s first female president
Tags: Person in news Sports News
Meghna Ahlawat was elected the first-ever woman president of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), while former veteran Kamlesh Mehta was elected as the general secretary. Patel Nagendra Reddy was elected as the treasurer.
Important facts
Ahlawat, who is the wife of Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, contested against Gujarat home minister Harsh Sanghvi.
The Delhi High Court had suspended TTFI in February and appointed a Committee of Administrators (CoA) to take over its functioning.
Dushyant Chautala was the previous TTFI president. The Delhi High Court had barred members of the suspended executive board from taking part in the elections.
About TTFI
It was established in 1926.
It is a founder member of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and has been at the forefront in the promotion of the game in India and the world.
It has the affiliation of 34 state units and 37 institutions.
It is one of the most active among all sports federations in the country.
India is represented through TTFI in all the major international championships like Olympics, World, Commonwealth, Asian and all Pro tours.
9. KV Shaji appointed as the new chairman of NABARD
Tags: Person in news
K V Shaji has been named Chairman of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on 7 December. He formerly served as NABARD’s Deputy Managing Director (DMD) till May 21, 2020.
Important facts
Before joining NABARD, he worked in Canara Bank in various capacities for 26 years.
As his last assignment, he was in charge of Strategy, Planning and Business Development at the Corporate Office of Canara Bank.
He successfully handled the project of amalgamation of Syndicate Bank into Canara Bank.
He was earlier also the Chairman of India’s largest Regional Rural Bank, Kerala Gramin Bank.
He is a post graduate in Agriculture and holds a PGDM degree in Public Policy from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad.
About the NABARD
It is a development bank focussing primarily on the rural sector of the country.
It is a statutory body established in 1982 under National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act, 1981.
Established on the recommendations of Shivaraman Committee.
Headquarters - Mumbai
10. Indian-American Krishna Vavilala receives US Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award
Tags: Awards Person in news
The United States of America President Joe Biden has conferred the Presidential Lifetime Achievement (PLA) Award on the Indian American Krishna Vavilala. The Presidential Lifetime Achievement is America’s highest honour and is awarded to American citizens, who exhibit outstanding character, worth ethic, and dedication to their communities.
86 years old Krishna Vavilala is from Andhra Pradesh and migrated to the United States. He is a retired Electrical Engineer and is the founder and Chairman of the Foundation for India Studies (FIS). It is a non-profit organisation, whose Indo-American Oral History Project'' won the 2019 Mary Fay Barnes Award for Excellence.
