1. Former CEA Krishnamurthy Subramanian appointed India’s Executive Director at IMF
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The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Dr Krishnamurthy Subramaniam, former Chief Economic Adviser, to the post of Executive Director (India) in the International Monetary Fund.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- He has been appointed for a period of three years with effect from November 1, 2022.
Subramaniam, who is currently Professor of Finance at the Indian School of Business, will succeed Surjit S Bhalla, who was appointed to the post in 2019.
Subramaniam had stepped down as the Chief Economic Adviser in 2021 after a 3-year tenure.
The government of India had appointed Professor Subramaniam, ISB Hyderabad, as the CEA in December 2018. He had replaced Arvind Subramanian.
Subramaniam holds an MBA in Financial Economics and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
He has completed his PhD in supervision of former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.
Subramaniam is also an alumnus of the IIT, Kanpur where he studied electrical engineering.
He was the youngest Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India from 2018 to 2021.
India’s Executive Director at IMF :
The IMF's EDs are elected through voting by governors representing the countries of the respective constituencies for a two-year term.
India falls in a 4-country constituency in which India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan are members.
2. Thailand constitutional court suspends PM Prayuth Chan-ocha
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The constitution court of Thailand on 25 August temporarily suspended prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha over allegations that he has continued in the post after the expiry of his term.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- The court ruled that the PM would remain suspended until the allegations were investigated.
According to the Constitution of Thailand, the prime minister cannot hold office for more than eight years.
Prayuth Chan-ocha became prime minister after a coup in 2014, and eight years have passed since then.
As military leader, Prayuth seized power after a coup in May 2014 and, in August 2014, appointed himself prime minister of the new military government.
Hence the opposition argues that his term as prime minister began in August 2014 and ended this week.
The court considered the petition and supporting documents and gave this decision on the basis of factual doubts.
The court, with a majority of four out of five judges, with effect from 24 August 2022, said that Prayuth be suspended as prime minister until the court issues a final decision.
Deputy Prime Minister Pravit Wongsuwan will currently be the interim head of government.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
About Thailand :
Capital - Bangkok
Official Language - Thai
3. Debasisa Mohanty appointed director of National Institute of Immunology
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Senior Scientist Debasisa Mohanty has been appointed as the Director of the National Institute of Immunology (NII), as per the order of the Personnel Ministry.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Mohanty is currently working as a Staff Scientist in the institute.
Debasisa Mohanty is an Indian computational biologist, bioinformatician and staff scientist at the National Institute of Immunology.
The government awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development in 2009, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contribution to the biosciences.
In another order, the ministry said Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj has been given additional charge as Corporate Affairs Secretary.
National Institute of Immunology :
The National Institute of Immunology is an autonomous research institute located in the
Established - 24 June 1981
Headquarters - New Delhi
Founding Director - G.P. Talwar
4. Manisha Kalyan becomes the first Indian to play in UEFA Women’s Champions League
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Striker Manisha Kalyan became the first Indian footballer to play in the UEFA Women's Champions League, making her debut for Apollo Ladies FC at the European club tournament in Cyprus.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Kalyan replaced Cyprus’ Marilena Georgiou in the 60th minute at the Makareio Stadium, as Apollon Ladies FC beat Latvian top flight club SFK Rīga 3-0 in their UWCL opener on 18 August.
20-year-old Manisha Kalyan became the fourth Indian female footballer to sign for an overseas club when she signed a multi-year contract with Cyprus' top division winners Apollon Ladies.
Kalyan has performed impressively for the national team and the Gokulam Kerala team in the Indian Women's League (IWL).
Manisha won the 'Player of the Season' title in the last season of the Indian Women's Football (IWL) League. Manisha scored 14 goals in that tournament.
Kalyan was recently awarded the AIFF Woman Footballer of the Year for the 2021-22 season.
Kalyan shot to fame last year by scoring a goal in an international friendly match against former World Cup runners-up Brazil.
UEFA Women's Champions League :
It is an international women's association football competition.
It consists of the top club teams from countries affiliated to the European governing body UEFA.
The competition was first played in 2001–02 as the UEFA Women's Cup.
Lyon is the most successful club in this league competition's history. It has won the title eight times, including five consecutive titles from 2016 to 2020.
5. Centre names Piyush Goyal as National Intelligence Grid CEO
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The Union Government has appointed Piyush Goyal, a 1994 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Nagaland cadre, as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NETGRID.
Important facts
IAS officer Piyush Goyal is currently working as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The post of CEO of NetGrid was lying vacant since June after Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Ashish Gupta was appointed as Additional Director General in the Border Security Force (BSF).
Chandrakar Bharti, a 1996 batch IAS officer, has been appointed as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs in place of Goyal. He is serving as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence.
About National Intelligence Grid
NATGRID is a program to prevent terrorist activities.
After 6/11, NATGRID was established at the national level to prevent such incidents.
It assists various intelligence and enforcement agencies in tracking down suspected terrorists and preventing terrorist attacks.
Large amount of data is studied and analysed by NATGRID using technologies like Big Data and Analytics.
Formation of Netgrid :- 2009
NATGRID Headquarters :- New Delhi, India
6. William Ruto declared winner of Kenya presidential election
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In Kenya, Deputy President William Ruto has been declared the winner of Kenya's presidential election on 16 August.
Important facts
He defeated his rival Raila Odinga by a very small margin, securing 50.5 percent of the vote.
The worst drought in 40 years has ravaged the northern part of the country, leaving 4.1 million people dependent on food aid, while the country's debt levels have risen.
Ruto was the Vice President of Kenya for the last 9 years.
Significantly, President Uhuru Kenyatta remained in power for a decade.
History of violence
In 2017, over 100 people were killed after the Supreme Court quashed preliminary results over irregularities in the electoral process.
Amid fears that allegations of vote rigging had led to bloody conflicts after the presidential elections in 2007 and 2017, the courts were urged to control any disputes.
The US Embassy in Kenya urged all parties to work together to peacefully resolve concerns about the election.
Economic issues such as rising food and fuel prices, government debt, unemployment and widespread corruption were central to the election in the country.
People here were more worried about fuel prices after the Russia-Ukraine war.
About Kenya
Capital - Nairobi
Official Languages - Swahili, English
Currency - Kenyan Shilling
7. 150th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo
Tags: Person in news National News
On the occasion of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Maharshi Aurobindo and the 75th Year of Independence, the Union Ministry of Culture is commemorating the life and philosophy of Shri Aurobindo by undertaking Spiritual Programmes in 75 prisons across the nation from 12 to 15th August.
Important facts
These programs aim to transform the lives of inmates by imbibing Aurobindo's philosophy and adopting yoga and meditation.
The ministry has partnered with notable spiritual leaders and organizations to carry out these programs.
Mainly keeping in mind the association with the national freedom struggle, the Ministry of Culture has identified 75 prisons across the country where these events will be held.
Five organizations including Ramakrishna Mission, Patanjali, Art of Living, Isha Foundation and Satsang Foundation have been roped in to organize the programme.
Who was Maharshi Aurobindo?
He was born in Calcutta on 15th August 1872.
He was a yogi, seer, philosopher, poet and Indian nationalist.
He propounded the principle of divine life philosophy on earth through spiritual development.
His education began at a Christian convent school in Darjeeling.
He entered the University of Cambridge, where he mastered two classical and several modern European languages.
He cleared the ICS exam securing 11th rank out of 250 candidates.
He also studied yoga and Indian languages, including classical Sanskrit.
Role in Indian Revolutionary Movement
He participated in the struggle to free India from the British from the year 1902 to 1910.
He was imprisoned by the British in the year 1908 in the Alipore Bomb Case.
Two years later he fled British India and took refuge in the French colony of Pondicherry.
He converted his entire life in Pondicherry into a complete and spiritual form and devoted himself to the development of yoga.
In Pondicherry he founded a community of spiritual seekers which took shape in the year 1926 as Sri Aurobindo Ashram.
His literary works
Bhagavad Gita and Its Message
Bases of Yoga
The Future Evolution of Man
Rebirth and Karma
Hour of God
8. Argentine Rear Admiral Guillermo Pablo Ríos appointed Chief Military Observer of UNMOGIP
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed a veteran Argentine naval officer as Head of Mission and Chief Military Observer for the United Nations Military Observer Group (UNMOGIP) in India and Pakistan.
Important facts
Rear Admiral Guillermo Pablo Ríos of Argentina has replaced Major General Jose Eladio Alcán of Uruguay.
After graduating as a Middle Shipman from the Naval Academy, Rear Admiral Ríos has had a distinguished career in the Argentine Navy since 1988.
He, most recently, served as the General Director of Education, Training and Doctrine of the Joint Staff (2022).
Prior to this, he was Marine Infantry Commander (Core Commander) (2020-2021).
He has also served as Marine Infantry Fleet Commander (Brigade Commander) (2019), Head of Education, Navy Warfare School (2018) and Defence, Military, Navy and Air Force in Russia (2016-2018).
He has also been a training officer in the United States Marine Corps Regiment under the United States and Argentina Marine Exchange Program (2002–2003).
Ríos has served in two peacekeeping missions, including the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1993 and 1994, and the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) in 2007.
He has also served as a Humanitarian Mining Observer with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Angola (1997–1998).
He holds a master's degree from the Naval University Institute and E-Salad University in Argentina.
About UNMOGIP
UNMOGIP was established in January 1949.
Following the Indo-Pakistani War and the Armistice Agreement in 1971, UNMOGIP's main tasks are to oversee developments related to strict adherence to the ceasefire.
It has 44 military observers, 25 international civilian personnel from 10 countries and 47 local civilian staff.
India has maintained that UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the establishment of the Line of Control (LoC).
The last report of the Secretary-General of the Security Council on UNMOGIP was published in 1972.
The group is financed by the United Nations.
Simla Agreement
It was signed by India and Pakistan in July 1972.
It established the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, which was similar to the ceasefire line established by the Karachi Accords.
Under this, India and Pakistan mutually agreed on certain principles.
They emphasised respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, not interfering in each other's internal affairs.
9. Justice Uday Umesh Lalit appointed as 49th Chief Justice of India
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Justice Uday Umesh Lalit was appointed as the 49th Chief Justice of India on 10 August after President Draupadi Murmu signed the warrant of appointment.
Important facts
Justice Lalit will take over as the 49th Chief Justice of India on 27th August 2022.
NV Ramana is currently the Chief Justice of India.
He was appointed as Judge of the Supreme Court of India in August 2014 from the Bar Association.
Justice Lalit would become the second Chief Justice of India to be directly elevated from the Bar to the Supreme Court, after Justice SM Sikri, who served as the 13th Chief Justice in 1971.
Justice Lalit has twice served as a member of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee.
About Justice Uday Umesh Lalit
He was born on 9th November, 1957 at Solapur, Maharashtra.
Justice Lalit was enrolled as an Advocate by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa in June, 1983.
He practised in the Bombay High Court until December 1985, before moving to Delhi in January 1986.
He worked in Soli Sorabji's chamber from October 1986 to 1992 and was on the panel of lawyers for the Union of India during the period when Soli Sorabji was the Attorney General of India.
From 1992 to 2002 he served as Advocate on Record and was designated as Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court in April 2004.
He was also appointed amicus curiae in many important matters like forest matters, vehicular pollution, pollution of Yamuna etc.
Landmark Judgments
In August 2017, a five-judge Constitution Bench, which also included him, declared the practice of instant divorce through 'triple talaq' as "void", "illegal" and "unconstitutional" by a 3-2 majority.
In another important judgement, a bench headed by Justice Lalit had empowered the then royal family of Travancore to manage the historic Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala, which is one of the richest temples.
A bench headed by Justice UU Lalit had ruled that touching the sexual parts of a child's body or any act involving physical contact with 'sexual intent' is punishable under Section 7 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.
10. Gustavo Petro sworn in as Colombia's first leftist President
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Gustavo Petro was sworn in as the first leftist president of Colombia on 7 August.
Important facts
He has promised to fight inequality in the country and bring about a significant change in the history of a country ravaged by a prolonged war between the government and guerrilla groups.
Petro (62) has promised to address Colombia's social and economic inequalities by increasing spending money on poverty alleviation programs and investing in rural areas.
Gustavo Petro, a former member of Colombia's M-19 guerrilla group, won the presidential election in June by defeating conservative parties by a huge margin.
The victory of former rebel Petro was an extraordinary event for the country Colombia, as voters in the country did not support leftist leaders.
Left leaders are often accused of being soft on crimes or sympathising with the guerrillas.
He has described US-led anti narcotics policies, such as the forced elimination of illegal coca crops, as a major failure.
About Colombia
Capital - Bogota
Name - Republic of Colombia
Official Language - Spanish
Currency - Colombian peso
