Appointments - Current Affairs for February, 2017

Tata Group hospitality arm Indian Hotels Company Ltd has said N Chandrasekaran has been elected as the Chairman of its board of directors.

He was initially appointed as a Member of the board on January 27, 2017.

Chandrashekaran had taken over as Chairman of Tata Sons on February 21, becoming the first non - Parsi Chairman of the USD 103 billion Tata Group after heading its leading company TCS for years.

Indian Hotels: Know More

- CEO: Rakesh Sarna (1 Sep 2014)

- Headquarters: Mumbai

- Founder: Jamsetji Tata

- Parent organization: Tata Group

The Union Government has appointed Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre of the Supreme Court as Chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

He was nominated by Chief Justice J.S. Khehar.

In December 2016, Union Cabinet had cleared a proposal to set up a single, permanent Water Disputes Tribunal to adjudicate all inter-state river water disputes subsuming existing tribunals.

It also had proposed to float some Benches to look into disputes to speed up water sharing disputes among States.

Cauvery Tribunal

• The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) was constituted by the Government of India on 2nd June 1990.
• It was to adjudicate the water dispute regarding inter-state river Cauvery and the river valley thereof. The Tribunal had also passed an Interim Order in June, 1991 and further Clarificatory Orders on the Interim Order in April, 1992 and December, 1995.
• The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal has submitted its reports and decision under Section 5 (2) of Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 to Government on 5th February, 2007.
• The party states and the Central Govt. have sought clarification and guidelines under Section 5(3) of the Act.
• Matter was heard on 29.7.08 and the apex court passed the order that the matter maybe listed before a three Judge bench in Nov, 2008.

Cressida Dick was named the new commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police on Wednesday, the first woman to lead Scotland Yard in its 188-year history.

Dick, a former assistant commissioner of the force, succeeds Bernard Hogan-Howe, who is stepping down next week.

The Met is Britain's biggest and oldest police force, with 43,000 officers.

Home secretary Amber Rudd said that 56-year-old Dick has a clear vision for the future of the Metropolitan Police and an understanding of the diverse range of communities it serves.

Dick, who left the police force in 2015 to work at the foreign office, led the security operation for the 2012 London Olympics and was highly regarded by many Scotland Yard peers.

She had drawn criticism for commanding an operation after the July 2005 London bombings in which a Brazilian man, Jean Charles de Menezes, was shot after being mistaken for a suicide bomber

Cressida Dick: Know More

• Cressida Rose Dick, CBE, QPM is a British senior police officer.
• She is a Director-general at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
• She is to be the next Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, succeeding Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.
• Born: 1960, Oxford, United Kingdom
• Education: Balliol College, University of Cambridge

Tata Sons Chairman-designate Natarajan Chandrasekaran will also hold the chairmanship of the group's crown jewel Tata Consultancy Services from 21^st Feb 2017.

The country's largest software services provider has also named V Ramakrishnan as its Chief Financial Officer to succeed Rajesh Gopinathan, who will take over as the CEO and MD of the Tata Group company.

The nomination was duly noted by the directors at its meeting held on February 20, 2017.

Chandrasekaran, currently Chief Executive and Managing Director of TCS, will take charge as the Non-Executive Chairman of the board of directors of TCS with effect from tomorrow.

In a separate filing, TCS said its board of directors appointed V Ramakrishnan as the Chief Financial Officer with effect from February 21.

Ramakrishnan, or Ramki as he is popularly known, joined TCS Finance in 1999, and served as the Finance Head of TCS North America for seven years.

Earlier in the day, TCS also announced a Rs 16,000 crore buyback, the largest till date in the Indian corporate history.

Tata Sons had earlier appointed Ishaat Hussain as TCS Chairman on November 11.

TCS had said Hussain would hold office as the Chairman until a new Chairman is appointed in his place.

TCS: Know More

• CEO: Rajesh Gopinathan (21 Feb 2017)
• Revenue: 16.54 billion USD (2016)
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founders: J. R. D. Tata, F. C. Kohli

Punjab National Bank (PNB) has a new non-executive Chairman in Sunil Mehta.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) for the appointment of Mehta as non-executive Chairman of PNB.

He has been appointed for a period of three years.

The only condition is that he would be required to resign from the board of State Bank of India before joining the board of Punjab National Bank.

About Sunil Mehta

• A Fellow Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and an alumni of the Wharton School of Management, USA, Mehta is currently Chairman & Managing Director at SPM Capital Advisors Pvt Ltd.
• Mehta has over 33 years of leadership experience in banking, insurance, financial services and investments with Citibank and AIG.
• As Country Head of AIG for 13 years, Mehta was responsible for setting up in India and overseeing 10 businesses covering life & non-life insurance, private equity, asset management, real estate, home and consumer finance, software development, mortgage guaranty and aircraft leasing.
• Mehta worked at Citibank for 18 years in various senior positions, which included head of the corporate bank in India and senior credit officer.

Eight Executive Directors (EDs) have been appointed in various public sector banks on the recommendations of Banks Board Bureau.

Initially, they have been appointments for a three-year period.

List of Appointed Executive Directors

- Neelam Damodharan and Atanu Kumar Das have been appointed as EDs in Bank of India. Presently, Damodharan serves as the General Manager in Bank of Baroda and Das is General Manager in Vijaya Bank.

- P Ramana Murthy will be Executive Director of Central Bank of India. He is GM of Allahabad Bank.

- Fareed Ahmed Khan, General Manager of Corporation Bank, has been appointed as the ED in Punjab and Sind Bank.

- M K Bhattacharya, Chief General Managers of State Bank of Mysore has been appointed as the EDs of Indian Bank

- K Swaminathan, the General Manager in Indian Overseas Bank, has been appointed as ED in Indian Overseas Bank.

- Ashok Kumar Pradhan has been appointed as the ED in United Bank of India. Presently he serves as the Chief General Manager with State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.

- S Harishankar who serves as Chief General Managers of State Bank of Travancore has been appointed EDs of Allahabad Bank.

Senior Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer and noted novelist Vikas Swarup of Slumdog Millionaire-fame will be the India's High Commissioner to Canada, as announced on 16th Feb 2017.

Swarup, currently working as Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, will replace Arun Kumar Sahu who is currently working as acting Indian High Commissioner to Canada.

Slumdog Millionaire which won eight Oscar's was based on Swarup's successful debut novel "Q&A".

MEA is set to appoint Gopal Baglay, who is currently joint secretary (Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran), as the new official spokesperson.

Baglay has earlier served as India’s deputy high commissioner to Pakistan. He was also the director in former external affairs minister S M Krishna’s office.

Baglay, who had served in Nepal and Russia, is deft at handling the media as he was earlier posted in the External Publicity Division in MEA as a director and was responsible for President’s visits.

Swarup, whose debut novel Q & A was made into the Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire, had helmed the high-profile office since April, 2015. Swarup had earlier served in Turkey, the US, Ethiopia, Britain, South Africa and Japan.

Under Swarup’s leadership, the MEA had launched a ‘Twitter Seva’ service to centralise its grievance redressal mechanism.

MEA had previously also launched an app, bringing websites and various social media handles of over 170 Indian missions on a common platform.

France’s Jean-Pierre Lacroix (56) was appointed as Under-Secretary-General for the United Nations peacekeeping operations.

He will succeed Herve Ladsous, who will step down in March 2017 after six years of service.

Mr. Lacroix will have tenure of one year. Currently, he is director for the UN at the French foreign Ministry.

UN Peacekeeping: Know More

- A UN peacekeeping operation is led by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO).

- It works to create the conditions for lasting peace in a country torn by conflict.

- A peacekeeping operation consists of military, police and civilian personnel.

- They work to deliver security, political and early peace building support.

Nilesh Shivji Vikamsey was appointed new President of Institute of Chartered Accountant of India (ICAI) for the year 2017-18.

Prior to this appointment, he was the Vice President of the CA institute in 2016-17.

He has been a member of the ICAI since 1985.

Besides, Naveen N D Gupta was appointed as vice-president.

About ICAI:

• ICAI is the statutory professional accounting body of India.
• Its affairs are managed by a council in accordance with the provisions of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 and the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988.
• The council has 32 elected members and 8 are nominated by the Union Government.

Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd. CMD Sandeep Jajodia has been appointed the new President of industry chamber ASSOCHAM.

Balkrishan Goenka, Chairman, Welspun Group and Kiran Kumar Grandhi, vice-chairman of GMR Infrastructure Ltd, have taken over as senior vice-president and vice-president respectively.

Jajodia took over from Sunil Kanoria, vice-chairman, Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited.

ASSOCHAM initiated its endeavour of value creation for Indian industry in 1920.

It has more than 400 Chambers and Trade Associations, serving more than 4,50,000 members from all over India.

ASSOCHAM is set to influence dynamics of growth and development in the technology driven cyber age of ‘Knowledge Based Economy’.

ASSOCHAM derives its strength from its Promoter Chambers and other Industry/ Regional Chambers/Associations spread all over the country.

The government has appointed senior finance ministry official Ajay Tyagi as the chairman of the India markets watchdog, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for a five-year term.

Tyagi, who is currently an additional secretary at finance ministry’s economic affairs department, will succeed Upendra Kumar Sinha as the chairman of Sebi. Sinha’s current term ends on 1 March.

Upendra Kumar Sinha's extended tenure ends on March 1.

Tyagi, a 1984 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, is at present Additional Secretary (Investment) in the Department of Economic Affairs and handles capital market, among others.

Tyagi has been appointed as chairman of the markets regulator, an official order said.

Sinha's three-year term began in February 2011, following which he got two extensions, making him one of the longest-serving SEBI chiefs.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet-headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Tyagi's appointment for a period not exceeding five years or till the age of 65 years, it said.

58-year-old Tyagi hails from Uttar Pradesh.

As per the eligibility criteria, a person can hold the position of Sebi chairman till the age of 65 years or for a term decided by the government.

Sinha, a 1976 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, had assumed office as the Sebi chairman on February 18, 2011, when the previous UPA government was in power.

He was later given a two-year extension. Days before the end of his tenure in February last year, he was given another extension till March 1, 2017.

Tyagi for a short while was also on the board of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The process for selecting the next chief of the Sebi started in September 2015, pursuant to which several applications were received for the position.

GoI had decided to give a one-year extension to Sinha to ensure stability due to volatile market conditions.

Sebi chairman receives consolidated pay package of Rs 4.5 lakh per month.

Hemant Bhargava was appointed as managing director of state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India.

He is at present LIC’s zonal manager, Delhi. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved Bhargava’s appointment to the post till his superannuation, i.e., 31 July, 2019.

The top LIC management consists of the chairman and three managing directors.

LIC already has Usha Sangwan as its managing director and Bhargava will join her as the second MD.

As per the LIC Act, the insurance corporation can have four MDs, apart from the Chairman, as part of its top management.

It is anticipated that one more MD will be appointed. In 2013, LIC functioned with its full strength of four MDs and one chairman after a long duration.

However, Sushobhan Sarkar and SB Mainak retired from the MD post after which two positions were lying vacant.

In 2016, former chairman SK Roy resigned from his post two years before completion of his term.

After this, LIC Managing Director VK Sharma was appointed as the Chairman.

All About LIC

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founder: Government of India
• Founded: 1 September 1956
• Owner: Government of India
• Revenue: 88.4 billion USD (2015)
• Total assets: 20.09 trillion INR (2016)
• Subsidiaries: LIC Cards Services, LIC Nomura Mutual Fund etc.

GoI has appointed three directors on the all-powerful central board of RBI, which include two noted economists Ashok Gulati and Rajiv Kumar, for four years.

Besides Gulati and Kumar, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Manish Sabharwal as a director.

Further, the ACC has also approved the proposal of the Department of Financial Services for appointment of three members on the local board of RBI.

Prasanna Kumar Mohanty (Southern Local Board), Vallabh Roopchand Bhanshali (Western) and Sunil Mitra (Eastern) have been appointed for four years.

The last board-level appointment by the government was made when it elevated N S Vishwanathan to the post of deputy governor in June.

Prior to that, in March, the government had nominated three non-official directors - Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Bharat Narotam Doshi and Sudhir Mankad - on the central board of the bank.

Manish Sabharwal is a businessman and entrepreneur, who is currently the chairman of Teamlease, which he co-founded.

Prior to this, he also co-founded India Life, a human resource outsourcing company.

Mr. Kumar is a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research and has authored several books on India’s economy.

He is also currently chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Economics and Politics in Pune.

He is also the founding director of Pahle India Foundation, a non-profit research organisation.

Mr. Gulati is currently the Infosys Chair Professor for Agriculture at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).

Prior to that, he was the chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), the body responsible for recommending Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) of agri-commodities to the government.

In addition to this, the Cabinet also approved the proposal by the Department of Financial Services for appointment of three members on the local board of the RBI.

RBI Board of Directors: Know More

• The RBI's affairs are governed by the central board of directors.
• The board is appointed by the government.
• The central board comprises the governor, deputy governors, 10 directors from various fields, two government officials and one each from the four local boards.
• As per the RBI website, besides the governor and deputy governors, there are six directors on the central board.
• These are Nachiket Mor, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Bharat Narotam Doshi, Sudhir Mankad, Shaktikanta Das and Anjuly Chib Duggal.

Hinduja Technologies, part of the diversified business conglomerate Hinduja Group said Kumar Prabhas has been appointed as its CEO with immediate effect.

Prior taking up the new role, Prabhas was serving Larsen and Toubro, Technology Services as its COO and Whole Time Director.

Hinduja Technologies is one of the specialized Enterprise Resource Planning and Engineering Service Providers for automobile sector.

City-headquartered Hinduja Technologies has engineering and development centres in Chennai and Pune. It also has presence in USA, Germany, United Kingdom, France and Japan.

He has also worked in leadership roles in various companies including Unisys, Sasken, Wipro and among others.

Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati on 4^th Feb 2017 named Rajeev Singh, member (finance) as interim chief executive officer (CEO) at its board meeting in Hyderabad.

Prasar Bharati runs Doordarshan and All India Radio.

Singh will replace Suresh Chandra Panda who has been serving as interim CEO since November 2016, after full time chief Jawhar Sircar put in his papers in October.

Panda was formerly member (personnel) of Prasar Bharati and is scheduled to retire on 4 February.

Singh, who has been serving Prasar Bharati as member (finance) since April 2015, was previously with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd in different roles for a little over nine years.

Singh is an engineering graduate from Nagpur University and has a masters in business administration from Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi.

Singh’s appointment comes at a time when the public broadcaster is all set to revamp Doordarshan by introducing new prime time programming in February.

The production houses Ekta Kapoor-promoted Balaji Telefilms and Saaibaba Telefilms are readying programming ranging from youth-oriented shows to family dramas and music reality shows in a bid to revive the viewership and finances of Prasar Bharati.

Currently, Prasar Bharati has two vacant top posts.

While a committee headed by the vice-president is in the process of selecting a new CEO for the public broadcaster, the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry had issued an advertisement, calling applications for the post of member (personnel).

The ministry has received 56 applications and is yet to make a decision.

Achamkulangare Gopinathan, a top Indian diplomat, has been re-appointed by the UN General Assembly to the Joint Inspection Unit.

This is the only independent external oversight body of the UN system.

Gopinathan, along with Sukai Prom-Jackson of Gambia, Jean Wesley Cazeau of Haiti and Nikolay Lozinskiy of Russia were appointed members of the Joint Inspection Unit for a five-year term beginning January 1, 2018.

The Joint Inspection Unit is the only independent external oversight body of the United Nations system mandated to conduct evaluations, inspections and investigations system-wide.

Gopinath’s re-appointment follows his nomination by India and endorsement as the sole candidate of the Asia-Pacific Group.

Gopinathan was first appointed to the UN body for a term from January 2013 to December 2017.

At that election, he had secured 106 votes out of 183 votes and had defeated Ambassador Zhang Yan of China.

He was serving as Chairman of the Joint Inspection Unit.

All About the Joint Inspection Unit

• The Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) is a United Nations unit established by resolution 31/192 of December 22, 1976 of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
• Its objective is to enhance the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations system.
• For this, it may make on-the-spot inquiries and investigations.
• The Joint Inspection Unit is the only independent external oversight body of the United Nations system mandated to conduct evaluations, inspections and investigations system-wide.
• It is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

KPMG India board has elected Arun Kumar as chairman and CEO to lead the India operations of the consulting and accounting major.

He succeeds Richard Rekhy, who stepped down in November last year following a large scale exodus of key people from the advisory team.

In Jan 2016, Rekhy had been re-elected for a four year term.

Kumar, who spent the majority of his career with KPMG in the US, will take charge from February 5 for a five-year term.

He joins the firm at a time when the Big Four accounting and audit firms are jostling for market share following mandatory rotation of auditors as prescribed under the Companies Act 2013.

In 2016, Deloitte, the market leader in the audit space, had turned away key people from KPMG’s advisory team.

Deloitte is in the process of strengthening its advisory practice in India.

Arun Kumar brings a wealth of international leadership experience to KPMG India, including his tenure in public service in the United States for the last three years as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of US and Foreign Commercial Service in the Obama administration.

KPMG: Know More

• Headquarters: Amstelveen, Netherlands
• Revenue: 25.42 billion USD (2016)
• Founded: 1987
• Number of employees: 188,982
• Founders: Klynveld Main Goerdeler, Marwick Mitchell & Co., Klynveld Kraayenhof & Co., William Barclay Peat & Co.

Former Deputy CAG Suman Saxena and two others have been appointed as whole-time members in Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).

Besides Saxena, Mukulita Vijaywargiya and Navrang Saini have also been appointed as the new members.

Vijaywargiya, an officer of Indian Legal Service, is working as Additional Secretary in Ministry of Law and Justice.

Saini, who belongs to Indian Corporate Law Service, is Director General in Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

They have been appointed to the board for five years or till completion of 65 years of age, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said.

The board is mandated to regulate the functioning of insolvency professionals, insolvency professional agencies and information utilities under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

The code is meant for insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time-bound manner.

Sanjeev Sanyal, economist, author and former global strategist and Managing Director of Deutshe Bank, has been appointed as the principal economic adviser in the finance ministry.

A notification by the department of personnel and training (DoPT) on Feb 3 2017 said Sanyal has been appointed on contract for a three-year period from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders.

He has authored several books such as:

- Land of the Seven Rivers: A Brief History of India’s Geography, The Indian Renaissance: India’s Rise After a Thousand Years of Decline,

- The Incredible History of India’s Geography and

- The Ocean of Churn.

He will effectively serve as the deputy to Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian.

Sanyal, an alumnus of Delhi’s Shri Ram College of Commerce and the University of Oxford, has worked extensively in global financial markets.

The World Economic Forum named him the Young Global Leader 2010.

Sanyal is also an Advisor at Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund.

• He is an Adjunct Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies (Singapore);
• Visiting Fellow at Oxford University (UK),
• Chief Advisor at Asia-Pacific to the John Templeton Foundation,
• Director of the Green Accounting for Indian States Project, and
• Member of the Governing Council of the Economic Society of Singapore.

• Sanjeev Sanyal is an Indian economist, bestselling writer, environmentalist, and urban theorist.
• He is widely regarded as one of Asia's leading economists.
• He was Deutsche Bank's Global Strategist and a Managing Director till 2015.
• A Rhodes Scholar and Eisenhower Fellow, he was named "Young Global Leader 2010" by the World Economic Forum at Davos.
• He is also the author of four best selling books.

Anand Kumar Gupta has taken over the charge as director commercial at NTPC.

As director commercial, he will be responsible for the activities relating to commercial, international and domestic business development and consultancy business of NTPC.

Gupta (56 years) is graduate in electrical engineering from Moti Lal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad.

He has a career spanning over 36 years of contribution in the company in various positions including those of executive director – incharge of commercial and executive director (Engineering).

He has a career spanning over 36 years of outstanding contribution in the Company in various positions including those of Executive Director - incharge of Commercial and Executive Director (Engineering).

He also headed Business Development Department of NTPC and plant operations and maintenance at station.

Gupta made major contributions in development of international business for NTPC.

He was responsible for evolving commercial strategies for changing business scenario, development of new projects and improving plant operations.

As Director (Commercial), he will be responsible for the activities relating to Commercial, International and Domestic Business development and Consultancy business of NTPC.

NTPC Ltd has informed BSE that in pursuance of Article 41 of the Articles of Association of NTPC Limited, Ministry of Power vide its Office Order dated February 03.

As part of his post, he will be responsible for the activities relating to Commercial, International and Domestic Business development and Consultancy business of NTPC.

NTPC: Know More

• Type: PSU
• Public company
• Traded as: BSE: 532555; NSE: NTPC; BSE SENSEX Constituent; CNX Nifty Constituent
• Industry: Electric Utility
• Founded: 1975
• Headquarters: New Delhi, India
• CMD: Gurdeep Singh
• Products: electrical power; natural gas
• Services: Electricity generation and distribution, natural gas exploration, production, transportation and distribution

Leading stock exchange National Stock Exchange has selected IDFC chief Vikram Limaye as its new CEO and Managing Director.

This is two months after the sudden exit of Chitra Ramkrishna from the top post.

NSE’s board gave approval for Limaye’s name for the top position.

Limaye was chosen by a selection panel and his appointment approved by the board of India’s largest stock exchange.

The appointment of Limaye, 50, currently CEO and MD of IDFC Ltd, an infrastructure financing firm, will have to be cleared by the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Limaye will succeed Chitra Ramkrishna, who left NSE owing to personal reasons on 2 December, a little more than a year before her tenure was to end.

Following her resignation, the board of NSE appointed Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd chairman Anand Mahindra, former Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Usha Thorat, founder of Dhruva Advisors Llp Dinesh Kanabar and former Infosys Ltd director Mohandas Pai consulted to choose Ramkrishna’s successor.

J. Ravichandran, who used to serve as group president of finance and legal and company secretary at NSE, was named the interim MD and CEO.

He will serve in the position until Limaye takes charge.

Limaye, who will be the first NSE CEO from outside the founding team that set up the exchange in the 1990s, will have his hands full at the helm.

The stock exchange has filed a draft prospectus with the regulator for an initial public offering after a long battle with existing shareholders who had wanted the bourse to list earlier.

Sebi is currently examining allegations against NSE that it gave preferential and unfair access to some brokers on its algorithmic trading platform.

Sebi is also studying a forensic audit report on this issue prepared by Deloitte India.

Limaye was also named to a four-member committee formed by the Supreme Court to manage the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Limaye has served as the head of IDFC for four years.

A chartered accountant with a master’s degree in business administration, Limaye started his career with Arthur Andersen in Mumbai in 1987.

He has worked in the audit and business advisory services groups of Arthur Andersen and EY and the consumer banking groups of Citibank and Credit Suisse.

Former Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma on 1^st Feb 2017 took over as Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation.

He was the Director-General of Prisons, the Director-General of Police in Mizoram and Puducherry.

He also served as the Inspector-General of Police in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

In official capacity over 37 years, Mr. Verma held several positions in the vigilance, intelligence, crime & railways and administration wings.

Alok Kumar Verma is a 1979 batch Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre IPS officer.

The new CBI Director is known for his strong belief in the transformational role of technology.

Verma has led various projects across organisations aimed at early adoption of technology in policing.

While serving as the police chief in Mizoram, Puduchery and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, he also introduced a slew of reformative and progressive measures in order to streamline policing services and up flight the morale of his team.

While serving as the Delhi Police commissioner, Verma introduced all-women Police Control Room vans in the national capital.

He is also credited with trying to boost police accountability with the help of public interactions, community policing and increasing visibility of police, among other steps.

Known to be a champion towards the cause of improvement of welfare of the force, Verma also worked to bring in greater transparency, especially in the areas of procurement, registration of complaints and recruitment of entry-level staff.

Recent Delhi Police Chiefs: (number, name and date of office)

Dushyant Chautala was elected as president of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) .

This was at the annual general body meeting held at Gurugram on 31^st Jan 2017.

M.P. Singh and Arun Kumar Banerjee will be the new secretary general and treasurer respectively, according to a release from TTFI.

The office-bearers:

• President: Dushyant Chautala;
• Secretary General: M.P. Singh;
• Treasurer: Arun Kumar Banerjee;
• Vice-Presidents: Milind Torwane, M.S. Sirsa, Chiranjib Choudhary, P. Karunakaran, Vero Nunes, Sharad Shukla, R.K. Parida and Haresh Sangtani;
• Joint Secretaries: Mantu Ghosh, Jayesh Acharya, Tridip Duvarah, Prakash Raju;
• Executive Members: Yatin K. Tipnis, Manjit Singh Dua, S. Halder, T.K. Vijay Rangam and Ajay Sharma.