APPOINTMENTS AND NOMINATIONS IN 2011-12

Parvin Kiran Sinclair

Parvin Kiran Sinclair will be the new head of the National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT), The NCERT has been functioning without a full­time director for nearly two years. Sinclair was also Chief Advisor, Mathematics Syllabus Design Committee, NCERT, in 2005 and 2006.

Vinod Rai
Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG), Vinod Rai has been elected as the Chairman of the Panel of External Auditors of the United Nations, the Specialized Agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency. He succeeds Mr.Norbert Hauser, Vice-President, Federal Court of Auditors, Germany.

Kamal al-Ganzuri
Egypt s interim leaders had appointed former premier Kamal al Ganzuri as the country s new prime minister, amid continuing political uncertainty. The national salvation government, headed by 79-year-old Kamal al Ganzuri was sworn in, with Supreme Council of Armed Forces granting the new Prime Minister greater powers except over the military and judiciary.

E. Sreedharan
E. Sreedharan, Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the man behind the changing face of the Indian public transport , handed over the reins of the DMRC to Mangu Singh, after successful 16-year tenure as its chief. Sreedharan (79), fondly known across the country as the Metroman , had joined the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation in 1995 spending 16 years in the DMRC.

N Srinivasan
N. Srinivasan would take over the reins of BCCI from incumbent President Shashank Manohar at the Cricket Board s 82nd Annual General Meeting.

Helle Thoning-Schmidt
Helle Thoming-Schmidt was elected as the first female Prime Mminister of Denmark ending the far-right s 10-year grip on the Scandinavian country. She defeated Lars Loke Rasmussen of Danish People s Party (DPP) by very thin margin.

Kamalesh Sharma
Indian diplomat Kamalesh Sharma was reappointed as Secretary General of the 54-nation Common-wealth grouping for a four-year term beginning April 2012. India proposed 70-year-old Sharma s name for a second term to the coveted post at the concluding session of the 21st Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Perth. Pakistan seconded it. The proposal was accepted unanimously by everybody.

Ashok Chawla
Mr Ashok Chawla took charge as the Chairman of Competition Commission of India. Before being ap-pointed as the Chairman of CCI he has held key positions in several Ministries including the top administrative post in the Ministry of Finance.

Mangu Singh
As E Sreedharan prepares to call it a day after 16 years of heading the Delhi Metro, his right-hand man -Director (Works) Mangu Singh – is selected to take over as the Managing Director of the corporation from January 1, when Sreedharan s tenure comes to an end.

K.V. Kamath
The Board of Directors of Infosys Ltd., which met in Bangaluru on May 1,2011, decided to appoint K.V. Kamath as Chairman of Infosys after its founder, N.R. Narayana Murthy, steps down from his position as Chairman on August 20 when he turns 65.

Leeta Samson
The CBFC, which is responsible for censoring and rating all films shown in India, recently got a new Chief when the govemmeni appointed Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer and teacher Leela Samson as its Chairperson. Ms. Samson s ap-pointment drew attention as she is the first non-film personality in many years to hold the post.

Ajit Kumar Seth
Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Ajit Kumar Seth has been appointed the next Indian Cabinet Secretary succeeding K M Chandrashekhar. Seth, a 1974 batch IAS officer from Uttar Pradesh, is serving as Secretary, Public Grievances and Co-ordination in the Cabinet Secretariat. Seth will have fixed two year tenure. He has been on central deputation since January 1, 2009. Bom on November 24, 1951, Seth has Masters Degree in Chemistry.

Goodluclf Jonathan
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in on May 29 following an election seen as the fairest in two decades, but he faces a divided nation after deadly post-poll riots. Jonathan was inducted amid tight security at a colourful ceremony with full military honours, including a fly past in the capital of Abuja.

Yinglucl- Shinawatra
The woman, who is poised to become Thailand s first female prime minister after her landslide victory in parliamentary elections, has announced she will form a five- party coalition government. Yingluck Shinawatra ‘s Puea Thai Party took a majority of 265 seats in the 500-seat lower house of parliament making it only the second time in Thai political history that a single party won a parliamentary majority. By announcing a broad 299- seat coalition, Ms Yingluck (44) will give her government stability and head >ff fears of factional violence linked to her exiled brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Mr Abhisit, a British-born, Oxford-trained economist, stepped down as leader of the Democrat Party yesterday because of the poor electoral showing.

Maria Gomes Valentim
A Brazilian woman Maria Gomes Valentim, ranked by Guinness World Records as the world s oldest person died at the age of 114,

Pradeep Kumar
Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar was unanimously chosen Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). The selection was made by a high-power committee headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram.

The top slot in the Central government s anti-corruption watchdog body fell vacant after the Supreme Court, on March 3, quashed the ap-pointment of P.J. Thomas as CVC.

Christine Lagarde
France s Christine Lagarde has been named the first-ever female chief of the IMF, faced with an immediate crisis as violent Greek protests rocked the stability of the eurozone. The French finance minister, respected for her leadership during the financial crises that have shaken Europe over the past three years, was selected by the International Monetary Fund s executive board to take up the five-year job from July 5.

Ban Ki-moon
The U.N. General Assembly voted unanimously to give Ban Ki-moon a second term as Secretary-General, praising him for strengthening the world body s role and visibility in difficult circumstances.

Yoshihiko Noda
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda was chosen to become Japan s sixth prime minister in five years. Noda was declared the winner after defeating his nearest rival, the trade minister, Banri Kaieda.

Tony Tan
Former Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan Keng Yam has been declared elected Singapore ‘s seventh President by defeating his nearest rival by a thin margin of 7,269 votes in the first ever four-comer presidential election campaign.

Baburam Bhattarai
Nepal s legislature-parliament elected Baburam Bhattarai, Vice-Chairman of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), and new Prime Minister. Bhattarai was the deputy prime Minister and finance minister in the government led by Maoist Chairman Prachanda in 2008. Bhattarai succeeded Jhalanath Khanal, who resigned in August. Dr. Bhattarai has been in the Left movement for three decades.

Veerendra Kumar
M.P Veerendrakumar, Chairman and Managing Director of the Mathrubhoomi group of newspapers, was elected chairman of the Board of Directors of Press Trust of India (PTI) after the annual general meeting of the agency s shareholders. Veerendrakumar, who has served as PTI chairman twice earlier, succeeds Vineet Jain, Managing Director of the Times of India Group.

R. Lakshmipathy
R Lakshmipathy, Publisher of the Tamil daily Dinamalar, was elected vice-chairman. Lakshmipathy Is a leading figure in the media industry. He has been president of the INS, chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulation and a member of the Press Council of India. He runs several educational institutions.

Rohit Nandan
Rohit Nandan, Joint Secretary in the Civil Aviation Ministry, has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India for a three-year period. Nandan was earlier Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt of India.

Mamta Sharma
Mamta Sharma has taken charge as chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW). She took over from Yasmeen Abrar, who was the acting chairperson after Girija Vyas demitted office. The NCW has been without a full time chief since April. Ms. Sharma, a Congress leader from Rajasthan, was a member of the Legislative Assembly and also the president of the Rajasthan State Women Congress Committee.