Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar Retires and Bhim Sain Bassi takes charge as new Commissioner

The Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar retired from his office on 31 July 2013. He served to the police force for 37 years. At the end of his career , he came under criticism after the rape of para medical student and a five-year-old girl  However, Neeraj Kumar and his police force unearthed  the scam of spot fixing in Indian Premier League (IPL). 

 Bhim Sain Bassi, the 1977-batch IPS officer, took over the charge as the next Delhi Police Commissioner on 31 July 2013. He succeeded Neeraj Kumar. The chief of the Delhi Police, said the security of women would be given priority and special arrangements will be made to check incidents such as eve-teasing in buses and other areas to ensure that the feminine gender feels safe in the national capital

 

Smt. Anita Kaul is the new Secretary of Justice Department in the Ministry of Law & Justice.

 Anita Kaul, a 1979 batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre, is appointed as the
Secretary, Department of Justice in the Ministry of Law & Justice. She had earlier
served as Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India.  Prior to this appointment  Smt. Kaul was the Principal Secretary Planning in the Programme Implementation Department of the Govt. of Karnataka

Willem-Alexander sworn in as new Dutch king

Willem-Alexander of the House of Orange-Nassau became the Netherlands’ first king in 123 years as his mother, Queen Beatrix, ended a 33-year reign.

She signed the act of abdication in an ornate chamber at the palace.

The Dutch monarch is sworn in before a joint session of the Houses of Parliament in the deconsecrated church, rather than crowned, because church and royalty are separated in the Netherlands

Additional Solicitor-General Haren Raval resigned

Additional Solicitor General Haren Raval, who sparked a controversy by telling the Supreme Court that CBI status report on Coalgate was not shared with the government, resigned from his post.

Air Marshal Herikudru Babu Rajaram conferred AVSM

Air Marshal Herikudru Babu Rajaram was conferred the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) at the recently held Defence investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Air Marshal Rajaram was commissioned in the administrative branch of the IAF in 1977 and has held various appointments which include Senior Air Traffic Control Officer (SATCO) and Chief GCA Controller at fighter bases, Chief Administrative Officer at a fighter base and Chief Personal Staff Officer of an Operational Command. He has also commanded an equipment depot. He took over as the Air Officer administration in February this year. He was awarded Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) in 2011.

P.V. Sindhu , the first Indian lady to reach India Open semifinals.

Sindhu became the first Indian lady to reach the semifinals of the $200,000 India Open badminton championship defeating Japan’s Yui Hashimoto.

Yui Hashimoto defeated India’s Saina Nehwal in Quarter Finals.

Anil Goswami has been appointed Union Home Secretary

Anil Goswami, Jammu and Kashmir cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as the Home Secretary.

Mr. Goswami will take over from R.K. Singh, who retires on June 30 after a two-year term as Home Secretary.

Mr. Goswami would soon start functioning as Officer-on-Special Duty in the Ministry to acquaint himself with all aspects of its working.

Mr. Goswami will have a fixed two-year term and will be at the helm of affairs when general elections are held in 2014.

Shamshad Begum died at the age of 94

Shamshad Begum, who was one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry, died at her residence after prolonged illness. She was 94.

She had a distinctive voice and was a versatile artist, singing over 6000 songs in Hindi and the Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil and Punjabi languages. She worked with maestros including Naushad Ali, S. D. Burman, C. Ramchandra and O. P. Nayyar.  Her songs from the 1940s to the early 1970s remain popular and continue to be remixed.

J.S. Verma passed away

Lalgudi Gopala Iyer Jayaraman was a well-known and award-winning Indian Carnatic violinist, vocalist and composer. His disciples included his two children Lalgudi G.J.R.Krishnan, Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi and the Academy Award nominated Bombay Jayashri Ramnath.

He declined the coveted Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy, Chennai, as it came late, though the institution honoured him with a lifetime achievement award. He kept away from playing for women artistes as his father was against the idea. However, he gave a lot of concerts with his sister Lalgudi Brimanandham.

Djokovic won Monte Carlo Masters tournament.

Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal at the Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament 6-2, 7-6(7-1) to win the trophy for the first time. He stopped Rafael Nadal’s winning streak of the last eight titles here.

Sebastian Vettel won Bahrain Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel extended his lead in this year’s title race when he claimed victory for Red Bull at the Bahrain Grand Prix

It was Vettel’s second win in four races this year and the 28th of his career. The German’s victory saw him move into sixth on the all-time list of Grand Prix wins, taking him past Jackie Stewart.

Former President of the Indian Olympic Association Sivanthi Adityan dead

B. Sivanthi Adityan, Former President of the Indian Olympic Association and owner of Dina Thanthi, the largest circulated Tamil daily died after a prolonged illness.

Napolitano is re-elected as Italian President

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano was re-elected as President for one more term.

taly’s electoral college failed to elect his successor in five rounds of voting. This is the first time in the history of the Italian Republic that a President has been elected to two successive terms. He needed 504 votes of the 1007 grand electors, or 51.5 per cent, to win. The quorum was reached early morning after a day fraught with uncertainly.

Human computer, Shakuntala Devi dead

Math whiz Shakuntala Devi popularly known as human computer passed away at the age of 80.

Ms. Devi held a Guinness World Record for her lightening-speed calculations. Among her distinctions was her ability to, given a date in the last century, mentally ascertain the day.

In 1977, she calculated the 23rd root of a 201-digit number in just 50 seconds. In 1980, she multiplied two 13-digit numbers given to her randomly by the Computer Department of Imperial College, London.

Benod Behari Choudhury,Chittagong uprising hero passed away

The last of the revolutionaries who took part in the Chittagong armed uprising, Benod Behari Choudhury, died at the city hospital after a multi-organ failure late on Wednesday evening. He was 102.

The revolutionary used to live in Chittagong in Bangladesh and was brought here in January for treatment as he was suffering from respiratory problems.

Dada Saheb Phalke Award for Pran

Pran has been awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2012), the nation’s highest cinema honour.

Pran Krishan Sikand better known by his mononym, Pran, is a multiple Filmfare and BFJA award-winning Indian actor, known as a movie villain and character actor in Hindi cinema from the 1940s to the 1990s. He acted as a hero from 1940–47 and as a villain from 1942–1991 and played supporting and character roles from 1948–2007.

Amitabh presented NTR National Film Award

Film star Amitabh Bachchan was presented the NTR National Film Award for 2011 at a glittering by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, producer D. Rama Naidu and senior personalities of Tollywood.

The award carried Rs.5 lakh cash prize, a citation and a memento.

Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar is appointed as Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh

Shri Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar, Judge of the High Court of Bombay is appointed as the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh by the President of India in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of article 217 of the Constitution of India.

Renowned historian Bratindra Nath Mukherjee passes away

Renowned historian Professor Bratindra Nath Mukherjee, 79, passed away at his residence.

He was a Padma Shri awardee and author of the author of more than 50 books.

His famous books are Greek and Aramaic Edicts of Ashoka , Rise of Kushan Empire and Indian Gold , a book on ancient coins of the country and Numismatic Art of India and Coins of Bengal .

He was an expert in many languages including Sogdian. His knowledge helped him decipher many ancient scripts such as Shell and Kharoshti Brahmi.

M. F. Farooqui appointed as the secretary Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

M. F. Farooqui , a Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer of 1978 batch, appointed as the Secretary of Department of Telecommunications (DoT). He also served as Secretary, Department of Heavy Industry.