July -2014

President Pranab Mukherjee to make Twitter debut 

Pranab Mukherjee, who already has a presence on social media site facebook and enjoys 5.4 lakh likes, will be the first Indian President to be on twitter. 

With this Mukherjee joins leaders across the world who are connecting with the people directly. Sources said this is part of the President's effort to be in constant touch with the public and make Rashtrapati Bhavan accessible for the common man. 

Sanjiv Singh takes over as IOC’s director of refineries 

Sanjiv Singh took over as the Director (Refineries) of Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the nation's largest oil firm. He took over from Raj Kumar Ghosh.A Chemical Engineer from IIT-Roorkee, Singh joined IOC in 1981 and has worked in various positions at Mathura, Barauni and Panipat refineries.

Ratan Tata to receive Frost & Sullivan's GIL award 

Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of the diversified conglomerate Tata Group, will receive the Growth, Innovation and Leadership Award 2014 by Frost & Sullivan.

The award will be presented in Mumbai on September 23 during Frost & Sullivan's annual Growth, Innovation and Leadership Executive Congress.

Actor Shah Rukh Khan receives top French honour

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan was conferred with top French civilian award -- 'Knight of the Legion of Honor'. Visiting French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius presented the prestigious award to the 48-year-old actor at a function for his outstanding contribution to cultural diversity across the world. 

Former New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent admits match-fixing 

Former New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent has been banned from cricket worldwide for life after admitting match-fixing.

The 35-year-old will never be able to play, coach or participate in any form of cricket after admitting 18 counts related to fixing and deliberately under­performing while playing county cricket for Lancashire and Sussex.

Jitu Rai is the world’s No 1 air pistol shooter

The 27-year-old armyman from Lucknow is the seventh Indian shooter to have achieved this feat.After winning three medals in the ISSF World Cups in Munich and Slovenia recently, in-form Indian shooter Jitu Rai today achieved the world's number one ranking in air pistol event.

Anjali Bhagwat, Rajyavardhan Rathore, Gagan Narang, Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Ronjon Sodhi and Heena Sidhu are the others to have claimed the numero uno position in their respective events.

Satya Nadella, Subra Suresh to be honoured for contributions to US 

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Carnegie Mellon University President Subra Suresh are among several immigrants who will be honoured this week on the occasion of America's independence day for their achievements and contributions towards making the US "vibrant and strong".

Narendra Modi is the 2nd most popular politician on Facebook after Obama 

Narendra Modi has the fastest growing Facebook page for any elected official in the world and is only second after US president Barack Obama in terms of fan following of politicians, an official of the social networking website said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the world's second most popular politician, with over 18 million Facebook friends just behind US President Barack Obama.

An increasing number of politicians globally, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have been using social media such as Facebook and Twitter to connect with the masses. 

Ram Naresh Yadav sworn-in as Chhattisgarh Governor

Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav was on Wednesday sworn-in as the Governor of Chhattisgarh.

Chief Justice Yatindra Singh of Bilaspur High Court administered the oath of office to Yadav in a function organized in Raipur at Raj Bhawan.

He has been given the additional charge of Chhattisgarh following the resignation of former Governor Shekhar Dutt. 

Meghalaya Governor Krishan Kant Paul takes additional charge of Nagaland 

Meghalaya Governor Krishan Kant Paul  today took over the additional charge as the 18th governor of Nagaland following the resignation of Ashwani Kumar from the post on June 25 last.

After his swearing-in, the governor in his address to the gathering stressed on the need to facilitate a conducive social environment, to enable the willing participation of all sections of society, for inclusive development.

Narendra Modi becomes third most followed world leader on Twitter

Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is now the third most followed world leader on Twitter overtaking Indonesian President SB Yudhoyono.

Narendra Modi has around 5,090,546 followers (at the time of filing this story) compared to S B Yudhoyono's- 5,088,156 followers. Only the President of the United States Barack Obama and the Pope have more followers on Twitter.

This shows how Narendra Modi has been actively using Twitter to connect with the masses reinforcing the tool of digital diplomacy in a larger context making the social media platform a powerful channel for communicating and engaging with all Indians across the country.

PM Narendra Modi seeks Facebook  COO Sheryl Sandberg's help on awareness about cleanliness 

The Prime Minister discussed with Ms. Sandberg, ways through which a platform such as Facebook can be used for governance and better interaction between the people and governments. He also talked about how Facebook can be used to bring more tourists to India. Shri Narendra Modi also spoke to Ms. Sandberg on how Facebook can assist us in commemorating Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary year with a special focus on cleanliness. 

Dr D Y Patil appointed West Bengal's acting Governor 

The President  asked Bihar Governor D.Y. Patil to hold additional charge as Governor after  the resignation of M.K. Narayanan as West Bengal Governor.

Mr. Narayanan resigned on June 30, becoming the fourth Governor appointed during UPA rule to put in his papers since the NDA government prodded some of them to quit.

RBI re-appoints HR Khan as deputy governor for two years 

The Government on Thursday re-appointed Harun Rashid Khan as the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. The appointment has been made for two years with effect from July 4, 2014 or until further orders. Khan was appointed deputy governor in July 2011 for a three-year term, which was set to expire on July 3. As deputy governor, Khan looks after the foreign exchange department and internal debt management, among others.

Professor M K Sanu choosen for Basheer award 

Renowned writer Prof M K Sanu has been chosen for the 20th Basheer award, instituted jointly by Pravasi Doha, an organisation of Malayali's based in Qatar and Kochi-based Pravasi Trust, in memory of Malayalam novelist and short story writer late Vaikkom Muhammed Basheer for his contributions.

The award which carries a purse of Rs. 50,000 and a sculputre designed by artist Namboothiri would be given to Sanu at a function in Doha in November. Among the other awards won by Sanu includes Kerala Sahitya Academy Award, Kendra Sahitya Academy award and Ezhuthachan award of Kerala Government.

Sardar Singh retained captain for CWG

India may have finished a poor ninth at the World Cup, but Hockey India continued to repose faith in Sardar Singh, retaining him as captain of the national men`s team for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games.

Goalkeeper P R Sreejesh will be the vice-captain of the 16-member squad at the July 23-August 3 event in Glasgow.

Goa Governor B V Wanchoo resigns 

Goa Governor BV Wanchoo has resigned, hours after he was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation as a witness in connection with alleged irregularities in the purchase of 12 helicopters meant for VVIP use from Augsta Westland an Anglo-Indian defence manufacturer.

Mr Wanchoo became the governor of Goa in May, 2012. His tenure was scheduled to end in 2017, but after questioning by the CBI, he opted to resign from his post like the Governor of West Bengal MK Narayanan did last week after being questioned by the CBI in the same case.