February 2015

APPOINTED: ELECTED; Etc
Arvind Kejriwal: He has been elected as the Chief Minister of Delhi.
Nitish Kumar: He has been elected as Chief Minister of Bihar.
L.C. Goyal: He has been appointed as Union Home Secretary.
Arun Singh: He has been appointed as India’s Ambassador to USA. A 1979-batch IFS officer, he replaces S. Jaishankar, who was appointed as India’s Foreign Secretary.

 RESIGNED
Jitan Ram Manjhi: Chief Minister of Bihar.
Ram Naresh Yadav: Governor of Madhya Pradesh. He resigned following the registration of FIR against him by Special Task Force (STF) probing the multi-crore Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board or Vyapam scam—a massive admission and recruitment scandal involving politicians and some senior and influential State government officials.

DISTINGUISHED VISITORS
Tony Tan Keng Yam: President of Singapore. The visit focused on increasing bilateral relations and strengthening of cooperation on regional and international issues that would take the partnership between the two countries to a higher level.  Both sides agreed on sharing of experiences in science and technology, space and other areas to enhance productivity as well as broadening cooperation in fighting terrorism.
Maithripala Sirisena: President of Sri Lanka. This was his first foreign trip after assuming charge. Key issues, including peace, and reconciliation process in his country, were discussed in his talks with Prime Minister Modi. He also travelled to the Buddhist pilgrimage site Bodh Gaya and a temple in Tirupati.

MILESTONES
Yogaraj C.P.: A 29-year-old Indian yoga teacher in Hong Kong, he has set a Guinness World Record for performing Yoga continuously for 40 hours non-stop, demonstrating more than 1,500 ‘asanas’.

DIED
Leonard Nimoy: who won fame and fans with his portrayal of logic-bound, half-alien Mr. Spock in the “Star Trek” TV series and movies, died on 27 February 2015 at age 83.

EVENTS

FEBRUARY 2015
12—Thousands of fans cram leafy Hagley Park, Christchurch, to see the launch of the first World Cup in New Zealand and Australia in 23 years, the formal part of which began with a lone bagpiper and ended with a booming fireworks display—the biggest in the city’s history.