• Rekha Sharma appointed chairperson of NCW • NCW member Rekha Sharma, who recently stoked a controversy by suggesting abolition of confessions in churches, has been appointed as the chairperson of the National Commission for Women. • Sharma, 54, was earlier a member of the Commission and was holding the additional charge of chairperson after Lalitha Kumaramangalam demitted office in September last year. DLB 2 • TRAI chairman gets two year extension • The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has extended the term of Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) Chairman R.S. Sharma till September 2020. • His term was to end this week. • Sharma was appointed TRAI chief for three years in July 2015. Before that he was Secretary to the Department of Electronics and Information Technology. DLB 3 • Jammu and Kashmir gets first woman Chief Justice • Justice Gita Mittal took oath as the first woman Chief Justice of Jammu And Kashmir High Court. • The ceremony was administered by Governor Narinder Nath Vohra at Srinagar. • Mittal had been previously appointed as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court on April 14, 2017, after the retirement of Chief Justice Gorla Rohini. DLB 4 • Akshay Kumar Becomes Brand Ambassador for Road Safety Campaigns • Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari launched three short films for generating public awareness towards road safety. • Film actor Shri Akshay Kumar has featured in these films, which are directed by Shri R.Balki. • In a function attended by MoS Shri Mansukh L Mandavia in New Delhi, Shri Gadkari announced the appointment of Shri Akshay Kumar as Road Safety Brand Ambassador. DLB 5 • Ramesh Powar Appointed Head Coach Of Indian Women's Team • Former India off-spinner Ramesh Powar was officially appointed head coach of the India women's team, until ICC World Twenty20. • The 40-year-old Powar was initially appointed interim coach last month. • Powar carries the experience of figuring in 2 Tests and 31 One- Day Internationals (ODIs) for India. DLB 6 • Ashish Kumar Bhutani appointed CEO of PM crop insurance scheme • Senior bureaucrat Ashish Kumar Bhutani has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). • Bhutani, a 1992 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, has been appointed to the post till May 9, 2020. • Launched in 2016, the PMFBY is in line with one nation – one scheme theme. DLB 7 • Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy appointed DRDO Chief • The Government has appointed eminent scientist Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy as the Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). • The top post of the DRDO had been vacant since May after the then Chief Dr. S. Christopher stepped down. • A missile scientist, Dr. Reddy was holding charge as the Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister and also as Director General of the strategic missiles division. DLB 8 • Satya Tripathi appointed Assistant Secretary-General & Head of New York Office of UNEP • UN Secretary General António Guterres has appointed veteran Indian development economist Satya S Tripathi as Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). • Tripathi, who will succeed Elliott Harris of Trinidad and Tobago, has since 2017 served as Senior Adviser on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at UNEP. • Tripathi has worked for the United Nations since 1998 in Europe, Asia and Africa on strategic assignments. DLB 9 • PM to launch India Post Payments Bank • The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, will launch the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi on September 1st, 2018. • On the day of the launch, IPPB will have 650 Branches and 3250 Access Points spread across the country. Simultaneous launch events will be held at these branches and access points. • All the 1.55 lakh Post Offices in the country will be linked to the IPPB system by December 31, 2018. DLB 10 • RBI cancels the licence of Bhilwara Mahila Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licence of Bhilwara Mahila Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd., Bhilwara, Rajasthan to carry on banking business, with effect from the close of business on August 31, 2018. • The Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Rajasthan has also been requested to issue an order for winding up the bank and appoint a liquidator for the bank. • Consequent to the cancellation of its licence, Bhilwara Mahila Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd., Bhilwara, Rajasthan is prohibited from conducting the business of banking. DLB 11 • Sunil Mehta elected IBA Chairman • Sunil Mehta, Managing Director and CEO, Punjab National Bank, was elected as the Chairman of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) for the year 2018-19 at the association’s managing committee meeting held on August 31. • Dinabandhu Mohapatra, Managing Director and CEO, Bank of India, has been elected as IBA’s Deputy Chairman. DLB 12 • R Madhavan assumes charge as HAL CMD • R Madhavan took over as Chairman and Managing Director of defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) from T Suvarna Raju. • Prior to this, he was heading the Accessories Division of HAL at Lucknow as an Executive Director. DLB 13 • Tahira Safdar becomes first woman to head a Pakistan high court • Justice Tahira Safdar was sworn in on as the first woman chief justice of a Pakistani high court. • Justice Safdar was sworn in as the chief justice of Balochistan High Court at a ceremony held at the Governor House in Balochistan. • She made history in 1982 when she became the first woman civil judge in Balochistan. DLB 14 • Amitabh Chaudhry appointed CEO & MD of Axis Bank • Ending the speculation around the appointment of its next head once Shikha Sharma demits office, Axis Bank chose Amitabh Chaudhry, 54, as the next CEO. • He will take over as MD & CEO for 3 years from January 1, 2019 and will remain in office till December 31, 2021. • Chaudhry has been with HDFC Standard Life since January 2010 and is widely credited for the insurance company's sucessful IPO earlier this year. DLB 15 • SBI appoints Anshula Kant as Managing Director • State Bank of India has said the Government has appointed Anshula Kant as Managing Director of the Bank. • The appointment is with effect from the date of Kant taking over charge of the post and till the date of her attaining the age of superannuation. • Prior this appointment, Kant was the bank's Deputy Managing Director. • With this appointment SBI now has four MDs - PK Gupta, DK Khara and Arijit Basu. DLB 16 • Alibaba's Jack Ma to hand chairman's role to CEO Daniel Zhang next year • Jack Ma will step down as executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in exactly 12 months time with Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang to succeed him at Asia’s most valuable company. • Jack will remain on the board until Alibaba’s annual meeting of shareholders in 2020 • A former English teacher, Jack Ma started Alibaba.com in 1999 as a business-to-business marketplace with 17 co-founders. DLB 17 • Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma signed as ambassadors of Skill India Campaign • Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma have been signed on to promote and endorse the Skill India Mission, chaired by the Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. • Varun and Anushka will dedicate time to promote India's skilled talent and their fine work by engaging with them across different parts of the country. DLB 18 • Jaya Prada appointed goodwill ambassador for Nepal tourism • Former Member of Parliament and Bollywood actress Jaya Prada has been appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the promotion of Nepal tourism. • The appointment is for a period of four years. • Tourism is an important source of revenue and employment generation in Nepal. India is the biggest source market for Nepal tourism. • The Nepal government has also decided to observe the year 2020 as the 'Visit Nepal Year' and has set a target of attracting two million international visitors. DLB 19 • Rajni Kant Misra appointed BSF chief, S S Deswal to head SSB • Senior IPS officers Rajni Kant Misra and S S Deswal were appointed director general of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) respectively. • Misra, a 1984-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, is at present serving as the SSB chief. • Deswal, a 1984-batch IPS officer of the Haryana cadre, will head the SSB in place of Misra. DLB 20.