Appointments and Resignations Questions and Answers

Answer: A

As on April 2023 the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India was Shri Shaktikanta Das, who held the office from December 2018. Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra was a Deputy Governor, T. Rabi Sankar was also a Deputy Governor, and M. Rajeshwar Rao was a Deputy Governor as well, so the three of them were not the Governor at that time.

Answer: A

As on April 2023 the Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India was Ms. Madhabi Puri Buch, who took charge in March 2022 and was the first woman to head SEBI. Ajay Tyagi held the post before her, U. K. Sinha was chairman earlier still, from 2011 to 2017, and M. Damodaran was chairman from 2005 to 2008. Only Ms. Buch held the office in April 2023.

Answer: C

The Director is Dr. Mallika Sarabhai.

Mallika Sarabhai, the Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dancer and activist, has directed the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts in Ahmedabad, which was founded by her parents Vikram Sarabhai and Mrinalini Sarabhai.

Sonal Mansingh, Shovana Narayan and Hema Malini are classical dancers too, but they do not direct Darpana.

Mallika Sarabhai is a Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dancer, writer and social activist. Darpana was founded in 1949 in Ahmedabad by her parents Vikram Sarabhai and Mrinalini Sarabhai.

Answer: A

The Chief of Defence Staff appointed in September 2022 was Lt Gen Anil Chauhan.

Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retd), a former Eastern Army Commander, was appointed India's second Chief of Defence Staff on 28 September 2022 and took office on 30 September, filling the post left vacant after General Bipin Rawat's death in December 2021. He was promoted to the rank of General on taking charge.

General Manoj Pande was then the Chief of the Army Staff, General M. M. Naravane was his predecessor as Army Chief, and Admiral Karambir Singh was a former Chief of the Naval Staff.

Answer: A

The appointee was Anshula Kant.

Anshula Kant, a former Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the State Bank of India, was appointed Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank Group in July 2019.

Gita Gopinath was then chief economist of the IMF, and Nirmala Sitharaman is India's Finance Minister. Neither was appointed to this World Bank post.

Answer: B

The new CEO was Salil Parekh.

After Vishal Sikka resigned as Infosys CEO in August 2017 amid differences with the founders, U. B. Pravin Rao served as interim CEO. In December 2017 the board appointed Salil Parekh, formerly of Capgemini, as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, and he took charge in January 2018.

Nandan Nilekani, an Infosys co-founder, returned in August 2017 as non-executive chairman, not as CEO. N. R. Narayana Murthy is the founder and former chairman, and Deepak Parekh is the chairman of HDFC, with no executive role at Infosys.

Answer: C

The nominee was Sudha Murty.

In March 2024 the President nominated author and philanthropist Sudha Murty to the Rajya Sabha under Article 80, which allows 12 members with special knowledge of literature, science, art and social service to be nominated.

Ilaiyaraaja, Ghulam Ali (Khatana) and Satnam Singh Sandhu were nominated earlier, between 2022 and January 2024, so the 2024 nomination that completed the twelve was hers.

Answer: D

The Lokpal Chairperson appointed in 2024 is Shri Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar.

Former Supreme Court judge A.M. Khanwilkar was appointed Chairperson of the Lokpal of India in February 2024 and took office in March 2024.

Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose was the first Lokpal (2019-2022). Justices Lingappa Narayana Swamy and Sanjay Yadav were appointed judicial members of the Lokpal at the same time, not chairperson.

Answer: A

The Chairman was Justice Gangaram Moolchandani.

Justice Gangaram Moolchandani, a retired judge, was appointed Chairperson of the Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission by the Governor and held the office in April 2025. The commission is constituted under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, and its chairperson must be a retired Chief Justice or judge of a High Court.

Ashok Kumar Gupta, a retired IPS officer, was appointed a member of the commission at the same time, which makes him a close distractor; he was not its chairman.

Answer: B

The Chief Election Commissioner on 1 April 2025 was Gyanesh Kumar.

Gyanesh Kumar took charge as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner of India in February 2025, the first appointed under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.

Rajiv Kumar was his predecessor and retired in February 2025; Sushil Chandra and Sunil Arora held the post before Rajiv Kumar.