National And International (Feb-19)

• Krishnamurthy Subramanian Named New CEA

The government on December 7, 2018 appointed Krishnamurthy Subramanian, associate professor and executive director (Centre for Analytical Finance) of Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, as the new Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) to the finance minister for a period of three years.

             He replaces Arvind Subramanian, who resigned from the post on June 20 this year. A Ph.D from Chicago-Booth and a top ranking IIT-IIM alumnus, Subramanian is a leading expert on banking, corporate governance and economic policy. He obtained his MBA and Ph.D in financial economics under the advice of professor Lulgi Zingales and former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan. His research in banking, law and finance, innovation and economic growth, and corporate governance has been published in leading journals, including The Review of Financial Studies, the Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and the Journal of Law and Economics. Before beginning his academic career, Subramanian worked as a consultant with JPMorgan Chase in New York. He also served in a management role in the research group at ICICI Ltd. He was awarded ISB’s inaugural Alumni Endowment Research Fellow in 2014 for his exceptional work in shaping the banking sector.

               Subramanian served on the finance faculty at Goizueta Business School at Emory University in the United States.

• Shamila Batohi : Indian Origin Woman Appointed Head of South Africa’s Prosecuting Power

Prominent Indian-origin lawyer Shamila Batohi has been appointed as the head of South Africa’s prosecuting authority. Batohi is the first woman to head the agency, which is facing criticism for its handling of the investigations against former president Jacob Zuma over corruption charges. She will start her new role as the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) in February 2019.

          South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the appointment of Batohi during a nationally-televised address at the government headquarters, the Union Buildings, on December 4, 2018. Batohi started her public service as a junior prosecutor in the Chatsworth magistrates’ court in 1986 and steadily rose through the ranks to become the director of public prosecutions in KwaZulu Natal. Batohi has worked for the past nine years as a legal adviser to the prosecutor in the International Criminal Court in The Hague.