Guterres appoints Indian-origin Anita Bhatia as UN-Women's deputy executive director
United Nations: Indian-origin Anita Bhatia, a veteran in strategic partnerships, resource mobilisation and management, has been appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the Deputy Executive Director in the global body's agency focussed on women empowerment and gender equality.
Bhatia holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Calcutta University, a Master of Arts in Political Science from Yale University and a Juris Doctor in Law from Georgetown University.
She has been appointed the Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) for Resource Management, Sustainability and Partnerships, a statement from the UN Spokesperson's Office and UN Women said Thursday.
She has had a distinguished career at the World Bank Group, serving in various senior leadership and management positions, both at the headquarters and in the field.
Bhatia brings extensive experience in the area of strategic partnerships, resource mobilisation and management.
Veteran Indian diplomat and a gender equality champion Lakshmi Puri had previously served as the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women.
Bhatia served for several years as Director of Global Partnerships for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group's private sector arm.
She developed and expanded innovative partnerships with public and private sector partners to support IFC strategy in key areas, including fragile and conflict-affected states, gender equality, financial inclusion, support to women-owned businesses and other priorities critical to attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
In addition, Bhatia has served as Director of Development Partner Relations for the World Bank, leading efforts to ensure strategic alignment between institutional priorities and resource mobilisation across the group.
In various positions, she focused on enhancing sustainability, institutional effectiveness and impact through strategic partnerships.
As Head of IFC's Latin America Advisory Operations, based in Lima and La Paz, she successfully grew the Corporation's reach and impact in the region.
As Director of Partnerships and Advisory Operations, she oversaw financial management, risk management, portfolio management, knowledge management and learning for Advisory Services across the globe.
Bhatia has led diverse teams, including as Global Head of Knowledge Management, Head of Business Process Improvement and Head of Change Management. In addition to Latin America, she has worked in Africa, Europe, Central Asia and South and East Asia.
The key appointment comes less than a week after Guterres appointed decorated Indian Army officer Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar as his new Force Commander of the UN Mission in South Sudan.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
