testcurrentaffairs:: Nita Ambani nominated to IOC International Olympic Committee

Nita Ambani, founder and chairperson of Reliance Foundation, has been nominated as a candidate to be a new member, pending election, of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), headquartered at Lausanne, Switzerland on Friday (6/3/2016). She will become the first Indian woman to be on the apex sporting body if she gets elected at the IOC Session scheduled from August 2 to 4. If elected, Mrs Ambani will continue to be a member until the age of 70. Sir Dorabji Tata was the first Indian representative in the IOC while Raja Randhir Singh is currently a honorary member of the IOC and he was a member from 2000-2014. Her final appointment is subject to the IOC elections scheduled for the first week of August just before the wheels of Olympic Games are set in motion in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro.

Four cities have been chosen by the IOC to host upcoming Olympic Games: Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Pyeongchang for the 2018 Winter Olympics, Tokyo for the 2020 Summer Olympics, and Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The nominees of IOC 2016 include:

— South Africa’s Anant Singh, who produced the 2013 film “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” about former South African President Nelson Mandela.

— Luis Moreno, president of the Inter-American Development Bank who served as Colombia’s ambassador to the U.S. from 1998 to 2005.

— Nita Ambani, founder and chair of the India-based Reliance Foundation.

The others are Sari Essayah of Finland, a former Olympic race walker who chairs the Finnish Christian Democratic Party; Ivo Ferriani of Italy, president of International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation; Auvita Rapilla, secretary general of the Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee; Tricia Smith, president of the Canadian Olympic Committee; and Austrian Olympic Committee chief Karl Stoss.

How people get nominated for IOC?

The IOC Members Election Commission is to take a more proactive role in identifying the right candidates to fill vacancies in order to best fulfil the mission of the IOC. The Commission will identify the fields where there are or will be a lack of expertise in the Membership to then conduct a recruitment process, including interviews if required, to fill in the identified gaps. The IOC Members Election Commission may be supported by recruitment agencies to identify suitable candidates in the required fields, as well as to conduct the necessary background checks to guarantee the ability of the potential candidates.

Little about Nita Ambani

• She is the founding chairman of the Reliance Foundation and is the first Indian woman to be nominated to the IOC.
• Mrs Ambani has been working in the field education and sports for a long time.
• She is married to Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani.
• She is also an art collectorand owner of Mumbai Indians.

Little about International Olympic Committee – IOC

• The Switzerland-based IOC is the supreme authority of the Olympic Movement and is responsible for holding of the summer and winter Olympics and Paralympics. 
• It was established on 23 June 1894. 
• It is headquartered at Lausanne, Switzerland.