Headlines - 27.01.2016

Headlines - 27.01.2016
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1. Alice Vaidyan has been appointed as the chairman and managing director of the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re). She is the first woman to be appointed in such post not only in the GIC Re, but the first in the Indian insurance sector. The GIC Re is the 14th largest reinsurer globally and is the only reinsurance company in India.

2. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas in Mumbai launched online payment facility of cylinder at the time of booking.

3. 16 memorandum of understanding (MoUs) were signed in Chandigarh at the India-France Business Summit. Besides, three MoUs were signed under the 'Smart city' theme with the state governments for the cities of Chandigarh, Nagpur and Pondicherry. Nine French companies signed MoUs with Engineering Projects India (EPI) Ltd.

4. The winners of the Padma awards for the year 2016 have been announced by the government. This year 118 personalities are elected for the Padma Awards. Anupam Kher, Rajinikanth, Sania Mirza, Priyanka Chopra are included in the Padma awards list.

5. Popular Malayalam film actress Kalpana passed away. She had bagged the National Award for the Best Supporting Actress for her performance in “Thanichalla Njan”.

6. India won the first T20 Asia cup cricket for Blind. In the final match played at Kochi, India defeated Pakistan by 44 runs.

7. India's P. V. Sindhu clinched the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold title after defeating Scotland's Kristy Gilmour in the final. This is her second Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold title, having won it in 2013 as well.

8. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will be the next President of Portugal. Law professor and TV pundit Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has won the Portuguese presidency with 52 percent of the vote.

9. Swimmer Ning Zetao and race walker Liu Hong won the Award for Best Male and Female Athlete of the Year respectively at China's Central Television (CCTV) Sports Awards.

10. Indian-origin imam Muhammad Shahid Raza has been conferred an honorary doctorate by the University of Leicester in recognition of his work for his local community

11. The Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling receive the PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service Award. Ms. Rowling will receive her award May 16 at the group’s annual spring gala. Previous winners include Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie and Tim Stoppard.

12. India will set up a satellite tracking and imaging centre in southern Vietnam that will give Hanoi access to pictures from Indian earth observation satellites that cover the region, including China and the South China Sea. The move, which could irritate Beijing, deepens ties between India and Vietnam, who both have long-running territorial disputes with China.