Current Affairs 27th January 2016

Important Points : 

• Who has been honoured with Order of Australia - Kerala dentist Sajeev Koshy
• Which Hollywood actor has passed away - Abe Vigoda
• In which state, President Rule has been imposed - Arunachal Pradesh
• Who has been honoured with 3rd National Yash Chopra Memorial Award - Rekha
• Which two countries have signed 14 Agreements including 36 Rafale Aircraft deal - India & France 
• 2016 Padma Awards announced by - President Pranab Mukherjee  
• Which West Indies’ player has retired from international cricket - Shivnarine Chanderpaul 
• Who has been selected for 2016 Technical Achievement Award of Academy of Motion Pictures - Cottalango Leon
• ICC released Test, ODI, and T20I Rankings
• FIH Hockey Stars Awards 2015 announced

Details :

Who has been honoured with Order of Australia - Kerala dentist Sajeev Koshy

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 26th January 2016, the highest civilian honour, the Order of Australia was presented to a Kerala dentist Sajeev Koshy settled in Melbourne for his service to dentistry in Victoria, Australia.

The Governor General of Australia honoured him on the Australia Day Awards 2016.

About Sajeev Koshy

• Earlier he had served as president of the Indian Dental Association and as the president of the Kerala Dental Council.
• At present, he is the head of the endodontics at the Royal Melbourne Dental Hospital.

Do You Know : 

• On 14th February 1975, Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia established the Order of Australia which is an order of chivalry.
• Australian citizens and other persons are honoured with this to recognise their meritorious service and achievement.

Which Hollywood actor has passed away - Abe Vigoda

On 26th January 2016, Actor Abe Vigoda passed away at the the age of 94. He was known for his work in The Godfather and on the television series Barney Miller.

In the movie The Godfather, he was best known for his roles as mobster Tessio.

About Abe Vigoda

• In the year 1949, he appeared in very early television episodes of Suspense and Studio One in Hollywood.
• In the year 1972, he got his fame after he was casted in The Godfather.
• In The Rockford Files, Hawaii Five-O, Eight Is Enough, Kojak and The Bionic Woman, he appeared as a guest.

In which state, President Rule has been imposed - Arunachal Pradesh

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 26th January 2016, Union Cabinet’s recommendation for the imposition of President’s rule on Arunachal Pradesh was approved by President Pranab Mukherjee. 

It has been approved after the expiration of deadline under which the Assembly was supposed to meet in six month. On 21st January 2016, the six month deadline for the meet was expired.

Apart from this, multiple reports by the Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa also gave some other reasons to impose president's rule in the state as there was no law and order in the state and even the Raj Bhawan was not safe as it was seized by Congress MLAs. 

GS Patnaik and YS Dadwal, two retired civil servants are appointed as advisers to the Governor.

Who has been honoured with 3rd National Yash Chopra Memorial Award - Rekha

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 25th January 2016, the third Yash Chopra Memorial Award was presented to Veteran Bollywood actress Rekha.

The award was presented to her in recognition of her talent and contribution to the film industry by Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao.

About Rekha

• In the year 1966, she started her career as a child actress in the Telugu film Rangula Ratnam.
• In 1970, she made her debut as a lead with Sawan Bhadon .
• Government of India, honoured her with the Padma Shri in 2010.

Do You Know : 

TSR Foundation of T Subbarami Reddy instituted the National Yash Chopra Memorial Award award in the memory of the producer-director Yash Chopra.

Which two countries have signed 14 Agreements including 36 Rafale Aircraft deal - India & France 

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 25th January 2016, 14 Agreements/MoUs were inked by India and France which also include MoU on purchase of 36 Rafale Aircrafts.

The 14 agreements/MoUs are 

• Cultural Exchange Programme for the period 2016-2018
• Arrangement for establishment of an Indo- French Ministerial level Joint Committee on Science & Technology
• MOU between Food Safety & Standards Authority of India and Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation (ANSES) in food safety
• Partnership Agreement on Cooperation in Public Administration between Ministry of Personnel & Public Grievances and French 
• Declaration of Intent for conducting next round of Namaste France (Indian festival) in 2016 and Bonjour India (French festival) 2017
• MoU for Industry Sponsored PhD Fellowship between IIT Mumbai and Thales Systemes Aeroportes
• Cooperation Agreement between IISER, Pune and ENS de Lyon (France) for joint research, teaching, exchange of personnel etc.
• Agreement of Cooperation between CNRS, TB, UBO, UBS, ENSTA Bretagne, ENIB (French Universities) and IIT Mumbai in the field of Higher Education & Research.
• Letter of Intent on CNES, France participation in ISRO’s next Mars Mission
• Shareholding Agreement on JV between Alstom and Indian Railways for production of 800 electric locomotives in Madhepura Bihar
• Agreement between Indian Railways and SNCF, French Railways for joint feasibility study for the renovation of Ludhiana and Ambala railway stations
• MoU on purchase of 36 Rafale Aircrafts
• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Centre National D'études Spatiales (CNES) Implementation Arrangement on hosting Argos-4 Payload onboard India’s Oceansat-3 satellite
• ISRO and CNES Implementation Arrangement on a future joint Thermal Infrared earth observation mission

2016 Padma Awards announced by - President Pranab Mukherjee

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 26th January 2016, the winners of the Padma Awards 2016 were announced by the President Pranab Mukherjee. The list comprises of 83 Padma Shri Awardees, 19 Padma Bhushan and 10 Padma Vibhushan.

The awardees in the list include 19 women, 4 posthumous awardees and 10 persons in the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs.

List of Padma Vibhushan Awardees

Which West Indies’ player has retired from international cricket - Shivnarine Chanderpaul 

On 22nd January 2016, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies batsman announced his retirement from international cricket.

Since May 2015, Chanderpaul had not played for West Indies as he was dropped after a weak performance during the three-Test series at home against England by the West Indies selectors.

About Shivnarine Chanderpaul

• He is the first Indo-Caribbean to play 100 Tests for the West Indies.
• He was the captain of West Indies cricket team for 16 One Day Internationals and 14 Tests.
• He was affectionately known as Tiger.
• He has scored 20000 runs in international cricket.

Who has been selected for 2016 Technical Achievement Award of Academy of Motion Pictures - Cottalango Leon

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 22nd January 2016, Cottalango Leon, a person of Indian origin, was selected for the 2016 Technical Achievement Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

He was awarded along with his two team members J Robert Ray and Sam Richards under the Scientific and Technical Achievements category for the design, engineering and continuous development of Sony Pictures Imageworks Itview.  

Apart from this, another person of Indian origin Rahul Thakkar was also named as one of the winners of Scientific and Technical Awards 2016 of Academy Awards.

ICC released Test, ODI, and T20I Rankings

Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 26th January 2016, the official ICC men’s Team Rankings from T20I cricket, Test and One Day International (ODI) was launched by the International Cricket Council (ICC). For the first time since August 2011, India has returned to the summit of the Test rankings. Top three teams in ICC T20I Rankings

Top three teams in ICC ODI Rankings

Top 10 teams in ICC Test Rankings

Besides men team rankings, ICC also released the ICC Women’s rankings. Top three teams 

FIH Hockey Stars Awards 2015 announced

Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 26th January 2016, The International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced the winners of its Hockey Stars awards for 2015.

The men's and women's FIH Player of the Year awards were won by the Netherlands' Robert Van der Horst and Lidewij Welten respectively.

Other winners of the awards are :

• Rising Star of the Year (Women) : Lily Owsley (Great Britain)
• Goalkeeper of the year (Men) : David Harte (Ireland)
• Rising Star of the Year (Men) : Chrisopher Rühr (Germany)
• Goalkeeper of the year (Women) : Joyce Sombroek (The Netherlands)