1) PM Narendra Modi, Presient Hollande visit government museum, gallery in Chandigarh.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande visited the Government Museum and Art Gallery after French President arrived India on a three-day official visit to India.
- Visit to the Government museum is an example of Indo-French collaboration in historical & archaeological work. Located in the heart of the city which was designed by French architect Le Corbusier, the museum and the gallery houses part of the collection of art objects, paintings, sculptures and decorative arts that were kept in the Central Museum, Lahore, the then capital of Punjab, prior to Partition in 1947.
2) Van der Horst, Welten of Netherlands named 2015`s best hockey players.
- The International Hockey Federation or FIH has named Robert Van der Horst and Lidewij Welten of Netherlands as the 2015 Players of the Year in the men’s and women’s categories respectively.
- India’s Akashdeep Singh missed out on the junior player award.
- Ruhr beat Indian striker Akashdeep, Australian Blake Govers, and two others for the award.
- Lily Owsley, the England and Great Britain forward has been named as the FIH’s Rising Star of the Year for 2015.
- The Netherlands made it a hat-trick of award wins as Joyce Sombroek picked up the women’s Goalkeeper of the Year for the second year in a row, while Ireland’s David Harte won the men’s Goalkeeper of the Year.
- Women’s Rising Star of the Year – Great Britain and England’s Lily, emerged as a potent strike force for her teams in 2015.
-
3) French President Francois Hollande concluded three-day visit to India.
- President Francois Hollande visited India from 24 January to 26 January 2016.
- He was on a three-day visit to India as the Chief Guest at India`s 67th Republic Day celebrations.
- This was President Hollande`s second state Visit to India.
- This is the fifth time that a French Head of State was invited as the Chief Guest on India`s Republic Day celebrations making France the only country with the highest number of times so far.
- On his arrival to Chandigarh in India, President Hollande was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 January 2016.
Major Highlights of the Visit:
- He inspected the Guard of Honour during the Ceremonial Reception in New Delhi.
- He witnessed the 67th Republic Day Parade at New Delhi.
- He attended the Home Reception by the President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi.
- Hollande and Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a joint visit to the Government Museum & Art Gallery, Rock Garden and Capitol Complex in Chandigarh. Chandigarh was designed by French architect Le Corbusier.
- Hollande and Modi jointly inaugurated the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Secretariat in Gurgaon.
- President and Prime Minister attended the India-France Business Summit and Indo-French CEOs Forum in Chandigarh.
- 30 Agreements and MoUs were inked during the visit of which 16 were exchanged at the India-France Business Summit in Chandigarh while the other 14 were inked in New Delhi.
4) Kerala dentist Sajeev Koshy honoured with Order of Australia.
- A Kerala dentist Sajeev Koshy settled in Melbourne was honoured with the highest civilian honour, the Order of Australia.
- Koshy was given the award for his service to dentistry in Victoria, Australia. He was honoured on the Australia Day Awards 2016, by the Governor General of Australia.
About Sajeev Koshy :
- Koshy has served as the president of the Kerala Dental Council and president of the Indian Dental Association.
- He is currently the head of the endodontics at the Royal Melbourne Dental Hospital, which is the teaching hospital for the University of Melbourne.
About Order of Australia
- The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia.
- It is awarded to recognise Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or meritorious service.
- Before the establishment of the order, Australian citizens would receive British honours.
5) Rod Laver honoured with Companion of the order of Australia.
- Rodney George Laver honoured with the Companion of the order of on the occasion of the Australia Day.
- He was conferred with the award for eminent service to tennis as a player, representative and mentor, at the national and international level, and as a role model for young sportsmen and women.
- With this honour, Rod Laver became the third sportsman to be named a Companion of the Order of Australia. Earlier, the honour was bestowed upon Don Bradman and Herb Elliott who dominated cricket and middle-distance running respectively.
6) Chennupati Jagadish, Jay Chandra honoured with Order of Australia.
- Chennupati Jagadish and Jay Chandra, Indian-origin persons, were honoured with the Order of Australia, highest civilian honour of Australia on the occasion of the Australia Day.
- They were awarded for their contribution in the fields of physics, engineering and medicine.
- Chennupati Jagadish is an eminent professor at Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. He was conferred with the award for his eminent service to physics and engineering, particularly in the field of nanotechnology.