1) Nation
celebrated its 66th Republic Day: India on 26 January 2015 celebrated its
66th Republic Day. US President Barack Obama has become the first American
President to be Chief Guest on Republic Day celebrations. India’s military
might and cultural diversity was showcased in the nearly two-hour-long republic
day parade. President Barack Obama broke Secret Service's sacred security
protocol by remaining in the open for more than two hours when he graced the
Republic Day celebrations as the Chief Guest. Obama spent over two hours in the
open as the Chief Guest of India's 66th Republic Day celebrations. The security
guidelines of Secret Service, the exclusive agency responsible for an American
President's security, mandate that he does not spend more than 45 minutes at
any open-air venue.
2) DP
Sinha appointed security secretary: The government on 26 January 2015
appointed special director with Intelligence Bureau, Divya Prakash Sinha, as
secretary (security) in the Cabinet secretariat. The post had been lying vacant
since November 2013 when Yashovardhan Azad, holding the post then, was
appointed information commissioner by the government.
3) Eminent
cartoonist R K Laxman died: R K Laxman, the country's best-known
cartoonist, passed away on 26 January 2015, at the Dinanath Mangeshkar hospital
in Pune, where he was on life support for the past few days. He was 93. Born in
1921 in Mysore, Laxman had no formal training in cartooning but the work he put
out over decades was sheer genius. He began by drawing for local papers, and
illustrating the stories of his famous elder brother, novelist R K Narayan,
while still at college. The recipient of numerous awards, among them the Padma
Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Magsaysay Award, Laxman's fan base ran into
millions. He is best known for creation of iconic character ‘The Common Man’,
for his daily cartoon strip, ‘You Said It’ in The Times of India(TOI) started
in 1951.
4) Durga
Prasad appointed special DG of CRPF: Government
on 24 January 2015 appointed K Durga Prasad, previously sacked as the director
of the Special Protection Group, as the special director general of the Central
Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Prasad, a 1981 batch IPS officer of Andhra Pradesh
cadre, was unceremoniously removed as chief of the SPG — which provides
security to the prime minister, former prime ministers and their family members
— during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Nepal to attend the Saarc
summit.
5) First
ever all-women contingent marched through the 66th Republic Day Parade: For
the first time in the history of India’s Republic Day, all-women contingent
from the three forces Army, Air Force and Navy marched down in the parade. Army
contingent was led by Capt Divya Ajith. Navy contingent was led by Lt Commander
Sandhya Chauhan. Air Force contingent was led by Squadron Leader Sneha
Shekhawat. While women officers have been participating in previous Republic
Day parades, this was for the first time that an all-women contingent of the
armed forces participated.
6) Colombia’s
Paulina Vega crowned Miss Universe 2014: Colombia’s Paulina Vega was
crowned 63rd Miss Universe after beating out contenders from the United States,
Ukraine, Jamaica and Netherlands. Miss USA Nia Sanchez from Las Vegas was named
a runner-up, along with Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha. The event is actually the
2014 Miss Universe pageant. The competition was pushed back until now to try to
get a bigger television audience.
7) Major
Mukund Varadarajan, Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh posthumously awarded Ashok Chakra: Major
Mukund Varadarajan and Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh, the two army personnel who laid
down their lives combating militants in Kashmir Valley, were on 26 January 2015
awarded posthumously the highest peacetime military honour, the Ashok Chakra,
by President Pranab Mukherjee. The awards were received by their wives at the
66th Republic Day celebrations, which was graced by US President Barack Obama.
8) Alexis
Tsipras sworn in as prime minister of Greece: Greek left-wing leader Alexis
Tsipras was sworn in on 26 Jan 2015 as the Prime Minister of a new hard-line,
anti-bailout government determined to face down international lenders and end
nearly five years of tough economic measures. 40-year old Alexis Tsipras will
be Greece’s youngest Prime Minister.
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