News in Short

• Ashok Leyland Ltd has appointed VipinSondhi as chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) of the automobile company.
• Sondhi will head the company for the next five years, with his term ending on 11 December 2024. The appointment is subject to the approval of shareholders.
• Sondhi has more than three decades of experience in the manufacturing and engineering sectors. He was previously heading JCB lndia Ltd.

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been ranked as the 34th most powerful woman in the world on Forbes's 'The World's 100 Most Powerful Women' list.
• Other Indian women who made it to the list are Roshni Nadar Malhotra, who has been placed on the 54th spot and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw at 65th spot.
• Angela Markel, Christine Lagarde, Nancy Pelosi, Ursula von der Leyen, Mary Barra, Melinda Gates, Abigail Johnson, Ana Patricia Botin, Ginni Rometty, and Marillyn Hewson make up the Top 10 of the list.

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party won a commanding majority in the British Parliament that paves the way for the country’s exit from the European Union early next year.
• The Conservatives were projected to win 363 seats in the House of Commons, versus 203 for the Labour Party.
• That would give the Conservatives about a 75-seat majority, their largest since that amassed by Margaret Thatcher in 1987.

• Noted Telugu actor, screenwriter and writer GollapudiMaruthi Rao passed away on December 12 in Chennai.
• He has acted in over 250 films with Kallu, Samasaram Oka Chadarangam, and Challenge being some of his memorable works. Apart from acting, he has also written several plays and movies.

• Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma has been appointed as the brand ambassador of La Liga in India.
• La Liga is very popular in India, mainly due to the popularity of two of their biggest clubs Real Madrid and FC Barcelona but the league has been trying to build a brand in India.
• La Liga is the top domestic level football championship of Spain.