1. On November 28, IT czar and philanthropist Azim Premji was bestowed with the highest French civilian distinction Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour). Premji, who is the chairman of Bengaluru-headquartered IT major Wipro, received the distinction from the Ambassador of France to India Alexandre Ziegler.
2. The bilateral naval exercise 'Konkan 18' has started between the navies of India and the UK at the Goa coast from November 28.
3. The air force units of India and the United States are scheduled to participate in a 12- day joint exercise 'Cope India 2019' at two air force stations in West Bengal.
4. Salome Zurabishvili, a French-born Georgian politician, has elected the first woman president in the history of Georgia. She will be inaugurated as President of Georgia on 16 December 2018.
5. Anil Manibhai Naik has been appointed as the new chairman of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). Currently Naik is the Group Chairman of India's biggest engineering and construction conglomerate – Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T). NSDC is a unique public-private-partnership, working under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.
6. Slovenia has become the first NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) nation to appoint a female Chief of Armed Forces after Major General Alenka Ermenc took the post of Head of its Army.
7. India's Olympic and world champion shooter Abhinav Bindra has been bestowed with the prestigious ISSF's highest shooting honour 'Blue Cross'at the General Assembly in Munich for his outstanding services as the chairman of the International Shooting Sport Federation's Athletes Committee.
8. India will chair the Kimberley Process (KP), a global initiative to remove conflict diamonds from the global supply chain, from 1st January 2019. KP is a joint initiative of different countries, industry and civil societies to control flow of conflict diamonds, which are used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments in the world.
9. India's first owl festival was held at Pingori village in Purandar taluka of Pune from November 29. The two-day festival, organised by Ela Foundation.
10. The 24th Conference of the Parties (COP 24) to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) has started in Katowice, Poland from 3-14 December 2018. The conference is expected to finalize the rules for implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change under the Paris Agreement work programme (PAWP). About 20 thousand people from 190 countries will take part in the event.
11. The United States has signed trade pact with Canada and Mexico to replace the 24-yearold North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They signed an authorization for the deal on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit 2018.
12. Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel peace laureate & Myanmar leader, will be stripped of Freedom of Paris award over her failure to speak out against a crackdown on Myanmar's Rohingya minority. Apart from this, Suu Kyi has already been stripped of her honorary Canadian citizenship and her Amnesty International's "Ambassador of Conscience Award".
13. India will host the G20 summit in 2022, when the country celebrates its 75th year of Independence.
14. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will be Chief Guest at the Republic Day of India 2019, which also marks the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
15. In Argentina, the 2nd Russia-India-China (RIC) Trilateral Summit was held in Buenos Aires after a gap of 12 years, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit to discuss cooperation in various areas. The three leaders - Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin - agreed to have regular consultations to jointly promote international and regional peace and stability, to strengthen cooperation through BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) and the East Asia Summit (EAS) mechanisms.
16. The UK's Cambridge Dictionary has recently declared "Nomophobia", the word that describes the stress and anxiety caused by being separated from your mobile, as People's Word of the year 2018.
17. In February 2019, India's first international indigenous film festival will take place in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
18. The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed every year on December 3. The 2018 theme 'Empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality'
19. On December 2, India's first locomotive-less train, known as Train 18, has breached the 180 kmph speed limit during a test run at Kota-Sawai Madhopur section in Rajasthan.
20. Qatar has decided to withdraw its membership from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with effect from 1st January 2019. Currently, the Vienna-based OPEC comprises 15 oil-producing and exporting countries. These are as follows: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, the Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia (the de facto leader), United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
21. Imran Hussain, the Delhi Environment minister, has been awarded the 'Hero to Animals' award by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India for banning the Chinese manjha (or glass-coated kite strings) in the national capital in 2017.
22. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, popularly known by his initials AMLO, has been sworn-in as the new President of Mexico on December 1, 2018.
23. On December 2, the Asia Pacific Summit-2018 was held in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The theme of two day Summit is "Addressing the Critical Challenges of Our Time: Interdependence, Mutual Prosperity, and Universal Values".
24. The Indian Navy will conduct its flagship Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (TROPEX), from January end till early March 2019. This will provide an opportunity to test the combat capability of the Indian Coast Guards (ICG), Indian Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF), Indian Navy, and strengthened inter-operability and joint operations in complex conflict situation.
25. The first-ever bilateral air exercise "EX SHINYUU Maitri-2018 " has started between Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) and Indian Air Force at A F Station Agra in Uttar Pradesh from 03-07 Dec 18.
26. In Uttar Pradesh, the International conference on bears has started in Agra from December 3, 2018.
27. Luka Modric, Croatia and Real Madrid midfielder, has been honoured with the perstigiuos 2018 Men's Ballon d'Or award.
28. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has recently announced a new initiative 'PEETHA' to create awareness about various government schemes and improve transparency.
29. Ajay Narayan Jha, a 1982-batch IAS officer of Manipur Tripura cadre, has been appointed the new Finance Secretary of India. He succeeded Hasmukh Adhia.
30. The Glasgow-based British artist Charlotte Prodger has won the prestigious £25,000 Turner Prize 2018 for her film work examining landscapes and gender identity. She has been hailed for her work 'Bridgit', which was shot using her phone, and for the multiformat film 'Stoneymollan Trail', exhibited at Bergen Kunsthall. Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie presented the award at a ceremony held at Tate Britain in London.
31. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the India's longest rail-road bridge - Bogibeel Bridge on December 25, which is also marked as the Good Governance Day (GGD). The 4.94 km long bridge connects the north and south banks of the Brahmaputra & falls in the eastern part of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The bridge, which has been constructed by the Indian Railways, is 32m above the water level of the river and will provide connectivity to the northeast.
32. Ministry of Railways' National Rail Museum (NRM) has signed pact with Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (MTWM) to foster tourism in Delhi NCR.
33. On December 4, ISRO's heaviest and most advanced high throughput communication satellite 'GSAT-11' was successfully launched by an European Ariane-5 vehicle (Flight VA246) rocket from Guiana Space Centre at Kourou in French Guiana.
34. Asian Games gold medalist Swapna Barman has become the brand ambassador for State Bank of India (SBI)'s unified integrated app 'YONO (You Only Need One)'.
35. Odisha's Kandhamal Haldi (turmeric variety), famous for its healing properties, will soon gets Geographical Indications (GI) tag.
36. According to the study by the Global Carbon Project, India is the fourth highest emitter of CO2 (carbon dioxide) in the world, accounting for 7% of global emissions in 2017. India's emissions look set to continue their strong growth by an average of 6.3% in 2018, with growth across all fuels -- coal (7.1%), oil (2.9%) and gas (6%). The world's top 10 Co2 emitters were China, the US, the EU, India, Russia, Japan, Germany, Iran, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
37. The World Soil Day (WSD) is observed every year on December 5 to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and advocating for the sustainable management of soil resources. The 2018 theme is 'Be the Solution to Soil Pollution'.
38. Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian has been appointed the new Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) for a period of three years. The post of CEA had been lying vacant since Arvind Subramanaian left the finance ministry after a four-year stint. Dr Krishnamurthy is currently working as an Associate Professor and the executive director at the Indian School of Business (IBS), Hyderabad.
39. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has approved India's proposal to observe 2023 as the International Year of Millets. This decision was taken at the 160th session of FAO Council, currently underway in Rome.
40. On December 8, the Japanese government enacted a new law to bring more blue-collar foreign workers into the country, in a controversial move to address chronic labour shortages.
41. Luxembourg is set to become the first country in the world to make all its public transport free by 2019. The move is aimed at addressing environmental issues and the problem of traffic congestion.
42. Kolkata-Patna has become the India's second container cargo sector on Inland Waterways. The Inland Waterways Authority of India's (IWAI) vessel 'MV RN Tagore' will be the first cargo vessel to reach Patna's Gaighat IWT terminal on river Ganga (National Waterway-1). On December 6, the vessel sailed from Kolkata's Garden Reach Jetty with the PepsiCo and Emami Agrotech products. It will reach the IWT terminal at Patna in 6-7 days after an 815 kms long voyage on river Ganga (National Waterway-1). The cargo will be unloaded at IWAI's inter-modal terminal at Gaighat in Patna from where onward cargo will be loaded. Earlier, on 12th November 2018, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had received the India's first IWT containerised cargo that reached Varanasi from Kolkata. The Ministry of Shipping is developing NW-1 (River Ganga) under Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) from Haldia to Varanasi (1390 Km) with the technical and financial assistance of the World Bank at an estimated cost of Rs 5369 crore. The project would enable commercial navigation of vessels with capacity of 1500-2,000 DWT.
43. Government think tank Niti Aayog has partnered with Perlin – a Singapore-based AI start up - to launch the 'AI 4 All Global Hackathon' for developing solutions aimed at creating social and economic impact in the country.
44. Under PRASAD Scheme, the Government of India (GoI) has recently included Gangotri and Yamunotri in Uttrarakhand, Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh and Parasnath in Jharkhand to develop pilgrimage and heritage destinations in the country. The acronym 'PRASAD' stands for 'Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive'.
45. Prof. Rattan Lal , a distinguished university professor of soil science at the Ohio State University, has won the 'Glinka World Soil Prize 2018' in a ceremony at the headquarters of UN FAO in Rome for his remarkable contribution to sustainable soil management.
46. Kerala has become the first state in India to have four international airports with the inauguration of the Kannur airport on December 9, 2018. The three other international airports are at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode.
47. On December 7, China has launched its first-ever space mission 'Chang'e-4' to land a robotic craft on the far side of the Moon. It was launched on a Long March 3B rocket from the southwestern Xichang launch centre, which will explore the Von Karman crater.
48. After the approval of the Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court, a pilot project for e-payments service will be started at the Pune District Court complex in Shivajinagar on December 15 to bring transparency to cash transactions.
49. The International Anti-Corruption Day is observed every year on December 9 to raise public awareness about corruption and how to fight it. The day is also observed in recognition of the United Nations Convention against corruption which was signed in Mexico in 2003.
50. India is expected to retain its position as the world's top recipient of remittances with $80 million in 2018, as per latest World Bank's report 'Migration and Development Brief'. India is followed by China ($67 billion), Mexico and the Philippines ($34 billion each) and Egypt ($26 billion).
51. Shaktikanta Das, a retired 1980 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, has been appointed as the 25th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a period of 3 years.Prior to this appointment, he was the Member of the 15th Finance Commission and India's sherpa at the 2018 G20 Summit. During his career as an IAS officer, he served in various capacities for Indian and Tamil Nadu governments, including as Economic Affairs Secretary of India, Revenue Secretary of India, Fertilizers Secretary of India.
52. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has launched a Twitter account to spread awareness about cyber crimes and normal precautions to be taken. The Twitter handles - @CyberDost - is aimed at enhancing people's basic knowledge about cyber crimes and precautions to be taken for prevention.
53. Ace Indian pugilist MC Mary Kom has been honoured with the title "Meethoileima" (par excellent queen) by the Manipur Government at a function in Imphal on December 11, 2018.
54. Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in October 2018 at his country's embassy in Istanbul, has been named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" for his work in journalism along with other journalists who faced politcal persecution for their work. Time Magazine referred to Khashoggi as a "Guardian of the Truth". The magazine has also honoured Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo -- currently imprisoned in Myanmar among others.
55. Rajiv Mehrishi, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, has been appointed as Vice-Chair of UN Panel of Auditors for the year 2019.
56. The armies of India and China has started the 7th edition of joint military exercise 'Hand-in-Hand 2018' from Dec 11-23 at Chengdu in China.
57. Arundhati Bhattacharya, former chairman of State Bank of India (SBI) has been appointed as SWIFT India Chairman.
58. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully conducted its first-of-its-kind exercise code-named CROSS BOW-18 from the Air Force Station at Suryalanka in Andhra Pradesh on 05th, 07th & 08th Dec 2018, both by day & night in an integrated networked environment.
59. DMK MP Kanimozhi has been selected for the Best Woman Parliamentarian (Rajya Sabha) set up by Lokmat newspaper for 2018.
60. The International Mountain Day (IMD) is observed every year on December 11 to celebrate and bring awareness to the world's mountain environments. The purpose of the 2018 theme "#Mountains Matter" is to create a large social movement that can bring mountain issues on the tables of politicians.
61. Sascha Bajin, coach of the World No.5 five Naomi Osaka, has become the first-ever recepient of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Coach of the Year award. Bajin was behind the Osaka's victory in the US Open 2018. She lifted the women's singles title of US Open 2018 by defeating Serena Williams of US in straight sets
62. India has been ranked 11th out 56 nations & the European Union (EU) at the 2019 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), which was published by Germanwatch, the NewClimate Institute and the Climate Action Network. The CCPI analysis shows that India has improved its standing by 3 places compared to the 2018 report. However, the report has warned that coal projects threaten India's progress on clean energy. The top three ranks have not been acquired by any country because none does well in all categories assessed. But, Sweden has acquired 4th spot, while Morocco spotted at 5th place. The 2019 CCPI was released on the sidelines of 24th Conference of the Parties (COP 24) UN climate summit on global warming in Katowice, Poland.
63. Manika Batra has become the first-ever Indian athlete to be decorated with the Breakthrough Table Tennis Star award at the prestigious 2018 ITTF Star Awards in Incheon, South Korea on December 12. Batra won four medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and a bronze at the 2018 Asian Games.
64. The International Human Rights Day (IHRD) is observed every year on December 10 to commemorate the day when the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris in 1948. The 2018 theme is 'Stand up for the human rights'.
65. Israel has recently become a full member of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global financial watchdog on money laundering, terror financing and other threats to the international financial system. The FATF is empowered to ensure that financing of UN-designated terrorist organisations is blocked. It has the power to publicly name countries not abiding by its norms, making it difficult for such countries to source financial flows internationally. Now, FATF has 38 members, including all five permanent members of the Security Council, and countries with economic influence.
66. As per latest Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPTI) annual report, Russia has emerged as the world's second-largest arms producer after the United States. Russia surpassed Britain.
67. The Uttar Pradesh-based start up 'Help Us Green' has been honoured by UN Climate Action Award at a special ceremony at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 24) in Katowice, Poland for recycling temple waste to spread fragrance. As per UN document, Help Us Green has come up with the world's first profitable solution to the monumental temple waste problem: flower cycling.
68. On December 12, the Indian Navy inducted its first non-tethered Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) System at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai. The DSRV is used to rescue crew members from submarines stranded under water in the high seas. The DSRV can be operated at a depth of 650m & can hold around 15 people.
69. On December 12, Japan picked the Chinese character "disaster" to define the year 2018, a year that saw deadly floods, strong earthquakes and heavy storms.
70. On 10th December 2018, the Kaiga Atomic Power Station (KAPS) has created a world record for the longest uninterrupted operation for 941 days. The Unit-1 of Kaiga Generating Station (KGS) at Kaiga, located the river Kali in Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka, has been generating electricity continuously since May 13, 2016. Earlier, the record of 940 days was held by Unit 2 of Heysham of the United Kingdom (UK).
71. On December 12, the European Parliament has approved the world's largest free trade deal between Japan and the European Union (EU). The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement will go into effect in February 2019.
72. Brijendra Pal Singh, who is the director-producer of the popular crime investigation series C.I.D., has been appointed as the new president of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Society and Chairman of Governing Council. He succeeded Anupam Kher, who had stepped down as the chairman in October 2018 citing "international commitments".
73. Noted English author Amitav Ghosh has been honoured with 54th Jnanpith Award for 2018 for his outstanding contribution towards literature. The decision was taken in a meeting of Jnanpith Selection Board chaired by eminent novelist, scholar and Jnanpith laureate Pratibha Ray. Mr. Ghosh's novels include Shadow Lines, The Glass Palace, The Hungry Tide, and the Ibis trilogy — Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke, and Flood of Fire — discussing the opium trade between India and China run by the East India Company. He is also recipient of the Padma Shri and Sahitya Akademi Award.
74. The Union government has constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to examine the specific recommendations of High Level Empowered Committee (HLEC) constituted to address the issue of stressed power projects and forward their comments for consideration by the Union Cabinet.
75. On December 11, the world's first Floating Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) - Akademik Lomonosov - has become operational at the Baltiysky Zavod shipyard in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is constructed by the state nuclear power firm Rosatom. The FNPP has a capacity of 70MW and is equipped with two reactors of 35MW each. According to Rosatom, an FNPP's operational life span is 40 years.
76. The 39th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit 2018 was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In it, the Secretary-General Abdellatif al-Zayani. The GCC, established in 1981 in Abu Dhabi, comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
77. The Nigerian military has lifted a ban on UNICEF operations in the ravaged northeast of the country. Earlier, the army had suspended the aid agency & accused it of training spies supporting Boko Haram jihadists.
78. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) recently launched an exercise 'Operation Oliva' along the serene sea waters of Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in Odisha to protect the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles during their mating season.
79. The Punjab Legislative assembly has unanimously passed a resolution to seek 33% reservation for women in both Parliament and state assemblies.
80. Rio Olympics Silver medallist PV Sindhu became the first Indian to lift the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals title at Guangzhou, China. In the summit clash, Sindhu defeated Japanese Nozomi Okuhara, in straight games, 21-19, 21-17 to claim the top honours of the season-ending event and her first title of the year.
81. In Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently inaugurated a 175 km long of sewerage network at Prayagraj, which will carry 7.8 Cr litres sewage water per day to existing STPs (Sewage Treatment Plants) at Salori, Kodra & Ponghat for treatment which earlier ended up in Ganga.
82. India's first private sector unit for manufacturing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has recently opened at Adani Aerospace Park near Shamshabad in Hyderabad. The 50,000-sq ft state-of-the-art facility facility is built by the Adani Group and Israel-based Elbit Systems.
83. On December 2018, an Indian American film producer Ashok Amritraj has been honoured with the French Knight of the National Order of Merit for his contribution to the world of cinema and Indo-French film industry.
84. The Nepal government has banned the use of Indian currency notes of Rs 2,000, Rs 500 and Rs 200 denominations in the country.
85. Catriona Elisa Gray from Philippines has been crowned at the 67th Miss Universe 2018 at a gala ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand on December 17. She was crowned by Miss Universe 2017 Demi Leigh Nel-Peters, who comes from South Africa. She is the fourth Filipina Miss Universe.
86. In Hockey, Belgium has claimed their first ever World Cup title. They defeated Netherlands 3-2 in a dramatic shoot-out in the final of the 14th edition of Men's World Cup 2018 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
87. India's first military flight using blended bio-jet fuel has been successfully flown by Indian Air Force (IAF) through an AN-32 transport aircraft in Chandigarh. Bio-jet fuel is made from Jatropha oil sourced from the Chattisgarh Biodiesel Development Authority and processed at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun.
88. The International Migrants Day (IMD) is observed every year on 18th of December to protect the rights of migrant workers and members of their families. The 2018 theme "Migration with Dignity"
89. 'Period. End of Sentence', the short documentary film on the stigma surrounding women during menstruation in rural India, has been shortlisted at the 91st Oscar in the Documentary Short Subject category.
90. Jammu and Kashmir has become the first State in India to bring in a law banning "sextortion", i.e. sexual exploitation of women by those in positions of authority or those in a fiduciary relationship or by a public servant. The State Administrative Council (SAC) led by Governor Satya Pal Malik.
91. An international team of astronomers has discovered the most-distant object ever spotted in our solar system. Its provisional designation is '2018 VG18' & nicknamed as "Farout" for its extremely distant location.
92. Actress Sonam Kapoor has been named People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India's Person of the Year for 2018 for her animal advocacy efforts. The motto of PETA India is "Animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment or abuse in any other way".
93. The Department of Posts (DoP) has recently released the commemorative Postage Stamp on Rajkumar Shukla, who was associated with Champaran Satyagraha of 1917.
94. The European Union (EU) has decided to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 37.5% from new cars and vans by 2030 despite industry concerns the targets are for now "totally unrealistic".
95. India has been ranked 108th among 149 countries at the World Economic Forum (WEF) gender gap index for year 2018. Iceland holds the top spot in the index for the 10th consecutive year. Nordic countries Norway (2nd, 83.5%), Sweden (3rd, 82.2%), and Finland (4th, 82.1%) dominated the top slots. The Gender gap was measured across four key pillars -- economic opportunity, political empowerment, educational attainment, and health and survival.
96. On December 19, ISRO has successfully launched its military communication satellite GSAT 7A through launch vehicle 'GSLV-F11'into the orbit from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. Dubbed 'Angry Bird', GSAT 7A is designed to expand network capabilities to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Ku-band over the Indian region.
97. The book "A Rural Manifesto – Realising India's Future through her Villages" has been authored by BJP MP Varun Gandhi. In it, he suggested solutions to address the concerns of rural India.
98. Silao Khaja, the traditional delicacy of Nalanda district of Bihar, has recently got GI tag from the Geographical Indications Registry at Chennai.
99. On 28th January 1894, approx 140 peasants were killed in an unprovoked police firing while protesting against enhanced revenue. Hence, Patharighat is also known as Assam's Jallianwala Bagh.
100. The book titled "Changing India" has been author by former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
101. The SDG India Index: Baseline Report 2018 has been released by the NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, CEO Amitabh Kant. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which came into being in September 2015
102. As per latest report of Reporters without Borders (RSF), Afghanistan is the most deadliest country for journalists in 2018, with 13 deaths, followed by Syria (11) and Yemen (8). India has emerged among the world's fifth-most deadliest place for journalists alongside a first-time entrant in the list – the United States.
103. India's largest cancer hospital-cum-research facility- the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has recently opened its OPD services after soft launch at Badhsa village in Jhajjar district of Haryana on December 18, 2018.
104. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has launched the "Asiatic Lion Conservation Project" with an aim to protect and conserve the world's last ranging free population of Asiatic Lion and its associated ecosystem. The contributing ratio being 60:40 of Central and State share.
105. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, a 1984-batch Indian Foreign Service diplomat, has been appointed as the new Ambassador of India to the United States (US). He will succeed Navtej Sarna.
106. Ten monuments have been adopted under the 'Adopt A Heritage: Apni Dharohar, Apni Pehchaan' scheme, which is a collaborative effort by Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and State/UTs Governments .
107. The National Mathematics Day (NMD) is celebrated every year in India on December 22 to commemorate the birth anniversary of great mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan.
108. Ten central agencies have been authorized by the Government of India (GoI) to intercept information from any computer. This notification was issued by the 'Cyber and Information Security' division of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) under the authority of Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba.
109. Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal , has been conferred the Skoch Chief Minister of the Year Award for 2018 for her contribution in the overall development of the state and emerging as the best chief minister in the country.
110. Indian woman Vedangi Kulkarni has become the fastest Asian to cycle the globe. Hailing from a suburb of Pune, Vedangi cycled into Kolkata in the wee hours on 23rd December 2018, completing the 29,000 kilometers' distance required to qualify as bicycling across the globe. Earlier, British adventurer Jenny Graham (38) is the fastest woman to have cycled the globe in 124 days in 2018.
111. India's first music museum will be set up with assistance from the Central government in Thiruvaiyaru, Tamil Nadu, the birth place of Saint Tyagaraja, one of the Trinities of Carnatic music.
112. The National Farmer's Day (NFD) is celebrated every year in India on December 23 to acknowledge the role of farmers in India's socio-economic development and to mark the birth anniversary of 5th Prime Minister Late Chaudhary Charan Singh.
113. In Indonesia, a volcano-triggered tsunami has killed at least 281 people and injured more than thousand in Sunda Strait.
114. The 2018 theme is "Timely Disposal of Consumer Complaints". The National Consumer Day (NCD) is observed every year in India on 24th December to highlight the importance of the consumer movement
115. The federal government of Burundi has declared Gitega as the country's new political capital on 22nd December 2018.
116. The Government of India (GoI) has announced the institution of a new award named after freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which would be given every year for "outstanding efforts" in the field of furthering national integration. The award was announced by Narendra Modi at the DGPs/IGPs Conference at Kevadia , Gujarat on December 22, 2018.
117. The Manipur Assembly has unanimously passed the 'Manipur Protection from Mob Violence Bill of 2018'. The bill recommends a rigorous life imprisonment for those involved in mob violence, if it results in the death of a person. The bill was introduced in the Assembly in the wake of incidents of mob lynchings in the state.
118. On the occasion of Good Governance Day (GGD-2018 ), Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India's longest rail-cum-road bridge "Bogibeel" over the Brahmaputra in the Dibrugarh district of Assam. The 4.94km long double-decker bridge, which begins at Dibrugarh and ends at Dhemaji districts of Assam, will connect parts of Arunachal Pradesh by road as well as railway. The Bogibeel Bridge will play a crucial role in defence movement along the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh.
119. The 106th Indian Science Congress (ISC-2019) will be held at Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar, Punjab on January 3-7 with theme ''Future India: Science and Technology' . It will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) has been organising the event annually to bring together science fraternity from across the world to discuss innovations and researches.
120. Mount Etna, the active volcano in quake-stricken Italian island of Sicily, has recently erupted on 24th December 2018.
121. Japan has decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and will resume commercial whaling in July 2019. As per officials, leaving the IWC means Japanese whalers will be able to resume hunting in Japanese coastal waters of minke and other whales currently protected by the IWC.
122. The Maharashtra government has launched Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee International Schools in Mumbai on the occasion of 94th birth anniversary of the late Prime Minister.
123. On 26th December, the tribal Baduga community in the Nilgiris district of Tamil nadu is celebrating their annual Heddaiyamman festival.
124. Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki has officially declared that Palestine would apply for full state membership at the United Nations in January 2019. To secure full state membership, the Palestinians need support from at least nine out of the UNSC's 15 member states.
125. The Central government has decided to rename three popular islands of Andaman and Nicobar to mark the 75th anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's historic visit to the islands. The names of Ross Island, Neil Island and Havelock Island will be changed to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island, Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep, respectively.
126. Thailand has become the first nation in Southeast Asia to legalize medical use of marijuana, as well as the kratom, a locally grown plant traditionally used as a stimulant and painkiller. Earlier, in October 2018, Canada officially becomes the 2nd Country in the world to legalize the recreational use of marijuana nationwide after Uruguay.
127. The Knesset, Israel's parliament, has unanimously approved long-awaited, controversial law to allow exports of medical marijuana, allowing Israel to tap the lucrative global market.
128. On 27th December, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched a universal health coverage scheme, which is known as the 'Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana'. Under the scheme, each household in the state will be able to avail medical treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh annually.
129. The 26th National Children's Science Congress (NCSC) has been inaugurated by the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (SOA) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on December 27, 2018.
130. The Madhya Pradesh government has declared the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) as National Park in compliance with the last condition imposed by a Supreme Courtappointed committee for the much awaited 'translocation of Asiatic lions from Gir in Gujarat'. The move is expected to pave way for translocation of lions from Gir National Park (GNP) in Gujarat to Kuno. The Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Sheopur district of Gwalior division & has been chosen as a second home for over 500 Asiatic lions. It is spread over 750 sq km area.
131. On December 26, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has been conferred the "Champions of Change" award by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu for exemplary leadership in bringing about transformation in governance in the Northeastern state at an event organized at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
132. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted an expert committee, headed by its former governor Dr. Bimal Jalan, to review the existing Economic Capital Framework (ECF).
133. Russia has successfully tested a new hypersonic nuclear weapon delivery system , named "Avangard", from the Dombarovskiy missile base in the southern Ural Mountains.
134. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has recently resumed its diplomatic service in Syria after six years of suspension, signaling a thaw in the relations between the two countries, as also with the Arab world.
135. The scientists at Cambridge University have built a Virtual Reality (VR) 3D model of cancer that will help increase the understanding of cancer as well as in the search for new treatment. Researchers from the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Researchers started with a one millimetre cubed piece of breast cancer tissue biopsy, containing around 100,000 cells.
136. The Central Zone of Indian Railways has developed an AI-powered robot, named as 'USTAAD', which will scrutinize parts of train coaches in real time and transmit them over a WiFi connection. The acronym 'USTAAD' stands for Undergear Surveillance Through Artificial Intelligence Assisted Droid. The robot is developed by the mechanical branch of Central Railway's Nagpur division.
137. On December 28, the unique Chapparam (Chariot) festival was celebrated with traditional rituals and festivities in the famous Madurai Meenakshi temple, in Tamil Nadu.
138. The book titled "Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From" has been authored by journalist Tony Joseph, which unravels our history using the results of genetics and other research.
139. The Pakistan Cabinet has recently approved the issuance of first-ever Chinese renminbi denominated bonds to raise loans from China's capital markets. The Panda bonds will be denominated in Chinese Yuan. It is expected that the possible transaction size of bonds will be equivalent to $500 million in two different tranches. Earlier, in March 2018, the Philippines became the first Association of Southeast Asian Nations member to issue Panda bond.
140. The Delhi Police has become the first police force in the country to digitize all malkhanas, when Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik inaugurated the emalkhana project in the remaining 10 districts at Chinamaya Mission.
