On Dec.23 2018, India successfully test fired its nuclear capable long range ballistic missile Agni-IV with a strike range of 4,000 km .The strategic surface-to-surface missile was flight tested from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Dr Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast earlier known as Wheeler Island and it is 20 meter long with a weight of 17 tonnes. This was the 7th trial of Agni-IV missile. Agni-IV missile is equipped with advanced Avionics, 5th generation On Board Computer and distributed architecture. Radars and electro-optical systems had been positioned along the coast of Odisha for tracking and monitoring all parameters of the missile.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on December 22, 2018, banned all mining activities within 10 km radius of the Sariska Tiger Reserve. It also said that any further mining activity is subject to the clearance of leases by the National Board of Wildlife.

On 20th December, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh launched the iGOT (Integrated Government Online Training Programme) for government employees. The iGOT will augment the existing training mechanism with online module-based training coupled with certification. The programme, developed by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Ministry of Personnel, will make training inputs available to a government servant on-site and on flexitime basis. The initiative aims at “competent civil services for good governance”. Dr. Singh also launched Right to Information (RTI) Portal on Judgments/Orders of Supreme Court, High Courts and CIC that will provide a learning environment for all stakeholders under which a repository on the landmark cases on the RTI will be available at one place. He also launched a hybrid course on administrative laws developed by the DoPT in collaboration with premier law institute National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru.

SpaceX successfully launched the US Air Force’s first Global Positioning System (GPS) III satellite, nicknamed ‘Vespucci’, on 23 December 2018. The new GPS satellites, built by Lockheed Martin, will provide three-times better accuracy than the current system of GPS and will be eight times better at anti-jamming. The GPS is owned by the U.S. military and operated by the U.S. Air Force.

P V Bharathi has been appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation Bank on 24 December 2018. She is at present Executive Director of Canara Bank. She will take over the charge on or after 1 February 2019 and remain in the post till March 31, 2020 – the date of her superannuation.

Only one out of 39 locations through which the Ganga river flows had clean water in the post-monsoon period this year, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has said in its latest study.

On December 22, 2018, ICICI Bank projected the GDP to increase to 7.4% in 2019-20. Its growth forecast for 2018-2019 is at 7.2 mainly due to slow consumption. It states that one of the biggest factors restricting growth will be the real estate and small scale units as they are yet to recover from effects of GST and demonetisation.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on December 22, 2018 slashed GST Rates for 23 commonly used goods and services. The reduced rates will come into effect from January 1, 2019. The GST rate on Music Books was slashed to Nil from 12 percent.

Indian-American Shree Saini won the ‘Miss India Worldwide 2018’ title at the 27th annual global pageant competition held in New Jersey.

The Goods and Services Tax Council has slashed tax rates for 23 commonly used items that have been reduced from 18 per cent to 12 and 5 per cent respectively. GST reduced from 28 to 18% list Monitor and TV screen sizes up to 32 inches. Power bank of Lithium ion battries. Digital Camera and Video Recorders Video Games Cinema Tickets costing more than Rs. 100 Insurance of Goods carrying vehicles

On December 22, 2018, the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, on his first visit to Karimnagar, inaugurated the Centre of Excellence for Genetic Blood Disorders at the Prathima Institute of Medical Sciences in Karimnagar, Telangana. This centre will work on Sickle Cell Anaemia, Thalassemia and Other Genetic Blood Disorders. It was set up by Prathima Institute of Medical Sciences.

On December 21, 2018, Minister of State for the Women and Child Development Ministry Virendra Kumar released the performance of states and UTs under the maternity benefit programme named Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana. Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh topped the charts as the best performing states. According to the finding, 51.70 lakh beneficiaries are covered annually under the PMMVY. Grants-in-aid amounting to Rs 2,048.59 crores and Rs 369.31 crores have been sanctioned to the states and the Union Territories during the year 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively.

Sonam Kapoor was named PETA India’s ‘Person of the year’ for 2018 for her animal advocacy efforts.

World Economic Forum’s ‘Global Gender Gap Report 2018’ was released on 18 December 2018.

Indian PM Narendra Modi released a commemorative coin worth Rs 100 in honor of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who died in August 2018. The coin was released a day before Vajpayee’s 94th birth anniversary.

From First Week of January 2019, the three state level campaign on “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” will be organized in Maharashtra, Goa and Dadra & Nagar Haveli to spread awareness among people to save and educate girls. The Campaign will be organized by the Pune office of Regional Outreach Bureau, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India in coordination with Women and child development departments of respective state and Union Territory (UT). The campaign was launched by Ms. Gauri Gadgil who is a ‘divyang’ child and an international swimmer by placing her fingers on traditional instrument ‘Dholak’. An orientation cum workshop on the flagship project was organized for Private Registered Cultural Troupes (PRTs) on 20th December in Pune.

On December 21, 2018, 1st meeting of India China High-Level Mechanism on Cultural & People-to-people exchanges was held in New Delhi. It was co-chaired by EAM Sushma Swaraj & Chinese State Councilor & FM Wang Yi. The meeting acknowledging the Wuhan Summit identified 10 areas or pillars for boosting people-to-people cooperation. The 2 sides discussed on cooperation in tourism, art, films, media, culture, yoga, sports, academic and youth exchanges.

The NITI Aayog released the Baseline Report of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index. Chandigarh leads as the ‘Top Performer’ because of its exemplary performance in providing clean water & sanitation, affordable & clean energy, generating decent work & economic growth, & providing quality education.

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. The hospital’s foundation stone was laid by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2014. It is expected to be fully operational by December 2020. The NCI, which is a project under Delhi AIIMS, will be headed by Dr GK Rath who is also the chief of Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital at AIIMS. The institute is spread over 50 acres. The facilities of X-ray, ultrasound, blood tests and biopsy have been made available at the Outpatient Department (OPD). The NCI is being developed at a cost Rs 2,035 crore. It will have 710 beds for different facilities like surgical oncology, radiation oncology, medical oncology, anaesthesia, palliative care and nuclear medicine, besides 1,080 hostel rooms for doctors and 800 rooms for attendants of cancer patients.

NITI Aayog has released its comprehensive national ‘Strategy for New India @ 75′ document with an aim to accelerate growth to 9-10% and make the country a $4-trillion economy by 2022-23. It is a detailed exposition across 41 crucial areas, that recognizes the progress already made, identifies binding constraints, and suggests the way forward for achieving the clearly stated objectives. The 41 chapters in the document have been disaggregated under four sections: Drivers, Infrastructure, Inclusionand Governance. The overarching focus of the Strategy document is to further improve the policy environment in which private investors and other stakeholders can contribute their fullest towards achieving the goals set out for New India 2022.