On December 19, 2018, Mohinder Pratap Singh was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Mongolia. He is presently Director at Headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs

NeVA – National e-Vidhan Application
On 18th December 2018, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, while giving a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, gave details on the status of implementation of National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) Project. Paperless Assembly or e-Assembly is a concept involving of electronic means to facilitate the work of Assembly. e-Vidhan is a Mission Mode Project (MMP) included in Digital India Programme. It is implemented by Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (MoPA). MoPA is the ‘Nodal Ministry’ for its implementation in all the 31 States/ UTs with Legislatures. The total project cost of the project is over 738 crores and funding of NeVA is on the pattern of Central Sponsored Scheme i.e. 60:40; and 90:10 for North East & hilly States and 100% for UTs

An international team of astronomers has discovered the most-distant object ever spotted in our solar system. It’s provisional designation is ‘2018 VG18’ & nicknamed as “Farout” for its extremely distant location. The pinkish dwarf planet is more than 100 times farther from the sun than Earth is — and almost four times more distant than Pluto. Farout is about 120 astronomical units (AU), where 1 AU is defined as the distance between the Earth and the Sun. It is discovered by Scott S Sheppard from Carnegie Institution for Science, David Tholen from University of Hawaii, and Chad Trujillo from Northern Arizona University in the US. On 17th Deember 2018, Farour’s discovery was announced by the International Astronomical Union (IAU)’s Minor Planet Center. The second-most-distant observed solar system object is Eris at about 96 AU & Pluto is currently at about 34 AU.

Uday Shankar, currently chairman of Star India and president of 21st Century Fox Asia-Pacific (only Asia), has been elected as vice president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) for the year 2018-19 at the 91st AGM of the apex industry body. Shankar is the first Indian media and entertainment executive to assume the leadership position in a national industry chamber like FICCI. He has recently been appointed Chairman of Star and Disney India and President of Asia Pacific unit of The Walt Disney Company. The appointment is part of Disney’s integration planning for its acquisition of 21st Century Fox and strategic alignment of its consolidated international business units.

Nasscom, IT industry body, announced its partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras for reskilling students and employees in the Information Technology sector and IT-enabled Services (ITeS). The partnership is aimed at building an able workforce to support the industry and other stakeholders. Nasscom aims to get India accelerated on the path to becoming the global hub for talent for the new emerging technologies like AI (Artificial Intelligence), IoT (Internet of Things), cyber security, big data, cloud and blockchain.

On December 18,2018, Tulsi Giri(93), Nepal’s two-time prime minister and senior politician, passed away in his residence in Kathmandu, Nepal. Dr. Giri was suffering from liver cancer for a long time and he was recently discharged from the hospital. Dr. Giri had a long political career. He served as the prime minister of Nepal Twice,first from 1962 to 1964 and again from 1975 to 1977.

Minorities Rights Day in India 2018 will be celebrated all over India on 18th December every year as introduced by the United Nations. Minorities Rights Day is celebrated on this day every year to protect rights of the minority communities and forge a better understanding among religious minorities in the country

On 18th December 2018, the central government has appointed advocate Madhavi Goradia Divan as additional solicitor general (ASG) in the Supreme Court.She is the third woman to be appointed as ASG in the apex court. Senior lawyer Indira Jaising was the first woman ASG. Pinky Anand, the second woman lawyer to hold the post, is still in office. Divan will represent the government in the Supreme Court and will hold office till 30 June, 2020. Divan began her legal practice from the Bombay High Court and has represented two state governments in judicial proceedings in the past – those of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Earlier, PS Narasimha and Maninder Singh had resigned as ASG

The United Arab Emriates (UAE) government has officially declared 2019 as Year of Tolerance to strengthen the nation’s role of encouraging stability and prosperity in the region. As per officials, the ‘Year of Tolerance’ would be an extension of the current ‘Year of Zayed’, which celebrates the values of the country’s founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan. This year, the UAE announced it will be a global co-ordinator for co-operation within a new Global Tolerance Alliance to promote acceptance around the world. The Special Olympic World Games, to be held in Abu Dhabi from March 14-21 in 2019, are also expected to feature heavily in a year-long series of events promoting tolerance.

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. On this day, in 1990, The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution on the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. The 2018 theme “Migration with Dignity” recognizes that treating every migrant with dignity is one of the fundamental requirements we face before anything else we attempt on migration.

Ramphal Pawar, an IPS officer from the West Bengal cadre, has been appointed the new Director of National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB). The NCRB is responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It is headquartered in New Delhi and is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Apart from this, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director Rajiv Jain and Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) Secretary Anil K Dhasmana, both of whose two-year terms were scheduled to end later this month, have been given six-month extensions. As per officials, the Central Government does not want to disturb the continuity in the IB and the R&AW and wanted a new government to take a decision on appointments on these key posts after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

India has come at 108th position in the recently released Gender Gap Index 2018 by World Economic Forum. India was ranked at the same position in 2017 rankings as well. Iceland holds the top spot in the index for the 10th consecutive year.

Actress Sonam Kapoor, a vegan, has been named People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India’s Person of the Year for 2018

Merriam-Webster has declared ‘Justice’ as the 2018 Word Of The Year.  As per Merriam-Webster says, the word ‘Justice’ is used in many phrases like racial justice, social justice and obstruction of justice

Star India’s Chairman and CEO Uday Shankar has been elected Vice President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) for 2018-19. He was recently appointed Star and Disney India’s Chairman and President of The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific. Shankar is the first-ever Indian media and entertainment executive to assume the leadership position in a national industry chamber

The 37th Senior National Rowing Championship began in the Army Rowing Node in Pune. Around 500 rowers and coaches from various rowing associations across the country are taking part in the Championship. The Rowers for the World Championships-2019 will be selected from this event. World Championship -2019 is the first qualifying Championship for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

‘Period. End of Sentence’ has made it to the Oscar shortlist in the Documentary Short Subject category. This is a film about women in India fighting against the deeply rooted stigma of menstruation and delving upon the work of real-life ‘Pad Man’ Arunachalam Muruganantham. A total of 104 films had originally qualified in the category. India’s entry for the Foreign Language Film Category, Village Rockstars is out of the Oscar rac

Department of Telecommunication (DoT) said it expects to complete processes for 5G spectrum auction by August 2019 and the services will be rolled out by 2020. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommended auction of about 8,644 MHz of telecom frequencies at an estimated total base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore, which includes radio waves for 5G services. The roll out of 5G services in India will have an impact of USD 1 trillion on the economy

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. It will start operations with the manufacturing of complete carbon composite aero-structures for the Hermes 900 UAV, followed by the Hermes 450 UAV, catering to the global markets, and will further be ramped-up for the assembly and integration of complete UAVs here. As of now, after manufacturing, the integration of the UAV units will be done in Israel.

Global telecom, British Telecommunications giant, said it plans to set up a research centre in Bengaluru in partnership with the Indian Institute of Science. The British Telecom Indian Research Centre will focus on the development of artificial intelligence, mobility and cyber-security technologies for use in the company’s programmes, products, and services. The India centre’s structure and organization will follow a model used for the British firm’s global research locations, combining academic, industry and government partnerships. It will join BT’s network of collaborative research facilities in China, Northern Ireland, the UAE, and the US

Indian Railways opened the doors of India’s first railway university in Vadodara, Gujarat. It is the first of its kind institution in the nation and the third in the world after Russia and China.

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei has been in the headlines recently after Canadian authorities arrested one of its top executives as part of a United States extradition order. Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer and the daughter of its founder, is under scrutiny over Justice Department allegations that she violated sanctions on Iran, but the US government’s concerns about Huawei go far beyond its dealings with Tehran. There have been worries for years about potential national security concerns posed by Huawei as well.

India will launch its latest communication satellite, GSAT-7A aboard Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F11) on December 19, 2018 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The satellite, built by ISRO, will provide communication capability to users in Ku-band over the Indian region. It will have a mission life of eight years.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has announced to waive off farm loans to the tune of Rs 6,100 crore of more than 16 lakh farmers. The state government has decided to waive off all short-term loans availed by farmers from cooperative and rural development banks.

On December 17 2018, Ashok Gehlot took oath as the Rajasthan Chief Minister. Governor Kalyan Singh administered the oath at the historic Albert Hall in Jaipur,Rajasthan. Congress President Rahul Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, outgoing chief minister Vasundhara Raje attended the event. Ashok Gehlot was a senior congress leader who has selected for Chief Minister third time. He was a Chief Minister for the first time in 1998 and again in 2008.

On December 17, 2018, Sachin Pilot took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan after the successful lead in 2018 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election. Governor Kalyan Singh administered the oath at the historic Albert Hall in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Congress President Rahul Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, outgoing chief minister Vasundhara Raje attended the event.

On 16th December 2018, book on self-styled godman Asaram Bapu released after a Chandigarh court refused to stay its publication. Authored by Ushinor Majumdar named “God of Sin: The Cult, The Clout and Downfall of Asaram Bapu”. The plea was filed seeking a permanent injunction against publishing of the book. Book was published Penguin Random. “God of Sin”is about Asaram’s journey to spiritual godhood, his fall from grace and the long and arduous road to bring him to justice.

On December 17 2018, a legendary classical singer Pandit Arun Bhaduri ,75 passed away in Kolkotta due to his pro-longed illness.Pandit Bhaduri, a well known and one of the masters of Bengali songs and Bhajans.