• National

Supreme court issues notice to Election commission on VVPAT.

• The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Election Commission to respond to a plea that the counts from electronic voting machines and voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) units should be cross-verified in at least 30% randomly chosen polling stations in each Assembly and LokSabha constituency, especially in light of the LokSabha election in May.
• The petition said the commission had chosen to conduct the cross-verification exercise in an “inexplicably minuscule” manner in the recent Assembly elections.
• The fraction of polling stations chosen for such random cross-verification has been inexplicably minuscule (less than 1% of polling stations in each constituency).
• This is manifestly arbitrary, irrational, unreasonable and in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution, the petition said.
• It said the principle of elections not only need to be free and fair but also seen to be free and fair.

• National

DNA (Use and Application) Bill passed in LS

• The Lok Sabha passed the ‘DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019’ on 8 January 2019.
• It seeks to provide regulation for the use and application of DNA technology for the purpose of establishing the identity of a certain category of persons.
• The bill also seeks to establish a ‘National DNA Data Bank’ and ‘Regional DNA Data Banks’.

• International

Egypt opens West Asia's largest cathedral in its new administrative capital

• Egypt President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has opened West Asia’s largest cathedral in its New Administrative Capital (45 kilometres east of Cairo).
• President al-Sisi inaugurated the newly-built Cathedral of Nativity and mosque on the eve of Coptic Christmas.
• The two places of worship stand as a symbol in the face of attempts to undermine the country’s stability and sectarian seditions.
• The ceremony was attended by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and a host of Arab dignitaries.
• It included recorded video messages of support from the region’s top Christian clerics as well as Pope Francis.

• Economy and Business

Indian economy expects to grow at 7.2%

• Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the first advance estimates of National Income for 2018-19.
• As per the CSO, the Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.2% in 2018-19 against 6.7% in 2017-18 due to improvement in the performance of agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
• The growth of the manufacturing sector is expected to accelerate to 8.3% this fiscal, up from 5.7% in 2017-18.

• Appointments

Supreme Court reinstates Alok Verma as CBI Director

• Alok Verma (1979 batch IPS officer) has been reinstated as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief by the Supreme Court.
• Earlier, Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana were sent on leave in October 2018 amid a bitter feud between the CBI’s top two.
• Verma’s two-year tenure as CBI director ends on 31st January 2019.
• CBI’s Joint Director M Nageswara Rao (1986 batch Odisha-cadre IPS officer) was given the charge of interim chief of the probe agency.
• The judgment was pronounced by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice KM Joseph.

• Appointments

Rajesh Chandra appointed Director-General of SSB

• According to an order issued by the Personnel Ministry, Kumar Rajesh Chandra (IPS officer-1985-batch-Bihar cadre) has been appointed as the director general of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), up to 31st December 2021.
• Currently, He is the director general of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
• The SSB has about 80,000 personnel, guards India’s borders with Nepal and Bangladesh.
• Prior to 2001, the force was known as the Special Service Bureau (SSB).

• Resignation

Malaysia’s king Muhammad V resigns

• Malaysia’s King Muhammad V has abdicated after two years on the throne on 6 January 2019.
• It is for the first time a king has resigned before completing their five-year tenure.
• Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy and the king assumes a largely ceremonial role.
• However, the king’s assent is needed before the appointment of a Prime minister or senior public officials.

• Appointments

Gita Gopinath joins IMF as Chief Economist

• Gita Gopinath has joined International Monetary Fund (IMF) as its Chief Economist on 7 January 2019.
• She is the first woman to occupy the top IMF post.
• She succeeds Maurice Obstfeld as Economic Counsellor and Director of the IMF’s Research Department who retired on 31 December 2018.
• She is the professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University.

• States

Jammu and Kashmir set up law commission

• The Jammu and Kashmir administration has set up a law commission on 7 January 2019.
• Justice (Retd) M K Hanjura was appointed as its Chairperson.
• The law commission will identify the redundant and obsolete laws that can be repealed and suggest measures for quick redress of public grievances.
• The term of the Jammu and Kashmir State Law Commission will be for three years.

• Miscellaneous

AAI bans single-use plastic items

• Airports Authority of India (AAI) imposed a ban on single-use plastic items at its 129 airports across the country.
• Single-use plastic items like straws, plastic cutlery, plastic plates etc have been banned by AAI.
• Single-use plastic items are used only once and then thrown in the trash.
• Guruprasad Mohapatra is the Chairman of Airports Authority of India.