• National

Govt. notifies commonly used medical devices as drugs

• The Union Government has notified commonly used medical devices nebulizers, blood pressure monitors, digital thermometers and glucometers as drugs (under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act).
• The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) will regulate the import, manufacture and sale of these devices from January 2020.
• DCGI is the Country’s highest drug advisory body.
• Now, 27 medical devices (earlier-23) fall under the definition of drugs under the Act.

• National

Urjit Patel resigns as RBI governor

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Urjit Patel has resigned (effective immediately) from the post due to personal reasons.
• Patel took charge as the RBI governor on 4th September 2016 after Raghuram Rajan resigned from the post on 19th June 2016.
• Patel’s term as RBI governor was to end in September 2019.

• Economy and Business

SEBI Renamed ITP as ‘Innovators Growth Platform’

• In a major push to kickstart listing of start-ups in India in a big way, capital markets regulator SEBI has lined up a slew of relaxations for new-age ventures.
• The proposed changes include renaming the Institutional Trading Platform (ITP) that the regulator had created for such listings as Innovators Growth Platform (IGP).
• The changes include doing away with the requirement of at least 50% of pre-issue capital being held by qualified institutional investors.

• Sports

India beat Australia by 31 runs in Adelaide test

• India beat Australia by 31 runs in the first Test to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series at the Adelaide.
• Chasing a target 323, Australia was all out for 291 in 119.5 overs.
• Batting first, India were all out for 250 in their first innings and then bowled out the hosts for 235 to take a 15-run lead.
• India made 307 in their second innings to set Australia a challenging target.

• Appointments

Myntra’s CEO Ananth Narayanan Resigns

• Flipkart-owned Myntra’s CEO Ananth Narayanan has resigned from his role with his position set to be abolished.
• Flipkart’s Amar Nagaram has been given the responsibility to head Myntra.
• Key Myntra leaders such as Chief Revenue Officer Mithun Sundar and human resources head Manpreet Ratia have also resigned.

• Important Days

10th December: World Human Rights Day

• The World Human Rights Day is being observed to honour the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption and proclamation.
• Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10th December every year.
• The theme this year is, ‘stand up for the human rights’.
• This year, Human Rights Day marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a milestone document that proclaimed the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being.

• Science and Tech

‘Nishidhi’ stone inscription found

• A ‘Nishidhi’ stone inscription from the 12th century was found at ‘Nandi Basaveshwara temple’ in Harakere village in Karnataka.
• Shejeshwara, Assistant Director, Department of Archeology, Heritage and Museums, and Jagadeesh, historian, discovered the inscription in Harakere village.
• Nishidhi stone inscriptions are issued to commemorate Jain ascetics who perform Sallekhana vratha.

• Defence

Exercise ‘Cross Bow 18’ conducted by IAF

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted the exercise code-named ‘Cross Bow 18’ at the Air Force Station at Suryalanka in Andhra Pradesh on 8 December 2018.
• In the exercise, the Indian Air Force successfully tested the firing of four different classes of missiles like Akash, Spyder, OSA-AK-M, and IGLA.
• The aim of the exercise is to improve the combat skills of the missile squadron crew.

• Defence

Ex ‘Aviaindra 2018’ commenced on 10 Dec 2018

• Indian Air Force and Russian Federation Aerospace Force (RFSAF) will hold exercise ‘Aviaindra 2018’ at Air Force Station Jodhpur from 10 to 21 December 2018.
• The first exercise ‘Aviaindra’ was held in 2014.
• The aim of the exercise is focused on anti-terrorist operations.
• The exercise is unique wherein the RFSAF will not bring its air assets.

• Obituaries

Senior journalist Jagdish Thakkar passes away

• India Public Relations Officer (PRO) in the prime minister’s office and senior journalist Jagdish Thakkar (72-years) passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) in New Delhi.
• Thakkar worked with Prime Minister Narendra Modi since his days as the chief minister of Gujarat and later joined him in the PMO.
• He also served nearly a dozen other chief ministers in Gujarat for over three decades.
• Thakkar began his career as a journalist at a local daily in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar.

• States

Kannur International Airport in Kerala begins operations

• Kannur International Airport (KIAL) has been Inaugurated by Pinarayi Vijayan (Chief Minister of Kerala) in the presence of Minister of Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu.
• Now, Kerala is the only state in the country with four international airports.
• The Kannur airport will give a major boost to trade, commerce, tourism, employment and export prospects in Kerala.
• The Integrated Passenger Terminal and Air Traffic Control building was designed by premier public sector consultancy agency KITCO India.

• States

Shi Yomi becomes 23rd district of Arunachal

• ‘Shi Yomi’ has become the 23rd district of Arunachal Pradesh on 9 December 2018
• The new district has been carved out of the West Siang district.
• On 29 August 2018, the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly passed a bill for the creation of three new districts: Pakke-Kesang, Lepa Rada, and Shi Yomi.
• Itanagar is the capital of Arunachal Pradesh.

• Miscellaneous

India’s first underwater museum to be opened

• India is set to get its first underwater museum off the Puducherry coast.
• INS Cuddalore, a minesweeper decommissioned in March 2018, will be turned into a museum.
• The minesweeper will be deployed in the seabed 7 km off Puducherry coast.
• The vessel will be a popular destination for scuba diving and snorkelling.
• This will also improve marine biodiversity and the fishing industry.