• National

IB, R&AW chiefs get a six-month extension

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the extension of Intelligence Bureau Director (Rajiv Jain) & Research & Analysis Wing Secretary (Anil K Dhasmana) for six-month extensions.
• ACC has also redesignated Anil Srivastava (1985-batch IAS officer of the MP cadre) from the advisor, NITI Aayog, to principal advisor.
• The Director of Intelligence Bureau (DIB) is the chief executive of ‘Intelligence Bureau’.
• The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW or RAW) is the foreign intelligence agency of India, established in 1968.

• National

President Kovind lays foundation stone of Railway Station at Kevadia

• President Ramnath Kovind laid the foundation stone of new ultra-modern Railway Station at Kevadia in Narmada district of Gujarat.
• The station will connect the Statue of Unity project to the rest of India through broad gauge railway line.
• Earlier, President Kovind visited the Statue of Unity (the world’s tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel) at Kevadia Colony in Narmada district.
• He visited various places like ‘Valley of Flowers’, ‘Wall of Unity’, ‘Museum and Exhibition Halls’ and viewers’ gallery at the venue of Statue of Unity.

• International

Trump names budget director Mick Mulvaney as acting chief of staff

• US President Donald Trump has named budget director Mick Mulvaney (51-year) as the acting chief of staff.
• He replaces General John Kelly, who is leaving by the end of the year.
• The White House Chief of Staff has traditionally been the highest-ranking non-elected employee of the White House.
• The Chief of Staff is a political appointee of the President who does not require Senate confirmation.

• Sports

ICC ropes in Royal Stag as official sponsor

• The International Cricket Council (ICC) has roped in Royal Stag as the official sponsor for the next five years.
• The partnership, which runs through 2023, will cover international events, including the ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC T20 World Cup and ICC World Test Championship.
• ICC currently also has Nissan, Oppo, MRF Tyres and Emirates as global partners.

• Awards

Novelist' Amitav Ghosh wins Jnanpith Award for 2018

• Novelist Amitav Ghosh (62-year) will receive the country’s highest literary honour Jnanpith Award 2018 (54th).
• Ghosh treads through historical settings to the modern era and weaves a space where the past connects with the present in relevant ways.
• Ghosh is the recipient of the Padma Shri (2007) and Sahitya Akademi Award.
• His fiction is endowed with extraordinary depth and substance through his academic training as a historian and a social anthropologist.

• Appointments

Yes Bank names Brahm Dutt as Interim Chairman

• Yes Bank Ltd has named Brahm Dutt (one of its independent directors) as the bank’s part-time non-executive independent chairman.
• Earlier, former Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla resigned from the position.
• Brahm Dutt is a former bureaucrat and is one of the oldest members of Yes Bank’s board.

• Appointments

Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns as Sri Lanka’s PM

• Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned as Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister.
• Ranil Wickremesinghe (removed from the post on 26th October 2018) is expected to take oath as Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister again.
• Mahinda Rajapaksa was appointed as the premiere on 26th October by the president after sacking Ranil Wickremesinghe.
• On the 3rd December 2018, a court issued an interim order preventing Mahinda Rajapaksha from functioning in the position.

• Appointments

Ramphal Pawar appointed as Director of NCRB

• The government of India appointed Ramphal Pawar as Director of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
• He is the former Joint Secretary of NATGRID.
• He is the Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from West Bengal cadre.
• NCRB​ is an Indian government agency responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code.

• Science and Tech

‘ECO Niwas Samhita 2018’ launched

• The Ministry of Power launched ‘ECO Niwas Samhita 2018’ on 14 December 2018.
• It is an Energy Conservation Building Code for Residential Buildings (ECBC-R).
• The objective is to benefit the occupants and environment by promoting energy efficiency in the design and construction of homes, apartments and townships.
• The Code is expected to assist ​a large number of architects and builders.

• States

Delhi Police launches ‘Prahari’ scheme

• Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik launched the ‘Prahari’ scheme in the southwest district of Delhi on 14 December 2018.
• The aim of the scheme is to prevent crime and maintain law and order.
• Under the scheme, civic personnel such as chowkidars and security guards, deployed in commercial and VIP areas, will act as the eyes and ears of the police for prevention of crime.

• States

1st state to have a law banning ‘sextortion’

• Jammu and Kashmir have become the first state in the country to have a law banning sexual exploitation of women by those in positions of authority, having a fiduciary relationship or a public servant.
• The State Administrative Council approved the amendment of ‘Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2018’.
• It also approved the ‘Jammu and Kashmir Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018’.

• Miscellaneous

India’s first private UAV factory inaugurated

• India’ first private sector unit for manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) opened at Adani Aerospace Park in Hyderabad.
• The Adani Aerospace Park facility has been built by the Adani Group and Israel-based Elbit Systems.
• The facility will develop ‘Hermes 900’ medium altitude long-endurance UAVs for the Indian and global markets.