• National

Govt online training programme launched

• ‘iGOT’ (Integrated Government Online Training Programme) was launched on 20 December 2018.
• It was developed by Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions.
• It will augment the existing training mechanism, provided to government servants, with online module-based training coupled with certification.

• National

Consumer Protection Bill passed in Lok Sabha

• On 20 December 2018, Lok Sabha passed the Consumer Protection Bill, 2018 that seeks to replace the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
• The Bill enforces consumer rights and provides a mechanism for redressal of complaints regarding deficiencies in goods and services.
• It seeks to establish Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions at District, State,​ and National levels.

• International

Sri Lanka: 28 Cabinet Ministers sworn in today

• Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena administered the oath of office to the 28 cabinet ministers.
• The swearing-in comes after the leader of United National Party (UNP) Ranil Wickremsinghe took over as Prime minister.
• Mr Thilak Marapana is the foreign minister while Mr. Mangala Samarweera retained the finance portfolio.
• Prime Minister Mr. Wickremsinghe has kept with himself the portfolio of national policies, economic affairs, resettlement and rehabilitation and northern development.

• International

India & China held ‘People-to-People’ meeting

• India and China held the first ever meeting of the ‘India-China High Level Mechanism on Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges’.
• The meeting was held in Delhi on 21 December 2018.
• The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
• The meeting aims to strengthen bilateral cultural ties.

• Economy and Business

RBI caps outstanding ECBs at 6.5% of GDP

• On 20 December 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a cap for outstanding stock of External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) at 6.5% of GDP of the country.
• The outstanding stock of ECB as on 30 September 2018 was $126.29 billion.
• ECBs refer to commercial loans in the form of bank loans, securitised instruments buyers’ credit, suppliers’ credit availed of from non-resident lenders.

• Sports

ICC orders PCB to pay 60% of a compensation claim to BCCI

• The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Dispute Resolution Panel has ordered Pakistan to pay 60% of the cost demanded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
• Earlier, the ICC rejected Pakistan Cricket Board PCB’s compensation claim which blamed India for lack of bilateral series between the two nations.
• The Panel orders the PCB to pay the BCCI 60% of the claimed Costs, administrative costs and expenses of the Panel.
• The BCCI has been asked to pay 40% of the administrative costs and expenses of the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC).

• Appointments

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis resigns

• US Defence Secretary (26th) Jim Mattis has resigned from his post due to policy differences with President Donald Trump (leave on Feb 2019).
• General Mattis’ departure comes a day after, President Trump has announced that all US troops would be withdrawn from Syria.
• Jim Mattis was sworn in on 20 January 2017.
• The Secretary of Defense is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate and is by custom a member of the Cabinet and by law a member of the National Security Council.

• Appointments

Infosys appoints Nilanjan Roy as CFO

• India’s second largest IT services firm Infosys named Nilanjan Roy as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective from 1 March 2019.
• He replaces interim CFO Jayesh Sanghrajka, who will resume his responsibilities as deputy CFO.
• Before joining Infosys, he was the Airtel’s global CFO since August 2015.
• Before Airtel, he was with Unilever Plc for 15 years.

• States

Gujarat emerges as best performing state in start-up ranking 2018

• Gujarat has emerged as the best-performing state in the Startup Ranking 2018.
• The National Report on States’ Startup Ranking was unveiled by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi.
• Gujarat (100%) has performed better than all other states in all the seven areas including startup policy, incubation support, seeding innovation and scaling innovation.
• Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha and Rajasthan (score- more than 85 percentile) have been adjudged the top performers.

• States

Tembhu irrigation scheme approved by Maha Govt

• The Maharashtra government approved a sum of Rs 4,089 crore for the ‘Tembhu lift irrigation’ scheme in Satara district.
• The irrigation project will benefit the drought-prone areas of Satara, Solapur and Sangli districts.
• The scheme is about constructing barrages on the river Krishna near Tembhu village and lifting 22 billion cubic feet water to irrigate 80,000-hectare areas.

• Miscellaneous

Conservation project for lions launched

• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched the ‘Asiatic Lion Conservation Project’ on 20 December 2018.
• The aim of the project is to protect and conserve the world’s last ranging free population of Asiatic Lion and its associated ecosystem.
• The project will be funded from the Centrally Sponsored Scheme- ‘Development of Wildlife Habitat’ (CSS-DWH).