Source: Click Here

• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for "positive and offensive measures" to ensure the country's security before a year-end deadline he has set for denuclearization talks with the United States, state media KCNA said.


• Kim convened a weekend meeting of top Workers' Party officials to discuss policy matters amid rising tension over his deadline for Washington to soften its stance in stalled negotiations aimed at dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.

Source: Click Here

• U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the state of relations between their two countries in a phone call instigated by Putin, the White House said.


• The official reason for the call, according to both sides, was for Putin to thank Trump for what White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said was "information the United States provided that helped foil a potential holiday terrorist attack in Russia."

Source: Click Here

• As 2019 winds down, apprehensions remain that the “phase one” trade deal agreed to by the US and China earlier this month will not completely end the trade war between the two countries that had a massive impact on established global multi-lateral trade arrangements.


• US President Donald Trump’s “America first” policy was the precursor to the trade war, which led to both sides imposing tariffs worth hundreds of billions of dollars on each other’s exports.


• After protracted negotiations conducted in fits and starts over the year, the two countries unveiled a preliminary deal in December whereby the US will reduce some tariffs on Chinese goods while China will increase purchases of American farm, energy and manufactured goods.

Source: Click Here

• Work began on the firm's multibillion-dollar Shanghai “Gigafactory” in January, allowing the company to skirt trade tensions between China and the U.S.


• Tesla delivered its first batch of China-made cars on December 30, less than a year after the electric vehicle company broke ground on its first plant outside the United States.


• Work began on the firm's multibillion-dollar Shanghai “Gigafactory” in January, allowing the company to skirt trade tensions between China and the U.S. and sell directly to the world's largest “green” vehicle market.

Source: Click Here

• December 31 is no longer the last date to link your Aadhaar card with PAN or Permanent Account Number.


• The last date to link both the personal identification numbers now is March 31, according to a Twitter post by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the top policy-making body of the Income Tax Department.


• This marks the eighth extension in the due date for linking the Aadhaar with the PAN. The last extension in the due date was in September this year.

Source: Click Here

• The ministry of home affairs declared on Monday the entire state of Nagaland a “disturbed area” for six more months, till June, under the controversial Armed Forces Special Protection Act (Afspa), which empowers security forces to conduct operations anywhere and arrest anyone without any prior notice.


• In a notification, the ministry said the central government was of the opinion that the area comprising the whole state of Nagaland is in such a disturbed and dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of civil power is necessary.

Source: Click Here

• In its first major anti-corruption operation in Jammu and Kashmir after the reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory, the Central Bureau of Investigation raided 13 locations including premises of senior IAS officers Yasha Mudgal and Kumar Rajeev Ranjan while investigating alleged irregularities in the issuance of hundreds of thousands of arms licenses to non-residents over 10 years between 2007 and 2017, CBI spokesperson Nitin Wakankar said.

Source: Click Here

• Kerala retained the top rank while Bihar was ranked at the bottom in Niti Aayog's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index 2019.


• According to SDG India Index, states like Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim have shown maximum improvement in their rankings since 2018.


• The SDG index evaluates the progress of states and union territories on social, economic and environmental parameters.

Source: Click Here

• The Department of Elementary Education, Assam, has released the result for Teachers' Eligibility Test (TET) for Lower Primary and Upper Primary Level - 2019.


• The result is available on the Assam Board of Secondary Education (SEBA) official website. The exam was held on November 10, 2019.


• Candidates who appeared in the Assam TET exam will need their application number and password to log in and check the result. Candidates would need to select the examination they appeared in from the dropdown box.

Source: Click Here

• UGC NET result for the December 2019 exam will be released today. National Testing Agency (NTA) Chairman Vineet Joshi, confirmed to NDTV that the result for December UGC NET exam will be released, December 31.


• He said that the result will be released around noon. The exam was conducted for over 10 lakh candidates in 81 subjects.


• UGC NET December 2019 exam concluded on December 6 and NTA released the provisional answer key on December 10.

Source: Click Here

• The National Testing Agency will conduct Joint Entrance Examination (Main) – 2020 on January 6. The JEE Main 2020 will be held in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode at different centres located in 233 cities across the country.
.

• The NTA JEE Main 2020 Admit Card was released by the exam conducting authority on December 6.


• Candidates who still haven’t downloaded the admit card from the official website are advised to do so as soon as possible.


• In case any applicant is not able to download his/her admit card, he/she may send email to jeemain-nta@gov.in.

Source: Click Here

• Enthused by a record foreign investment inflow, India is optimistic of continuing to be one of the world's favourite FDI destinations in 2020 on the back of the Modi government's liberalised norms and a significant jump in the ease of doing business ranking.


• Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Guruprasad Mohapatra said that despite a slowdown in the global economy, inflows of foreign investment into the country have not been impacted.

Source: Click Here

• IndiGo and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways have expressed interest in bidding for national carrier Air India, The Economic Times reported. “Representatives from these companies have met government officials and, unofficially shown interest in the national carrier,” a source told the paper.


• The Tata Group, which founded the airline, has not indicated any interest yet in bidding for the airline, the report stated.

Source: Click Here

• The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League is set to get underway on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai with Mumbai Indians kicking off the campaign on their home ground.


• Speaking to IANS, a Delhi Capitals official said that the starting date is set to be March 29 with defending champions MI playing the opener at Wankhede.


• "I am told that the 2020 edition of the IPL will start on March 29 at Wankhede," the official said.

Source: Click Here

• Noted musician and composer Ilaiyaraja (born as Gnanathesikan) has been selected for 2019 Harivarasanam award.


• The award has been instituted by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) of the govt. since 2012 and comprises of a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a citation and a plaque.


• It is given to persons who have contributed to secularism and universal brotherhood through music. Ilayaraja will be conferred with the award on January 9 2020 at a function at Sabarimala sannidhanam (main temple) in Kerala.

Source: Click Here

• Christina Hammock Koch (40), an American engineer and the United States (US) Space agency-NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) astronaut has created history by becoming the longest-lived woman in space.


• She overtook the record of NASA’s astronaut Peggy Whitson for 288 days in the International Space Station (ISS).


• Astronaut Whitson held the previous record of 289 days, 5 hours and 1 minute in 2017.

Source: Click Here

• Outgoing Army Chief General Bipin Rawat is set to take over as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) today.


• As the CDS which will be India's first-ever -- General Rawat will be in direct contact with the Prime Minister on security issues and the chiefs of the Army, Navy and the Air Force would report to him.


• He would head the Department of Military Affairs and paid a salary equivalent to a service chief.


• "Government has decided to appoint Gen Rawat as the Chief of Defence Staff with effect from December 31 and until further orders and extension in service of Gen Rawat with effect from December 31 and till the period he holds the office of CDS," the defence ministry said.

Source: Click Here

• West Ham United have reappointed David Moyes as head coach on an 18-month deal to replace the sacked Manuel Pellegrini.


• Moyes, a former manager of Manchester United and Real Sociedad, returns to the Hammers for a second stint after he saved the club from getting dropped in the relegation in the 2017-18 campaign during a six-month deal.