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• On 16th December 2018, the nation celebrated Vijay Diwas to commemorate India’s victory over Pakistan in 1971 war – the war for the Independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan.


• The day marks the end of Bangladesh Liberation War, when the chief of the Pakistani forces, General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, along with 93 thousand troops, had surrendered unconditionally to the allied forces consisting of Indian Army and Mukti Bahini, led by Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora in Dhaka.


• The war which lasted only 13 days led to one of the biggest surrenders and resulted in subsequent secession of East Pakistan into Bangladesh. Over 3,800 Indian soldiers were martyred in the war.


• A 72-member delegation of war veterans and Mukti Jodhas, led by parliamentarian Ms. Quazi Rosy from Bangladesh are taking part in Vijay Diwas celebrations.

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• Australia became one of the few countries to formally recognize West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel however it will not move its embassy from Tel Aviv until a peace settlement is reached.


• Both Israel and the Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their Capital and this despites is not resolved yet.


• USA under the leadership of Donald Trump had already recognized the disputed city as the Capital of Israel.


• Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also clarified that Australia will recognize the future state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital when the city’s status is determined in a peace deal.

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• India and France have agreed to fight terrorism together, India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a joint statement on Saturday.


• India and France also agreed to enhance their strategic partnership through cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, civil Nuclear, defence and security, space, trade and economic sectors.

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• The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH Shri Shripad Yesso Naik and Union Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr. Jitendra Singh laid the foundation stone of Institute of High Altitude Medicinal Plants (IHAMP) with an estimated cost of Rs. 100 crore at Bhaderwah in District Doda in Jammu & Kashmir.


• The institute will be a dedicated facility for research in medicinal plants found at high altitude and shall also become a major source of income for the farmers in cultivation of medicinal plants.


• The institute would work towards introduction of new technologies in the cultivation of local medicinal plants through intensive research, training and capacity building of the farmers.


• A special camp for registration under AYUSHMAN Bharat (PM-JAY) in which as many as 200 eligible beneficiaries were enrolled and were give Golden cards on the spot, was also inaugurated by Shripad Yesso Naik and Dr. Jitendra Singh on the occasion.

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• Maldives’ new President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih arrived in New Delhi on a three-day state visit during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.


• Solih, who surprisingly defeated Maldivian strongman Abdulla Yameen in polls in September, arrived in New Delhi on his first foreign visit after assuming office and was received by Union minister Hardeep S Puri.

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• Government notified rules for in-flight calls, internet access through mobile phones, thereby allowing Indian & foreign airlines and shipping companies operating in the country to provide in-flight and maritime voice & data services in partnership with a valid Indian telecom licence holder.


• The rules are called as the Flight and Maritime Connectivity Rules, 2018 and shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.


• The in-flight and maritime connectivity (IFMC) can be provided using telecom networks on ground as well as using satellites.


• A valid telecom licence holder in India can provide the service through domestic and foreign satellites which have permission of the Department of Space to do so.


• The IFMC services will be activated once the aircraft attains a minimum height of 3,000 metres in Indian airspace to avoid interference with terrestrial mobile networks.


• The IFMC licences will be granted against an annual fee of Re 1 for a period of 10 years and the permit holder will have to pay licence fees and spectrum charges based on revenue earned from providing services.

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• Former US First Lady Hillary Clinton revisited a Gujarat Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in Ahmedabad, she first visited in 1995, and said, "I'm so inspired by these women."


• She made a special mention of Ela Bhatt, who started the organisation in 1972. "I'll never forget the sight of thousands of women sharing how SEWA changed their lives," she said.

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• t has been six years since the gruesome gangrape case of 'Nirbhaya' took place that shook the entire country and led to a mass movement.


• The incident which triggered outrage and protests not only across the country but the world as well led the government to overhaul the anti-rape laws. The victim subsequently came to be known as 'Nirbhaya', the fearless.

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• The government is planning to launch Broadband services readiness index of states based on parameters like infrastructure, approval processes and utilisation of high-speed Internet.


• Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said “We want to ensure that 5G is not limited to urban areas,”. “We will do comparative evaluation of all states and highlight best policies for other states to adopt,”.

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• Facebook's 34-year-old Co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg's wealth has dropped by over $15 billion in 2018, the most among the world's 500 richest people, according to Bloomberg.


• Zuckerberg's wealth dropped from $75 billion to $57 billion this year over scandals of election hacking, data breaches and management issues at Facebook. He remains the world's sixth richest person despite the losses.

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• Indian Cricket Team captain Virat Kohli became the second fastest player to score 25 Test Centuries after scoring 123 runs on the third day of Second Test against Australia at Perth.


• Virat Kohli is only behind of former Australian captain and cricketing legend Sir Don Bradman.


• Virat Kohli also equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 6 Test Centuries in Australia.

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• BWF(Badminton World Federation) World Tour 2018,officially known as HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2018,concluded in Tianhe, Guangzhou, China. It was the final tournament of the 2018 BWF World Tour.


• It was inaugurated from 12th December 2018.The total Prize of the Championship is $1,500,000.


• Rio Olympics Silver medallist PV Sindhu, became the first Indian to win gold in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour. She defeated Japanese Nozomi Okuhara, to claim the top honours of the season-ending event and her first title of the year. With the win, Sindhu also equalled her head-to-head record with Okuhara to 6-6.


• World No. 2 Chinese Shi Yuqi defeated Japan’s Kento Momota. This is Yuqi’s third title of the season to add to his triumphs at the All England Open and the India Open.

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• Indian-American Shree Saini has been crowned Miss India Worldwide 2018 at 27th annual global pageant held in the Fords City of New Jersey. It is Organised by the New York-based India Festival Committee (IFC).


• Sakshi Sinha from Australia was declared as the first runner up and Anusha Sareen from United Kingdom declared as the second runner up.


• In the Mrs.India Worldwide 2018 Category,India’s Mandeep Kaur Sandhu, who hails from Haryana, was declared as the winner and crowned at 27th annual global pageant. Jeya Priya Pandian from Malaysia and Kavita Malhotra Pattani from USA were declared the first and second runner ups of the Mrs India Worldwide 2018.


• Girls and Women’s of Indian Origin from 17 Countries Participated in this 27th annual global pageant. The next edition of the Miss India Worldwide will be held in Mumbai in 2019.

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• Former two-time CEO of Jet Airways Nikos Kardassis, has reportedly resigned as an advisor from the airline.


• Chairman Naresh Goyal announced Kardassis' joining at an event to celebrate airline's silver jubilee earlier this month.

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• Sri Lanka’s ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn into office again, two months after being removed by the President Maithripala Sirisena, thus bringing an end to weeks-long political crisis in the country.


• Mr. Wickremsinghe was removed as Prime minister on October 26 and was replaced by Mahinda Rajapaksa who resigned on 15th December after failing to garner majority in Parliament.


• Mr. Wickremsinghe has been sworn in as Prime minister for the 5th time, creating a record in Sri Lanka.


• The reinstatement Mr. Wickremsinghe came after the Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ruled that President Sirisena had acted illegally in November by dissolving the Parliament before it completed its four-and-a-half year term, thus rejecting the Sirisena’s attempts to hold snap elections in early January.


• The court later said Mahinda Rajapaksa should not exercise the powers of the office and ordered his resignation, seven weeks after he was appointed as the Prime Minister.

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• Ashok Kumar Singh, Lok Sabha Secretariat has assumed charge as Secretary, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST).


• NCST is empowered to investigate and monitor matters relating to safeguards provided for STs under the Constitution or under other laws or under Govt. order.

• Ramphal Pawar, a 1988-batch IPS officer of the West Bengal Cadre appointed as the Director of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).


• He was the Joint Secretary in National Intelligence Grid(NATGRID).