 The country achieved yet another milestone in the power sector with the completion of electrification in 100% households in 25 states at year end. Now, only about 10.48 lakh households are left to be electrified in 4 states – Assam, Rajasthan, Meghalaya andChhattisgarh. These states are also taking all concerted efforts to achieve, at the earliest, saturation of household electrification. Since the launch of Saubhagya, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, 74.4 Lakh willing households have been electrified and state government has declared saturation of all 75 districts. |
| Source- DD News |
 The finance minister of France Bruno Le Maire announced that France will introduce its own tax on large internet and technology companies from January 1. France has been pushing hard for a new so-called “GAFA tax” — named after Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon — to ensure the global giants pay a fair share of taxes on their massive business operations in Europe. |
| Source- The Livemint |
 The United States and Israel officially quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the close of 2018. The countries had announced their decisions in 2017 of withdrawing from the agency, accusing it of bias against Israel. America has demanded fundamental reform in UNESCO, which was co-founded by it after World War II to foster peace. Israel joined the agency in 1949. It is best known for its World Heritage program, which designates cultural sites and aims to preserve traditions. |
| Source- AIR World Service |
 Qatar has withdrawn its membership from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The country had sent an official notification to the OPEC expressing its wish to pull out and to focus on its liquefied natural gas production in December. Qatar has been in OPEC for 57 years. The decision came amid the ongoing diplomatic and economic blockade imposed on the country by its Persian Gulf neighbours and several Arab states. |
| Source: AIR World Service |
 Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan launched ‘Ujjwala Sanitary Napkins’ initiative saying it will go a long way in making Odisha’s 2.25 crore women empowered and self-reliant. Under the novel initiative, which will cover 93 blocks in 30 districts of Odisha, oil marketing companies (OMC) will set up 100 manufacturing units at the Common Service Centres (CSC) at an estimated cost of Rs 2.94 crore. |
| Source- The Times of India |
 In its ‘Growth Outlook for 2019’, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) stated that the GDP growth will be in the range of 7.5% in 2019. A settled goods and services tax (GST), improving credit availability and capacity expansion from increasing investment in infrastructure are among seven key drivers that will help Indian economy grow 7.5% 2019, the CII stated. |
| Source: The Economic Times |
 Veteran actor-writer Kader Khan passed away in Canada at the age of 81. Kader Khan made his acting debut in 1973 with Rajesh Khanna’s “Daag” and has featured in over 300 films. He wrote dialogues for over 250 movies. Before becoming an actor he had written dialogues for Randhir Kapoor-Jaya Bachchan’s “Jawani Diwani”. As a screenwriter, Khan frequently collaborated with Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra. |
| Source- AIR World Service |
 The third edition of women’s national boxing championships begins in Vijayanagara, Karnataka. Country’s top boxers will be vying for top honors as the tournament will be held at the JSW Sports-owned Inspire Institute of Sport. World Championship silver and bronze medallists boxers, Sonia Chahal, Lovlina Borgohain, Pinky Jangra and Nikhat Zarin will be trying to upstage one another in the race to claim the top honors. |
| Source- Business Standard |
 India’s stylish opener Smriti Mandhana has been named as the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s Cricketer of the Year. The 22-year-old, who has also been named as the ICC Women’s ODI Player of the Year, achieved the feat by giving some exceptional performances throughout the year. She scored 669 runs at an average of 66.90 in 12 ODIs and 622 runs at a strike-rate of 130.67 in 25 T20Is from January 1 to December 31, 2018. She is currently ranked fourth in the ICC Women’s Players Rankings for ODI Batters and 10th in the ICC Women’s Players Rankings for T20I Batters. |
Other Awards Conferred are:
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| Source- ANI News |
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi unfurled 150-feet tall tricolor to mark Netaji’s hoisting of the national flag 75 years ago in Port Blair. The three renamed islands of Andaman and Nicobar are: |
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| To connect the islands with mainstream development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Lakshwadweep, Andaman & Nicobar industrial development policy. The Prime Minister also released a commemorative stamp, its first-day cover and a Rs-75 coin on this special day. |
| Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB) |
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