- Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that a unique contest for the students of Class IX to XII will be held in January 2020 under the Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC) 2020 programme, to reduce exam stress. The winners will get to attend PPC 2020 early next year
- The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi approved the launch of Bharat Bond Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) which will be the first corporate bond ETF in the country.
- India extended Line of Credits for one water supply and two solar projects in Guinea. The development of the solar projects reflected Guinea’s commitment to the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
- According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) World Malaria Report 2019, says India was one of the two high burden countries(India & Uganda) that achieved a 28 per cent reduction in malaria cases in 2018. WHO reiterated accelerated efforts by member countries to achieve zero malaria by 2030.
- Election Commission of India has reviewed the system and process of registration of political parties. The new guidelines will be effective from 1st January, 2020.
- The Indian Ministry of Railways has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Department for International Development (DFID) in the UK to achieve energy efficiency and self-sufficiency for Indian Railways.
- Punjab Government has partnered with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to design a Public-Private pilot on shared, clean and electric mobility. It is a part of collaboration to be formulated at the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2020.
- Due to growing concerns over safety of women, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh announced free police help to drop women safely home if they are stranded outside between 9 pm and 6 am.
- In Madhya Pradesh, Union Minister for food processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated Avantee mega Food Park in Dewas. This first food park of central India is spread over 51 acres and has been constructed at a cost of about 150 crore rupees.
- India is the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change, according to a report released by Environment think tank, German watch. In the Climate Risk Index 2020, India’s rank has worsened from the 14th spot in 2017 to 5th in 2018 in the global vulnerability ladder.
- India has ranked 73rd out of 152 countries in a business-to-consumer E-commerce index 2019 released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which is slightly improving its position from 80 in 2018 and 83 in 2017.
- India has successfully carried out a night test-firing of the over 300 km strike-range Prithvi ballistic missile off the coast of Balasore by the Strategic Forces Command. The testing of the indigenously developed nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Prithvi-2 missile was a part of a user trial by the Army.
