1. General Manoj Mukund Naravane took charge as the Chief of the Indian Army on 31st December, 2019 succeeding General Bipin Rawat. General Naravane was earlier serving as the Vice Chief of the Indian Army. Former Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has been appointed as India’s first Chief of Defence Staff on 30th December, 2019.
2. India and Pakistan on 31st December, 2019 exchanged a list of their nuclear installations under a bilateral agreement that prohibits them from attacking each other’s atomic facilities. It is exchanged for the 29th consecutive year now, with the first one taking place on January 1, 1992. The Agreement on Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations was signed on December 31, 1988 and came into force on January 27, 1991.
3. The Railway Ministry has accorded organised Group ‘A’ status to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and renamed it as the Indian Railway Protection Force Service. Formed under the Railway Protection Force Act, 1957, the RPF personnel have powers to search, arrest, investigate and prosecute.
4. The Kerala Assembly passed a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on 31st December, 2019 to become the first state in the country to do so. According to the Government of Kerala, the CAA, which was passed in this winter session of the Parliament, was against secularism and has triggered widespread protests in the country.
5. Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has been appointed as the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the Principal Military Adviser to the Defence Minister and the head of the new Department of Military Affairs with effect from 31st December, 2019. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on 26th December created the post of CDS, which was first proposed after the 1999 Kargil war.
6. The Sustainable Development Goals Index 2019-20 was released by NITI Aayog on 30th December, 2019. As per the report, India’s composite score improved from 57 in 2018 to 60 in 2019. Kerala topped the index with a score of 70, followed by Himachal Pradesh with 69. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu were ranked at the third position with a score of 67. The least performing states were Bihar, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh. 
7. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut Christina H Koch on 28th December, 2019 set a new record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, after crossing the record of 288 days set by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson in 2016-17. Koch still has six weeks to go before returning to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS). In October, she was a part of the first all-female spacewalk.

Participate in Blue Book Contest and win exciting prizes. Leave your answers in comments column.

Today’s Quiz:

Q1. When did India and Pakistan exchange a list of their nuclear installations under a bilateral agreement for the first time?

1. 1990
2. 1991
3. 1992
4. 1993

Q2. When was the Agreement on Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations signed?

1. 1988
2. 1990
3. 1991
4. 1992

Q3. Which is the first state in the country to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)?

1. Karnataka
2. Kerala
3. Tamil Nadu
4. Andhra Pradesh

Q4. Which state topped the Sustainable Development Goals Index 2019-20?

1. Kerala
2. Himachal Pradesh
3. Andhra Pradesh
4. Telangana 

Q5. Who has set a new record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman?

1. Peggy Whitson
2. Christina H Koch
3. Anne McClain
4. Jessica Meir

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