The Theresa May government announced that citizens from 27 European Union countries and those from India and elsewhere will be treated on par for purposes of migration after Brexit, in what is being billed as the biggest shake-up in 40 years of the visa system.
A new visa route for skilled migrants and scrapping of the annual 20,700 limit for work permits are among proposals outlined. They will come into force from 2021, if all processes of Brexit are completed.
Criminal Justice Reform Bill
The U.S. Senate passed the First Step Act, a criminal justice reform Bill, that would roll back what are seen as excessively punitive criminal justice policies that have been in place since the crackdown on crime in the 1980s.
The Bill benefits federally convicted individuals, mostly serving drug offences.
US Begins Withdrawing Troops from Syria
The Donald Trump-led US administration announced that it has started withdrawing US troops from Syria after claiming a victory in the fight against the Islamic State (IS).
As per reports, the time-frame for the troop's withdrawal from the war-torn Arab country is expected to be between 60 and 100 days.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has announced its foray into the branded dermatology segment in the United States in a bid to grow its business.
The branded portfolio for the U.S. market would be developed and commercialised by Glenmark Therapeutics Inc., USA, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Glenmark Holding, SA.
Four Banks May Come Out of PCA
As per reports, four public sector banks - Bank of Maharashtra, Corporation Bank, Allahabad Bank and Bank of India that are under the prompt corrective action framework of RBI, may come out of the restrictions following improved performance.
This follows a review of the performance of all 11 banks that are under the PCA framework, as decided during the November board meeting of the Reserve Bank of India.
Highest Per Capita NSDP
As per government data, Karnataka had the highest per capita Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) at Rs. 1,81,788 in FY 2017-18 followed by Telangana at Rs. 1,81,034 and Maharashtra at Rs. 1,80,596 among major Indian states, at current prices.
Delhi recorded the highest per capita income among all states at Rs. 3,29,093 during financial year 2017-18.
ISRO successfully launched the country's geostationary military communication satellite GSAT-7A onboard Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle GSLV-F11.
The 2,250-kg GSAT-7A has a mission life of eight years. The satellite has been built to provide communication capability to the users in Ku-band over the Indian region.
GSAT-7A was the seventh launch of 2018 from Sriharikota and marks the 69th mission of GSLV-F11 for ISRO. GSLV-F11 is ISRO's fourth generation launch vehicle with three stages.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party scored a resounding win in Haryana Municipal Corporation (MC) elections by bagging all the five mayoral seats with massive margins and secured majority in three of five MCs.
For the first time, the voters elected the mayors directly, in a departure from earlier practice of councillors electing the mayor from among themselves.
Captive Elephants in Kerala Got Genetic IDs
For the first time in the country, captive jumbos in Kerala have now got their own genetic IDs.
The forest department, with the technical support of Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) in Thiruvananthapuram, has prepared the DNA database of all the registered captive jumbos across the state.
Kerala has become the first in the country to have prepared the DNA-based genetic ID of its entire captive elephant population.
President's Rule in J&K
President's Rule will come into force in Jammu and Kashmir from 20th December, after the expiry of six months of Governor's Rule.
President Ram Nath Kovind signed the proclamation paving the way for imposition of Central rule in the State which was placed under Governor's Rule on June 20 after the BJP withdrew support to the PDP government.
Since the State has a separate Constitution, in such cases, six months of Governor's Rule is compulsory under Article 92 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, with all legislature powers vested with the Governor.
A Landing Craft Utility (LCU) ship was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Port Blair. The ship, named 'L-55', was built indigenously by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) in Kolkata and was commissioned by Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar, Vice Chief of Naval Staff.
The Mark IV LCU vessel is an improved version of the Mark III LCU vessel which forms a part of the Indian Navy's fleet. This is the fifth such Mark IV CU vessel - the first such IN LCU L-51 was commissioned into the Indian Navy in March of 2017.
Renowned Pakistani social activist Asma Jahangir was posthumously honoured by the UN with a prestigious human rights award.
Jahangir, an outspoken critic of Pakistan's powerful military establishment, fought against religious extremism and for the rights of oppressed minorities in Pakistan.
She was honoured with the 2018 United Nations Human Rights Prize, an award given every five years since 1968.
Jahangir's daughter Munizae Jahangir received the award on her behalf from President of the UN General Assembly María Fernanda Espinosa.
The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2016 was passed in the Lok Sabha. The Bill proposes to regulate surrogacy in India by establishing National Surrogacy Board at the central level and, State Surrogacy Boards and Appropriate Authorities in the States and Union Territories.
Once the Bill is enacted by Parliament, the National Surrogacy Board will be constituted. The States and Union Territories shall constitute the State Surrogacy Board and State Appropriate Authorities within three months of the notification by the Central Government.
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