• Belgium has been crowned FIFA ‘Team of the Year’for the second successive time. Note: President of FIFA: Gianni Infantino; Founded: 21 May 1904.

• Ecuador has activated the emergency protocols in the Galapagos Islands. The emergency protocol was activated to contain the environmental impact of a fuel spill in the Galapagos Islands.

• Eight West African countries have agreed to change the name of their common currency to Eco and severed their earlier currency CFA Franc’s links to former colonial ruler France. Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo currently use the currency.

• In Cuba, President has appointed Manuel Marrero Cruz as the country’s first prime minister in more than 40 years.

• Wipro has partnered with Nasscom to train students on emerging technologies. The programme will train on technologies such as artificial intelligence, data science, internet of things, cybersecurity. Wipro will train 10,000 students from engineering colleges in India as a part of Wipro’s corporate social responsibility  programme “TalentNext“.

• National Mathematics Day is celebrated on22nd December every year to mark the birth anniversary of legendary mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan and his contributions in the development of modern mathematics.

• Rajasthan Chief Minister inaugurated its first“Janta clinic” at in the Malviya Nagar area of  12 Janta Clinics will be opened in Jaipur where people would get free medicines and free medical examination in some cases.

• Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy launched the ‘YSR Nethanna Nestham’ scheme at Dharmavaram in Anantapur district. Under the scheme, the state government of Andhra Pradesh will provide financial assistance of Rs.24,000 annually to handloom weavers across the state.

• Kisan Diwas or National Farmers’ Day is observed across India on December 23. The day honours Chaudhary Charan Singh,the 5th Prime Minister of India whose was born on this day.

• Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan unveiled India’s first long-distance CNG bus fitted with CNG cylinders in New Delhi. It can travel around 1000 kilometres in a single fill. The first long-range interstate CNG bus will ply from Delhi to Dehradun.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi named Rohtang passageway in Himachal Pradesh as Atal Tunnel.

• In Jharkhand, Grand Alliance leader Hemant Soren took oath as Chief Minister.

• Kamareddy district of Telangana has secured the United Nations International Children’s and Education Fund (UNICEF)-2019 Award. The district has won the award for effective implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission in water sanitation and hygiene sectors.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Atal Bhujal Yojana(ATAL JAL) which aims to improve groundwater management.

• The Central Government has released the “Good Governance Index”on the occasion of Good Governance Day. Among the “Big States“, Tamil Nadu topped the Good Governance Index.  Among the “North-East and Hill States“, Himachal Pradesh topped the index. Among the “Union Territories“, Puducherry topped the index.

• Every Year 24th December is observed as National Consumer Day. The theme of this year is “alternate consumer grievance/dispute redressal”. On this day the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted. World Consumers Rights Day: 15 March.

• Good Governance Day is observed in India annually on the 25th of December. In this day nation celebrates the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna and former-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT)railway station in Mumbai has been conferred with ‘Eat Right Station’ certification with the five-star rating by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for food safety and hygiene. ‘Eat Right Station’ initiative is a part of the ‘Eat Right India’ movement launched by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and a Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) major which is aimed at promoting food safety and hygiene at the static catering units at railway stations. Note: CM of Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray; Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari; Capital: Mumbai.

• The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)has announced a loan of$210 million for irrigation and solar energy projects in India. The bank will lend $145 million to improve irrigation services and strengthen flood risk management in West Bengal. The bank will also lend $65 million for a 250-megawatt (MW) solar project in Rajasthan. Note: President of AIIB: Jin Liqun; Headquarter: Beijing, China.

• Abhinav Lohan has won the Bengaluru Open Golf Championship 2019 powered by Karnataka Tourism.

• Indian skipper Virat Kohli is one of the five players named in the Wisden Cricketers of the Decade. Kohli joins Australian batsman Steve Smith, and South Africans, Dale Steyn, and AB de Villiers. Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry is the only female cricketer in the list. Note: ICC Chief Executive Officer: Manu Sahney, Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

• Indian Railways started a glass-enclosed vistadome “Him Darshan Express”train on the heritage Kalka-Shimla route, with glass rooftop to have a panoramic view of the hilly region.

• The first edition of Mandu Festival began at Mandu, Madhya Pradesh.

• The Reserve Bank of India has directed large cooperative banks to report all exposures of Rs 5 crore and more to the Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC). Note: The CRILC was created by the Reserve Bank of India. CRILC constitutes commercial banks, all India financial institutions and certain non-banking financial companies with multiple objectives, which, among others, include strengthening offsite supervision and early recognition of financial distress.

• The Indian Air Force bids farewell to the iconic “MiG-27”with a decommissioning ceremony at the Jodhpur air base. The Mig 27 is a soviet origin aircraft that was built under licence by HAL and became a part of the IAF strike fleet in 1985.  Note: Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria is the present Chief of the Air Staff.

• Noted Economist and Political Analyst S Gurumurthy released a book titled “Politics of Opportunism: Regional Parties, Coalitions, Centre-State Relations In India”. The book is authored by R P N Singh, a former officer of the Intelligence Bureau, Government of India.

• Indian Army General Bipin Rawat has been named as the country’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The Chief of Defence Staff will be a 4-star General, the principal military advisor to the defence minister, and will head the new Department of Military Affairs.

• NASA Astronaut Christina Koch has created a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. She has surpassed the earlier record of 288 days in space which was previously established by NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson in 2017.

• State Bank of India will introduce One Time Password (OTP)-based ATM cash withdrawals. The step has been taken to reduce the occurrences of unauthorised transactions happening at ATMs. SBI will introduce one-time password for every cash withdrawal of Rs 10,000 and above between 8 am and 8 pm. Note: Chairperson of SBI : Rajnish Kumar; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 July 1955.

• Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy won the World Women’s Rapid Chess Championship held in Moscow, Russia.

• The Union Finance Minister has announced that the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges for businesses with over Rs 50 crore annual revenues will be waived off from January 1, 2020. Also, the digital transactions made using RuPay credit cards, or UPI QR codes will not face any additional charges for merchants or customers from January 1, 2020. Note: The Merchant Discount Rate is the percentage of the digital transaction that a merchant pays to banks. This cost is often passed on to the customer.

• The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change released the biennial “India State of Forest Report (ISFR)”,in New Delhi. Area-wise, Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country. In terms of forest cover as percentage of total geographical area, the top state is Mizoram (85.41%).

• Assam Chief Minister has launched the torch relay of the Khelo India Youth Games in Guwahati, Assam. The 3rd edition of the tournament will be held in January 2020.

• General Manoj Mukund Naravane took charge as the 28th Chief of Army Staff.He succeeded General Bipin Rawat who retired on 31st December, 2019.