Retired HC judge CV Ramulu named Telangana Lokayukta
* Retired high court judge CV Ramulu will be Telangana Lokayukta and V Niranjan Rao will be the Upa-Lokayukta. Retired HC judge G Chandraiah will be the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) chairman.
* The governor also appointed another former judge Justice G Chandraiah as Chairman of the State Human Rights Commission. This is the first time that the state government has constituted the Lokayukta and Human Rights Commission since the state was formed in 2014.

DRDO successfully flight-tests Pinaka Missile System off Odisha coast
* India today successfully flight-tested Pinaka Missile System from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the Odisha coast.
* Developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Pinaka is an Artillery Missile System capable of striking into enemy territory up to a range of 75 kilometres with high precision.
* The Pinaka MK-II Rocket is modified as a missile by integrating with the Navigation, Control and Guidance System to improve the end accuracy and enhance the range. The Navigation system of the missile is also aided by the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).

IPS officer Atul Karwal appointed as Director of National Police Academy
* The Union Government appointed a senior Gujarat Cadre IPS officer Atul Karwal, as Director of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy. Atul Karwal, a 1988 batch IPS officer, is currently posted as Additional Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

FIFA Team Rankings: India Lose 11 Places in 2019, Ranked 108th
* The Indian men’s football team remained static at 108th spot in the year-ending FIFA rankings issued. India, however, lost 11 places throughout the year. With 1187 total points, India is placed at 19th spot among Asian countries headed by Japan (28th). India was placed at 97th in the December FIFA rankings of last year. The best ranking for the team this year was 101 in April and June.

Ashleigh Barty & Rafael Nadal named 2019 ITF World Champion
* The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has announced that Australia’s Ashleigh Barty and Rafael Nadal of Spain have been named 2019 ITF World Champions. This awards will be given at the 2020 ITF world champions 2nd June, in Paris.
* Barty is the first Australian to be named ITF Women’s World Champion having become the first Australian woman to reach No.1 in the world rankings since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1976.
* Nadal, who is named ITF World Champion for the fourth time, said, “I am very happy to be named ITF World Champion and receive this award from the ITF. To finish as No. 1 on the ATP rankings for a fifth time and win two more Grand Slam titles this year has been something that looking a few years back we would have never thought it would happen.

Malayali boy bags top bravery award
* Aditya K. of Ramanattukara, Kozhikode, has become the first child from the State to bag the Bharat Award for bravery.
* The most prestigious of the National Bravery Awards, given away by the Indian Council for Child Welfare, the Bharat Award has gone to Aditya for rescuing 20 people from a burning bus that was on the move.
* Muhammed Mohsin has been given the award posthumously for saving the lives of three children.
* Fatah gets the award for rescuing a woman and a girl from an approaching train. Both belong to Kozhikode.

Archaeologist R. Nagaswamy honoured in Bangladesh
* Renowned archaeologist R. Nagaswamy was honoured at the Silver Jubilee International Conference of Art held in Dhaka by Bangladesh Culture Minister K.M. Khalid.
* He was honoured for the contribution of Nagaswamy to art, archaeology, history, and culture.
* The Silver Jubilee volume of the Journal of Bengal Art was dedicated to Mr. Nagaswamy. The art carries articles by international scholars.

Indian-American Dr Monisha Ghosh named 1st woman Chief Technology Officer of US’ communications commission
* Indian-American Dr Monisha Ghosh has been appointed as the first woman Chief Technology Officer at the US government’s powerful Federal Communications Commission.
* She will advise Indian-American Chairman of the FCC Ajit Pai and the agency on technology and engineering issues, and work closely with the Office of Engineering and Technology. Ghosh will take charge on January 13 next year. She replaces Dr Eric Burger.

India’s Meiraba Luwang wins Bangladesh Junior International Badminton Series
* India’s shuttler Maisnam Meiraba Luwang has won the Men’s singles Bangladesh Junior International Badminton Series 2019 in Dhaka. Top-seeded Meiraba, who hails from Manipur, beat Ken Yong Ong 21, 14, 21-18 in the final lasting 38 minutes.
* Meiraba had defeated another Malaysian, M Fazriq Mohamad Razif, in the semifinals. He was one of the five Indians in the main draw. Meiraba had also clinched the boys’ singles U-19 title at the Woncheon Yonex Korea Junior Open International Challenge.

Belgium crowned FIFA ‘Team of the Year’ for second successive time
* Belgium have been crowned FIFA ‘Team of the Year’ for the second successive time after a record-breaking year for the global ladder.
* The team, known as the Red Devils, had held on to top spot in a December table barely impacted by just 19 friendlies toward the end of a year in which 1,082 international “A” matches have been played – an all-time high since the ranking’s 1993 inception.
* World champions France remains in the second place ahead of Brazil in third. Besides accumulating the biggest points haul, Qatar has also jumped a year-high 38 places, followed closely by fellow climbers Algeria (up 32 ranks) and Japan (up 22 places).

Portugal sets up Gandhi Citizenship Education Prize
* Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced the setting up of a Gandhi Citizenship Education Prize while attending the second meeting of the National Committee for the Commemoration Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th Birth Anniversary chaired by President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
* Portugal will be launching a Gandhi Citizenship Education Prize, each year inspired by his different thoughts and quotes. The first edition of this prize will be dedicated to animal welfare as Mahatma Gandhi said that the greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.