1. Andhra tops ACI’s Ease of Doing Business index

• Andhra Pradesh emerged on top of Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI), Singapore's 2018 Ease of Doing Business (EDB) Index ABC rankings for economies of 21 states of India, while Maharashtra and Delhi came in second and third place, respectively.
• EDB index is based upon three parameters called ABC - Attractiveness to Investors, Business Friendliness and Competitiveness Policies.
• Andhra Pradesh jumped from the 7th rank in 2016 to the 3rd rank in 2018 in Attractiveness to Investors.

2. Nasa's New Horizons: 'Snowman' shape of distant Ultima Thule revealed

• A new picture returned from Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft shows it to be two objects joined together - to give a look like a "snowman".
• The US probe's images acquired as it approached Ultima hinted at the possibility of a double body, but the first detailed picture from Tuesday's close flyby confirms it.
• The event set a record for the most distant ever exploration of a Solar System object. The previous mark was also set by New Horizons when it flew past the dwarf planet Pluto in 2015.

3. Rajya Sabha amends Right to Education Act, scraps no-detention policy

• The Rajya Sabha passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2019, that does away with the no-detention policy mentioned in the law.
• The House also passed the National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill. The Lok Sabha had passed the two bills in July during the Budget Session.
• The motion to pass the bill was accepted by voice vote. Union minister for Human Resources Development Prakash Javadekar’s motion to amend the name of the bill to reflect that it was passed in 2019 was also accepted by voice vote.

4. PM Modi inaugurates, lays foundation stone of projects worth over Rs 1500 crore

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated eight projects and laid foundation stones for four projects worth over Rs. 1500 crore in Manipur.
• The inauguration and foundation stone-laying event was carried out during a public rally held in Imphal’s Hapta Kangjeibung, attended by thousands.
• The eight projects inaugurated by the Prime Minister were–Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Moreh, Dolaithabi Barrage Project in Thoubal, FCI Food Storage Godown at Sawombung Imphal East, Buffer Water Reservoirs at Shirui Village in Ukhrul district.

5. Govt launches Green-Ag, GEF-assisted project, in partnership with FAO

• The Government of India launched a Global Environment Facility- (GEF) assisted project, namely Green–Ag: Transforming Indian agriculture for global environment benefits and the conservation of critical biodiversity and forest landscapes in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in high-conservation-value landscapes of five states.
• The project seeks to mainstream biodiversity, climate change and sustainable land management objectives and practices into Indian agriculture.
• The overall objective of the project is to catalyse the transformative change of India’s agricultural sector to support achievement of national and global environmental benefits and conservation of critical biodiversity and forest landscapes.

6. Arunima Sinha, First Female Amputee To Scale Mt Everest Now Climbs Mt Vinson In Antarctica

• Setting a first-of-its-kind record, Indian mountaineer Arunima Sinha became the first female amputee to climb Mount Vinson, the highest peak of Antarctica.
• She was also the world’s first woman amputee to climb Mount Everest in 2013.
• She was congratulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who called her “the pride of India” for distinguishing herself through her “hardwork and perseverance”

7. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa appointed new Chief Justice of Pakistan

• Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa has been appointed new Chief Justice of Pakistan with effect from January 18.
• The Ministry of Law has appointed Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, after President Dr Arif Alvi approved summary to appoint him as Chief Justice.
• Justice Khosa was born on 21 December 1954. He has served as Justice of the Supreme Court since 18 February 2010 and also served as judge of the Lahore High Court prior to that.

8. Indian Panorama Film Festival inaugurated in New Delhi

• Indian Panorama Film Festival, being organized by Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of I&B, was inauguratedby Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Shri Amit Khare in the presence of Shri Shaji N Karun,the director of the opening feature film ‘Olu’,at Siri Fort Auditorium II.
• Shri Shaji N Karun, Director of the opening Feature Film ‘Olu’ emphasized on the importance of organizing Indian Panorama Film Festival and said that he honed the craft of filmmaking by watching movies at such Festivals.
• The ten day Festival will last till 13th January, 2019, during which 26 Feature Films and 21 Non-Feature Films will be screened. The entry for the Festival has been kept free of charge. Seating will take place on first-come-first-served basis.