The big news: General Bipin Rawat named first chief of defence staff, and 9 other top stories
Other headlines: North India continued to reel under cold wave conditions, and serious lapses at the Kota hospital where several infants have died.
A look at the headlines right now:
- Army chief Bipin Rawat made first chief of defence staff: The announcement was made a day before his retirement from service.
- Jaipur temperature drops to 1 degree Celsius, lowest in more than 50 years: More than 500 flights were delayed at the Delhi airport till the afternoon, and the temperature in Srinagar dropped to minus 6.5 degrees Celsius.
- After infant deaths, NCPCR team finds serious lapses at Kota hospital, says pigs roaming inside campus: Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo has asked for an action-taken report from the secretary of Medical Education Department within three working days.
- Central Board of Direct Taxes extends deadline to link PAN with Aadhaar to March 31, 2020: This is the eighth time that the CBDT has extended the deadline.
- Railways says it will recover Rs 80 crore from CAA demonstrators for damaging property: The RPF is coordinating with state governments to identify those who damaged property, Railway Board Chairperson Vinod Kumar Yadav said.
- Fire breaks out near Narendra Modi’s residence: While initial reports said that the fire broke out at Modi’s official residence, the PMO clarified that it was in the SPG reception area.
- Five more Kashmiri political leaders released from detention: They are Sheikh Ishfaq Jabbar and Ghulam Nabi from the National Conference, and Yasir Reshi, Bashir Mir and Zahoor Mir from the Peoples Democratic Party.
- Maharashtra human rights panel exonerates two former faculty heads in Payal Tadvi suicide case: Yi Ching Ling and SD Shirodkar were accused of not intervening to stop the casteist abuse Tadvi was allegedly facing from three of her seniors.
- Ajit Pawar sworn in as deputy CM of Maharashtra, Aaditya Thackeray becomes minister: Former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and his predecessor Vilasrao Deshmukh’s son Amit Deshmukh also found a place in the Cabinet.
- Delhi metro to shut exits of Rajiv Chowk at 9 pm on New Year’s Eve, police step up security: The Delhi Police have decided to implement extensive security measures, including excise inspectors and doctors to check drunk driving.