A look at the headlines right now:

  1. SMS services in Jammu and Kashmir, blocked since August, to be restored at midnight: The Union Territory’s administration has also decided to restore internet services in hospitals.
  2. Kerala Assembly passes resolution demanding withdrawal of Citizenship Amendment Act: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who moved the resolution, said the law was against the secular outlook and fabric of the country. Union minister RS Prasad said only Parliament can frame citizenship laws.
  3. General Manoj Mukund Naravane takes over as new Army chief: Naravane was appointed the vice chief of Army staff in September. Naravane succeeds General Bipin Rawat, who retired on Tuesday, and took charge as the chief of defence staff.
  4. Cold wave continues in Rajasthan, Sikar’s minimum temperature down to 1 degree Celsius: In Uttar Pradesh, Kanpur recorded a minimum temperature at the freezing point of zero degrees Celsius on Tuesday, eight degrees below normal.
  5. Output of eight core industries declined 1.5% in November, shows data: Five of eight sectors – coal, crude oil, natural gas, steel, and electricity – contracted. Meanwhile, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman announced infrastructure projects worth Rs 102 lakh crore for next five years.
  6. Kerala ranks at the top, Bihar last on NITI Aayog’s sustainable development goals index: Odisha, Sikkim, and Uttar Pradesh showed the maximum improvement when compared to their ranks in 2018.
  7. Jadavpur University professor attacked by alleged BJP activists in Kolkata: Photographer and filmmaker Ronny Sen said he was attacked with a machete and threatened by a person who identified as a ‘Hindu nationalist’.
  8. Evict non-tribals, others ‘ineligible’ from tribal belts, orders Gauhati High Court: A public interest litigation sough the court’s intervention to protect tribal belts and blocks from illegal occupation.
  9. Sonny Mehta, editor-in-chief of publishing house Alfred A Knopf, dies at 76: He was the brother-in-law of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
  10. Expression of interest for Air India expected within next few weeks, says Aviation Minister Puri: In November, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the airline was expected to be sold by March 2020.