Notes:
The seventh Indo-Sri Lanka joint military exercise Mitra Shakti was held on December 1, 2019 at Aundh military station. The main objective of the exercise is to build and promote positive relations between the countries. The exercise was scheduled to be conducted at the Foreign Training Node in Pune between December 1 and December 14, 2019.

Notes:
India has become the first country in the world to completely digitize the Haj process. Various services have been added to the online application service like e-visa, haj mobile app, e-messiah health facility, stay and traffic information in Mecca Medina and Haj pilgrimage information. It is for the first time when digital pre-tagging has been arranged by the airlines so that Haj pilgrims will get all kinds of information in India itself. Haj pilgrims will get prior information about which room of which building in Mecca Medina and what number bus will have to be taken after landing at the airport.

Notes:
Congress MLA Nana Patole has been elected as Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly. Mr Patole’s election came after the BJP took back the name of Kisan Kathore as the party’s nominee with minutes to go before the 10 am deadline. It is a tradition in the Maharashtra Assembly for the Speaker to be elected unopposed.

Notes:
The government on December 1,2019 appointed Soma Roy Burman, a 1986-batch Indian Civil Accounts Service Officer, as the new Controller General of Accounts (CGA). Ms. Burman is the 24th CGA and is the seventh woman to hold this position. During her 33-year long career, she has held cadre positions at different levels in ministries such as Home Affairs, Information & Broadcasting, Industry, Finance, Human Resource Development and Shipping, Road Transport & Highways.

Notes:
International Book Fair is the biggest book fair in the Spanish-speaking world. This is the 33rd edition of Guadalajara International Book Fair and will continue till 8 December, 2019. India is the ‘Guest of Honour Country’ in this book fair and it becomes the first Asian country to participate as ‘Guest of Honour’ in the Fair. The National Book Trust (NBT), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) Government of India, is participating as the nodal agency of the Government in this book fair.