INDIA
– SMILE (Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) scheme for rehabilitation of persons engaged in begging to be launched soon: Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry
– VS Pathania takes over as Chief of Indian Coast Guard
– Home Ministry extends validity of FCRA registration of NGOs by 3 months till March 31
– Govt approves 19th tranche of electoral bonds; sale opens on Jan 1
– China says Arunachal Pradesh ‘inherent part’ of its territory; calls it South Tibet
– IAF chief holds talks with top military brass of South Korea
– IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari holds talks with top military brass of South Korea
– Madhya Pradesh gets drinking water supply schemes worth Rs 15,381.72 crore
ECONOMY & CORPORATE
– Foreign exchange reserves decrease by $587 million to $635.08 billion for the week ended Dec 24
– GST Council decides to retain status quo on GST rate on textile to 5%
– India’s current account slips into deficit in Q2, CAD now at 1.3% of GDP
– PPF, NSC, other post office schemes interest rates remain unchanged for March 31, 2022 quarter
– Vinay Kumar Tripathi appointed as new chairman, CEO of Railway Board
– Sri Lanka agrees to extend lease of strategic WWII oil tank farm to India for 50 years
– Core sectors output slows in Nov to 3.1% month-on-month: Govt data
– Shares of CMS Info Systems settle with over 10% gains in debut trade
WORLD
– World’s population is projected to be 7.8 billion people on New Year’s Day 2022; grew by 74 million over past year: US Census Bureau
– US: Hundreds of homes destroyed in Colorado state as wildfires spread
– Russia test-fires 10 new Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic cruise missiles
SPORTS
– Cricket: India beat Sri Lanka by 9 wickets to win U-19 Asia Cup title in Dubai
