ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

• 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing
• 1963 Kenyan independence
• 1950 Rajinikanth was born

NATIONAL NEWS

• ISRO launches PSLV-C48 carrying 628-kg earth observation satellite RISAT-2BR1 along with 9 other customer satellites from Sriharikota (AP)
• Culture Ministry launches portal ‘indianculture.gov.in’ developed by IIT-Bombay
• Nagaland extends the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime to Dimapur district; all districts under ILP now
• Manipur would be brought under the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system: Home Minister Amit Shah
• Parliament passes the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019
• Was passed by Lok Sabha on December 10 and Rajya Sabha on December 11

ECONOMY NEWS

• ADB cuts India’s GDP growth forecast to 5.1% for FY2019 from 6.5% made in September; forecast for FY2020 cut to 6.5% from 7.2%
• Cabinet clears amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC); objective is to remove difficulties being faced during insolvency resolution process
• Cabinet approves ‘Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme’ for purchase of high-rated pooled assets from financially sound NBFCs/HFCs by PSBs
• Lok Sabha passes bill to set up a unified regulatory authority for all international financial services centres (IFSCs) in India
• Cabinet authorises NHAI to set up infrastructure investment trust, monetise NH projects having toll collection track record of at least one year
• Cabinet approves hike in authorised capital of India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) from Rs 6,000 crore to Rs 25,000 crore
• ICAR organising ‘International Seminar on Climate Smart Farming Systems’ for BIMSTEC countries in Delhi on Dec 11-13
• SBI under-reported its non-performing assets (NPAs) for 2018-19 by Rs 11,932 crore: RBI auditors

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• 16-year old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg declared TIME’s 2019 Person of the Year
• Others honoured by TIME: US Women’s Soccer Team: Athlete of the Year, the US Public Servants: Guardians of the Year, singer Lizzo: Entertainer of the Year’ and Disney CEO Bob Iger: Business Person of the Year
• International Mountain Day observed on December 11; theme: ‘Mountains Matter for Youth’
• At least 250 journalists jailed around the world; highest in China: US-based Committee to Protect Journalists

SPORTS NEWS

• Sports Ministry announces cash awards to South Asian Games medallists; Rs. 1.5 lakh for gold, Rs. 1 lakh for silver and Rs. 50,000 for bronze
• India’s Vikram Malhotra wins Life Time Betty Griffin Memorial squash tournament in Boca Raton (US)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------