News Highlights: Parliament building illuminated on the eve of 2022

As per the data furnished by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the fiscal deficit -- the difference between revenue and expenditure -- for the April-November 2021-22 period stood at Rs 695,614 crore, or 46.2 per cent of the budget estimates (BE).

. The ambitious K-Rail project of the Left government in Kerala continues to be a raging topic of debate with state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday alleging alliance between the Congress and BJP to oppose the development of the state, while Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan termed it anti-people.

Vijayan alleged the Congress-led UDF, the BJP and the Jamaat-e Islami have joined hands against the proposed project in Kerala and has been opposing developmental activities of the Left government.

He also said that the BJP was trying to use its power at the Centre to thwart the rail project, which is also known as the SilverLine project.

. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Opposition leader in National Assembly (NA), Shehbaz Sharif, on Friday lashed out at Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and said that he had surrendered to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the economic war, Dunya News reported.

Sharif said the government says that the burden will not fall on the poor people, when in reality the mini budget will seize the economy's engine altogether.

This is the level of brutality and indifference this government has shown towards the poor people of Pakistan, said the Opposition leader.

. The CBI has filed a charge sheet against YSR Congress MP Raghu Ramkrishna Raju, and 15 other individuals and companies in connection with an alleged loan fraud case of Rs 947 crore with the Power Finance Corporation Limited and other lenders, officials said.

In its charge sheet filed before a special CBI court here, the agency alleged that Raju's company Ind Barath group had allegedly availed around Rs 947.71 crore from a consortium of lenders for setting up a thermal power plant at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu.

The consortium was led by the Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFC) and the other lenders were Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) and India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL).

. Rs 49.20 crores in cash pertaining to GST evaded, interest andpenalty, has been recovered,the agency says. (ANI)

. The victorious Indian cricket team was on Friday fined 20 per cent of its match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against South Africa in the first Test here.

India will also lose one point from their ICC Men's World Test Championship tally due to this offence, the ICC said.

Andrew Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after India ended one over short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration.

. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the 10th instalment of financial benefit under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme on January 1 via video conferencing: PMO

. The Centre has approved an additional assistance of Rs 600.50 crore for flood-affected Gwalior-Chambal division and Bidisha district in Madhya Pradesh.

. (ANI)

. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday flagged unification of Taiwan with the mainland as an “aspiration” in his New Year address, as he highlighted the ruling Communist Party’s achievements, including its recent key meeting that paved the way for his unprecedented third term in power.

“The complete reunification of our motherland is an aspiration shared by people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” Xi said in his New Year-eve television address to the nation.

His Taiwan reference is considered significant as China has increasingly come under pressure from the US, the European Union and other western countries, who have stepped up support to Taipei, much to Beijing’s chagrin.

. British firms face the introduction of much-delayed post-Brexit border control checks from Jan. 1 which will affect businesses importing $314 billion of goods a year from the European Union.

Britain left the EU's single market at the beginning of 2021 and while Europe imposed checks on goods straight away, Britain staggered and delayed the introduction of a full customs border.

From Jan. 1, 2022, EU businesses sending goods to Britain will now need to supply full customs declarations while traders will also have to prove that goods are allowed to enter tariff-free under rules of origin requirements.

. Social media giant Meta said over 16.2 million content pieces were "actioned" on Facebook across 13 violation categories proactively in India during the month of November.

Its photo sharing platform, Instagram took action against over 3.2 million pieces across 12 categories during the same period proactively, as per data shared in a compliance report.

Under the IT rules that came into effect earlier this year, large digital platforms (with over 5 million users) have to publish periodic compliance reports every month, mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken thereon.

It also includes details of content removed or disabled via proactive monitoring using automated tools. Facebook had "actioned" over 18.8 million content pieces proactively in October across 13 categories, while Instagram took action against over 3 million pieces across 12 categories during the same period proactively.

. Lashing out at religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday cautioned people to be alert about the forces spreading hatred in society.

Referring to the arrested religious leader's comments against Mahatma Gandhi, Baghel said great people like Rabindranath Tagore and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were admirers of Gandhi.

While Tagore had called Gandhi a Mahatma, Bose, despite ideological differences, referred to Gandhi as Father of Nation during a radio broadcast from Rangoon in 1944, Baghel pointed out. The Congress leader was speaking at a function here, titled `Gandhi Hamare Abhiman' (Gandhi, Our Pride).

. Indian shares on Friday locked in their best year since 2017, driven by an economic recovery from the pandemic-led slump and infusion of massive liquidity, even as valuation concerns and a raging new coronavirus variant brought in some caution towards the year-end.

. Voters will not allow parties that have come from outside to use Goa as a laboratory for political experiments in the upcoming state Assembly elections, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Friday in a remark aimed at the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Sawant was addressing a gathering in his native village of Kothambi in Sankhalim Assembly constituency, where he formally kicked off his election campaign for the polls scheduled to be held in February 2022. "

We are taking forward the legacy of former chief ministers late Dayanand Bandodkar, late Manohar Parrikar and others," the BJP leader said, taking a jibe at the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), accusing it of selling out its values to political parties that arrived from outside the state.

. Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee would be on a two-day visit to the state from Sunday to discuss organisational issues ahead of the 2023 assembly elections, a party member said.

Banerjee will meet victims of political violence that had erupted during the civic elections last month, and hold a meeting with the party’s steering committee members, TMC State Steering Committee convener Subal Bhowmik said here.

. The killing of 14 civilians by security forces in Mon district brought a disconsolate 2021 to a close for Nagaland, with the shared aspiration of its people for an early solution to the decades-old political issue remaining a distant dream.

. Former South Africa opener Gary Kirsten has expressed interest in coaching England's Test side, saying it would be 'a really lovely project' to be a part of. Kirsten's comments come after speculations rose over current England coach Chris Silverwood's future after the Test side lost the Ashes in just 12 playing days

. Following a cap in attendance at gatherings in open and closed spaces, the Mumbai police have further prohibited citizens from visiting beaches, open grounds, sea faces, promenades, gardens, parks, or similar public places from 5 PM to 5 AM.

. The SP leader hit out at BJP, and said that the party 'spreads stench of hatred.'

. The GST Council unanimously decided to defer a hike in GST on textiles in the 46th GST Council meet chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today.

. The Central Bureau of Investigation is conducting raids in several cities including Bhopal in relation to a bribery case.

. India skipper Virat Kohli says his team will pounce at any opportunity to win a test match and the win at the Supersport Park against South Africa is a testimony to the "all-round side" it has become in the longest format.

. Tamil Nadu Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments PKSekar Babu has said that temples in the state would open till midnight on New Year's eve.

. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the civic agency of Bengaluru, is contemplating replicating the Mumbai model of making two doses of Covid-19 vaccines compulsory for those travelling by autos, taxis and public transport, including buses and metro.

. Sri Lanka are currently 15/1 in 10 overs.

. A coronavirus surge has upended plans to hold a major nuclear treaty conference at the United Nations, with participants agreeing Thursday to postpone the meeting just days before its scheduled start.

. Devotees offer prayers as Sabarimala Ayyappa temple opens for the 21-day Makaravilakku season.

. Russia will host a 'Troika Plus' meeting on Afghanistan next month which will see the participation of the US, China and Pakistan, Moscow's Special Representative to Kabul Zamir Kabulov announced.

. A National InvestigationAgency (NIA) team is set to travel to Germany for questioning a Sikh for Justice (SFJ) member Jaswinder Singh Multani for his alleged role in the Ludhiana court blast.

. The Income Tax department raided Samajwadi Party MLA Pushparaj aka Pampi Jain's residence, on Friday.Around 50 locations in UP, Mumbai is being raided by the department as well,which belongs to Jain, who owns perfumery, cold storage operations as well as petrol pumps. He had even launched a 'Samajwadi Party perfume' ahead of the UP state elections next year.

More details awaited

. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Major Dhyan Chand Sports University in Meerut on January 2

. The decision of 22 farm unions in Punjab to form a political party and contest elections is a big gamble. Under the stewardship of Balbir Singh Rajewal, they have decided to form a political front, the Samyukt Samaj Morcha, to contest all the 117 legislative assembly seats in the state.

. The meeting will be attended by MoS Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Dr Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, and Finance Ministers of States and UTs, said the Ministry of Finance

. A New Year shorn of mass celebrations beckoned Thursday for millions around the world as the number of daily Covid infections, driven by the Omicron variant, surged through another symbolic high.

. South African wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock announced on Thursday his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect.

. Australia batsman Travis Head will miss the fourth Ashes test against England in Sydney next week after testing positive for Covid-19, Cricket Australia said.

. Senior doctors in Delhi on Thursday warned that though the data collected so far suggests that the Omicron variant of coronavirus causes mild infection, there is a need to remain watchful as a community spread can still strain hospitals.

. Citing Covid-induced inflation as the reason, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has urged the Centre to increase the national capital's share in the central tax, as it has been getting only Rs 325 crore for the last 21 years and said it is unfair to the Union Territory.

. The Rajya Sabha Secretariat is embarking on a study in the new year to improve its functioning, equip its officials for higher leadership positions and make Parliamentary committee reports more comprehensible so that it attracts more space in the media.

. India on Thursday strongly rejected China renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh and asserted that the state has "always been" and will "always be" an integral part of India and that assigning "invented" names does not alter this fact.

. In a significant notification ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Manipur and Uttarakhand scheduled early next year, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday that the State Bank of India (SBI) has been assigned to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 authorised branches from January 1-10 next year.

News Highlights: Parliament building illuminated on the eve of 2022

FinMin mandates ticket booking from 3 agents for govt-funded air travels

India's April-November fiscal deficit over 46% of FY22 target

Parliament building illuminated on the eve of 2022

Cong-BJP-Jamaat-e-Islami alliance opposing development in Kerala, claims CM

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