Economy / Market Snapshot – December, 2021

General News

• Parliament adjourned sine die, ahead of schedule; Lok Sabha registers 82% productivity, Rajya Sabha 47%.
• Bill repealing 3 farm laws gets President’s assent; Cabinet clears draft Bill for linking Aadhaar & voter ID.
• Farmers call off protest after Centre accepts their demands in writing.
• India’s total COVID-19 cases rose to 3,48,38,804; cumulative vaccination coverage exceeds 144.5 crore.
• Omicron tally rose to 1200; Delhi and Maharashtra top the chart.
• India to start administering booster doses for frontline workers and people above 60 from Jan 10.
• COVID-19 vaccine booster dose to be given nine months after second shot.
• Children aged 15 to 17 to be administered Covaxin from Jan 3.
• Centre asks states to impose night curfew, containment zones to curb Omicron spread.
• Govt panel recommends restricted emergency use of Covovax, Corbevax and anti-Covid pill Molnupiravir.
• Himachal Pradesh becomes first state to achieve 100% vaccination.
• Centre releases ₹604 crore to J&K to expedite Jal Jeevan Mission implementation.
• Purvanchal Expressway, Kushinagar Airport, Jewar Airport, Ganga Expressway – among projects announced by PM Modi in poll-bound UP.
• PM Modi inaugurates multiple development projects worth over ₹650 crore in Goa.
• Rajnath Singh inaugurates 27 bridges and 3 roads on LAC and LoC.
• Goa Forward Party, Congress announce alliance ahead of 2022 Assembly polls.
• 14 civilians killed by security forces in Nagaland in a case of mistaken identity; Army orders probe.
• CM Kejriwal launches Dilli Ki Yogshala to help Delhi residents practise yoga under trained teachers.
• Delhi govt extends free ration distribution scheme till May 31.
• AP Govt waives ₹10,000 crore worth home loans of poor under One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme.
• Cyclone Jawad weakens into deep depression; spares Odisha, Andhra Pradesh any major damage.
• Supreme Court stays proceedings of West Bengal’s Lokur panel probing Pegasus snooping allegations.
• Bhutan confers its highest civilian award on PM Modi on occasion of the country’s National Day.
• India, Central Asian nations vow to fight Afghanistan terror at 3rd India-Central Asia Dialogue.
• Army receives new Israeli Heron drones for deployment in Ladakh sector to boost surveillance along LAC.
• India, Russia hold first ever 2+2 ministerial dialogue; discuss terrorism, Afghanistan, maritime security.
• India-Russia ink AK-203 assault rifle deal, renew 10-year pact for military cooperation.
• Centre approves plan to manufacture 5 lakh AK-203 rifles in UP’s Amethi.
• First Chief of Defence Bipin Rawat, 13 others die in chopper crash in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor.
• President Kovind confers annual National Awards on International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
• Ex-CM of AP K Rosaiah, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace prize laureate passes away.
• WHO warns Omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading at unprecedented rate; reported in 106 countries.
• Countries brace for renewed restrictions amid Omicron surge.
• Global Omicron surge drives cases to record highs in 20 countries; total Covid caseload tops 288.5 million.
• China reports sudden spike in COVID-19 cases ahead of Winter Olympics.
• United Nations adopts resolution on North Korean human rights abuses.
• US President Biden bans import of goods from China’s Xinjiang province to prevent use of forced labour.
• US imposes sweeping human rights sanctions on China, Myanmar and North Korea.
• Biden signs stopgap funding bill to keep government running until mid-February.
• US President Biden signs $770 billion defence bill.
• Russia warns of ‘grave consequences’ after U.S. reaffirms threat of sanctions over Ukraine.
• Olaf Scholz takes over from Angela Merkel as German chancellor.
• Iran steps up uranium enrichment capacity despite talks to salvage nuclear deal.
• UAE switches weekend to Saturday-Sunday from next year.
• Taliban government resumes issuing Afghan passports in Kabul.
• Turkey, Qatar enters into deal with Taliban on running airport of Kabul.
• Pakistan approves its first-ever National Security Policy.
• Myanmar court sentences ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to 4 years.
• US, UK, Canada and Australia stage diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics.
• WADA reinstates India’s dope testing lab accreditation.
• Indian legend Anju Bobby George wins Woman of the Year Award from World Athletics.
• BWF World Championships: Kidambi Srikanth settles for silver.
• Rohit replaces Kohli as ODI captain, takes over from Rahane as Test vice-captain.
• IPL Retention: Dhoni, Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah, Pant retained; Rahul, Rashid opt to go into auction pool.
• India beat New Zealand by record 372 runs to win Test series 1-0, reclaims top spot in Test Rankings.
• IND vs SA 1st Test: India beat South Africa by 113 runs, take 1-0 lead in 3-match series.
• R Ashwin takes 50 Test wickets for 4th time in calendar year; overtakes Kumble and Harbhajan.
• Ajaz Patel becomes 3rd bowler after Jim Laker, Anil Kumble to take all wickets in an innings.
• Harbhajan Singh, New Zealand’s Ross Taylor, South Africa’s Quinton de Kock announce retirements.
• The Ashes: Australia retain Ashes after thrashing England by an innings for 3-0 series lead.
• Formula 1: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took his first Formula One title.
• Lewis Hamilton receives knighthood from Prince Of Wales for services to motorsport.

Business News

• Government seeks Parliament nod for ₹3.73 lakh crore additional spending this fiscal.
• Cabinet approves ₹76,000-crore incentive scheme for semiconductors, display manufacturing; ₹1,300 crore to promote digital payments.
• 46th GST council meet defers rate hike on textiles.
• PM lays foundation stone of hydropower projects worth over ₹11,000 crore in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh.
• Power minister RK Singh approves 23 new inter-state transmission system projects worth ₹15,893 crore.
• Ministry of Electronics and IT releases national strategy on blockchain for its adoption in govt systems.
• J&K government inks 39 MoUs worth over ₹18,000 crore at maiden realty summit.
• Invest Rajasthan: State govt inks MoUs for ₹36,820 crore in Tamil Nadu.
• Vibrant Gujarat: 16 more MoUs inked for investments in hospitality, defence accessories.
• Odisha extends additional rice distribution for 4 months till 2022 March under State Food Security Scheme.
• Commercial LPG cylinders hiked by ₹100, second price increase since November 1.
• Railways to get ₹20,000 crore in supplementary grants as capital expenditure.
• Government issues advisory against Ed-Tech companies in India, urges citizens to use caution.
• I-T relaxes time till February 2022 for taxpayers to complete verification of FY’20 ITRs.
• RBI extends card tokenisation deadline by 6 months till June-end.
• RBI holds repo rate at 4%; FY21 GDP growth pegged at 9.5%, inflation unchanged at 5.3%.
• United Forum of Bank Unions holds two-day strike to protest the Centre’s plan to privatise PSU banks.
• India Post Payments Bank partners HDFC Bank for banking products, services in semi-urban and rural areas.
• Kotak Mahindra rolls out business with WazirX for Crypto trading.
• Paytm Payments Bank receives ‘scheduled bank’ status from RBI.
• Star Health, Tega Industries, Anand Rathi Wealth, Shriram Properties, RateGain Travel Technologies, MapmyIndia, Metro Brands, MedPlus Health Services, Data Patterns, HP Adhesives, Supriya Lifescience make market debuts.
• WHO approves emergency use listing for Serum Institute’s Covovax.
• DCGI approves Covaxin for emergency use in age group between 12 and 18 years.
• Serum Institute of India delivers first Novavax vaccine batch through COVAX.
• Biocon partners with Tabuk Pharma to commercialise its specialty generic medicines in Middle East.
• DGCA extends ban on scheduled international passenger flights till January 31.
• CCI approves Tata Group acquisition of Air India
• Tata group prepares 100-day plan to improve service, operational standards of Air India.
• Tata Motors signs MoU with Maharashtra Govt to set up a vehicle scrapping facility.
• Tesla gets approval for launch of 3 more models in India.
• Tata Motors incorporates EV subsidiary Tata Passenger Electric Mobility.
• Mercedes gets nod to use hands-free driving system in Germany.
• Bajaj Auto commences work at its new EV facility, roll out in June 2022.
• Murugappa Group enters India’s EV market, rolls out e-auto and cargo three-wheeler under Montra brand.
• DoT releases bank guarantee of around ₹9,200 crore of Airtel, VIL, Jio.
• Airtel, TCS successfully test 5G use cases on Neural Manufacturing solutions.
• Airtel pre-pays ₹15,519 crore to clear all deferred liabilities for spectrum acquired in 2014.
• Qualcomm, Google Cloud announce collaboration to create next-gen mobile AI.
• Vedanta group to invest ₹60,000 crore to set up chip manufacturing unit in India.
• Tech Mahindra acquires 100% stake in Activus Connect for ₹466 crore.
• HCL Tech and apoBank to acquire German IT consulting firm gbs for €99,000.
• Wipro acquires US cybersecurity firm Edgile for $230 million.
• Apple puts Foxconn plant on probation, iPhone 12 production on hold until further notice.
• Oppo signs deal with ISRO to strengthen R&D of NavIC messaging service.
• China tightens scrutiny on offshore listings in sectors off-limits to foreign investment.
• Bharat Petroleum collaborates with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre for Green Hydrogen production.
• UK signs free-trade agreement with Australia to bolster post-Brexit economic ties.
• Pakistan receives $3 billion loan from Saudi as part of economic support package.
• Reliance, Abu Dhabi-based TA’ZIZ form joint venture for $2 billion chemical projects in Ruwais.
• CCI suspends Amazon-Future Group deal citing suppression of information.
• Zee-Sony merger gets approval from board; Sony to hold 50.86% stake in the merged entity.
• Grofers rebrands to Blinkit in line with its 10-min grocery delivery plan; sets up 300 partner stores.
• Flipkart, Walmart invest $145 million in Ninjacart.
• PhonePe becomes first payment platform to tokenise cards on Visa, Mastercard and Rupay.
• NASA awards $415.6 million to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, others for new space hubs.
• Apple’s Tim Cook signs $275 billion deal with Chinese officials to placate China.
• Swiggy and ANRA Technologies conduct first-ever delivery trials of food, medicine with drones.
• Vedanta withdraws cases against govt to settle ₹20,495 crore retro tax dispute.
• UK high court defers decision on Nirav Modi’s appeal against extradition.
• Italy fines Amazon record $1.3 billion for abuse of market dominance.
• Cult.fit acquires RPM fitness, Fitkit, Onefitplus, and Urban Terrain brands in a single transaction.
• Samsung merges Mobile and Consumer Electronics Divisions in management restructuring.
• Health-tech startup Pristyn Care raises $96 million in Series E round, joins Unicorn club.
• China removes 106 apps from app stores citing privacy violations.
• WhatsApp empowers 500 villages in Karnataka, Maharashtra with access to digital payments.
• Workers in New York Vote to Form First Starbucks Union in the US.
• Gita Gopinath to take on new role at IMF as First Deputy Managing Director.
• Senior bureaucrat Alka Upadhyaya appointed National Highways Authority of India Chief.
• RBI appoints Yogesh Dayal as additional director on RBL Bank board for 2 years.
• Centre appoints Atul Kumar Goel as new MD & CEO of Punjab National Bank.
• Infosys scraps COO position after UB Pravin Rao retires, distributes responsibilities among top executives.
• OYO rooms appoints former SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar as Strategic Group Advisor.
• Jefferies resigns as loan agent for spyware maker NSO Group.