India inched up one spot to rank 129th out of 189 countries on the 2019 Human Development Index (HDI) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Inequality and deprivation continue to be high in the country. Norway secured the 1st rank.
Switzerland & Ireland secured 2nd & 3rd ranks, respectively.
The joint military exercise between UAE and the United States-'Iron Union 12’ commenced. It is aimed at enhancing combat efficiency and tactical expertise. The UAE Armed Forces often stage exercises with friendly countries as part of its training plans.
The drill will be held in the capital city-Abu Dhabi.
Two countries decided to collaborate to counter terrorism through increased information sharing, during the 3rd India-Australia Secretary-level 22 Dialogue in New Delhi. Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar & Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale led Indian delegation.
Greg Moriarty & Frances Adamson were the counterparts.
Abu Dhabi has been selected as the world’s leading premium Sports tourism Destination at the 26th edition of the World Travel Awards (WTA) being held in Muscat. This is the seventh time in a row that Abu Dhabi has been selected for this coveted award.
It was the 2019 West Asia’s Business Tourism Destination.
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russia for four years, from participation in global sporting events, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, after accusing Moscow of falsifying data from an anti-doping laboratory.
Russian flag & national anthem are also banned in the events.
Walmart launches a programme which aims to train 50,000 entrepreneurs from the MSME sector. Under the 'Walmart Vriddhi Supplier Development Programme', MSMEs will receive in-person training, expert advice, peers and mentors in their local communities.
Walmart Vriddhi has partnered with Swasti for the initiative.
Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians who migrated to India till the end of the year 2014 from countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, due to reasons like persecutions.
Overseas Citizen of India provisions are also amended.
State Bank of India has announced the reduction in its marginal cost of fund-based lending rate (MCLR) by 10 basis points across all one-year products. It will be effective from Dec 10th. This is the 8th consecutive cut in MCLR by the lender this fiscal.
The new one-year MCLR has been cut to 7.9% from 8%.
NSE launched interest rate options will provide institutional investors the ability to manage risk through a non-linear product. Interest rate options are based on the underlying ten-year government bonds, which are 7.26% 2029 bond and 6.45% 2029 bond.
National Stock Exchange MD & CEO- Vikram Limaye.
Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve known for his battles against inflation in the late 1970s and early 1980s, passed away at the age of 92. He passed away at his home in New York, USA from complications related to his prostate cancer.
He served as key financial adviser to Obama starting from 2009.
Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10th December-the day the UN General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The day is normally marked by cultural events & exhibitions dealing with human rights issues.
2019 Theme: Youth Standing Up for Human Rights.
Former Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka, who recently launched his AI startup Vianai Systems, has been nominated to the board of directors of global technology major Oracle.Before starting Vianai, Sikka was a top executive at SAP and the CEO of Infosys.
Oracle CEO -Safra Catz, chairman and CTO Larry Ellison.
Sushil Modi will be the convener of a Group of Ministers on Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) replacing Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.The GoM will deliberate on IGST issues of the states and submit its recommendations to Sitharaman.
Union Finance Minister is the chairperson of the GST Council.