The Daily Brief – 2nd December 2019

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) referred the troubled mortgage lender Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd (DHFL), which has a debt of ₹83,873 crore, to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for insolvency proceedings on 29^th November, 2019, making it the first financial services firm to go to the NCLT. The DHFL had public deposits of ₹6,188 crores as on 6^th July 2019, down from ₹10,166.72 crores as on 31^st March 2018.

World AIDS Day is observed every year across the world on 1^st December for raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The theme for this year is “Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Community by Community”. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), of the 37.9 million people living with HIV at the end of 2018, 79% received testing, 62% received treatment, and 53% had achieved suppression of the HIV virus with reduced risk of infecting others. The day was first observed in 1988.

The UK India Business Council (UKIBC), on 29^th November, 2019, announced the establishment of the Aerospace and Defence Industry Group to boost bilateral cooperation in these areas. It has been formed after suggestions of the Defence and Security Organisation and with the support of the UK Defence Solutions Centre, ADS Group Ltd, the Department for International Trade and Industry.

Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as the 18^th Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 28^th November, 2019. He will lead a government of the Maha Vikas Aghadi – an alliance of the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Congress. He is the third Shiv Sena leader to occupy the top post, after Narayan Rane (1999) and Manohar Joshi (1995).

Former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) H R Khan has been appointed as the first Chairman of the steering committee of the Code for Responsible Lending (CRL) in micro-credit. Launched in September, the CRL is a self-regulatory step for the micro-credit industry making diverse entities like banks, NBFC-MFIs and NBFCs adhere to standards of customer protection.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched the Accelerator Lab in New Delhi, India to address major issues being faced by India, like air pollution, through innovation. With this, India is among the 60 global ones that will test, find, and try to scale up innovative solutions that can help combat both climate change and social inequity. The laboratory has partnered with NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM). It will be set up in the UNDP office in New Delhi.

The International Press Institute India Award for Excellence in Journalism for the year 2019 has been awarded to the private news channel NDTV, in recognition of the exposure of the conspiracy to scuttle the Kathua rape and murder case probe. The exposé of the hypocrisy across the political spectrum represented excellence in journalism. Instituted in 2003, the International Press Institute India award, presented every year, honours and recognizes the best work done by any Indian media organization or journalist in television, radio, print, internet mediums, and public interest.

The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MYAS) has constituted a 13-member expert committee to review the Draft National Code for Good Governance in Sports, 2017. The expert committee will be headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Mukundakam Sharma. The panel will suggest measures to make the Sports Code acceptable to all the stakeholders.