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- China has successfully launched its largest carrier rocket, Long March-5, in a major step towards its planned mission to Mars in 2020. It was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center (WSLC) in South China’s Hainan Province, carrying the Shijian-20 satellite. The rocket which is also known as CZ-5 is China’s heaviest and most advanced communications satellite.
Long March-5 - Government of India constituted a seven-member Group of Ministers (GoM) on 27th December, 2019 to fast-track and oversee the implementation of the Rs 69,000 crore revival plan for state-owned telecom corporations BSNL and MTNL. The crucial elements of the revival plan include workforce, business viability, monetization, issue of bonds and 4G spectrum allotment. Group of ministers are appointed by the GoI under the Transaction of Business Rules, 1961.
- Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on 28th December, 2019 constituted a standing committee on statistics under India’s first Chief Statistician Pronab Sen to review the framework for economic indicators pertaining to the industrial sector, the services sector and the labour force statistics. The 28-member committee, which consists of experts from both within and outside the government, will meet for the first time on 6th January, 2020.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed large cooperative banks to report all exposures of 5 crore rupees and more to the Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) for early detection of financial distress. Aggregate exposure will include all fund-based and non-fund based exposure including investment exposure on the borrower. To start with, Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs) will be required to submit CRILC report on quarterly basis with effect from December 31, 2019.
- The United Nations General Assembly on 27th December, 2019 adopted a USD 3.07 billion operating budget. The budget for the first time includes funding for the investigation of war crimes in Syria and Myanmar. The budget represents a slight increase from that of 2019 of USD 2.9 billion. The United Nations has categorized its spending in to five general groups – humanitarian assistance (34%), development assistance (24%), peacekeeping operations (19%), knowledge-creation operations (16%) and technical cooperation (7%).
- The Reserve Bank of India released its biennial report ‘Financial Stability Report’ on 27th December, 2019. As per the report, the non-performing asset (NPA) ration is expected to increase to 9.9% by September 2020 from 9.3% in September 2019. The report also stated that capital to risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR) improved to 15.1% in September 2019 from 14.3% in March 2019. The Provision Coverage Ratio of banks increased to 61.5% in September 2019 from 60.5% in March 2019.
- Union Territory of Ladakh celebrated the Losar Festival on 27th December, 2019 to mark the Ladakhi or Tibetan New Year and this is also the time when Tibetans offer prayers and perform a host of rituals. Losar Festival in Ladakh is celebrated in the 11th month of the year. The actual Losar celebrations will be held from 5th February, 2019 to 7th February, 2019.
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