 The finance minister of France Bruno Le Maire announced that France will introduce its own tax on large internet and technology companies from January 1. France has been pushing hard for a new so-called “GAFA tax” — named after Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon — to ensure the global giants pay a fair share of taxes on their massive business operations in Europe. |
| Source- The Livemint |
 The United States and Israel officially quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the close of 2018. The countries had announced their decisions in 2017 of withdrawing from the agency, accusing it of bias against Israel. America has demanded fundamental reform in UNESCO, which was co-founded by it after World War II to foster peace. Israel joined the agency in 1949. It is best known for its World Heritage program, which designates cultural sites and aims to preserve traditions. |
| Source- AIR World Service |
 Qatar has withdrawn its membership from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The country had sent an official notification to the OPEC expressing its wish to pull out and to focus on its liquefied natural gas production in December. Qatar has been in OPEC for 57 years. The decision came amid the ongoing diplomatic and economic blockade imposed on the country by its Persian Gulf neighbours and several Arab states. |
| Source: AIR World Service |
 In its ‘Growth Outlook for 2019’, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) stated that the GDP growth will be in the range of 7.5% in 2019. A settled goods and services tax (GST), improving credit availability and capacity expansion from increasing investment in infrastructure are among seven key drivers that will help Indian economy grow 7.5% 2019, the CII stated. |
| Source: The Economic Times |
 Veteran actor-writer Kader Khan passed away in Canada at the age of 81. Kader Khan made his acting debut in 1973 with Rajesh Khanna’s “Daag” and has featured in over 300 films. He wrote dialogues for over 250 movies. Before becoming an actor he had written dialogues for Randhir Kapoor-Jaya Bachchan’s “Jawani Diwani”. As a screenwriter, Khan frequently collaborated with Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra. |
| Source- AIR World Service |
 The 25-year-old fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah became the highest international wicket-taker across formats in 2018. He took a total of 78 wickets in the calendar year. He led the Indian cricket team to a historic victory in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Bumrah surpassed South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada’s tally of 77 wickets to reach the milestone. While on the third position is Bumrah’s countryman Kuldeep Yadav who took 76 scalps. |
| Source- Sportskeeda |
 The MSME ministry has established an export promotion cell to create a sustainable ecosystem for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The ministry has also proposed to formulate a governing council that will be chaired by the secretary of the MSME ministry. The benefits likely to accrue from the setting up of the cell include integration MSMEs intoglobal value chain, evaluation of readiness of MSMEs to export their products and services, and recognition of areas where improvements are required in order to be able to export effectively and efficiently. |
| Source: The Economic Times |
 Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani retired, despite strong indications that the Narendra Modi government could grant him an extension. General Manager, South Central Railway, V K Yadav has been appointed the national transporter’s senior-most bureaucrat by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. Yadav belongs to the 1980 batch of the Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers. |
| Source- The Indian Express |
 The cabinet has approved the merger of Vijaya Bank & Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda. After this merger, Bank of Baroda will become the third biggest public sector bank. The merger will be effective from April 1. This is also the first ever three-way merger in Indian banking. Bank of Baroda (BoB) finalised the share swap ratio for the merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with itself. As per the Scheme of Amalgamation, shareholders of Vijaya Bank will get 402 equity shares of BoB for every 1,000 shares held. In case of Dena Bank, its shareholders will get 110 shares for every 1,000 shares of BoB. |
| Source- The Livemint |
 The Reserve Bank of India has released the 18th issue of the Financial Stability Report (FSR). The FSR reflects the collective assessment of the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on risks to financial stability, as also the resilience of the financial system. The Report also discusses issues relating to the development and regulation of the financial sector. |
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Global and domestic macro-financial risks:
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Financial Institutions: Performance and risks
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| Source: The Reserve Bank of India |
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