1. India’s vaccination drive ‘largest’: According to Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research, India’s vaccination drive will be the largest in the world, and vaccine rollout will be significant both for its recipient and producer.
2. PM Modi to release next tranche of PM-Kisan: Amid the on-going farmers’ agitation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the next tranche of PM-Kisan, a direct cash-transfer scheme for growers. The PM will release Rs 18,000 crore cash benefit to 80 million farmers and also chat with some of them virtually on Christmas.
3. Night curfew in Maharashtra: Owing to the emergence of the new virus strain in the UK, Maharashtra has imposed a night curfew from 11pm to 6am in the state till Jan 5.
4. BSF shot Pak drones: Security forces have seized 11 hand grenades suspected to have been dropped by a drone flying in from across the Pakistan border into Punjab’s Gurdaspur district.
5. India, Vietnam sign 7 agreements: India and Vietnam signed seven agreements for cooperation in areas such as defence, petrochemicals and nuclear energy, and unfolded a joint vision for peace and prosperity.
6. Russia to develop ties with Pak: Russia on Monday said India should not be worried about its relationship with Pakistan as Moscow is committed to develop ties with Islamabad as it is a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
7. WHO’s take on UK’s new strain: A chief Scientist at the World Health Organisation said that the mutant strain identified in the UK may already be present in several countries
8. China slams Trump: China on Monday said tweets by President Donald Trump suggesting Beijing was involved in a massive cyberattack on the US government were “a farce” concocted for political motives.
9. K’taka to test arrivals from UK: In the wake of the new infectious strain of virus detected in the UK, the Karnataka Government has decided to trace all the passengers who had arrived in Bengaluru and Mangaluru from the UK since December 7.
10. No significant impact: Wistron: Wistron Corporation has said that the recent violence at its facility in Karnataka will not cause a significant impact on the company. Meanwhile, Apple has placed Wistron on probation.
