Here are the key news highlights from the week.

PM inaugurates diamond bourse, new airport terminal in Surat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the Surat Diamond Bourse, which will have facilities like international banking, safe vaults, jewelery mall and create about 150,000 new jobs, during his visit to Gujarat. He also inaugurated the new terminal building of Surat Airport, which can handle 1,200 domestic passengers and 600 international passengers.

MPs suspended in Parliament

A total of 146 MPs — 100 from Lok Sabha and 46 from Rajya Sabha — were suspended for creating a ruckus and disrupting proceedings in both Houses, while they were demanding a statement from Union Minister Amit Shah about the Parliament security breach incident. The security breach occurred on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack. Two people–Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D–jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow gas from canisters and shouted anti-establishment slogans before being overpowered by the MPs. Outside it, in another incident, two protestors — Neelam (42) and Amol (25) — protested outside the Parliament with similar gas canisters.

JN.1 variant in India

India has recorded 22 cases of the COVID-19 JN.1 variant over the past few days. The development came even as the World Health Organization deemed the new strain a ‘Variant of Concern’ and several states held review meetings to assess the situation. According to an ANI report quoting sources, the country has reported 22 cases till December 21. WHO has emphasized that the overall risk posed by JN.1 remains low based on current evidence.

PM Modi on Pannun assassination

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India would look into any information it received in connection with the Gurpatwant Singh Pannun ‘murder’ bid. The development comes weeks after the US Justice Department said that an Indian government official had been involved in the attempt. Officials have also unveiled charges against a man accused of orchestrating the murder bid.

Tamil Nadu rains

Heavy rains pounded the state over the last few days, wreaking havoc in Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, and Kanyakumari. As many as 35 deaths have been reported, so far, in the ongoing flooding, with Thoothukudi district accounting for 22 fatalities and Tirunelveli 13. Till now, 59 tons of relief materials have been airdropped in the affected areas, according to the Southern Air Command of the IAF. On Saturday, Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena said the rescue operation in the flood-affected southern districts of the state has been completed and the focus now is on the restoration of basic services there. However, communication lines in some districts are still in disarray in the aftermath of the flood.

Tamil Nadu Minister K Ponmudy receives 3-year sentence

The Madras High Court on 21 December sentenced Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy to 3 years of simple imprisonment in a ₹1.75 crore disproportionate assets case. The court has also sentenced the minister’s wife P Visalakshi in the case.

Jagdeep Dhankhar mimicry

A controversy erupted after Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee performed mimicry of Jagdeep Dhankhar outside Parliament. His mimicry was also recorded by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. In his latest tweet, Dhankhar informed about talking to PM Modi on the incident. Expressing grief on the act of mimicry, Dhankhar experienced that a few people could not prevent him from performing his duties and upholding the principles of the Indian Constitution.

IPL Auction 2024

Mitchell Starc of Australia emerged as the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the auction in Dubai on Tuesday. He was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for ₹24.75 crore, breaking the record of Pat Cummins who was picked up for ₹20.5 crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad barely an hour ago.

Brij Bhushan’s aide Sanjay Singh appointed WFI chief

Sanjay Singh was elected the new president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Thursday. The WFI elections were held on Thursday after several postponements earlier in the year. Singh’s victory in the WFI elections triggered another row. After the election results, wrestler Sakshi Malik said he is “quit wrestling” if “Brij Bhushan Singh’s business partner and a close aide is elected as the president of WFI”.

Sakshee Malikkh quits wrestling

Sakshee Malikkh has announced retirement from wrestling in protest after Sanjay Singh, an aide of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan, was elected to the top post. Sakshee Malikkh said she “would not be competing under the presidency of Brij Bhushan’s loyalists. “I quit wrestling,” announced Sakshee Malikkh as she broke down during a press conference.

ShareChat layoffs

Bengaluru-based social-media platform ShareChat reportedly terminated 200 employees on Wednesday following an official statement citing “strategic restructuring” and the need to “streamline the company’s cost base.” This action was taken in response to a substantial decline in the overall valuation, as reported by the Economic Times.

India’s forex reserves

Amid heavy inflows in Indian debt and equity markets, India’s foreign exchange reserves rose for the fifth straight week, reaching an over 20-month high of $615.97 billion as of December 15, according to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday. The reserves rose by $9.1 billion in the reporting week after a jump of $16.5 billion in the previous four weeks. It is worth noting that the Indian debt and equity market witnessed increased net inflows in December. Until now, the net inflows have swollen to $9.2 billion in December. The amount stood at $2.9 billion in November

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Published: 24 Dec 2023, 10:19 AM IST