It was indeed a surprise. India's Q2 GDP growth rate printed on the upside at 7.6%, as briefed in advance both by the government and the RBI.

The final number hit it out of the park, well clear of the consensus projection of 6.5-6.8%. However, sequentially, it represented a deceleration as it was 20 bps lower than Q1's 7.8%.

A 7%-plus growth rate for two successive quarters, amid global headwinds and high inflation, appears to be the surest sign of India’s economic heartbeat regaining its rhythm.

The feel-good cheer, however, ends with headline number as the sub-components of GDP made uneven contributions. Once again, it's the government expenditure that injected the much-needed economic glucose, clocking a growth of 12.35% during Q2.

The 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) had an auspicious start on Dec 1  achieving a major milestone - an agreement to operationalize the Loss and Damage (L&D) Fund, which will be used to support developing countries, especially the vulnerable, to tide over the adverse effects of climate change. On Day 1, a cumulative $420 million was pledged by different countries.

The UAE, which is also one of the biggest oil and gas producing regions in the world, wasted no time pledging $100 million for the fund to set the ball rolling for others to join. COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber, who is the UAE's Special Envoy for Climate Change, was in the eye of the storm just day ahead of COP facing criticism of conflict of interest after some leaked documents suggested the global climate event was being used by the UAE to strike business deals, which Al Jaber vehemently refuted. Now, this agreement will salvage some credibility. 

The Fund was first agreed upon during COP27, held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and became operational on Dec 1  following the agreement reached by parties during five transitional committee meetings. The 5th transitional meeting hosted earlier this month in Abu Dhabi was added by the COP28 Presidency following the impasse reached at the 4th meeting, where Parties resolved.

Other countries making notable commitments included Germany, which committed $100million and the European Union as a whole pledged €225 million (including Germany), the UK committed £40million for the Fund and £20million for other arrangements, Japan $10million and the US $17.5 million.

Pledges so far:

UAE: $100 million

Germany: $100 million

UK: £40 million to the Fund and £20 million for other funding arrangements for loss and damage

US: $17.5 million

Japan: $10 million

EU: €225 million (including Germany)

Bangladesh's main opposition on Dec 1  officially boycotted the upcoming general elections, removing the only party that could have offered a realistic challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's fourth consecutive term in power.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), warning that thousands of its members had been arrested in a sweeping crackdown, said it had not applied to contest a single seat on the last day of filing candidate nominations before the January 7 polls.

The BNP and other parties have held mass protests calling on Hasina to quit power and let a neutral government run the polls, demands the government has said are unconstitutional.

Hasina has overseen massive economic growth during her 15 years in power, but there has been international alarm over democratic backsliding and thousands of extrajudicial killings.

Other key opposition parties have also said they will boycott the elections, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, the country's largest Islamist party, and the Islami Andolon Bangladesh.

At a time where the world is dealing with two major armed conflicts, Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas, Central American country Costa Rica is celebrating 75 years of peace and democracy without an army.

On December 1, 1948, Costa Rica made the bold decision to abolish its army and invest in its people, becoming the first country in the world to do so. Setting an example, it showed that an alternative model of co-existence and development is viable.

Costa Rica’s former President Jose Figueres, with the symbolic blow of a sledgehammer to a stone wall of the military facility 'Cuartel Bellavista', proclaimed the abolition of the army, publicly handing the keys to the Minister of Education and announcing that this military barracks would be placed at the service of Costa Rican culture and art. Since 1949, this historic site has housed the National Museum. The decision to abolish the army in Costa Rica was taken after the civil war in 1948.

Saudi Arabia will extend a cut in the amount of oil it sends to the world after a series of reductions by members of the OPEC+ alliance of major producing countries failed to prop up prices.

That's been a good thing for US drivers, who have been able to fill their gas tanks for less money in recent months.

But it's bad news for OPEC+ countries whose oil income bolsters their economies and who have faced setbacks in pushing prices higher despite initial fears that the Israel-Hamas war could affect oil flows.

The Saudi Energy Ministry said in a statement on its website that its voluntary cut of 1 million barrels per day will stay in place through the first three months of next year.

It was announced after rest of the OPEC oil cartel and allied nations like Russia met in an online meeting about global oil production.

The OPEC+ coalition announced that Brazil will join the bloc in January, bringing one of the world's fastest-growing oil producers into the alliance.

The government has settled a total of 43,904 claims with a value of about Rs 700 crore under the ‘Vivad Se Vishwas’ scheme,  which was announced during the Covid pandemic for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), finance secretary TV Somanathan said.

He said that 4,000 claims are yet to be decided.

The Finance Ministry’s expenditure department had launched the Vivadd se Vishwas scheme for the MSME sector which got affected during the Covid pandemic.

The central government’s fiscal deficit reached 45% of the budget target in the first seven months of the current financial year. According to data released by the government on Dec 1 , the fiscal deficit of the government in April-October 2023 reached Rs 8.03 lakh crore as against the full-year budget target of Rs 17.87 lakh crore.

Gross tax collection of the central government in the first seven months of the current financial year stood at Rs 18.35 lakh crore, showing a 14% year-on-year growth. The government has budgeted for Rs 33.60 lakh crore gross tax collection during the financial year.

The buoyancy in the tax collection is largely driven by direct taxes with income tax mop-up showing 31% year-on-year growth and corporate taxes growing at 17.4%. Central GST collections at Rs 4.68 lakh crore till October 2023, showed a growth of 13.3%.

On the spending front, the Central government’s capital expenditure in the April-October 2023 period stood at Rs 5.47 lakh crore against the full year target of Rs 10 lakh crore.  This is also 33% higher than the year-ago period. Total expenditure of the government stood at Rs 23.9 lakh crore, which is 53% of the budget target of Rs 45 lakh crore.

Meanwhile, the output of eight core sectors grew at 12.1% year-on-year in October 2023 from 9.2% in the previous month. The strong growth was led by coal, cement and electricity sectors which witnessed 18.4% 16-month high), 17.1% (two-month high) and 20.3% (17-month high) growth respectively in October 2023. 

Bengaluru secured the highest rank in Hurun India’s Top 200 Self-made Entrepreneurs of the Millennia 2023 list. A total of 129 self-made entrepreneurs are from the city, followed by Mumbai with 78 and Gurugram and New Delhi with 49 each.

Radhakishan Damani, founder of retail chain D-Mart, leads the list with a market capitalisation of Rs 2.38 lakh crore. He is followed by founders of Flipkart Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal with an equity value of Rs 1.19 lakh crore.

IDFC FIRST Private Banking and Hurun India report released on Dec 1  reveals that 156 founders of 68 unicorns made it to the list. Financial services and retail led the way with 46 and 30 companies in the list and 34% of the companies in the list have global operations.

Thirty-two of the founders were born in the 1990s, and 108 founders of 64 companies featured in the list are also featured in the Hurun India Rich List 2023.

Eight of the top-10 most valuable companies founded in the millennium are start-ups. The list also features Zerodha, Razorpay, Patym and Zomato, among other companies. Mamaearth Ghazal Alagh and Winzo Saumya Singh Rathore are among the top 10 youngest women.