• North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a successful flight test of a hypersonic missile he claimed would remarkably increase the country’s nuclear “war deterrent.”

• The report by North Korean state media on, January 12, 2022, came a day after the militaries of the United States, South Korea and Japan said they detected North Korea firing a suspected ballistic missile into its eastern sea.

• The Korean Central News Agency said  the launch involved a hypersonic glide vehicle, which after its release from the rocket booster demonstrated “glide jump flight” and “corkscrew maneuvering” before hitting a sea target 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) away. 

• Rating agency ICRA has said it expects a miss in the disinvestment target to cause the government's fiscal deficit to print at Rs 16.6 lakh crore or 7.1 per cent of the GDP in FY2022, overshooting the budgeted target.

• With the state governments' fiscal deficit projected at a relatively modest 3.3 per cent of GDP in FY2022, the general government fiscal deficit is estimated at around 10.4 per cent of the GDP, the agency said in a report.

• In the base case for FY2023, it sees the government's fiscal deficit moderating to Rs 15.2 lakh crore or 5.8 per cent of GDP.

• Delinquency rates on rural loans have deteriorated in the two years to June 2021, with the microfinance books showing the maximum stress despite a reduction in loans outstanding.

• The inaugural Rural Business Confidence Index (RBCI) prepared by Crif High Mark in association with industry lobby CII came at 63.9 per cent for October, and the positives included credit expansion, higher budget allocations for rural areas and survey participants having positive or neutral outlooks.

• Delinquency by value deteriorated by 0.5 per cent for rural retail credit, 2.8 per cent for microfinance and 0.2 per cent for rural commercial between June 2019 and June 2021, the report said.

• The concerns on higher Non Performing Assets (NPAs) emanated even as the overall MFI (Microfinance Industry) loans segment experienced a de-growth by 9 per cent to Rs 1.12 lakh crore at the end of FY21.

• Rural areas, which support nearly 60 per cent of the population by some estimates, saw an increase in the average unemployment rate to 7.3 per cent in 2021 from 6.8 per cent in 2019, the report said.

• Inflation measured by the consumer price index also surged to 5.9 per cent in the rural areas in FY21 from 4.3 per cent in the year-ago period, the report said.

• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has  said a free trade agreement with the UAE is nearing a conclusion, and negotiations for the proposed pact with Australia are at an advanced stage.

• Goyal said the government was striving to conclude several early harvest agreements so that their benefits could reach the industry soon.

• He also asked industry leaders to be proactive in giving inputs to the government for FTA negotiations.

• The minister said this at a meeting with heads of top industry associations and businesses.

• He also said that the growth in services exports, in spite of travel and tourism restrictions, was truly "commendable" and "we must aim to reach USD 250 billion services exports".

• Industry associations that participated in the meeting include PHDCCI, CII, Indian Chamber of Commerce, Indian Merchant Chamber, Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, All India Association of Industries and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

• Industrialist Gautam Adani-led Adani Group has signed a pact with South Korea's POSCO to explore business opportunities in sectors like steel, renewable energy among others.

• Both the entities have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect.

• Adani Group said the investment under the MoU is estimated to be up to USD 5 billion.

• Adani Group said it "has agreed to explore business cooperation opportunities, including the establishment of a green, environment-friendly integrated steel mill at Mundra, Gujarat, as well as other businesses.

• The non-binding MoU intends to further collaborate at the group business level in various industries such as renewable energy, hydrogen, and logistics in response to carbon reduction requirements.

• The World Bank has retained India's economic growth forecast for the current fiscal at 8.3 per cent as the recovery is yet to become broad-based.

• As per the first advanced estimates of the national income released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) last week, the economy is projected to grow at 9.2 per cent in 2021-22, surpassing the pre-COVID level in actual terms, mainly on account of improved performance, especially in farm, mining and manufacturing sectors.

• World Bank said in its latest Global Economic Prospects report  said that the growth forecast has been upgraded for 2022-23 and 2023-24 to 8.7 per cent and 6.8 per cent, respectively.

• The upward revision reflects an improving investment outlook with private investment, particularly manufacturing, benefiting from the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, and increases in infrastructure investment.

GMR Infrastructure Limited (GIL) becomes India's first pure-play airport company listed on stock exchanges.

GMR Infrastructure Limited shares on Jan 12 started trading on bourses first time after the demerger of its non-airports business -- GMR Infrastructure Limited into GMR Power and Urban Infrastructure Limited (GPUIL). 

• The Boxing Federation of India has suspended its former general secretary and Maharashtra state body president Jay Kowli after its disciplinary committee ruled that he had failed to perform his duties in the current role.

• The decision was taken at the BFI's Executive Committee meeting held on January 10.