●      Gangster Suresh Pujari, wanted in several extortion cases in Mumbai region and Karnataka, has been deported to India.

●      Pujari, also wanted in extortion cases in Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan, Ulhasnagar and Dombivli near Mumbai, was brought back to India after he was arrested and extradited from the Philippines.

●      Intelligence Bureau (IB) and CBI officials took his custody after he landed at Delhi airport.

●      He will be handed over to Mumbai Police after the central agencies interrogate him.

●      Pujari, who was on the run for over 15 years, was nabbed in the Philippines in October

●      Suresh is a close relative of gangster Ravi Pujari and separated from him in 2007.

●      Russia has  vetoed a first-of-its-kind U.N. Security Council resolution casting climate change as a threat to international peace and security, a vote that sank a years-long effort to make global warming a more central consideration for the U.N.'s most powerful body.

●      Spearheaded by Ireland and Niger, the proposal called for “incorporating information on the security implications of climate change" into the council's strategies for managing conflicts and into peacekeeping operations and political missions, at least sometimes. The measure also asked the U.N. secretary-general to make climate-related security risks “a central component” of conflict prevention efforts and to report on how to address those risks in specific hotspots.

●      The council has passed resolutions that mention destabilizing effects of warming in specific places, such as various African countries and Iraq.

●      Some 113 of the U.N.'s 193 member countries supported it, including 12 of the council's 15 members.

●      Canada's Indian-origin Defence Minister Anita Anand and the top military commander have tendered a long-awaited apology to current and former members of the Canadian Armed Forces who suffered sexual assault, sexual harassment or discrimination.

●      The Canadian military had been facing intense public and political pressure to change its culture and create better systems for both preventing and handling sexual misconduct allegations at the time of Anand's appointed as the country's new Defence Minister in October.

●      The Canadian Armed Forces are trying to turn over a new leaf and win back the trust of current and former members who suffered sexual assault, sexual harassment or discrimination based on sex, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.

●      British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has  said that the UK and India are natural partners who are working together on many fantastic projects from partnership on 5G and telecom to startups.

●      Addressing the Global Technology Summit via video link, Johnson said that over the coming decade, India and the UK will continue to deepen their bonds on technology and other areas as they have set out in the 2030 India-UK roadmap.

●      The Centre earned nearly Rs 8.02 lakh crore from taxes on petrol and diesel during the last three fiscal years, of which more than Rs 3.71 lakh crore was collected in FY21 alone, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament.

 ●      The minister was responding to queries on the hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel during last three years and the details of the revenue earned through various taxes on these fuels.

●      The excise duty on petrol rose from Rs 19.48 per litre as on October 5, 2018 to Rs 27.90 a litre as on November 4, 2021.

●      The duty on diesel rose from Rs 15.33 a litre to Rs 21.80 during the same period, Sitharaman said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

●      Within this period, the excise on petrol fell from Rs 19.48 per litre as of October 5, 2018 to Rs 17.98 as of July 6, 2019; while excise on diesel reduced from Rs 15.33 to Rs 13.83 during the same reference period.

●      The excise duties on petrol and diesel were on a rising trajectory till February 2, 2021, to Rs 32.98 and Rs 31.83 respectively, before falling a tad and then declining further to Rs 27.90 a litre (petrol) and Rs 21.80 (diesel) as on November 4, 2021.

●      Just before Diwali this year on November 4, the government slashed the excise duties on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 a litre, respectively.

●      Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) has  informed that it has signed an agreement with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to supply 4,667 MW of green power.

●      The company claims, this agreement is the world’s largest evergreen power purchase agreement and it will keep India on track to become the world’s largest renewables player by 2030.

●      Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group has called the agreement another step to enable India’s dual objective to accelerate India’s renewable energy footprint as well as promote domestic manufacturing under the Atmanirbhar Bharat programme.

●      The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Dec 14  introduced stricter prompt corrective action (PCA) framework for large non-banking financial companies (NBFC) to improve regulatory reach, with effect from Oct 1 2022.

●      The framework will apply to all deposit-taking NBFCs, excluding government companies, all non-deposit taking NBFCs in middle, upper and top layers, the RBI said. Till now, the RBI used to impose PCA only on banks.

●      The framework is also intended to act as a tool for effective market discipline. According to the central bank, the first trigger of the PCA will be when the capital adequacy ratio of the NBFC falls below 300 basis points of the regulatory minimum requirement of 15%.

●      If the Tier-1 capital, or core capital, falls 200 basis points below 10% then also the PCA will be triggered. Also, if the net non-performing assets (NNPA) ratio is greater than 6%, but less than or equal to 9%, then the first risk threshold will be triggered.

●      Once an NBFC falls under PCA, it will be restricted on dividend distribution, will restrict issuance of guarantees, opening branches and restricting capital expenditure, depending on the risk threshold.

●      India’s merchandise exports in November stood at $30.04 billion, growing by 27.16%, however imports also stood at $52.94 billion, up by 56.58% pushing trade deficit to an all time high in November at $22.91 billion, more than doubled from $10.19 billion in November 2020.

●      Data released by the commerce ministry on Dec 14 showed that India’s November merchandise exports were at a 9-month low of $30.04 bn. Exports for the Apr-Nov period were up 51% to $263.57 bn as against $174.16 bn during the same period last year.

●      Export was boosted by petroleum products, engineering goods, organic & inorganic chemicals, cotton yarn, handloom products and electronic goods.

●      While gold imports rose by 39.7% in November to $4.2 bn, petroleum imports were up 132.4% to $14.7 bn.

●      $30.04 bn India’s total merchandise exports in November 2021

●      $52.94 bn Total imports during the same month