• The combined debt-to-GDP ratio of states is expected to remain at 31 per cent by end-March 2022 which is worryingly higher than the target of 20 per cent to be achieved by 2022-23, according to a RBI report.

• The Reserve Bank's annual publication titled 'State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2021-22' further said as the impact of the second COVID-19 wave wanes, state governments need to take credible steps to address debt sustainability concerns.

• In view of the pandemic induced slowdown, in its projections, the 15th Finance Commission expects the debt-GDP ratio to peak at 33.3 per cent in 2022-23 (in view of the higher deficits in 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23), and gradually decline thereafter to reach 32.5 per cent by 2025-26.

• The RBI report noted that the budgeted consolidated gross fiscal deficit (GFD) of 3.7 per cent of GDP for states for the year 2021-22 - lower than the 4 per cent level as recommended by the FC-XV (15th Finance Commission) reflect the state governments' intent towards fiscal consolidation.

• According to the report, in the medium term, improvements in the fiscal position of state governments will be contingent upon reforms in the power sector as recommended by FC-XV and specified by the Centre - creating transparent and hassle-free provision of power subsidy to farmers; preventing leakages; and improving the health of the power distribution companies (DISCOMs) by alleviating their liquidity stress in a sustainable manner.

• The report said undertaking power sector reforms will not only facilitate additional borrowings of 0.25 per cent of GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product ) by the states but also reduce their contingent liabilities due to improvement in financial health of the DISCOMs.

• It pointed out that in 2020-21, the first wave of the pandemic posed states the critical challenge of declining revenue and the need for higher spending.

• To partially offset the revenue shortfall, the report said states hiked their duties on petrol, diesel and alcohol and focused on rationalising non-priority expenditures to make room for higher expenditure on healthcare and social services.

• To boost its annual transportation capacity by an additional 330 million tonne (MT) in the next three years, Coal India Ltd (CIL) is planning to invest Rs 19,650 crore in rail infrastructure.

• The state-owned coal production company will construct rail links and set up joint ventures to boost its infrastructure.

• Coal India is constructing three railway lines in Central Coalfields Ltd and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd at an investment of Rs 7,994 crore to transport 170 million tonnes annually. It has also formed JVs with Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha requiring an investment to transport fuel.

• Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) has   said that  its Senior Vice-President and Director, Marketing & Sales Rajesh Goel has resigned citing personal reasons and to pursue interests outside the company.

• Goel, who has been a part of HCIL since inception, will step down from his position on December 24, 2021, and Yuichi Murata will take charge as Director, Marketing and Sales. 

• The  senior bureaucrat Vivek Johri on Dec 1   took charge as the Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).

• Johri, a 1985-batch Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes) officer, has been a member of the board. He has succeeded M Ajit Kumar, who completed his tenure on November 30.

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet had last month approved the appointment of Johri as the Chairman of the CBIC, which is the apex body related to customs and other indirect taxes.

• Lancer Capital, headed by top English football club Manchester United's co-chairman Avram Glazer, has made its first foray into cricket by acquiring a franchise in the UAE League.

• UAE T20 League chairman and vice-chairman of Emirates Cricket Board, Khalid Al Zarooni, welcomed Glazer into the league.

• Lancer Capital has investments in a variety of best-in-class assets. Glazer is an owner of the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has also been the co-chairman of Manchester United since 2005.

• India batters Mithali Raj and Smriti Mandhana held on to their third and sixth spots respectively while allrounder Deepti Sharma was also steady at the fifth position in the latest ICC women's ODI rankings released on  Nov 30 .

• While Mithali had 738 points, Smriti had 710 points in her kitty in the batting ranking, which had South Africa's Lizelle Lee at the top with 761 points. West Indies duo of Stafanie Taylor and Hayley Matthews have risen in ODI batting and all-rounder rankings respectively.

• The pair stood up for their side in Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier action, with Taylor moving into the top ten in batting (676) and holding on to her No. 4 all-rounder ranking (319), as her teammate moved to equal eighth.

• Matthews moved to her highest career rating (272) joining England's Katherine Brunt and New Zealand's Jess Jonassen in a three-way tie. Taylor is only bettered by Marizanne (384), Natalie Sciver (372) and Ellyse Perry (365).  Deepti was fifth with 299 points in the list.

• Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continued to be best-placed Indians in the batting chart, while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also held on to the second spot among bowlers in the latest ICC Test Player ranking release on Dec 1 .

• While Rohit (5th), Kohli (6th) and Ashwin retained their spots, pacer Jasprit Bumrah slipped one place to the 10th position. Save Ashwin, all the other three players were not part of the first Test against New Zealand which ended in a draw in Kanpur on Nov 29

• Debutant Shreyas Iyer's Player-of-the-Match effort of 105 and 65 helped him enter the batting rankings in 74th position, while opener Shubman Gill (up six places to 66th) and Wriddhiman Saha (up nine places to 99th) also made notable progress after notching half-centuries in the first Test. 

 The former British number one Johanna Konta announced her retirement from tennis on Dec 1 . The 30-year-old has struggled with persistent knee trouble over the past couple of seasons and has slipped to 113 in the world rankings -- a far cry from her career high of number four.

Konta, who reached the semi-finals of three of the four majors, plus the quarter-finals of the US Open, made her announcement on social media with a post headlined 'Grateful'.

In June, Konta won the Nottingham Open, becoming the first British woman to lift a WTA title on home soil since Sue Barker in 1981. But that victory was soon overshadowed by the astounding success of then 18-year-old compatriot Emma Raducanu in becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam when she took the women's singles title at the US Open in September.