1) Winter Session of Parliament Begins
•The winter session of Parliament begins with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging all political parties to extend co-operation for smooth conduct and pressing for a "national consensus" on the issue of simultaneous elections in the country.
•This year's Winter Session of the Parliament will end on 5th January 2018 has only 14 proposed sittings. As per government data available, 14 sittings is the lowest for any winter session since 1999.
2) 14th Inclusive Finance India Summit Begins in New Delhi
•The 14th Inclusive Finance India Summit began in New Delhi to build consensus on strategies and a unified vision for achieving universal financial inclusion in India.
•The summit offers a platform for a plethora of information to all the thought leaders and industry veterans to debate and discuss the issues and challenges involving the Financial Inclusion in the country.
3) 4th India-Australia-Japan Trilateral Dialogue Held in New Delhi
•Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar hosted the 4th India-Australia-Japan Trilateral Dialogue with Secretary of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia Ms. Frances Adamson and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Mr. Shinsuke J. Sugiyama, in New Delhi.
•The three sides highlighted the growing convergence of their respective countries’ interests in the Indo-Pacific region and underscored their shared commitment to peace, democracy, economic growth and a rules-based order in the region.
4) 11th WTO Ministerial Conference Held in Argentina
•The Eleventh World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC11) took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Conference was chaired by Minister Susana Malcorra of Argentina. Indian Delegation was led by Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu.
5) Indian Diaspora is Largest in the World: World Migration Report 2018
•The Indian diaspora is the largest in the world, with over 15 million migrants from India living abroad, according to the World Migration Report 2018 published by the International Organisation for Migration, the United Nations migration agency.
•Because the country has the largest number of migrants abroad, India also receives the highest amount in remittances ($68.91 billion). The largest migration corridor is from India to UAE, where 3.5 million Indians were residing in 2015.
•The United States remained the top destination for migrants in the world in 2015, with 46.6 million migrants moving to the US in that year.
6) Union Cabinet Clears Bill Criminalising Instant Triple Talaq
•The Union Cabinet cleared the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, or the Triple Talaq bill, which makes the practice a non-bailable offence. The bill proposes a three-year jail term for men who practise instant Triple Talaq.
•Under the draft law, triple talaq in any form - spoken, in writing or by electronic means such as email, SMS and WhatsApp - would be banned or illegal. The draft law also provides for three years in prison and a fine for a Muslim man trying to divorce his wife by uttering "talaq" three times.
7) Google Opens 1st Machine Learning Research Lab in Asia with ‘Google AI China Center’
•In an apparent move to rebuild its presence in China, Google announced that it will open a research lab focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Beijing, China. It will be its first such centre in Asia.
•The "Google AI China Centre" will join the other AI research groups that the company has in other parts of the world, including in New York, Toronto, London and Zurich. Focused on basic AI research, the lab will consist of a team of AI researchers in Beijing, supported by the company's engineering teams.
8) WPI Inflation at 8-month High of 3.93% in November
•Inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) accelerated to an eight-month high of 3.93% in November, from 3.59% in October. Data released showed that retail inflation unexpectedly jumped to a 15-month high of 4.88% in November, and industrial production slowed to 2.2% in October.
•WPI-based inflation rose mainly on account of a sharp increase in fuel and food prices, according to data released by the commerce ministry. While fuel price index rose by 8.8%, food prices index rose 6.06%.
9) Lucknow's Jitesh Singh Deo Named Mr. India 2017
•Jitesh Singh Deo from Lucknow was declared the winner of the 2017 Mr. India pageant which was held in Mumbai. Indian footballer Prathamesh Maulingkar won the title of Mr. India Supranational and will compete at Mr. Supranational 2018.
•Abhi Khajuria was declared the first-runner up while Pavan Rao was the second runner-up. Actress Kangana Ranaut felicitated the winners. Jitesh competed with 15 other contestants to grab the coveted title.
