HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9 PM: NATION DEL60 DEF-SINOINDIA-TROOPS Indian, Chinese troops clash along LAC in Tawang sector; minor injuries on both sides New Delhi: Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed at a location along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh on December 9, resulting in minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides, military sources said on Monday.

BOM25 GJ-MINISTERS-PORTFOLIOS Gujarat CM allocates portfolios to new ministers, keeps home, revenue; Kanu Desai gets finance Ahmedabad: Hours after taking oath for a second straight term in office, Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel on Monday night allocated portfolios to the newly-inducted ministers, keeping home and revenue, among other key departments, with himself.

DEL66 CBI-BOGTUI-2NDLD ACCUSED West Bengal: Bogtui killings prime accused found dead in CBI custody New Delhi: In a suspected case of suicide, the prime accused in the violence in Bogtui village of West Bengal's Birbhum district was found dead in CBI custody on Monday, officials said.

PAR23 LS-SITHARAMAN-ECONOMY India fastest growing economy, opposition raises questions out of jealously: Finance Minister in LS New Delhi: India is the “fastest-growing” economy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi but there are “people” in the Opposition who keep raising questions over the country’s progress just out of “jealousy”, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Lok Sabha on Monday.

DEL43 DEF-INDO-LANKA-NAVYCHIEF Navy Chief Admiral Kumar begins 4-day Sri Lanka visit on Tuesday New Delhi: Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar will begin a four-day visit to Sri Lanka on Tuesday with an aim to bolster overall bilateral maritime cooperation amid concerns in India over China's persistent attempts to expand influence over the island nation.

DEL47 PM-AUROBINDO PM Modi to address programme commemorating Sri Aurobindo's 150th birth anniversary New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Tuesday participate in a programme commemorating Sri Aurobindo's 150th birth anniversary via video conferencing, and release a commemorative coin and postal stamp in the honour of the spiritual leader.

DEL61 JAISHANKAR-UN-VISIT EAM Jaishankar to visit New York to attend events of India's UNSC Presidency New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will begin a three-day visit to New York on Tuesday to preside over two signature events of India's ongoing Presidency of the UN Security Council.

PAR18 RS-LD ENERGY CONSERVATION Parliament passes bill to promote non-fossil energy sources and carbon credit trading New Delhi: A bill to mandate the use of non-fossil energy sources such as biomass, ethanol and green hydrogen and allow carbon credit trading in the country was passed by Parliament on Monday.

PAR12 LS-SPEAKER-LD CASTE Never refer to anyone's caste or religion in House, else action will be taken: LS Speaker warns members New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday warned members against referring to anyone's caste and religion in the House after a Congress MP alleged that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made certain remarks about his proficiency in Hindi because he belonged to a particular community.

DEL52 UGC-CURRICULUM-FRAMEWORK UGC notifies curriculum, credit framework for undergraduate courses under NEP New Delhi: The University Grants Commission Monday notified the curriculum and credit framework for undergraduate programmes which will provide students with multiple options for entry and exit, a choice between single major and double major and interdisciplinary choices of subjects.

CAL14 BH-LD CONGRESS Bihar Yatra to witness presence of Kharge, Rahul Gandhi Patna: AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will visit Bihar as part of a 1,000 km ‘Yatra’, that will commence later this month, a senior party functionary said on Monday. BUSINESS DEL56 BIZ-LD IIP Industrial production contracts 4 pc in Oct, at 26-month low New Delhi: India's industrial production contracted by 4 per cent in October, the sharpest fall in 26 months, mainly due to decline in output of manufacturing and subdued performance of mining and power generation sectors, according to official data released on Monday.

DEL70 BIZ-2ND LD INFLATION Retail inflation declines to 11-month low of 5.88 pc in Nov; within RBI's tolerance band for first time in 2022 New Delhi: Retail inflation dipped below the RBI's upper tolerance level of 6 per cent for the first time in 11 months in November as softening prices of food items brought relief but the central bank may wait for more data before pausing hikes in interest rates.

LEGAL LGD18 DL-HC- AGNIPATH Agnipath scheme voluntary, those having problem don't join: HC New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the petitioners who have challenged the Centre's Agnipath scheme as to which of their rights have been violated and said it was voluntary and those having any problem should not join the armed forces under it.

LGD31 SC-GST-TRIBUNAL Process for setting up of GST appellate tribunal at advanced stage, Centre tells SC New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday was informed by the Centre that the setting up of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal was at an advanced stage.

LGD24 DL-HC-RIOTS-SAIFI BAIL PLEA Delhi Riots 2020: HC reserves order on bail plea by Khalid Saifi New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday reserved its order on the bail plea by United Against Hate (UAH) founder Khalid Saifi in a UAPA case related to the alleged conspiracy behind the 2020 riots.

FOREIGN FGN23 UAE-JAISHANKAR-UKRAINE India can play bridging role in divides caused by conflicts such as Ukraine: Jaishankar Abu Dhabi/London: India can play a bridging role in an increasingly divided world around conflicts such as the war in Ukraine, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday.