The outgoing Union Revenue Secretary, Sanjay Malhotra, has been appointed as the next Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), set to take office on Dec. 11 for a three-year term. To explain the importance and relevance of the country’s central bank, the following describes its role in our lives.

The outgoing Union Revenue Secretary, Sanjay Malhotra, has been appointed as the next Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), set to take office on Dec. 11 for a three-year term. To explain the importance and relevance of the country’s central bank, the following describes its role in our lives.

Eight more farmers sustained injuries on Dec. 8 when Haryana police discharged tear gas shells at protesters attempting to enter Delhi on foot to voice their demands for legal guarantees for Minimum Support Prices (MSP) and other longstanding grievances. The incident is the latest in a series of crackdowns this month, which have already resulted in injuries to at least 15 other farmers.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed that the U.S. government, billionaire investor George Soros and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi are conspiring to destabilise India. The party alleged that the investigative media platform Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) plays a central role in this purported effort, while not questioning the factual basis of the investigative reports.

At least 15 farmers were injured and hospitalised after the Haryana police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters at the Shambhu border on Dec. 5. The demonstrators, who were seeking to enter Delhi, are part of a movement demanding government to address agricultural issues for the last five years.

Advocate Dushyant Dave has sharply criticised the judiciary for enabling divisive politics by permitting surveys of mosques over claims that they constructed on the remains of temples from the Mughal era. In a media interview, the lawyer directly accused India’s former Chief Justice, D.Y. Chandrachud, of undermining the Constitution and contributing to rising communal tensions.

One of the key proposals in the latest banking reform bill, which was debated in the Lok Sabha on Dec. 3, is to cut the government’s stake in public banks from 51% down to 26%. Some opposition members are calling it a move toward privatisation. There are at least four major concerns for citizens regarding Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, that the government needs to address.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has warned BRICS members, including India, against pursuing alternatives to the U.S. dollar, threatening economic retaliation and saying that any efforts to create or support a BRICS currency could lead to severe trade penalties.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) will review voter turnout figures and investigate allegations of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) tampering in Maharashtra, in response to concerns raised by the Congress party regarding the transparency of the recent state assembly polls.