Jayalalithaa, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, died late last night at the age of 68 after suffering from cardiac arrest on Sunday evening. The CM had been on life support systems at Apollo Hospital while large crowds gathered outside the hospital. She had been suffering from a severe respitory infection, 

Services in November has seen a sharp decline according to released figures, the first time Indian services activity fell to 46.7, below the 50 mark in the Nikkei/Markit Services Purchasing index since June 2015 - 50 separates growth from decline. This was also the biggest one-month drop since the Lehman crisis of 2008, and suggests that the Indian economy has taken a big hit from demonetization. 

Cyrus Mistry has sent a letter to shareholders defending the stance he has taken against Tata Sons, after the group holding company has called shareholder meetings across six firms where Mistry is still on the board - including Tata Motors and TCS. Mistry's letter notes that the Tata group is in serious need of reform, and that the ownership structure includes opaque management by the trusts, which owns two-thirds of Tata Sons and exerts control over the group companies. This, Mistry wrote, has resulted in no accountability for the trustees.   

Stock in spotlight: Manappuram Finance, whose stock had fallen sharply over the last month on demonetization fears, is among the top gainers today. 

Photo of the day: Jayalalithaa in 1964, with the 'best outgoing student' award from the Sacred Heart School in Chennai.