FOREIGN SECY IN EUROPE, FIRST STOP FRANCE

India has dealt with the “worst crisis in decades” on its border with China

with “firmness and maturity”, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told

an audience in Paris on Thursday.

Shringla, who spoke at the Institut Français des Relations Internationales

(IFRI), underlined “respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty”, and

“peaceful resolution of disputes” as he described India and France as

“strong partners” in the Indo-Pacific.

On Friday, Shringla met his counterpart, Francois Delattre, Secretary

General in the French Foreign Ministry. The Indian Embassy said they had “a

dialogue with great convergence” and “extraordinary breadth and depth” —

consistent with the growing strength and relevance for a key strategic

partnership for both countries, and which sets the stage for further

progress.

Paris is an unusual diplomatic stage for an Indian Foreign Secretary to

comment on Chinese aggression. But it ties in with Europe’s realisation

about China as a pre-eminent threat — both France and Germany have come up

with their Indo-Pacific strategies. France is the Foreign Secretary’s first

non-neighbourhood stop in India’s pandemic-age diplomacy. The Foreign

Secretary conveyed the importance of France as a steadfast friend across

multiple domains.

After France, Shringla is going to London and Berlin. His European outreach

is likely to give a fillip to Indian engagement with European nations after

over six months of COVID-19 imposed isolation and challenges.

INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST FIRES AIR-LAUNCHED VERSION OF BRAHMOS MISSILE FROM

SUKHOI JET

In a display of its growing combat prowess, the Indian Air Force on Friday

successfully test-fired an air-launched version of the BrahMos supersonic

cruise missile from a Sukhoi fighter aircraft in the Bay of Bengal. The

missile hit a ‘target ship’ with deadly accuracy and the test-firing

produced desired results.

The aircraft took off from a frontline airbase in Punjab and it was

refuelled mid-air before the missile was released, they said. The missile

was fired after the Su-30 MKI aircraft travelled for over three hours

covering a “significantly long distance”, the officials said.

In May last year, the Indian Air Force for the first time had successfully

test fired the aerial version of the BrahMos missile from a Su-30 MKI

fighter aircraft.

The BrahMos missile provides the IAF a much desired capability to strike

from large stand-off ranges on any target at sea or on land with pinpoint

accuracy by day or night and in all weather conditions.

The IAF is also integrating the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile on over 40

Sukhoi fighter jets which is aimed at bolstering overall combat capability

of the force. In the last two months, India has test fired a number of

missiles including a new version of the surface-to-surface supersonic cruise

missile BrahMos and an anti-radiation missile named Rudram-1.

On October 18, a naval version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was

successfully test fired from an indigenously-built stealth destroyer of the

Indian Navy in the Arabian sea. The missile was fired from INS Chennai, a

stealth destroyer, and it hit the target with pin-point accuracy after

performing “extremely complex” manoeuvres.

The range of the new land attack version of the missile has been extended to

400 km from the original 290 km.

CENTRE ASKS STATES TO FORM COMMITTEES FOR SMOOTH COVID-19 VACCINATION DRIVE

In an advisory to states on setting up coordination committees for

distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine, the health ministry has said

introduction of the shots will span over a year with multiple groups being

included sequentially, starting from health care workers, while also asking

governments to be vigilant about disinformation on social media.

“In all likelihood, the Covid-19 vaccine introduction will span over a year

with multiple groups being included sequentially starting from Health Care

Workers (HCWs). Therefore, it is important to create strong advisory and

coordination mechanism at state and district levels to guide the process of

Covid-19 vaccine introduction while ensuring minimal disruption of other

routine health care services including immunisation,” the Centre has said.

The government has also stressed early tracking of social media to dispel

rumours which could impact community acceptance of coronavirus inoculation.

This committee will also review the state’s preparatory activities in terms

of cold chain preparedness, operational and communication planning,

strategies for anticipated state-specific challenges in terms of

geographical terrain and network connectivity in ‘hard to reach’ areas. For

the implementation phase (upon availability of vaccine), the steering

committee will ensure oversight on overall micro-planning and other

operational aspects of Covid-19 vaccine introduction.

CONGRESS PLANS TO HAVE A NEW PRESIDENT BY JAN

The Congress’ Central Election Authority (CEA) has set in motion the process

of electing the next party president, and written to state presidents saying

it plans “to convene an AICC (All India Congress Committee) meeting as soon

as possible”.

According to media reports, the plan is to hold an AICC session in January

when the new president will be introduced.

It has been over a year since Sonia Gandhi took over as interim Congress

president, after Rahul Gandhi stepped down following the party’s drubbing in

the May 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

7.0 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE WITH 196 AFTERSHOCKS KILLS 22 IN TURKEY, GREECE

At least 22 people were killed and more than 700 injured in Turkey and

Greece on Friday after a powerful earthquake levelled buildings and caused

flooding. As many as 196 aftershocks were felt with 23 hitting over

magnitude 4.0, news agency ANI said quoting Turkish media.

According to the US Geological Survey, the major earthquake hit 14

kilometres off the Greek town of Karlovasi on Samos. Search and rescue

operations are underway at Turkey’s Aegean resort city of Izmir, which

suffered much of the damage.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called Turkish President Recep

Tayyip Erdogan to offer his condolences and support. They also tweeted their

support to each following the tragedy. “Whatever our differences, these are

times when our people need to stand together,” Mitsotakis said on Twitter.

“Thank you, Mr Prime Minister,” Erdogan tweeted in reply. “That two

neighbours show solidarity in difficult times is more valuable than many

things in life.”

The United States hailed both leaders’ gestures of diplomacy. “It’s great to

see both countries putting their differences aside to help each other during

a time of need. The United States also stands ready to assist,” said Robert

O’Brien, the national security advisor.

700-KM TRAFFIC JAMS IN PARIS AS RESIDENTS FLEE AHEAD OF 2ND COVID-19

LOCKDOWN

Parisians fleeing for the countryside jammed the roads ahead of France’s

lockdown to slow the spread of resurgent coronavirus infections, and there

was only a sprinkling of people hurrying along city sidewalks Friday as the

nationwide restrictions went into effect yesterday.

Dystopian images of logjams that stretched for 700 kilometers at one point

Thursday evening — exacerbated by the upcoming long holiday weekend — were a

grim sign of a return to the dark days of the spring, when virus cases first

swelled in Europe and many countries kept their citizens inside for weeks on

end. With infections hitting record levels in some countries, many are now

resorting to severe restrictions again.

In France, concerns were growing that rising infections would swamp the

country’s health system, so authorities ordered another four-week lockdown

beginning Friday. All of France’s 67 million people have been ordered to

stay at home at all times with no visitors, or risk steep fines or

prosecution. There are a handful of exceptions, such as being allowed out

for one hour of exercise a day within a half-mile of home, to go to medical

appointments, to a place of work, or to shop for essential goods.

Restaurants and cafés are shuttered, apart from those that offer takeout.

“Going to friends’ houses, having friends over and moving around for

anything other than the reasons set out” will be impossible, Prime Minister

Jean Castex explained firmly on Thursday.

And France is not alone. Many of its European neighbors are experiencing

rising infections, some even beyond what they saw in the spring.

JACK MA'S ANT GROUP IPO ATTRACTS DEMAND EQUAL TO BRITAIN'S ECONOMY

The biggest IPO of all time has unleashed an investor frenzy for the record

books.

Jack Ma’s Ant Group attracted at least $3 trillion, or about equal to the

UK’s GDP last year, of orders from individual investors for its dual listing

in Hong Kong and Shanghai, enough money to buy JPMorgan Chase & Co 10 times

over. Bidding was so intense in Hong Kong that one brokerage’s platform

briefly shut down after becoming overwhelmed by orders. Demand for the

retail portion in Shanghai exceeded initial supply by more than 870 times.

Analysts say buyers struggling to secure allocations as fundraising expands

to almost $37 billion.

The stampede is fueling predictions of a first-day pop when Ant is due to

start trading on November 5, even as skeptics warn of risks including the US

election, tightening regulations in China and rising Covid-19 infections

worldwide.

Whether Ant surges or not, the Chinese fintech behemoth’s $35 billion-plus

IPO represents a major vote of confidence in a company that could end up

shaping the future of global finance. It also underscores China’s ability to

marshal huge amounts of capital without tapping American markets, a win for

Beijing as it tries to reduce its vulnerability to the threat of US

financial sanctions.

THE REST

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M.P. BYPOLLS: EC REVOKES STAR CAMPAIGNER STATUS OF KAMAL NATH

The Election Commission (EC) on Friday revoked the status of Congress leader

and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath as a star campaigner for

the party in the ongoing State Assembly by-polls for “repeated violation of

Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and for completely disregarding the advisory

issued to him”, an EC order said.

The EC said the entire expenditure on any campaigning by Mr. Nath for the

November 3 by-elections would be borne by the candidate in whose

constituency he campaigns. The expenditure of star campaigners’ events,

travel and stay is borne by the party and is not added to the candidate’s

spending, which is limited.

The EC had issued an advisory to Mr. Nath on Monday for violation of the MCC

and the EC’s advisory to candidates and parties against any speech or

actions against the dignity of women for his remarks calling a woman

candidate an “item”. The EC had advised him not to use such language in

public utterances while the MCC is in force.

The EC said another complaint had been brought to its notice from the Madhya

Pradesh BJP that Mr. Nath had on October 13 called Chief Minister Shivraj

Singh Chouhan “nautanki ke kalakaar” (an artist in a street play) and that

he should go to Mumbai to act.

The EC also censured BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya. Taking

cognisance of Vijayvargiya’s “Chunnu-Munnu” remark against Congress’

Digvijaya Singh and Nath, the EC had issued a notice to the BJP leader on

October 26 seeking his reply, as the BJP leader had also dubbed them as

“gaddaars (traitors)”.

Vijayvargiya said the remark quoted in the notice was misunderstood and was

completely out of context.

The BJP’s promise of free Covid-19 vaccine to the people of Bihar in its

election manifesto is not violative of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), the

Election Commission has said in its decision on a complaint filed against

the announcement last week.

7.5% NEET QUOTA FOR GOVT SCHOOLKIDS IN TN

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has assented to a Bill envisaging 7.5

per cent reservation to government school students who have cleared the

National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) in admission to undergraduate

medical courses.

A day after the state government took the executive route to implement the

quota regime from the current 2020-21 academic year itself and issued a

government order to facilitate it, the Raj Bhavan said “this is to inform

the people of Tamil Nadu that the honourable Governor has given his assent

to the Bill”.

The Governor sought legal opinion from the Solicitor General of India (SGI)

on September 26 and the opinion was received on October 29, the release

said. “As soon as the opinion was received, honourable Governor gave assent

to the Bill,” the statement said.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami said efforts were afoot to implement the

reservation from the current year. DMK president MK Stalin claimed Purohit

gave his assent to the quota Bill as he was left with no other choice and

thanked him for his approval. He said his party’s protest and the hope

expressed by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court were behind

Purohit's “change of heart”.

KERALA, GOA, CHANDIGARH BEST GOVERNED STATES AND UT, SAYS PAC

Kerala was adjudged the best-governed state in the country, while Uttar

Pradesh ended at the bottom in the large states category, according to the

Public Affairs Index-2020 released by the Public Affairs Centre yesterday

Friday.

In its annual report released on Friday, the New Delhi based not-for-profit

organisation, headed by former ISRO chairman K Kasturirangan, said the

states were ranked on governance performance based on a composite index in

the context of sustainable development.

Four southern states, Kerala (1.388 PAI Index point), Tamil Nadu (0.912),

Andhra Pradesh (0.531) and Karnataka (0.468) stood in the first four ranks

in the large state category in terms of governance, it said.

Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Bihar were at the bottom of the ranking, scoring

negative points in the category. They got -1.461, -1.201 and -1.158 points

respectively.

In the small state category, Goa ranked first with 1.745 points, followed by

Meghalaya (0.797) and Himachal Pradesh (0.725). Worst performers who scored

negative points are Manipur (-0.363), Delhi (-0.289) and Uttarakhand

(-0.277), according to the PAC report.

Chandigarh emerged the best governed union territory in the category of UTs

with 1.05 PAI points, followed by Puducherry (0.52) and Lakshadweep (0.003).

Dadar and Nagar Haveli (-0.69), Andaman, Jammu and Kashmir (-0.50) and

Nicobar (-0.30) were the least performers.

According to the PAC, the governance performance is analysed in the context

of sustainable development defined by three pillars of equity, growth and

sustainability.

Speaking on the occasion, Kasturirangan said: "The evidence that PAI 2020

generates and the insights that it provides must compel us to reflect on the

economic and social transition that is underway in India."

HUL SALES SHOW DISCRETIONARY SPEND IS DOWN

Hindustan Unilever Ltd, the Indian unit of the Euro 52 billion Anglo-Dutch

consumer goods company Unilever and whose sales are a barometer for national

demand, has seen a marked consumption uptick in rural India but sluggish in

urban areas.

The rural surge is from areas typically not associated with high per capita

consumption such as the Hindi heartland, alongside Punjab, Haryana and the

hill states of the north.

The Rs 38,200-crore company, behind a range of products including Kissan

jam, Dove soap, Surf Excel and Knorr soups, has clocked a turnaround over

the last two quarters: from a minus 7 per cent overall contraction in the

June quarter to a plus 3 per cent growth in the September quarter.

This indicates consumers are largely sticking to essentials but choosing to

keep off discretionary items sold predominantly in urban markets.

HUL’s sales are generally seen as an industry proxy for consumer demand

trends.

RIL PROFIT SLIPS 15% AS COVID-19 HITS OIL BUSINESS

Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries (RIL) on Friday reported a 15.1

per cent year-on-year decline in its consolidated net profit to Rs 9,567

crore for the September-ended quarter.

Consolidated net revenue also dipped 25.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1.11

trillion because of weak performance in the refining, petrochemicals, and

retail businesses. The company’s telecom business (Reliance Jio Infocomm)

reported a net profit of Rs 2,844 crore, a three-fold increase over Rs 990

crore a year ago.

The profit number beat street estimates while revenue was in line with

expectations. In a Bloomberg poll, 10 analysts had estimated consolidated

revenue of Rs 1.11 trillion and 11 analysts estimated the company’s

consolidated adjusted net income (net profit) at Rs 8,387 crore for the

September quarter.

“Domestic demand has sharply recovered across our oil to chemical business

and is now near pre-Covid level for most products. Retail business activity

has normalised with strong growth in key consumption baskets as lockdowns

ease across the country,” said Mukesh Ambani.

IPL: RR WIN OVER KXIP SPICES UP RACE FOR PLAYOFFS

In match 50, star England all-rounder Ben Stokes stole the limelight from

Chris Gayle as Rajasthan Royals clicked as a unit to beat Kings XI Punjab

with seven wickets and 15 balls to spare.

Stokes hit a 26-ball 50 and also claimed two wickets to emerge as the star

performer for his team.

Earlier, Gayle had smashed a 63-ball 99 to power KXIP to 185 for four but it

went in vain.

Chasing 186 for a win, RR overhauled the target in 17.3 overs with Stokes

top-scoring with a magnificent 26-ball 50. Sanju Samson was also equally

impressive during his knock of 48 from 25 balls.

With the win, their sixth in 13 matches, RR kept themselves alive for a spot

in the play-offs with 12 points with one game left. Despite the loss, KXIP

also remained in contention with 12 points from 13 matches.

INDICATORS

Sensex 39,614 (-136), Nifty 11,642 (-28), Trading Value NSE ,(Rs.crores)

50,598.45

Nasdaq 10,912 (-274) Dow 26,502 (-158), S&P 3,270 (-40)

US$-Rs. 74.38 GBP-Rs. 96.27, Euro-Rs. 86.78, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.24, Can$-Rs.

55.84, Aus$- Rs. 52.33

GBP 0.77 /US$, Euro 0.85 /US$, Jap.Yen 104.49 /US$, Aus$ 1.42 /US$, Sing

1.36 /US$, Bang Taka 83.28 /US$, Can$ 1.33 /US$, Mal Ring 4.15 /US$,

Pak Re 160.46 /US$, Phil Peso 48.41 /US$, Russian Rouble 79.17 /US$, NZ$

1.50 /US$, Thai Baht 31.21 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 28.21 /US$, Norway NOK 9.53

/US$

Bitcoin - USD 13,654

Dollar Index 94.03 Brent Crude 37.46 BDI 1,297

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,878 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 5,089 / 4,989

Silver (Rs. Per KG) 62,420

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we

can imagine. - Arthur Eddington

OFF TRACK

A red-faced judge convened court after a long lunch. The first case involved

a man charged with drunk driving who claimed it simply wasn't true. "I'm as

sober as you are, your honor," the man claimed.

The judge replied, "Clerk, please enter a guilty plea. The defendant is

sentenced to 30 days."