US POLL OUTCOME WILL NOT IMPACT TIES WITH INDIA, SAYS MEA

As the world awaits the result of the American presidential election, India

on Friday said the global strategic partnership between the two countries

have a very strong bipartisan support in the US, suggesting that the

bilateral ties will not be impacted by the poll outcome.

"We are also awaiting the election results," Ministry of External Affairs

spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said during an online media briefing while

replying to questions on impact of US presidential outcome on the Indo-US

ties.

He asserted that "the comprehensive strategic (Indo-US) partnership has very

strong bipartisan support in the US and successive presidents and

administrations have raised the level of the relationship even higher."

"Indo-US relations rest on strong foundations. Our relations encompass

cooperation in every possible sphere, extending from strategic to defence,

from investment to trade to people-to-people ties," the spokesperson added.

SITUATION AT LAC TENSE; WAR WITH CHINA CAN'T BE RULED OUT: CDS GEN RAWAT

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat on Friday, while referring

to the ongoing border tensions with China, has said there is a possibility

of matters "spiralling into a larger conflict". India, he said, would not

accept any shifting of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

General Rawat was addressing a webinar to the National Defence College (NDC)

as part of its diamond jubilee celebrations.

During the webinar, he said: "Our posturing is unambiguous. We will not

accept any shifting of the LAC. In the overall security calculus, border

confrontations, transgressions, unprovoked tactical military actions

spiralling into a larger conflict therefore cannot be discounted."

While General Rawat was speaking, the eighth round of senior military

commander talks between India and China were underway in Chushul in Ladakh

to resolve the ongoing standoff.

The proactive deployment of IAF's "offensive" capabilities in response to

the standoff with China in eastern Ladakh demonstrated its current

operational readiness and the strong posturing was instrumental in

dissuading the adversary to a large extent, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief

Marshal RKS Bhadauria said at the same Webinar as the CDS.

The IAF chief also said that the Balakot air strikes in Pakistan clearly

demonstrated that air power could be put to sophisticated use and create a

space for action below the conventional threshold.

INDIA SUMMONS PAK ENVOY ON KARTARPUR ISSUE

India followed up its strong note to Pakistan on the Kartarpur Corridor

issue on Thursday by summoning Pakistan's Deputy High Commissioner on Friday

to seek a reversal of its decision, said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava

during a media briefing.

The Pakistan diplomat was told that the decision to hand over the management

of the project to the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) instead of the

Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (PSGPC) was highly condemnable.

The MEA said such actions expose the Pakistani leadership's tall claims of

preserving and protecting the rights and welfare of the religious minority

communities.

But the Pakistan Foreign Office maintained that PSGPC remained responsible

for carrying out

SUPREME COURT ASKS CENTRE TO ENSURE NO SMOG IN DELHI-NCR

As the newly constituted Commission for Air Quality Management (AQM) in the

National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas started functioning, the Supreme

Court on Friday asked the Centre to ensure there was no smog in Delhi.

"We are a court of law. This is a problem which has to be dealt with by the

Executive. They have the money, the power and the resources for this. We are

not abdicating our responsibility or functions but understand this, we have

some limitations," the Bench observed after a petitioner sought to draw the

court's attention to air pollution in Delhi.

"The only thing is that you ensure that there is no smog in the city. We are

not concerned with commission. There are many commissions and many brains

are working, but just ensure that there is no smog in the City," it said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the government was making all efforts on

a war footing to deal with the situation.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

BIDEN CLOSE TO WINNING AFTER FLIPPING KEY STATES

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday took crucial leads

over Donald Trump in the key battleground states of Georgia (16) and

Pennsylvania (20), bringing him on the cusp of a historic victory over the

incumbent Republican United States President in the closely-fought election.

In Georgia, after the latest round of counting results, Biden edged past

Trump with a slender lead of over 4,300 votes - until Wednesday night Biden

was trailing his rival by more than 50,000 votes.

In Pennsylvania, Biden overtook Trump and is currently leading by over

28,000 votes. This is significant given Trump was leading in the swing state

till Wednesday night with more than 700,00 votes.

As per the latest projections, Biden has 253 electoral college votes and

Trump trails behind with 213.

In Arizona (11), Biden's lead has reduced to about 29,000 votes.

In Nevada (6), Biden currently leads by about 22,000 votes.

The wins in four states of Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and Pennsylvania could

take Biden's tally to 306.

President Trump at a White House news conference again accused the Democrats

of massive ballot fraud and alleged that the election was being stolen. He

did not offer any evidence to back his claim. His campaign has filed

multiple lawsuits in the States of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, and

Nevada and has demanded a recount of votes in Wisconsin. "If you count the

legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to

steal the election from us. If you count the votes that came in late --

we're looking at them very strongly. But a lot of votes came in late," Trump

said.

The Biden campaign has denied the allegations.

Several American news channels on Thursday evening cut off the live telecast

of Trump's White House news conference as they believed that his allegations

of voter fraud were without any evidence.

"Democracy is sometimes messy, so sometimes it requires a little patience.

But that patience has been rewarded now for more than 240 years with a

system of governance that has been the envy of the world. We continue to

feel very good about where things stand," Biden said.

The number of total votes increased 7 per cent from 2016, with 9 million

more votes counted so far. But Biden has 12.1 per cent more votes than

Hillary Clinton received when she beat Trump in the popular vote by 2.9

million ballots. Trump has 10.7 per cent more than he got in 2016, in part

because fewer votes went to third-party candidates this year.

CHILL, DONALD, CHILL: GRETA THUNBERG MOCKS TRUMP IN HIS OWN WORDS

Amid ongoing tensions over the results of the US presidential election,

Swedish environment activist Greta Thunberg has mocked US President Donald

Trump in his own words in the ultimate social media revenge.

In response to Trump's "stop the count" tweet, the 17-year-old tweeted: "So

ridiculous. Donald must work on his anger management problem, then go to a

good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill, Donald, Chill." Thunberg's

tweet was the exact copy of the one that Trump posted in December 2019

criticizing the Time magazine's decision to name her "Person of the Year".

"So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to

a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!," the

President had tweeted on December 12, 2019.

THE REST

========

NO BLOCKADE, ALL TRACKS CLEARED, SAYS PUNJAB; RAILWAYS DISAGREES

Over 30 farmers' organisations on Friday cleared railway tracks in Punjab to

allow the movement of freight trains following persuasion of the state

government, officials said. 'The rail network all across the state of Punjab

is presently totally clear for uninterrupted movement of goods trains,' a

state home department statement said in Chandigarh.

The statement came after Railway Board Chairman V K Yadav earlier in the day

said the railways needs 100 per cent security clearance from Punjab to

resume operations.

However, hours after the Punjab government's statement, the Railways accused

it of 'misguiding' people over the extent of blockade of rail tracks in the

state by the protesting farmers..We request the state government to clear

the track and stations for operation of all trains,' it said.

Trains have been suspended in the state since September 24 due to the

agitation over farm bills cleared by the Centre during the monsoon session

of Parliament.

The state is facing critical shortage of coal stock across power plants

leading to massive power cuts due to the prolonged suspension of goods

trains by the railways.

Railways has claimed losses of nearly Rs1,200 crore in freight revenue with

more than 2,225 goods trains suspended and 1,350 passenger trains cancelled

or diverted.

BJP WASTES NO TIME, GEARS UP FOR ELECTIONS IN FIVE OTHER STATES

Much before the last vote is cast in Bihar on Saturday the BJP's election

machinery is on the move for its next mission, elections in five states -

Assam, Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala - next year.

While in West Bengal Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday declared a sweeping

victory for the party in upcoming elections, in Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma

said "development and protection from infiltrators" would be poll planks for

elections next year.

While in Kerala, where the BJP appears to be in much disarray, it has to

bring the "house in order" for the crucial elections, in neighbouring Tamil

Nadu the State unit rolled out 'Vetrivel Yatra' despite Covid restrictions

by the state government to consolidate Hindu vote base.

In Assam, the ruling BJP said it would campaign the next elections on two

key issues -development and protection of the 'civilisation of Assam' from

the 'civilisation of infiltrators from Bangladesh'.

SUPREME COURT GRANTS ARREST SHIELD TO ARNAB, ASSEMBLY OFFICER GETS CONTEMPT

NOTICE

The Supreme Court issued a contempt notice Friday to the assistant secretary

of the Maharashtra Assembly who, in a letter to Republic TV editor-in-chief

Arnab Goswami, had questioned him for approaching the top court against the

breach of privilege notice and producing before it "confidential"

communications from the Speaker and the House Privileges Committee.

Stating that the "intention" of the Assembly officer appeared to be to

"intimidate" Goswami because he "approached this Court" and to "threaten him

with a penalty for seeking legal remedy", the bench of Chief Justice of

India S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubra-manian directed

that Goswami not be arrested in the privilege matter until further orders.

The bench allowed the Union of India to be impleaded in the matter following

a request from senior advocate Harish Salve who appeared for Goswami. It

issued notice to the Attorney General, and also appointed senior advocate

Arvind Datar as amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter.

The bench was hearing Goswami's petition challenging the breach of privilege

notice to him which followed a motion in the House, accusing him of using

derogatory language against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief

Sharad Pawar in the coverage of the case relating to the death of actor

Sushant Singh Rajput.

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court on Friday adjourned till Saturday the

hearing of Arnab Goswami's plea seeking interim relief against his arrest

and a stay on the police investigation in the abetment to suicide case

lodged against him. The court gave interim relief to Goswami, who is at

present in judicial custody.

QUESTION BEFORE STATES: TO REOPEN SCHOOLS OR NOT

To reopen schools or not, even for senior students - Class IX to Class XII -

is the big question states are grappling with. While Maharashtra Friday said

it was considering starting physical classes in schools from November 23,

Odisha put on hold an earlier decision to reopen schools after November 15,

and Gujarat said it was preparing an SOP for physical classes in senior

classes from November 18.

At least two states, Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh, reported Covid cases

among teachers and students after schools reopened, raising fresh concerns

among parents and administrators.

Announcing November 23 as the tentative date for starting schools and junior

colleges physically across the state for class IX to XII, Maharashtra School

Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad Friday said an SOP had been prepared.

"Schools will begin to function only after consent from parents and in

compliance with health and safety guidelines," she said.

Gaikwad also said the exams of Class X and Class XII should be conducted in

May 2021, instead of February or March.

In Odisha, the administration revoked an earlier decision to reopen schools

in November two days after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed concerns

over a possible second wave of Covid in the state. The state projects the

second wave between December 15 and January 15.

ACTIVE CASES KEEP FALLING IN COUNTRY, BUT DELHI A CONCERN

It's been 34 days now that daily recoveries have been outnumbering new

infections detected, the strongest sign that the coronavirus epidemic in

India is on the decline. During this time, active cases have almost halved,

daily new cases have dropped to less than half the peak reached in

September, and the growth rate has come down to just about 0.5% per day.

The main drivers for this rather unexpected turnaround are still not clear,

especially since it has come in the midst of the festival season, Bihar

elections, and a resumption in general activities. That is also the reason

why health authorities and experts have been cautioning against lowering

one's guard. The festival season is not yet over, and deterioration in air

quality in the winter is likely to be an added complication because it could

worsen respiratory conditions among infected people.

But the biggest warning is the current situation in Delhi where the cases

have been at historic highs. Delhi has had multiple phases of sustained

growth and decline, with very clear peaks, each higher than the previous

one. For the last three days, the city has been recording almost 7,000 cases

a day. No other city has ever detected more than 6,000 cases a day.

UPI FIRMS SAY VOLUME CAP TO HIT BIZ; NPCI CALLS IT A BID TO CURB DOMINANCE

The move to cap the share of transactions a third-party application can

process - at 30 per cent of the total volume in Unified Payments Interface

(UPI) by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) - has not gone

down well with industry players.

Most have expressed surprise over the move, saying it could have

implications on millions of people who use UPI for their daily payments.

But, industry insiders suggest that this is aimed at bringing a balance in

the UPI ecosystem, which is dominated by a few large players. Furthermore,

entry of the newest player WhatsApp into the system, which has a huge base

already on its messaging service, may make the market more skewed, if not

for the cap. NPCI has reasoned this move will help to address the risks and

protect the UPI ecosystem as it further scales up.

FIR AGAINST MILIND SOMAN; POONAM PANDEY GETS BAIL

Actor and model Milind Soman was booked by Goa Police on Friday for

obscenity and publishing and transmitting obscene material in electronic

form. Soman, who turned 55 on Wednesday, had posted a photograph of him

running nude by a beach in Goa, captioned "55 and running!" The photograph

was clicked by his wife.

South Goa SP Pankaj Singh the case was booked on the complaint of a

political outfit named Goa Suraksha Manch.

This comes a day after model-actor Poonam Pandey and her husband were booked

for obscenity, after they shot a controversial photoshoot at a restricted

dam site, with the government's Water Works Department filing a complaint in

that case. They subsequently got bail from a court in south Goa the same

day.

In the bail order, the judicial magistrate first class, Canacona, stated, "A

professional shoot towards the making of a video or a film, in my considered

opinion cannot be outright termed as obscene or immoral merely because some

members of the public say so, or there is public outcry about the same.

Films and videos are covered under the right to expression, which is a

fundamental right granted by our Constitution."

This, meanwhile, is the second time Soman faces charges of obscenity. In

1995, the Social Service Branch of Mumbai Police had booked him and model

Madhu Sapre after they posed nude, wearing only a pair of shoes and a python

wrapped around them, for an advertisement campaign. They were acquitted

after a 14-year-long legal trial.

IPL: WILLIAMSON, HOLDER SHINE AS SRH ELIMINATE RCB

Kane Williamson's unbeaten half-century and Jason Holder's superb all-round

show enabled SunRisers Hyderabad outclass Royal Challengers Bangalore by six

wickets in the IPL Eliminator match, in Abu Dhabi, on Friday.

Williamson scored an unbeaten 50 off 44 balls, while Holder, who took three

wickets for 25 runs earlier, hit an unbeaten 24 off 20 balls, as SunRisers

chased down the Royal Challengers' 131 with two balls to spare.

They will take on Delhi Capitals in a virtual semi-final in Sunday's

Qualifier 2 match. The winners progress to the IPL final against Mumbai

Indians.

Holder and Williamson rallied Sunrisers after the loss of a few early

wickets, putting on 65 runs for the fifth wicket from 47 balls.

INDICATORS

Sensex 41,893 (+553), Nifty 12,264 (+143), Trading Value NSE ,(Rs.crores)

59,312.33

Nasdaq 11,895 (+4) Dow 28,323 (-67), S&P 3,509 (-1)

US$-Rs. 73.91 GBP-Rs. 97.09, Euro-Rs. 87.61, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.11, Can$-Rs.

56.58, Aus$- Rs. 53.68

GBP 0.76 /US$, Euro 0.84 /US$, Jap.Yen 103.40 /US$, Aus$ 1.37 /US$, Sing

1.34 /US$, Bang Taka 83.26 /US$, Can$ 1.30 /US$, Mal Ring 4.13 /US$,

Pak Re 159.18 /US$, Phil Peso 48.16 /US$, Russian Rouble 77.32 /US$, NZ$

1.47 /US$, Thai Baht 30.57 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 27.97 /US$, Norway NOK

9.17/US$

Bitcoin - USD 15,591

Dollar Index 92.29 Brent Crude 39.45 BDI 1,194

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,951 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 5,180 / 5,080

Silver (Rs. Per KG) 64,500

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.

Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. - Elie Wiesel

OFF TRACK

Mrs. Shapiro, the Matchmaker, goes to see Mr. Cohen, a confirmed bachelor

for many years. "Mr. Cohen, don't leave it too late. I have exactly the one

you need. You only have to say the word and you'll meet and be married in no

time!" says the Matchmaker.

"Don't bother," replies Mr. Cohen, "I've two sisters at home, who look after

all my needs."

"That's all well and good, but all the sisters in the world cannot fill the

role of a wife."

"I said 'two sisters'. I didn't say they were mine."