NO THAW IN INDIA-CHINA TALKS, ANOTHER ROUND SOON

The deadlock between India and China over the military standoff in eastern

Ladakh continues, with the eighth round of meetings between senior military

commanders from both sides failing to achieve any breakthrough. Both sides,

however, "agreed to have another round of meetings soon".

After the latest meeting on November 6, which was also attended by diplomats

from India and China, both the governments issued a joint statement, which

said that they will "push for the settlement of other outstanding issues, so

as to jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas".

The statement said the "two sides had a candid, in-depth and constructive

exchange of views on disengagement along the LAC in the Western Sector of

India-China border areas".

It said both agreed to "earnestly implement the important consensus reached

by the leaders of the two countries, ensure their frontline troops exercise

restraint and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation". "Both sides agreed

to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic

channels, and, taking forward the discussions at this meeting, push for the

settlement of other outstanding issues, so as to jointly maintain peace and

tranquillity in the border areas," it said.

PM MODI: SHIPPING MINISTRY TO BE RENAMED

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the Ministry Of Shipping will be

renamed to Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways to bring more "clarity"

in the work it does.

He was speaking at the inauguration of the RoPax ferry service between

Hazira in Surat and Ghogha in Bhavnagar district on Sunday.

"This (RoPax ferry) is the diwali gift to the Gujarati people. The long-time

dream of the people of Saurashtra and Surat has been fulfilled today,

through this ferry service," he said.

"Be it sea route or river route, India has no shortage of resources or

expertise. It is also known that transportation by sea is far cheaper than

by road or rail and does little damage to the environment. but work with a

holistic approach in this direction was possible only after 2014," he said.

"These rivers and the sea did not emerge after Modi became the prime

minister. they were always there. but this vision was not there. that the

country started experiencing after 2014." said the PM.

The ferry service is slated to reduce the distance between Surat and Ghogha

from 375 km to 90 km and reduce the travel time of 10-12 hours to four

hours.

DEMONETISATION 'DESTROYED' ECONOMY, ALLEGES RAHUL; MODI LISTS ITS POSITIVES

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday slammed the government over

demonetisation, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move four years

ago was aimed at helping a few of his "crony capitalist friends" and had

"destroyed" the Indian economy. Gandhi and the Congress have been alleging

that the 2016 demonetisation was not in the interest of the people and had

adverse effects on the economy, a charge the government has dismissed

repeatedly.

On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Modi announced the decision to ban all

currency notes of higher denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 from midnight

In a video released as part of the party's online

'SpeakUpAgainstDeMoDisaster' campaign, Gandhi said the question is how the

economy of Bangladesh "surpassed" the Indian economy as there was a time

when India used to be one of the highest performing economies of the world.

"The government says that the reason is COVID but if that is the reason,

there is COVID in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the world also. The reason is

not COVID, the reason is 'Notebandi' and GST," Gandhi said in Hindi. The

prime minister had stated that it is a fight against black money, but it was

not so, Gandhi said.

"This was a lie. The attack was on you, Modi wanted to take your money and

give it to his 2-3 crony capitalist friends. You stood in lines, not his

crony capitalist friends. You put your money in banks and PM Modi gave that

money to his friends and gave them a loan waiver of Rs 3,50,000 crore,"

Gandhi alleged.

Then Modi implemented a "faulty GST" and small, middle-sized businesses were

destroyed as "he cleared the way for his 3-4 crony capitalist friends", the

Congress leader claimed.

Gandhi alleged that now farmers were being targeted with the three new

agricultural laws which, he said, would "finish off" them. Modi has

"destroyed" the pride of India -- its economy, Gandhi said, and added, "We

have to jointly rebuild india".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said demonitisation has helped reduce

black money, increase tax compliance and formalisation, and given a boost to

transparency.

Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Modi listed the beneficial outcomes of

demonetisation.

Modi also shared a graphic on how demonetisation has ensured better tax

compliance, improved tax and GDP ratio, made India a lesser cash based

economy and gave a boost to national security.

before the CIC.

CONGRESS LEADERS CONGRATULATE BIDEN-HARRIS, SLAM MODI FOR 'AB KI BAAR, TRUMP

SARKAR' SLOGAN

Several senior Congress leaders have hailed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris'

triumph in the US elections, with some attacking the BJP alleging that it

appeared to side with Donald Trump not following bipartisanship in foreign

policy.

Asked about the slogan "Ab ki baar, Trump sarkar" at the Howdy Modi event in

Houston and whether such things could affect ties, Congress general

secretary Ajay Maken at a media briefing seemed to take an indirect swipe at

the Modi dispensation, saying the Congress has always believed that the

country, its leaders and political parties should not directly or indirectly

interfere in the politics of other countries.

"We have always believed in this and whenever we were in government, we

never interfered in the politics of other countries directly or indirectly

because we don't consider it right," he said.

Meanwhile, BJP leaders on Sunday said Indo-US relations are based on the

principles of democracy, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Biden will

take the ties forward to the next level.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

TWITTER ERUPTS IN CELEBRATION OVER BIDEN VICTORY

After US television networks unanimously called the presidential elections

in Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden's favour late Saturday, several

world leaders from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UK Prime Minister Boris

Johnson to Germany's Angela Merkel hailed the President-elect.

Twitter was also abuzz with comments from a wide range of celebrities.

Literally minutes after the election was called for the Democratic

candidate, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris shared a video of her phone

call to Biden. In the video, she can be heard telling Biden, "We did it,

Joe. You are going to be the next president of the United States."

Meanwhile, outgoing president Donald Trump has refused to accept Biden's

victory, claiming election fraud. He tweeted: The observers were not allowed

into the counting rooms. I won the election, got 71,000,000 legal votes. Bad

things happened which our observers were not allowed to see. Never happened

before. Millions of mail-in ballots were sent to people who never asked for

them!:

The Dalai Lama sent his wishes, saying that "humanity places great hope in

the democratic vision of the US''.

Actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who played Vice President (and eventually

President) in HBO's popular comedy Veep, tweeted in support of Harris.

"Madam Vice President" is no longer a fictional character."

The New York Times correspondent Ellen Barry shared a meme by conservative

news aggregator Drudge Report, which called Biden's victory with a photo of

Trump frowning, and the words, "You're fired" - the latter's catchphrase on

the NBC reality show "The Apprentice".

German news magazine Der Spiegel recalled its controversial 2017 cover that

depicted Trump holding the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty,

following Biden's victory. An image by the same artist shows Biden putting

Lady Liberty's head back in place, for the magazine's cover in the Saturday

edition.

Celebrities like Lady Gaga and Padma Lakshmi also congratulated Biden, in

their own way. While Gaga was all compliments, Lakshmi shared a video with

her famous line from the show Top Chef: "Donald Trump, please pack your

knives and go!"

JOE BIDEN, KAMALA HARRIS GET TO WORK

Immediately after being declared the 46th President-elect of the US, Joe

Biden said he will get to work.

Making the Covid-19 pandemic his first priority, Biden on Monday will

announce a 12-member task force to deal with the virus.

Reports said Vivek Murthy, the Indian-origin former US Surgeon General in

the Barack Obama administration, will co-chair the team. It will provide a

blueprint for implementation on January 20, 2021, when Biden will be sworn

in.

"That plan will be built on a bedrock of science. It will be constructed out

of compassion, empathy, and concern," Biden said in his victory speech.

The task force announcement will kick off a busy week that will see Biden

and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris moving forward with the presidential

transition on a number of fronts, with Biden turning to the task of building

his administration before the inauguration.

On Sunday, his transition team launched a new website, BuildBackBetter.com,

and a new social media handle, @transition46, to provide the public with

information on the handover. It lists four priorities for a Biden-Harris

administration: Covid-19, economic recovery, racial equity and climate

change.

Biden is also expected to issue a clutch of executive orders reversing some

of Trump's controversial measures, such as returning to the Paris Accord on

climate change, resume funding of World Health Organization, rescinding the

travel ban on people from certain Muslim-majority countries and reinstating

protections for undocumented immigrants brought as children, according to

the Washington Post.

THE REST

========

GUNBATTLE ALONG LOC: OFFICER AMONG FOUR SECURITY PERSONNEL KILLED

An army officer, two soldiers and a BSF personnel lost their lives in a

fierce gunfight early Sunday on the LoC in which three militants, who were

trying to enter the Valley through the Machil sector in north Kashmir's

Kupwara, were killed, officials said. Two soldiers were also injured in the

firing, they said.

Chinar Corps, the official Twitter handle of 15 Corps, identified those

killed as Capt Ashutosh Kumar, Havildar Praveen Kumar and Rifleman Ryada

Maheshwar. "The gallant soldiers made the supreme sacrifice in (the) line of

duty at Machil sector, Kupwara on November 8. Deepest condolences to the

bereaved families," the tweet said.

The BSF said its trooper Constable Sudip Kumar (38), a resident of West

Tripura, "attained martyrdom" after he "kept on fighting till his last

breath with exemplary courage" and "with utter disregard to his personal

safety". It said Pakistani posts "started ceasefire violation in support of

the infiltrating terrorists".

The gunfight is the second on the LoC this year of such intensity after five

elite paratroopers and five militants were killed in the neighbouring Keran

sector of Kupwara in April.

ASSAM, MIZORAM AGREE TO RESOLVE 11-DAY BOUNDARY STAND-OFF

Some headway appears to have been made in the inter-state boundary conflict

that has led to an 11-day blockade of roads leading into Mizoram from Assam,

effectively cutting off the main supply lines into the southernmost state of

the Northeast.

Mizoram Chief Secretary Lalnunmawia Chuaungo told journalists in Aizawl

Sunday afternoon that Assam has agreed to clear the blockade. In return,

Mizoram will deploy three companies of BSF personnel in the three areas that

form the main flashpoints on the boundary, following Assam's objections

about the presence of Mizoram police personnel in the region.

Highways leading into Mizoram from Assam's three southern districts of

Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj have been blockaded since 28 October,

forcing the Mizoram government to begin exploring alternative supply lines

via other neighbouring states.

The two states have been locked in a boundary dispute for a long time, with

Assam accepting the boundary defined by a 1933 notification and Mizoram

sticking to an earlier demarcation drawn up in 1875.

Amid the current stand-off, Assam long demanded that Mizoram withdraw its

forces from the inter-state boundary at certain places that both states

claim as their own. Chuaungo said the highways were blockaded in an attempt

to make Mizoram concede to this demand.

RJD WARNS ITS WORKERS AGAINST CELEBRATORY FIRING ON BIHAR POLL RESULT DAY

With exit polls predicting victory for the RJD-led Grand Alliance, the party

Sunday warned its workers against indulging in celebratory firing and

"uncivil behaviour" towards rivals on the day of counting of votes on

November 10, irrespective of the results.

In a tweet addressed to its workers, the party said, "Whatever the election

results are on November 10, it has to be accepted with absolute restraint,

simplicity and courtesy.

"Improper fireworks, celebratory firing and uncivil behaviour towards our

rivals or their supporters will not be accepted at any cost," it said.

The votes will be counted on November 10, a day after RJDs chief ministerial

candidate Tejashwi Yadav celebrates his 32nd birthday.

The instructions to the party workers to behave decently on the counting day

is part of Tejashwi's efforts to do away with "rowdy behaviour" prevalent on

such occasions in the past and establish a new culture.

THIRD WAVE OF COVID-19 IN DELHI WORST SO FAR: HEALTH MINISTER JAIN

The national capital has hit the peak of the third wave of COVID-19, and the

number of cases suggests that it has been the worst since the pandemic

arrived in the city, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Sunday.

He said the government had no plans yet to rope in hotels and banquet halls

to augment the bed capacity for COVID-19 patients as the AAP dispensation

had increased the number of beds in hospitals of Delhi.

On Friday, Delhi recorded over 7,000 COVID-19 cases for the first time. The

city on Saturday reported 79 deaths, the highest number of fatalities in

over four months.

The minister cited aggressive testing and contact-tracing among reasons for

the sudden spike in the number of cases being reported.

Jain, however, said laxity on the part of the people has also been a major

reason behind the surge.

The total no. of cases identified country-wide since the start of pandemic

stands at about 85 lakhs while the current active cases are at around 5

lakhs. The total no. of deaths so far stands at 1.26 lakhs

The last 7 days have seen an average of about 46,000 new cases a day while

the recoveries have averaged at about 53,000 a day. The deaths by Covid-19

have averaged 573 a day over the last 7 days.

ARNAB SHIFTED TO TALOJA JAIL FOR USING MOBILE PHONE IN CUSTODY

Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, arrested in connection with the

suicide of an interior designer, was on Sunday shifted to Taloja jail in

Maharashtra's Raigad district from a COVID-19 quarantine centre in Alibaug,

a police official said. Goswami was moved to the Taloja jail after he was

allegedly found using a mobile phone while in judicial custody at a local

school designated as COVID-19 centre for Alibaug prison in Raigad district,

he said.

The Raigad crime branch found Goswami was active on social media using

somebody's mobile phone, despite his personal mobile phone having been

seized by police when he was taken into custody on November 4, the official

said.

While being escorted to Taloja jail, Goswami shouted from the police van,

alleging that he was assaulted by Alibaug jailer on Saturday evening, his

life was in danger and he was not allowed to speak to his lawyer.

CRACKER BAN: CAIT DEMANDS COMPENSATION FOR TRADERS' LOSSES

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Sunday said states that

have banned sale of firecrackers should compensate firecracker traders for

the losses suffered by them due to the ban.

The traders' body also termed the order of Delhi Pollution Control Committee

dated November 6, 2020 which states that there will be a "complete ban" on

bursting and sale of all kinds of fire crackers from November 7-30, 2020 in

the territory of NCT of Delhi, as "null and void and a blatant violation of

order of Supreme Court of India". In 2018, the Supreme Court had banned the

use of polluting firecrackers and allowed the sale of "green firecrackers"

in a bid to control air pollution. The "green crackers" are not as

polluting as the conventional firecrackers and they contain at least 30 per

cent less particulate matter such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.

The Calcutta High Court has banned the use of firecrackers in West Bengal on

Diwali, Kali Puja and Chhat Puja. State governments of Odisha and Sikkim

have also banned the sale and use of firecrackers during the upcoming

festival season to check air pollution.

BIGBASKET FACES POTENTIAL DATA BREACH; DETAILS OF 20 MN USERS PUT ON SALE

Online grocery platform BigBasket has become the latest target of

cyberattack in India. The company has faced a potential data breach with the

information of over 20 million customers on the darkweb for sale, according

to US-based cybersecurity intelligence firm Cyble.

The data, being sold for $40,000, includes the full names, email IDs,

password hashes (potentially hashed OTPs), PIN, contact numbers, addresses,

dates of birth, location, and IP addresses of login, among other bits of

information, says a Cyble blogpost.

The Bengaluru-based start-up has lodged a complaint with the city's

cybercrime cell and is evaluating the extent of the breach and authenticity

of the claim in consultation with cyber security experts.

SHIKHAR DHAWAN, MARCUS STOINIS LEAD DELHI CAPITALS INTO MAIDEN IPL FINAL

Shikhar Dhawan's fiery half-century and Marcus Stoinis' all-round show

carried Delhi Capitals into their maiden IPL final as they survived some

anxious moments before prevailing by 17 runs in the second Qualifier here on

Sunday.

In-form Shikhar Dhawan smashed 78 off 49 balls to help the Capitals post a

challenging 189 for three after electing to bat. Stoinis, who was promoted

to open the innings, added 86 runs with Dhawan and later took three wickets

for 26 runs in SRH's run chase.

Breathtaking counter-attacking knocks by Kane Williamson (67) and Abdul

Samad (33) threatened to dash Delhi Capitals hopes but Stoinis' timely

dismissal of the Kiwi batsman tilted it in his side's favour.

The Capitals will now challenge Mumbai Indians for the title on Tuesday,

having lost to them in the first Qualifier, as well as in both league

matches earlier.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

You will never always be motivated, so you must learn to be disciplined. -

Nora Taboada

OFF TRACK

I failed my driver's test. The guy asked me, "What do you do at a red

light?"

I said, "I don't know, look around, fiddle with the radio."