INDIA, CHINA ON VERGE OF REACHING AGREEMENT TO RESOLVE BORDER STANDOFFIndia and China may be on the verge of a breakthrough in resolving the oversix-month-long tense border standoff in eastern Ladakh with both sidesbroadly agreeing on a three-step process on disengagement of troops andwithdrawal of weaponry from all major friction points in a time-boundmanner, suggest several media reports.The broad contours of the proposal include removal of armoured personnelcarriers within one day of inking an agreement, withdrawal of troops fromspecific areas on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake in easternLadakh and carrying out verification of the disengagement process by boththe sides, they said.The specific proposals for the disengagement and restoration of the statusquo ante as existed in April were finalised during the eighth round ofhigh-level military talks between the Indian and Chinese armies on November6.The sources said both the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s LiberationArmy (PLA) are looking at sealing the pact in the next round of CorpsCommander-level talks as the proposals were agreed to by the two sides.The ninth round of military talks is likely to take place in the next fewdays.MODI ENDS SPECULATION, ENDORSES NITISH KUMAR AS BIHAR CMEnding all speculations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi again endorsed JanataDal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar as NDA’s leader in Bihar on Wednesday.Taking a bow at a ‘dhanyawaad karyakram’ (thanksgiving celebrations) at theBJP headquarters, the PM said the NDA will work for people of Bihar underthe leadership of Nitish Kumar.“Under the leadership of Nitish Kumarji we will leave no stone unturned tofulfil our commitment for development of the State,” he said, endingspeculations whether Nitish Kumar, whose party under-performed in comparisonto the BJP in the Bihar elections that are largely credited to PM Modi, hadthe ‘moral right’ to occupy the top spot.The government forming process is expected to be initiated after Diwali.Addressing jubilant cadres the PM also set the tone for upcoming electionsin West Bengal and Kerala, proving that the BJP is not called an ‘electionmachine’ for nothing.He also thanked women voters, the ‘silent naari shakti’, who contributed toNDA’s success in Bihar. “We have the backing of strong ‘silent’ voters…theyare the country’s mothers, sisters and daughters…they have become the ‘naarishakti’ for the party which cares for their safety and respect,” he said.While speaking about “trust that people have in the BJP” and attacking“dynasty politics” (but without naming any political party) the PM said“internal democracy has to be maintained which is one reason why I can sayNadda ji age bado hum tumhare saath hain (Naddaji(BJP president) moveforward we are with you… The BJP is winning elections because the country’sblessings are with it… we have to fulfil the responsibilities”GOVT GIFTS RS 1.46-TRILLION INCENTIVE FOR 10 MANUFACTURING SECTORSThe Union Cabinet Wednesday approved Production Linked Incentive (PLI)scheme worth up to Rs 1.46 lakh crore for 10 key sectors in a bid to boostIndia’s manufacturing capabilities and enhancing exports. The scheme willmake Indian manufacturers globally competitive, attract investment andenhance exports.The Cabinet decision was announced by I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar andFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.Briefing the press after the Cabinet meeting, Javadekar said that theproduction-linked incentives will be offered for the sectors such as whitegoods manufacturing, pharmaceutical, specialised steel, automobiles,telecom, textile, food products, solar photovoltic and cell battery.“…the policy that we are taking in the PLI, through which we want themanufacturers to come into India, is clearly to say we want to build ourstrength but yet link with the global value chains. India should become amanufacturing hub is always been the call by our honorable prime minister,”Sitharaman said while addressing the briefing.Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hailed the Union Cabinet’s approval to theProduction-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, saying it is an important steptowards improving India’s competitiveness and realising an ‘AtmanirbharBharat’.AFTER PFIZER, SPUTNIK V: RUSSIA SAYS COVID-19 VACCINE SHOWS 92% EFFICACYThe Sputnik V vaccine candidate has demonstrated “high efficacy” in interimdata, reducing by 92 per cent the possibility that those inoculated would beclinically diagnosed with symptomatic Covid-19, Russian authorities havesaid. The Sputnik V announcement has come two days after American drug majorPfizer released interim information that showed its Covid-19 vaccine withGerman biotech firm BioNTech was over 90 per cent effective.The findings of the trial are not yet peer-reviewed. But they are crucialfor India, where the vaccine is being tested on humans in mid- to late-stagetrials by Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.The Russian sovereign wealth fund has partnered with Dr Reddy’s to test thevaccine in India for approvals here.The promising interim findings from phase 3 trials of Pfizer’s vaccinecandidate excited stock markets in the United States and Europe this week.However, questions remain over the feasibility of introducing this vaccinein Asian and African settings, including in India – given that it is an mRNAvaccine that requires to be stored at minus 70°C, which will involveassociated costs of building freezer capacity and maintaining uninterruptedpower supply.Sputnik V is able to work around this issue, the RDIF spokesperson said.“There are two forms of the Sputnik V vaccine – liquid, which would have tobe stored at minus 18°C and lyophilised (freeze dried), which can be storedat 2°C to 8°C. The lyophilised form was developed especially for thetransportation of the vaccine to remote places, as Russia is a very bigcountry,” the spokesperson said.INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS======================CONCERNS ABOUT COUP ATTEMPT AS TRUMP REPLACES PENTAGON BRASSTalk of a coup in the world’s premier democracy is ticking up after USPresident Trump fired the top Pentagon leadership and replaced them onTuesday with loyalists, including Indian-American aide Kash Patel, whilerefusing to concede the election. In a related development, secretary ofstate Mike Pompeo dismissed talk of a transition into a new Bidenadministration and maintained “there will be a smooth transition to a secondTrump administration”, even though many world leaders, including PM NarendraModi, have congratulated the Biden-Harris team on its victory.The twin developments came even as Trump continued to dig in and insist hehas won the election — or will win after recounts — and any other verdictwould be a result of rigging, even though polling officials throughout thecountry say there no evidence of large scale fraud.Even key Republican officials at the state level involved in the electionprocess say there is no evidence of any significant fraud that would changethe results of the election, a rebuff that irked the president. “A guy namedAl Schmidt, a Philadelphia Commissioner and so-called Republican (RINO), isbeing used big time by the Fake News Media to explain how honest things werewith respect to the election in Philadelphia. He refuses to look at amountain of corruption & dishonesty. We win!” Trump said on Wednesday.Concerns about a coup amplified after Trump initiated a shake-up in thePentagon after firing defence secretary Mark Esper and three other topofficials and replaced them with close aides. After appointing ChristopherMiller as the new acting defence secretary, Trump drafted Patel, a formernational security council aide, to be Miller’s chief of staff. He also namedAnthony Tata, a Senate-rejected former general, as undersecretary forpolicy, following the resignation of James Anderson, a former Marineintelligence officer. All three are known for trafficking in conspiracytheories, with Tata going out on a limb calling former President Obama a“terrorist”.Biden, meanwhile, continued to prepare for the White House and installing anew administration. His team released a list of foreign leaders who have hadconversations with the winning candidate — without help from the statedepartment, due as per transition protocol. They included French PresidentMacron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UK PM Boris Johnson. Severalother leaders, including Modi and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, have tweetedcongratulatory messages.ARMENIAN PROTESTERS MARCH ON PARLIAMENT TO DEMAND PM’S RESIGNATIONThousands of Armenian demonstrators, chanting “Nikol is a traitor”, demandedPrime Minister Nikol Pashinyan resign on Wednesday over a ceasefire thatsecured territorial advances for Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh after sixweeks of fighting.The ceasefire, announced on Tuesday, ended the worst fighting in the regionin decades and has been celebrated as a victory in Azerbaijan. Pashinyan hascalled it a disaster but said he had no choice but to sign it to stave off adefeat. Pashinyan said he concluded the peace deal under pressure from hisarmy.US EMBASSY IN SOUP OVER RETWEET OF PAK LEADER’S POST TARGETING IMRAN KHANTensions are brewing between the Pakistan government and the US embassy inIslamabad after the latter retweeted a post by an opposition lawmaker,alluding to Prime Minister Imran Khan as a dictator and demagogue.Ahsan Iqbal, a former minister and a leader of the opposition PML-N party,had commented on a post by the Washington Post that said “Trump’s defeat isa blow to the world’s demagogues and dictators.” “We have one in Pakistantoo. He shall be shown the way out soon Inshallah (God willing),” Iqbal hadtweeted, without directly mentioning Khan.The US embassy account on Tuesday evening retweeted this, causing an uproaramong the local Twitterati. On Tuesday, #ApologiseUS_Embassy trended onTwitter.The embassy clarified on Wednesday that the tweet from its handle wasunauthorised.Human rights minister Shireen Mazari and Sindh governor Imran Ismaeldemanded an apology from the US embassy on Wednesday.THE REST========SC ORDERS RELEASE OF ARNAB GOSWAMI ON INTERIM BAIL, SAYS HC ERREDThe Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered release of Republic TV’seditor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and other co-accused on interim bail on a bondof Rs 50,000 each in an abetment to suicide case. Saying that the High Courterred in rejecting the application for grant of interim bail to Goswami, thetop court said HCs were not doing enough in matters where personal libertyis denied.“SC is unhappy that HCs, which are constitutional courts, are not doingenough in matters where personal liberty is denied…,” Justice D YChandrachud said. “If this court were not to interfere today, we aretravelling on a path of destruction of personal liberty undeniably…Is thiswhat our state governments will do to those who have to be nailed…? Don’twatch the channel of you don’t like… Left to myself I will not watch… Ifstate govt’s target individuals in this manner, let’s send out a messagethat SC is there,” he added.Justice Chandrachud asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing forMaharashtra, if there was any active encouragement or instigation in thecase to constitute an offence of abetment to suicide. “Otherwise look at thedrastic consequences. We are dealing with personal liberty,” said JusticeChandrachud. He added that India’s democracy is extraordinarily resilientand Maharashtra government must ignore all this (Arnab’s taunts on TV).Soon after his release from Taloja jail at around 8.30 pm, Goswami drove tothe Lower Parel studio of the channel, of which he is the Editor-in-Chief.“Uddhav Thackeray, listen to me. You lost. You have been defeated,” saidGoswami (47), while being surrounded by visibly relieved colleagues from hisRepublic TV channel.Goswami also singled out Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh for his‘illegal’ arrest.AXIS MY INDIA APOLOGISES FOR GOING WRONG IN EXIT POLL, ALSO EXPLAINSAxis My India has issued an apology for wrongly predicting the results of2020 Bihar Assembly Elections in its Exit Poll which favouredMahagathbandhan to form the government. The pollsters at Axis My India hadgained a reputation for correctly calling the elections in the recent past.The India Today-Axis My India Exit Poll had claimed that the Mahagathbandhanwould defeat the NDA by bagging 139-161 seats in the Bihar assembly. Thealliance ended up with just 110 seats.Pradeep Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director of Axis My India, shared thecompany’s statement from his Twitter handle, which said that its time to“learn more and hone our technique.” “Sorry friends, Axis My India couldn’tcall Bihar election correctly. No excuses, time to learn more and hone ourtechnique,” the statement read.Elaborating on its initial takeaways from the analysis on what went wrong,Axis My India said that the overall female voter turnout was 5 per cent morethan male, which apparently swing the polls in NDA’s favour. The companysaid that the data became available in the public domain only post ExitPoll. “Axis My India predictions are exactly in line with results of theFirst phase but went amiss for the Second and Third phase. Covid-19restrictions limited our numbers of women voter interviews,” the companyadded.WITH FIVE SEATS IN BIHAR, AIMIM SAYS WEST BENGAL IS NEXTThe Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM has exceeded expectations and won five seatsin the Bihar Assembly elections.Owaisi made it clear that he will contest in West Bengal elections in thefuture. “This election result is a message for everyone who thinks thatAIMIM should not contest in elections. Are we NGOs that we will only holdseminars and present papers? We are a political party and we will contest inall elections.”He was responding to insinuations that his party is a B-team of BJP, and hadentered the fray only to cut Cong- RJD votes.PRIESTS’ BODY MOVES COURT, WANTS MATHURA MOSQUE TO STAY UNHARMEDA body of priests and a social organisation on Wednesday approached adistrict court against the plea seeking the removal of a mosque near atemple which the devouts believe marks the birthplace of Lord Krishna. TheAkhil Bharatiya Tirath Purohit Mahasabha and the Mathur Chaturved Parishadpleaded to be made respondents in the case.They said the suit for the removal of the mosque should not be allowed as itis detrimental to communal harmony in the country, according to theircounsels.In September, a group of people had filed a suit over the 17th century ShahiIdgah mosque, which they claimed was built at the birthplace of LordKrishna, within the 13.37-acre premises of the Katra Keshav Dev temple. Theappellants had demanded the annulment of an earlier Mathura court ruling,ratifying a land deal reached between the Shri Krishna Janmasthan SevaSansthan and the Shahi Idgah Management Committee.The priests’ body, said that communal harmony of the country, especiallyMathura, may be adversely affected if the appeal against the mosque isallowed.The Mathura Chaturved Parishad said in their application that the plaintiffsin the case are not residents of Mathura and are guided by some politicalpeople. For the sake of publicity, they want to spoil the peace of Mathuraby presenting a concocted story, the application said.OTT PLATFORMS COME UNDER GOVT PURVIEWOTT platforms, like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, SonyLIV, ZEE5, Disney PlusHotstar among many others, and news websites, will now come under thepurview of the I&B Ministry, as per a notification issued on Wednesday.OTT, or over-the-top platforms, are audio and video hosting and streamingservices which started out as content hosting platforms, but soon branchedout into the production and release of short movies, feature films,documentaries and web-series themselves.So far in India, there are no laws or rules regulating OTT platforms as itis a relatively new medium of entertainment. Unlike television, print orradio, which follow guidelines released by governments, OTT platforms,classified as digital media or social media, had little to no regulation onthe choice of content they offered, the subscription rates, certificationfor adult movies and others.GOVT INCREASES DOMESTIC FLIGHTS’ CAP FROM 60-70% OF PRE-COVID LEVELSThe cap on the number of domestic flights that Indian airlines are permittedto operate was increased from 60 per cent to 70 per cent of their pre-COVIDlevels on Wednesday, said Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.The Civil Aviation Ministry had said on on October 29 that the 60 per centcap would be in place till “February 24, 2021 or until further orders”.Puri tweeted on Wednesday, “Domestic operations recommenced with 30Kpassengers on 25 May and have reached 2.06 lakhs on 8 Nov 2020.” “The CivilAviation Ministry is now allowing domestic carriers to increase theiroperations from existing 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the pre-COVIDapproved capacity,” he stated.STRONG FOREIGN INFLOWS TAKE SENSEX TO RECORD 43,594 PTSNearly a $3.4-billion net buying of stocks by foreign funds in eightsessions of November lifted the sensex by almost 4,000 points or 10% to arecord high at 43,594 points at Wednesday’s close, with investors’ wealthtoo at a new high at Rs 166 lakh crore.In the US, the win by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, news abouta potent Covid-19 vaccine by pharma major Pfizer and better-than-expectedquarterly results by Indian corporates aided this surge in buying by foreignfund managers during the last two weeks, market players said.INDICATORSSensex 43,594 (+316), Nifty 12,749 (+118), Trading Value NSE ,(Rs.crores)81743.31Nasdaq 11,786 (+233) Dow 29,398 (-23), S&P 3,573 (+27)US$-Rs. 74.25 GBP-Rs. 98.33, Euro-Rs. 87.54, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.21, Can$-Rs.56.90, Aus$- Rs. 54.10GBP 0.75 /US$, Euro 0.84 /US$, Jap.Yen 105.38 /US$, Aus$ 1.37 /US$, Sing1.34 /US$, Bang Taka 83.29 /US$, Can$ 1.30 /US$, Mal Ring 4.12 /US$,Pak Re 157.80 /US$, Phil Peso 48.41 /US$, Russian Rouble 76.58 /US$, NZ$1.46 /US$, Thai Baht 30.25 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 28.03 /US$, Norway NOK 9.03/US$Bitcoin - USD 15,668Dollar Index 92.97 Brent Crude 44.17 BDI 1,200Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,871 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 5,065 / 4,965Silver (Rs. Per KG) 62,800THOUGHT FOR THE DAYWhen Winston Churchill was asked to cut arts funding in favour of the wareffort, he simply replied, "then what are we fighting for?"