INDIA STRONGLY REJECTS CHINA’S OBJECTION TO VICE PRESIDENT VENKAIAH NAIDU’S ARUNACHAL VISIT

India on Wednesday strongly rejected China’s objection to a recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, asserting that the state is an “integral and inalienable” part of India.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said objecting to the visit of Indian leaders to a state of India “does not stand to reason and understanding” of Indian people.

“We have noted the comments made today by the Chinese official spokesperson. We reject such comments. Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India,” Bagchi said.

He was responding to a question on comments by a spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry objecting to Naidu’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh over the weekend.

China has been objecting to visits of Indian leaders to Arunachal Pradesh, saying it is a part of South Tibet.

The fresh war of words between the two sides came three days after the 13th round of military talks on the 17-month eastern Ladakh standoff ended in a stalemate.

“Further, as we have mentioned earlier, the current situation along the LAC in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas has been caused by unilateral attempts of the Chinese side to alter the status quo in violation of the bilateral agreements,” Bagchi said. The govt often refers to eastern Ladakh as Western Sector.

“Therefore, we expect the Chinese side to work towards early resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols rather than trying to link unrelated issues,” Bagchi said.

NIRMALA SITHARAMAN ALSO CALLS OUT SELECTIVE OUTRAGE

The Lakhimpur Kheri violence, in which four farmers were killed, is “absolutely condemnable,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said, emphasising that there are issues of such nature happening in other parts of India equally which should be raised “when they happen and not when it suits others” because there is a BJP govt in Uttar Pradesh.

Sitharaman, who is on an official visit to the US, was responding to a question during a conversation at Harvard Kennedy School on Tuesday.

She was asked why there is no word on this from the Prime Minister, senior ministers and why there is a “defensive reaction” when somebody asks questions about such things.

“No, absolutely not... It’s nice of you to have picked up that one incident which is absolutely condemnable, every one of us say that. Equally there are instances happening elsewhere, is my concern.

“And it’s not being defensive about my party or my Prime Minister. It’s being defensive about India. I will talk for India, I will talk for justice for the poor. I will not be mocked at. And if it is mocking, I will be defensive to stand up and say ‘Sorry, let’s talk on facts’. That’s my answer for you,” she said.

Amid reports of the ongoing coal shortage in the country, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stressed that there is no shortage and termed these as “absolutely baseless”, saying India is a power surplus country.

CHANGES IN AREA AND EXTENT OF THE BSF’S OPERATIONAL MANDATE

The Centre has issued a notification increasing the jurisdiction of the BSF to give its officers the powers of arrest, search and seizure to the extent of 50 km from the borders inside the bordering states of Punjab, West Bengal, Assam and Tripura.

Earlier, the BSF’s jurisdiction range was 15 km

Section 139 of the Border Security Force Act, 1968, empowers the Centre to notify the area and extent of the border force’s operational mandate from time to time.

The move triggered furious reactions from Opposition-ruled Punjab and West Bengal, which described it as an “irrational decision”, a “direct attack on federalism” and an attempt to “interfere through Central agencies”.

GATI SHAKTI TO CHANGE ‘SARKARI’ PERCEPTION ABOUT DEVLPT PLANS: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched Rs 100 lakh crore Gati Shakti National Master Plan to boost Indian infrastructure and multi-modal connectivity over the next 25 years and reduce logistics cost for improved global competitiveness.

Noting that taxpayers’ money was wasted in the past by way of delayed projects and lack of inter-departmental coordination, the PM said the govt was now nurturing a work culture of completing projects “in time and ahead of time by bringing departments together”.

“Over the years, the signage — work in progress — became a symbol of distrust in the govt. Today 21st century India is leaving behind old practices. The Gati Shakti Plan will give impetus to 21st century India and remove obstacles from its path,” the PM said.

He said the subject of infrastructure was not even visible in political party manifestos.

Citing a study showing logistics cost in India at 13 per cent of the GDP, the PM said the plan would reduce these costs and lay the foundation for a self-reliant India over the next 25 years.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 2,00,004

New Cases in last 24 hours: 19,177

Recovered in last 24 hours: 19,796

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -868

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 249 (4,51,469)

Daily Tests (Sunday): 13,25,399

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 1.5%

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 51.7 % / 20.6%

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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US, ISRAEL WARN IRAN OF FORCE IF N-DIPLOMACY FAILS

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that “time is running short” for Iran to return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal and that Washington would look at every option to deal with the challenge posed by Tehran. Blinken spoke to the press after a meeting with Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid and UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Washington. “We are getting close to a point at which returning to compliance with the JCPOA will not in and of itself recapture the benefits of the JCPOA and that’s because Iran has been using this time to advance its nuclear programme in a variety of ways,” said Blinken.

Blinken said. “With every passing day, and Iran’s refusal to engage in good faith, the runway gets get short,” Blinken said. “We are prepared to turn to other options if Iran doesn’t change course,” he warned.

Lapid said that both he and Blinken, as sons of Holocaust survivors, “know there are moments when nations must use force to protect the world from evil.” “If a terror regime is going to acquire a nuclear weapon, we must act,” Lapid said. “Israel reserves the right to act at any given moment in any way. That is not only our right; it is also our responsibility.”

AMID ROW WITH ARMY OVER NEW ISI CHIEF, PAK GOVT SAYS PROCESS IS ON

The process for the appointment of Pakistan spy agency ISI chief is underway after completion of consultations between PM Imran Khan and army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the govt announced on Wednesday. On October 6, the Inter Services Public Relations, army’s media wing, had announced the name of Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum as the replacement for the outgoing ISI chief, Faiz Hameed. Hameed, according to the ISPR, had been transferred to Peshawar in the northwest as corps commander.

Despite the passage of the week after the ISPR announcements, a notification confirming Lt Gen Anjum’s appointment as the new head of ISI was not issued by the PM’s office, leading to speculation in Islamabad on the straining of civil and military relations.

The announcement by the Pakistani govt on Wednesday comes a day after Khan’s top political aide Amir Dogar claimed that the PM wanted to retain outgoing spymaster Hameed as ISI chief due to the evolving situation in Afghanistan.

Experts in defence matters say the procedure for the appointment of the ISI DG is neither mentioned in the constitution nor the Army Act, and all past appointments were made as per tradition under which the army chief proposes three names to the PM who then makes the final decision.

THE REST

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TOP JeM TERRORIST COMMANDER SHAM SOFI KILLED IN PULWAMA IN J-K

Top terrorist commander of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) Sham Sofi was killed in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, police said. Acting on specific inputs about the presence of terrorists in Tilwani Mohalla Waggad in the Tral area of Awantipora, in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, security forces launched a cordon and search operation there, a police official said.

He said an encounter broke out after the militants opened fire at the security personnel, who retaliated. In the exchange of fire, a militant was killed, the official said.

Inspector General of Police (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar said the slain terrorist has been identified as Sham Sofi who was a top JeM commander.

CONGRESS URGES PRESIDENT TO DISMISS MoS AJAY MISHRA

A five-member Congress delegation on Wednesday called on President Ram Nath Kovind urging his intervention for dismissal of Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra and instituting an independent judicial probe by two sitting judges of the Supreme Court in the October 3 Lakhimpur Kheri violence that killed eight people, including four farmers.

The delegation, comprising Rahul Gandhi, former ministers AK Antony, Mallikarjun Kharge and Ghulam Nabi Azad and AICC general secretary Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Vadra, told the President that ends of justice could not be served until Mishra was sacked considering his son Ashish Mishra is an accused in the case and was seen “my many eyewitnesses at the scene of the crime”.

After the meeting, Priyanka said the President had assured them that he would talk to the govt on the issue today itself while Rahul noted that no justice could be done until the junior minister was dismissed.

MANMOHAN SINGH ADMITTED TO AIIMS CARDIO-NEURO UNIT AFTER FEVER, WEAKNESS

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh was admitted to the cardio-neuro unit at the dedicated cardio neuro tower at AIIMS New Delhi at 6.15 pm on Wednesday after he complained of weakness and fever. Singh, 89, is under observation and care of a team of cardiologists led by Dr Nitish Naik of AIIMS.

The Congress, meanwhile, officially reacted to some social media reports of concern over Singh’s health saying the senior leader was doing fine.

“There are some unsubstantiated rumours with regards to former PM, Dr Manmohan Singh ji’s health. His condition is stable. He is undergoing routine treatment. We will share any updates as needed. We thank our friends in media for their concern,” said AICC media secretary Pranav Jha.

ROW OVER RAJNATH SINGH’S COMMENTS ON SAVARKAR

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh appears to have stirred up quite a controversy with his comment that it was on Mahatma Gandhi’s request that Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, or Veer Savarkar as he is popularly known, wrote mercy petitions.

Opposition leaders, and some historians as well, attacked him, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and the BJP, accusing them of “trying to rewrite history”.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi shared on Twitter a letter by Gandhi on January 25, 1920 to Savarkar’s brother regarding a case and accused Singh of giving a “twist” to that.

“Rajnath Singhji is amongst the few sober and dignified voices in Modi Sarkar. But he doesn’t seem to be free of the RSS habit of rewriting history. He has given a twist to what Gandhi actually wrote on January 25, 1920. Here is that letter to Savarkar’s brother,” Ramesh said, sharing the letter.

Owaisi said the BJP will soon declare Savarkar as ‘father of the nation’ after the defence minister called him ‘mahanayak’ of Indian freedom struggle yesterday.

The AIMIM chief said the first petition Savarkar wrote was in 1911, just six months after getting to prison and Gandhi was then in South Africa. Savarkar wrote again in 1913/14 and Gandhi’s advice is from 1920.

Historian S Irfan Habib said, “Yes, monochromatic history writing is really changing, led by the Minister who claims Gandhi asked Savarkar to write mercy petitions. At least it is accepted now that he did write. No documentary evidence needed when the Minister makes a claim. New history for New India.”

Defending Savarkar, Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha said “Congress opposes Savarkar ji who never integrated with British administration and exhibited the highest sacrifice for the Motherland. However, some people had regular dining at Mountbatten’s home!”

URBAN MENTAL WELLBEING INDEX: KOCHI, LUCKNOW AND CHANDIGARH BEST

An independent firm tracking consumer insights and behaviour in its research on mental wellbeing of people in urban centres has shown that people in tier 2 cities are doing much better on the wellbeing index than those in metros.

In its second Mental Wellbeing Whitepaper released to mark the World Mental Health Day, TRA Research followed citizens across urban India and covered 1,003 respondents across 16 cities between July and September 2021.

It measured the nature of worry people had—health worry, economy worry, family worry and financial worry and their ability to cope with these challenges.

The research found Tier 2 cities displayed the highest mental wellbeing scores. Kochi showed the highest MWBI (Mental Wellbeing Index) 2021 score followed by Lucknow and Chandigarh. Indore and Jaipur were next displaying very good mental wellbeing scores.

The worst mental health scores came from Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Chennai.

AMAZON INDIA COPIED PRODUCTS AND RIGGED SEARCH RESULTS TO PROMOTE ITS OWN BRANDS, DOCUMENTS SHOW

Amazon.com Inc has been repeatedly accused of knocking off products it sells on its website and of exploiting its vast trove of internal data to promote its own merchandise at the expense of other sellers. The company has denied the accusations.

But thousands of pages of internal Amazon documents examined by Reuters—including emails, strategy papers, and business plans—show the company ran a systematic campaign of creating knockoffs and manipulating search results to boost its own product lines in India, one of the company’s largest growth markets.

The documents reveal how Amazon’s private-brands team in India secretly exploited internal data from Amazon.in to copy products sold by other companies, and then offered them on its platform. The employees also stoked sales of Amazon private-brand products by rigging Amazon’s search results so that the company’s products would appear, as one 2016 strategy report for India put it, “in the first 2 or three … search results” when customers were shopping on Amazon.in.

The documents also support criticism of Amazon laid out by Lina Khan, the new chair of the US Federal Trade Commission, or FTC. Khan published a paper in 2017 that argued that Amazon’s private-brand business raised anti-competitive concerns. “It is third-party sellers who bear the initial costs and uncertainties when introducing new products; by merely spotting them, Amazon gets to sell products only once their success has been tested,” she wrote. “The anticompetitive implications here seem clear.”

ARYAN KHAN WAS IN TOUCH WITH PEDDLERS, NCB TELLS COURT

The NCB on Wednesday told a special court that its probe had revealed that Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, held in a drug case, was involved in conspiracy and drug trafficking.

Special Judge VV Patil was on Wednesday hearing the bail plea filed by Aryan. The court will continue hearing on Thursday. Opposing the plea, the NCB said Aryan had been taking drugs and was in touch with persons who were “part” of a drug network. A probe was on to detect financial transactions done abroad, it said.

E-SURGE FOR TATA STOCKS, SENSEX AT NEW PEAK TOO

Tata Group stocks sprinted on Wednesday after flagship Tata Motors struck a deal with private equity investors TPG and Abu Dhabi’s ADQ to raise $1 billion (Rs 7,500 crore) for its electric vehicle (EV) business at a post-money valuation of about $9 billion.

The carmaker’s stock hit circuit-breakers before closing over 21% higher at Rs 510 on the NSE, its highest level in over four years. Market players said investors cheered the deal as it would unlock value for Tata Motors’s EV business, which will be hived off into a new subsidiary.

Even as the Tata Group stocks hogged the limelight, the sensex and Nifty gained for the fifth day in a row and touched new highs on Wednesday supported by auto, power and metal stocks. The sensex closed 453 points (or 0.8%) higher at 60,737, while the broader Nifty gained 170 points (over 0.9%) to end at 18,162. The BSE’s market capitalisation too hit a fresh high at Rs 273 lakh crore, rising by Rs 2.5 lakh crore on Wednesday, of which Rs 62,000 crore came from the Tata Group stocks alone.

IPL QUALIFIER 2: KKR WIN OFF PENULTIMATE BALL AGAINST DC, ENTER FINAL

Venkatesh Iyer scored a breezy half-century before Kolkata Knight Riders survived a sensational batting collapse to edge past Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2 and set up an Indian Premier League 2021 final against Chennai Super Kings, in Sharjah last evening.

Rahul Tripathi hit Delhi Capitals senior spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for a six to clinch a thrilling three-wicket victory for the Knight Riders with one ball to spare.

Earlier, Iyer smashed 55 off 41 balls to give the Knight Riders a flying start. He put on 96 runs for the opening wicket with Shubman Gill, who score 46.

But  Delhi staged a stunning fightback as the Knight Riders lost as many as six wickets for seven runs in the space of 22 deliveries.

With KKR needing 7 of the final over, Ashwin took two wickets and gave just one run in the first 4 balls, dismissing Shakib Al Hasan and Sunil Narine off successive deliveries. But Tripathi’s six of the penultimate delivery sealed victory for the Knight Riders.

INDICATORS

Sensex 60,737 (+453), Nifty 17,162 (+170), Trading Value NSE (Rs.crores) 92,486

Nasdaq 14,572 (+106) Dow 34,378 (-1), S&P 4,364 (+13)

US$-Rs. 75.24 GBP-Rs. 102.55, Euro-Rs. 87.02, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.48, Can$-Rs. 60.43, Aus$- Rs. 55.35

GBP 0.73 /US$, Euro 0.86 /US$, Jap.Yen 113.43 /US$, Aus$ 1.35 /US$, Sing 1.35 /US$, Bang Taka 84.10 /US$, Can$ 1.24 /US$, Mal Ring 4.15 /US$,

Pak Re 170.54 /US$, Phil Peso 50.60 /US$, Russian Rouble 71.88 /US$, NZ$ 1.43 /US$, Thai Baht 33.19 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 26.12 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 58,128

Dollar Index 94.05 Brent Crude 83.39 BDI 5,378.00

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,789 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,729 / 4,629, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 65,800

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears. - Marcus Aurelius

OFF TRACK

A rich and discontented lady found herself most unhappy. Finally, in desperation, she went to a famous psychiatrist, and asked for help.

“Madam,” said the doctor after some prolonged consultation. “I cannot help you. But you can help yourself. My advice to you is to visit Niagara Falls and take a good, long look at something bigger than yourself!”