Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar and dared the two leaders to restore Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir if they ever got back to power.

Shah was speaking at an election rally in Rajura constituency in Maharashtra when he criticised both Congress and NCP for not taking the steps that BJP took to scrap the Article 370. He added that both the parties continued to let the people of Jammu and Kashmir suffer for their vote bank politics.

Article 370 had become the "gateway for terrorists" in the last 70 years, leading to 40,000 killings in Jammu and Kashmir, claimed the Home Minister.

Speaking about Narendra Modi's government and the faith people had in BJP, he said that people of the country gave a bigger mandate in 2019 to BJP because they had full faith in the government and had seen the kind of developmental work BJP carried out in its first time. 

"I am throwing a direct challenge to Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar to restore Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir after coming to power," he said.

He said the Congress, despite ruling the country for "70 years", had done nothing for Adivasis and Other Backward Classes, while the BJP government at the centre had launched a slew of schemes for their welfare.

Shah once again took a dig at NCP and Congress for their dynastic politics and urged the people to vote for the BJP as it stood for development, while parties like Congress and NCP were centered around families he said.

Despite International Monetary Fund's projections of a reduced growth rate, India remains one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and efforts are being made to accelerate the growth, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Sitharaman, who is in Washington to attend the annual meeting of International Monetary Fund and World Bank spoke to a group of Indian reporters on Thursday when she expressed confidence in India's growth. 

She further added she is "certainly not risking a comparison" with China, even though the two countries growth rates have been projected at 6.1 per cent in the latest IMF report.

"The IMF (in its latest projections) reduces the growth (rate) for all the global economies. It reduces the growth for India too. But even with that, India is still growing as the fastest growing economy," she said.

The IMF, in its latest report on World Economic Outlook, projected India's growth rate at 6.1% as compared to that of 6.8% in 2018. The report also projected a growth rate of 7% for the year 2020. 

With all that being said, "the point cannot be missed that India is still "growing the fastest" in the given global scenario, Sitharaman observed.

"I wish it can be more. I wish it can grow faster. I'll make every effort to make it grow faster. But the fact remains that it is still growing faster."

Observing that several things about the economy are sentiment-driven, the Union Finance Minister said so obviously the narrative is "it's not growing as much as it used to grow earlier".

"It's not eight. It's not seven. It's come down to six and so on. Yes, all these are very important. But I don't want to underestimate the potential that India is showing even in this adverse circumstance," said the finance minister.

Researchers at IIIT-Hyderabad conducted a study to find out the list of cities with a high risk of being hit by an earthquake. A report based on the study has ranked Vijayawada among these cities. The pilot study quantifies the Earthquake Disaster Risk Index (EDRI) for 50 cities and 1 district across India, including two cities from the southern states- Chennai and Vijayawada. 

While Chennai was categorized under cities with Medium EDRI, Vijayawada was found to be in the High EDRI group. Port Blair fell under the Medium risk index category. The research was carried out by a team headed by Pradeep Kumar Ramancharla from the Earthquake Engineering Research Center (EERC) of IIIT-H. The study measures the risk of earthquakes, enabling government authorities and the construction industry with information to take preventive measures to lessen loss of life as well as economic losses in the event of a disaster.  

The risk index depends on three sub-factors: Hazard, which is based on the topography of the area, Exposure, which indicates the number of people and buildings spread across the area and vulnerability, which depends on the existing condition of the buildings and the extent of loss of life and economic loss that can possibly result from an earthquake. In the study, Vijayawada ranked Medium on Hazard and Vulnerability, but High on Exposure, which has resulted in a high risk index.

-AMULYA NINDRAKOLANU 

India is ranked at 102 out of 117 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2019, behind neighbours Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Seventeen countries including Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Cuba and Kuwait share the top rank among others with the index score of less than five. The index which tracks hunger and malnutrition was prepared by Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide and German Organisation Welt Hunger Hilfe. The report also termed the hunger level of India as 'serious'. 

In 2018, it was ranked 103 out of 119 countries. In 2000, the country was ranked 83 out of 113 countries. Now, with 117 countries in the fray, it has dropped to 102.

Not just the ranking, the index score of India also has come down fro 38.9 in 2005 to 32 in 2010 and currently, it stands at 30.3 in 2019. The score is calculated on indicators such as undernourishment, child stunting and child mortality among others.

The share of wasting among children in India rose from 16.5% in the 2008-2012 period to 20.8% in 2014-2018, according to the report.

Just 9.6% of all children between 6 and 23 months of age are fed a “minimum acceptable diet”, it said. “India’s child wasting rate is extremely high at 20.8%, the highest for any country in this report,” it said.

Neighbouring countries have performed better than India in terms of ranking with Sri Lanka (66), Nepal (73), Bangladesh (88) and Pakistan (94) being some of the better performing neighbours. China (25) has moved to the 'low' severity category, while Sri Lanka is in the 'moderate' category.

However, India has shown improvement in other indicators such as the under-5 mortality rate, prevalence of stunting among children and prevalence of undernourishment owing to inadequate food, the report said. 

The report also mentions the central government’s Swachh Bharat programme, saying open defecation is still being practised.

In a move that has raised quite a few eyebrows, the Maharashtra unit of BJP has promised that it would strive to honour Hindutva icon, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar with the highest civilian honour- Bharat Ratna.

In its election manifesto released by BJP National Chief JP Nadda, the state BJP leaders said that the party if voted into power will ensure Savarkar is honoured with “Bharat Ratna”, along with social reformers Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule.

This is the first time that a party's election manifesto has included honouring someone with Bharat Ratna.BJP Savarkar (1883-1966), an independence activist, politician, lawyer, writer and the formulator of the Hindutva philosophy, is considered to be an inspiration of several BJP leaders, including party president Amit Shah.

Not everyone is amused with BJP's decision to honour the controversial figure in their manifesto. CPI general secretary D Raja slammed BJP's move and said that worse things might come. 

"This is the biggest irony of our times, that while we are all celebrating the birth centenary of Gandhiji, the BJP is seeking Bharat Ratna to Savarkar, who was an accused in his assassination case. The day may not be far off for BJP to demand Bharat Ratna to Gandhiji’s assassin Godse," the CPI leader said.

Abhijit Banerjee, who on Monday won the 2019 Nobel for Economics said that the Indian economy is on shaky ground.

Referring to the numbers, Banerjee said that the data gave a rather gloomy picture and that the data currently available does not hold any assurance for the country's economic revival anytime soon, he stated.

"The condition of the Indian economy is on shaky ground. After witnessing the present (growth) data, just can't be sure about it (revival of economy in the near future).

"In the last five-six years, at least we could witness some growth, but now that assurance is also gone," Banerjee told a news channel from the US.

The 58-year-old economist, who bagged the coveted prize jointly with his wife Esther Duflo and another economist Michael Kremer for his "experimental approach to alleviating global poverty", said he never thought he would get a Nobel so early in his career.

"I have been doing this research for the last twenty years. We have tried offering solutions towards alleviation of poverty," Banerjee, who is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), said.

With the Ram Mandir- Babri Masjid land dispute entering into its crucial final leg in the Supreme Court on Monday, the authorities have imposed Section 144 in the Ayodhya district and the surrounding areas till December 10, 2019. This means that any assembly of four or more people at one place will not be permitted.

District Magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha told media that the decision has been taken in anticipation of the Supreme Court judgment and in view of upcoming festivals.

A Supreme Court bench comprising of Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, SA Nazeer and Ashok Bhushan will most probably deliver the judgement by November 17th. 

The bench earlier said it would wrap up the hearing by October 18 but later revised its deadline. Fixing the schedule for the final leg of the lengthy arguments, it had said that the Muslim side would complete the arguments on October 14 and thereafter, two days would be granted to the Hindu parties to sum up their rejoinders by October 16.

October 17 would be the last day for wrapping up the hearing when the parties will have to make the final arguments about the relief they are seeking, the court had said. The bench had earlier fixed the deadline of October 18 to conclude the hearing.

After being cut off for 69 days, postpaid mobile services will finally be restored in Jammy & Kashmir from Monday noon. The communication blackout started in the state after the centre to the decision to strike out Article 370 and declare Jammu as a UT.

Principal Secretary Rohit Kansal made the announcement at a press conference on Saturday. Kansal further added that all the restrictions on the movement of people have already been removed completely and internet services will also be restored soon. However, for now, internet services will be available only at tourist spots. 

For the past couple of weeks, the administration has been exploring various options regarding the opening of the communication lines. The move to block all calls and internet services causing severe inconvenience to lakhs of people in the state had come under severe criticism both within the country as well as from international circles.

Initially, it was planned that only BSNL services will be open in the state followed by opening of only incoming services from the private operators. However, after great deliberations, the administration decided to open all services for the postpaid connections which accounts for 40 lakh subscribers. This move has left out 26 lakh prepaid subscribers in the state. The officials assured that the pre-paid blockage will also be lifted soon.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in the port town of Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu on Friday. While the Chinese premier will be arriving in Mamallapuram post noon, Modi will arrive in the town slightly before noon to welcome him.

Xi will be accompanied by Chinese Foreign minister Wang Yi and some other politburo members while Modi will be having National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar by his side.

Ahead of this second informal meet between PM Modi and President Jinping, security has been tightened and Indian Coast Guard troops have been deployed in the waters near shore temple, a second-century old granite structure built by the Pallava kings.

Additionally, the Indian Navy has been put on alert along with the Coast Guard to provide security from any seaborne threat to the meeting between the two leaders. 

The historic coastal town of Mamallapuram will provide the setting for the meeting between Modi and Xi as the two leaders will have tete-a-tete as also delegation-level talks to strengthen bilateral ties.

The two leaders are expected to discuss various issues of bilateral, regional and economic importance to strengthen Indo China Development Partnership, said Ministry of External Affairs in a statement. 

Jinping's visit will be just to discuss certain issues and no Memorandum of Understanding will be signed during nor will a joint statement on any issue be made.

The two leaders had their first inaugural informal summit in China's Wuhan on April 27 and 28 last year.

The visit comes at a time when China has openly extended its support to Pakistan in raising the matter of abrogation of Article 370. China had criticised India's decision on Kashmir and its foreign minister raised it at the UN General Assembly last month.

You don’t have to commit a crime now, to experience what life is like within the walls of Asia’s biggest prison. But if a jail tourism project designed by Tihar authorities gets implemented, you might find yourself in prison robes, sleeping on the floor, getting up early in the morning and grinding wheat. Spread across 400 acres and housing around 16,000 prisoners, including convicted and under trials, Tihar is the most populated prison in India.

Earlier, there were reports that one can book a cell in Tihar by paying only Rs 500 and spend a day in the jail. However, after receiving feedback from senior officials of the jail, an upgraded plan is in progress to give visitors a real-life experience rather than an isolated room. An official said, “The project file has been sent to the state Home Department for approval before being opened for tourists and the facility could be part of Delhi Tourism.”

Another official said, “The Telangana government had started a similar programme, ‘Feel the jail’ in 2016. Tourists there did not share the walls with prisoners. Sangareddy, which had been converted into a museum in June 2016, was opened for visitors as part of the state government's tourism drive for Rs 500 per day. Even foreigners want to stay in Tihar for a live experience of Indian jails. The wish will soon be fulfilled.”

-AMULYA NINDRAKOLANU

Mamallapuram is all set for a makeover ahead of the high-level meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Chinese President, Xi Jinping will land at the Chennai airport, Friday noon and head off to a luxury hotel. He will then proceed to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi for tea. At 5pm, PM Modi and Xi Jinping will visit the four iconic monuments of Mamallapuram. 

They will visit Arjuna's penance, Krishna's butter ball, Panchratha and the shore temple. All the monuments have been renovated. Wooden walkways have been set up for the leaders to enjoy these heritage sites. Natural grass lawns have been used in the landscaping. Lights have been setup as well to add to the photograph opportunities there. A Buddha statue has been installed near the shore temple to add to the cultural exchange between India and China.

A cultural programme will be conducted at the shore temple. This will be followed by dinner at Fishermen's Cove where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is staying. On Sunday, the leaders will start their day with an informal meeting followed by lunch. Trade, terrorism, and border issues are topics that the two leaders are likely to talk about. This VVIP visit left tourists disappointed because movement has been restricted by general public at the monuments till the completion of this high-profile visit.

-AMULYA NINDRAKOLANU

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave a huge thumbs up to India's latest fighter aircraft- Rafale. Rajnath who had an almost 25 minutes long sortie on the occasion of India taking home its first Rafale of the fleet of 36 described the combat jet as ' very smooth and comfortable'.

Singh said that India doesn't purchase weapons for threatening any country but to only defend itself and changed into combat fligt gear after performing a Shastra Puja for the Rafale Jet. 

"We do not purchase arms and other defence equipments to threaten any country but to increase our capabilities & strengthen our defences. The credit for the acquisition of the Rafale jets must go to PM @narendramodi. His decisiveness has greatly benefited our national security," tweeted the Defence Minister. 

On September 19th, Singh flew in the Tejas fighter aircraft in Bengaluru making him the first Indian Defence Minister to have flown in the fighter jet.

"This aircraft marks a massive enhancement in the Indian Air Force combat capability but that enhancement is not for attack purposes but as a deterrent for self-defence. And, the credit for this milestone goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose decisiveness has made this crucial air enhancement possible today," Singh was quoted saying after his 25 minutes flight in Rafale. 

Meanwhile, 18 more Rafale jets are scheduled to be delivered on February 2021 while the remaining batch will be dispatched by April- May 2022.