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Observance of Diwali in US important reminder of religious liberty: Donald Trump
Biopharmaceutical major Biocon has announced that it would reduce insulin prices to 10 cents (Rs 7) per day from $5 (Rs 350) for lower and middle-income countries, which account for 80 per cent of global diabetes cases. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson and managing director of the Bengaluru-headquartered firm, tells Samreen Ahmad that at 10 cents per day, the insulin business could be actually profitable if the company engages directly with the government.
NATIONAL
J-K: Six CRPF personnel injured as militants hurl grenade in Srinagar.The 144th battalion of the paramilitary force was manning a checkpoint when the incident took place.
DEEPAVALI AT AYODHYA: Ayodhya Deepotsav scripted new Guinness world record, over 6 lakh earthen lamps(Diya) lit up Saryu banks.The event was organised by Uttar Pradesh’s Department of Tourism and Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya Awadh University.
- Former BSF constable Tej Bahadur Yadav quits JJP following alliance with BJP
- BJP will not take Gopal Kanda’s support in Haryana: Ravi Shankar Prasad
- Nearly 60% of newly elected Maharashtra MLAs face criminal charges: ADR
- Haryana govt formation: Khattar to take oath as CM tomorrow, Dushyant to be his deputy
- Delhi CM Kejriwal, L-G Anil Baijal share stage at ‘Dilli Ki Diwali’ in Connaught Place
- Stalin hits at AIADMK govt for private buses’ fare surge ahead of Diwali
- ICC has no relevance without BCCI: Anurag Thakur
INTERNATIONAL
PAKISTAN: Pakistan fearing influx of Afghan refugees, as during the Soviet invasion.
TRUMP IMPEACHMENT: A US judge Judge Beryl Howell validated the legality of the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump and ordered his administration to hand over an unredacted copy of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report detailing Russian meddling in the 2016 election. the decision as seen as victory for Democratic-led House of Representatives, undercut an argument that Trump’s fellow Republicans have made in attacking the impeachment inquiry. The judge said the House need not approve a resolution formally initiating the effort.
NAWAZ SHARIF:The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday granted bail on medical grounds to former premier Nawaz Sharif in the Al Azizia reference till Tuesday, October 29.The development came shortly after National Accountability Bureau (NAB), in its response to the IHC cited humanitarian grounds and said that it has “no objections to bail being granted”.
- Most of the 39 people found dead in the back of a truck near London were likely from Vietnam.Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered government officials to help establish the identities of the victims and look into cases of Vietnamese citizens sent abroad illegally
- Nine-time champion Roger Federer into 15th Swiss Indoors final
- US budget deficit soars in 2019 to just under $1 trillion, highest since 2012
- Millions of Chinese grieve online over the death of 39 in a truck in Essex
BUSINESS TODAY
CLOUD COMPUTING:The Pentagon awarded Microsoft a $10 billion cloud computing contract , snubbing early front-runner Amazon, whose competitive bid drew criticism from President Donald Trump and its business rivals. Bidding for the huge project, known as Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, pitted leading tech titans Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle and IBM against one another.The deal is a major win for Microsoft’s cloud business Azure, which has long been playing catch-up to Amazon’s market leading Amazon Web Services. Microsoft said it was preparing a statement.
Business in India: India jumped 14 places to 63rd in the World Bank’s annual rankings for ease of doing business released Thursday, helped by a new insolvency law. India needs more reforms to be competitive, World Bank president David Malpass said.
- Slowdown takes a Rs 4,000 crore toll on Indian Railways’ earnings
- Samvat 2075: Gold and silver give returns of 21% each, outperform equities
- India to spend $1.4 trn over 5 years on infrastructure development: Pradhan
REAL ESTATE: Madhya Pradesh government approved a proposal to reduce the number of documents needed to get government permission for projects from 27 to five and allowed real estate companies to have one licence for the entire state. As per the decision, colonisers have also been given relaxation from the rule of economic weaker section (EWS) construction which is currently mandatory under the real estate projects. Under real estate policy 2019, people can get permission for small houses immediately. The investors in real estate will have the incentive like free FAR (floor area ratio) at the periphery of planning area and coupled with other incentives. As per Madhya Pradesh Startup Policy, 2019 approved by the cabinet on Tuesday which will be effective from April 2020, several facilities will be given to entrepreneurs.