ALL News Headlines-2019 October 31ST

NATIONAL HEADLINES

WHATSAPP: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Government agencies have a well-established protocol for an interception from highly ranked officials in central and state governments for clear stated reasons in the national interest.” He also informed that the IT Ministry asks WhatsApp to explain the breach in a time-bound manner.

DELHI: Adani Group, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings, and Zurich Airport had bid to build and operate the second airport of Delhi in Jewar (UP), around 40km from Indira Gandhi International Airport. When the airport becomes fully functional, it would entail an investment of Rs 15,000 crore.

NHP: India has registered an improved sex ratio and a decline in birth and death rates with non-communicable diseases. The data was provided in the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence’s (CBHI) National Health Profile (NHP) 2019.

JAMMU AND KASHMIR: G C Murmu, a 1985 batch IAS officer from Gujarat was on Thursday sworn in as the first lieutenant governor of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir after the bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories. Henceforth, the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh will be headed by lieutenant governors G C Murmu and R K Mathur, respectively, who took constitutional oath on Thursday. Now the home  department  shall deals with all matters in respect of UTs of Jammu,Kashmir and Ladakh, including terrorism/militancy. It is also responsible for implementation of the Prime Minister’s Package for UTs of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh .

• Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir Union Territories came into existence on Thursday after the central government abrogated the special status given by  Article 370
• CPI veteran leader Gurudas Dasgupta passes away
• US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster on Monday visited the Tawang in Arunachal pradesh to participate in the Tawang Festival.
• PM pays tributes to Sardar Patel on his Jayanti at Statue of Unity Kevadiya

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

ISIS: The Islamic State on Thursday confirmed the death of its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,  by U.S. forces on his hideout in northern Syria.  Thereafter in an announcement by the Islamic State’s propaganda arm, the group confirmed that its former spokesman, Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir, had been killed, which happened in a separate strike after Baghdadi’s death.

TRUMP IMPEACHMENT: The U.S. House of Representatives took a major step towards impeachment effort against U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday when lawmakers approved rules for the next stage of the Democratic-led inquiry. The Democratic-controlled House voted by 232 to 196 to establish how to hold public hearings in Congress.

TORONTO: Alphabet Inc’s Sidewalk Labs unit has secured conditional approval to move forward in the process to build a smart city in Toronto, the city’s waterfront development board said today. The approval means the project will go through a formal evaluation and further public consultation before a final vote on March 31, 2020, by Waterfront Toronto, a corporation funded by the city, provincial and federal governments.

• Tezgam Express Pakistan, whae its way to Rawalpindi from Karachi a massive fire broke out early morning and killed 74 persons.

MARKET HEADLINES

• SENSEX-40129.05 (77.18)
• NIFTY-11877.45 (33.35)
• GOLD (MCX 10 GM)-38535.00 (447.00)
• SILVER (MCX 1 KG)-46672.00 (553.00)
• USD ($) / INR(Rupees Icon)-70.54 (0.06)

ECONOMY

YES BANK: Private lender YES Bank today said that it has received a binding offer from a global investor for an investment of $1.2 billion through fresh issuance of equity shares.

FISCAL DEFICIT: India’s fiscal deficit during April to September stood at Rs 6.52 trillion, government data showed on 31^st October. Net tax receipts in the first half of the current fiscal year ending in March 2020 were Rs 6.07 trillion, while total expenditure was Rs 14.89 trillion, the data showed.

IOC: Indian Oil Corp Ltd confirmed a near 82.7 percent fall in second-quarter profit on 31st October, Net profit for state-owned IOC came in at Rs 563. Crore in the quarter ended September 30, compared with Rs 3247 crore a year earlier, IOC said.

ISRAELI SPYWARE:, WhatsApp has confirmed that at least two dozen journalists, academicians, Dalit and human rights activists, in India have been targeted for surveillance for a two week period until May 2019. The hackers allegedly used an Israeli technology, Pegasus developed by an Israeli firm, NSO to conduct cyberespionage. WhatsApp contacted the users and alerted them that their phones had been under surveillance.

CORE INFRASTRUCTURE INDUSTRIES: Output of eight core infrastructure industries lowered by 5.2% in September. Coal production fell steeply by 20.5%, crude oil by 5.4%, and natural gas by 4.9%. Output of refinery products (-6.7%), cement (-2.1%), steel (-0.3%), and electricity (-3.7%) was also declined.

Overview Of J&K