- BJP picks Sushil Modi for RS seat: The BJP has nominated former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha bypoll in the state. The seat fell vacant following the death of LJP patriarch Ram Vilas Paswan. Sushil Modi’s election to the Upper House is certain, with the BJP-led NDA having majority in the state Assembly.
- J&K set for DDC polls: Jammu and Kashmir is all set to witness its first election since being reorganised as a Union Territory last year with the maiden District Development Council polls beginning on Saturday. As many as 1,475 candidates are in the fray for the first phase of these polls.
- India enters technical recession: India’s GDP contracted 7.5 per cent in the July-September period, according to the data released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation. This follows the unprecedented record slump of 23.9 per cent in the April-June quarter. With this India enters a technical recession, the first since 1996.
- Farmers protest to intensify: Punjab and Haryana farmers protesting in Delhi have got support from their counterparts in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, who will join the stir in the next few days. Protests were observed in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh as well on Friday.
- Push for China Belt and Road alternative: An informal US-led alliance to provide an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative will provide greater transparency to countries seeking funding to develop their infrastructure, Taiwan’s finance minister has said.
- US announces reward on 26/11 mastermind: Twelve years after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the United States has announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Lashkar-e-Taiba member Sajid Mir for his “role” in the 2008 attacks.
- Shah to campaign in Telangana: The BJP has decided to deploy its top leadership for the first time in a municipal poll by lining up public meetings of Union home minister Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda among others. Shah is set to visit poll-bound Hyderabad on Saturday morning.
- Kerala civic body polls: A total of 74,899 candidates are in the fray for the upcoming local body polls in Kerala. The candidates include 38,593 men, 36,305 women and one transgender, the state Election Commission said.
- Nod for Ballari bifurcation: The Karnataka cabinet on Friday accorded formal approval for the division of iron ore-rich Ballari district into two districts with the creation of Vijayanagara as the state’s 31st district.
- K’taka to ban cow slaughter: The BJP government in Karnataka is all set to introduce a bill against cow slaughter during the upcoming legislative session after the issue was discussed at a cabinet meeting held in Bengaluru.