1. Bihar elections: Voting begins in first phase for 71 seats: Polling began in 71 Assembly constituencies of Bihar at 7am in the first phase of the state’s 3-phase Assembly election on Wednesday. Over 1,000 candidates are in the fray for this phase. The election commission has directed all polling booths to follow Covid-19 guidelines during voting and counting of votes. Election results will be announced on November 10.
2. PM meets Sitharaman; discusses state economy & stimulus package: PM Narendra Modi reviewed the state of the economy with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday to identify possible policy action including need for another stimulus to push up economic activity in the country. After announcing demand generating measures earlier this month, the finance minister had hinted at another stimulus package.
3. Facebook India policy head quits after row over content: Facebook’s policy director for India, South and Central Asia Ankhi Das is leaving the firm, a statement issued by the company said. The development comes four days after she appeared before Parliament’s Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill which had questioned her on Facebook’s advertisement model, its targeting of audiences, earnings and taxes and its models for data storage and transfer
4. Covid-19 to impact state finances ‘significantly’: RBI: The double whammy of the coronavirus pandemic — a collapse in revenue and rise in health-related and other costs — is likely to have a significant impact on state government finances and the challenges from the economic shock will persist for the next few years over which states will play a crucial role in India’s recovery, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s annual report on state finances released on Tuesday.
5. Stop spreading discord, China tells Pompeo: China on Tuesday urged US secretary of state Mike Pompeo to stop sowing discord between Beijing and countries in the region, undermining the regional peace and stability, amidst his visit to India for a dialogue aimed at further ramping up their overall defence and security ties and boost strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
6. EU warns not enough Covid vaccine for all in Europe until 2022: Only part of the European Union population can be inoculated against the new coronavirus before 2022, EU officials said in an internal meeting, as the vaccines the bloc is securing may not prove effective or may not be manufactured in sufficient doses. The 27-nation bloc, with a population of 450 million, has booked more than 1 billion doses of potential Covid-19 vaccines from three drugmakers.
7. US election: Hoarding in support of Trump comes up in Kerala: As the US presidential elections are fast approaching, a hoarding in support of President Donald Trump has appeared in Kerala too. Kerala-based body Christian Association and Alliance for Social Action has put up a hoarding in support of Trump at Jos Junction, one of the busiest parts of Kochi city.
8. Police ‘brutally tortured’ Jeyaraj & Bennicks: CBI chargesheet: The CBI has concluded in its probe that father-son duo P Jeyaraj and Emmanuel Bennicks were subjected to “several rounds” of “brutal torture” by nine policemen at Santhankulam police station in Thoothukudi district on July 19 even as they were egged on by the inspector leading to the duo’s death.
9. Karnataka MLC elections for 4 seats today amid pandemic: Karnataka will witness its first election amid the Covid pandemic when voting for the biennial Legislative Council polls takes place on Wednesday. The polls for the South-East graduates, West Graduates, Northeast teachers and Bangalore teachers constituencies are being held to fill four vacancies in the 75-member Council.
10. Hoping for Covid vaccine by early 2021: K’taka health minister: Karnataka can hope for a Covid-19 vaccine by early 2021, health minister K Sudhakar said on Tuesday. He added the government will ensure that it reaches every part of the state, with priority to those who need it the most.
