BJP says it will withdraw free electricity scheme: AAP

• AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said the BJP has made its stand clear on the scheme
• Sanjay Singh said that at a time when everywhere the price of electricity is going up, the AAP government is giving free electricity till 200 unit and providing subsidy for consumption up to 400 units

Huzurnagar by-election: Test for BJP’s claim as main Opposition in Telangana

• Though TRS and Cong candidates are locked in a direct fight, BJP would hope 20% of the vote share would help it prove as the main Opposition, instead of Cong
• Congress' Uttam Kumar Reddy won the seat in successive elections in 2009, 2014 and 2018 and now the party has fielded his wife Padmavati Reddy

Visit Golden Temple, India extends invitation to heads of foreign missions

• Over 90 Resident Heads of Missions in New Delhi are expected to travel to Amritsar on 22 October
• The visit is being organized by the ICCR in collaboration with the Punjab government and the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee

Trade wars, protectionism a dampener on global capital flow, says Sitharaman

• 'Trade integration, geopolitical uncertainties, and high accumulated debt levels necessitate global coordination'
• 'We need not wait for the slowdown to become a crisis'

Despite getting home-cooked food inside jail, Chidambaram lost 5 kg in 43 days

• Chidambaram was arrested in the corruption case by the CBI on 21 August
• Chidambaram sought bail from the top court in the case and said following the two bouts of illness, he was administered antibiotics

Govt to bring all medical devices under CDSCO lens to improve safety & quality

• The increased scrutiny on medical devices comes in the aftermath of Johnson & Johnson’s faulty hip implants
• Once these devices are classified as drugs, the Central Drugs Standards Control Organization (CDSCO) will be responsible for regulating them

Pakistan fails on 22 out of 27 parameters set out by FATF

• Pakistan will get blacklisted in February 2020 if it fails to curb the flow of funds to terrorist groups
• Pakistan has been in the gray list since June last year

Slowdown hits mobile use in rural areas as base falls

• March was the worst month when telcos lost 15.78 million wireless users in rural areas to hit a base of 511.32 million
• Rural household consumption slumped to a seven-year low in the September quarter

CBI files chargesheet against Chidambaram, others in INX Media case

• In September, the CBI had arrested Chidambaram, following which he was remanded to judicial custody
• On Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate arrested the veteran leader in connection with the case

Sitharaman urges G20 nations to take measures to revive growth

• Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is leading the Indian delegation to the IMF annual meeting in Washington DC
• Earlier this week, the IMF downgraded global growth for 2019 to 3%, its slowest pace since the global financial crisis

Muslim parties reject settlement talk in Ayodhya case, blame mediation panel

• The latest contention of the Muslim parties differs with the Sunni Wakf board’s accommodative stance in the mediation
• The case pertains to the ownership of the land to decide whether a temple can be constructed at the site where the Babri Masjid existed earlier

Sonia Gandhi to skip Haryana rally, Rahul steps in

• Former party president Rahul Gandhi to address the rally
• Polling for both the states are scheduled to take place on 21 October and counting will take place on 24 October

Karnataka and Kerala lead industry-university linkage index

• Industry linkages are found moderate in India with an overall score of 4.7 in a scale of 10
• Among states, most of the northeastern states are in the bottom of the stack, while larger states such as West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar are poor performers

Piyush Goyal warns action against e-commerce companies if found guilty

• Piyush Goyal said he has recently received some complaints regarding violations by ecommerce companies
• CAIT has alleged that e-commerce companies are greatly influencing the prices and creating an uneven level playing field

Govt will take steps for each sector facing stress, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

• Sitharaman, who is currently in the US, said the government is fully committed to introducing deep reforms
• So far the finance minister has announced packages for automobiles, infrastructure, exports and the real estate sectors

To reach $5 trillion mark, economy must grow at 10-12%: Manmohan Singh

• Responding to Sitharaman’s comments, Singh said the NDA should have ‘learnt from our mistakes’
• Manmohan Singh was addressing a meeting of representatives of the business community on the state of the economy in Mumbai

Caste might test communist faith in Kerala bypoll

• The bypolls are seen as a curtain-raiser for the battle for Kerala in 2021 assembly polls
• Nair’s attacks have spun the conversations around the by-election, entering into the final lap of campaigning next week, entirely around caste and religion

Home ministry grants Z-category security to West Bengal governor

• While Jagdeep Dhankar – like other state governors – was being given state police cover, he will now be given protection by the CRPF
• Dhankar had criticized the law and order situation in the state

If not 'Om', then what? Rajnath asks Rahul over Rafale 'Shastra Puja'

• During his visit to France earlier this week, Rajnath had emblazoned the Rafale fighter jet with an 'Om'
• The Defence Minister even took a sortie in the Rafale jet

There's no hope of economy reaching $5 trillion by 2024: Manmohan Singh

• Indian economy reaching the target of five trillion dollars by 2024 as the growth rate is 'declining year after year'
• Singh stressed the need for adopting a 'well-conceived national strategy to make India a five trillion dollar economy'