Morning Brief: Give Befitting Response, Parrikar To Soldiers; Crucial GST Meeting Begins Today; IS Chief Trapped

Good Morning, Swarajya Readers! Here's What You Need To Know Today.

Stay Vigilant And Give Befitting Response, Parrikar Tells Soldiers: Following the militant attack at an army camp in Uri and the killing of 19 soldiers, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar visited the frontier area on Wednesday and asked soldiers to remain vigilant and give a befitting response to any misadventure from across the Line of Control (LoC). Parrikar complimented the soldiers for their valour and fortitude, and said they were the nation’s pride.

Crucial GST Council Meeting Begins: As the crucial two-day Goods and Services Tax Council meeting gets underway today (3 November), industry representative Assocham and consultancy KPMG have called for avoiding sharp anomalies in taxation structure across different industries such as telecom, tobacco and textiles under the new tax regime. There is also a growing unease among states over some of the actions of the Union government which has cast an air of uncertainty around the key meeting.

Political War Over Ex-Soldier’s Suicide: The tragic suicide of retired army man Ram Kishan Grewal over the One Rank, One Pension scheme sparked a political war on Wednesday. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was detained twice and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal found his movement restricted by police when they tried to meet Grewal's family.

India Set To Withdraw Eight Diplomats From Pakistan: India is expected to recall eight diplomats from Pakistan after their identity had been compromised, sources said on Wednesday. The move comes after the names and pictures of the diplomats were put in the public domain in Pakistan, which reportedly said that it may expel as many as five Indian diplomats suspected of spying. The decision came hours after Pakistan pulled out six officials posted from its High Commission in New Delhi.

Clinton Holds A Slim Advantage: According to the latest Purple Slice online poll for Bloomberg Politics, Hillary Clinton holds a slim advantage with independents, with almost half the voters in the crucial bloc saying renewed scrutiny of her email won’t impact their vote. The findings, just days ahead of the election, suggest Trump is still struggling to rebuild his support base despite modest gains he’s made in recent polls.

TCS Chief Executive Frontrunner: The search for the successor of Cyrus Mistry to head the Tata Sons has well and truly begun, with frontrunners being IT services company Tata Consultancy Services chief executive N Chandrasekaran, his predecessor S Ramadorai and Jaguar Land Rover boss Ralf Speth. A five-man panel that includes Ratan Tata, Mistry's predecessor and the interim chairman, has been tasked with finding a new chairman.

Violent Street Protests: Kashmir witnessed violent street protests in several areas on Wednesday after days of relative calm, leaving several policemen, including two senior officers, and locals injured. Police said that stone-pelting by the residents at Anchar “resulted in grievous injuries to SP Hazratbal and 35 other security personnel”.

Islamic State Chief Al Baghdadi Trapped: Dreaded terrorist and Islamic State supremo Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi has been trapped by Iraqi Army, which entered the terrorist group’s stronghold of Mosul for the first time in more than two years for a final assault, said reports. Kurdish President Massoud Barzani’s chief of staff Fuad Hussein said that the government had information from multiple sources that "Baghdadi is there and, if he is killed, it will mean the collapse of the whole (IS) system”.

SBI Trims Home Loan Rate: India’s largest bank, State Bank of India (SBI), has cut interest rate on home loans by 15 basis points to 9.15 per cent — a six-year low — to capitalise on the festival season and ramp up more business in the segment. The rate cut by SBI could increase the competitive pressure on other lenders to bring down their interest rates on home loans and other personal loans.

S&P Rules Out Rating Upgrade For India: S&P Global Ratings has ruled out an upgrade for India over the next two years even as it affirmed the stable outlook on the country’s ‘BBB-’ long-term and ‘A-3’ short-term sovereign credit ratings, drawing criticism from the government. There is a disconnect between what the investors are saying and what the ratings are saying, economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das said adding that the government will continue to adhere to the path of reforms.

Saina Nehwal May Hang Up Her Boots?: A flag-bearer of Indian women’s singles badminton, Saina Nehwal, who is recovering from a knee surgery, feels her career may be coming to an end. “It is okay, many people will think my career will end and I won’t come back. I also think somewhere deep in my heart that maybe it is the end of my career, so let’s see how it is. Maybe, you never know,” the ace shuttler and London Olympics bronze medallist said.

MUST READ OP-EDS

The Vulnerability Of The Chinese Corridor: The development of this road, when seen in the light of the roadblocks likely to accompany CPEC, provides an avenue of opportunity that India must use to navigate the difficult geopolitical scenario.

The Tatas And A Matter Of Trust: Trust is not built through legal contracts between parties. It is built by doing the right thing by others always. A reputation of trust is a slippery slope: hard to climb, easy to slide down.

Jungle Raj In UP: What Do Crime Data Tell Us About The Record Of Successive State Governments? Whether this evidence constitutes the tip of the iceberg or the iceberg itself, voters in UP must be concerned about law and order deteriorating under both SP and BSP when they decide to cast their vote in the coming months.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

IT Jobs Boom For Engineers Is Over As Wipro Hopes To Be Disrupter In Automation: Once one company adopts a disruptive strategy, AI will quickly spread across companies since this will be the only way to retain competitive advantage.

Professors Flail To Fail Trump: Trump would be so heavily under observation and scrutiny that democracy would be most ably served if he were elected President of the US.

We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!

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