Morning Brief: GST Rates Finalised; New Push For Simultaneous Centre-State Polls; Climate Deal Takes Effect

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

GST Rate Structure Finalised: Overcoming opposition from some states, the GST Council finalised on Thursday a multiple-slab rate structure, including the cess, for the new indirect tax. Finance minister Arun Jaitley said at a press conference that GST Council has fixed the four-tier structure of 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent.

New Push For Simultaneous Polls In States And Centre: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said yesterday (3 November) it is time to start a conversation on simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. “I see that some conversations have stopped and need to be revived,” he told a gathering of BJP leaders in New Delhi.

Pakistan Breaks Diplomatic Norms: As India prepares to evacuate eight of its diplomats and staffers from Pakistan after the government there put out their names and alleged they were Indian spies. New Delhi completely rejected the “baseless and unsubstantiated” allegations made by Pakistan against its officials in the Islamabad mission and said Pakistan has ignored diplomatic rules.

Landmark Climate Deal Takes Effect: The global accord to combat climate change agreed in Paris last year, officially entered into force on Friday, putting pressure on nearly 200 countries to start executing plans to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. It took effect just days before international climate negotiators were set to meet in Morocco to chart a path forward.

India-China Face-Off Over Canal Work? Indian and Chinese troops have been in a stand-off in Ladakh's Demchok area over construction of an irrigation canal. China's People's Liberation Army troops are understood to have entered an area near the Line of Actual Control and stopped the construction work, a claim denied by the Indian Army.

Tatas Will Seek To Oust Mistry From Group Companies: Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, will move soon to remove its former chairman Cyrus Mistry from the chairmanship and boards of various group companies. Sources said the group will give Mistry a chance to voluntarily step down. If this doesn’t happen, the company plans to ‘evict’ him.

Bengaluru Steel Flyover Project On Hold: It is now up to the Karnataka High Court to decide the fate of the Bengaluru steel flyover project. This follows an undertaking given by the Bangalore Development Authority on Thursday to the Karnataka high court that it would not proceed with the construction of the Rs 1,791-crore steel flyover that had turned controversial.

Gandhi And Kejriwal Attend Funeral Of Ex-Serviceman: A day after Delhi witnessed high political drama over the alleged suicide of retired army subedar Ram Kishan Grewal, he was cremated at his native village in the presence of several political leaders, including Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and a large number of mourners.

Theresa May Faces Potential Brexit Revolt: British Prime Minister Theresa May could possibly be heading for a rebellion over her Brexit strategy after the high court ruled that the country could not leave the European Union without the permission of the parliament. Three senior judges ruled that UK could not press ahead with Brexit, without first consulting MPs and peers in the Commons and Lords.

Hillary Clinton Bounces Back: According to a Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll, Hillary Clinton has a six percentage points lead over Republican Donald Trump among likely voters, the same advantage the Democratic presidential nominee held before an FBI announcement that reignited the controversy about her email practices.

MUST READ OP-EDS

IoT And Artificial Intelligence: Potent Combo Redefining Healthcare: Solutions applicable in the advanced countries will also work in India, if adapted keeping the local context in perspective. The vision of “anywhere, anytime healthcare” will no longer be a utopian myth, but a reality!

Time Of Reckoning For Shipping As IMO Sets Road Map To Control Emissions: IMO road map a significant step forward as it has the agreement of developing nations understandably concerned about the possible impact on the cost of maritime trade.

Democratic Upsurge On The Cards: The big story in UP is the shift in OBCs political orientation; more-backward and most-backward are clearly swinging towards BJP.

Is Indian Pharma Breeding Superbugs? A toxic stew of corporate neglect, lax regulators and a defensive government might be turning India’s water bodies into breeding grounds for drug-resistant “superbugs.”

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Lies, Lies, And Utter Lies Of Ashis Nandy: In his latest interview to a magazine, Nandy presents a curious case of a pretentious colonised Indian mind and transfers his colonised guilt onto the emerging India.

Eating The Cake And Having It Too: Triple Talaq Warriors Want Gender Justice Within Muslim Personal Law: The NFIW needs to be clear whether it is fighting for gender rights in a constitutional sense or for gender rights within the context of existing personal laws.

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

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