HEADLINES

• Gaddafi's body in Misrata, Libya; NGOs call for a UN probe into his death
• Hillary Clinton warns Pakistan and tells them to act against the Haqqani network
• CBI Chief tells the PM that splitting the CBI for the Lokpal would impact the working of the CBI
• J&K CM says that the AFSPA may be revoked in some areas of J&K

NATIONAL NEWS

• Nutrition, Sanitation halt India's Human Development Index (HDI) climb; Kerala tops the HDI
  • According to the HDI Report 2011 prepared by the Institute of Applied Manpower Research the HDI has rised by 21% between 1999 and 2008. The report also says that Inter-state inequalities have narrowed in the last decade but nutrition and sanitation are still big concerns (to be addressed in 12th plan);
  • Among states, Kerala has retained the first position in the HDI, followed by Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Goa and Punjab. Tamilnadu is at the 8th, Karnataka at 12th and Andhra Pradesh at 15th positions. Chattisgarh is the lowest state in the HDI. Other key findings are:
    • Education index up 28.5%
    • Health index still poor at 13.2%
    • 2/3rd Indians reside in pucca houses
    • 3/4th houses have access to electricity
    • 65% rural households defecate in the open
    • more than 50% of Indian women are anaemic
• Soumitra Sen's removal proceedings in Parliament challenged by a Kolkata advocate
  • The advocate has moved the Supreme Court questioning the proceedings for removal and seeking a declaration that it was null and void as it did not conform to constitutional provisions;
  • The reasoning for the petition is that since Justice Sen had resigned during the proceedings concluded and therefore the action by Parliament under Article 124(4) and (5) of the Constitution was void;
  • Soumitra Sen was the first sitting judge of a Court to be impeached in India.
• NAC suggests that slum dwellers should be resettled where they live and not displaced
  • The NAC has suggested that as far as possible slum dwellers should be resettled where they currently live so that they remain close to their places of work;
  • Presently the slum development work undertaken in India under the Rajiv Awas Yojana scheme states that re-location should be the last resort but these guidelines of the scheme tend to be interpreted loosely by the State Govts. The NAC is looking for an amendment to these guidelines.
• Exercise Shakti 2011 – the Indo-French joint military training completed at Chaubatia, Uttarakand
  • Exercise Shakti the first ever Indo-French exercise between the two nations which aimed not only at training troops in Counter Terrorist Operations but also in enhancing defence cooperation and military relations between the two nations was conducted between October 9 - 21.
• Allahabad High Court quashes land acquisition in 3 villages and orders the Greater Noida authority to give more compensation to agitating farmers
• Supreme Court tells organisers of the F1 in Noida to deposit 25% of ticket sales in a non-lien account till the case relating to the exemption of service tax is concluded

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• Talk of treaty ban on mercury raises concern
  • Scientists are warning officials negotiating the global treaty on mercury that banning the deadly chemical completely would be dangerous to public health because the chemical has use in vaccines. Mercury acts as a preservative in vaccines (in the form of thiomersal, a mercury compound) and without it the costs of vaccines could go up impacting poor countries as pharma companies will have to move to preservative-free vaccines which have a reduced shelf life;
  • Currently, the ban option is one of several proposals put up for the meeting next month in Nairobi but the final treaty is not expected before 2013. According to WHO mercury is one of the top 10 chemicals of public concern and is highly toxic.
• Soyuz, Russian space legend helps in the launch of the Galileo Geo-positioning system
  • French-Russian space cooperation results in launch of the Soyuz rocket from French Guiana carrying the parts of the Galileo GPS to provide a high-precision positioning system upon which European nations can rely on. More satellites will be sent up to complete the Galileo GPS constellation;
  • At present only US GPS and Russian Glonass are available for European nations and their use can be suspended at times of war. Therefore the need for an independent GPS for Europe. India's GPS satellite is known as GAGAN.
• Berkeley Earth surface temperature study confirms that global temperatures have gone up by 1 degree C since mid-1950s. The study project has stations across the world for its research

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS & COLUMNS

• Here is a link to a TV show on India's naxalite issue. We have not yet viewed it but it may have a different opinion from what we see in the news everyday and so we are posting it here.
• Here is a good editorial on the recent happenings in Libya and its future.
• Here is an opinion on the India Myanmar relation after the recent visit of its Premier.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS NEWS

• The Govt has put a hold on the proposal for Foreign Direct Investment in Retail trading
  • At present foreign direct investment is permitted upto 51% in single brand retail trading (i.e. where the retail stores only sell one brand and not multi-brand) and 100% in wholesale trading (i.e wholesale of goods to business and resellers but not to ultimate customers);
  • An Inter-Ministerial Group had recommended the opening up of the retail trading sector to foreign participation but the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM and former RBI Governor, Dr.C. Rangarajan turned down their view and said that multinational companies would not be interested in setting up contact points with farmers, etc.
• Govt proposes that the new companies bill will require every company to have at least one woman on its board of directors
• France and Germany call for another summit of the EU next week to discuss crisis