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Good morning,

🚨 *The Big Story*

Farmers protesting against the Centre's farm laws braved water cannons in the winter chill, tear gas shells and lathi blows from police to cross the multi-layer barricades set up at various places on multiple national and state highways to stop them from marching to Delhi. As the situation turned volatile across Haryana, Union Minister Rajnath and Narendra Singh Tomar invited them for talks.

https://www.inexp.in/9Wbq+N

📰 *From the Front Page*

After pharma company AstraZeneca admitted to a key error in the dosage received by some study participants of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, the Serum Institute of India, which will manufacture and distribute it, said the vaccine is viable even at the lowest efficacy of 60-70 per cent.

https://www.inexp.in/KMOsWp

Chief Justice of India S A Bobde said a "new kind of inequality" has emerged during the pandemic. It has become difficult for those who do not have access to technology to seek justice, he said, while speaking at an event organised to commemorate Constitution Day.

https://www.inexp.in/NBUnoL

Amid intense speculation that he would leave the TMC for BJP ahead of West Bengal Assembly polls next year, minister Suvendy Adhikari resigned as chairman of the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC). In the event of Suvendy's exit from the party, there is a strong chance that his father Sisir Adhikari, who is also a TMC MP, and his two brothers would follow him.

https://www.inexp.in/BTLzwN

Six months after a boundary row affected bilateral ties, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla led the first high-level diplomatic visit to Nepal in which he had a one-on-one meeting with the country's Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli. Both agreed on the need for a "candid review of the state of the bilateral relationship, sources said.

https://www.inexp.in/tEvfQb

⚡ *Only in the Express*

The Covid-19 lockdown could not have come at a more inopportune time for Amol Gorhe, who was smack in the middle of expanding his Greenfield Agro Limited business. But the Nashik-based businessman continued to deliver fresh supplies to doorsteps in Thane and Navi Mumbai — not just helping many prevent unnecessary Covid risks, but also averting job and other losses for many.

https://www.inexp.in/vvLJUX

👩‍💻 *Must Read*

With two days to go for J&K’s first ever District Development Council polls, the only real sign of an election are security vehicles passing by. Here, Candidates flanked by armed policemen are chaperoned to their constituencies. The election is the first step in the Centre’s bid to restart the political process in the newly created Union Territory.

Nearly 27 years after the RBI allowed private promoters to set up banks, it is still divided on letting corporates run banks. A cross-section of stakeholders, including several experts consulted by the RBI’s Internal Working Group which last week favoured entry of business houses, told the Indian Express that companies can inject capital, business experience and managerial competence into banking.

A study carried out by IIT-Delhi and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has found that the rate of increase in pollution levels in southern and eastern India between 2000 and 2019 was far greater than in the Indo-Gangetic plain, which is believed to be the most polluted region in the world in terms of PM 2.5 levels.

🎯 *ICYMI*

👉 Two army soldiers were killed after two militants opened fire at a convoy deployed on the road at Zainakote in Srinagar’s suburbs.

https://www.inexp.in/T2eymJ

👉 A BJP MLA, who Lalu Prasad allegedly called while in custody and asked to refrain from voting during the Speaker election, has filed an FIR against the RJD chief.

https://www.inexp.in/q9magA
👉 The ED arrested Ajay Ajit Peter Kerkar, the promoter of bankrupt travel firm Cox and Kings in connection with its money laundering probe.

https://www.inexp.in/iDVDyq

👉 Tribal rights activist Stan Swamy filed a bail application before a special court, saying there was no purpose in keeping a “sick, 83-year-old incarcerated”.

https://www.inexp.in/PPMC7P

⌛ *And Finally...*

Twelve years after the 26/11 attack exposed wide gaps in India’s coastal security, almost 60 per cent of India fishing boats are smaller than 20 metres — much like the inflatable boats the attackers used to reach Mumbai’s shores — and most do not have transponders to help authorities track them. But several government departments are looking to fix the issue.

https://www.inexp.in/xIKb3k

🤐 Delhi confidential: On a mission to repair ties with Nepal, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Thursday landed in Kathmandu and spoke to the local media in fluent Nepalese. His mother is from the Himalayan neighbour, and Shringla knows the language quite well.

https://www.inexp.in/lpD8S4

🎧 In today’s episode of the Three Things podcast, we’re looking at a controversy over land encroachments in Jammu and Kashmir that features prominent names, and the opposition to the resettlement of over 30,000 people in Tripura.

https://www.inexp.in/rA+iSh

Until tomorrow,

Leela Prasad G and Rahel Philipose
☕ *Your Expresso is ready*

Read the briefing in a single page here: https://indianexpress.com/article/live-news/top-news-briefing-today-7071417/

📬 Get this delivered straight to your inbox. To subscribe and stay updated with the latest reportage, visit: https://indianexpress.com/newsletters/

Good morning,

🚨 *The Big Story*

The stage for the latest showdown between police and farmers protesting the newly enacted farm laws was at the Singhu border, one of the main access points to reach New Delhi. Like the previous day, police rained tear gas shells, sprayed water and used lathis to block the farmers march. A farmer also accused police of digging up pits on roads to slow them down.

https://www.inexp.in/ILt83X

Our Punjab edition has the most exhaustive coverage on the farmers protest march (https://www.inexp.in/-9oDAw). Here, we look at who is protesting and why (https://www.inexp.in/iq1nC2). And a 45-year-old who mobilised farmers from 40 villages died on the way to Delhi (https://www.inexp.in/rMo9rC).

📰 *From the Front Page*

The economy is in recession, at least technically, as the country’s GDP contracted for the second consecutive quarter. However, the July-September quarter data (7.5 per cent contraction) was a significant improvement over the unprecedented 23.9 per cent year-on-year contraction in April-June.

https://www.inexp.in/JEmZbk

As polling for the first ever District Development Council in J&K begins today, we catch up with Khalida Bibi, one of the 89 women candidates contesting in the election. She is up against Farhana Akthar of Congress and three Independents—all marking their debuts.

https://www.inexp.in/B9FwJb

A request from a 83-year-old jail inmate, who has Parkinson's disease, to access a straw and sipper cup has become a textbook case of how insensitive legal procedure can be. That old man is Jesuit priest Stan Swamy, who was arrested by the NIA in the Elgar Parishad case. From his arrest on October 7, the two items have been tossed from one desk to another.

https://www.inexp.in/McO+ye

⚡ *Only in the Express*

Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes: “The Central Government may, by hook or crook, ride out the current Punjab-based farmers’ agitation. But the underlying logic of the situation can sow the seeds of a long term crisis. The existential stakes in this agitation for both the farmers and the government are high; but the possibility of a good faith material resolution of the problem is low.”

https://www.inexp.in/G5+kBx

In an interview with the Indian Express, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray spoke about his plan to tackle the financial stress on the state economy, on the BJP’s “vendetta politics” and on contesting BMC and other municipal corporation polls along with allies NCP and Congress.

https://www.inexp.in/knMP+6

When the coronavirus pandemic struck less than two years after he made Kerala his home, 30-year-old coconut climber and Chhattisgarh-native Ranjeet Singh Paikra knew he had to do all that he could to help the people of his adopted state. He and his co-workers pooled together their savings to contribute Rs 52,000 to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund.

https://www.inexp.in/HtxX7J

👩‍💻 *Must Read*

A 15-year-old boy was arrested in Agra on Sunday after he allegedly threatened to “blow up” Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. According to police, the boy had sent the threat by WhatsApp on the state’s Dial 112 helpline number.

https://www.inexp.in/knMP+6

The Sikh community in the UK has been rallying together on social media to express outrage against the hate crime faced by a young school boy in Telford Shropshire. In a video circulated widely on social media, the Sikh boy is seen being assaulted by two others in school uniform as he was walking back home from class.

https://www.inexp.in/uHSmw-


🎯 *ICYMI*

👉 The J&K police prevented former CM Mehbooba Mufti from holding a press conference at her residence, where she claims to have been “illegally detained yet again”.

https://www.inexp.in/0ESZf0
👉 A day after TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari resigned as chairman of Hooghly River Bridge Commission, sources in the BJP said he would join the party soon.

https://www.inexp.in/KdZQBh

👉 In relief to actor Kangana Ranaut, the Bombay High Court on Friday quashed and set aside the BMC order to demolish a part of her office in Bandra.

https://www.inexp.in/HpFV7r

👉 Hyderabad-based drugmaker Hetero Drugs, through its biologics arm, will be producing “over” 100 million doses of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine ‘Sputnik V’ starting in 2021.

https://www.inexp.in/JBQ1hC

👉 Smith, Finch and Maxwell, the men who had a forgettable run in the UAE, lead Australia to a comprehensive win over India in the first ODI.

https://www.inexp.in/9+yuQ9


⌛ *And Finally...*

The owner of a missing one-and-a-half-year-old Tibetan Mastiff has announced a reward of Rs 31,000 for anyone who is able to find his pet. The dog, named Pablo, went missing from his home in Chandigarh’s Sector 25 after firecrackers lit during Diwali triggered his anxiety.

https://www.inexp.in/ll-JMO

📽️ Explained: Will Indian apps benefit from ban on Chinese apps

https://www.inexp.in/eD+2K3

Until tomorrow,

Leela Prasad G and Rahel Philipose