NATIONAL

Karnataka starts release of water, ends defiance of SC –Karnataka ended defiance of the Supreme court’s orders and started the release of 6,800 cusecs of water from the KRS dam, majority of which would reach Tamil Nadu.

Reliance inks defence deal with Dassault –Reliance group signed an agreement with Dassault Aviation of France, the makers of Rafale fighter jets, for a joint venture(JV) in India which would be named as Dassault Reliance Aerospace.

EDITORIALS

The lines that have been crossed –The ‘surgical strike’ into PoK across the LoC signals that the era of ‘doing nothing’ militarily may be ending. The surgical strike shows Pakistan that it must consider potential Indian responses in the future.

The battle over Bt Cotton –Bt Cotton  has spawned the mother of all intellectual property (IP) disputes in India. The Ministry of Agriculture would go out to suggest that Monsanto’s patents over upstream GM technology must necessarily yield to downstream plant variety rights.

 All about means and ends – MGNREGA  is the first transaction-based real-time system for any public works programme in the country that is available in the public domain. The Management Information System of MGNREGA is a way to providing data on implementation. But a governance framework for the MIS needs to be put in place that lays out the minimum standards and accountability of the Ministry managing the system.

Growth of wealth gives way for growth in charity -Moving from the traditional philanthropy of large industrial houses, there is also a spur in giving by the new rising industry sectors such as e-commerce, start-ups and IT. The richest of the rich—the ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNIs)—hold a substantial share of the wealth in India as per Kotak Top of the Pyramid report 2016.  The key motivator that drives philanthropy among UHNIs is a “feel good factor” in being able to create a better society.

River diplomacy on test –Revoking the Indus water treaty could mean a loss of credibility for India. It will also be in India’s interest that the exercise of its power as an upper riparian state is seen as legitimate and credible.

INTERNATIONAL

The elusive peace in Colombia –Colombia has missed an opportunity to end its five-decade-long civil war. It is not difficult to understand popular anger against Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). A majority of the electorate voted ‘No in Sunday’s referendum on a peace agreement reached between the government and FARC.

ECONOMY

Spectrum auction: Govt receives bids worth Rs.56,800 cr. on Day 2 -The government received bids worth about Rs.56,792 crore on the second day of the auction of telecom spectrum

Manufacturing growth slows in Sept. –The country’s manufacturing growth has lost momentum with the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a measure of manufacturing performance, falling to 52.1 in September from 52.6 in August. This development comes just ahead of the RBI’s monetary policy review on October 4 and amid India Inc. clamouring for an interest rate cut even as the central bank has had concerns over rising inflation.

India fair to boost intra-BRICS trade –To boost trade among the BRICS nations, India, for the first time, will organize a trade fair for the bloc that also includes Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa. Intra-BRICS trade in 2014 was just $297 billion — less than five per cent of the $6.5 trillion worth trade that the five countries had with the world that year.