Your SandeshBox for the week

India

• Bihar caste survey shock

  1. The Nitish Yadav led coalition govt. declared the results of a controversial first of a kind caste survey and the results could have wide reaching impact.

  2. The last caste-based census was done in 1931 which every decision on reservations since then being based on the 1931 data.

  3. Results: 36% EBC (Extremely backward), 27% OBC, 20% SC, 2% ST, 15% General

  4. It poses a huge challenge for the BJP which is seen as primarily pro-upper caste. As usual, Splainer does a great job of explaining it here.

• Terrorists arrested in Delhi

  1. Delhi Police captured NIA's wanted terrorist Shahnawaz Alam and two associates, with links to pakistan but posing as an ISIS cell.

  2. They had materials for making explosives and were plotting a pre-Diwali attack in Delhi.

• Sikkim drowns in floods

  1. A cloudburst over Lhonak Lake triggered flash floods—and severely damaged the Teesta Urja dam on the Teesta river.

  2. All bridges downstream to the Teesta-V hydropower station have been submerged or washed out, disrupting communication to North Sikkim.

  3. The death toll has risen to 56 with over 100 still missing and 3000 tourists stranded in sikkim.

• India-Canada update

  1. India instructs Canada to recall 41 diplomats, aiming to achieve parity in diplomatic presence, going from 62 to 21.

  2. The move is perceived as a response to India's concerns about alleged Canadian diplomatic interference in its internal affairs, impacting visa timelines.

  3. Canada has been trying to calm the situation with Trudeau mentioning that they were not looking to escalate the situation with India.

• News-click offices raided 

  1. Delhi police conduct raids on 30 locations, including homes of journalists, questioning 46 individuals. NewsClick Editor-in-Chief and HR head are arrested under the UAPA act - which is only used for terrorists.

  2. The trigger was a NY Times report implicates left-leaning NGOs and publications globally in connection with a Chinese propaganda network led by Neville Roy Singham, a wealthy tech entrepreneur.

  3. FYI, news-click is left-leaning and sharply critical of the current govt. Check out Splainer’s coverage on the issue.

Business

• Godrej empire to be split up

  1. The Godrej family factions, one led by Adi Godrej and his brother Nadir, and one led by cousins Jamshyd Godrej and Smitha Godrej Crishna, are nearing a formal split of their diverse business ventures,

  2. Their ventures encompass engineering, appliances, security solutions, agriculture, real estate, and consumer products

• Dunzo in trouble, again!

  1. Most of the board members, namely 2 co-founders and 2 executives from major shareholder Reliance Retail, have resigned.

  2. This suggests concerns about potential company actions or doubts about its financial stability.

  3. Dunzo has also reportedly delayed salaries till February 2024.

• Slice becomes a bank

  1. Slice has received a very rare approval from RBI to merge with North-east small finance bank effectively converting the fintech into a bank.

  2. Slice has acquired 5% in 2023 for 27 crore.

  3. Slice’s last valuation - $1.5 Billion, NESFB’s valuation - $68 Million

• JSW nearing deal on MG India

  1. JSW Group seems set acquire around 35% of MG Motor India, a subsidiary of SAIC Motor, aiming to develop an electric car for the Indian market.

  2. MG Motor India, operational since 2019, has incurred losses of approximately Rs 1,720 crore.

  3. Reported valuation - $1 Billion

• IHC Boosts Adani Stake

  1. Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Co. has increased its stake in Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship company, to over 5%.

  2. IHC statement - “This strategic increase reflects IHC’s conviction in the world leading incubation model of Adani Enterprises ,”

• Ad-free Meta is expensive!

  1. New EU rules demanded social media platforms secure user consent for targeted ads. Meta's response is to offer an ad-free version at a monthly fee.

  2. They propose roughly €10/month for desktop access, €6 for each linked account, and around €13/month on mobile to account for app store commissions.

Sports, Culture & Everything else

• Nobel Prizes 2023 declared!

  1. Scientists who made the mRNA molecule discoveries that paved the way for Covid-19 vaccines, won the 2023 Nobel Prize for Medicine

  2. Traditional vaccines use weakened or inactive viruses, while mRNA vaccines provide genetic instructions to our bodies for making viral proteins without infecting us with the virus.

  3. See all details of this year’s nobel laureates here.

• Asian games medal tally

  1. India crossed the 100-medal tally at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou on Saturday, with 28 golds

  2. This is the best-ever performance of the Indian contingent in the tournament.

• Cricket world cup begins

  1.  The ODI men’s cricket world cup has begun on 5 Oct with the finals being scheduled for 19 November

  2. This world cup is expected to be high-scoring with India’s flat pitches and smaller ground sizes.

  3. Already, records were broken with the SA vs SL match recording 754 runs in a single match!

• Max Verstappen becomes 3-time F1 champion

  1. Max Verstappen become the F1 champion for the third consecutive time on saturday during the sprint race.

  2. Notably, Verstappen has been so dominant this season that if points for drivers placed 2 and 3 are pooled, max will still beat them by a margin

• Interesting tidbits

  1. U2 performed in Las Vegas’s new opened Sphere and it looks STUNNING!

  2. Apple admitted to heating issues in new Iphone 15 but assures that a bug fix is imminent.

  3. The world’s best whiskey is Indian! Brewed by Piccadilly Distilleries in Haryana, it is an Indian single malt made with six-row barley.

  4. A Bedbug outbreak is taking over Paris during fashion week.

  5. The 2030 Football world cup will be hosted jointly by Morocco, Spain & Portugal.

Global

• Pro-China Muizzu elected Maldives president

  1. Context: The election was being seen as a referendum between aligning with either China or India. Incumbent President Solih favoured India, while Muizzu inclined towards China.

  2. Pro-China candidate Mohamed Muizzu won by getting over 54% in the closely-fought election.

  3. The president-elect said he would stick to his campaign promise to remove Indian troops stationed in maldives.

• Israel declares war

  1. Hamas, the prominent Palestinian militant Islamist group, attacked Israel with rockets, prompting Israel to declare a state of war. Hamas has a long-standing dispute with Israel on the status of palestine.

  2. Hamas launched a major rocket attack on southern Israel at 6:30am. Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas' military wing, declared the start of "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood," stating they fired over 5,000 missiles and shells at enemy positions, airports, and military sites.

  3. Israel has now started the fight back with Israeli PM declaring ‘Israel will reduce hamas to rubble’. Over 1,500 have been wounded with 250 dead.

  4. This marks an unprecedented escalation in the eons long conflict.

• EU meet in kyiv amid Ukraine backtrack

  1. EU had a surprise meet in Kyiv, their first meet outside the EU, to rebut concerns that some countries’ support might be waning.

  2. Context: The US passed a temporary bill that did not include aid funds for Ukraine + Slovakia’s probable new prez being pro-russia.

• US speaker ousted from parliament

  1. US House of Representatives removes Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy due to party infighting over federal spending cuts. This marks an unprecedented event in US history, leaving everyone uncertain about the next steps!

  2. Context: The US government had narrowly avoided shutdown over disagreement on federal spending with the speaker desperately trying to appease hard-lined members of his own party.