daily news capsule
1. Charges framed against Lalu, Tejashwi a few weeks before elections
A Delhi court on Monday framed charges of corruption, conspiracy and fraud against RJD chief Lalu Prasad, his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi and his son and Bihar opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav in the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotel case. The case, which centers on alleged irregularities in leasing out two IRCTC hotels to a private company owned by Vijay and Vinay Kochhar during Lalu Prasad’s tenure as Union Railway Minister, has been investigated by the CBI. The agency alleges that the tender process was rigged to benefit Kochhar’s company in exchange for transfer of land and company shares to Lalu Prasad’s family at throwaway prices. Framing charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for criminal conspiracy and cheating, Special Judge Vishal Gogane said there was prima facie material to show that Lalu Prasad “misused his position” as Railway Minister to influence the tender process. Lalu Prasad and his family sought a hearing in the case, which will begin on October 27, when the prosecution will begin presenting its evidence. This development has come to light at a time when large-scale assembly elections are going to be held in Bihar next month.
Possible question
Question: Discuss how corruption in public procurement processes undermines governance and development. Suggest reforms to increase transparency and accountability in awarding government contracts.
2. TN shuts down pharma company over cough syrup deaths
The Tamil Nadu government on Monday canceled the manufacturing license of Sreesan Pharmaceuticals, which produces the now banned contaminated cough syrup Coldrif, which is linked to the deaths of several children in Madhya Pradesh, an official statement said. The Tamil Nadu health department has also ordered widespread inspections in all drug manufacturing units in the state, officials said, adding that statewide inspections are underway. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a health advisory warning about three contaminated cough syrups identified in India, which include Coldrif, Respifresh TR and Relife manufactured by Srisan Pharmaceuticals, Rednex Pharmaceuticals and Shape Pharma respectively. “The drug manufacturing license of Sreesan Pharmaceuticals has been completely canceled and the company has been closed down. A detailed inspection of other drug manufacturing companies based in Tamil Nadu has been ordered,” the state health department said.
Possible question
Question: Critically examine the challenges faced in regulating India’s pharmaceutical sector, especially small and medium manufacturers. How can the regulatory capacity and global credibility of Indian medicines be strengthened?
3. Inflation rate at historic low of 1.7% in September quarter
India’s benchmark inflation fell to its lowest level of 1.7% in the quarter ended September, also becoming the first quarter when inflation has fallen below the Reserve Bank of India’s target band of 2%-6%. This unique achievement is a result of the monthly inflation print for September coming in at 1.5%, which is in line with Bloomberg forecast of economists.
The consumer price index rose 1.5% in September, the lowest number since June 2017. Certainly, the exceptionally benign inflation in September is a result of deflation in food prices rather than the goods and services reforms implemented on September 22, which have reduced indirect tax rates on many goods and services. Analysts believe the latest trend increases the likelihood that inflation will fall below the RBI’s target of 2.6% for fiscal year 2025-26 and expect the RBI to reduce interest rates at the Monetary Policy Committee meeting in December.
Possible question
Question: What are the risks of prolonged low inflation for a developing economy like India? Analyze the implications for monetary policy, growth, and investment.
4. The trio that explained the relationship between innovation and development received the Nobel in Economics
The Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded on Monday to American-Israeli Joel Mokyr, France’s Philippe Aghion and Canada’s Peter Howitt for explaining the link between technology-driven innovation and economic growth. His work was credited with helping economists better understand how new ideas and inventions occur – a process as old as the steam engine replacing horse-drawn transportation and as contemporary as e-commerce shuttering shopping malls. Mokyr, 79, won half of the prize “for identifying the necessary conditions for sustained development through technological progress”. Aghion, 69, and Howitt, 79, shared the other half “for the principle of continuous evolution through creative destruction.” The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, commonly known as the Nobel Prize in Economics, is awarded at a time when the world is on the cusp of a new technology boom – most prominently, astonishing advances in artificial technology that, along with increasing protectionism and trade instability, threaten to overhaul labor practices in skilled sectors.
Possible question
Question: Explain the concept of “creative destruction” in economic theory. How relevant is this to India’s efforts to leverage innovation-led growth in the age of AI and automation?
5. Tajikistan donates ice cores to study climate history
Tajikistan on Monday became the first country to donate two ice cores to the international scientific community – one for the Pamir research program and the Ice Memory Sanctuary in Antarctica. The ice cores were collected from the Kon Chukurbashi region of the Pamirs, one of the areas the scientific community calls the “Karakoram Anomaly.” An ice core is a vertical column of ice derived from glaciers and ice sheets; They have a record of what the planet was like hundreds of thousands of years ago. The oldest ice cores can be between 500,000 and 800,000 years old. On September 24, an international team of scientists began a new ice coring expedition on the Kon Chukurbashi ice cap, at an altitude of 5,800 meters in the Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan. A team of thirteen scientists and Tajik partners, led by the Swiss-funded PAMIR project, extracted deep ice layers from the Pamir for the first time from a depth of about 105 metres. According to glaciologists, the Pamirs are one of the last major high-altitude regions that have never received any deep snow cover. A statement from the Pamir Research Program said, “If many glaciers in Tajikistan’s Pamir Mountains still appear resilient in the face of global warming, scientists don’t know how much longer this will last. Previous efforts to extract the ice cores have been hampered by challenging site access, complex logistics, and other limited resources.” These ice cores will eventually be sent to Japan and Antarctica for research on the climate history of the region.
Possible question
Question: How can paleoclimate studies, such as ice core research, inform India’s climate adaptation policies? Explain with examples from Himalayan glacier study.
Editorial Snapshot
A. The land is changing in Bihar
The gist of the seat arrangement announced by the NDA for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections is that either the Janata Dal (United) or the JD (U) are no longer in pole position. Since 2005, the JD(U) has decided to contest more seats than the BJP in all assembly elections, sending the message that the former, which claims the legacy of Mandal politics in the state, is the leader of the alliance. This time, BJP and JD(U) will contest the same number of seats – 101-101 – indicating an imminent change in Bihar politics. The shift in the balance of power within the NDA is also a reflection of the generational change taking place at the top – it has been looming since the JD(U)’s poor performance in the last assembly elections, and should be seen in the context of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s faltering health. He has now become the NDA’s symbol rather than the general of its troops, useful for consolidating non-Yadav OBC votes, especially the extremely backward castes (EBCs), and emphasizing the “jungle”. Rule“Under Lalu Prasad and the RJD. In some ways, Lalu’s retreat from electoral politics may reduce Kumar’s electoral usefulness, although his legacy as the Mandal face andgood governance babu“(Good governance leaders) make the NDA campaign a layered campaign. In the 2020 assembly elections, the BJP won 74 of the 110 seats it contested, ahead of the JD(U), which won 43 of the 115 seats. Can Kumar unite his cadre, consolidate his support base and defend its ground this time?
Possible question
Question: Examine the role of caste politics in shaping electoral strategies in Bihar. How do the changing alliances within the NDA reflect larger trends in India’s coalition politics?
B. Road of Destruction for Pedestrians
Nearly 100 pedestrians die in road accidents every day in India. In this backdrop, there is an urgent need to implement the directions to make Indian roads safe for pedestrians – including compliance with standards specified by the Indian Road Congress – issued by the Supreme Court earlier this month. Many aspects of road infrastructure, administration and use need to be fixed if pedestrian deaths are to be reduced. To begin with, roads in India are designed with only vehicular traffic in mind: pedestrians are an afterthought, as evidenced by the lack of functioning footpaths. Very few people received training in designing with a holistic view of safety and ease of transportation. Similarly, regulatory authorities oversee the quality and efficiency of construction, not enforcement based on road planning and management. This deficit is compounded by outdated processes, where the absence of urban designers and landscape experts impacts tender evaluation. Additionally, traffic policing is virtually non-existent in most cities, except for fare-seeking. Without immediate change here, the necessary discipline and safe traffic behavior among citizens will remain elusive.
Possible question
Question: Road safety remains a major public policy challenge in India. Evaluate the institutional, structural and behavioral factors responsible for high pedestrian deaths and suggest policy measures to address them.
today’s fact
Gold’s record rally explained: After spending most of the 2010s in Range of Rs 40,000-50,000 per 10 grams, domestic prices have now gone even higher 100,000, doubling in a few years. The rally has been driven by a mix of factors: inflation concerns, geopolitical conflicts, and expectations of a US rate cut that have driven up the price of gold in international markets. Meanwhile, the dollar has weakened, and the rupee has steadily fallen, so Indians already invested in gold are getting a double boost, namely a rise in the international price and appreciation of the currency. Central banks are quietly resuming accumulation of gold despite seeing their purchases taper off earlier this year due to pricing pressures. Globally, over the long run, equities like the S&P 500 have generally given higher returns. However, gold prices in India since 2008 have risen much faster than the benchmark BSE Sensex. Moreover, the gold purchasing behavior of Indian households is unlikely to change on the occasion of price changes. For example, in both 2023 and 2024, prices rose sharply by 16% to 20%, yet imports rose rather than fell, underscoring how seasonal demand and cultural factors can outweigh cost implications when it comes to gold in India. The demand for gold jewelery in India in 2023 was around 575.8 tonnes, while that of bars and coins was 185.2 tonnes, while in 2024 the demand for jewelery declined to 563.4 tonnes, but the investment of bars and coins increased to 239.4 tonnes. Even as retail demand for jewelery declined under pressure from higher prices, aggregate demand increased as households turned to bars and coins, strengthening gold’s position as both jewelery and a reliable savings instrument. However, the latest data from the World Gold Council indicates that the latest surge in prices is leading to a decline in demand in the first two quarters of 2025.
