Defence Minister Rajnath Singh dedicated to the nation 75 infrastructure projects built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at a function organised at Darbuk-Shyok-Daulet Beg Oldi (D-D-DBO) road in Ladakh on Oct 29.

The highlight of the event was the onsite unveiling of the 120-metre-long ‘class-70 Shyok Setu’ on the DS-DBO road at an altitude of 14,000 feet and the virtual inauguration of two helipads, one each in Hanle and Thakung, in eastern Ladakh.

The bridge will be of strategic importance as it will facilitate the logistics movement of the armed forces. Other projects inaugurated virtually by Singh included two helipads, one each in Hanle and Thakung, in eastern Ladakh. These helipads will enhance the operational capabilities of the Indian Air Force in the region.

The 75 projects implemented by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) included 45 bridges, 27 roads, two helipads and one ‘Carbon Neutral Habitat’. Twenty of the projects are in Jammu and Kashmir, 18 each in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, five in Uttarakhand and 14 in other border states of Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Oct 29 said the Indian steel industry ranks second in the world and the government aims to double the production of crude steel in the country in the next decade.

In a virtual address at the Bhoomi Pujan of Nippon Steel’s Hazira Plant Expansion Project in Gujarat’s Surat, the PM praised the Indian steel manufacturers. The government had set a target of increasing crude steel production capacity from 154 million tonnes to 300 million tonnes. Talking about India’s progress in defence manufacturing, the PM said scientists have developed special steel to be used in the construction of aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.

The Prime Minister said that through the steel plant, not only investment was taking place but doors of many new possibilities were also opening. Referring to the world’s expectations from India, the Prime Minister said India was rapidly moving towards becoming the world’s largest manufacturing hub and the government is actively engaged in creating the necessary policy environment for the development of this sector.

ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) – a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel, two of the world’s leading steelmakers - will expand crude steel capacity at its Hazira plant from 9 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 15 MTPA.

The present annual crude steel capacity of the country is 144 MTPA. The leading players include Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) at 20.63 MTPA and Tata Steel with an annual crude steel production capacity of 34 MTPA.

With Home Minister Amit Shah announcing  that Pahari community in J&K would get ST reservation soon, the Gujjar and Bakerwal community leaders, who are opposing it, have formed a united front Gujjar Bakerwal Joint Action Committee (GBJAC) to fight for the rights of tribal and oppose any move of granting ST reservation to Paharis or any other creamy layers of the society. GBJAC chief spokesman Talib Hussain said various Gujjar and Bakerwal groups and student bodies have joined hands and formed the GBJAC to fight for their rights. The new united front would be led by Haji Mohammad Yousaf.

Gujjar and Bakerwals with a population of over 2 million, he said, were notified as Schedule Tribe in the erstwhile J&K state in 1991 after a struggle of four decades.

The Paharis, he said, aren’t defined as an ethnic community by any sociological or anthropological research study. 

In a major development on Oct 29 , senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and party MLA from Rampur, Mohammad Azam Khan was disqualified from the UP assembly by the speaker. The disqualification came a day after Khan was convicted and sentenced to three-year imprisonment by Rampur MP/MLAs court in a case of hate speech registered against him in April 2019.

The 74-year-old Khan's disqualification will necessitate a by-poll to the Rampur assembly constituency. Azam Khan won the seat in 2022.

Mahendrasinh Vaghela, son of former Gujarat Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela, joined the Congress, ahead of the state Assembly election.

The 58-year-old former MLA was welcomed into the fold by Gujarat Congress president Jagdish Thakor at the party headquarters.

Adieu Godard, an Odia movie that has won multiple awards, has been selected as a finalist in the feature film category at the Cardiff International Film Festival.

The film narrates how an elderly pornography-addicted man becomes an avid fan of Jean-Luc-Godard, considered the pioneer of the French New Wave film movement in the 1960s.

The online film festival is being held in the capital of Wales from October 28 to 30.

Qatar summoned the German ambassador on Oct 29 over remarks by Germany's interior minister, who appeared to criticize the decision to award the World Cup to the Gulf Arab nation because of its human rights record.

It was the first time Qatar has summoned an ambassador following years of heavy international scrutiny of its treatment of migrant workers and criminalization of homosexual relations.

With just weeks to go before the start of the soccer tournament, Qatari officials appear increasingly frustrated with such criticism, which they say is often unfounded and ignores progress on labor issues in recent years. Some have questioned the motives of critics, accusing them of unfairly singling out the first Arab or Muslim nation to host the world's biggest sporting event.

Over 1.2 million fans are expected to descend on the tiny desert nation, whose natural gas riches have made it among the wealthiest countries on earth, for the month-long tournament that begins Nov. 20.

The government has extended restrictions on sugar exports till October 31 next year, a move aimed at increasing the availability of the commodity in the domestic market.

Earlier, the restrictions were imposed till October 31 this year.

However, it said these restrictions will not be applicable to sugar being exported to the EU and the US under CXL and TRQ duty concession quotas.

A specified amount of sugar is exported to these regions under CXL and TRQ (tariff rate quota).

India has been the highest producer and the second largest exporter of sugar in the world in the current year.