Top news of the day: India’s real GDP growth down to 5.4 per cent, cylone Fengal approaching TN, and more

The major news headlines of the day, and more.

Deep depression intensifies into Cyclone Fengal 

Tamil Nadu’s Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai has stated that the deep depression over Southwest Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 13 kmph during past the past six hours, intensified into cyclonic storm Fengal at 2.30 p.m. on Friday (November 29), about 310 km north-northeast of Trincomalee, 260 km east of Nagappattinam, 270 km east-southeast of Puducherry and 300 km southeast of Chennai. 

India’s real GDP growth slumps to multi-quarter low of 5.4% 

“India’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth slumped to a multi-quarter low of 5.4% in the July to September 2024 quarter (Q2 of 2024-25), from a five-quarter nadir of 6.7% in Q1, with Gross Value Added (GVA) growth slowing to 5.8% from 6.8% in Q1,” as per the National Statistical Office (NSO). This is the slowest GDP growth in seven quarters — the last occasion growth was lower was the October-December 2022 quarter when GDP had risen 4.3%.

Sambhal mosque row: SC instructs U.P. Police, district administration to ‘be absolutely neutral, maintain peace and harmony

The Supreme Court on Friday (November 29, 2024) gave a stern instruction to the Uttar Pradesh Police and Sambhal district administration to be “totally, absolutely neutral” and maintain peace after a civil court-ordered survey to verify claims of a mosque built over a destroyed temple in the 16th century, unleashed violence, loss of lives, arrests amidst communal tension.

World Chess Championship: Gukesh, Liren draw fourth game; tied 2-2 in 14-round showdown

Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren played out a draw in the fourth round to remain level on points in the World Chess Championship battle here on Friday. The two players signed peace after 42 moves and are tied on 2 points each after four games of the 14-round showdown.

Nine killed, 25 injured as State transport bus overturns in Maharashtra’s Gondia district 

At least nine passengers were killed and 25 others injured when a Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus overturned in Gondia district on Friday (November 29, 2024) afternoon, police said. Citing preliminary information, a senior police official said the MSRTC bus ‘Shiv Shahi’ was carrying 36 passengers and heading to Gondia district from Bhandara when it flipped over at Davva village under Sadakarjuni taluka while trying to overtake another vehicle.

Congress flags with EC ‘serious inconsistencies’ in polling, counting processes in Maharashtra polls 

The Congress on Friday (November 29, 2024) raised with the Election Commission “serious and grave inconsistencies” which it said were being revealed in the data relating to the polling and counting processes for the recently-concluded Maharashtra Assembly polls and sought an in-person hearing to present relevant evidence.

Government not informed about U.S. indictment on Adani, says MEA 

Government, on Friday (November 29, 2024), spoke about U.S. indictment on Adanis for the first time. The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the indictments are a “legal matter involving private firms and individuals and the U.S. Department of Justice,” and also clarified that the Government of India was not informed about the investigation in advance, nor has Indian Embassy in U.S. received an arrest warrant or legal requests so far.

Bangladesh freezes arrested Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das’ bank account 

“Bangladesh’s financial authorities have ordered freezing for 30 days the bank accounts of 17 people associated with International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON,) including its former member Chinmoy Krishna Das,” according to media reports on Friday (November 29, 2024.)

Boder-Gavaskar trophy: Return of top two players builds a lot of confidence, says Abhishek Nayar 

A nip in the air was obvious and while the Indians wound up their training, assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, clad in a pullover and with hands dug into his pockets, spoke about the ‘sweet-headache’ associated with the team. With Rohit Sharma back and Shubman Gill revealing signs of recovery from his left thumb injury, the question was centred around the selection headaches in the forthcoming Tests. 

Syed Modi International badminton: Favourites Sindhu, Lakshya stroll into semifinals  

Star Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen moved a step closer to clinching the women’s and men’s singles title respectively, registering straight-game wins to advance to the semifinals of the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament in Lucknow on Friday (November 29, 2024).

Doctor-population ratio in country is better than WHO standard: Nadda 

The doctor-population ratio is 1:811 in the country which is better than the WHO standard of 1:1000, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda informed the Lok Sabha on Friday (November 29, 2024). As per information provided by the National Medical Commission (NMC), there are 13,86,145 allopathic doctors registered with the State Medical Councils and the National Medical Commission (NMC) as on November, 2024, he said.

India’s office rentals see 3.6% growth; Pune, Chennai, Bengaluru top performers 

The average effective rentals across major cities in India have grown by 3.6% on a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR), according to what is being said to be India’s first commercial property rental index by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), in collaboration with CRE Matrix.

Syria insurgents push their advance toward second largest city Aleppo 

Thousands of Syrian insurgents pushed on with their advances on government-held areas in the country’s northwest, reaching the outskirts of Syria’s second-largest city, Aleppo, and wrestling control of several strategic towns and villages along the way, activists and fighters said Friday (November 29, 2024).

Core sectors’ output up 3.1% in October; best performance in three months 

Output in India’s eight core infrastructure sectors, that constitute a tad over 40% of industrial production, recovered to rise 3.1% in October, the best performance in three months in terms of growth as well as absolute output levels. The Index of Core Industries (ICI) which had slumped to a 10-month low in September, recovered 3.9% on a sequential basis to a provisional number of 161.3 in October. The Commerce and Industry Ministry also revised upwards the core sectors’ growth in September to 2.4% from a previously estimated 2%. This was preceded by a 1.6% contraction in the index in August, the first such shrinkage in three and a half years.

From Nisarga to Asani, the selection and naming of cyclone names

As another cyclone with an intriguing name is set to approach the Indian coasts after Asani, it is the turn of Thailand to name it ‘Sitrang’ pronounced Si-Trang. There are five regional bodies for monitoring and predicting tropical cyclones over its respective region. The Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC), Tropical Cyclones, New Delhi, gives a tropical cyclone formed over Indian Ocean an identification name from a given list.

Published - November 29, 2024 06:54 pm IST