The news that matters from across Bharat, good and bad
Welcome to Today’s Bharat. Here is what you need to know this week, in five minutes.
1. Cyclone Murasu, Andhra’s second in a week
Cyclone Murasu crossed the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole, between 3.30 am and 5.30 am on 3 November. It came just days after the very severe cyclonic storm Arnab made landfall further north on the same coastline on 28 October.
Siasat reported winds of 100 to 110 kmph, gusting to 120 kmph, at landfall. According to that report, 10,805 people were moved to cyclone shelters, standing crops were damaged over 30,661 acres in 15 districts, and thousands of trees and hundreds of electric poles came down. At least 19 domestic flights were cancelled. Down To Earth reported flooded farms and damaged houses, leaving thousands stranded. Source | Source
2. GST collections up nearly 23 percent in October
Gross GST collections grew nearly 23 percent year on year to over ₹2.31 lakh crore in October, according to All India Radio News. The growth was driven by strong domestic activity and a sharp rise in tax from imports.
Revenue from domestic sales rose 15.8 percent to over ₹1.59 lakh crore, while import revenue surged 42.2 percent to ₹72,246 crore. After refunds of ₹27,934 crore, net collections rose 25.6 percent to ₹2.03 lakh crore, up from over ₹1.61 lakh crore a year earlier. Source
3. Commercial LPG costlier for the third month running
The price of a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder went up by ₹10 to ₹2,820 from 1 November. This follows hikes of ₹62.50 on 1 October and ₹9.50 on 1 September. Domestic LPG is unchanged at ₹942 for a 14.2 kg cylinder, and petrol and diesel prices did not move.
Jet fuel (ATF) rose by ₹1.37 a litre to ₹138.50, its fourth monthly increase in a row. Prices can vary across states because of local taxes. Source
For the chaiwala, the caterer and the corner sweet shop, every rupee on a cylinder counts. Costs like these are set far away. Being easy to find is one thing a small business can still work on.
OpenMap gives local businesses, tutors, coaches and trainers their own page and AI agent, so people (and the AI assistants they use) can find them and send them requests. It is launching in London first.
If you know small business owners, tradespeople, tutors or trainers, in London or wherever your circle reaches, you can help them get found. Become an OpenMap partner
4. Delhi’s air turns very poor before Diwali
Delhi’s average air quality index stood at 367 on 5 November, in the “very poor” category. Jahangirpuri and IIT Delhi recorded 448 and 458, according to Central Pollution Control Board data. On 4 November, 22 of 59 monitoring stations were in the “severe” zone.
Stubble burning contributed 20.2 percent of Delhi’s pollution on 4 November, and vehicles 15.5 percent. Satellites logged 467 farm fires across six states that day, including 151 in Punjab. Air quality was expected to enter the “severe” category on 6 and 7 November, which would trigger emergency measures under GRAP. Source
5. Kerala-born Nithya Raman elected Los Angeles mayor
Nithya Raman has become Los Angeles’ first South Asian mayor-elect, defeating incumbent Karen Bass with 52.1 percent of the vote, The Better India reported on 6 November.
Born in Thrissur, she spent her early years in Thiruvananthapuram before her family moved to the US when she was about six. Before entering politics she worked in Delhi with slum residents facing eviction ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games and founded Transparent Chennai. She joined the Los Angeles City Council in 2020. Source
Also this week: DRDO flight-tested the indigenous Pralay surface-to-surface missile off the Odisha coast on 5 November, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said all objectives were met. Source
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Team Today’s Bharat