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. Festive buying pushes GST collections up 23%
Gross GST collections rose 23% year on year to over ₹2.31 lakh crore in October, government data released on Sunday showed. It is the second-highest monthly collection on record, behind only the ₹2.43 lakh crore collected in April, and was supported by festive season shopping.
Revenue from domestic transactions grew 16% to over ₹1.59 lakh crore, while collections from imports jumped 42% to ₹72,246 crore. Refunds rose 6.5% to ₹27,934 crore. After refunds, net collections grew 26% to over ₹2.03 lakh crore.
2. Cyclone Murasu makes landfall near Ongole
Severe cyclonic storm Murasu crossed the southern Andhra Pradesh coast near Ongole in Prakasam district at around 1 am on Tuesday, according to the IMD. It is the second cyclone to hit the region in a week, after Cyclone Arnab.
The state disaster management authority said no deaths or injuries had been reported so far. In all, 10,805 people were moved to cyclone shelters, 171 relief camps were set up and 14,810 food packets were handed out. More than 30,000 hectares of standing crops were damaged across 15 districts, with Krishna, Bapatla and Nandyal worst affected. Paddy, cotton and maize took the biggest hit.
3. Commercial LPG and jet fuel get costlier again
From 1 November, the price of a 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder went up by ₹10 to ₹2,820. It is the second monthly hike in a row, after a ₹62.50 increase on 1 October.
This is the cylinder used by businesses, not homes. Jet fuel rose by ₹1.37 a litre to ₹138.50, its fourth straight monthly increase. Household LPG stays unchanged at ₹942 for a 14.2-kg cylinder, and petrol and diesel prices are also unchanged. Rates are revised monthly based on international prices and the rupee-dollar rate, and vary by state because of local taxes.
No neighbourhood eatery can decide what a gas cylinder costs. What it can shape is how easily the next customer finds it, along with the caterer, the tiffin service and the tutor working from home in the same lane.
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, tutors or trainers who deserve to be found, in London or wherever your circle reaches, please help us reach them. Become an OpenMap partner
4. Iveco is now a Tata Motors company
Tata Motors has completed the first settlement of its tender offer for Italian truck and bus maker Iveco Group, taking an 89.42% stake. About 238.16 million shares were settled at €14.4 each, making Iveco an indirect subsidiary of Tata Motors.
Natarajan Chandrasekaran becomes Iveco’s chairperson, while Olof Persson stays on as chief executive. Remaining shareholders can tender their shares from 2 to 6 November, with final settlement due on 13 November.
5. Pune’s Hinjawadi metro line opens in phases
Pune Metro Line 3, linking Maan, Hinjawadi and Shivajinagar, was scheduled for inauguration on 3 November at Balewadi Stadium, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi joining virtually. The 23.2-km elevated corridor has 23 stations, and passenger services were set to begin at 17 of them from 4 November.
The two Balewadi stations are expected by late November or early December, and the full line by January 2027. Built by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority under a public-private partnership, the line is estimated to cost ₹8,313 crore and will run trains every six minutes at peak hours.
If this helped you catch up, please forward it to someone who wants the week’s news without the noise. See you in the next edition.
Team Today’s Bharat