A look at the headlines right now:

  1. GDP growth slowdown ‘is a very serious concern’, Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee tells CNBC-TV18: The economist, who won the prize along with Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer, said the government should conduct pilot studies and evaluate poverty alleviation policies before implementing them.   
  2. RBI raises PMC Bank customers’ withdrawal limit from Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000: Meanwhile, a court in Mumbai on Monday extended till October 16 the police custody of HDIL Directors Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan, and PMC Bank former Chairperson Waryam Singh.   
  3. Postpaid mobile services in Kashmir restored after 72 days: J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik said boys and girls in Kashmir can now talk to each other on phone after postpaid mobile services resumed.
  4. Zakir Naik inspired most of the 127 people arrested for suspected links to Islamic State, says NIA: Thirty three such suspects were arrested from Tamil Nadu, 19 from Uttar Pradesh, and 17 from Kerala, said the agency’s Inspector-General Alok Mittal.   
  5. VHP denied permission to light lamps at disputed site in Ayodhya, told to approach Supreme Court: The district commissioner said ‘no religious activity beyond the Supreme Court’s mandate on the issue will be allowed’. 
  6. Retail inflation rose to an 11-month high of 3.99% in September, shows data: Consumer Price Index-based inflation in rural areas stood at 3.24%, and at 4.78% in urban areas.   
  7. ‘You will see PM Modi with Trump but never with farmers,’ says Rahul Gandhi at Haryana election rally: The prime minister claimed Opposition parties in the state were crumbling and their attempts to unite against the BJP were falling apart.   
  8. ‘Pakistan must prevent militant activities on its soil, prosecute Hafiz Saeed,’ says US: Alice Wells comments came at a time when the global anti-terror watchdog is holding meetings to decide if Islamabad should be retained in the ‘grey list’.   
  9. Nirmala Sitharaman’s husband says Centre is in ‘denial mode’ about economic slowdown: In an op-ed article in ‘The Hindu’, economist Parakala Prabhakar advised the BJP to ‘wholly embrace’ the PV Narasimha Rao-Manmohan Singh economic architecture.   
  10. Xi Jinping warns of ‘bodies smashed, bones ground to powder’ amid Hong Kong protest: During his visit to Nepal, the president said external forces supporting the division of China ‘can only be regarded as delusional’.