Triple talaq anti-women, says Modi

• Addressing a Bundelkhand Parivartan rally in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Modi raised the issue of triple talaq among Muslims while condemning the practice of female foeticide among Hindus.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke out strongly against triple talaq, arguing that in the 21 century the “lives of Muslim women cannot be allowed to be ruined” by the contentious custom.

Quota for OBC in Navodaya Vidyalayas: Minister

• Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas are present in each district of the country. Students coming from rural backgrounds take admission in these schools each year. In these schools, there is reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes but not for the OBCs.
• Minister of State for Human Resource Development Upendra Kushwaha said the Centre would soon work to provide reservations in Navodaya Vidyalayas to students from the Other Backward Classes (OBC).

Clinton consolidates lead over Trump

• The Democratic former secretary of state vying to become America's first female president leads the Republican real estate mogul among likely voters by 50 percent to 38 percent, according to a national ABC News poll.
• Most polls put Trump a few points behind Clinton there.
• That is her highest score since the start of the race to succeed Barack Obama in the White House.

Philippines Duterte tells U.S. to forget about defence deal ‘if I stay longer’

• Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte hit out at the United States on Tuesday, saying he did not start a fight with Washington , he was against the presence of any foreign troops in his country and the United States could “forget” an Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the Philippines, if he stayed longer, without elaborating.
• The United States, he said, should not treat the Philippines “like a dog with a leash”, adding to confusion about the future the longtime allies ties.

ISRO starts landing tests for Chandrayaan-2 mission

• The Indian Space Research Organsiation started a series of ground and aerial tests linked to the critical Moon landing of Chandrayaan-2.
• ISRO Satellite Centre or ISAC, the lead centre for the second Moon mission, has artificially created close to ten craters to simulate the lunar terrain and test the Lander’s sensors.
• Its new site at Challakere in Chitradurga district, 400 km from Bengaluru.
• Chandrayaan-2 is tentatively set for late 2017 or early 2018 and includes soft-landing on Moon and moving a rover on its surface.

Tata Group stocks fall after sudden removal of Cyrus Mistry

• Shares of Tata Group companies opened weak , a day after the board of Tata Sons announced the sudden removal of chairman Cyrus Mistry.
• Shares of Tata Steel were trading at Rs.415.50, down Rs.10.70 or 2.51 per cent during the opening trades. Similarly, software major TCS lost Rs.17.90 or 0.74 per cent to trade at Rs.2,409.95.
• Shares of Tata Power also lost 1.44 per cent or Rs,1.20 to trade at 82.40. Automobile major Tata Motors also lost marginally to trade at Rs.558.35.
• Tata Coffee, Tata Chemicals, Tata Elxsi, Tata Global Beverages and Indian Hotels were alsp trading in the red when trading opened on 25-10- 2016.

Emami to set up cement plant in Andhra Pradesh

• Diversified FMCG Group Emami is planning to set up cement units in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan as part of its plans to build a cement production capacity of about 20 million tonnes by 2019.
• The unveiling of the group’s cement brand — Double Bull. Emami Cement is a new entrant in this segment.