HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9.55 pm: NATION DEL52 VIRUS-EC-LD ADVISORY COVID-19: EC frets as parties violate distancing norms during poll campaigning New Delhi: The Election Commission on Wednesday took a serious view of "utter violation" of social distancing norms during poll campaigning and leaders addressing public meetings without wearing masks in complete disregard of its guidelines. DEL81 CAB-LD JK-PANCHAYATI RAJ Union Cabinet approves order modifying Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the adoption of a Home Ministry order modifying the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989, that will strengthen local bodies with a three-tier power structure that will be directly elected by the people in the UT as in other parts of the country.

DEL73 EC-KAMALNATH-LD NOTICE EC notice to Kamal Nath on 'item' jibe New Delhi: The Election Commission on Wednesday issued a notice to former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and Congress leader Kamal Nath on his "item" jibe at BJP candidate and state minister Imarti Devi, saying his remarks were found to be in violation of the model code in place in the state due to the assembly by-election. DEL71 DEF-ARMYCHIEF-THEATERISATION Theaterisation of armed forces next logical step after appointment of CDS: Army Chief New Delhi: After the "momentous" step of appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the next logical move in military reforms would be to set up integrated theatre commands to synergise the capabilities of the three services during war and peace, Chief of Army Staff Gen MM Naravane said on Wednesday.

DEL41 FORCES-SERVICES Govt replaces safai karamchari, kahar categorisation for CAPF jawans with MTS, kitchen services New Delhi: The government has done away with service categorisations like safai karamchari, kahar, farash and masalchi for the lowest ranks of paramilitary jawans and replaced them with professional designations like multi-tasking staff and kitchen services. By Neelabh Srivastava DEL59 CAB-LD BONUS Central govt announces Rs 3,737 cr bonus for 30.67 lakh employees New Delhi: The government on Wednesday decided to give Rs 3,737 crore bonus to 30.67 lakh central government employees to encourage spending during the festival season and add to demand in the economy. DEL76 MEA-INDOUS Indo-US two-plus-two talks on Oct 27 in Delhi: MEA New Delhi: India will host the third edition of the two-plus-two ministerial dialogue with the US on October 27, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Wednesday. DEL25 ITBP-CHINA-COMMAND ITBP deputes first officer to head eastern command along LAC New Delhi: The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which guards the LAC with China, has posted its first officer to head the newly-created Guwahati-based eastern command that oversees deployment of border battalions in that region.

BOM29 MH-2ND LDALL KHADSE Khadse quits BJP for NCP; says Fadnavis destroyed his life Mumbai: Sulking since his unceremonious exit from the Devendra Fadnavis-led ministry in 2016, senior Maharashtra BJP leader Eknath Khadse on Wednesday quit the party and will join the Sharad Pawar-led NCP later this week. CAL23 WB-BIMAL GURUNG-NDA Bimal Gurung's GJM walks out of NDA, to support TMC in 2021 Bengal Assembly polls Kolkata: GJM supremo Bimal Gurung, on the run since 2017 following an agitation for a separate state in Darjeeling, on Wednesday said his outfit has decided to walk out of the NDA, as the BJP-led dispensation "failed to find a permanent political solution" for the Hills.

DEL38 BOOK-BOFORS-RAGHAVAN Bofors is example of case sabotaged by party with lot to hide: former CBI chief Raghavan New Delhi: The Bofors scandal is an example of a genuine case being sabotaged by a government run by a party that has a lot to hide, says former CBI chief R K Raghavan, placing the "guilt" of the case not succeeding in court on those that controlled the agency in the 1990s and in 2004-2014. Business DEL57 BIZ-GOVT-ONION Govt relaxes import norms for onion to boost domestic supply, check prices New Delhi: The government on Wednesday relaxed import norms till December 15 to facilitate the early shipment of onion to boost the domestic supply and check the retail prices of the key kitchen staple.

Legal LGB3 MH-HC-SUSHANT-MEDIA TRIAL HC raises questions over Republic TV's reportage in Rajput death case Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday demanded to know from the Republic TV if asking viewers who should be arrested in a case in which a probe is going on, and infringing upon a person's rights qualified as "investigative journalism". Foreign FGN9: CHINA-INDIA-SOLDIER Beijing: The Indian Army on Wednesday handed over a Chinese soldier who was apprehended in eastern Ladakh to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), the Chinese Defence Ministry said.

FGN27 NASA-LD SPACECRAFT-ASTEROID NASA spacecraft touches down on asteroid Bennu, collects rock samples Washington: After a four-year-long journey, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully touched down on the rugged surface of asteroid Bennu on Tuesday, and unfurled its robotic arm to collect a sample of rocks dating back to the birth of our solar system to bring back to Earth, the US space agency said..

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)