Morning Digest: No clarity yet on sharing of seats in Mahayuti, MVA for Maharashtra polls; Mobile app for birth and death registration launched, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on October 30, 2024

Maharashtra witnessed dramatic scenes on the last day to file nominations for the Assembly election, with confusion in both the ruling and Opposition alliances regarding their exact formulas for seat-sharing. For both the Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi, full clarity is only likely to arrive after Deepavali when the deadline to withdraw nominations arrives on November 4.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday (October 29, 2024) launched the Civil Registration System (CRS) mobile application to “integrate technology with governance”.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has directed manufacturers to reduce the maximum retail price (MRP) of three anti-cancer drugs – Trastuzumab, Osimertinib and Durvalumab – in line with the government’s commitment to ensure the availability of drugs at affordable prices.  

In the aftermath of a fire accident at the Anjootambalam Veererkavu temple at Nileshwaram in Kasaragod district of Kerala on Tuesday (October 29, 2024), a total of 154 individuals had sought medical attention, with 101 currently under treatment across multiple hospitals.

A single Israeli air strike on a residential block left nearly 100 dead on Tuesday (October 29, 2024), Gaza’s civil defence agency said, as Israel faced criticism after its parliament voted to ban the key U.N. aid agency working in the Palestinian territory.

The Election Commission on Tuesday (October 29, 2024) rejected as “baseless” allegations made by the Congress of irregularities in the Haryana Assembly election and cautioned it and other political parties against “unfounded and sensational” complaints at sensitive junctures such as polling and counting days.

After several delays, the F-404 jet engines, meant to power the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk1A, are expected to be delivered by the U.S. engine manufacturer, General Electric (GE), by March or April 2025, according to sources in the know. The contractual obligations in terms of penalty for delayed deliveries have been invoked, sources has said.