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October 29, 2026
Thanks for readingWe will be back tomorrow with the latest news out of India. Thank you for joining us!
Edited by:Roshni Majumdar
Skip next section Bangladesh sentences ally of former PM Hasina to death in absentiaOctober 29, 2026
Bangladesh sentences ally of former PM Hasina to death in absentiaBangladesh sentenced another ally of ousted leader Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia on Thursday.
The court also sentenced three more party leaders from Hasina's Awami League to life in prison.
Hasina fled to India after the 2024 uprising that ended her rule. She also faces a death sentence in absentia. This has proved a source of tension between Delhi and Dhaka.
She and leading members of her party face charges from Bangladesh's new government of complicity in the deaths or injuries to protesters during the uprising.
The United Nations estimates that as many as 1,400 people were killed in total between July and August 2024.
The leader sentenced to death on Thursday was Md Mahbubul Alam Hanif, a joint general secretary of the Awami League, who was a government minister during Hasina's 15-year rule.
The charges for all four defendants pertained the deaths of six people in the western Kushtia district durign the unrest.
Prosecutors said the charges were "undoubtedly proved," defense lawyers called the verdict "unacceptable."
Hasina has said she does not recognize the authority of the court that sentenced her to hang. She has also said that, despite the outstanding death sentence, she plans to return to Bangladesh of her own volition in December.
Edited by:Roshni Majumdar
Skip next section Finance ministry increases 2027 growth prediction, warns of continued inflation and currency risksOctober 29, 2026
Finance ministry increases 2027 growth prediction, warns of continued inflation and currency risksThe Ministry of Finance expects India's economy to grow at a pace of 7.3% in the current fiscal year based on its latest assessment of current data, it said in its October economic review.
The estimate is a slight increase on the previous forecast of 7.1%.
India's current fiscal year, known as FY27, runs from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027.
The report contrasted these figures with global growth predictions of nearer 3%, saying "India's growth momentum, by comparison, has held firm."
The ministry said growth in various key indicators like energy consumption, port traffic, goods and services tax (GST) collections, and car sales had accelerated in the previous quarter.
However, the ministry also warned of continued inflationary pressure and pressure on the rupee currency, as well as downside risks from the El Nino weather phonemenon that could threaten soil moisture ahead of the winter sowing season.
It said that external factors like oil prices and "global uncertainties" — seemingly a reference at least in part to the instablity in the Middle East — continued to pressure the rupee's value and pose inflationary risks.
Although it has been a comparatively slow decline, the rupee has been consistently losing value against the US dollar over the past five years, threatening the country's relative purchasing power internationally. This slide has picked up pace in the last 15 months or so.
But the ministry pointed to foreign exchange reserves worth some $721 billion and said that India was "well-positioned" to weather such risks and sustain its expansionary trajectory.
Edited by:Roshni Majumdar
Skip next section Opposition bloc promises 'public impeachment' process against election chiefOctober 29, 2026
Opposition bloc promises 'public impeachment' process against election chiefSeveral leaders from India's opposition alliance, the INDIA bloc, have finalized the "public impeachment" proceedings they intend to carry out against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the controversial revision of voter lists.
They did this in a meeting on Thursday at Indian National Congress (INC) President Mallikarjun Kharge's residence while he himself was in Bengaluru, local media reported.
They now plan to hold a mock Parliament sitting at Kharge's residence on Friday to conduct the "public impeachment" which is purely symbolic.
It will include speeches by opposition leaders, accounts by victims of the electoral roll revision, a motion passed by Kharge and a concluding speech by INC leader Rahul Gandhi. That's ahead of a planned November 1 rally to demand Kumar's removal.
The Election Commission of India began the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in 2025 to remove redundancies from India's electoral rolls including dead voters and those appearing more than once. Since then over 13 crore (130 Million) voter names have been deleted. There have also been reported irregularities allegedly on Kumar's part to the benefit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.
The BJP has denied allegations that the SIR exercise has benefited them, arguing it helped weed out "infiltrators" from the voter list.
On Tuesday, the INC claimed it was denied permission to hold the "public impeachment" of CEC Kumar at various venues, the Hindustan Times reported, and accused the government of trying to "silence" the voice of common people after "destroying" the electoral system.
Under law, the CEC can be removed by the Indian parliament through a process similar to the impeachment of a Supreme Court judge. He or she may also resign by submitting a written resignation to the president of India.
Edited by:Elizabeth Schumacher
Skip next section Odisha plans air evacuations from marooned villagesOctober 29, 2026
Odisha plans air evacuations from marooned villagesHeavy flooding remained a issue on ThursdayImage: ANI/IMAGOThe east Indian state of Odisha is coordinating with the central Home Ministry to airlift people from the cyclone-struck Ganjam district where hundreds of villages remain inaccessible after heavy rain.
Ganjam was among some of the worst-affected districts in the state, authorities had earlier said. Some 300 villages there have been marooned due to heavy rain and flash floods, Press Trust of India reported citing a top state official.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg said teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force have begun rescue operations in the affected areas, but air evacuations could be delayed by low cloud level and continued rain.
Within Ganjam, Sorada village was among the worst affected with the Rushikulya river overflowing due to extremely heavy rainfall over the last three days.
Edited by:Elizabeth Schumacher
Skip next section 'RSS Friends' registers in US to bolster outreachOctober 29, 2026
'RSS Friends' registers in US to bolster outreachA group of "well-wishers" of the India-based Rashtriya Sayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has registered with the US Department of Justice as a foreign agent of the right-wing Hindu nationalist group, news agency Press Trust of India reported on Thursday.
The RSS is a 101-year-old organization with millions of followers across India. It presents itself as the guardian of Hindu values, while critics widely classify it as a paramilitary organization. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has deep roots in the RSS, its influence reaches to the highest levels of political power. The Group is the ideological parent of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
100 years of the Hindu nationalist RSS movementTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
'RSS Friends,' which provided a Georgia address for itself, listed a Delhi branch of RSS in India as its "foreign principal."
The group said its proposed activities are primarily informational, educational, public-relations and community-engagement activities.
"RSS Friends does not have a written employment, consulting, lobbying, public-relations, or agency agreement with RSS containing specified deliverables, compensation, or detailed operational instructions," the group said, adding that the lack of contract did not mean the connection did not exist.
The registration of RSS Friends was submitted two days before RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's outreach program at New York's Madison Square Garden on August 29. The controversial appearance is believed to be part of the RSS' global campaign to counter perceptions that it is a paramilitary group involved in violence against minority communities.
India: Hindu nationalists force religious conversionsTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
What else do we know about RSS Friends?The group's website describes itself as a "dedicated well-wisher organization" seeking to address misrepresentation of RSS by US media or other "politically motivated actors."
Its social media, too, largely covered Bhagwat's NYC Event and has since been inactive.
Edited by:Elizabeth Schumacher
Skip next section IN PICTURES: Cyclone Arnab's trail of destruction:October 29, 2026
IN PICTURES: Cyclone Arnab's trail of destruction:Edited by:Elizabeth Schumacher
Skip next section Cyclone Arnab damages homes and farmlands in eastern IndiaOctober 29, 2026
Cyclone Arnab damages homes and farmlands in eastern IndiaCyclone Arnab on Wednesday battered Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, damaging homes, farmland and electricity infrastructure, authorities said.
The cyclone made a prolonged landfall early Wednesday as a "very severe cyclonic storm" in the union territory of Puducherry and southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh.
At least three people were killed even as the storm weakened while moving inland. Two women were electrocuted in separate incidents in the port city of Visakhapatnam, while another person was killed when a tree fell in East Godavari district, officials said.
Andhra Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu later said 14 of the state's districts were badly affected, requesting urgent assistance from the central government.
The cyclone damaged 79,000 acres of crops and dozens of homes. The worst hit area was the state's fertile Konaseema district where banana and coconut plantations suffered extensively.
While the eastern state of Odisha seemed to be less impacted initially, heavy rains and winds lashed several districts there on Wednesday evening. State authorities reported landslides, uprooted trees and damaged homes and infrastructure, but zero casualties.
On Thursday morning, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated the central government's support to the impacted states.
"In the wake of Cyclone Arnab, spoke with the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Odisha and Chhattisgarh and assured them of every assistance to mitigate the hardship of the people in the face of the disaster," he wrote in a post on X, adding that disaster relief teams were continuing operations on a "war footing."
The forest standing between the Sundarbans and disasterTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Edited by:Elizabeth Schumacher
Skip next section 'Cockroaches' back opposition-led rally against election chiefOctober 29, 2026
'Cockroaches' back opposition-led rally against election chief Dipke is currently under a peace bond which restricts him from calling for mass protests in central DelhiImage: Indranil Mukherjee/AFPIndian youth-led political pressure group Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has decided to back the opposition bloc's upcoming November 1 rally, marking a shift in protest strategy.
The CJP said India's election commission has undermined people's right to choose their leaders through the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which allegedly deleted over 130 million names from voter lists across the country.
Election authorities said the list includes people who have died, moved away or were appearing on lists more than once, but critics argue the massive number is also likely to include a large number of eligible voters.
The CJP, several student organizations and opposition parties — with Indian National Congress' Rahul Gandhi at the helm — have been protesting against the revisions and alleged irregularities purported by India's election chief for over a month now.
What else did the CJP say?"Gyanesh Kumar has lost the trust required to oversee free and fair elections. His resignation is therefore necessary to restore the credibility and independence of the Election Commission," the CJP said in a statement published on X by founder Abhijeet Dipke.
"Our constitution gave every adult citizen the right to vote. It is our responsibility to ensure that no eligible citizen is deprived of that. The Cockroach Janta Party will therefore support all organizations fighting for free and fair election in our country," it said.
Dipke's caption read: "The Cockroach Janta Party extends its support to the INDIA Bloc's November 1 rally. Nation above all!"
The CJP and Gandhi's Indian National Congress have been running parallel campaigns so far with similar demands. However, they have not expressed direct support or held joint rallies before this, possibly in an effort not to alienate people who may relate to one group but not to the other.
However, the CJP now has limited choices. Its leaders were detained and arrested while protesting earlier this month and made to sign a peace bond which prohibits them from calling for mass protests in central Delhi. Lending their support to someone else's call for protest could be the loophole they needed.
Edited by:Elizabeth Schumacher
Skip next section Welcome to our coverageOctober 29, 2026
Welcome to our coverageHello! and welcome back to DW's India news blog.
This is Mahima Kapoor reporting from Studio Delhi, where the weather is cooling down by the day but the Indian opposition's campaign against a controversial revision of electoral rolls is heating up.
After months of distance, India's Cockroach movement has thrown its weight behind the country's largest alliance of parties opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
This move came just days before an massive rally led by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, to demand poll body chief Gyanesh Kumar's resignation and roll back the revision to voter lists.
What remains to be seen is if, when and how the Modi government will respond.
Speaking of chaos, a tropical cyclonic storm dubbed "Arnab" tore through India's east coast on Wednesday.
Local authorities in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, which faced the brunt of the storm, reported toppled trees, disrupted powers, and significant damage to property, crops and lives.
Moving away from home, India's largest right-wing "Hindutva" organization seems to have new "friends" in the US, looking to improve the group's image and gather support of Indians overseas.
Edited by:Elizabeth Schumacher
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