5 THINGS FIRST PM Modi and BJP President Amit Shah to visit Chhattisgarh; Rahul Gandhi to address public rally in Sagwara in Rajasthan; India play Bangladesh in Asia Cup cricket in Dubai; Second round of US-Japan trade talks; Movie releases: Crazy Rich Asians, Manto

1. Three days that may change RSS forever A three-day lecture series by Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat ended Thursday. It wouldn't have been so unusual had it not made headlines for things contrary to what RSS is seen to be about. Take a look: Perception: RSS wants a Hindu Rashtra in which there is no place for Muslims. Bhagwat said: "Hindu Rashtra does not mean it has no place for Muslims. The day it is said that Muslims are unwanted here, the concept of Hindutva will cease to exist." Perception: RSS is anti-Congress, which in turn is one of its biggest critics. Bhagwat said: "A huge movement began in the form of Congress. There were many great souls who sacrificed a lot and continue to inspire us today. That ideology placed the nation on the road to freedom." Perception: RSS endorses former head Guru MS Golwalkar's speeches against Muslims. Bhagwat said: "Bunch of Thoughts is a collection of speeches made in a particular context and cannot be eternally valid. Sangh is not dogmatic. Times change and, accordingly, our thoughts transform. Basically... This marks the beginning of a new discourse, says an RSS-aligned academic. Opposition parties say, what the RSS chief said was only a reiteration of its earlier stand. Some say RSS is working in tandem with BJP — the speeches are an attempted image makeover ahead of the Lok Sabha elections that are months away, especially given Bhagwat's comments on issues like reservation, vigilantism, Ayodhya temple etc.

2. This interest rate hike is good for you and govt Earn more: Interest rates of small savings schemes (including the popular public provident fund) have gone upfor the October 1 to December 31 quarter by up to 0.4%. The rates, which are benchmarked to yields on government bonds, are revised every quarter. With the 10-year benchmark yield now above 8%, the hike was expected. Govt, not market: Though there's a market-linked benchmark for the rates, they don't always move with it. It is the government that takes the final call. For instance, when the bond yield started rising last year, government did not hike small savings rate in the same proportion. Fall and rise: Interest rates of many of these small savings schemes, like Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) have been declining since April 2012. That led to the rate of growth of small savings flattening in 2017-18. The last time these rates were changed was for January-March quarter of 2017-18 when they went down by 0.2% for PPF, KVP and Sukanya Samriddhi each. Self service too: The finance minister said the move is to 'support small savers' but it is also a bit of self-service by government. Small savings are a source of funds for the government too as it borrows from the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF). Its borrowing through small savings has gone up sharply in the last four years at the cost of usual market borrowings. Small savings schemes accounted for 20.9% of all central government borrowings in 2017-18, up from 2.4% in 2013-14. The share of market borrowings in the Centre's borrowings dropped to about 73% in 2017-18, down from over 94% in 2013-14.That also has a bearing on the overall interest rates, which is not always positive.

3. India, Pak have a date... to fix a date Foreign ministers of India and Pakistan will meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the government announced on Thursday — the first such high-level engagement since suspension of dialogue between the two nations after the Pathankot air base terror attack in 2016. The meeting between Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, however, 'is not a resumption of the Indo-Pak dialogue', said the Indian government. The last meeting between the two foreign ministers was held during Swaraj's visit to Islamabad in December 2015 to attend the Heart of Asia Summit, where she had met the then Pakistan foreign minister Sartaj Aziz. The meeting follows a letter from Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to PM Narendra Modi in which he had suggested this meeting as the first step towards resumption of talks. However, the most optimistic outcome of the meeting, experts say, could be an agreement to meet at a later date. Read the full story here

4. SC reinstates press freedom Five activists: The Supreme Court reserved verdict on the petition challenging the arrest of five rights activists in the Koregaon-Bhima violence case and seeking an SIT probe into the manner in which evidence has been fabricated to muzzle dissent. A policeman: SC allowed Dilbagh Singh to continue as interim DGP of J&K in place of S P Vaid whose sudden shift had created a controversy. It asked UPSC to select a panel of police officers in five weeks from which the state would select one for appointment as DGP. A shelter home: With CBI coming out with horrific details in Muzaffarpur shelter home case and showing complicity of social welfare department of Bihar government to protect the main accused, SC said the department seemed to be aware about the activities going on in the shelter home and directed the CBI to conduct a probe to establish connivance of the department. Role of the then social welfare minister may also come within the ambit of probe. A responsibility: SC has vacated the Patna HC order gagging media from reporting on Muzaffarpur shelter home case, saying there cannot be a blanket ban on press. The court, however, requested media to report with sensitivity, without revealing the identity of victims.

NEWS IN CLUES 5. Who was the first foreign leader to meet US President Trump? Clue 1: In January 2014, he also became the first leader from his nation to attend India's Republic Day Parade as chief guest. Clue 2: He is his country's first prime minister born after World War II. Clue 3: His better half worked as a radio disc jockey in the '90s, in her husband's hometown. Scroll below for answer

6. Here's how India will beat US sanctions on Iran Colour of money: A change in the mode of payment, from greenbacks to pinkbacks — that is, dollars to rupees — may help India beat the US sanctions against Iran for import of oil from the West Asian country. Banks to bank on: Apart from changing the currency, India is also planning to use local banks like UCO Bank and IDBI Bank for making the payments to Iran — after the current bankers, SBI and the Germany based Europaeisch-Iranische Handelsbank AG, said they will stop handling payments for Iran from November, as these are done in euros and will come under the purview of the sanctions. Old wine, new bottle: This isn't the first time India is paying for Iranian oil in rupee — during the sanctions before the 2015 Iran-US nuclear accord, India used a barter-like arrangement wherein it bought oil from Iran, which in turn paid in rupees for Indian goods. Read the full story here

7. A world record for an Indian spinner Who? List A cricketer Shahbaz Nadeem. What's List A cricket? It refers to all ODIs and other limited-overs games that are not Twenty20. Okay, now the drum roll. 10 overs, 4 maidens, 10 runs, 8 wickets for Nadeem. The Jharkhand left-arm spinner broke a two-decade-old world record for the best bowling figures in List A cricket, against Rajasthan in an Elite Group C match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Chennai. Nadeem's destructive spell meant Rajasthan folded for 73 all out in 28.3 overs. Jharkhand then cantered to a win in the 15th over. Incidentally, the previous best was also achieved by an Indian: Delhi left-arm spinner Rahul Sanghvi. (see above graphic) The 29-year-old is yet to don India colours, but he’s been part of India A sides and has also had a few stints as Jharkhand's captain. Since the 2011 season, he’s been turning out Delhi Daredevils in the IPL.

8. Why India needs a better class of class action law The Centre’s proposal to bring in a law to make medical device makers accountable to and liable to pay compensation to consumers — in the light of the hip implant scandal involving Johnson & Johnson — underlines the need to bring in a better class action law, that directly empowers consumers to take on companies whose products or services adversely affect them. What is it: A class action suit avoids multiplicity of proceedings by a large number of interested people, each of whom can benefit from a common decision, as opposed to the possibility of conflicting decisions by different courts on the same issue. Moreover, it allows complainants, who otherwise may not have the resources to individually file a case, to be a part of the suit. Limited class: Under the current provisions of the Indian law, class action suits are allowed against company management and promoters for non-compliance of good governance practices and fiduciary duties — the statutes mentioned in the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 and the Companies Act 2013. However, they do not include consumer class action suits — though, a provision in the Consumer Protection Act may be used to file 'class action suit'; but it has conditions. Peanuts: Johnson & Johnson's faulty hip implants cost its $2.5 billion in consumer settlement in the US, after a two-year litigation involving a class action suit brought by over 8,000 consumers who suffered injuries and replacement costs, thereby granting each complainant over $300,000 as compensation. Contrast that with $470 million in compensation given in 1989 to the victims of Bhopal Gas Tragedy in 1984, which gave roughly $883 to each of the victims' families and survivors. In fact, J&J has, in effect, labelled an Indian victim of its faulty implant device as a gold-digger for demanding Rs 2 crore as compensation. It's all about money: Unlike the US, where the law permits lawyers to engage in contingency fee arrangements with the complainants — meaning they get a percentage of the award rather than any money upfront — Indian legal system does not allow contingency fee arrangement between a plaintiff and a lawyer, making it difficult for an individual with little resources to file a class action against a company.

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9. How China can help India's farmers On Wednesday, in a meeting held at the Indian embassy in Beijing, India urged China to drop its 7-year-long ban on rapeseed meal import. China banned the import of rapeseed meal — protein source for livestock — in 2011 citing low quality. India is also hoping to take advantage of US-China trade war by exporting more soybean produce to China. India's rapeseed-mustard production was 6,820 kilo tonnesin 2015-16, with the bulk of the production in Rajasthan (which will go to polls this year). Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, UP, West Bengal too produce it in smaller quantities. Soybean production in India was 13 million tonnes in FY17; MP, Maharashtra and Rajasthan are the larger producers. But that has been falling since due to poor rains and crop damage. The cultivated rapeseed is primarily sold to domestic edible oil makers. India's edible oil consumption has been rising and is expected to touch 34 million tonnes by 2030. Yet, curiously, farmers have cut down on the production of rapeseed oil, making India reliant on imports. Rajasthan saw a 16% drop in production. Rapeseed isn't alone here. India's soybean production — also a source of edible oil — too have fallen, forcing it to import more than ever. In fact, experts say, India has failed to take advantage of a booming global market, as other major producers of soybean (US) and rapeseed (Canada) have increased the area of production to serve the rising consumer appetite for edible oil; India's rapeseed oil production hasn't followed the trajectory. Making China buy rapeseed meal would give edible oil producers — and thus farmers — an incentive to produce rapeseed. Rapeseed meal, which contains 40% protein, is a coarse powdery material, produced from rapeseed cake after the extraction of oil. Exporting soybean at a good price — as China's supply from the US has been limited by the trade war — could also partially offset the loss in soybean farming.

10. Trump wants Spain to build a wall across Sahara in Africa Walled brain: Trump's much-promised US-Mexico border wall is far from being complete, but that's not stopping him from advising the policy to others. Spain's foreign minister Josep Borrell, who was also the former President of European Parliament, has revealed that Trump told him in June during his US visit to build a wall across the Sahara to limit the flow of refugees from Africa to Europe. Spain owns two enclaves on the African continent: Ceuta and Melilla. But these are nothing but a speck in comparison to the expanse of Sahara. Which means if Spain were to indeed build a wall, it will be on foreign soil. 'Geography is fake!' Trump also didn't see a problem when Borrell pointed out that Sahara's size makes such a wall impossible. His response: "The border with the Sahara cannot be bigger than our border with Mexico." The length of the US-Mexico border: 1,945 miles (3,145 km); the size of Sahara from West to East: 3,000 miles. Since January this year, 35,000 migrants arrived in Spain, the highest number received by any EU country — mostly through its enclaves. But some say Europe has an obligationto Africa due to its colonial past and its history of propping up despots for its benefit.

PLUS Moon on a volcano The two Korean leaders took to the road on the final day of their summit on Thursday, heading to a volcano considered sacred in the North. Members of the Kim family are referred to as sharing the ‘Paektu Bloodline’. The volcano topped with a deep crater lake is also emblazoned on the national emblem and lends its name to everything from rockets to power stations.

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Answer To NEWS IN CLUES Shinzō Abe. The 64-year-old is on course to become Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, after he was comfortably re-elected president of the ruling Liberal Democratic party on Thursday. Abe’s victory — taking 553 votes out of a total of 807 — means he is assured of continuing as prime minister. He has been married to Akie Abe since 1987.