5 THINGS FIRST Today: PM Modi's rally in Mandsaur (MP), Phase 3 of J&K panchayat polls; India-China border talks. Tomorrow: VHP’s ‘Dharam Sabha’ and Shiv Sena’s event in Ayodhya; EU leaders will meet to finalize Brexit agreement.

1. Where illiterate Indians know more languages than literates Geography matters: State-wise data from Census 2011 on multilingualism and levels of education shows that some states consistently have higher proportions of multilingual persons at all levels of education. Goa has the highest proportion of both bilinguals and trilinguals. Thus, over half the illiterate population is bilingual in Goa. This goes up to 97.5% for Goans who have completed graduation or higher degrees. Other states with a high proportion of multilinguals, no matter what the level of education, include Gujarat, Assam, Punjab, J&K and Maharashtra. States with comparatively lower proportion of multilinguals at any level of education include Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, MP, Bihar and UP — all from the Hindi belt — and West Bengal. Education matters: The extent to which education makes a difference to multilingualism varies widely. In many of the Hindi speaking states, the proportion of those who are multilingual does not change dramatically across levels of education. In Chhattisgarh, for instance, the proportion of bilinguals varies from 12.6% for rural people who have not completed primary school to 45.8% for urban people who are 'graduate and above'. Contrast this with UP or Kerala, which have the lowest proportion of bilinguals among people who haven't completed primary education, roughly 8.5%. For graduates and above in urban areas, the proportion jumps to 63.5% and 79.6% respectively, showing the huge difference higher education makes. Read the full story here

2. Why women can't afford to fall ill in India Health is wealth: A village woman in Gujarat better make sure that she never falls ill, at least not seriously enough to require hospitalisation, for her hospital expenses are not just among the highest among rural women across India but are nearly twice as much as her urban counterpart in the same state — incurring an expenditure of Rs 36,225 against a city woman's expenses of Rs 19,992. Expensive villages: Gujarat's villagers are overall worse off than their peers in other states — paying the highest for hospitalisation than any other villager in the country. On an average, a villager in Gujarat pays Rs 32,503 for hospital and related expenses — twice the national average of Rs 16,956. Cheap capital: Surprisingly, the lowest hospitalisation expense among cities is in Delhi, with an average expense of Rs 7,737, which is less than a third of the national average, of Rs 26,455, while the most expensive hospitalisation for city dwellers is in Assam, with total expenses of Rs 52,368. Assam also has the highest hospitalisation expenses for city women, at Rs 65,921 — almost twice that for men, at Rs 36,711. Full story here

3. Why some in Pakistan resent its 'mighty' friendship with China Pakistan security forces on Friday foiled a terrorist attack at the Chinese Consulate in Karachi, killing 3 militants but losing 2 policemen and 2 civilians as well. Pak PM Imran Khan quickly condemned the attack and declared such incidents will not undermine the nation's relations with China, which are "mightier than the Himalayas and deeper than the Arabian Sea". The status: Mighty as it may be, but Pakistan's friendship with China is not welcomed by everyone in the country. Friday's attack, for instance, has been claimed by separatist forces of Balochistan, a southwestern province bordering Iran that has for decades been fighting the Pak establishment. Through Balochistan runs the roads and energy projects China is building under its Belt and Road Initiative, which seeks to economically and diplomatically bring the rest of the world closer to Beijing. The Gwadar Port, that is crucial to China's oil trade, is also located in Balochistan. Resentment against China, however, is not unique to Balochistan. China's poor relationship with Muslims in the mainland, especially the crackdown and re-education of Uighurs in the Xinjiang province, is a sticking point for many, even though the Islamabad administration does its best to look the other way. China also views the Uighurs that have fled Xinjiang to Pakistan suspiciously. But a friend in need... is a friend indeed. Pakistan has for long viewed China as it all-weather ally; in fact, Islamabad was one of the first countries to recognise the Communist Party in Beijing as the rightful government of China in 1949. Besides the economic and military assistance Beijing provides Pakistan, the two nations see their relationship through the prism of India — which had fought wars with both. The Pak-China friendship becomes even more crucial as US President Donald Trump views Islamabad (and China) with suspicion — Washington recently suspended its $1.6 billion security assistance to Pakistan, shortly after a Twitter spat between Trump and Imran Khan. Much of Pak military equipment has been sourced from the US, and a strained relationship with Trump will make Pak rely even more on Beijing. In fact, China is building 8 submarines for Pak. The attack on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi was the only terror strike in Pakistan on Friday. At least 32 people were killed and 35 injured in an explosion in the Orakzai tribal district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. Most of the victims were from the Shia minority group.

X-PLAINED 4. Politics and economics of dividing OBCs What: Centre has set up a commission (headed by a retired judge) to explore dividing the central Other Backward Caste (OBC) group into smaller groups to better distribute the benefits of 27% reservation in central government jobs and educational institutions that they are entitled to. Why: At present, most of the benefits of OBC quota are cornered by dominant communities like Yadavs. Dividing the 27% pie into three or four smaller groups (like backward, most backward, extremely backward etc) in proportion to their population and status will ensure the weaker and less-affluent communities get quota benefits too. The OBC sub-categorisation has been done successfully at the state level in at least 9 states. Mandal 2.0: The VP Singh government had implemented the recommendations of the Mandal Commission, which guaranteed 27% reservation for OBCs in 1990. That was a big factor in breaking the domination of Congress and the rise of regional parties like Samajwadi Party in UP and RJD in Bihar. The sub-categorisation of OBCs can be equally disruptive in today's political scenario as reservations are about government jobs, which are still prized in an era of 'jobless growth' of the economy. Political dividend: Sub-division of backwards will help BJP woo the weaker OBCs that form a significant chunk of population (around 35% in Uttar Pradesh) by pitting their interests against those of the stronger communities but the stronger OBCs will oppose it as it would shrink their share in the OBC pie. That could also weaken the electoral hold of parties like SP and BSP in UP and RJD in Bihar apart from helping redefine the social base of BJP, which has traditionally been known to be and urban trading class party. Political risk: At a time when upper castes have come out against the Centre's decision to restore the SC/ST Atrocities Act (which was diluted by the SC) and Dalits are protesting for various reasons, BJP is debating if it is worth the risk to open a front alongside the upper castes, especially at the time of the current round of state elections. Political convenience: The committee set up in October 2017 was supposed to submit its report in 12 weeks but it has just got its fourth extension (the first extension stated that it would be the last) till May 31, 2019. That takes it beyond the current government's term. While there are chances of a review after the state polls, if the report gets pushed to the next government it would mark a major climb down in the plans of PM Modi who launched a public campaign.

NEWS IN CLUES 5. Which fashion house feuded with Elton John in 2015? Clue 1:It has dressed the Italian national football team as well as the Chelsea and AC Milan football clubs. Clue 2: The founders have co-authored nearly two dozen books and also have a hit single to their name. Clue 3: It hired its first social influencer last year—a Dutch, hijab wearing blogger named Ruba Zai. Scroll below for answer

6. Will this corridor help India counter China's silk route? What: India, Russia and Iran are holding negotiations on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a 7,200 km multimode (water, land and air) route from Mumbai to St Petersburg through the Central Asian markets that could help New Delhi counter China's influence in the region through its Belt and Road Initiative. The other nations that will be part of the corridor are Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Oman, Tajikistan and Ukraine. The importance: INSTC will substantially reduce the time and cost for transporting goods between India and Eurasia once fully functional and increase economic activities between India and the resource-rich Russia as well as markets of Europe. Russia is the largest natural gas exporter and producer in the world and Iran is a key source of crude oil for India. Other nations on the corridor such as Azerbaijan are also producers of oil, besides being rich in other resources such as aluminium, zinc and lead. The cost: India has already invested $500m million to develop infrastructure in the Chabahar port in Iran during PM Modi's visit to Tehran in 2016. That is only a start. For context, China's BRI is estimated to cost upwards of $1 trillion, though the scale of that project is larger. Slow moving: Developing the corridor, however, has been a slow process. Initially targeted for 2018, concerns such as security, US sanctions (on Iran and Russia) and finance (especially with a weak rupee) slowed down the project. But India gains a lot from the corridor — besides a smooth trade route, it will link the member nations closer to New Delhi, and the corridor also helps India extend its trade (and diplomatic) activities with Afghanistan (through the Iranian port). There is also a geopolitical play: The corridor bypasses Pakistan, yet runs close to the Balochistan region there.

7. Is Saudi crown prince building a nuclear bomb? CIA vs White House: There is an intriguing subplot in the fallout of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi: The contradictory viewpoints of the CIA and the Trump administration on Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. And that causes a barrage of news leaks. The latest report on the New York Times says intelligence agents in the US are worried if Saudi is trying to build an atomic bomb. Fuel to fire: The report says the 33-year-old crown prince had been overseeing the negotiations with the US Energy Department and the State Department to get the United States to sell designs for nuclear power plants to Saudi. The deal is thought to be worth at least $80 billion. But Saudi Arabia has been apparently insisting that the nuclear fuel to power these power plants be produced within the country, making CIA suspect that the project is a ploy to develop nuclear weapons — buying nuclear fuel from abroad would be cheaper for Riyadh. Iran angle: The suspicion is not without a reason. Mohammed bin Salman had early this year declared that if Iran "developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible". The crown prince had lobbied the US to exit the nuclear deal agreement signed between the Obama administration and Tehran that seeks to limit Iran's nuclear development to civilian use (to produce power), and instead, impose sanctions to stop all nuclear projects — civilian or military. Trump pulled out of the deal this May, despite European nations advising him against such a move. Going soft: The Trump administration appears less averse to the Saudi suggestion of developing nuclear fuel within Saudi. Last March, Energy Secretary Rick Perry dodged a question in the US Congress on whether the administration would insist that Saudi is banned from producing nuclear fuel. The negotiations are now back in focus as Trump appears reluctant to implicate the crown prince for the Khashoggi murder — even rebuffing CIA’s report on it — and insists ending military ties with Saudi will be detrimental. America first is Saudi first: Trump administration's argument on the nuclear negotiations is that if the US doesn't sell the designs for the plants, someone else (China or Russia) will. It says making Saudi use a nuclear reactor designed by a US company, Westinghouse, will help create jobs in America. What they aren't talking about: Where will the fuel be developed?

8. Making LCD TVs can kill you 'Chemical' weapons: Samsung Electronics on Friday formally apologised to the workers who developed cancer after working in its semiconductor and LCD factories — it had earlier agreed to pay $133,000 to each of its 240 workers diagnosed with cancer, of which 80, mostly women, are in the terminal stage. The company, however, refused to disclose the chemical substances it uses in the manufacturing process, claiming they are trade secret. Forced apology: The scandal came to light in 2007 after former workers at its semiconductor and display factories in Suwon, south of Seoul, and their families said that staff had been diagnosed or died of various forms of cancer, including a 22-year old woman worker who died in 2007 of leukaemia — her father, Hwang Sang-ki, signed the agreement on behalf of the workers with Samsung Electronics co-president Kim Ki-Nam, who bowed before the workers as a mark of apology. Occupational hazard: Of the 2.78 million deaths attributed to work-related causes in 2017, 86.3%, or 2.4 million, were due to work-related diseases. In India, according to the ILO, about 10 million workers employed in mining, construction and various industries are exposed to silica dust; some studies show that silicosis prevalence rates are 54.6% among slate pencil workers and 35.2% among stonecutters, while the coal-workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) prevalence rate is 18.8%. Full story here

9. A tale of two Indian T20Is The Indian women came into the 2018 ICC Women's World T20 saying they were better equipped to handle pressure situations, but against old foes England (whom they lost the 2017 World Cup to) the wheels came horribly off. Benching ace player Mithali Raj in a crucial match (the tournament's second semi-final) may not have hurt so much as did the woeful capitulation at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, after choosing to batting first. From 89 for 2, they folded for 112 in 19.3 overs — the last 8 wickets fell for 23 runs. England knocked off the target with eight wickets in hand and 17 balls to spare. A maiden global title still eludes the Indian women and much was expected having being unbeaten in the tournament till Friday. Winning streak stopped. Eight hours later and 16,500 km away, the men were looking to keep the T20 international series alive against Australia. Having lost the first T20I by 4 runs in Brisbane, India started the brighter in Melbourne with Bhuvneshwar Kumar sending back captain Aaron Finch with the second ball of the match. A disciplined Indian display in the field ensured there was no letting up as they pegged the hosts to 132 for 7 at the end of 19 overs. But then came the rain and despite the target being revised four times under DLS calculations, no further play was possible. Thus, bringing India’s run of seven consecutive T20I series wins to an untimely end. Winning streak stopped.

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10. Why votes for cow's horns and a country's right to its name matter What's in a name: A referendum to be held in Taiwan on Saturday will ask voters if the self-governing island should compete in international sports events (including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics) as "Taiwan'' instead of "Chinese Taipei". Using a name forced by China means Taiwan's athletes cannot sing their national anthem or fly the national flag. The vote, however, is not going to change anything. Blow horn: Switzerland votes this Sunday to decide whether to subsidise farmers who let their cows and goats grow horns naturally. The referendum is about preserving the 'dignity of livestock' as dehorning is painful to the animals. The subsidy would be to fund the extra grazing space horned animals need. Why they matter: While the two votes may seem a fruitless exercise, they do serve a purpose. "At a time when populist politicians from the US to Hungary are exploiting a backlash against globalisation ... system of direct democracy gives ... a safety valve. The plebiscites make it easier for populist forces to express themselves."

3 CURATED WEEKEND READS 1. Upanishads and the first women of philosophy The story of 'hidden figures' of women in the history of philosophy in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America has a strong Indian connection 2. Meerut’s sporting a new avatar With Indians are trying out non-cricket sports with a vengeance, how the ground zero of India's sports goods business is moving towards a rainbow of sports. 3. Choking the coralsIn 2000, an exotic seaweed was introduced in shallow waters off the coast in southern Tamil Nadu, in a project backed by PepsiCo India. Its cultivation gave the fishing community an attractive supplementary income. But the alien seaweed has also threatened The Gulf of Mannar, which supports over 3,600 species of flora and fauna.