5 THINGS FIRST G-20 leaders' summit in Argentina; PM Modi likely to meet Chinese President, German Chancellor and PM of Netherlands in Buenos Aires; Farmers' protest march in Delhi; Bombay HCto hear plea against Zero movie trailer; Hockey World Cupmatches: Australia vs Ireland, England vs China

1. What happened to Supreme Court's 50% reservation rule? Maharashtra on Thursday passed a bill granting 16% reservation under the socially and educationally backward category for Marathas, who constitute nearly a third of state's population. This takes its total reservation quota to different groups to over 60%, which is against the 1992 ceiling of 50% the Supreme Court had imposed, though a caveat was later added in 2010 to allow states to cross the limit on the condition that data justify such a measure. The basis: According to the State Backward Class Commission (SBCC), 93% of Marathas earn less than Rs 1 lakh annually and 37.28% of the community lives below the poverty line (BPL), with 76.86% of Maratha families dependent on agriculture and farm labour to earn their sustenance — this could help the state government's claim of 'scientific data' to support the reservation. The renegades: Maharashtra had, in fact, broken the 50% ceiling long ago: Under a 2001 State Reservation Act, the state had reserved 52% seats in public sector employment for backward classes. With Thursday's move, the state now has 68% reservation for all backward classes, making it the fourth state with more than the prescribed reservation. Size of the slice: As per norms, the percentage of reservation given to a community that has been declared backward should be half its population percentage in the state. Given that Marathas represent around 32% of Maharashtra's demographic, they get 16% reservation in jobs and educational institutes. Fourth time's a charm: Granting Marathas the backward class status wasn't easy, as three previous government reports had said otherwise — the Mandal Commission had included them under the category of Forward Hindu Castes and Communities, while both the National Commission for Backward Classes in 2000 and the Maharashtra SBCC in 2008 refused to include them in the category of backward classes or OBCs for benefits accruing under the reservation policy. However, given the protests and the fact that the chief minister's office earlier in May had announced a recruitment drive for 72,000 posts — and with the Lok Sabha elections due in 2019 — it doesn't take a genius to figure out why the bill was passed now. Read more here

2. Why decade-old GDP numbers are political fodder today Past isn't past: While the release of the latest round of GDP data is about the past (2005-12 financial years) it reverses an important political point of argument in the current context. Before the numbers were revised, the average GDP growth rate under the Congress-led UPA government (2004-14) was 7.75%, higher than current NDA government's 7.35% but now UPA figures have gone down to 6.82%. That's a good selling point for the current government and a reason to cry foul for the last one. Numbers don't add up? At least one report says that the GDP data is not in sync with the data from real sectors. "Corporate India grew at 2.7 times the underlying GDP growth rate during the UPA years, and the multiplier declined 0.7% during the NDA" says this report. GDP isn't Niti's job: GDP data is the responsibility of the Central Statistics Office (CSO), which has been responsible for maintaining India's national accounts since 1951, but the latest data was jointly released by Niti Aayog. That led to allegations of political involvement and undermining the CSO. Niti chairman justified it by saying: GDP data is a broader macroeconomic issue and not entirely technical and Niti Aayog is a principal user of statistics. But a former chief statistician says: This is the first time that the GDP data has ben presided over by what is a political organisation, which does serious damage to the official statistical system. Process wasn't smooth: While waiting for the official old data under the revised format, a report by another government body this year showed even better four 9%-plus growth years during UPA rule (the revised data doesn't cross 9%) which the (embarrassed) government dubbed 'unofficial'. Following that, there was a continuous flip-flop over the release of the data (a press conference to announce the data was cancelled earlier this month at the last moment). Missing statistician: While all this was on, India's chief statistician demitted office, and the government was unable to find a replacement for eight long months (until October). That not just delayed the process but raised questions about Centre's intent. Missing statistics: It's not just GDP but other data sets that have made news for the wrong reasons - from the top-secret price of Rafale jets, to missing data on jobs to the delay in releasing caste census data or even the demonetisation-related numbers released by RBI. Many of these have political implications. Meanwhile, former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, has an explanation for the dip in GDP in 2017 - demonetisation. "Demonetisation was a massive, draconian, monetary shock: In one fell swoop, 86% of the currency in circulation was withdrawn. The real GDP growth was affected by the demonetisation. In the six quarters before demonetisation, growth averaged 8% and in the seven quarters after, it averaged about 6.8%," he says in his yet-to-be-released book.

3. So how hot has 2018 been? We've had heatwaves. We've had wildfires. And 2018 is set to be the fourth-hottest year on record, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the UN's specialist weather agency. This comes in behind 2016, 2015 and 2017 in the ranking of the hottest years ever recorded. In fact, the 20 warmest years on record have been in the past 22 years. Figures released for the first 10 months this year reveal the planet was nearly 1°C above the pre-industrial baseline (between 1850-1900, that is). And if the trend continues, the WMO says temperatures may rise by 3-5°C by 2100. In fact, temperatures rose by an average 0.93°C and 1.04°C above the per-industrial baseline for the most recent decade (2009-2018) and the past five years, respectively. The surface-air temperature anomaly for Jan-Oct 2018  The WMO says that one of the factors that slightly cooled 2018, compared with previous years, was the La Niña weather phenomenon, which is associated with lower than average sea surface temperatures. However, a weak El Nino is expected to form in early 2019, which might make next year warmer than this one, pointed out researchers. The provisional statement on the state of the climate in 2018 warns that ocean heat is at or near record highs, sea levels were 2-3 mm higher in the first half of this year than the same period in 2017, and Arctic sea ice extent was well below average throughout this year.

4. Indian kids do not have a 'tall' story to tell Get shorty: 71 years after independence and over half a century after the Green Revolution, India's kids still don't have enough healthy food to eat. The latest Global Nutrition Report 2018 bestows India with the dubious accolade of being home to the largest number of stunted children, with 46.6 million kids under the age of 5 shorter in height relative to their age — representing nearly one third or 30.9% of the world's 150.8 million stunted kids under 5 and nearly twice the combined number of stunted children of the second and third-ranked countries, Nigeria and Pakistan, on the list. Walking skeletons: India's inglorious achievement isn't limited to stunted growth: It also leads the world in having the most number of kids who are way too thin for their height, or wasted, with more than 50% of the world's total of 50.5 million wasted children. Usual suspects: According to the National and Family Health Survey across 604 districts, 239 districts recorded stunting levels above 40%, with some going to as high as 65.1%. The major reasons for stunting are the mothers' low body mass index or BMI (19%), low maternal education (12%) and early age of marriage (7%). Read more here

NEWS IN CLUES 5. Everyday, 2.5 billion use products made by this company Clue 1: Hellman's, Omo, Breyers and Lynx are all brands from its stable. Clue 2: More than 161,000 people globally work for the company, with 47% of its managers being female. Clue 3: It was founded 89 years ago and boasts two headquarters. Scroll below for answer

6. The big news from Modi's 'last big summit' is... What: The Group of Twenty (G20) is a global forum, founded on Sept. 25, 1999, to discuss economic issues and cooperation among members. It represents 66% of the world's population, 85% of global GDP, 75% of world trade and 80% of global investments. The forum also discusses socio-political and environmental issues. Who: The G20 comprises 19 countries — Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US — and the European Union (EU). Spain is a 'permanent invitee'. Where: The 2018 summit will be the 13th meeting of the G20 and will be held today and tomorrow in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It's also the first G20 summit to be hosted in South America. Three meetings to look forward to: Modi-Xi: The Indian PM is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit, as the two neighbours put the tensions of the 2017 Doklam standoff behind. They could discuss the 14-day joint exercise by the Indian army and Chinese army scheduled for December 10 in the city of Chengdu. Also of consideration are global issues — this after all is a G20 summit — with Beijing keen to bring on its side New Delhi to push back against the trade protectionism practised by Donald Trump. Modi will also sit with Japan's Shinzo Abe and Trump. Trump-Xi: China and the US have been fighting a bitter trade war that has cost both the economies, though Trump insists the US has a significant upper hand. At Buenos Aires, the two leaders could share their thoughts on the topic. But a deal is unlikely and the dinner meet will not end in a joint statement, says a report. Nevertheless, an expert says the two could agree upon a "truce". Trump-Putin:Trump's approach to Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin is in stark contrast to his aggressive stance against Beijing. But the personal rapport is counterbalanced by the opposition to Russia practised by the US Congress. With Russia-Ukraine tempers fraying yet again, there has been a lack of clarity if the two would indeed meet, though a Putin aide says they would. Will Trump give Putin a pass on Ukraine? And the snub to look forward to: G20 will be Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman's first major global summit since the fallout from the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Watch out for who shakes hand and who snubs him.

7. Political power brings money power. Here's proof The name's bond: BJP was the biggest beneficiary of the electoral bond scheme launched by the government in 2017-18, bagging 94.5% of the bonds worth a little over Rs 210 crore. Electoral bonds worth a total of Rs 222 crore were issued in the maiden tranche of the scheme in March this year. The 2017-18 data capture funding and expenditure details only till March 31 and hence covers only the first cycle of the electoral bond scheme that was open from March 1-10. In keeping with the anonymity offered to donors under the electoral bond scheme, the identity of the donor/s to the BJP is not known. BJP raised Rs 1,027 crore in 2017-18 and spent Rs 758 crore. Whose money? The chief election commissioner says about electoral bonds: When there is no ceiling on party expenditure and the EC cannot monitor it, how can you be sure that what is coming in is not black money as there is a secrecy of the donor? Even foreign money can come and even a dying company can give money now because the clause that insisted that only companies with minimum 7.5% profit in the last three years could donate has been removed. So, prima facie, it appears the scheme cannot really deliver whatever it was intended to. Matter of trust: BJP also received Rs 167.8 crore, or 87% of the total money five electoral trusts donated to political parties (Rs 193 crore) in 2017-18, according to an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms. In comparison, Congress, Biju Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Party and the National Conference received Rs 26 crore. In this case, the donors are known. To build a brand: From August till November, BJP's share of advertising was at 58% of the overall ad insertions from political parties across India. The party had nearly 2.5 times more ad insertions than Congress. The richest party is also edging out some of the biggest advertisers on TV. It was the number one advertiser on television in the run-up to assembly elections in five states (Nov 10-16), beating biggies like Netflix and Amazon. Meanwhile, BJP's Karnataka unit has blamed ‘lack of funding’ as a reason for the drubbing the party got in the recently concluded by-polls of Shivamogga, Mandya and Ballari Lok Sabha seats along with the Ramanagara and Jamakhandi assembly seats.

8. A solution to India's stillbirth crisis may be in sight Giant leap: Scientists at Cambridge University have developed lab-grown "mini placentas" in a breakthrough that could transform research into the underlying causes of miscarriage, stillbirth and other pregnancy disorders. The tiny organoids mimic the placenta in the early stages of the first trimester and is so close to the real placenta that if you "put a pregnancy stick into the medium from the organoids it reads 'pregnant'," said one of the researchers. The placenta is an organ attached to the lining of the womb. It keeps the unborn baby's blood supply separate from the mother's own blood supply, as well as providing a link between the two; it provides oxygen and nutrients for the baby while removing waste from the foetus blood. Pregnancies can fail when the placenta does not attach as it should. But understanding what goes wrong in such cases has been hard as scientists do not have placentas to study, and the placentas of other animals are too different to make meaningful comparisons. A crisis: In 2015, WHO says, 2.6 million babies were stillborn — more than 7178 deaths a day. And India had the most, with 5,92,000 — more than sub-Saharan nations. India's record at reducing stillbirth has fared poorer than its attempt to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality, with an annual rate of reduction of stillbirth (2.4%) almost half the reduction in maternal mortality (5.7%) and neonatal mortality (4.6%).

9. Military's new weapon: Augmented reality Mention 'augmented reality' (AR) and most are likely to respond 'Pokemon'. But AR's application goes beyond innocuous mobile games. The U.S. Army on Wednesday said that it has awarded Microsoft a $479.2 million contract to supply prototypes for the army's AR systems helping soldiers in training and combat missions. Bloomberg reports that the contract would eventually lead to the US Army purchasing over 100,000 HoloLens AR devices from Microsoft. A US government programme says the device is intended to "increase lethality by enhancing the ability to detect, decide and engage before the enemy". A US Naval research says urban locations provide a challenge to soldiers as the "complex 3D environment" and "dynamic situations" mean often soldiers lose line-of-sight contact with each other, and this causes impairment of situation awareness. It says AR vision could help mitigate this problem. Note: The wars that US soldiers are directly or indirectly involved in are in urban areas, be it in Syria or Yemen. So how would AR in a war zone look like? Think of any modern combat video games, with its heads up display showing information such as the distance of the enemy, exact position across a wall or terrain insights, and you would get a picture. Technology companies that have grown in size due to ordinary citizens across the world (through their consumption) are increasingly providing tools to the military. Before Microsoft, Google came under fire from its own employees after the company planned to sell some of its AI technology to the Pentagon; it later scrubbed the plan. Amazon too provides its AI chops and more to the Pentagon, and according to The Intercept, the company says the US government should have the most "innovative and cutting-edge tools". On this side of the world, China is known to use cutting-edge technology for security and surveillance purposes.

YOU SHARE YOUR B'DAY WITH... Source: Various

10. Reggae sways into the UNESCO heritage list Reggae music — made famous across the world by the late Bob Marley — has been included in the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. The music genre, Irish sport Hurling and Chidaoba wrestling are the latest entrants. Reggae emerged in the late 1960s out of Jamaica's ska and rocksteady genres, also drawing influence from American jazz and blues. It was often championed as a music of the oppressed, with lyrics addressing socio-political issues, imprisonment and inequality — one of Bob Marley's song goes: "Preacher man, don't tell me, Heaven is under the earth. I know you don't know... What life is really worth. It's not all that glitters is gold; 'Alf the story has never been told: So now you see the light, eh! Stand up for your rights. Come on!" Reggae suggestions for your morning commute: Buffalo Soldier, No Woman No Cry, Is This Love.

KEEPING TRACK Imran's problem: Pakistan PM Imran Khan has said he is ready to hold talks with PM Narendra Modi while conceding that it was not in the interest of his country to allow terror activities from its territory. On Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, he said he 'inherited the issue' and 'cannot be held responsible for the past'. Eye in the sky: ISRO's workhorse rocket PSLV-C43 Thursday successfully injected into orbit India's earth observation satellite HysIS along with 30 co-passenger satellites from eight countries. Air India: The government plans to transfer about Rs 29,000 crore of Air India's Rs 55,000 crore debt to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that will help reduce airline's annually interest outgo substantially.

Follow news that matters to you in real-time. Join 3 crore news enthusiasts. GET APP

Answer To NEWS IN CLUES Unilever. CEO Paul Polman is to retire after a decade at the helm of the consumer goods giant, the firm said on Thursday, after a failed plan to move the firm's headquarters from London to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands (its two headquarters currently). The maker of iconic brands like Lipton, Cornetto, Knorr, Axe and Dove will be headed from January by Alan Jope, the current chief of its huge beauty and personal care department.