News in Short

• Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee died at the age of 78. Lee was left bedridden by a heart attack in 2014.
• Samsung is by far the biggest of the family-controlled conglomerates, or chaebols, that dominate business in South Korea, the world's 12th-largest economy.
• The company's overall turnover is equivalent to a fifth of the nation's gross domestic product, making it crucial to South Korea's economic health.

• Tanmay Srivastava, the top run-getter at the 2008 U-19 World Cup that India won under Virat Kohli's captaincy, announced his retirement.
• The left-handed Srivastava, who scored 262 runs at 52.4 in that tournament. Srivastava from now will only play for his company Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
• Srivastava scored 4,918 runs in 90 first-class matches. He represented Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand at the first-class level.
• He was the highest run-getter of the 2008 Under-19 World Cup with 262 runs, which India won under Kohli’s leadership.

• With onion prices crossing Rs100 per kg in several cities, the Centre imposed stock limits on wholesalers and retailers until the end of the year to prevent hoarding.
• This is the first time stock limits have been imposed on any commodity after the Essential Commodities Act was amended last month to reduce such interventions.
• Under the curbs, wholesale traders will not be allowed to store more than 25 tonnes of onions, while retailers will be limited to two tonnes only, from October 23 till December 31.
• Onion prices have been rising steadily since early September, and the Centre has already slapped an export ban on the vegetable, taken steps to facilitate imports from other countries, and released more than 40,000 tonnes from its buffer stock of one lakh tonnes into retail markets to cool down prices.

• Seven mainstream parties of Jammu and Kashmir gave formal shape to their recently cobbled alliance for the restoration of Article 370, electing National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah as its chairman.
• PDP chief and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who was recently released from detention, was appointed as vice-chairperson of the alliance
• Veteran CPM leader M.Y. Tarigami was elected the convenor while Lok Sabha member from South Kashmir Hasnain Masoodi will be the coordinator of the conglomerate known as Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD).
• Sajjad Gani Lone of People’s Conference would be the spokesman for the amalgam.

• The government has announced waiver of interest on interest for loans up to ?2 crore irrespective of whether moratorium was availed or not.
• The Department of Financial Services came out with operational guidelines in the backdrop of Supreme Court’s direction to implement the interest waiver scheme, which is likely to cost the exchequer Rs 6,500 crore.
• As per the guidelines, the scheme can be availed by borrowers in specified loan accounts for a period from March 1 to August 31, 2020.
• As per the eligibility criteria mentioned in the guidelines, the accounts should not be Non-Performing Asset (NPA).
• Housing loan, education loans, credit card dues, auto loans, MSME loans, consumer durable loans and consumption loans are covered under the scheme.