1.Car Sales In India Fell In September As Makers Realigned Production
Carmakers in India have realigned production to a slowing demand but their dispatches to dealerships still outpaced actual sales on the showroom floor.

Car wholesales—or dispatches to dealerships from the factory floor—declined 1.6% year-on-year to 3,56,752 units in September 2024, even as retail sales—calculated as vehicle registrations on the government’s VAHAN website—fell 18.81% from the year-ago period to 2,75,681 units, according to the data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers and the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations. 

2.FPIs take out Rs 58,711 cr from equities in Oct on geopolitical crisis

Foreign investors turned net sellers in October, withdrawing shares worth Rs 58,711 crore in the month so far owing to escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, a sharp rise in crude oil prices, and the strong performance of the Chinese market.

The outflow came following a nine-month high investment of Rs 57,724 crore in September.

Since June, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have consistently bought equities, after withdrawing Rs 34,252 crore in April-May. Overall, FPIs have been net buyers in 2024, except for January, April, and May, data with the depositories showed.

3.'Where Will The Dogs Go': Chandrasekaran Shares Untold Stories Of Ratan Tata In Heartfelt Post

In a heartfelt LinkedIn post, N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, paid tribute to the late Ratan Tata, who passed away last Wednesday. Reflecting on their long-standing relationship, Chandrasekaran described Tata as a unique figure whose warmth, humanity, and visionary dreams for India left a lasting impact on all who met him.

One cherished memory involved the renovation of Bombay House, the iconic headquarters of Tata Group. Despite its historical significance and the sentiment surrounding its untouched state since 1924, Chandrasekaran proposed updates to the building. When discussing the renovation plans, Ratan Tata’s first concern was for the dogs that had made Bombay House their home. "Where will the dogs go?" he inquired, demonstrating his thoughtfulness and attention to detail. He suggested that a kennel be built for them, underscoring his belief that even small details matter in the larger picture.

4.Three Receive Nobel in Economics for Research on Global Inequality

The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded on Monday to Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, both of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and to James Robinson of the University of Chicago.

They received the prize for their work on the gaps in prosperity between nations, and for their research on how institutions affect prosperity.

The laureates used both theory and data to better explain inequality between countries, according to the prize committee.

Their research also indicates that more economically inclusive and politically democratic systems prove more conducive to technological innovation and long-run growth.

5.Worldwide efforts to reverse the baby shortage are falling flat; Wall Street Journal

“Imagine if having children came with more than $150,000 in cheap loans, a subsidized minivan and a lifetime exemption from income taxes.

Would people have more kids? The answer, it seems, is no.

These are among the benefits—along with cheap child care, extra vacation and free fertility treatments—that have been doled out to parents in different parts of Europe, a region at the forefront of the worldwide baby shortage. Europe’s overall population shrank during the pandemic and is on track to contract by about 40 million by 2050, according to United Nations statistics.

Birthrates have been falling across the developed world since the 1960s. But the decline hit Europe harder and faster than demographers expected—a foreshadowing of the sudden drop in the U.S. fertility rate in recent years.

Reversing the decline in birthrates has become a national priority among governments worldwide, including in China and Russia, where Vladimir Putin declared 2024 “the year of the family." In the U.S., both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have pledged to rethink the U.S.’s family policies. Harris wants to offer a $6,000 baby bonus. Trump has floated free in vitro fertilisation and tax deductions for parents.”

6.Elon Musk’s SpaceX pushed engineering’s boundaries a little further with the fifth test flight of its megarocket, Starship

SpaceX successfully completed the fifth test flight of its uncrewed Starship space vehicle yesterday, launching from South Texas and splashing down in the Indian Ocean after roughly one hour. It was the second successful launch, flight, and reentry for the world's largest and most powerful rocket.  

The demonstration showcased the world's first-ever "chopstick" landing, in which the 233-foot Super Heavy rocket booster used to propel the Starship into space was caught by two massive mechanical arms extending from the launch tower as it returned to Earth. The technique marks a major engineering milestone and furthers the company's goal of making its flagship rocket fully reusable, akin to airline operations. It will also significantly lower costs and turnaround time between launches. 

Starship is a key component of current NASA plans to return humans to the moon and prepare for an eventual mission to Mars—a journey CEO Elon Musk says could happen as soon as 2028.

7.Breast milk for adults: wellness elixir or unscientific fascination?

People have used breast milk for reasons other than feeding babies for a very long time. In the first century, Pliny the Elder recommended it for fever, gout and healing from poisonous beetles. In 17th- and 18th-century England and America, breast milk was prescribed for ailments ranging from consumption to blindness. Today, it is still more than just infant food – though some of its uses are more evidence-based than others.

8.Good, free, fun: The simple formula that has made Duolingo a daily habit for millions

Perhaps no app has mastered user loyalty quite like Duolingo, the gamified language-learning platform 34 million people a day can't put down. Here, CEO and co-founder Luis von Ahn tells the BBC why their insistent owl works so well.

When non-native English speakers Von Ahn and Severin Hacker, Duolingo's CTO and co-founder, started their company in 2012, they knew that learning languages, and in particular learning English, has the potential to change people's lives. "This is why we've worked really hard to keep Duolingo free, because we want to give access to education to everybody.

To maintain the promise of an open and free app, Von Ahn and Hacker developed a hybrid business model that combines ad-supported access and "freemium" elements, while also offering a paid subscription with extra benefits, like an ad-free experience and a family plan. And it worked.