DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 28 THEGOVERNMENTissettoconduct the much-delayed Census next year, and to complete the process by 2026, with suggestions being taken on whether casteenumerationcanbepartof the exercise, as per sources. Following the completion of the Census, the government will go ahead with delimitation, for redrafting of parliamentary CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E E X P L A I NE D LIZ MATHEW ● Dilemma over seats TO TAKE care of the South’s delimitation concerns, the government is considering tweaking the population-areas formula. For caste count, progress is still to be made on a workable solution. EXPLAINED,PAGE15 103 131 PRATIP ACHARYA MUMBAI, OCTOBER 28 162 75 DECISION PAGES 6 & 7 AS MUMBAI’S Air Quality Index (AQI)hasbeenconstantlydipping over the past week, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 CITIES SEE HIGH FOOD INFLATION, MODERATE CREDIT GROWTH Rural uptick but urban areas new points of concern in GDP growth FMCG sales slow down to 2.8% in Q1, FY25 compared to 10.1% in Q1, FY24 AANCHAL MAGAZINE & ANIL SASI NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 28 INCIPIENT SIGNS of softening consumptiondemand,especially in urban areas, reflected in multiple high-frequency indicators andcorroboratedbytheearnings BMC: No bursting of firecrackers in Mumbai after 10 pm on Diwali 29/10/2024 REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES Census next year, then delimitation: Plan for 2029 polls in new seats ● announced that bursting of firecrackers will be allowed only till 10 pm in the city on Diwali. The BMChasalsodeployedmonitoringsquadsinallthe26municipal wardstokeepaneyeonviolators flouting dust mitigation norms. In statement,BMCstated,“To CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 guidance of consumer goods companies,haveraisedconcerns ofaweakeningofthegrowthmomentum in the Indian economy. Whileruraldemandisseeing FMCG GROWTH (%) ■ FY24Q1 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY ■ FY25Q1 10.10 2.80 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MARKETS SNAP LOSING STREAK P 19 AUTO SALES GROWTH (FY25 H1) Urban -2.30% 5.20 4 Urban 1.90% Rural Rural Russian envoy hails Modi-Xi meet, pushes for rupee-rouble trade DIVYA A NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 28 WELCOMING THE India-China border pact and the bilateral meeting between Prime MinisterNarendraModiandChinese President Xi Jinping on the side- US may target India next: Alipov on sanctions. ANI linesof BRICSinKazanlastweek, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez during a roadshow in Vadodara. Bhupendra Rana New chapter: PM at launch of pvt facility for military aircraft SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 28 PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez, on Monday jointly inaugurated the Tata Advanced System Limited (TASL)-Airbus facility in Vadodara to manufacture C295 medium-lift tactical transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) — India's first private facility to build military planes. EXPRESS NETWORK TASL PLAN: ABOUT 3,000 DIRECT JOBS, MOSTLY INDIAN WORKFORCE PAGE 14 Underlining that India-Spain partnership is finding a new direction, Modi said the project would strengthen the relations between the two countries and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PUT YOUR FACE ON GRAB YOUR CHANCE TO WIN US$1 MILLION AND BE AMONG THE LUCKY 5,000. BUY YOUR TICKET AT DUBAIDUTYFREE.COM