The general secretary of CPI(M), Sitaram Yechury, has written a letter to the chief election commissioner, Election Commission of India on October 14, 2022 demanding withdrawal of the proposed amendment to the model code of conduct on promises made in election manifestos. Below we publish the text of the letter.

Thousands of members of Pattikajathi Kshema Samithi (Scheduled Caste Welfare Organisation) affiliated to the Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch marched to the government secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on October 11, marking the culmination of the month long state-wide jatha which started from Kasaragod on September 15. Slogans of the march were to ensure land and housing for all the Scheduled Castes and to introduce reservation in the private sector.

THE highly anticipated 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opened on the morning of October 16 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.Xi Jinping delivered to the Congress a report titled "Hold High the Great Banner of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Strive in Unity to Build a Modern Socialist Country in All Respects." He pointed out, the 20th CPC National Congress is a meeting of great importance.

THE Global Hunger Index 2022, released on October 13, shows that India’s rank in the world has slipped further – from 101 last year to 107 this year – in terms of this important indicator of conditions of hunger and malnutrition. India’s rank is far below that of its neighbours, and levels of hunger and malnutrition are much better in many countries with significantly lower levels of economic development than India.

THE US has gambled big in its latest, across-the-board sanctions on Chinese companies in the semiconductor industry, believing it can kneecap China and retain its global dominance. From the slogan of globalisation and "free trade" of the neoliberal 90s, it has reverted to good old technology denial regimes followed by the US and its allies during the Cold War. While it might work in the short run in slowing down the Chinese advances, the cost to the US semiconductor industry of losing China – its biggest market – will also have significant consequences.