India’s Top 10 Headlines Today: What Really Matters

Indian markets are trading again after a holiday, absorbing a sharp fall from Monday that saw the Sensex drop over 876 points. In our last briefing, we spoke of the nation's economy; today, that picture includes pressure from weak bank earnings and crude oil holding above 108 dollars a barrel. As a reminder, this is general information and not financial advice. Elsewhere, several key developments are taking shape. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Gujarat today, visiting Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery complex to discuss the processing of Venezuelan crude. In Delhi, millions of central government employees are watching to see if today's cabinet meeting will finally announce an expected three percent hike in their Dearness Allowance.

And a new report from the government's Periodic Labour Force Survey for August has put youth unemployment at a concerning fifteen point one percent, three times the overall rate. Meanwhile, student protests at Jawaharlal Nehru University have now entered their nineteenth day, with some on an indefinite hunger strike. And in Delhi, a winter action plan to combat pollution begins on November first, banning vehicles that don't meet BS-VI emission standards from entering the city. The story with the most far-reaching consequences, however, may be the one about how you will move around India’s cities in the decades to come. The Ministry of Road Transport has finalised a remarkable new policy to build a network of access-controlled ring roads and bypasses around hundreds of urban centres.

The ambition is extraordinary. The plan is to separate long-distance traffic from local city traffic, preserving highway speeds and preventing the urban sprawl that typically clogs new infrastructure. These will be closed, tolled roads, where you pay for the distance you travel. The initial programme aims for ten thousand kilometres of these new roads, costing an estimated two trillion rupees. It will begin with cities of half a million people or more, before expanding. It is, in essence, an attempt to build a buffer around the future growth of India's cities, keeping arteries clear before they have a chance to harden. The question, of course, is whether a nation can build new roads fast enough to outpace both its traffic and the urgent need for jobs for the millions of young people currently standing still.

It is a remarkable story of a country planning for a future of movement, whilst grappling with a present of economic uncertainty.