Morning Digest: Bihar set for counting of votes ahead of Assembly poll results today; two more detained in Delhi blast case, and more

ECI all set for counting day in Bihar after record turnout The Election Commission of India (ECI) is all set to count votes in Bihar’s 243 Assembly constituencies on Friday (November 14, 2025), starting with postal ballots at 8 a.m., with the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) tallies to begin at 8:30 a.m. A record 67.13% of voters cast their ballots in two phases of polling, the highest voter turnout in the State since 1951. Eight killed, 14 injured in truck accident in Pune At least eight persons were killed, and 14 others injured in an accident near Navale Bridge in Pune district in Maharashtra on Thursday (November 13, 2025). According to preliminary information from the Pune Police, 20 to 25 vehicles rammed one another in a chain collision around 5:30 p.m. A container truck is said to have set off the collision following which several vehicles caught fire. Two more held for Delhi blast; Al-Falah University faces audit A medical college professor and a medical student, both from Jammu and Kashmir, were detained in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday (November 13, 2025), in connection with the car blast near Red Fort. The Jammu and Kashmir police issued a Red Corner Notice against another doctor from Kashmir, now believed to be based in Dubai, whose brother has already been arrested. Supreme Court reserves verdict on plea seeking compensation for deaths ‘linked’ to COVID-19 vaccines The Supreme Court on Thursday (November 13, 2025) reserved for orders a petition seeking compensation for ‘After Effects From Immunisation’ (AEFI) deaths allegedly caused by COVID-19 vaccination. A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard the writ petition filed by Rachna Gangu and Venugopalan Govindan, who alleged their daughters died due to adverse effects of COVID vaccination. Air India crash investigation aimed at finding cause, not apportioning blame, says Supreme Court The Supreme Court on Thursday (November 13, 2025) clarified that the ongoing investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) into the Air India Flight 171 crash at the Ahmedabad airport, killing 12 crew members and 229 passengers on June 12, was not meant to “apportion blame” but to unearth “what” caused the accident, and to safeguard against such tragedies in the future. Centre suspends over 4,000 fertiliser distributor licences on hoarding charges The Union Department of Fertilisers has cancelled or suspended 4,298 licences and the registration of fertiliser distributors for black marketing, hoarding, and diversion of stocks. The Ministry had earlier issued 8,777 show cause notices to the erring traders, and 547 FIRs have so far been registered nationwide. Centre releases draft Seeds Bill; industry welcomes; farm outfits cautious After two failed attempts in the past by the United Progressive Alliance and National Democratic Alliance governments in 2004 and 2019, the Centre has brought in yet another draft Seeds Bill. The Union Agriculture Ministry said the draft is aligned with current agricultural and regulatory requirements. The proposed legislation is intended to replace the existing Seeds Act, 1966 and the Seeds (Control) Order, 1983. Supreme Court finds T.N. challenge to Mekedatu reservoir project ‘premature’ The Supreme Court on Thursday (November 13, 2025) termed Tamil Nadu’s application challenging the proposed construction of a reservoir by Karnataka at Mekedatu across the inter-state river Cauvery as “premature”. Declining to entertain Tamil Nadu’s plea for now, a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai said, the Detailed Project Report (DPR) on the reservoir, submitted by Karnataka, was only being considered by the experts in the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC). Supreme Court wants government to promote EVs amid high air pollution Amid worsening air pollution in the national capital, the Supreme Court on Thursday (November 13, 2025) observed that it may be high time to revisit the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 to promote electric vehicles and even launch a pilot project in metropolitan cities. India’s carbon emission rise slower in 2025, says report While global carbon emissions are expected to rise 38 billion tonnes, or by 1.1%, in 2025, the growth in India’s emissions is expected to increase by 1.4%, according to the Global Carbon Project, an authoritative tracker of global fossil fuel emissions. This is lower than in recent years – in 2024, India’s emissions grew by 4% to the previous year. Trump wants skilled overseas workers to ‘train Americans’ then ‘go back home’: U.S. Treasury Secretary A day after U.S. President Donald Trump defended the H-1B visa programme, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the “vision” is to bring in skilled overseas workers who train Americans and then go back home. “The President’s vision here is to bring in overseas workers, where these jobs went, who have the skills. Three, five, seven years to train the U.S. workers, then they can go home. The U.S. workers fully take over,” Bessent said in an interview to Fox News on Wednesday (November 12, 2025).