Morning Digest: Cash usage unchanged, fake notes on the rise after 10 years since demonetisation; Eisenkot tapped to try to form government, and more

10 years since demonetisation: Cash usage unchanged, fake notes on the riseTen years after demonetisation, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data show that the exercise has had little impact on reducing cash in circulation and that detection of counterfeit notes, particularly ₹500 notes, has also increased. On the other hand, the value of transactions on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has grown steadily year after year, even when measured as a percentage of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).Israeli President picks Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu rival, to try to form governmentIsrael’s president on Saturday (November 7, 2026) chose Gadi Eisenkot, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strongest rival, to try ‌to form a new government following a deadlocked election that left neither man with ​a clear path to power. Mr. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, is fighting to stay in ⁠office after his religious-nationalist coalition lost its majority in an October 27 election but still emerged as the largest bloc in parliament.NDA extends winning streak, set to crush YSRCP in ZPTC and MPTC elections as wellThe TDP and its allies, the JSP and the BJP, continued their stellar performance in the elections to the Zilla and Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs and MPTCs) after crushing the YSRCP in the Urban Local Body (ULB) polls. They were all set to pull off another decisive victory over the YSRCP. Polling was conducted for 582 ZPTCs and 7,767 MPTCs in 28 districts on November 5 following the declaration of 77 and 2,051 ZPTCs and MPTCs respectively as unanimously elected.Multiple Elector Photo Identity Cards generated for same person during SIR, admits Karnataka CEOAfter The Hindu reported that at least 803 voter IDs were linked to 397 people in Mahadevapura Assembly Constituency even after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which was intended to weed out duplicate entries, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka, admitted that the discrepancies flagged in the report were due to “procedural circumstances during data processing”. The report highlighted instances of people holding multiple voter IDs within Mahadevapura, as well as cases where the same Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number appeared in the final electoral rolls of two different Assembly constituencies.T.N. may be heading towards a water crisis, unless northeast monsoon comes to the rescueTamil Nadu may be in for a spell of water crisis and lower rice production this time, if the current Northeast monsoon does not come to its rescue. As of now, the aggregate storage in the major 15 irrigation reservoirs is about a third of the combined capacity of the reservoirs. In the corresponding period last year, the situation was completely different with the combined storage being around 92%.PM Modi conveys Deepavali greetings, says will celebrate the festival with soldiersPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (November 7, 2026) conveyed Deepavali greetings to the nation, saying that, like in previous years, he will celebrate the festival with the brave soldiers of the country. In a video message posted on his social media handles, Mr. Modi said he will celebrate the festival with great enthusiasm.CJP founder launches scathing attack on Central governmentThe Narendra Modi-led central government should go out in the 2029 general elections, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke said in Kochi on Saturday (November 7) as he unleashed a scathing attack on the former over the alleged electoral malpractices and divisive politics. Addressing a protest named ‘Jantar Mantar @ Kochi’ demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Mr. Dipke stressed that “Modi will go out in 2029.”One injured in explosion at Ghaziabad police outpost; ATS, bomb disposal team at siteOne person was injured in a blast at a police outpost in Ghaziabad district on Friday night (November 6, 2026). Bomb Disposal Squad, Field Unit and Forensic Team of the Uttar Pradeshpolice gathered all the evidence from the site on Saturday (November 7). The explosion damaged the window panes of the Vasundhara police outpost under the Indirapuram police station. A food delivery person present around the police outpost sustained minor injuries.Enforcement Directorate is not a ‘super cop’, says Karnataka High CourtIn a setback to the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), the High Court of Karnataka has held that the ED is “not a super cop” and cannot file a private complaint to initiate a money-laundering probe when the competent agencies decline to prosecute a scheduled offence based on the information filed by the ED.Why are the U.S. midterm elections significant?Midterm elections in the U.S. earlier this week ended President Donald Trump’s trifecta control of the federal government, as Democrats swept the polls and the Republican Party lost control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The election result was particularly significant for Democrats as they won historically “red States” such as Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, and Maine, besides holding onto their traditional strongholds, such as Colorado, Oregon, and Illinois, and retaining control of key swing States, such as Georgia, Michigan, and Virginia.Trump says he wants UFC chief Dana White for White House press secretaryU.S. President Donald Trump on ​Saturday (November 7, 2026) said he had asked ‌mixed martial arts promoter ​Dana White to serve ⁠as White House press secretary and called on him to ‌bring some fighters along as assistants “even though some ‌are not from our ‌country.” Mr. White, ⁠chief executive of ⁠the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is a “violent Fighter and Warrior,” Mr. Trump wrote in ​a Truth ‌Social post.U.S. military says it disabled cargo vessel in Gulf of Oman​An American military aircraft fired ‌on and disabled a commercial vessel ​that tried to ⁠break the U.S. blockade of Iran on Saturday (November 7, 2026), U.S. Central Command ‌said. The St. Kitts-flagged cargo vessel tried to ‌depart regional waters after visiting ‌an ⁠Iranian port, and a ⁠U.S. plane fired precision munitions at its stern after U.S. forces ​directed the crew to ‌abandon targeted spaces, Central Command said. Building on a months-long naval blockade on Iran, ‌the U.S. military also said ​on Saturday (November 7, 2026) it is launching a task ⁠force to crack down on Tehran’s movement of advanced weapons ‌and other sanctioned material over its land borders and through the Caspian Sea.Explosions heard in areas in southern Iran, Iranian media reportExplosions were heard on Saturday (November 7, 2026) evening in several areas in southern Iran, including on ​Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state television reported. Iran’s ‌state TV suggested that the explosions might be linked ​to Iranian military activities in the strategic ⁠waterway, which has become subject to repeated attacks on commercial shipping since the war erupted between the U.S. and Iran in February.