LAC SITUATION: HEADWAY IN TALKS ON GROUND, ARMY CLARIFIES NO SOLDIER MISSING

The third round of military talks between India and China in the Galwan

Valley made headway Thursday, breaking the deadlock since the violent

clashes Monday night that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.

Major General Abhijit Bapat, GOC, 3 Infantry Division, led the Indian team

at the talks with his Chinese counterpart at Patrolling Point-14 in the

Galwan Valley. A fourth round of talks is scheduled there Friday.

The meeting Thursday, an officer said, was fruitful and the deadlock of the

past three days was broken. Both sides, the officer said, agreed on certain

issues and many things are expected to be made clear in the upcoming

meetings.

The talks, however, have not yet led to further disengagement or

de-escalation at various faceoff locations on the Ladakh border.

Also Thursday, the Army, in an official statement, clarified that no soldier

involved in Monday's violent faceoff was missing in action. The statement

came after reports that 10 Indian soldiers, including a Major and a Captain,

had been in Chinese custody since Monday night. Reports suggest that the

Army statement came just after these 10 soldiers were handed back to India.

India on Thursday asked China to confine its activities to its side of the

LAC and that it must not take any unilateral action to alter it. "Given its

responsible approach to border management, India is very clear that all its

activities are always within the Indian side of the LAC. We expect the

Chinese side to also confine its activities to its side of the LAC," MEA

spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.

The all-party meeting, called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a bid to

forge a broad political consensus on the situation, will be held at 5 pm

Friday.

INDIAN TROOPS ON BORDER DUTY CARRY ARMS: JAISHANKAR TO RAHUL

The back and forth between the opposition Congress and the government over

Indian soldiers deployed along the LAC in Ladakh continued well into

Thursday night with party media head Randeep Singh Surjewala posting a video

on his Twitter account to say that the government should stop muddling with

facts.

Surjewala was replying to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's rebuttal

to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who earlier yesterday asked why soldiers

were sent unarmed to the border.

All Indian troops guarding the border with China carry arms, External

Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said earlier, replying to Gandhi's poser that

why Army personnel in Galwan Valley were sent "unarmed to martyrdom".

The minister said armies of the two sides do not use firearms as per

provisions of two bilateral agreements sealed in 1996 and 2005.

"Let us get the facts straight. All troops on border duty always carry arms,

especially when leaving post. Those at Galwan on 15 June did so.

Long-standing practice (as per 1996 & 2005 agreements) not to use firearms

during faceoffs," Jaishankar tweeted.

After Jaishankar asked Gandhi to get the facts straight, Surjewala captioned

the video, "Let us not muddle facts @DrSJaishankar. Pl see the video on

social media & tell why no firearms are being carried (see 34th sec for

Galwan). And Stop quoting Agreement on Border Management to justify sending

Soldiers Unarmed in tactical military situation with lives at stake."

NEPAL REFUSES TO BACK OFF; PRESIDENT SIGNS BILL TO REDRAW MAP

Nepal's President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Thursday signed the Constitution

amendment bill to update the country's new political map which incorporated

three strategically important Indian areas, hours after the Parliament

approved it, notwithstanding New Delhi's strong protests against such an

"artificial enlargement" of territorial claims.

Earlier in the day, the National Assembly, or the upper house of the

Nepalese parliament, unanimously passed the Constitution amendment bill

providing for the inclusion of the country's new political map in its

national emblem.

IN 1ST MAJOR POLL AMID COVID-19, VOTING FOR 20 RAJYA SABHA SEATS TODAY

Elections to 20 vacant Rajya Sabha seats will be held today amid fears of

poaching that have prompted political parties to move their lawmakers to

hotels and resorts in some states. They will be the country's first major

voting exercise since the Covid-19 pandemic prompted sweeping measures in

March to ensure social distancing to check its spread.

The seats include four each from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh; three each from

Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan; two from Jharkhand; and one each from

Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, and Meghalaya.

COVID-19 DASHBOARD - (Nos. IN INDIA / Nos. WORLDWIDE)

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 3,81,045 (+13,826) / 85,78,052 (+1,77,923)

Total Deaths 12,604 (+342) / 4,56,284 (+5,021)

Total Recovered 2,05,182 (+10,744) / 45,30,261 (+1,15,270)

Active Cases 1,63,259 (+2,740) / 35,91,507 (+57,632)

Serious / Critical Cases - N.A. / 54,561 (+109)

Top impacted nations so far: (And some of India's Neighbours)

Country, Total Cases / Total Deaths / Recovered Cases / Active

Cases

1 USA 22,63,651 / 1,20,688 /

9,30,994 / 12,11,969

2 Brazil 9,83,359 / 47,869 /

5,20,360 / 4,15,130

3 Russia 5,61,091 / 7,660 /

3,13,963 / 2,39,468

4 India 3,81,091 / 12,604 /

2,05,182 / 1,63,305

5 UK 3,00,469 / 42,288 / N/A

/ N/A

6 Spain 2,92,348 / 27,136 / N/A

/ N/A

7 Peru 2,44,388 / 7,461 /

1,31,190 / 1,05,737

8 Italy 2,38,159 / 34,514 /

1,80,544 / 23,101

9 Chile 2,25,103 / 3,841 /

1,86,441 / 34,821

10 Iran 1,97,647 / 9,272 /

1,56,991 / 31,384

11 Germany 1,90,126 / 8,946 /

1,74,100 / 7,080

14 Pakistan 1,60,118 / 3,093 /

59,215 / 97,810

17 Bangladesh 1,02,292 / 1,343 /

40,164 / 60,785

101 Sri Lanka 1,947 / 11 /

1,421 / 515

Top 18 impacted Indian States so far: (Total No. of Confirmed case / No. Of

Deaths)

State / Confirmed Cases / Active Case / Recovered /

Deceased

Maharashtra 120504 / 53902 / 60838 /

5751

Tamil Nadu 52334 / 23068 / 28641 /

625

Delhi 49979 / 26669 / 21341 / 1969

Gujarat 25658 / 6239 / 17827 / 1592

Uttar Pradesh 15785 / 5659 / 9638 /

488

Rajasthan 13857 / 2785 / 10742 /

330

West Bengal 12735 / 5216 / 7001 /

518

Madhya Pradesh 11426 / 2308 / 8632 /

486

Haryana 9218 / 4528 / 4556 /

134

Karnataka 7944 / 2843 / 4983 /

114

Andhra Pradesh 7496 / 3632 / 3772

/ 92

Bihar 7040 / 2035 / 4961 / 44

Telangana 6027 / 2531 / 3301 /

195

Jammu and Kashmir 5555 / 2340 / 3144 /

71

Assam 4904 / 2043 / 2849 / 9

Odisha 4512 / 1354 / 3144 / 14

Punjab 3615 / 962 / 2570 / 83

Kerala 2795 / 1358 / 1413 / 22

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

'MALICIOUS ATTACKS': CHINA TO US OVER SANCTIONS LAW ON UYGHUR ABUSES

China on Thursday sharply criticised a new US law that aims to sanction

Chinese officials for human rights violations in Xinjiang, saying it

"maliciously attacks" government policies.

China will resolutely hit out and the US will bear the burden of

consequences, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday.

China reacted after US President Donald Trump signed the Uyghur Human Rights

Policy Act into law on Wednesday.

US SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST TRUMP BID TO END 'DREAMERS' IMMIGRANT PROGRAM

The US Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a President Donald Trump a major

setback on his hardline immigration policies, ruling against his bid to end

a program that protects from deportation hundreds of thousands of

immigrants, dubbed "Dreamers", who entered the United States illegally as

children.

The justices on a 5-4 vote upheld lower court rulings that found that

Trump's 2017 move to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

(DACA) program, created in 2012 by his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama,

was unlawful.

Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court's four liberals in

finding that the administrations actions were "arbitrary and capricious"

under a federal law called the Administrative Procedure Act.

The ruling means that the roughly 649,000 immigrants, mostly young Hispanic

adults born in Mexico and other Latin American countries, currently enrolled

in DACA will remain protected from deportation and eligible to obtain

renewable two-year work permits.

THE REST

========

CORONAVIRUS POSITIVITY RATE RISES NATIONWIDE

The average rate of samples testing positive for Covid-19 across the country

has risen from 4.6% for the week ending May 17 to 7.8% for the week ending

June 17, but the rise has been alarming in states such as Delhi and Haryana

- a trend experts said is suggestive of an expanding outbreak.

In Delhi, the figure has grown from 7% on May 17 to 31.6% on June 17,

according to government data analysed by HT. In other words, while seven of

every 100 samples were turning out to be positive a month ago, this has

risen to 31 of 100 now.

More than 6.2 million samples have been tested for Covid-19 in India as of

June 17, of which 367,117 cases have been reported, resulting in an overall

positivity rate of 5.9% from when testing began in January.

A rising positivity rate can be heavily influenced by targeted strategies --

such as the one in India, where only those exhibiting symptoms are tested.

Among the 10 worst-hit states, Delhi reported the biggest change in

positivity rate (from 7% on May 17 to 31% on June 17), followed by Haryana

(1% to 10.1%) and Tamil Nadu (4.2% to 10%).

The positivity rate has increased from 16.4% on May 17 to 21.2% on June 17

in Maharashtra, the state with the highest number of cases and deaths.

MODI LAUNCHES AUCTION PROCESS FOR 41 COAL BLOCKS FOR COMMERCIAL MINING

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched the auction process for 41

coal blocks for commercial mining, a move that opens India's coal sector for

private players, and termed it a major step in the direction of India

achieving self-reliance.

Launching the auction of mines for commercial mining, that is expected to

garner Rs 33,000 crore of capital investment in the country over the next

five to seven years, the Prime Minister said India would win the coronavirus

war and turn this crisis into an opportunity, and the pandemic would make

India self-reliant.

The launch of the auction process not only marks the beginning of unlocking

of the country's coal sector from the "lockdown of decades", but aims at

making India the largest exporter of coal, the Prime Minister said.

At present, despite being the world's fourth-largest producer, India is the

second-largest importer of the dry-fuel, he said. "Allowing private sector

in commercial coal mining is unlocking resources of a nation with the

world's fourth-largest reserves," he pointed out.

Major scams had taken place in coal action earlier, but the system had been

made "transparent" now, the PM said lambasting past policies of keeping the

sector closed.

The PM said this auction process would result in major revenues to states

and create employment besides developing the far-flung areas.

The commencement of auction process of these blocks, part of the series of

announcements made under 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan', is likely to

contribute Rs 20,000 crore revenues annually to the state governments.

MAYAWATI TRUSTS GOVERNMENT TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Wednesday diverged sharply from her

usual belligerence against the BJP.

"The news of the martyrdom of 20 Indian soldiers, including a colonel, in

Ladakh during a clash with China is extremely sad and shocking, especially

when the Indian government is trying to reduce border disputes and tensions

between the two countries. The government now needs to take steps in the

interest of the country with utmost vigilance and understanding," Mayawati

tweeted.

"The country is confident that the government of India will take the right

decision at the righttime to keep the honour, pride and glory of the country

intact and would never allow anyone to grab even an inch of land. The good

thing is that the entire country is united in such a delicate time,

forgetting the shortcomings of the government. Now the government has to

live up to the expectations of the people," the BSP leader, a bitter critic

of the BJP and its government who had earlier accused the ruling party of

"anarchy" when the new citizenship regime was introduced, added.

Earlier on June 13, Mayawati had surprised many by praising chief minister

Yogi Adityanath. "The CM of UP recently took action in the case of the

exploitation of a Dalit daughter in Azamgarh. It is a good thing. However,

it would be better if quick action is taken in cases involving our sisters

and daughters in the future," she had tweeted.

TAMIL NADU GOVT WITHDRAWS ORDER ON REPLACING NAMES OF LOCALITIES

The Tamil Nadu government Thursday withdrew its notification on replacing

anglicised versions of Tamil names of at least 1,018 places in the state to

match the Tamil pronunciation, saying it was working on alignment of views

by experts on transliteration standards. The order was issued by the AIADMK

government last week.

Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture, K Pandiarajan said

the government will reissue the order shortly after making necessary

changes. "We are working on alignment of views by experts on Transliteration

standards from Tamil to English. Hopefully, we should get this released in

2/3 days," he said in a tweet.

Theodore Bhaskaran, a historian familiar with the state's modern history,

had earlier said that the decision was "totally unwarranted" during a

pandemic and blamed the government for not taking railways and the postal

department in confidence before going for this massive project.

CHINA TO LOSE TWO INDIAN PUBLIC SECTOR TENDERS

In what could be a sign of things to come, two large public sector

undertakings are on the verge of cancelling contracts given to Chinese

companies, including some linked to the People's Liberation Army which had

killed 20 Indian soldiers in a clash in Galwan Valley.

In one case, the ostensible reason for the railways deciding to terminate

the contract of a Chinese company is poor progress. But "ownership pattern"

is the cause for BSNL being asked not to permit Huawei and ZTE to

participate in the tenders for upgrading the 4G network.

The railways contract of Rs 471 crore to Beijing National Railway R & D

Institute of Signal on the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor, that is

itself making slow progress, is being cancelled for completing only 20 per

cent of the work so far.

COVID-19 CRISIS: MADE-IN-INDIA REMDESIVIR MAY COME BY END OF JUNE

Gilead's remdesivir, the only drug with an emergency use authorisation to

treat Covid-19 in the US, is expected to be widely available in the Indian

market by the end of this month, sources in the know said. The drug may

reduce the average time of hospital stay for Covid patients and improve

their recovery time.

Currently, the drug is allowed for "restricted emergency use" on severely

ill hospitalised Covid patients in India. The antiviral drug may cost around

Rs 55,000 for an 11-dose course, or Rs 5,000 per injection - much less than

the price of imports from Bangladesh. Domestic pharmaceutical companies

claim India is fully vertically integrated to make remdesivir, and there is

no reliance on China for any ingredient.

After Gilead's repurposed drug came into the limelight, the US firm signed

licence agreements with Indian manufacturers around mid-May to make and sell

the drug in India and other countries. In the first week of June, the firm

got approval for remdesivir from the Indian drug regulator. Indian licencees

- Cipla, Hetero, Zydus Cadila, and Dr Reddy's Laboratories - as well as

Dutch firm Mylan, which will make the drug in India, are, however, yet to

get a formal nod from the Drug Controller General of India.

SC STAYS LORD JAGGANATH'S RATH YATRA DUE TO COVID

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath

Temple, Puri in Odisha scheduled to commence June 23 in view of rising

number of Covid-19 patients.

"A procession of this magnitude cannot be permitted at the time of a

pandemic... Lord Jagannath will not forgive us if we allow this to

continue," a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde

said while ordering a ban on all activities related to the Rath Yatra 2020.

"We consider it appropriate that in the interest of public health and safety

of citizens to restrain the Respondents from holding the Rath Yatra this

year. We direct that no Rath Yatra will be held in the temple area of

Odisha", said the Bench-which also included Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and

Justice AS Bopanna.

The Puri Rath Yatra festival-which attracts a large number of Indian and

foreign tourists-is attended by lakhs of devotees and goes on for almost 20

days. Last year an estimated one million people had taken part in it.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, wanted the court to

allow some rituals but it was opposed by senior Advocate Harish Salve who

appeared for the state government. Salve cautioned against dangers of such a

congregation."

"We have experience that anytime something is allowed, people gather," the

Bench said and went on to order stay on the Rath Yatra. It cited the example

of Tablighi Jamaat's religious congregation held in March in Delhi that had

led to spike in Covid-19 cases.

MUMBAI POLICE WRITES TO YASH RAJ FILMS FOR COPY OF CONTRACT WITH SUSHANT

SINGH RAJPUT

Days after Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh announced that the Mumbai

Police would investigate reports that professional rivalry might have pushed

actor Sushant Singh Rajput to take his own life, the police on Thursday

wrote to leading production house, Yash Raj Films (YRF), asking for a copy

of a contract they had signed with him.

On Thursday, the police recorded statements of Rajput's PR manager Radhika

Nihalani and former business manager Shruti Modi.

On Thursday afternoon, the police also summoned actress Rhea Chakraborty,

who was known to be close to Rajput. Her statement was still being recorded

till late on Thursday night.

INDICATORS

Sensex 34,208 (+700), Nifty 10,092 (+210), Trading Value NSE ,(Rs.crores)

51,155

Nasdaq 9,943 (+33) Dow 26,080 (-40), S&P 3,115 (+2)

US$-Rs. 75.98 GBP-Rs. 94.81, Euro-Rs. 85.31, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.68, Can$-Rs.

55.95, Aus$- Rs. 52.13

GBP 0.80 /US$, Euro 0.89 /US$, Jap.Yen 106.89 /US$, Aus$ 1.45 /US$, Sing

1.39 /US$, Bang Taka 83.36 /US$, Can$ 1.35 /US$, Mal Ring 4.27 /US$,

Pak Re 165.08 /US$, Phil Peso 50.07 /US$, Russian Rouble 69.67 /US$, NZ$

1.55 /US$, Thai Baht 31.06 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 26.50 /US$, Norway NOK 9.52

/US$

Bitcoin - USD 9,260

Dollar Index 97.40 Brent Crude 41.81 BDI 1,246

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,725 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,711 / 4,611

Silver (Rs. Per KG) 47,610

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The perfect day: going to bed with a dream and waking up with a purpose. -

Unknown

OFF TRACK

Three old guys are out walking.

First one says, 'Windy, isn't it?'

Second one says, 'No, it's Thursday!'

Third one says, 'So am I. Let's go get a beer..'