PM MODI ROLLS OUT 'RED CARPET' FOR GLOBAL INVESTORS

India remains "one of the most open economies in the world," said Prime

Minister Narendra Modi Thursday, making a pitch for global firms to invest

in sectors ranging from agriculture to defence and space. While the

government has been pushing for self-reliance, the move is not about being

closed to the world, he said during his address at India Global Week 2020

organised by India Inc, a London-headquartered media house.

"We are laying a red carpet for all global companies to come and establish

their presence in India. Very few countries will offer the kind of

opportunities that India does today. There are many possibilities and

opportunities in various sunrise sectors in India," said the Prime Minister.

"Our reforms in agriculture provide a very active investment opportunity to

railways in storage and logistics. We are opening the doors to investors to

come and invest directly in the hard work of our farmers," he said. The

reforms announced by the government for micro, small and medium enterprises

(MSMEs) will complement these industries, he said.

"There are also investment opportunities in the defence sector. With relaxed

FDI norms, one of the world's biggest militaries invites you to come and

make products for it," he added.

There are more opportunities now for private investment in the country's

space sector, according to the Prime Minister. There is also a market of

"millions" of "digitally empowered aspirational thinkers," he said, adding,

"Imagine the kind of products you can make for them."

With the government pushing for a self-reliant India through its

'Atmanirbhar Bharat' campaign, India will be pursuing policies that promote

efficiency, equity and resilience, he said.

During his address, the Prime Minister also reiterated that "green shoots"

of recovery were visible in the country's economy. During the Covid-19

pandemic, India had undertaken "deep structural reforms" and implemented

"targeted" relief packages for the country's poor.

Going forward, India is expected to play a "leading" role in global revival

post the Covid-19 pandemic, he said. "There is faith that the story of

global revival will have India playing a leading role," he said. This was

closely linked with two factors: talent and India's ability to reform and

rejuvenate.

PANGONG TSO IN FOCUS AS TROOPS DISENGAGE AT 3 FRICTION POINTS

Chinese and Indian forces Thursday stepped back 2 km from Patrolling Point

17A at the Gogra post, the third friction point - PP 14 in Galwan Valley and

PP 15 in Hot Springs sector being the other two - as part of the first round

of disengagement on the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.

This clears the decks for another round of talks, especially on Pangong Tso

where even after some thinning out, Chinese troops are still present in

large numbers at Finger 4 on the northern banks of the lake - they have come

in 8 km, west of Finger 8 which India says marks the LAC.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said:

"Following the consensus reached at the commander-level talks, the Chinese

and India border troops have been taking effective measures to disengage at

Galwan Valley and other areas in the western sector. The overall situation

at the China-India boundary is stable and ameliorating."

"The two sides will continue to maintain dialogue and communication through

military and diplomatic channels, including holding a new round of

commander-level talks and the meeting of the Working Mechanism for

Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs. We hope India

will work with China towards the same goal to implement consensus reached

between the two sides with concrete actions and jointly de-escalate tensions

in the border region," he said.

On the disengagement at PP 17, sources said: "It has been completely vacated

now under the same formula as PP 14 and PP 15. The withdrawal was completed

post noon and verification was done at 2.30 pm. Both forces have moved about

2 km behind PP 17A. as agreed, there will be no patrolling until further

orders," a senior officer of the security establishment said.

According to the official, the situation in Pangong Tso is very different.

"At Pangong Tso, the strength of the PLA is equal to the combined strength

of the troops it withdrew from PP 14, PP 15 and PP 17A. In the first couple

of meetings, they were even reluctant to talk about Pangong Tso. It was only

when India said we will not talk about other areas if Pangong Tso is not

included that they agreed. Our primary objective at the moment is that China

must vacate Finger 4 first. It is ours," the official said.

This summer's experience with the Chinese on the Line of Actual Control

(LAC) has firmed up the view in the Army that the only way to prevent more

such incidents in the future is to have an early delineation of the disputed

Sino-Indian boundary. There have been 22 rounds of talks between Special

Representatives of both governments for settlement of the boundary dispute.

While both India and China use the term LAC, no common line has been agreed

upon by the two countries or delineated on maps.

NEPAL BLACKS OUT INDIAN NEWS CHANNELS EXCEPT DOORDARSHAN

Nepal will not allow foreign TV channels that indulge in the character

assassination of its leaders and will seek legal remedies against such news

outlets, a senior Minister of the government of Prime Minister K. P. Sharma

Oli said on Thursday evening. The announcement was accompanied by

simultaneous blacking out of all Indian news channels barring Doordarshan

across Nepal.

"We do not want to interfere in affairs of the media. Not just foreign but

even domestic TV channels will be regulated if they are found to be airing

offensive content or are indulging in character assassination [of Nepalese

citizens and leaders] and are found to be disrespectful of Nepal's

sovereignty. Nepal will also seek political and legal remedies against such

channels," said Minister of Communication and Information Technology Yubaraj

Khatiwada, in response to a question regarding certain Indian channels

airing objectionable content on Prime Minister Oli and the Ambassador of

China Hou Yanqi.

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

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 7,94,763 (+25,811) / 1,23,89,554 (+2,22,866)

Total Deaths 21,623 (+479) / 5,57,405 (+5,359)

Total Recovered 4,95,960 (+19,406) / 71,87,447 (+1,57,220)

Active Cases 2,77,180 (+5,926) / 46,44,702 (+60,287)

TOP IMPACTED NATIONS SO FAR: (AND SOME OF INDIA'S NEIGHBOURS)

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

Cases

1 USA 32,19,999 / 1,35,822 /

14,26,428 / 16,57,749

2 Brazil 17,59,103 / 69,254 /

11,52,467 / 5,37,382

3 India 7,94,842 / 21,623 /

4,95,960 / 2,77,259

4 Russia 7,07,301 / 10,843 /

4,81,316 / 2,15,142

5 Peru 3,16,448 / 11,314 /

2,07,802 / 97,332

6 Chile 3,06,216 / 6,682 /

2,74,922 / 24,612

7 Spain 3,00,136 / 28,401 / N/A

/ N/A

8 UK 2,87,621 / 44,602 / N/A

/ N/A

9 Mexico 2,82,283 / 33,526 /

1,72,230 / 76,527

10 Iran 2,50,458 / 12,305 /

2,12,176 / 25,977

11 Italy 2,42,363 / 34,926 /

1,93,978 / 13,459

12 Pakistan 2,40,848 / 4,983 /

1,45,311 / 90,554

17 Bangladesh 1,75,494 / 2,238 /

84,544 / 88,712

109 Sri Lanka 2,154 / 11 /

1,979 / 164

TOP IMPACTED INDIAN STATES SO FAR

State / Confirmed Cases / Active Case / Recovered /

Deceased

Maharashtra 2,30,599 / 93,654 / 1,27,259

/ 9,667

Tamil Nadu 1,26,581 / 46,655 / 78,161

/ 1,765

Delhi 1,07,051 / 21,567 / 82,226 /

3,258

Gujarat 39,280 / 9,529 / 27,742 / 2,009

Uttar Pradesh 32,362 / 10,373 / 21,127 /

862

Karnataka 31,105 / 17,778 / 12,835 /

488

Telangana 30,946 / 12,423 / 18,192 /

331

West Bengal 25,911 / 8,231 / 16,826 /

854

Andhra Pradesh 23,814 / 11,383 / 12,154 /

277

Rajasthan 22,563 / 5,002 / 17,070 /

491

Haryana 19,364 / 4,572 / 14,505 /

287

Madhya Pradesh 16,341 / 3,475 / 12,232 /

634

Assam 14,601 / 5,423 / 9,148 / 27

Bihar 13,978 / 4,077 / 9,792 / 109

Odisha 11,201 / 3,727 / 7,407 / 67

Jammu and Kashmir 9,501 / 3,652 / 5,695 /

154

Punjab 7,140 / 2,012 / 4,945 / 183

Kerala 6,535 / 2,795 / 3,708 / 28

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

WHO SETS UP PANEL TO PROBE ITS VIRUS RESPONSE

The World Health Organization, which faced fierce U.S. criticism over its

handling of the coronavirus crisis, launched an independent panel on

Thursday to review its response to the pandemic.

The Independent panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response will be headed

by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian

president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

"Through you, the world will understand the truth of what happened and also

the solutions to build our future better as one humanity," World Health

Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the UN agency's

headquarters in Geneva.

At their annual assembly in May, WHO member states agreed to an independent

probe into the UN agency's coronavirus response, following repeated U.S.

attacks.

A resolution, tabled by the European Union, called for an "impartial,

independent and comprehensive evaluation". It said the investigation should

probe "the actions of WHO and their time-lines pertaining to the COVID-19

pandemic".

The panel will stage one mission briefing per month to give updates, while

it will present an interim report to the next World Health Assembly

gathering in November.

AUSTRALIA ENDS HONG KONG EXTRADITION TREATY, EXTENDS VISAS

Australia suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and extended visas

for Hong Kong residents in response to China's imposition of a tough

national security law on the semi-autonomous territory, Prime Minister Scott

Morrison said on Thursday.

Morrison announced a range of visas that will be extended from two to five

years and offers of pathways to permanent residency visas. It is not clear

how many Hong Kongers are expected to get the extensions.

The move comes after China bypassed Hong Kong's Legislative Council to

impose the sweeping security legislation without public consultation.

Britain, too, is extending residency rights for up to 3 million Hong Kongers

eligible for British National Overseas passports, allowing them to live and

work in the U.K. for five years.

Canada has suspected its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and is looking at

other options including migration.

THE REST

========

'COP KILLER' DUBEY NABBED IN UJJAIN, KILLED ON WAY TO UP

Fugitive Vikas Dubey was arrested outside a temple in Ujjain early Thursday,

ending a six-day manhunt for the gangster accused of masterminding an ambush

that left 8 cops dead outside his home in Kanpur.

"Dubey arrived at the (Mahakal) temple in a car. A cop identified him first,

after which three others (security personnel) were alerted and he was taken

aside for questioning and later arrested," MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra

However, temple sources claimed Dubey bought a Rs 250 ticket from a counter.

As he went to a shop to buy prasad, the shop owner identified him and

alerted the police. Cops and private guards deployed there nabbed him, they

said.

There's widespread speculation that Dubey had chosen to surrender in the

temple so as not be killed in an encounter.

Shockingly, he has been killed in an encounter Friday morning, while being

taken to Kanpur. "Dubey was killed in encounter when he tried to flee after

road accident," said Kanpur IG Mohit Agarwal.

UP STF, which had been claiming till late on Wednesday that Dubey was hiding

in Delhi-NCR, was blissfully unaware that he had moved across to Ujjain in

Madhya Pradesh. There is a distance of almost 800 kilometres from Faridabad

where Dubey was reportedly seen last on Tuesday and Ujjain where he was

finally 'arrested'.

The STF, which has killed five accomplices of Vikas Dubey in the past seven

days, has put out a strikingly similar theory for all the encounters - "we

tried to stop them, they opened fire and were killed in retaliatory firing".

COVID PANDEMIC: INDIA NOT IN COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION STAGE, SAYS GOVT

India is not in community transmission stage of SARS Cov2 virus, the

government on Thursday clarified, even as cases hovered near eight-lakh

mark.

Noting that only 49 Indian districts out of 733 districts in the country

account for 80 per cent of the COVID case load, the Ministry of Health

special secretary Rajesh Bhushan said "in a country of 733 districts and

where only 49 districts account for 80 per cent cases talking of community

transmission is not justified."

The government also said India's recovery rate is among the best in the

world and death rate is among the lowest globally.

Just 10 per cent people (60 to 74 year olds who are eight per cent of

Indians population and 75-plus who are two per cent of national population)

account for over half the deaths at 53 per cent. This group remains the

highest risk group, Bhushan said.

CENTRE DEFENDS PM CARES FUND IN SC

The Centre on Thursday defended PM Cares Funds before the Supreme Court,

saying existence of National Disaster Relief Fund didn't prohibit

establishment of a new fund.

In an affidavit filed in the top court, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)

said PM CARES Fund provided for voluntary donations to be made to it and

there was no need to transfer donations received in one fund to another.

The affidavit has been filed in response to a petition seeking transfer of

money received in PM CARES Fund to National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).

The petitioner had alleged that the Centre was not divulging information

about specific utilisation of crores of rupees received in the PM CARES Fund

till date.

The MHA affidavit also questioned the petitioner's motive behind filing the

PIL, saying it had been only dealing with filing PILs since the concept of

PIL originated.

An empowered group formed by the government was working closely with 92,000

genuine NGOs across India to chart out the best course of the response, it

submitted.

LET'S LEAVE POLITICS OUT OF EDUCATION: HRD MINISTER ON SYLLABI EXCLUSIONS

HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal on Thursday rose in defence of CBSE's syllabi

rationalisation for classes 9 to 12 given the COVID pandemic. He urged

everyone to leave politics out of education and stop spinning a "false

narrative."

Pokhriyal was reacting after educationists and opposition politicians

slammed the CBSE wielding a knife on key and controversial topics-

secularism, federalism, nationalism and citizenship among others- while

rationalising the syllabi for higher classes.

Many educationists have termed the syllabi reductions by CBSE as motivated

and demanded a recall.

"There has been a lot of uninformed commentary on the exclusion of some

topics from CBSE syllabus. The problem with these comments is that they

resort to sensationalism by connecting topics selectively to portray a false

narrative," Pokhriyal said, adding that education is a sacred duty towards

children and it should be spared of politics.

The exclusions are merely a one-time measure for exams, due to the COVID-19

pandemic, the Minister reiterated. He said the sole only aim was to ease the

stress on students by reducing the syllabus by 30 per cent.

YES BANK CASE: ED ATTACHES RANA KAPOOR, WADHAWANS' PROPERTIES

The ED on Thursday said that it has issued a provisional attachment order

under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to seize the assets of Rana

Kapoor and DHFL's Wadhawan brothers to the tune of Rs 2,203 crore in the Yes

Bank case.

The Central probe agency in a statement said the present market value of

these assets is more than Rs 2,800 crore, which include immovable properties

in India and abroad, bank accounts, investments, luxury vehicles etc.

Kapoor was arrested by the agency in March and he is at present in judicial

custody. Wadhawan are also in judicial custody in connection with the case.

UNDER NEW RIA NORMS, ALL YOUR FINANCIAL NEEDS WON'T BE UNDER ONE ROOF

Come October 1, your financial advisor will not be able to provide you

investment advice. Tightening the regulations for registered investment

advisors (RIAs), the Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on July 3 has

notified changes to the Sebi (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013, to

bring in segregation of investment and distribution services.

It specifies that corporate (non-individual) advisors will be allowed to

offer both advisory and distribution services by floating two separate legal

entities with clear demarcation. No client will be offered both services.

An individual RIA can either be an advisor or distributor, never both.

Also, Sebi has barred family members or separate legal entities controlled

by family members of RIAs from offering distribution services - a practice

quite commonplace. A typical client used to pay an investment advisory fee

to the RIA. The RIA would execute the plan through a family member.

The new regulations, which aim to curb conflict of interest arising out of

clients being pushed to buy products by the advisor, who would also gain a

commission on the products, come into effect from October 1.

SOUTHAMPTON TEST, DAY 2: ENGLAND BOWLED OUT FOR 204

West Indies captain Jason Holder took a career-best 6/42 as England were

bowled out for 204 on the second overcast day of the first Test at the Ageas

Bowl yesterday.

Shannon Gabriel nabbed the first three wickets, Holder the next six,

including England counterpart Ben Stokes for a team-best 43, and Gabriel

grabbed the last wicket to finish with 4/62. England, at 174/9, didn't look

like reaching 200 but Dom Bess hit 31 not out and shared 30 with fast bowler

James Anderson, the last man out.

In reply, England bowled with good pace but failed to make as many

breakthroughs as they would have hoped. West Indies were 57/1 at stumps.

INDICATORS

Sensex 36,738 (+409), Nifty 10,813 (+108), Trading Value NSE ,(Rs.crores)

52,723

Nasdaq 10,548 (+55) Dow 25,706 (-361), S&P 3,152 (-18)

US$-Rs. 74.75 GBP-Rs. 94.38, Euro-Rs. 84.63, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.35, Can$-Rs.

55.22, Aus$- Rs. 52.13

GBP 0.79 /US$, Euro 0.88 /US$, Jap.Yen 107.25 /US$, Aus$ 1.43 /US$, Sing

1.39 /US$, Bang Taka 82.99 /US$, Can$ 1.35 /US$, Mal Ring 4.26 /US$,

Pak Re 166.18 /US$, Phil Peso 49.39 /US$, Russian Rouble 70.92 /US$, NZ$

1.52 /US$, Thai Baht 31.16 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 26.65 /US$, Norway NOK 9.40

/US$

Bitcoin - USD 9,210

Dollar Index 96.84 Brent Crude 42.19 BDI 1,802

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,808 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,841 / 4,741

Silver (Rs. Per KG) 50,030

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own

way. - Leo Tolstoy(in Anna Karenina)

OFF TRACK

The priest was preparing a man for his long day's journey into night.

Whispering firmly, the priest said, "Denounce the Devil! Let him know how

little you think of his evil!"

The dying man said nothing.

The priest repeated his order. Still the dying man said nothing.

The priest asked, "Why do you refuse to denounce the Devil and his evil?"

The dying man said, "Until I know where I'm heading, I don't think I ought

to aggravate anybody!"