PM MODI LISTS HIS GOVT’S ACHIEVEMENTS AS IT COMPLETES 7 YEARS IN OFFICE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India has witnessed well-rounded progress and development during the last seven years against odds and has given a befitting response to those who conspire against it.

Modi government has completed seven years since it assumed the reins in 2014.

In his monthly radio address 'Mann Ki Baat', Modi said that during the last seven years, the country demonstrated its resolve to stand up to international pressure, and armed forces' determination to secure the borders.

He said there was peace in the country stretching from northeast to Jammu and Kashmir.

The country has made rapid and long strides in the field of space technology and programmes by launching satellites.

The country is also witnessing a heightened sense of awareness towards "Swachhta”.

Penetration of power supply to villages that had no electricity during the past 70 years, road connectivity in villages, providing houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and the succour provided through Ayusuh Bharat Yojana were among the achievements highlighted by Modi.

He, however, underlined that the progress was spliced with challenges that tested the country's resolve, and referred to the Covid pandemic with a focus on its second wave.

He lavished praise on farmers and the agriculture sector, saying the produce has increased even during distressing times of the Covid. On account of ample food grains, 80 crore people from poor sections were given free ration during the pandemic period.

He said the country unitedly made a push back against Covid, which he described as the biggest natural disaster striking the world after over 100 years.

He lauded the armed forces, the Railways, the doctors, nurses and other categories of Covid warriors for their dedicated services, including reaching the medical Oxygen to the needy.

He commiserated with the families affected by the two Cyclones: Tauktae and Yaas.

PAK WOULD HOLD TALKS WITH INDIA IF NEW DELHI RESTORES KASHMIR’S PRE-AUG 2019 STATUS: IMRAN

Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Sunday that Pakistan would hold talks with India if New Delhi restores the pre-August 5, 2019 status of Jammu and Kashmir.

“If Pakistan revives its relations with India (without the latter restoring the status of Kashmir), it will be similar to turning our back on the Kashmiris,” Khan said during a live questions and answers session with the people. Khan said that if India takes back the steps it took on August 5, “then we can definitely hold talks”.

Ties between India and Pakistan nosedived after a terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in 2016 by terror groups based in the neighbouring country. Subsequent attacks, including one on Indian Army camp in Uri, further deteriorated the relationship.

The relationship dipped further after India’s war planes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan on February 26, 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.

The relations deteriorated after India announced withdrawing special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories.

However, lately there has been some improvement when the two countries agreed in February to restore peace on the Line of Control. It is said that the rival officials have been interacting through the back channel diplomacy to ease tension.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

UK MINISTER DEMANDS WHO PROBE INTO VIRUS ORIGIN

British intelligence agencies now believe it is “feasible” that the Covid-19 pandemic began with a coronavirus leak from a Chinese bio laboratory, a media report said on Sunday, prompting vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi to demand that the WHO must fully investigate the origins of the deadly virus. Western intelligence, including in Britain, at first considered there was only a “remote” chance that it had leaked from the laboratory. But there has since been a reassessment, and a lab escape is thought “feasible”, The Sunday Times reported, citing sources.

Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Zahawi insisted that the WHO must be able to fully investigate the origins of the coronavirus. Zahawi said it’s vital that the WHO is “allowed to conduct its investigation unencumbered” as it seeks to understand how the outbreak began.

Meanwhile, a research paper by a British professor and Norwegian scientist has found SARS-CoV-2 has no “credible natural ancestor” and was created by Chinese scientists in a Wuhan lab, Daily Mail reported. It says they took a coronavirus “backbone” from cave bats and spliced onto it a new “spike”, turning it into Covid-19, adding they covered it up by reverse-engineering the virus to appear like it evolved naturally.

Daily Mail reported that researchers found “unique fingerprints” in Covid samples that they say could only have arisen from manipulation in a lab.

CLOUD OVER TOKYO OLYMPICS

Japan’s medical establishment is becoming increasingly anxious about bringing together 78,000 people from 200 countries for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, even as the country struggles to keep coronavirus infections under control and speed up vaccinations.

Organizers had initially planned to have about 10,000 doctors, nurses and medical staff on standby for the games, scheduled to start in less than two months, but have had to cut that number down to about 7,000 because they’ll be needed to handle ongoing outbreaks.

“We have strong reservations about hosting the Olympics at the expense of the lives and health of patients and nurses,” said Susumu Morita, secretary-general of the Japan Federation of Medical Worker’s Unions, which represents about 170,000 nurses and medical staff across the country.

Although foreign spectators were barred from the games in an effort to mitigate the risk of spreading infections, there hasn’t been a final decision yet on whether domestic fans will be banned or see their numbers cut. That lack of clarity is also making it difficult to gauge whether there will be enough medical staff to cope with any emergencies from July 23 to Aug. 8, when the games are scheduled to take place.

THE REST

=========

STATES TO CONTINUE LOCKDOWNS TILL AROUND JUNE 10

Here’s a look at the status of lockdown in various states:

Delhi will begin the unlock process from May 31 with some easing of restrictions but other lockdown curbs will continue till June 7

Haryana has extended lockdown till June 7 with some easing of restrictions

Chandigarh administration has imposed night and weekend curfew restrictions till May 31

Punjab has extended the coronavirus restrictions till June 10

Uttar Pradesh has eased restrictions except in 20 districts including Lucknow from June 1.  Night curfew and weekend lockdown to remain in the state

Bihar has imposed lockdown till June 1

Jharkhand has imposed lockdown till June 3

Odisha has extended lockdown till June 17

West Bengal govt extended ongoing COVID-19 restrictions till June 15

Rajasthan has extended lockdown till June 8

Madhya Pradesh has announced separate unlock guidelines for districts.  Weekend lockdown to continue beyond May 31

Gujarat has extended night curfew in 36 cities of the state till June 4.  Educational institutions, auditoriums, theatres, malls, community halls, water parks, spas, gyms, gardens and swimming pools, will remain closed in the cities

Chhattisgarh govt has asked authorities in all the 28 districts to extend the COVID-19 lockdown till May 31

Kerala has extended lockdown till June 9 with some concessions

Tamil Nadu has extended the lockdown till June 7

Puducherry has imposed lockdown till June 7

Karnataka has announced an extension of lockdown till June 7

Telangana has extended lockdown till June 9

Andhra Pradesh has imposed curfew till May 31

Goa govt has imposed curfew till June 7

Maharashtra has extended the lockdown-like restrictions till June 15

Nagaland has extended the lockdown till June 11

Mizoram has extended the lockdown, which was imposed in Aizawl and other district headquarters, till June 6

Arunachal Pradesh has imposed complete lockdown till June 7

Manipur govt has imposed curfew till June 11

Meghalaya extended lockdown in the worst-affected East Khasi Hills district till June 7

Tripura govt has extended corona curfew in Agartala Municipal Corporation ( amC) areas and all urban local bodies (ULB) till June 5

Sikkim has extended lockdown till June 7

Jammu and Kashmir administration has eased restrictions but night curfew and weekend shutdown to remain

Uttarakhand has imposed a strict COVID curfew till June 1

Himachal Pradesh govt has extended the coronavirus curbs till June 7 with some relaxation

7 YEARS OF MODI GOVT: IMMEASURABLE PAIN, INSURMOUNTABLE DEVASTATION, SAYS CONG

With the Narendra Modi govt completing seven years in office, the Congress on Sunday released a seven-point “chargesheet”, accusing it of betraying the people’s trust and reversing all economic gains made during the UPA govt.

The Congress said the BJP govt has been insensitive to farmers, has failed to protect the country’s borders, has failed to control price rise, has abdicated its responsibilities towards people during the pandemic and has made policies which resulted in ballooning unemployment.

“You need the right intention, policy and determination to fight Corona and not just a pointless talk once in a month,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted, after PM Modi delivered his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat.

Meanwhile, Congress communication department head Randeep Surjewala said, “After seven years, the time has come to ask… why is India in such a deep economic recession with GDP at -8 per cent? Why is India’s per capita income now trailing behind a country like Bangladesh, which we carved out ourselves? Why has inflation gone into double digits of over 11.3 per cent? Why 12.20 crore people have lost their livelihoods and jobs over last 1 year… yet an incompetent govt merely remained a mute spectator?

“Why did our govt abandon our people in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic?… Why did Modi govt not order vaccines in time?… why a pseudo nationalist govt utterly failed to defend our borders and to push back the Chinese from our territory?” he said.

Surjewala claimed that the seven years of the Modi govt “are a story of immeasurable pain, insurmountable devastation and unfathomable agony and anguish for the nation’s 140 crore people”.

FM: LET BUDGET SCHEMES KICK IN BEFORE ASKING ABOUT STIMULUS

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said there is no need to rush with an immediate stimulus in response to the Covid second wave as Budget announcements, including on spending, are yet to fully seep into the economy with just two months of the financial year having passed.

She also suggested that funds were not a problem and headroom was available under schemes, such as loans based on govt guarantee. “The Budget, which is designed for a Covid-affected economy, will have to go down to the people...We are not even taking that on board, and we have started talking about ‘where is the big deal stimulus?’...Many of the schemes which were announced during Atmanirbhar Bharat are still being used,” she said.

The minister said while assessment of the full impact of the second wave is still underway, sectors such as hospitality and contact-based industries have been hit harder than most. The govt expects a dip in GST collections, but the decrease will be temporary with the mop-up expected to rise as the economy re-opens.

Expressing sorrow over loss of lives in the second wave, she said, “Who would have imagined the extent (and) intensity with which it came and the speed with which it spread?...So how much preparation would have been adequate...For instance, the opposition parties, were their states prepared?”

12 CRORE VACCINE DOSES TO BE AVAILABLE IN JUNE: GOVT

The Centre on Sunday said nearly 12 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses will be available in June, a substantial rise from the 7.94 crore doses that were supplied in May.

According to the Health Ministry, 6.09 crore doses will be allocated by the Centre to states to vaccinate healthcare workers, frontline workers and persons above the age of 45 years.

The health ministry said in June 5.86 crore will be available for direct procurement by the state govts and private hospitals.

“The delivery schedule for this allocation will be shared in advance. States have been requested to direct the concerned officials to ensure rational and judicious utilization of allocated doses and minimize the vaccine wastage. The basic objective behind informing the States in advance of the quantum of free vaccine doses to be made available from Govt of India for 15/30 days and the total vaccine doses which are available for direct procurement by States is to ensure better planning and delivery of vaccine by States,” the ministry said.

PROCESS TO MONETISE SURPLUS DEFENCE LAND SET IN MOTION

With thousands of acres of unused land at its disposal, The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has set in motion the first step to commercially exploit, or monetise, these surplus lands.

A letter has been sent to all three armed forces, the DRDO, Coast Guard, Ordnance Factory Board, among others to identify what all land is needed by them over the two decades and what all projects are coming up. The remaining surplus may be compiled and reconciled with the Director General Defence Estates (DGDE) within three months, says a letter of the MoD sent out on May 6.

Some of these expected surplus lands are old British time camping ground used when long campaigns had to be sustained, old unused airfields set up in War World II (1939-1945), or even lands which are now within civic areas and serve little military purpose. Another chunck of surplus lands could be with Ordnance factories – there are 41 such factories of varying vintage.

The letter stems from the MoD decision to take action on the recommendations of Sumit Bose Committee constituted for study on optimum use of defence land and to regulate its commercial exploitation. Bose, a former Revenue Secretary, Govt of India, had submitted a report with 131 recommendations in December 2017.

CHOKSI MAY HAVE TAKEN HIS GIRLFRIEND TO DOMINICA FOR DINNER: ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA PM

Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi may have left his sanctuary in Antigua and taken a boat ride to neighbouring Dominica to have dinner or a "good time" with his girlfriend, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said.

He said that the Govt of Dominica and law enforcement agencies, unless the court rules otherwise, can deport him to India because he is an Indian citizen.

"The problem is if he is sent back to Antigua because he is an Antiguan citizen, even though his citizenship is unsettled, he still enjoys constitutional and legal protections. We have no doubt that his citizenship will ultimately be revoked because he did not disclose material information," Browne said.

India seems to have spotted a window of opportunity in Choksi's arrest in Dominica where he was "detained" for illegal entry.

A Qatar Airways private jet landed at the Douglas-Charles airport in Dominica.  Browne told a radio show that the jet came from India carrying necessary documentation needed for the deportation of the businessman, the media outlet reported.

FRENCH OPEN DAY ONE: THIEM OUSTED

It was a case of first day, first blow for fourth seed Dominic Thiem. The Austrian and reigning US Open champion and a two-time finalist here blew a two-set lead and was stunned by Spanish veteran Pablo Andujar on Sunday. The 35-year-old Andujar staged a great comeback to defeat the two-time Roland Garros runner-up 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 after almost four-anda-half hours on Court Philippe Chatrier.

It is Thiem’s first opening-round exit at Roland Garros and the first time he has failed to reach at least the last eight stage of the tournament since 2015. It was quite a stormy start to proceedings in the year’s second Grand Slam.

Naomi Osaka’s racket did the talking earlier on the same court. The No.2 seed, the centre of coffee-table conversations, not for her tennis, the power and the glory notwithstanding, but her decision not to do press conferences during the Roland Garros fortnight. She likened the customary exchange to being ‘kicked when you’re down’. On the court, the 23-year-old went for the lines with her serve and forehand, opening her campaign with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) win over Patricia Maria Tig.

In a press statement the Grand Slam tournaments, who attempted to engage with Osaka, but to no avail, added, “We have advised Naomi Osaka that should she continue to ignore her media obligations during the tournament, she would be exposing herself to possible further Code of Conduct infringement consequences, including default from the tournament.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Neither despise, nor oppose, what thou dost not understand. - William Penn

OFF TRACK

A truck driver was driving along on the freeway. A sign comes up that reads "Low bridge ahead." Before he knows it the bridge is right ahead of him and he gets stuck under the bridge. Cars are backed up for miles.

Finally, a police car comes up. The cop gets out of his car and walks around to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, "Got stuck huh?"

The truck driver says, "No, I was delivering this bridge and ran out of gas."