60% DISTS WITH HIGH POSITIVITY IN NORTHEAST, PM TO MEET CMs TODAY

The Prime Minister will have a virtual meeting today with the Chief Ministers of the eight Northeastern states to discuss the Covid-19 situation in the region.

Data tracked by the Union Health Ministry show that of the 58 districts that reported a positivity rate higher than 10 per cent between July 5 and July 11, as many as 37 were from the Northeast.

While absolute numbers in the Northeast are small compared to the larger Indian states, the overall weekly positivity in India was only 2.21 per cent as of Sunday.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Monday warned of an imminent third wave and said tourism and pilgrimages could wait.

The IMA said: “We appeal to the state governments not to let the guard down. With the global evidence available and the history of pandemics, the third wave is inevitable. It is the responsibility of every citizen to strictly follow Covid-appropriate behaviour for at least three more months and get vaccinated,” IMA president JA Jayalal said.

The IMA’s appeal came on a day when WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was worried about the Delta variant’s emergence which was leading to increased hospitalisations in several countries.

The WHO said it did not recommend vaccination as a basis for permission to travel across the world, adding that its International Health Regulations Committee would meet on Wednesday to take a policy call on this matter. “In 10 days, we are coming out with guidelines on digital certificates which can be interoperable between nations,” WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 4,25,539

New Cases in last 24 hours: 30,820

Recovered in last 24 hours: 48,930

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -20,134

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 546 (4,10,816)

Daily Tests (Sunday): 14,32,343

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 2.6%

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 22.8% / 5.5%

MADHYA PRADESH ADDS 1,478 COVID ‘BACKLOG’ DEATHS TO TALLY

Madhya Pradesh on Monday added 1,478 ‘backlog deaths’ from the second wave of the pandemic till June 30 to its existing record taking the Covid-19 death toll to 10,506 from 9,027 deaths reported in the state until Sunday.

The additional deaths came to the fore after the government on June 26 issued a letter to all district authorities urging them to report any deaths till June 30 which were not added so far on the government’s ‘Sarthak’ portal. The exercise was started after Chhavi Bharadwaj, Mission director of National Health Mission, issued an order.

INDIA, CHINA EXCHANGE AGENDA FOR LAC TALKS; DATES YET TO BE DECIDED

More than three months after senior military commanders of India and China met to defuse posturing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), dates for a fresh round of talks are being firmed up while the agenda for the talks has been exchanged.

At present, the two sides are not unanimous on the dates, but the matter is expected to be sorted soon, sources say. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has posted a new commander on its side. The Indian side would be led by Lt Gen PGK Menon, Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps.

Both sides aim to complete the unfinished agenda of disengagement and de-escalation along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. Since June last year, both sides have conducted 11 rounds of talks at the Lieutenant General-level, the last being on April 9 this year.

JAISHANKAR TO PUSH FOR CONCILIATION IN AFGHANISTAN

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be consulting almost all important players in the near neighbourhood, including China, Russia and Iran, this week amid signs that none of the three powers favour the Taliban’s winner-take-all approach for Kabul.

Jaishankar will be closeted with Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Ministers on July 13 and 14 in Tajikistan, and may attend another back-to-back meet on connectivity in the neighbouring Uzbekistan.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will also be in the region, first visiting Turkmenistan, which also shares a border with Afghanistan, before joining Jaishankar in Tajikistan and, possibly, Uzbekistan. Other foreign ministers will be Shah Mehmood Qureshi (Pakistan), Haneef Atmar (Afghanistan), Javad Zarif (Iran), Sergei Lavrov (Russia) and their counterparts from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

The worry among Chinese, Russian and Iranian is that a complete takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban could mean Afghanistan becoming an “emirate”, ruled by a single person holding both temporal and political powers. The Taliban is hedging on this issue and recently said the declaration of an “emirate” will be discussed during the peace talks.

Afghanistan was declared an “emirate” during the previous Taliban rule (1996-2001), and amir al-mu’minin (commander of the faithful) Mullah Omar reportedly donned the cloak of Prophet Muhammad, symbolising himself as the successor.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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NEPAL: OLI OUT, SC ORDERS DEUBA TO BE MADE PM

Nepal PM K P Sharma Oli was finally grounded on Monday with a five-member constitutional bench of the Supreme Court reinstating the parliament, which was dissolved at Oli’s behest in May allowing him to continue as PM, and further ordering President Bidya Bhandari to appoint opposition Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba as PM by 5 pm on Tuesday.

Ruling CPN-UML senior leader and former foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali described the court order as unexpected and one that was contrary to the “fundamental principles of Nepal’s Constitution” saying it will have far- reaching consequences for democracy in the country. Gyawali added though that Oli will abide by the court order even if it was “wrong and unjustifiable”.

“The constitution ensures balance of power among the three organs of the state — executive, judiciary and parliament. Judiciary usurping the right of parliament by appointing PM cannot be good for norms of democracy,” said Gyawali. The court decision is the latest of the twists in Nepal where decisions taken by Bhandari, seen as an ally of Oli, have been overturned by the judiciary.

With its apparent hands-off approach to political turmoil in Nepal, India refrained from putting out any official reaction to the development. Official sources said they were still studying the implications of the dramatic court ruling. Gyawali said the SC order was an internal matter of Nepal. “But, yes, if it creates instability, it won’t help anybody,” he said.

Oli’s position had become untenable after Deuba staked claim to form government with support from 149 MPs in the 275-member House of Representatives. President Bhandari though dissolved the House and announced elections in November, allowing Oli to continue as PM until then.

CUBA BLAMES UNREST ON U.S. INTERFERENCE AS BIDEN BACKS PROTESTS

Cuba blamed historic protests, that took place over the weekend, on U.S. "economic asphyxiation" and social media campaigns by a minority of U.S.-financed counter-revolutionaries, while U.S. President Joe Biden said he stood with the Cuban people.

The streets of Havana were quiet on Monday, although there was a heavy police presence. Outages in mobile internet — the pnly way many Cubans have of accessing the web — were frequent.

Chanting "freedom" and calling for President Miguel Diaz-Canel to step down, thousands of Cubans joined street protests from Havana to Santiago on Sunday in the biggest anti-government demonstrations on the Communist-run island in decades.

At least 80 protesters, activists, and independent journalists had been detained nationwide since Sunday, according to exiled rights group Cubalex.

The protests erupted amid Cuba's deepest economic crisis since the fall of former ally the Soviet Union and a surge in COVID-19 infections that has pushed some hospitals to the edge of collapse in a country that prides itself on its healthcare system.

THE REST

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MONSOON RAINS FLOOD DHARAMSALA; LIGHTNING KILLS 41 ACROSS COUNTRY

Southwest monsoon rains on Monday hit Jaisalmer and Ganganagar –– the desert districts of Rajasthan –– but gave Delhi and parts of Haryana a miss.

Heavy rains wreaked havoc in parts of Himachal Pradesh triggering flash floods that damaged buildings and cars at tourist spots. Video clips showed that a drain near Bhagsu Nag in upper Dharamsala adjoining Mecleodganj changed its course due to the heavy rains, sweeping away four cars and several bikes. A government school building at Bhagsunag was also damaged and adjacent hotels were inundated.

And at least 41 people were killed in separate incidents of lightning in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, news agency PTI reported on Monday. Following this, PM Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased.

A total of 23 people, including 12 in Jaipur, were killed and 27 injured in lightning strikes in Rajasthan. Besides Jaipur, the deaths were reported from Kota, Jhalawar, Baran, Dholpur, Sawai Madhopur and Tonk — according to the Disaster Management and Relief department.

In Jaipur, 12 people, mostly youngsters, were killed and 11 injured after a lightning strike at the iconic watch-tower near the Amer Fort.

BJP LEADERS CONFINED TO HOUSE IN PATIALA BY FARMERS RESCUED

Around a dozen BJP leaders confined to a house in Patiala's Rajpura for nearly 12 hours allegedly by protesting farmers were rescued early Monday following a late night Punjab and Haryana high court order to the state police.

Scores of farmers had Sunday laid siege to a BJP worker's house where several party leaders including Punjab unit general secretary Subhash Sharma and Patiala incharge Bhupesh Aggarwal had gathered after the protesters disrupted their meeting.

The BJP leaders petitioned the Punjab and Haryana high court through their lawyers, saying they were illegally detained by a mob at a house in Rajpura.

On their part, the farmers alleged the BJP workers used inappropriate language against the protesters and a security man of BJP leader Bhupesh Aggarwal allegedly brandished a pistol at them. They were demanding an apology from the BJP for the same.

DELHI CRACKS LOCKDOWN WHIP, FORCES CLOSURE OF MARKETS FLOUTING NORMS

As the Capital’s Covid count continues to dip — Delhi recorded 45 cases, the lowest in 15 months, on Monday — and with lockdown restrictions eased considerably, markets and public spaces across the city have drawn huge crowds, forcing authorities to crack down.

Over the past two weeks, at least nine markets, including Lajpat Nagar, Gaffar Market, Sadar Bazar and Laxmi Nagar, were forced to shut down for flouting social distancing and other Covid protocol, though they were subsequently reopened after assurances from market associations and other stakeholders.

In its unlock guidelines, DDMA had made it clear that district magistrates, DCPs and officials of the Municipal Corporations, alongside market associations, would be held responsible for ensuring that norms are being followed in markets.

‘KONGU NADU’, A REGION NOT FORMALLY DEFINED, YET THE SUBJECT OF A ‘BIFURCATION’ DEBATE IN TAMIL NADU

A list of new Union Cabinet ministers issued by the BJP has triggered a debate in political circles in Tamil Nadu, as well as on social media, by referring to ‘Kongu Nadu’, the informal name for a region in the western part of the state. The list mentions new minister L Murugan as hailing from ‘Kongu Nadu’. This has led to allegations that the BJP of trying to bifurcate the state, with the ruling DMK-Congress alliance saying the “agenda” will not succeed.

‘Kongu Nadu’ is a commonly used name for part of western Tamil Nadu. In Tamil literature, it was referred to as one of the five regions of ancient Tamil Nadu. There were mentions of ‘Kongu Nadu’ in Sangam literature as a separate territory.

As social media broke into debate over an alleged attempt to bifurcate the state, some BJP handles were seen supporting the idea of ‘Kongu Nadu’ — in a state where their party has little presence except for their recent seats they won in alliance with the AIADMK.

But unlike Telangana or Uttarakhand, there has never been a demand or discussions about a separate Kongu Nadu in the modern political history of Tamil Nadu.

DROP ONE-CHILD NORM FROM DRAFT POPULATION POLICY: VHP

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has taken exception to the one-child norm proposed in the draft population control Bill of the Uttar Pradesh government.

It has asked the UP Law Commission to “delete the one-child norm” and warned UP that it may lead to “imbalance among communities because they are known to respond differently to incentives and disincentives related to family planning and contraception”.

The right-wing organisation pointed to an “alarming growing imbalance” in states such as Assam and Kerala, “where the overall growth of population has declined”. “In both states, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of Hindus has declined far below the replacement rate of 2.1, but that of Muslims is 3.16 in Assam and 2.33 in Kerala,” it said.

The VHP raised objection to Sections 5, 6 (2) and 7 of the Bill, which “incentivise public servants and others to have only one child in the family go well beyond the said objects”.

ASSAM’S NEW CATTLE BILL

A new Bill to protect cattle tabled in the Assam Legislative Assembly on Monday by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma bars sale and purchase of beef or beef products in areas “predominantly inhabited by Hindu, Jain, Sikh and other non beef-eating communities”, or “within a radius of 5 km” of any temple or sattra (Vaishnavite monasteries).

Reacting to the Bill, Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia of Congress said there are a lot of problematic areas in the Bill and they are getting it examined by legal experts. “For example, the 5 km rule about beef. A stone can be laid and a ‘temple’ can be ‘built’ anywhere by anyone — so it becomes very ambiguous. This may lead to a lot of communal tension,” he said.

The Opposition has said it will push for amendments. “This is not a Bill to protect cows, or even respect cows. This has been brought to hurt the sentiments of the Muslims and polarise communities further. We oppose it and will try and bring in amendment resolutions,” said Aminul Islam, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) legislator.

Assam’s proposed law also does not distinguish between different cattle types — it will apply to all cattle that includes “bulls, bullocks, cows, heifer, calves, male and female buffaloes and buffalo calves.” For purposes of the anti-slaughter Act, both Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh include only cow progeny, but not buffaloes.

PARLIAMENT DIGITISES 4.2MN PAGES OF HISTORY

Parliament has digitised 4.2 million pages of historical records dating back to 1854 in a move that will expand the understanding of legislative and parliamentary evolution.

The archives not only contain proceedings after the first Lok Sabha was constituted in 1952, it also feature debates between 1854 and 1952 to show how legislative reforms developed.

The treasure trove contains historical debates that explain the evolution of Parliament and of many legislations.

The 99-year period is captured in a range of documented proceedings, including the Indian Legislative Council Debates which feature proceedings of the Legislative Council from 1854 to 1920.

There are complete records leading to the passage of the Government of India Act of 1919, which gave effect to the Montague Chelmsford Reforms and established a bicameral legislature at the Centre. “The Indian legislature consisted of the Governor-General and the two Houses at that time — the Council of State and the Legislative Assembly. The debates of various sessions of the Council of State held from 1921 to 1946 and six Legislative Assemblies from 1921 to 1947 are included in the digital library. All documents have been digitised, including from the period before the first War of Independence in 1857 when the East India Company ran the affairs of the country based on charters from the Queen and also post 1857,” LS secretary general Utpal Kumar Singh said.

FLIPKART'S VALUATION CROSSES $37.6 BN AFTER RAISING $3.6 BN IN FUNDING

E-commerce giant Flipkart Group has carved a niche for itself in the global league by raising $3.6 billion, including from SoftBank, which had exited the firm, valuing the company at $37.6 billion, which is more than a 50 per cent rise in a year.

Last July Walmart led a $1.2-billion round in Flipkart, valuing the e-commerce firm at $24.9 billion.

The funding, by far the largest by any in the Indian start-up ecosystem, was led by financial investors GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and Walmart, along with investment from sovereign funds DisruptAD, the Qatar Investment Authority, and Khazanah Nasional Berhad.

This fund raise will give enough firepower to Flipkart to counter competition from Amazon, Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance JioMart, and Tata Digital, which recently made its foray into the area by acquiring a controlling stake in BigBasket.

Industry executives said the funding would provide leverage for Flipkart’s plans to go public in the US by 2022. They said it would set the stage for Flipkart’s IPO and increase its valuation to $50-60 billion. Before this funding deal, Flipkart was said to be eyeing a valuation of about $40 billion for the IPO.

3 UK PLAYERS WHO MISSED PENALTIES FACE RACIAL ABUSE

Three black players, who missed penalty kicks for England in the decisive European Championship shootout against Italy, were subjected to racial abuse online, prompting the English Football Association to condemn the language used against the players.

Marcus Rashford, 23, Jadon Sancho, 21, and Bukayo Saka, 19, were the targets of the abuse after they missed spot-kicks in a penalty shootout against Italy.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, or a hell of heaven. - John Milton

OFF TRACK

I’m actually not liking the idea of bullet train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad.

I mean we Gujaratis can't finish Thepla, playing cards and playing antakshari in just 2 hrs.