STARTUPS, UNICORNS FIGURE IN PM MODI’S MANN KI BAAT

Noting that the number of unicorn companies in India has reached the 100 mark this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said even during the Covid pandemic, startups have been creating wealth and value with entrepreneurs emerging from smaller cities and towns as well.

He said their total valuation was more than 330 billion dollars (over Rs 25 lakh crore).

In his monthly “Mann Ki Baat” programme, the PM lauded the rapid growth of unicorns within startup framework. “The good thing is that our unicorns are diversifying and are operating in many fields like e-commerce, Fintech, Edtech and Bio-Tech,” Modi said. Analysts opine that the trend will only deepen. He noted that average annual growth rate of Indian unicorns was more than those of the US, the UK and many other countries which manifest the entrepreneurial spirit and living force of India’s youth.

He pitched for protection of environment, urging people to plant trees on the forthcoming Environment Day. He urged people to observe the coming International Yoga Day and make yogic exercises part of daily life.

CONGRESS NAMES ITS RS NOMINEES

Former Haryana minister Randeep Surjewala, ex union ministers P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh and AICC general secretary Rajasthan Ajay Maken are among ten leaders to bag Congress Party nomination for the ensuing Rajya Sabha elections on June 10.

AICC in charge for Himachal Pradesh Rajiv Shukla has been nominated from Chhattisgarh, and AICC minority cell chief Imran Pratapgarhi has bagged the nomination from Maharashtra.

Importantly, two G 23 leaders to be adjusted among Rajya Sabha nominees are Vivek Tankha from Madhya Pradesh and Mukul Wasnik from Rajasthan.

Prominent absentees from the current list are G 23 veterans Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma, with indications that Azad might come from Jharkhand, where the JMM will give one seat to the Congress.

Elections to 55 seats in 15 states are due on June 10.

COUNTERFEIT NOTES UP, OPPOSITION ATTACKS GOVERNMENT

The Opposition has trained its guns on the government after a RBI report revealed that within four years, two of demonetisation’s aims — wiping out counterfeit currency and reducing the number of currency notes — were missed by a wide margin.

Opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi, Derek O’Brien and Priyanka Chaturvedi hit out at the government as the latest RBI annual report for 2020-21 said the Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICNs) of the newly designed post-demonetisation Rs 500 notes has increased by 121 per cent and that of Rs 2,000 notes by 21.9 per cent in comparison with the previous year.

“The only unfortunate success of demonetisation was the torpedoing of India’s economy,” Rahul said in a tweet.

Over 12,728 fake Rs 200 notes were also detected. The biggest rise was in the number of Rs 500 denomination notes in circulation which rose by 687 crore to 4,554.68 crore at the end of March 2021 as against 3,867.90 crore in the year-ago period.

SOUTHWEST MONSOON ARRIVES 3 DAYS EARLY IN KERALA, PROGRESS LIKELY TO BE SLOW

The southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala on Sunday, three days ahead of its usual date of June 1, marking the start of the four-month rainy season that is crucial for India's farm-based economy.

Kerala has been receiving rainfall since Saturday and 10 out of the 14 weather monitoring stations in the state have received more than 2.5 mm rains, thus fulfilling the criteria for the onset of monsoon, the India meteorological department said.

"Southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala on Sunday, May 29, against the normal date of onset of June 1," IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.

However, while the monsoon has advanced over Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu, the Bay of Bengal arm of the weather system was sluggish as it continued to linger just above the Andaman islands.

The extended range forecast issued by the IMD has suggested that the progress of the monsoon could be slow.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

As of 0800 IST / May 30

from mohfw.gov.in ,

New Cases on Sunday 2,706

Active Cases 17,698 (+611)

Total Deaths (Deaths Yesterday) 5,24,611 (2)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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UKRAINE STRIKES BACK IN SOUTH AS ZELENSKY VISITS EAST FRONT

Ukraine has declared that it is mounting a counteroffensive to reclaim territory around the southern port city of Kherson, as Russia devotes the bulk of its forces to pounding eastern Ukraine and capturing Sievierodonetsk, the last Ukrainian controlled city in the Luhansk region. Kherson was the first major city to fall as Russian forces swept north out of Crimea more than three months ago, and it has provided a key staging ground for Russian operations across southern Ukraine. In recent weeks, Russian forces — stretched thin and taking heavy losses as they gain ground in the eastern Donbas region — have concentrated their efforts in the south on fortifying defensive positions. “Hold on Kherson,” the Ukrainian military said on Twitter on Sunday morning. “We’re coming. ”

Meanwhile on Sunday, Ukrainian forces endured heavy artillery barrages as they held off Russian attempts to capture Sievierodonetsk, the largest city Ukraine still controls in the eastern region of Luhansk, officials said. Russian shelling has destroyed all of Sievierodonetsk’s critical infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “Some 90% of buildings are damaged. More than twothirds of the city’s housing stock has been completely destroyed. There is no telecommunication. There is constant shelling,” Zelensky said in a televised speech. “Capturing Sievi- erodonetsk is a fundamental task for the occupiers . . . We do all we can to hold this advance.”

Zelensky, meanwhile, made a rare journey outside Kyiv on Sunday to visit frontline positions around the eastern city of Kharkiv, a trip intended to underscore the success of the Ukrainian counteroffensive to drive Russia back from Ukraine’s second-largest city. Zelensky’s office posted a video on Telegram of him wearing a bulletproof vest and being shown heavily destroyed buildings in Kharkiv and its surroundings. He later said he had fired the local head of the SBU security service on the trip for not working to “defend” the city.

While one-third of the Kharkiv region remained under Russian control, "We will for sure liberate the entire area," said Zelensky. "We are doing everything we can to contain this offensive."

ISRAELI PREZ SAYS HE RECENTLY MET ADELEGATION OF PAK-AMERICANS

A recent visit of a delegation of Pakistani-Americans to Israel has been construed by ousted PM Imran Khan’s PTI as part of the conspiracy that was allegedly hatched by the US to topple their government last month.

The visit of a 15-member team was confirmed by Israel President Isaac Herzog during a special address at the annual World Economic Forum on May 26 in Davos, Switzerland. The confirmation came when the Israeli president was speaking on the Abraham Accords —a deal brokered by the US in 2020 which saw normalisation of relations between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain. “I must say this was an amazing experience. We haven’t had a group of Pakistani leaders in Israel in such scope. And that all stems from the Abraham Accords, meaning Jews and Muslims can dwell together in the region,” Herzog said.

Reacting on the visit, PTI functionary Shireen Mazari interpreted Herzog’s comments as “another commitment made to the US under regime change conspiracy by imported (incumbent) government and other co-conspirators fulfilled!” She tweeted: “Shameful subservience!” Imran Ismail, another PTI functionary, said that all those who had called party chairman Imran Khan a “Jewish agent”, their entire lives were now proven to be “certified Jewish agents and slaves”.

THE REST

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PUNJABI SINGER SIDHU MOOSEWALA SHOT DEAD A DAY AFTER GOVT WITHDRAWS SECURITY

Famous Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala was shot dead on Sunday by unidentified assailants in Punjab's Mansa district, a day after the state government withdrew his security cover. Deputy superintendent of police (Mansa) Gobinder Singh said that several bullets hit Moosewala, 27, who was travelling along with his two friends in a jeep when he was attacked at village Jawahar Ke. His friends also sustained bullet injuries.

Moosewala had fought on the Congress ticket from Mansa assembly seat in the recent assembly election and was defeated by AAP's Vijay Singla. Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known as Sidhu Moosewala, was among the 424 people whose security was withdrawn by the Punjab Police on Saturday.

Leaders of the Congress and other political parties expressed shock and anger over the killing of Moosewala and attacked the Aam Aadmi Party government for withdrawing his security cover.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said no one involved in the gruesome murder will be spared and appealed for calm. “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the gruesome murder of Siddhu Moosewala. Nobody involved will be spared. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and his fans across the world. I appeal everyone to stay calm,” said Mann in a tweet.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla posted an Aam Aadmi Party tweet that publicly claimed the withdrawal of the slain singer's security and hailed the move as an attack on VIP culture. Posting the tweet which was published from AAP's official Twitter handle at 9.08 pm on Saturday, Poonawalla said, "AAP had specifically mentioned that they had withdrawn Sidhu Moosewala security as an achievement. Here is the tweet. Today they are blaming Moosewala for his own death! This is criminal -- it’s a state sponsored killing. Bhagwant Mann must resign."

AFTER RAM TEMPLE IN AYODHYA, KASHI, MATHURA APPEAR TO BE WAKING UP: YOGI ADITYANATH

After the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the temple town of Kashi appears to be waking up, as are Mathura, Vrindavan, Vindhyavasini Dham and Naimish Dham, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday.

There has been no communal riot in the state, he told the BJP’s one-day state executive meeting in Lucknow and mentioned recent festivals to say that for the first time in the state the namaz on the last Friday before Eid was not held on roads.

Adityanath referred to the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor to say one lakh devotees visit Kashi every day and the place is proving the significance of its name in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision.

“Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti were held peacefully. This was the first time that the last Friday namaz before Eid was not held on the streets. For namaz there is a place of worship, the mosques where their religious programmes can be held,” he said.

Mentioning the removal of loudspeakers from religious places, he said, “You must have seen how the unnecessary noise was got rid of.”

His remarks came amid legal proceedings over the temple-mosque disputes in Mathura and Varanasi, also known as Kashi.

NEPAL’S TARA AIR FLIGHT CRASH: BAD WEATHER STALLS SEARCH OPERATION

An aircraft with 22 people onboard, including four of n Indian family from Thane, went missing in Nepal on Sunday morning with senior officials citing witness accounts of a “loud sound” and “fire” from near a remote, mountainous area in the western Mustang district to say that the plane crashed and that they “are prepared for the worst”. A Nepal Army search team is expected to reach the site on Monday.

In Kathmandu, officials said the aircraft crashed about six minutes before landing in Jomsom, adjoining Tibet. Operated by Tara Air, which is one of the two major domestic airlines in Nepal, the aircraft took off at 9.55 am from Pokhara for the 25-minute flight.

Apart from the four Indians, the flight was carrying two Germans, 13 Nepalis and three crew members, including the pilot Prabhakar Ghimire, who is said to be one of the most senior instructors in the country with “long experience in flying in mountainous and hilly zones”.

According to officials, the last seven minutes of the air route to Jomsom consists of narrow passages that are difficult to negotiate in emergency situations.

GOVERNMENT WITHDRAWS ADVISORY ON SHARING AADHAAR COPY

In what has triggered a controversy, the government yesterday withdrew an advisory issued by the UIDAI cautioning the people against sharing a photocopy of their Aadhaar with any organisation as it could be misused.

Overruling the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) advisory issued on May 27, the Union Information Technology Ministry said the “earlier press release stood withdrawn in view of the possibility of its misinterpretation”.

The ministry advised the people to exercise normal prudence while using and sharing Aadhaar numbers. “In view of the possibility of the misinterpretation of the press release, the same stands withdrawn with immediate effect,” the ministry said in a statement. The Aadhaar identity authentication ecosystem had provided adequate features for protecting and safeguarding the identity and privacy of users, it said.

The UIDAI’s Bengaluru regional office had issued the advisory and asked users to only share a masked Aadhaar that displayed only the last four digits of the Aadhaar number. The same, it had said, could be downloaded from the UIDAI’s official website.

The Unique Identification Authority of India had also said that only those organisations that had obtained a user licence from it could use the Aadhaar for establishing the identity of a person. “Unlicensed private entities like hotels or film halls are not permitted to collect or keep copies of Aadhaar,” it said, adding that if a private entity demanded to see Aadhaar card or sought a photocopy, its user licence needed to be verified.

36 YEARS LATER, 'TOP GUN' AGAIN TOPS NORTH AMERICA BOX OFFICE

Much-anticipated action film "Top Gun: Maverick" was expected to have a big opening and it did not disappoint, taking in an estimated $151 million in North America for the four-day Memorial Day weekend, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported.

Viewers had to wait 36 years to see the sequel to the original "Top Gun," but critics say the Paramount/Skydance production was worth the wait, with some calling it superior to the original film.

"The source material remains strong, the execution is excellent, and Tom Cruise makes it work impeccably well," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.

The film -- whose release had been delayed two years by the Covid-19 pandemic -- notched $124 million for the first three days of the holiday weekend and took in the same amount overseas, despite not playing in China or Russia. It was Cruise's first opening to top $100 million.

IPL FINAL: HARDIK'S ALL-ROUND SHOW GUIDES GUJARAT TO TITLE WIN

Captain Hardik Pandya's superb all-round showing helped Gujarat Titans win the IPL 2022 title in their debut season, after they beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Gujarat's highly-rated bowling attack, led by skipper Hardik Pandya (3/17) himself, limited a formidable Rajasthan Royals to 130/9 after they had elected to bat.

Hardik made the difference with the ball with the crucial wickets of Sanju Samson (14), the in-form Jos Buttler (39) and the dangerous Shimron Hetmyer (11) to finish with superb figures of 3/17.

With the bat, Hardik steadied the ship with a vital knock of 34 from 30 balls, putting on 63 runs for the third wicket with Shubman Gill, who took his team past the winning line with a responsible knock of 45 from 43 balls. Miller ensured there were no late dramas with a quickfire 32 not out from 19 balls.

Not many gave Gujarat a chance in their first season especially after a mixed auction where they waited till the end to secure the services of wicketkeepers Wriddhiman Saha and Matthew Wade. It was not a team studded with star players but Hardik impressed with his leadership and got the best out of his colleagues.

His performance with bat and ball also contributed immensely to the team's triumph besides the ability to bounce back from any situation through the brilliance of Miller and Rahul Tewatia.

While Hardik Pandya was declare Player of the Match, Jos Buttler of Rajasthan Royals was named Player Of The Series.

ASIA CUP HOCKEY: MALAYSIA HOLDS INDIA TO DRAW

India almost clinched the title round berth before Razie Rahim turned out to be Malaysia's saviour with a hat-trick in an enthralling 3-3 draw in a 'Super 4' encounter of Asia Cup hockey tournament in Jakarta on Sunday.

Rahim (12th, 21st, 56th minutes) converted three penalty corners for Malaysia, while India made a valiant fightback after being two goals down, scoring through Vishnukant Singh (32nd), SV Sunil (53rd) and Nilam Sanjeep Xess (55th).

India had earlier defeated Japan 2-1 in their first match on Saturday.

Meanwhile in the other Super 4 league match, South Korea defeated Japan 3-1 to move to four points. South Korea had earlier drawn 2-2 against Malaysia in their first match.

As the Super 4's table stands, South Korea with a goal difference of +2 (5-3) are on top of the table with India (GD) +1 (5-4) are placed second.

Japan with two defeats have no chance of making it to the final while Malaysia (GD) 0 (5-5) have an outside chance if they can beat Japan by a comprehensive margin (minimum 2 goals) provided India and South Korea match ends in a draw.

NADAL OVERCOMES FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME TO SET UP Q-FINAL AGAINST DJOKOVIC

Rafael Nadal has played 112 tennis matches at Roland Garros over the course of his career and he has somehow lost just three times on these courts. But an even more absurd measure of his total dominance lies in how few players have even managed to push him close to the edge, have made him truly doubt. Before Sunday afternoon, only two times over his 17 years had any opponent even extended him to five sets at the French Open.

Along came Felix Auger-Aliassime, who stepped on to Court Philippe Chatrier with quality, courage and belief in his capabilities, and he took advantage of a sub-par Nadal to force a fifth set and push him all the way. But even as Nadal struggled with his game, when he desperately needed to step up, he soared. Still in the fight for his 14th French Open title, Nadal edged out Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.

As a consequence of Nadal’s victory, he and Novak Djokovic will resume their historic rivalry on the biggest stages when they face each other in the quarterfinal for their 59th meeting on Tuesday.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives. - Abba Eban

OFF TRACK

Over dinner, Jill said to John, "I met this horrible and rude man downtown this morning, and right away I knew he was a troublemaker. He started to insult me; he used really bad language; he even threatened me!" 

"How did you meet this fellow?" John asked, very concerned. 

Jill said, "Well, we met by accident. I hit him with the car."