SURPRISES GALORE AS SHINDE SWORN IN AS MAHA. CM, FADNAVIS HIS DEPUTY

Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde was on Thursday sworn in as the 20th chief minister of Maharashtra, while BJP stalwart Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the deputy CM, capping a day of surprises and hectic political activities, just 24 hours after the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) govt.

In a surprise move, Fadnavis announced in the evening that Shinde, who led the rebellion in the Shiv Sena, will be the new chief minister, while he himself will be out of the new govt, only to change his stand and become the deputy CM following prodding from his party's central leadership.

Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath of office to Shinde and his deputy Fadnavis at the Raj Bhavan in South Mumbai shortly after 7.30 pm.

Shinde, a four-time MLA, began oath-taking by paying tributes to late Shiv Sena leaders Bal Thackeray and Anand Dighe, his political mentor in Thane district.

Earlier, BJP president J P Nadda said Fadnavis would be part of the new Maharashtra cabinet led by Shinde, minutes after Fadnavis announced he will not be in the govt.

The new CM was accompanied by his family members to the inauguration. However, his son Shrikant Shinde, the Lok Sabha MP from Kalyan in Thane district, is staying with the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs in Goa, where they had arrived from Guwahati on Wednesday night, nine days after the rebellion that pulled down the MVA govt.

Uddhav’s estranged cousin and MNS president Raj Thackeray took a veiled dig at him through a cryptic tweet. “When anyone misunderstands good fortune as one’s accomplishment; therein begins the journey towards one’s decline,” the MNS chief said.

CHINA VOICES OPPOSITION TO INDIA’S REPORTED PLANS TO HOLD G20 MEETING IN J&K

China on Thursday voiced its opposition to India’s reported plans to hold the next year’s meeting of G-20 leaders in Jammu and Kashmir, echoing close ally Pakistan’s objection, and underlined that relevant sides should avoid “politicising” the issue.

“We have noted relevant information,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a media briefing on Thursday while replying to a question from the official media.

“China’s position on Kashmir is consistent and clear cut. It is a legacy issue between India and Pakistan. It should be properly resolved in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions and bilateral agreements,” Zhao said.

He said the “relevant parties should avoid complicating the situation with the unilateral move.

To ar question that China is building the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in the disputed region in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and India’s objections over it, Zhao said “the two matters are completely different in nature. China has undertaken projects to help Pakistan to grow its economy and improve livelihoods.”

DOWN TO 3 STATES, CONGRESS SLAMS ‘THEFT OF MANDATE BY BJP’

After Shiv Sena rebels toppled Maha Vikas Aghadi, the Congress now retains power on its own in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and as an ally in Jharkhand.

In the DMK led Tamil Nadu, Congress is not in the govt.

AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh cited past instances to say this was not the first time the BJP had subverted a mandate. “What happened in Maharashtra is shameful for democracy.  We strongly condemn the way BJP is destabilizing both democratically elected govts and democratically installed govts,” the party said.

Ramesh cited how the BJP in 2016 “brought down the Congress govt in Uttarakhand.”

“The govt elected for five years was reduced to a minority in four years through defections. The same year, in Arunachal Pradesh, 43 out of 44 Congress MLAs were made to defect to the BJP-backed Front- People’s Party of Arunachal under CM Pema Khandu,” Ramesh said.

In 2017, the Congress said, it was the single largest by winning 28 out of 60 seats in Manipur and the BJP had 21 seats but the Congress was not given a chance by the Governor to prove its majority.

“Same thing happened in Bihar in 2017. The BJP unethically toppled the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ govt that lasted 20 months. In 2019, Congress-JDS coalition was toppled in Karnataka. In March 2020, a conspiracy was hatched in Madhya Pradesh. In June 2020, eight MLAs of Gujarat Congress were made to join BJP, only to win Rajya Sabha elections. In 2021, a similar story repeated in Puducherry. Even before the assembly elections, the BJP toppled the Congress govt in the state,” said Ramesh.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

As of 0800 IST / July 1

from mohfw.gov.in ,

New Cases on Thursday 17,070

Active Cases 107,189 (+2,634)

Total Deaths (Deaths Yesterday) 5,25,139 (24)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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KETANJI BROWN JACKSON SWORN IN, BECOMES 1ST BLACK WOMAN ON US SUPREME COURT

Ketanji Brown Jackson has been sworn in to the Supreme Court, shattering a glass ceiling as the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court. The 51-year-old Jackson is the court’s 116th justice and she took the place Thursday of the justice she

Jackson, a federal judge since 2013, is joining three other women, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett — the first time four women will serve together on the nine-member court.

Biden nominated Jackson in February and the the Senate confirmed her nomination in early April, by a 53-47 mostly party-line vote that included support from three Republicans.

RUSSIA AND CHINA SLAM NATO AFTER ALLIANCE RAISES ALARM

Nato faced rebukes from Moscow and Beijing on Thursday after it declared Russia a“direct threat” and said China posed “serious challenges ” to global stability. Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said as the summit wrapped up Thursday that member nations agreed on a “fundamental shift in our deterrence and defence” and sent Moscow a clear message that the alliance had a firm line drawn on its eastern frontier. “We live in a more dangerous world and we live in a more unpredictable world, and we live in a world where we have a hot war going on in Europe,” Stoltenberg said. “At the same time, we also know that this can get worse if this becomes a full scale war between Russia and Nato.

"He continued: “We want to remove any room for miscalculation, misunderstanding in Moscow, about our readiness to protect every inch of Nato territory. That’s Nato’s core responsibility. ” Over their three days of talks in Spain, Nato leaders formally invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. If the Nordic nations’ accession is approved by the 30 member nations, it will give Nato a 1,300 kilometre border with Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned he would respond in kind if the Nordic pair allowed Nato troops and military infrastructure onto their territory. He said Russia would have to “create the same threats for the territory from which threats against us are created”.

Also, in comments to journalists after a regional summit in Turkmenistan, Putin insisted that he was in no hurry to end the war in Ukraine, again claiming that the West had created an “anti-Russian bridgehead” in Ukraine that represented a “sword of Damocles” hanging over Russia. “The work is going smoothly, rhythmically,” he said of the fighting. “There is no need to talk about the timing. ”

The Beijing govt, meanwhile, called the Nato alliance a “Cold War remnant” and accused it of “maliciously attacking and smearing” China by including it on Nato’s list of global challenges. Its mission to the EU said Nato “claims that other countries pose challenges, but it is Nato that is creating problems around the world”.

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8 KILLED, OVER 50 MISSING AS LANDSLIDE HITS TERRITORIAL ARMY CAMP IN MANIPUR

At least eight people were killed and over 50 are missing after a massive landslide hit the 107 Territorial Army (TA) camp in Noney district of Manipur early Thursday morning, officials said. Seven of those dead were TA jawans and one was a Railways worker engaged in the construction of the Imphal-Jiribam railway project, said sources.

The TA was deployed near Tupul Railway Station in Noney district for the protection of the under-construction railway line.

The massive debris has blocked the Ejai River, creating a reservoir that may inundate low-lying areas, according to the Noney Deputy Commissioner.

ISRO SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES PSLV-C53 WITH 3 SINGAPORE SATELLITES ONBOARD

In its second successful mission within a week, ISRO launched three foreign satellites in precise orbit from the spaceport Sriharikota on Thursday.

PSLV-C53 is the second dedicated commercial mission of NewSpace India Limited, the commercial arm of ISRO. It had on June 23 launched GSAT-24 in its first "demand-driven" communication satellite mission post space sector reforms, leasing the entire capacity on board to Direct-to-Home service provider Tata Play.

ISRO Chairman S Somanath confirmed that the mission achieved its intended objective, saying the rocket placed the three customer satellites "in the precise orbit of 570 km with a 10 degree inclination" and congratulated NSIL for accomplishing "yet another major mission this month itself," the earlier one being the GSAT launch last week.

This is the 55th mission of PSLV, often described as ISRO's trusted workhorse and the 15th one using the PSLV-Core Alone variant.

The three satellites were described thus: “DS-EO is a 365 kg satellite while NeuSAR weighs 155 kg. Both belong to Singapore and are built by Starec Initiative of the Republic of Korea, while the third satellite is a 2.8 kg SCOOB-1 of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.”

RAJASTHAN: UNION MINISTER WARNS ASHOK GEHLOT

Politics over the grisly killing of tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur continued on Thursday with Union Minister and Jodhpur MP Gajendra Singh Shekhawat releasing a troubling video featuring a section of Muslim minority men issuing open death threats to anyone who “insults the Prophet”.

“Watch out Gehlot ji…your police is standing guard at the back and on the front, these men are issuing death threats,” Shekhawat said in a video.

The video came hours after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met the family of victim Kanhaiya Lal in Dhanmondi, Udaipur, and handed over a cheque of Rs 51 lakh to them  and assured speedy justice in the matter.

With a string of incidents of communal violence occurring in various districts over the last several months, leading to a sharp spurt in polarisation, Gehlot seems to be struggling to come to grips with its political ramifications, even as the next Assembly election is one-year-five months away.

The principal Opposition BJP has accused the ruling Congress of indulging in “appeasement politics”.

'BETRAYED BY OUR OWN, CONG, NCP STOOD WITH US IN TOUGH TIMES’: AADITYA THACKERAY

“My father is not hungry for power, he walked out of Varsha (the CM house) the moment the banner of rebellion was raised. He is dignified, graceful, clean and loyal to his words,” Yuva Sena president Aaditya Thackeray Thursday said in an interview to a TV channel.

Expressing grief over being betrayed by their own, the Yuva Sena chief said, “The traitors took advantage of the situation when the Chief Minister was out of a surgery and in isolation.”

Talking about the MVA alliance, he said it “truly represented democratic functioning”, where parties came together “with the sole aim of delivering growth, keeping their ideological differences aside”. He said, “The Congress, NCP stood with us in these tough times. We had the Congress leaders calling on us and committing fully that in these tough times when we have been betrayed by our own, they will stand with us.”

AGNIPATH SCHEME: INDIAN AIR FORCE RECEIVES 2.72 LAKH APPLICATIONS IN 7 DAYS

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has received 2.72 lakh applications under the Agnipath recruitment scheme within a week of launch of the registration process, the defence ministry said on Thursday. Last date for registration: July 5, 2022.

After the scheme was unveiled on June 14, violent protests against it rocked several states for nearly a week, and various opposition parties demanded its rollback.

KERALA TO SEEK MODIFICATION OF SUPREME COURT’S ECO-SENSITIVE ZONE DIRECTIVE

The Kerala govt on Thursday decided to file a modification petition in the Supreme Court in connection with its June 3 order that said all protected forest tracts and wildlife sanctuaries in the country should have eco-sensitive zones of one kilometre from their boundaries.

The govt decision comes amid growing protests in the hilly regions of the Western Ghats demanding that all human settlements be exempted from the proposed eco-sensitive zones rule. The issue came into focus last week after the ruling CPM’s students wing, the SFI, vandalised Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s office in Wayanad in protest against “his inaction’’ to allay people’s fears in the matter.

Ever since the Supreme Court issued its order, farmers in Kerala have been protesting demanding that human settlements be exempted from the proposed buffer zone rule. As Kerala has 24 wildlife sanctuaries, the proposal for having one-kilometre buffer zones from the boundaries of protected forests has raised concern among lakhs of people living within such areas.

On Thursday, the Opposition blamed the CPM for the present crisis over the buffer zone rule. Opposition leader VD Satheesan said the govt had failed to apprise the Supreme Court of the state’s concerns.

GOVT KEEPS INTEREST RATES ON SMALL SAVINGS SCHEMES UNCHANGED FOR Q2FY23

The govt on Thursday kept interest rates unchanged on small savings schemes, including NSC and PPF, for the second quarter of 2022-23 amid high inflation and rising interest rate.

The interest rate on small savings schemes has not been revised since the first quarter of 2020-21.

Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) will continue to have an annual interest rate of 7.1 per cent and 6.8 per cent, respectively, in the second quarter of this fiscal.

Interest rates for small savings schemes are notified on a quarterly basis.

Retail inflation stood at 7.04 per cent in May, remaining above the RBI's tolerance level for the fifth month in a row.

The interest rate on the five-year senior citizens' savings scheme will be retained at 7.4 per cent.

The girl child savings scheme Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana will fetch 7.6 per cent.

The interest rate on savings deposits will continue to be at 4 per cent per annum.

RESCHEDULED 5th TEST: BUMRAH TO LEAD INDIA TODAY

Never before has he navigated the choppy waters of leadership but Jasprit Bumrah will certainly like to showcase his captaincy acumen while leading a slightly under-prepared India against a vastly improved England in the rescheduled fifth Test, starting in Birmingham today.

India were leading the five-match series 2-1 when multiple COVID-19 cases in their camp led to the postponement of the final game which was a part of the World Test Championship.

Nine months have passed since and a lot of water has flown through the Thames with the then captain Virat Kohli relinquishing Test captaincy. His successor, Rohit Sharma, is missing out on this game after testing positive for COVID-19.

Worse, Rohit's designated deputy KL Rahul is also out after having undergone a surgery for sports hernia.

The 3-0 demolition of New Zealand with three tricky chases completed in style has shown that England, under new coach Brendon McCullum, have de-constructed their style-sheet as far as Test matches are concerned.

India squad: Jasprit Bumrah (captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk, vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Prasidh Krishna, Kona Srikar Bharat (wk), Mayank Agarwal, Umesh Yadav

NEERAJ CHOPRA WINS SILVER AT DIAMOND LEAGUE; SETS A NEW NATIONAL RECORD

Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra clinched his first-ever medal at the prestigious Diamond League meet with a massive throw of 89.94m in Stockholm on Thursday. With that mark, which he achieved in his first attempt, the 24-year-old Chopra broke his own national record of 89.30m that he set at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku earlier this month. Chopra's throw was the meet record too, until reigning world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada threw 90.31m on his third attempt to set a new meet record.

The prestigious one-day meet at the Swedish capital is Chopra's biggest event ahead of the World Championships in Eugene, USA, next month.

WIMBLEDON: NADAL GRINDS PAST BERANKIS INTO THIRD ROUND

Some days at the office are bit of a grind, even if in Rafael Nadal's case his place of work on Thursday was Wimbledon's sunny but chilly Centre Court for a match against Ricardas Berankis.

The second seed duly won 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the third round but his 307th Grand Slam match win, putting him one ahead of Martina Navratilova and fourth on the all-time list, will not linger long in his memory.

An off-key Nadal never looked in serious danger of having his bid for the calendar-year Slam wrecked by the world number 106, but he knows he will have to play much better in the rounds ahead to claim his third Wimbledon title.

Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas romped into the third round with an accomplished 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Australian Jordan Thompson under the new roof on Court One.

World No 1 Iga Swiatek struggled with unforced errors but found her composure when it mattered most to see off Dutch lucky loser Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the third round.

INDICATORS

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The ultimate decision about what is accepted as right and wrong will be made not by individual human wisdom but by the disappearance of the groups that have adhered to the wrong beliefs. - F.A. Hayek

OFF TRACK

A Guy gets out of lift on 7th floor instead of 9th floor.

He says: "I was so busy checking messages on my whatsapp...without realising, I went into the neighbour's house and sat on their sofa.

The lady of the house was glued to the TV... watching serials...She gave me tea without looking at me.

When I started drinking Tea, I looked up and saw the lady's husband entering the house....looking into his mobile.

He saw me and said, 'sorry' and went out of the house" !!!