ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY APOLOGISES TO PRESIDENT

In the eye of a political storm over his “Rashtrapatni” remark for President Droupadi Murmu, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress leader in Lok Sabha, wrote to her Friday, apologising for having “mistakenly” used what he said was an “incorrect word” to describe the position she holds. He maintained it was a “slip of the tongue”.

His apology to the President is being seen as an attempt to blunt another attack from the BJP on Monday when the House is likely to discuss the issue of price rise.

Chowdhury also wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to expunge all references made by Union Minister Smriti Irani regarding Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in Lok Sabha Thursday over his remark about the President.

He said the manner in which Irani took the name of the President in the House was neither proper nor in consonance with the status and position of the President. “She was yelling ‘Droupadi Murmu’ repeatedly without prefixing Hon’ble President or Madam or Smt. before the Hon’ble President’s name. This clearly amounts to degrading the stature of the office of the Hon’ble President. Therefore, I demand that the way Smriti Irani was addressing the Hon’ble President may be expunged from the proceedings of the House,” Chowdhury said.

“I wish to further highlight that Gandhi had nothing to do with this unfortunate episode. Yet, Irani and the ruling party deliberately dragged her name in this controversy. Irani behaved very inappropriately with Gandhi.”

Congress MPs staged a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Parliament, demanding an apology from the government over Irani’s confrontation with Sonia.

SHOW GRATITUDE TO INDIA, MAURITIUS PM TELLS OPPN

Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth has slammed the opposition for “casting suspicion on India” in the context of the island nation’s controversial Agalega Island and allegations of an Indian military base being set up there.

While opposition parties in Mauritius have united against the government there, accusing Jugnauth of “high treason” and seeking his resignation, India has continued to remain silent on the issue, choosing to align with PM Jugnauth’s statements.

During question hour in the Mauritian parliament Thursday, Jugnauth said: “We know that India has been assisting Mauritius all the way from our independence to help us develop our economy, uplift and modernise infrastructure, improve community facilities and enhance the quality of the lives of our citizens.”

He added, “This has been possible thanks to our special relationship and partnership with India which have been consolidated over time by this government. We should show gratitude towards India instead of casting suspicion over a genuine partnership.”

The PM was answering questions posed to him by leader of opposition Xavier Luc Duval on the Agalega Island and the presence of “foreign military personnel” there. Duval also asked the PM about the purported plan to station the Poseidon B737, an anti-submarine aircraft, there.

Duval further said that he is not “casting suspicion” on India, but on the PM.

The Agalega Island move was seen as India’s attempt to thwart challenges posed by China in the Indian Ocean as Beijing planned to expand its influence in the region by building ports across the maritime domain under a proposed ‘String of Pearls’ plan.

JAISHANKAR AT SCO FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING

Calling for urgently addressing the energy and food crisis triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Covid-19, external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday said at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting in Tashkent that zero tolerance for terrorism in all its manifestations is a must.

Among those who participated in the meeting was Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Official sources said there was no bilateral meeting between the two. Jaishankar was reported from Tashkent to have called upon SCO to fight “new world threats such as hunger and new types of terrorism”.

Despite India’s reservations about involvement of third countries in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Wang was reported to have reiterated Beijing’s support for the extension of the same into Afghanistan.

Interestingly, while the Indian side didn’t confirm there was a bilateral meeting with Lavrov, the Russian embassy in New Delhi said Jaishankar and Lavrov met and discussed “topical issues of bilateral relations as well as regional and international problems”.

The foreign ministers’ meeting was meant to finalise the agenda for the upcoming summit in Samarkand, which will see participation, among others, by PM Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

As of 0800 IST / July 29

from mohfw.gov.in ,

New Cases on Thursday  20,409

Active Cases 1,43,998 (-2,335)

Total Deaths (Deaths Yesterday) 5,26,258 (47)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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DOZENS OF UKRAINE POWS DIE IN MISSILE HIT, MOSCOW AND KYIV BLAME EACH OTHER

Dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war appeared to have been killed when a prison building was destroyed in a missile strike, with Moscow and Kyiv accusing each other on Friday of carrying out the attack. Russia’s defence ministry said 40 prisoners were killed and 75 wounded in the attack on the prison, in the frontline town of Olenivka, in a part of Donetsk province held by separatists.

A spokesman for the separatists put the death toll at 53 and accused Kyiv of targeting the prison with US-made Himars rockets.

Ukraine’s armed forces denied carrying out the strike, saying Russian artillery had targeted the prison to hide the mistreatment of those held there. Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia had committed a war crime and called for international condemnation.

TAIWAN ROW: PELOSI SAYS TALKS ABOUT MY TRAVEL ‘DANGER TO ME’

Amid China’s warning over her possible visit to Taiwan, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she never talks about her travel as this poses significant danger, media reports said.

Pelosi’s Asia begins Friday. However, it is yet not confirmed whether she will make a stop in Taiwan. In response to a question about a potential Taiwan visit, Pelosi said, “I never talk about my travel. It’s a danger to me.”

Pelosi’s trip includes stops in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore — all US allies in the region.

THE REST

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CHINESE CASUALTIES IN GALWAN CLASH CAN'T BE DISCLOSED: CIC

In a recent order, the CIC, the highest appellate body under the Right to Information Act, refused to allow a plea seeking "the casualties to the Chinese forces, if any, by brave soldiers of the country" during the clashes in the night of June 15 and 16, 2020.

RTI applicant Akhand had also sought information about casualties suffered by Indian forces at Galwan River Valley, Ladakh near the Line of Actual Control during the clash and rehabilitation and ex-gratia paid to the families.

In addition, the RTI applicant had sought to know from the army if Indian soldiers are missing in the Galwan river valley after the clash and its plans to rescue them.

The army refused to disclose the information saying it was third party information which cannot be shared under Section 8(1)(j) of the Act, which exempts from disclosure the information which is personal in nature.

To deny the information, the army also cited Section 8(1)(a) of the Act which exempts from disclosure the information which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence.

NEXT PHASE OF NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY

School students will be encouraged to work on their own start-ups as part of the Narendra Modi government’s newly-launched School Innovation Scheme aimed at promoting the spirit of innovation among young Indians.

The scheme — launched Friday — is among a host of new initiatives announced by the Ministry of Education to mark two years of the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The initiatives seek to usher in the next phase of NEP 2020.

These include setting up 750 virtual labs for science and mathematics students which are set to benefit nearly 10 lakh teachers and 10 crore students, the Education ministry said.

In addition, school students will be encouraged to take up “Bhartiya Games”, which are suited to Indian weather conditions. These include 75 sports traditionally played in India such as archery, kabaddi, and wrestling, among others.

The there’s the  push to impart education in the mother tongue — the NEP has suggested promoting education in the mother tongue right from pre-school to University level.

Launched in July 2020, the NEP suggested staggering changes to India’s education system, including introduction of a new 5+3+3+4 (foundational stage + preparatory stage + middle stage + secondary stage) format instead of the existing 10+2 format.

At the higher education level, the policy suggested multiple entry-exit systems in colleges and a four-year undergraduate programme instead of the existing three-year programme. Most of these suggestions have now been implemented.

SC ORDERS STATUS QUO ON AIADMK ROW

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Madras High Court to decide in three weeks the petitions filed by O Panneerselvam (OPS) and others against the July 11 AIADMK general council meeting in which OPS was expelled from the party for alleged anti-party activities.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana asked both rival factions of AIADMK, led by OPS and Edappadi Palaniswamy (EPS), to maintain status quo with regard to party affairs.

The July 11 AIADMK meeting did away with dual-leadership in the party and chose EPS as its interim general secretary. Noting that courts can’t interfere with internal functioning of political parties, the SC had on July 6 stayed the Madras High Court’s June 23 order restraining the AIADMK councils from passing unannounced resolutions on the issue of single leadership of the party.

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TIME FOR ENCOUNTER KILLING: K'TAKA MINISTER

Amid outrage over the murder of a BJP youth wing leader, Karnataka minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan on Friday favoured "encounter" killings of perpetrators of such incidents and said the state government is ready for it.

"Without giving any opportunity, merciless action will be taken. We are ready for encounter (killings). We have already communicated to our Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and the State government," Narayan, who holds the higher education, skill development, IT-BT portfolio, told reporters.

The minister was responding to a query on the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha district-level office-bearer Praveen Nettar's murder in his village Nettaru in Bellare near Sullia in Dakshina Kannada district on Tuesday when he was heading home after closing his shop.

Two days after Nettar's death, another youth Mohammed Fazil was hacked to death on Thursday by unknown assailants at Surathkal in Dakshina Kannada district. Investigations into the matter is on, the police said.

‘MATCH FEE FOR 50% MEDICAL SEATS WITH GOVT COLLEGES’

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has directed all deemed universities to comply with the new guidelines on reducing fee for half of the total approved seats in private medical colleges from the current session. The medical education regulator wrote a letter to this effect to all deemed universities on July 20.

The Prime Minister in March had announced that the fee for half the sanctioned seats in private medical colleges will be reduced to match the fee in government colleges. This will essentially mean that the government rate will be applicable on 75% of the 92,000 MBBS seats that will be offered for the 2022-23 session.

With admissions for the session only months away, the private colleges say that there is no clarity on how the decision should be implemented and that the new guidelines, in all likelihood, will be challenged by private universities in the court.

BIHAR SEEKS REPORT ON SCHOOLS SHUT FRIDAY IN MINORITY STRONGHOLDS

For years, around 500 government schools in Bihar’s Muslim-dominated districts of Purnia, Kishanganj, Katihar and Araria have had Friday, and not Sunday, as their weekly day off. But this could change now.

Bihar education minister and JD (U) leader Vijay Kumar Choudhary has sought a report on schools following this practice.

While partner BJP is insisting that there should be a uniform weekly day off in government schools irrespective of the religion of students, the JD (U) and NDA member Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) have called for status quo, saying “tradition and precedent” should be respected.

In a Twitter post in Hindi, JD(U) leader Upendra Kushwaha said, “Is weekly holiday provision in Urdu schools a real issue and an attempt to create an unnecessary controversy? Those who object to a Friday holiday in Urdu schools should know that Sanskrit universities also declare a day off on Pratipada and Ashtami every month.”

REMOVE TWEETS ON SMRITI IRANI, DAUGHTER, DELHI HC DIRECTS CONG LEADERS

Days after the Congress alleged that Silly Souls Cafe and Bar in Goa’s Assagao was run by Union Minister Smriti Irani’s daughter and had “fraudulently” renewed its bar license in the name of a dead person, a local family that owns the establishment informed the state’s Excise Commissioner on Friday that the property “is exclusively” its “business” and involves “no other person/ persons”.

Replying to a show cause notice issued by Excise Commissioner Narayan M Gad, the owners Merlyn Anthony D’Gama and her son Dean D’Gama also stated that they “have not acted in contravention of any of the provisions of the Goa Excise Duty Act and Rules, 1964…”

The show cause notice was issued on a complaint filed by lawyer Aires Rodrigues, who alleged that the eatery’s liquor license was renewed in June in the name of one Anthony D’Gama, who died in May 2021.

In their written reply, which pointed out that Anthony D’Gama was Merlyn’s husband, the mother and son said the allegations made in the complaint “are totally baseless and unsubstantiated”.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Friday directed Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera and Netta D’Souza to remove “defamatory” tweets, re-tweets, posts, videos and photos from social media in relation to the allegations made against Union Minister Smriti Irani and her daughter.

Justice Mini Pushkarna also issued summons to the three Congress leaders on a civil defamation suit filed by Irani seeking damages of over Rs 2 crore for allegedly making baseless allegations against her and her daughter Zoish Irani.

OLA AND UBER REFUTE REPORTS OF MERGER TALKS

Ola and Uber rubbished talks of a merger of their ride-hailing businesses in India, amid speculation and reports of consolidation of their operations due to a tough environment.

As reports about a merger — which had also been written in certain sections last month — started to pick up on social media, Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal swiftly issued a rebuttal through his Twitter handle. “Absolute rubbish. We’re very profitable and growing well. If some other companies want to exit their business from India they are welcome to! We will never merge. ”

On Friday, a media report said that Aggarwal had held talks with Uber executives in San Francisco.

SHAKIRA FACES TRIAL, COULD GO TO JAIL FOR ‘DEFRAUDING’ SPAIN OF 14.5 MN EUROS

Colombian pop singer Shakira, who is accused of defrauding the Spanish government of 14.5 million euros (Rs 117 crore), is reportedly facing a possible eight year jail term after she rejected a plea deal offered by prosecutors Friday.

The Spanish prosecutors had first charged the “Waka Waka” singer in 2018 for failing to pay 14.5 million euros in taxes on income earned between 2012 and 2014. If found guilty of tax evasion, she is also likely to face a fine of nearly 24 million euro.

Her public relations firm Llorente & Cuenca maintains the singer had deposited the amount owed with the Spanish Tax Agency and has no pending debts. “(Shakira) trusts her innocence and chooses to leave the issue in the hands of the law,” the firm was quoted as saying.

No date has been set for the trial yet and no immediate details were available on the contents of the deal offered by the prosecutors.

Shakira had slammed the authorities for “complete violation of her rights” and for their “abusive methods” through which they were “insisting on claiming money earned during my international tours”. Her defence team claimed until 2014, she earned most of her money from international tours and did not live more than six months a year in Spain and thus was not a resident under tax law.

INDIA SCORE AN EASY WIN OVER W INDIES IN OPENING T20i

Rohit Sharma's elegant half-century and Dinesh Karthik's blazing finish were backed up by a solid bowling performance as India made short work of the West Indies with an easy 68-run victory in the first T20I on Friday.

While Rohit set up the platform with a 44-ball-64, it was Karthik's calculated assault -- an unbeaten 41 off 19 balls -- that took India to 190 for 6 after being put in to bat.

The last three overs of the Indian innings, which yielded 45 runs, turned the innings on its head.

On a track that had spongy bounce, with a bit of turn and grip, India's spinners Ravichandran Ashwin (2/22 in 4 overs), Ravindra Jadeja (1/26 in 4 overs) and Ravi Bishnoi (2/26 in 4 overs) got wickets at regular intervals to restrict the hosts to 122 for 8 in 20 overs.

Arshdeep Singh (2/24 in 4 overs) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/11 in 2 overs), despite receiving some initial pasting, got their share of breakthroughs. Hence, a below-par show by the top-order, save Rohit, did not have telling consequences on India.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

When men are rightly occupied, their amusement grows out of their work, as the colour-petals out of a fruitful flower. - John Ruskin

OFF TRACK

With two of his friends sitting behind him, Shamu rides his bike from Ghaziabad to Delhi. A Delhi cop notices the 'tripple driving' and waves Shamu to stop.

Shamu - Arre, hum pehle hi teen baithe hain, abu tujhe kahan bithaoon?