VISIT WILL PROVIDE FRESH IMPETUS TO TIES WITH FRANCE, SAYS PM MODI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Paris yesterday on a two-day visit during which he will seek to provide a new impetus to the bilateral strategic partnership with France. The expansion of bilateral defence ties will be the key focus of his interaction with President Emmanuel Macron.

PM Modi reiterated India’s dismay over its exclusion from the global high table. “How can the UN Security Council claim to speak for the world when its most populous country, and its largest democracy, is not a permanent member?” he said, adding French President Emmanuel Macron shared his views on the international order.

Ahead of his departure, PM Modi said his wide-ranging discussions with Macron would take forward the “longstanding and time-tested partnership over the next 25 years”.

Modi underscored the power of Indian democracy and asserted that countries like India and France can together contribute to the global development during an address to the Indian diaspora on Thursday at the iconic La Seine Musicale in Paris.

Interacting with members of the Indian community in Paris, Modi announced that an agreement has been reached for use of India’s UPI in France.

Modi also said France has decided to grant long-term five-year visas for students pursuing a masters degree in France.

Highlighting India’s changing role in the global order, Modi said: “Today, the world is moving towards a new world order. The capability and the role of India is changing fast. At this time, India is the president of G20. It’s for the first time, in a country’s presidency, that more than 200 meetings are being held across the nation.”

Highlighting the significance of 25 years of strategic partnership between India and France, Modi said the two countries are tackling many challenges of the 21st century. Therefore, at this crucial time, the importance of the strategic partnership between our countries has increased even more, he said. The Prime Minister said people-to-people connect is the strongest foundation of India-France partnership.

MoD CLEARS PROPOSAL TO PURCHASE 26 RAFALE MARINE JETS, 3 SCORPENE SUBS

Attempting to plug gaps in naval power, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the apex decision-making body of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), yesterday cleared two separate ‘Make-in-India’ proposals for manufacturing three additional Scorpene submarines and sourcing 26 marine version Rafale fighter jets.

The key proposals are expected to come up when Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. The DAC, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, granted the ‘acceptance of necessity’ (AoN) for procurement of the Rafale Marine aircraft along with associated ancillary equipment, weapons, simulator, spares, documentation, crew training and logistic support for the Indian Navy from the French Government based on the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA), the MoD said.

JAISHANKAR IN JAKARTA, HOLDS TALKS WITH COUNTERPARTS FROM RUSSIA, BRITAIN, S KOREA

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Jakarta on the sidelines of a set of ASEAN-related ministerial dialogues. The meeting, among a large number of bilaterals, is significant, as was the one with his UK counterpart James Cleverley in which he brought up concerns pertaining to the security of Indian diplomats in the UK.

India said the European Parliament’s discussion on the developments in Manipur reflected a colonial mindset. The European Parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in India, with particular reference to the clashes in Manipur.

Jaishankar also met his South Korean counterpart Park Jin to discuss critical minerals and cutting-edge technology.

With Lavrov, Jaishankar discussed bilateral economic issues and matters related to the Ukraine conflict. India has become a major buyer of Russian oil, but there is no agreement with Russia on how to utilise the rupees that have accumulated due to western sanctions. India would want the rupees to be invested in its infrastructure sector or government bonds while Moscow wants the money to be repatriated before deciding what to do with it.

BILL ON UNIFORM CIVIL CODE NOT LISTED FOR MONSOON SESSION OF PARLIAMENT

A bulletin issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat listed 21 news bills for the monsoon session, including a draft legislation to check film piracy, introduce age-based categories for censor certification and to set up the National Research Foundation.

Also listed for consideration and passage during the session were the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill and the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, among others.

Apart from 21 new bills, seven old bills are also listed for the monsoon session, which begins on July 20 and will continue till August 11.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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OUSTER OF TOP GENERAL REVEALS NEW CRACK IN RUSSIAN MILITARY

Turmoil continued to engulf the leadership ranks of the Russian military nearly three weeks after a failed mutiny, posing new distractions and risks for Moscow’s forces as they try to fend off a Ukrainian counteroffensive. The latest sign of disarray emerged with the release late Wednesday of a four-minute recording in which a top Russian general, fired from his post commanding troops on the critical Zaporizhzhia front, accused the military leadership of inflicting a blow on his forces at a challenging time. Major Gen. Ivan Popov said he was removed as retribution for voicing the truth about battlefield problems to senior leadership behind closed doors, including a lack of counter battery and artillery reconnaissance capabilities, as well as excessive deaths and injuries that Russian troops were suffering on the battlefield.

“We were hit in the rear by our senior commander, who treacherously and vilely decapitated our army at the most difficult and tense moment,”General Popov said in farewell talk to his troops, a recording of which was released by a Russian lawmaker. The dismissal came as recriminations have reverberated through the ranks of the Russian military in the aftermath of a failed June 24 mutiny by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. The Wall Street Journal reported that at least 13 senior Russian officers had been detained for questioning in the days since the insurrection, with some later released, and around 15 had been suspended from duty or fired.

AMID GROWING ABORTION CURBS IN US, FDA APPROVES 1ST OVER-COUNTER BIRTH CONTROL PILL

The Food and Drug Administration of U.S. on Thursday approved a birth control pill to be sold without a prescription for the first time in the US, a milestone that could significantly expand access to contraception.

The medication, Opill, will become the most effective birth control method available over the counter — more effective at preventing pregnancy than other nonprescription methods. Experts said its availability could be especially useful for young women, teenagers and those who have difficulty dealing with the time, costs or logistical hurdles involved in visiting a doctor.

Since the Supreme Court overturned the national right to an abortion last year, the accessibility of contraception has become an urgent issue. But long before that, the move to make a nonprescription pill available for all ages had received widespread support from specialists in reproductive and adolescent health. And strikingly, at a time of fierce divisions over abortion, many anti-abortion groups have declined to criticise over-the-counter birth control.

THE REST

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A RAGING YAMUNA FLOODS KEY DELHI AREAS

The water of the raging Yamuna, flowing about three metres above the danger mark at 208.62 metres, on Thursday deluged the historic Red Fort, some hospitals and low-lying residential areas of Delhi even as the AAP government ordered all schools and colleges to remain shut till Sunday.

Later in the evening, the Central Water Commission said the Yamuna water level had stabilised and would start receding.

Government employees, except those in emergency services, have been asked to work from home. A similar advisory has been issued for private sector offices. As the Yamuna water inundated more areas of Delhi and rescue efforts intensified, the city stared at a drinking water shortage. The Delhi Government has decided to cut down supply by 25 per cent following the closure of three treatment plants — Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla.

SIGNALLING NOW PART OF RAIL SAFETY, WON’T NEED FINANCIAL VIABILITY TEST

Days after the serious train accidents in Balasore, Odisha, that killed at least 293 people due to errors in the signalling system, the Railway Board has decided to modify the Indian Railway Financial Code so that signalling-related projects do not need to be financially remunerative.

The Indian Railway Financial Code sets the rules to financially evaluate the viability of projects. In the modified rules, all signalling works would be included under the ‘Safety’ category and hence not required to have a positive rate of return. All other projects, to be considered financially viable, should project at least a 12 per cent rate of return on investment.

EX-MP VIJAY DARDA CONVICTED IN COAL BLOCK ALLOCATION CASE

A Delhi court on Thursday convicted former Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda and former coal secretary H C Gupta, along with five other accused, in a CBI case related to irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh.

Arguments on the quantum of punishment are scheduled for July 18.

Although the CBI had filed a closure report in the case, the court in 2014 had refused to accept it and had directed that a fresh investigation be conducted by the probe agency.

Thursday’s convictions are the 13th in the coal scam, which had rocked the Manmohan Singh-led UPA-II government. In 2012, the Comptroller and Auditor General had slammed the government for alleged inefficient allocation of 194 coal blocks to public sector enterprises and private companies between 2004 and 2009 in a non-transparent manner.

YOUTUBE SAVVY PREACHER AMOGH LILA DAS BANNED BY ISKCON FOR A MONTH

After a video showed him making “derogatory comments” about Swami Vivekananda, the Hindu spiritual leader, and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the founder of the Ramakrishna Mission, preacher Amogh Lila Das (43) has been “banned” by ISKCON for a month.

With over 1.43 lakh followers on his YouTube channel, ‘Reviving Values’, which has received nearly 1.3 crore views since he started it in 2018, Amogh has made his name among a new wave of spiritual personalities to have found unprecedented fame on social media.

Amogh had criticised Swami Vivekananda for eating fish and dismissed Ramakrishna’s teaching of ‘joto mot toto poth (there are as many paths as there are opinions)’, saying that not every path leads to the same destination.

Under fire from their followers, the ISKCON banned” him for a month.

ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER: WHO PANEL SAYS NO NEED TO CUT DAILY INTAKE

A WHIO committee categorised artificial sweetener aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”. However, another committee simultaneously assessing the levels that can be safely consumed has said there is no need to reduce the previously established acceptable daily intake (ADI) for the sweetener.

As per the second committee’s analysis, consuming a couple of aspartame tablets in coffee and tea is unlikely to be harmful.

It is the hidden aspartame in products like diet soda and ice creams that health experts are really worried about.

AKASA AIR FLIES PAST SPICEJET FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DOMESTIC TRAFFIC

Akasa Air, which was established just eleven months ago, has beaten SpiceJet for the first time in terms of domestic passengers carried per month.

The airline carried 6,18,000 passengers in June, compared to SpiceJet, that carried 555,000 passengers, according to data released by the DGCA on Thursday.

The share of Akasa Air in the domestic passenger market jumped slightly from 4.8 per cent in May to 4.9 per cent in June. SpiceJet's share, on the other hand, dropped from 5.4 per cent in May to 4.4 per cent in June.

IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, saw its domestic market share jump from 61.4 per cent in May to 63.2 per cent in June, according to the DGCA data.

Indian carriers, overall, handled 12.48 million domestic passengers in the last month. This was 18.78 per cent more than the domestic passengers they carried in June 2022.

GST MAY WIPE OUT INDIA’S ONLINE GAMING SECTOR, FEARS INDUSTRY

The decision to impose 28 percent GST on the full-face value of bets placed in online gaming will potentially wipe out the domestic industry and lead to significant jobs loss as many companies will be forced to close down, industry experts have warned.

It will, they said, further encourage illegal offshore-based gambling.

The move had sent the stocks of listed gaming companies into a downward spiral, as shares of Nazara Technologies, Delta Corp, Zensar Technologies and OnMobile Global tumbled after the GST Council’s decision was announced Tuesday.

Currently, online gaming companies pay 18 percent tax on the platform fees, or Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR). However, with Tuesday’s decision, they will have to pay 28 percent tax on full face value or the entire amount that a player/user chooses to play with.

For example, if a user deposits Rs 100 with an online platform – this is the full face value. Of this amount, platforms usually charge a maximum of 20 percent as platform fee, or service fee. On this service charge, platforms currently pays 18 percent tax, which comes to a maximum of Rs. Rs 3.60.

Now GST at 28%, will be applied at full face value, which means GST will jumop from Rs. 3.60 to Rs. 28.!

which will amount to Rs 28. It is more than what they earn (Rs 20).”

To cover this, they will have to increase the platform fee significantly which will ultimately decrease the prize pool that the users will compete for.

JYOTHI RACES TO GOLD IN 100 M HURDLES, AT ASIAN MEET

On a wet track and in the pouring rain on Thursday, Indian track and field’s big hope Jyothi Yarraji won the country’s first-ever gold in the women’s 100 metre hurdles at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok.

At the finish line, however, Jyothi looked distraught. Her coach James Hillier put it down to her timing — 13.09 seconds on the clock — good enough for first place but not fast enough for the hurdler who has set high standards for herself.

Considered a special talent, the 23-year-old is the only woman in India to run sub-13 seconds, that too six times this year alone. In the heats at Bangkok, she had clocked 12.98 seconds.

The Andhra hurdler’s journey has been challenging, especially in her initial days when her mother used to work as a hospital cleaner and her father as a security guard.

During her early days, Jyothi’s junior coach N Ramesh helped her with money for bus tickets for the journey to the sports hostel in Hyderabad from home in Visakhapatnam. Senior athlete and Railways employee Karnatapu Sowjanya also helped her financially.

A far cry from those early days of struggle, Jyothi is now a Target Olympic Podium Scheme athlete and is also supported by the Reliance Foundation.

WIMBLEDON: VONDROUSOVA, JABEUR TO FACE OFF IN FINAL

Czech Marketa Vondrousova showed there was no room for any gushing sentiment as she ended the remarkable run of new mum Elina Svitolina with a 6-3 6-3 victory to reach the Wimbledon final for the first time on Thursday.

In the run-up to of a first All England Club women's semi-final featuring two unseeded players, Vondrousova said the Ukrainian was "incredible", "amazing", "a fighter" and "a super woman" for reaching the last four of a Grand Slam nine months after giving birth to daughter Skai. But that did not stop Vondrousova ending Svitolina's dreams and she now stands one win away from completing her own phenomenal comeback story after two wrist surgeries following her runner-up finish at the French Open in 2019.

She will be bidding to become the first unseeded woman to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish when she faces the Tunisian sixth seed Ons Jabeur in Saturday's final.

Ons Jabeur showed that it is sometimes better to float like a butterfly than sting like a bee as her wily artistry overcame the brutal hitting of Aryna Sabalenka to reach her second Wimbledon final with a 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3 victory on Thursday. Jabeur, who was beaten in last year's final, looked destined to suffer more heartbreak on Centre Court when she lost the opening set, but her delicate strokeplay and clever angles eventually subdued the relentless power of Belarusian Sabalenka.

ROSEAU TEST, DAY 2: JAISWAL. ROHIT HITS TONS

Yashasvi Jaiswal, the young man from Bhadohi who toughened up on the ruthless Mumbai maidans, enjoyed his finest day on a cricket pitch with an unconquered debut hundred as India seized complete control on the second day of the first Test against the West Indies, on Thursday.

Skipper Rohit Sharma (103 off 221 balls) also eschewed his natural flair en route his 10th Test hundred and a record 229-run opening stand with Jaiswal (143 not out) as India batted cautiously, but still did well enough to slowly bat the West Indies out of the game, finishing the second day on 312 for 2, to swell their lead to 162 runs.

India adopted a cautious approach with the bat, scoring only 232 runs in 90 overs on Day 2.

Jaiswal, who batted the entire second day, had the seasoned Virat Kohli (36 not out) for company at close. The duo added 72 runs for the third wicket.

INDICATORS

Sensex 65,559 (+165), Nifty 19,414 (+29)

Nasdaq 14,139 (+220) Dow 34,395 (+48), S&P 4,510 (+38)

US$-Rs. 82.04, GBP-Rs. 107.22, Euro-Rs. 91.71, UAE Dhm-Rs. 22.33, Can$-Rs. 62.40, Aus$- Rs. 56.21

GBP 0.76 /US$, Euro 0.89 /US$, Jap.Yen 138.30 /US$, Aus$ 1.45 /US$, Sing 1.32 /US$, Bang Taka 107.18 /US$, Can$ 1.31 /US$, Mal Ring 4.59 /US$, Pak Re 274.52 /US$, Phil Peso 54.42 /US$, Russian Rouble 90.29 /US$, NZ$ 1.57 /US$, Thai Baht 34.56 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 36.44 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 31,454, Dollar Index 99.35, Brent Crude 81.61, BDI 1088

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,961 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 6,000 / 5,500, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 79,500

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

My strength lies solely in my tenacity. - Louis Pasteur

OFF TRACK

I watched an ant climb a blade of grass this morning. When he reached the top, his weight bent the blade down to the ground. Then, twisting his thorax with insectile precision, he grabbed a hold of the next blade. In this manner, he traveled across the lawn, covering as much distance vertically as he did horizontally, which both amused and delighted me.  

And then, all at once, I had what is sometimes called an "epiphany"; a moment of heightened awareness in which everything becomes crystal clear. Yes, hunched over that ant on my hands and knees, I suddenly knew what I had to do... Quit drinking before noon.