INDIA, CHINA LOOK AT A ROADMAP FOR LOWERING TENSIONS ON LAC

The meeting between Corps Commanders of the Indian and Chinese armies ended

Monday with "mutual consensus to disengage" with detailed discussions on the

modalities of a sector-wise, stage-wise disengagement on the Line of Actual

Control (LAC).

But no timeline for the disengagement process was finalised at the meeting

between XIV Corps Commander Lt General Harinder Singh and South Xinjiang

Military Region Commander Major General Liu Lin. Hosted by the Chinese side

at the Moldo border point opposite Chushul, the meeting lasted nearly 11

hours.

No timeline for the process has been decided yet, which will involve further

meetings between local military commanders. The roadmap discussed at the

meeting, the official said, was the one being followed earlier before "it

was disrupted by that unfortunate incident" - a reference to the Galwan

Valley incident.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told

reporters: "The holding of the talks shows that both sides hope to properly

handle differences and manage and ease the situation through dialogue and

consultation. During the talks, the two sides, on the basis of the first

commander-level talks, had an in-depth and candid exchange of views on

outstanding issues in border management and control and agreed to take

necessary measures to lower the temperature. Both agreed to keep up dialogue

and work together for peace and tranquility on the ground along the border."

Asked if both sides have agreed to disengage troops, Zhao said: "The

relevant measures are coordinated and arranged by the border troops of the

two countries on the ground. I have no further information to release."

Meanwhile, a govt official in New Delhi reiterated that the decision after

the June 15 incident to give a free hand to the local commanders to respond

to any eventuality on the ground was not a unilateral action of the govt,

but was forced by the Chinese decision to violate all existing protocols and

border agreements.

RIC VIRTUAL MEETING: INDIA'S MESSAGE TO RUSSIA, CHINA AND THE WORLD

With his Chinese counterpart watching via a video link, External Affairs

Minister S Jaishankar said Tuesday that the "leading voices of the world

must be exemplars in every way" and that the "challenge today is not just

one of concepts and norms, but equally of their practice".

Jaishankar was speaking at the Russia-India-China (RIC) foreign ministers'

virtual meeting, which was chaired by Russia's Sergey Lavrov who said the

three countries were "united by our rejection of unilateral methods in

international relations, especially when these methods are applied by

force".

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov played down the recent spike in tensions,

saying it's normal to have problems with neighbours. "I don't think they

need any outside help," he said after the meeting.

Welcoming the meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the conclusion

of WW-II, and the foundation of the UN, Jaishankar recalled that the victory

over Nazism and Fascism was achieved through sacrifices across many theatres

by many countries. "India made a significant contribution, with 2.3 million

of its citizens under arms and 14 million more participating in war

production. Indian blood was shed at the battlefields of the world, from

Tobruk, El Alamein and Montecassino, to Singapore, Kohima and Borneo," he

said.

"We helped keep key supply lines open to both your countries, one through

the Persian corridor and the other over the Himalayan hump. If Indian

personnel were conferred the Order of the Red Star, the medical mission led

by Dr Kotnis was a legend in China," he said.

"When the victors met to fashion the ensuing global order, the political

circumstances of that era did not give India due recognition. This

historical injustice has stood uncorrected for the last 75 years, even as

the world has changed. Therefore, on this momentous occasion, it is

important for the world to realise both the contribution that India made and

the need to rectify the past," he said.

ASSURED OF TIMELY DELIVERY ON ALL MILITARY CONTRACTS: RAJNATH SINGH IN

RUSSIA

India has been assured by Russia that despite the pandemic it will deliver

on all ongoing military contracts, and can even hasten the delivery in

certain cases, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in Moscow on Tuesday.

Singh, who is in the Russian capital to attend the 75th anniversary of the

Victory Day celebration to mark the end of Second World War, said, "All our

proposals have received positive response from the Russian side. I am fully

satisfied with the discussions."

India had signed a contract worth over $5 billion in 2018 to buy five

regiments of the S-400 Triumf missile system from Russia. Its delivery is

expected to begin by the end of this year.

INDIA CUTS PAKISTAN HIGH COMMISSION STRENGTH BY HALF

India on Tuesday asked Pakistan to reduce the strength of its High

Commission in New Delhi by half, and said it would do the same at its own

mission in Islamabad within a week.

The last time a 50 per cent downgrade of the two High Commissions took place

was in December 2001. Following the terrorist attack on Parliament, then

External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh had asked for the reduction in

strength to be completed within 48 hours.

Tuesday's move by India came after two Indian High Commission staffers were

detained by Pakistani authorities for several hours on June 15, and released

only after New Delhi lodged a protest. India had last month expelled two

officials of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi for spying.

Ten months ago, Pakistan had downgraded bilateral ties after India revoked

the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370.

According to the bilateral understanding, India and Pakistan have 110

diplomats and staffers each in their High Commissions in the other country.

This number will now come down to 55 in each capital.

Pakistan said it "completely dismisses allegations of any violation of the

Vienna Convention", and denied India's allegations of intimidation of Indian

High Commission officials in Islamabad.

COVID-19 DASHBOARD - (Nos. IN INDIA / Nos. WORLDWIDE)

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 4,56,067 (+15,668) / 93,54,326 (+1,66,465)

Total Deaths 14,483 (+468) / 4,79,816 (+5,477)

Total Recovered 2,58,599 (+10,462) / 50,41,813 (+1,04,536)

Active Cases 1,82,985 (+4,738) / 38,32,697 (+56,452)

Serious / Critical Cases - N.A. / 57,911 (+23)

Top impacted nations so far: (And some of India's Neighbours)

Country, Total Cases / Total Deaths / Recovered Cases / Active

Cases

1 USA 24,24,168 / 1,23,473 /

10,20,381 / 12,80,314

2 Brazil 11,51,479 / 52,771 /

6,13,345 / 4,85,363

3 Russia 5,99,705 / 8,359 /

3,56,429 / 2,34,917

4 India 4,56,115 / 14,483 /

2,58,574 / 1,83,058

5 UK 3,06,210 / 42,927 / N/A

/ N/A

6 Spain 2,93,832 / 28,325 / N/A

/ N/A

7 Peru 2,60,810 / 8,404 /

1,48,437 / 1,03,969

8 Chile 2,50,767 / 4,505 /

2,10,570 / 35,692

9 Italy 2,38,833 / 34,675 /

1,84,585 / 19,573

10 Iran 2,09,970 / 9,863 /

1,69,160 / 30,947

11 Germany 1,92,778 / 8,986 /

1,75,700 / 8,092

14 Pakistan 1,85,034 / 3,695 /

73,471 / 1,07,868

17 Bangladesh 1,19,198 / 1,545 /

47,635 / 70,018

104 Sri Lanka 1,991 / 11 /

1,548 / 432

Top 18 impacted Indian States so far: (Total No. of Confirmed case / No. Of

Deaths)

State / Confirmed Cases / Active Case / Recovered /

Deceased

Maharashtra 1,39,010 / 62,833 / 69,631 /

6,531

Delhi 66,602 / 24,988 / 39,313 / 2,301

Tamil Nadu 64,603 / 28,431 / 35,339 /

833

Gujarat 28,429 / 6,197 / 20,521 / 1,711

Uttar Pradesh 18,893 / 6,189 / 12,116 /

588

Rajasthan 15,627 / 3,049 / 12,213 /

365

West Bengal 14,728 / 4,930 / 9,218 /

580

Madhya Pradesh 12,261 / 2,401 / 9,335 /

525

Haryana 11,520 / 4,844 / 6,498 /

178

Andhra Pradesh 9,834 / 5,123 / 4,592

/ 119

Karnataka 9,721 / 3,563 / 6,004 /

150

Telangana 9,553 / 5,109 / 4,224 /

220

Bihar 8,050 / 1,969 / 6,027 / 54

Jammu and Kashmir 6,236 / 2,507 / 3,642 /

87

Assam 6,056 / 2,281 / 3,763 / 9

Odisha 5,470 / 1,458 / 3,988 / 24

Punjab 4,397 / 1,245 / 3,047 / 105

Kerala 3,452 / 1,620 / 1,807 / 23

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

CHINA HAS AN 'OBLIGATION' TO JOIN NUCLEAR ARMS TALKS: US

Beijing has an "obligation" to join Washington and Moscow at negotiations to

replace a nuclear disarmament treaty, the United States said Tuesday, a day

after talks with Russia in Vienna.

"They (China) have an obligation to negotiate in good faith with us and the

Russians," American envoy to the negotiations Marshall Billingslea told

reporters.

"They stood up not just the United States and Russia but they stood up the

entire world," he said.

On Monday American and Russian delegations met in Vienna to discuss the New

START treaty, which limits each side to 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads but

which is due to run out in February.

US President Donald Trump has insisted China should be involved in the

talks, but Beijing has shown no interest in taking part.

Billingslea said another round of negotiations could take place towards the

end of July but admitted it could once again be restricted to Washington and

Moscow and didn't rule out an extension of the bilateral accord.

CHINA WARNS RISK OF NAVAL CONFLICT WITH U.S.

The U.S. military is deploying "unprecedented" numbers to the Asia-Pacific

region, raising the risk of an incident with China's Navy, a senior Chinese

official said on Tuesday.

"The U.S. military deployment in the Asia-Pacific region is unprecedented,"

said Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute of South China Sea

Studies, a govt think tank.

"The possibility of a military incident or an accidental shot fired is

rising," Mr. Wu said.

"If a crisis were to erupt, the repercussions on bilateral relations would

be catastrophic."

Wu said at the presentation of a report by his institute on the U.S.

military presence in the region.

THE REST

========

EXPANDING AMBIT, ICMR SAYS ALL SYMPTOMATIC PERSONS MAY BE TESTED

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Tuesday revised its Covid-19

testing strategy to include "all symptomatic individuals in every part of

the country". The strategy, as of May 18, advised testing symptomatic

individuals, but restricted it to those in hospitals, containment zones and

hotspots, contacts of a confirmed Covid-19 case, healthcare and frontline

workers, and those with history of international travel.

A member of the epidemiology and surveillance task force under ICMR said

that this was the first time that testing was advised for symptomatic

individuals "without any qualifiers."

"Since test, track and treat is the only way to prevent spread of infection

and save lives, it is imperative that testing should be made widely

available to all symptomatic individuals in every part of the country and

contact tracing mechanisms for containment of infection are further

strengthened.," ICMR statement said.

GOVT PROCUREMENT PORTAL ASKS SELLERS TO SPECIFY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry's platform for online procurement of

goods and services by govt departments - the Govt e-Marketplace (GeM) portal

- has made it mandatory for sellers to clarify the country of origin while

registering any new product. The GeM portal also has a 'Make in India'

filter now to allow buyers to choose products that meet the minimum 50%

local content criterion, the ministry announced Tuesday.

Purchases through GeM by various users such as govt departments, ministries,

states, public sector undertakings and central armed police forces, were

earlier made mandatory by the Ministry of Finance in the General Financial

Rules, 2017.

State-owned telecom company BSNL has been asked to modify its network

upgradation tender to keep foreign firms out and to make terms preferable

for Indian suppliers.

INDIA MAY ALLOW FOREIGN AIRLINES ON SELECT ROUTES

With requests pouring in from several countries, India is considering

establishing "bilateral bubbles" to destinations in the US, France, Germany

and the UK, says the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The Ministry's indications come following the US Department of Transport

(DoT) order that India's repatriation flights will not be allowed to operate

beyond July 22.

The US on Monday accused India of indulging in unfair and discriminatory

practices amid the Covid-19 pandemic through charter flight services, which

prompted the DoT to issue an order allowing its officials to examine charter

flights by Indian carriers on a case-to-case basis.

Reacting on this, the Ministry of Civil Aviation in its release also talked

about establishing bilateral arrangements.

DELHI RIOTS: SAFOORA ZARGAR GETS BAIL ON HUMANITARIAN GROUNDS

The Delhi High Court Tuesday granted bail to Jamia Coordination Committee

Media Coordinator Safoora Zargar, who has been arrested in a case related to

communal violence in Northeast Delhi, after Solicitor General (SG) Tushar

Mehta said that he has no objection to her release on purely "humanitarian

grounds".

The 27-year-old, who is pregnant, was arrested by the Delhi Police's Special

Cell on April 10 and is facing a UAPA case in connection with the Northeast

Delhi riots. In her bail plea, she had raised pregnancy as one of the

grounds for relief.

During the hearing, SG Mehta, appearing for the Delhi Police, submitted that

without going into the merits of the petition, and without considering this

as precedent, the prosecution would not object to Safoora Zargar being

released on regular bail on "humanitarian grounds".

The Delhi Police in their status report filed on Monday in the High Court

had opposed her bail application and had said, Zargar's pregnancy cannot be

grounds to grant her bail. Police, in its response, had submitted that as

many as "39 deliveries have taken place in Delhi prisons in the last 10

years".

CBI BOOKS VIDEOCON'S VENUGOPAL DHOOT IN CORRUPTION CASE

The CBI has booked Videocon Industries Ltd chairman Venugopal Dhoot in a

corruption case for allegedly duping a consortium of banks, led by the State

of Bank of India, of hundreds of millions of US dollars. Along with Dhoot,

who has been booked under charges of corruption, cheating and criminal

conspiracy, the CBI has also booked unknown officials of the consortium of

banks.

The case is related to an oil block in Mozambique where Videocon had

interests.

RAMDEV'S PATANJALI CLAIMS TO HAVE COVID-19 MEDICINE, GOVT SKEPTICAL

Not an immunity booster but a cure, claimed yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Tuesday

as he unveiled, what he calls, the first ayurvedic medicine against the

coronavirus, even as the scientific community the world over is fighting

hard to come up with a cure for the highly contagious disease.

The yoga guru's company Patanjali launched 'Coronil and Swasari' and claimed

the clinical trials on affected patients have shown 100 per cent favourable

results.

The Corona kit will be made available at just Rs 545, said Acharya

Balkrishna, CEO of Patanjali, adding that the kit is for 30 days.

Patanjali Ayurved Ltd has however been asked by the govt to provide details

of the medicines. The ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani,

Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) has ordered Patanjali to stop advertising the

products-Coronil and Swasari. It has also warned Patanjali to stop

misleading advertising until the results are verified.

"Patanjali Ayurved Ltd has been asked to provide at the earliest details of

the name and composition of the medicines being claimed for COVID treatment;

site(s)/hospital(s), where the research study was conducted for COVID-19;

protocol, sample size, Institutional Ethics Committee clearance, CTRI

registration and results data of the study (ies) and stop

advertising/publicizing such claims till the issue is duly examined," the

ministry said in its statement.

AFTER DIMITROV, DJOKOVIC TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID

World's No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic yesterday announced he and his

wife have Covid-19 after he played in a series of exhibition matches he

organised in Serbia and Croatia with zero social distancing amid the

pandemic.

Raising questions about the full-fledged return of tennis, including the US

Open, planned for August, Djokovic is the fourth player to test positive for

the virus after participating in the matches held in Belgrade in Serbia and

Zadar in Croatia.

The other players in action were three-time Grand Slam semifinalist Grigor

Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki. "Unfortunately, this virus is

still present, and it is a new reality that we are still learning to cope

and live with. I am hoping things will ease with time so we can all resume

lives the way they were," Djokovic, winner of 17 Grand Slam titles, said in

a statement released Tuesday.

In April, Djokovic was criticised for saying he would not want to take a

vaccine for the virus in order to be able to compete, even if it were

mandatory for travel. In May, when he was staying in Spain, Djokovic broke

local lockdown rules by practising at a tennis club about a week before it

was allowed.

TEN PAKISTAN CRICKETERS TEST POSITIVE

Seven more Pakistan cricketers, including Muhammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz,

selected for the tour of England have tested positive for COVID-19, taking

the total to 10, the PCB revealed on Tuesday.

"It is not a great situation to be in and what it shows is these are 10 fit

and young athletes...if it can happen to players it can happen to anyone,"

PCB CEO, Wasim Khan told a media conference.

Khan said that the players and officials would now assemble in Lahore and

another round of tests would be carried out on June 25 and a revised squad

would be announced the next day.

The squad has to leave for England on June 28 for the series scheduled to be

held next month, he said.

He said the players and officials would be retested on reaching England.

INDICATORS

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55.69, Aus$- Rs. 52.21

GBP 0.80 /US$, Euro 0.88 /US$, Jap.Yen 106.77 /US$, Aus$ 1.44 /US$, Sing

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Silver (Rs. Per KG) 48,810

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can

go. - T.S. Eliot

OFF TRACK

A great literary man had a contemporary who took great pleasure in running

him down. Once they met on the opposite ends of a narrow pathway in which

only one person could pass at a time. The writer's contemporary saw him and

bellowed at the top of his voice " I never give way to fools".

The writer, with a bow, stepped aside and said " But I always do".