MORE MEETINGS NEEDED TO END LAC STALEMATE

A day after XIV Corps Commander Lt General Harinder Singh and South Xinjiang

Military Region Commander Major General Liu Lin held extensive talks at the

Chushul border point on ways to reduce tensions along the Line of Actual

Control in Ladakh, Army sources indicated that more meetings and talks will

be needed, both at the military and diplomatic levels, to break the impasse.

This was the third meeting of the Corps Commanders - after the meetings on

June 6 and June 22.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told

reporters: "The two sides continue working towards implementing the

consensus reached at the two earlier rounds of commander-level talks and

made progress in effective measures by frontline troops to disengage and

de-escalate the situation. China welcomes that." "We hope the Indian side

will work with the Chinese side towards the same goal, keep up close

communication through military and diplomatic channels, and ease the

situation and reduce the temperature along the border," Zhao said.

Meanwhile, the military is also keeping a strict vigil on the western front

to deter Pakistan from fishing in troubled waters and prevent what could

turn out to be a two-front conflict, officials and China watchers said on

Wednesday.

Officials tracking recent military developments in the region discounted the

likelihood of India being drawn into a war on two fronts, but asserted that

the armed forces were ready to ward off all threats.

"Three nuclear-armed countries may not go to war at the same time. But China

and Pakistan have deep-rooted military links. No matter how remote the

possibility of a two-front threat, the Indian armed forces must stay

prepared for any eventuality," said Lieutenant General DS Hooda (retd), a

former Northern Army commander.

CHINESE FIRMS BARRED FROM ROAD PROJECTS, TELECOM TENDERS

In a move that targets Chinese trade and investments in India, the

government Wednesday said it would not allow Chinese companies to

participate in highway projects including those through joint ventures and

also not allow Chinese investors in micro, small and medium enterprises

(MSMEs).

"We will not give permission to joint ventures that have Chinese partners

for road construction. We have taken a firm stand that if they (Chinese

companies) come via joint venture in our country, we will not allow it,"

Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSME Nitin Gadkari told news

agency PTI in an interview.

Separately, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Wednesday formally

cancelled the March 23 tender for 4G network installation, planning,

testing, and maintenance, floated by state-run BSNL and MTNL. The DoT has

decided to bar Chinese telecom vendors in the new tender.

For both BSNL and MTNL, whose 3G networks mainly comprise equipment from

Shenzhen-based ZTE, a shift to European vendors is likely to put further

stress on its limited resources.

GOVTS TRYING TO MANAGE PERCEPTION, MUST ACCEPT COVID SITUATION: RAHUL GANDHI

As Covid-19 cases in the country continue to surge, senior Congress leader

Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said governments are trying to "manage" the

"perception" and give a sense that the problem is "not as bad as it is" and

argued that it is important to "accept" the problem, define it "accurately"

and fight it.

The remarks came during his interaction with four Indian nurses working in

New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and India on the occasion of

Doctor's Day. The interaction was streamed on social media platforms.

Speaking about the situation in Delhi, he said testing is not being allowed

at many hospitals. "One of the doctors I was speaking to in a private

hospital was telling me that it becomes impossible for them to work if they

cannot test Covid patients. If they don't know if the patient has Covid or

not, they don't know where to put him. So they were saying that they are

completely frustrated and do not know how to move forward," he said.

DIGNIFIED FAREWELL FOR COVID DECEASED POSSIBLE, EMINENT CITIZENS WRITE OPEN

LETTER TO PUBLIC

Amid some heartbreaking visuals of bodies of COVID deceased being dumped

into pits by municipal staffers in Karnataka, eminent Indian citizens on

Wednesday wrote an open letter to the people, saying there was no scientific

reason for families to not perform the last rites of loved ones who had

succumbed to the virus.

Signed by Rajmohan Gandhi, Harsh Mander, Sharmila Tagore and Nayantara

Sehgal among others, the letter notes that the stigma around COVID-19 has

spread from the living to the dead, even though there are detailed

scientific and official guidelines that show that a dignified death is

possible. "It is deeply saddening that the fear and stigma around COVID-19

has caused families to abandon performing the last rites for their family

members.

"Journalists have reported of public officials and bystanders performing the

last rites of individuals with family members unwilling to do so for fear

the infection," the signatories say, adding that a proper and complete

understanding of the disease and dynamics is needed, along with a strong

public campaign, to improve everyone's understanding of the disease.

The signatories cite Ministry of Health's March 15 guidelines on burials

which state that the family may view the face of their loved one before they

are cremated or buried and all religious rituals that do not require contact

are allowed.

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

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 6,05,154 (+19,428) / 1,08,02,849 (+2,17,208)

Total Deaths 17,848 (+438) / 5,18,921 (+5,008)

Total Recovered 3,59,896 (+12,057) / 59,38,954 (+1,43,303)

Active Cases 2,27,410 (+6,933) / 43,44,974 (+68,897)

Serious / Critical Cases - N.A. / 57,959 (+171)

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

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

Cases

1 USA 27,79,953 / 1,30,798 /

11,64,680 / 14,84,475

2 Brazil 14,53,369 / 60,713 /

8,26,866 / 5,65,790

3 Russia 6,54,405 / 9,536 /

4,22,931 / 2,21,938

4 India 6,05,220 / 17,848 /

3,59,896 / 2,27,476

5 UK 3,13,483 / 43,906 / N/A

/ N/A

6 Spain 2,96,739 / 28,363 / N/A

/ N/A

7 Peru 2,88,477 / 9,860 /

1,78,245 / 1,00,372

8 Chile 2,82,043 / 5,753 /

2,45,443 / 30,847

9 Italy 2,40,760 / 34,788 /

1,90,717 / 15,255

10 Mexico 2,31,770 / 28,510 / 1,38,319

/ 64,941

11 Iran 2,30,211 / 10,958 /

1,91,487 / 27,766

12 Pakistan 2,13,470 / 4,395 /

1,00,802 / 1,08,273

18 Bangladesh 1,49,258 / 1,888 /

62,108 / 85,262

108 Sri Lanka 2,054 / 11 /

1,748 / 295

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

Deaths)

State / Confirmed Cases / Active Case / Recovered /

Deceased

Maharashtra 1,80,298 / 79,075 / 93,154 /

8,053

Tamil Nadu 94,049 / 39,859 / 52,926 /

1,264

Delhi 89,802 / 27,007 / 59,992 / 2,803

Gujarat 33,318 / 7,411 / 24,038 / 1,869

Uttar Pradesh 24,056 / 6,709 / 16,629 /

718

West Bengal 19,170 / 5,959 / 12,528 /

683

Rajasthan 18,312 / 3,317 / 14,574 /

421

Telangana 17,357 / 9,008 / 8,082 /

267

Karnataka 16,514 / 8,192 / 8,065 /

253

Andhra Pradesh 15,252 / 8,071 / 6,988

/ 193

Haryana 14,941 / 4,202 / 10,499 /

240

Madhya Pradesh 13,861 / 2,625 / 10,655 /

581

Bihar 10,204 / 2,320 / 7,811 / 73

Assam 8,956 / 3,109 / 5,832 / 12

Jammu and Kashmir 7,695 / 2,734 / 4,856 /

105

Odisha 7,316 / 1,930 / 5,353 / 33

Punjab 5,668 / 1,530 / 3,989 / 149

Kerala 4,594 / 2,130 / 2,436 / 26

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

A LOOSELY ALIGNED PUSHBACK AGAINST CHINA

From Australia to Japan, United States to Asean and countries in Europe, a

loose strategic coalition is taking on China even as New Delhi tries to

break the deadlock with Beijing amid the standoff along the LAC.

US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo Pompeo, who was briefing reporters in

Washington DC, said, "We welcome India's ban on certain mobile apps that can

serve as appendages of CCP's surveillance state. India's clean app approach

will boost India's sovereignty, will also boost India's integrity and

national security, as the Indian government itself has stated."

Australia PM Scott Morrison Wednesday announced Australia's 2020 Defence

Strategic Update, a 270-billion Australian dollar 10-year defence plan which

includes, for the first time, land, sea and air-based long-range and

hypersonic strike missiles.

Significantly, the India-China standoff figures in its assessment. "Tensions

over territorial claims are rising across the Indo-Pacific region, as we

have seen recently on the disputed border between India and China, and the

South China Sea, and the East China Sea. The risk of miscalculation and even

conflict is heightening.Previous assumptions of enduring advantage and

technological edge are no longer constants and cannot be relied upon.

Coercive activities are rife," Morrison said at the Update's announcement.

On Tuesday, Japan delivered its toughest words to China on the issue of Hong

Kong after Beijing reportedly passed a sweeping national security law for

the city that Tokyo said would shake international faith in the

"one-country, two-systems" principle.

Europe, too, is waking up to the China challenge, with many leaders

condemning Beijing's move to press ahead with its new security laws in Hong

Kong warning that it will speed up the reassessment of China as a

trustworthy economic partner. European Union Council president Charles

Michel said "we deplore the decision" and the head of the European

Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said the bloc was discussing, with

international partners, any possible measures in response.

RUSSIAN VOTERS AGREE TO LET PUTIN SEEK 2 MORE TERMS

Russian voters approved changes to the constitution that will allow

President Vladimir Putin to hold power until 2036, but the weeklong

plebiscite that concluded Wednesday was tarnished by widespread reports of

pressure on voters and other irregularities.

For the first time in Russia, polls were kept open for a week to bolster

turnout without increasing crowds casting ballots amid the coronavirus

pandemic - a provision that Kremlin critics denounced as an extra tool to

manipulate the outcome.

The vote completes a convoluted saga that began in January, when Putin first

proposed the constitutional changes. He offered to broaden the powers of

parliament and redistribute authority among the branches of government,

stoking speculation he might seek to become parliamentary speaker or

chairman of the State Council when his presidential term ends in 2024.

His intentions became clear only hours before a vote in parliament, when

legislator Valentina Tereshkova, a Soviet-era cosmonaut who was the first

woman in space in 1963, proposed letting him run two more times. The

amendments, which also emphasize the primacy of Russian law over

international norms, outlaw same-sex marriages and mention "a belief in God"

as a core value, were quickly passed by the Kremlin-controlled legislature.

Putin has argued that resetting the term count was necessary to keep his

lieutenants focused on their work instead of "darting their eyes in search

for possible successors."

US SECURES NEARLY ENTIRE WORLD STOCK OF DRUG REMDESIVIR

The Donald Trump administration has secured nearly the entire world stock of

antiviral drug remdesivir from US-based Gilead Sciences for the next three

months, leaving hardly any stock of the key Covid-19 drug for the rest of

the world. As a result of an agreement with the drug maker announced earlier

this week, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has secured

more than 500,000 treatment courses of the drug for American hospitals

through September.

"President Trump has struck an amazing deal to ensure Americans have access

to the first authorised therapeutic for Covid-19," US Health and Human

Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.

THE REST

========

PRIYANKA GANDHI ASKED TO VACATE GOVERNMENT BUNGALOW BY AUGUST 1

AICC general secretary and Congress President Sonia Gandhi's daughter

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is all set to lose her posh government accommodation

in Lodi Estate with the government on Wednesday canceling the allotment and

asking her to vacate the house by August 1.

In an order today the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said the

cancellation had been ordered consequent upon the withdrawal of Special

Protection Group security to Priyanka and the related grant of Z-plus

security cover by the Home Ministry.

Terming the service of house vacation notice to Priyanka as an act of

vendetta, the Congress said the party won't be cowed down by such moves and

will continue to raise issues concerning people.

"BJP's hatred and sense of vendetta for Congress leaders is well known but

the government has now touched new lows by serving a house vacation notice

to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. We won't be flustered by such notices," Congress

media head Randeep Surjewala said. He said the move reflected the anxiety of

PM Narendra Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath as Priyanka Vadra is active in

UP.

BIHAR OPPN PARTIES OBJECT TO VIRTUAL RALLIES AHEAD OF ELECTIONS

Opposition parties in Bihar have objected to virtual rallies as a mode of

campaigning for the upcoming Assembly elections.

The RJD, CPI, CPI (M), NCP, BSP and RLSP have argued that digital

campaigning would violate the level-playing field and favour rich parties

with "resources". They pitched for small meetings and gatherings of voters

instead. The parties put their views forward in an all-party meeting called

by the Bihar Chief Electoral Officer.

The BJP, which held virtual rallies throughout last month, supported the

digital mode of campaigning in the all-party meeting and said it would be

"inappropriate" for the EC to ban it.

Its ally JD(U) was silent on virtual rallies specifically.

The EC will in all likelihood conduct Bihar elections on time amid the

pandemic. In a strong indication of this, the Commission has already

convinced the Law Ministry to allow Covid-affected patients to vote through

postal ballots.

To ensure social distancing, the EC has decided to limit the number of

voters at each polling booth to 1,000, instead of 1,600 in normal

circumstances. Parties have suggested bringing this number down further.

TOOK SOME EFFORT FOR PM MODI TO QUIT WEIBO

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has deleted his account on Weibo - the Chinese

Twitter - four days after India banned 59 mobile applications linked to

China.

The delay was because of the complex procedures involved in deleting a VIP

account. Also, two of his posts carried his photo along with that of Chinese

President Xi Jinping. Apparently, the app does not have the permission to

easily delete photos of their President.

Modi had joined Weibo in 2015 during his intense China-wooing phase and the

account quickly gathered about 2.5 lakh followers, many of them Chinese

attracted by the novelty of an Indian leader tweeting in Mandarin at an

average rate of one tweet every month.

CUSTOMS TOLD TO CLEAR ALL CHINESE SHIPMENTS WITH ENTRY BILLS TILL JUNE 30

In a breather of sorts for industry, customs officials have been instructed

to clear all shipments from China held up at airports and seaports where

bills of entry (BoE) have been filed till the midnight of June 30. However,

they were told, through informal directives, to hold up consignments coming

July 1 onwards for 100 per cent physical checks until further orders.

"The rationale for the June 30 midnight deadline is not very clear," said a

government official.

There's been a sharp drop in consignments originating from China, according

to a customs official. "Industry is evaluating the turn of events and has

deferred shipments from China as there is no point keeping them held up at

ports. Orders and shipments will resume once things normalise," he pointed

out.

INDIAN TECH ALUMNI PLAN TO RAISE 21,000 CRORE TO FIGHT INFECTIOUS DISEASES

IIT Alumni Council President Ravi Sharma says that a MegaLab, plans to begin

pilot testing on August 15. "The aim is to create a world class testing

infrastructure which is versatile enough to have long term application

across different types of infectious diseases, even beyond the current

pandemic though the immediate priority is clearly COVID-19."

"The IIT Alumni Council is committed to support smart and efficient health

infrastructure for the people of India and the same will be realised with

the collective knowledge and wisdom of the IIT alumni community."

The IIT Alumni Council plans to raise Rs 21,000 crore to set up this lab,

which would be world's largest one for viral infection testing.

The MegaFund is the dedication of the alumni community of IITs, MU (Mumbai

University) and ICT (Institute of Chemical Technology) towards supporting

the prime minister's mission of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat.

TESLA BECOMES HIGHEST-VALUED AUTOMAKER, OVERTAKES TOYOTA IN M-CAP

Tesla Inc on Wednesday became the highest-valued automaker as its shares

surged to record highs and the electric carmaker's market capitalization

overtook that of former front runner Toyota Motors Corp.

Tesla shares gained 5% in early morning trade to a record of $1,133,

boosting the company's market cap to $209.47 billion - roughly $6 billion

more than Toyota is currently valued by investors. Tesla is now worth more

than triple the combined value of U.S. automakers General Motors Co and Ford

Motor Co .

Toyota, one of the world's most profitable automakers, sold 10.46 million

vehicles during its 2019 financial year, ending on March 31, 2020. It

reported net revenues of $281.20 billion during that time.

Tesla, in comparison, ended 2019 with only $24.6 billion in revenues, having

delivered 367,200 vehicles last year.

INDICATORS

Sensex 35,414 (+499), Nifty 10,430 (+128), Trading Value NSE ,(Rs.crores)

49,645

Nasdaq 10,155 (+96) Dow 25,735 (-78), S&P 3,116 (+16)

US$-Rs. 75.20 GBP-Rs. 93.42, Euro-Rs. 84.50, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.47, Can$-Rs.

55.38, Aus$- Rs. 51.95

GBP 0.80 /US$, Euro 0.88 /US$, Jap.Yen 107.56 /US$, Aus$ 1.44 /US$, Sing

1.39 /US$, Bang Taka 83.26 /US$, Can$ 1.35 /US$, Mal Ring 4.28 /US$,

Pak Re 166.89 /US$, Phil Peso 49.78 /US$, Russian Rouble 70.92 /US$, NZ$

1.54 /US$, Thai Baht 30.94 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 26.61 /US$, Norway NOK 9.55

/US$

Bitcoin - USD 9,241

Dollar Index 97.11 Brent Crude 42.08 BDI 1,803

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,768 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,866 / 4,766

Silver (Rs. Per KG) 48,560

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong.

They are conflicts between two rights. - Georg Hegel

OFF TRACK

A guy was in his usual place in the morning sitting at the table, reading

the paper after breakfast. He came across an article about a beautiful

actress that was about to marry a football player who was known primarily

for his lack of IQ and common knowledge.

He turned to his wife with a look of question on his face. "I'll never

understand why the biggest jerks get the prettiest wives."

His wife replies, "Why thank you, dear!"