NEW SURGE IN THE SOUTH PROPELS INDIA TO NO. 3 IN TOTAL CASES

India overtook Russia on Sunday evening to become the country with the third

largest caseload of novel coronavirus infection in the world. Only the

United States and Brazil now have more infections than India.

This latest surge in India has been powered by a sharp rise in case numbers

in the southern states, most notably in Telangana and Karnataka. The

caseloads of all five southern states - Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala,

Tamil Nadu, and Telangana - are currently growing faster than the national

growth rate (seven-day compounded daily growth rate, or CDGR).

The rapid rise in Telangana can be directly attributed to an increase in

testing. Till about three weeks ago, the state was testing just a few

hundred samples, which has now been ramped up to about 4,000 every day.

The exception to the southern surge has been Kerala, which has the lowest

caseload and growth rate among the five states. It has just over 5,400

confirmed infections so far, and its current growth rate is the lowest among

southern states, though still a little higher than the national rate. Yes,

Kerala has decided to impose a stringent week long lockdown starting today.

CONGRESS ACCUSES GOVT OF CORRUPTION IN MANAGEMENT OF PM CARES FUNDS

The Congress on Sunday accused the government of "wasting" the lockdown by

not ramping up health infrastructure and procuring "substandard" ventilators

that are crucial for critical COVID-19 patients, with Rahul Gandhi charging

that "opacity" in the PM Cares Fund is putting lives of Indians at risk.

Using the hashtag "BJPfailsCoronaFight", Gandhi tweeted, "PMCares opacity

is: 1. Putting Indian lives at risk. 2. Ensuring public money is used to buy

sub-standard products." He also tagged a news report about a private firm

providing substandard ventilators, procured using the PM Cares Fund.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala alleged a "scam" in the

purchase of ventilators. "The 'Ventilators' Scam! Out of Rs 2,000 crore

allocated for 50,000 ventilators, only 1,340 ventilators delivered till 23rd

June. No open tendering. Inferior Quality. Purchase Price of Rs 4 Lakh

instead of quoted price of Rs 1.5 Lakh per ventilator," he said in a tweet.

SCIENTISTS AND EXPERTS CHIDE ICMR OVER LETTER

The letter from the Indian Council of Medical Research's director general

asking researchers to speed up trials and processes to meet the government's

deadline of August 15 and be the first in the race to launch a vaccine for

Covid-19 has attracted widespread criticism and dented the credibility and

reputation of the country's apex research body.

On Sunday, India's foremost science academy the Indian Academy of Sciences

(IASc), decried ICMR's directive and the deadline.

"As a body of scientists, including many who are engaged in vaccine

development, IASc strongly believes that the announced timeline is

unfeasible. This timeline has raised unrealistic hope and expectations in

the mind of our citizens," IASc said in a statement. It cautioned that

vaccine development required scientifically executed clinical trials and

while there was an unquestioned urgent need, any hasty solution may

compromise rigorous scientific process and standards.

While ICMR tried to defend its DG's letter by saying it was only meant to

cut red tape, it failed to appease the scientific community which said

"serious scientific and ethics review processes by designated committees are

not red tape".

NEW WORRY: SCIENTISTS URGE WHO TO ADDRESS AIRBORNE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS

More than 200 scientists from over 30 countries are urging the WHO to take

more seriously the possibility of the airborne spread of the novel

coronavirus as case numbers rise around the world and surge in the United

States.

In a forthcoming paper titled "It is Time to Address Airborne Transmission

of Covid-19," 239 signatories attempt to raise awareness about what they say

is growing evidence that the virus can spread indoors through aerosols that

linger in the air and can be infectious even in smaller quantities than

previously thought.

Until recently, most public health guidelines have focused on social

distancing measures, regular hand-washing and precautions to avoid droplets.

But the signatories to the paper say the potential of the virus to spread

via airborne transmission has not been fully appreciated even by public

health institutions such as the WHO.

Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University

who provides technical assistance to the WHO, warned that "the public, and

even scientists, will lose full confidence in WHO without clearer technical

guidance."

If this latest assertion by these scientists is true, it may better explain

the instances of excessive spread of infection in closed spaces with a large

number of people, like the religious congregations.

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

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 6,97,753 (+23,915) / 1,15,56,788 (+1,77,870)

Total Deaths 19,700 (+421) / 5,36,776 (+3,392)

Total Recovered 4,24,891 (+15,829) / 65,35,495 (+1,01,553)

Active Cases 2,53,162 (+7,665) / 44,84,517 (+72,925)

TOP IMPACTED NATIONS SO FAR: (AND SOME OF INDIA'S NEIGHBOURS)

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

Cases

1 USA 29,82,928 / 1,32,569 /

12,89,564 / 15,60,795

2 Brazil 16,04,585 / 64,900 /

9,78,615 / 5,61,070

3 India 6,97,836 / 19,700 /

4,24,891 / 2,53,245

4 Russia 6,81,251 / 10,161 /

4,50,750 / 2,20,340

5 Peru 3,02,718 / 10,589 /

1,93,957 / 98,172

6 Spain 2,97,625 / 28,385 / N/A

/ N/A

7 Chile 2,95,532 / 6,308 /

2,61,032 / 28,192

8 UK 2,85,416 / 44,220 / N/A

/ N/A

9 Mexico 2,56,848 / 30,639 /

1,55,604 / 70,605

10 Italy 2,41,611 / 34,861 /

1,92,108 / 14,642

11 Iran 2,40,438 / 11,571 /

2,01,330 / 27,537

12 Pakistan 2,28,474 / 4,712 /

1,29,830 / 93,932

18 Bangladesh 1,62,417 / 2,052 /

72,625 / 87,740

109 Sri Lanka 2,076 / 11 /

1,903 / 162

TOP IMPACTED INDIAN STATES SO FAR

State / Confirmed Cases / Active Case / Recovered /

Deceased

Maharashtra 206619 / 86040 / 111740 /

8822

Tamil Nadu 111151 / 46863 / 62778 /

1510

Delhi 99444 / 25038 / 71339 / 3067

Gujarat 36123 / 8279 / 25900 / 1944

Uttar Pradesh 27707 / 8161 / 18761 /

785

Telangana 23902 / 10904 / 12703 /

295

Karnataka 23474 / 13249 / 9849 /

372

West Bengal 22126 / 6658 / 14711 /

757

Rajasthan 20164 / 3780 / 15928 /

456

Andhra Pradesh 18697 / 10043 / 8422 /

232

Haryana 17005 / 3796 / 12944 /

265

Madhya Pradesh 14930 / 2911 / 11411 /

608

Bihar 11860 / 3005 / 8765 / 90

Assam 11737 / 4286 / 7434 / 14

Odisha 9070 / 2800 / 6224 / 46

Jammu and Kashmir 8429 / 3042 / 5255 /

132

Punjab 6283 / 1711 / 4408 / 164

Kerala 5430 / 2228 / 3174 / 26

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

USS NIMITZ, USS RONALD REAGAN NOT INTIMIDATED: US NAVY'S RESPONSE TO CHINESE

MOUTHPIECE

After the US Navy deployed its two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers - USS

Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan - to conduct exercises in the South China Sea,

Chinese propaganda outlet Global Times went into overdrive threatening the

US carriers with DF-21D and DF-26 'aircraft carrier killer' missiles.

In an op-ed, a Chinese analyst said that China has a wide selection of

anti-aircraft carrier weapons like DF-21D and DF-26 'aircraft carrier

killer' missiles adding that South China Sea is fully within grasp of the

PLA; and that US aircraft carrier movement in the region is at the pleasure

of PLA.

Responding to this futile threat, the US Navy's Chief of Information

(CHINFO) shared a post taking a dig at the mouthpiece saying, "And yet,

there they are" adding that the two US Navy aircraft carriers - USS Nimitz

and USS Ronald Reagan - operating in the international waters of the South

China Sea are not intimidated.

The recent decision by the United States to deploy its two nuclear-powered

aircraft carriers comes after China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)

conducted military drills in the disputed waters provoking a sharp reaction

from Vietnam, Philippines and the US.

FIRE AT IRAN'S NATANZ NUCLEAR FACILITY CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE

A fire at Iran's underground Natanz nuclear facility has caused significant

damage that could slow the development of advanced centrifuges used to

enrich uranium, an Iranian nuclear official said on Sunday.

Iran's top security body said on Friday that the cause of the fire that

broke out on Thursday had been determined but would be announced later. Some

Iranian officials have said it may have been cyber sabotage and one warned

that Tehran would retaliate against any country carrying out such attacks.

On Thursday, an article by Iran's state news agency IRNA addressed what it

called the possibility of sabotage by enemies such as Israel and the United

States, although it stopped short of accusing either directly.

Israel's defence minister said on Sunday it was not "necessarily" behind

every mysterious incident in Iran.

THE REST

========

HEAVY RAINS CONTINUE IN MUMBAI

Mumbai and its neighbouring districts were hit by heavy rains for the third

consecutive day on Sunday, resulting in water-logging in several low-lying

areas of the city.

The Powai lake here started overflowing in the morning after the heavy

downpour.

Mumbai Police urged citizens to stay away from the seashore and waterlogged

areas.

The India Meteorological Department has forecast heavy to very heavy

rainfall in Mumbai and neighbouring areas in next two days and asked

fisherman on the Maharashtra-Goa coast not to venture into the sea.

The Colaba observatory in South Mumbai recorded 129.6 mm rain in the 24

hours ending at 8.30 am on Sunday, while the Santacruz weather station in

the western suburbs recorded 200.8 mm downpour in the same period.

KANPUR SHOOTOUT: UP POLICE ARRESTS VIKAS DUBEY'S AIDE

Two days after eight policemen, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police,

were killed during a raid to arrest criminal Vikas Dubey near Kanpur city,

the Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested a member of the Dubey gang. Daya

Shankar Agnihotri (42) was held after a brief encounter at Kalyanpur area on

Sunday early morning. He suffered a bullet injury on his left leg and was

later admitted to the hospital where doctors declared his condition as

stable.

While Dubey's aide Daya Shankar Agnihotri was arrested on Sunday, the Kanpur

police also took into custody a sub-divisional officer (SDO) and another

employee of a power sub-station from where electricity supply was

interrupted during the raid on the intervening night of Thursday-Friday.

On Saturday, Dubey's house in Bikru village was demolished. While a police

team was present at the spot and said locals had accused Dubey of usurping

their land to build the house, it denied any hand in the demolition later.

Asked about the demolition, Kanpur Range IG Mohit Agarwal told reporters,

"Yesterday, when I visited the village, locals claimed that he (Dubey) had

captured their land using threats to build the house. The house was a centre

of crime and criminals used to regularly visit it. People were in anguish."

TOP HYDERABAD JEWELLER'S DEATH FROM COVID-19 SENDS A FRESH WAVE OF PANIC

A 63-year-old diamond jeweller of Hyderabad, who had organised the party for

his relatives and friends two weeks ago died of Covid-19 on Friday. One of

his guests, another city jeweller, had died earlier.

A hundred people, mostly jewellers from Telangana Jeweller Association but

also some politicians, were part of the celebrations held despite a ban on

public congregation in the wake of the coronavirus public health crisis.

What's more astounding is that health authorities said that a leading

politician from the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi and some 11 other

people who attended the party have since tested positive, and are undergoing

treatment at different hospitals in the state.

The incident was kept a close-guarded secret, until the two jewellers died.

The development has since sent authorities scrambling to track down the

guests and put them under surveillance.

KUWAIT'S BILL ON WORKERS RINGS ALARM BELLS IN INDIA

A draft bill to reduce the number of foreign workers in Kuwait has been

deemed constitutional by the legal and legislative committee of the Gulf

state's national assembly. While the bill still has to be vetted by another

committee, as Kuwait chalks out a more comprehensive plan to cut down on

foreign workers, it has led to fears in India that as many as 7-8 lakh

Indians could be forced out of Kuwait if the bill is enacted into law.

The bill proposes that the number of Indians, who form the largest

expatriate community in Kuwait, be reduced to 15% of the country's 4.8

million population. Indians number about 1.4 million in the country and 15%

quota would mean their presence reducing to around 6.5-7 lakh.

The bill, however, proposes similar quotas for other nationalities too. It

calls for reducing the number of Egyptians, who form the second largest

expatriate community, to 10% of Kuwait's total population. Kuwait is also a

top source of remittances for India. In 2018, India received close to $4.8

billion from Kuwait as remittances.

With its own citizens turning into a minority, Kuwait has been working to

reduce its dependence on foreign workers. The bill is seen as a

manifestation of the fact that Kuwait no longer wants to remain an

expat-majority nation. Covid-19 and the slump in oil prices have also been

contributing factors.

GOLD BOND SCHEME OPENS TODAY

Government-run Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) will open for subscription today,

in a fourth instalment so far this financial year. Issued by the Reserve

Bank of India (RBI) on behalf of the government, the gold bonds are part of

the central government's market-borrowing programme. Each gold bond

represents the value equivalent to one gram of gold.

A fixed rate of 2.5 per cent per annum is applicable on the Sovereign Gold

Bonds, payable semi-annually.

The issue price is fixed at Rs 4,852 per gram, the RBI said on Friday.

Online subscribers paying through the digital mode get a discount of Rs 50

on every gram of gold. The same method is used for determining the

redemption price.

This tranche of the scheme will remain open for five consecutive days

starting July 6. The gold bond scheme will next open for subscription in

August and September.

Financial experts recommend gold bonds as an effective way to acquire gold

as an investment.

A minimum of one gram and a maximum of four kilograms of gold can be

acquired by eligible individuals and HUFs in a financial year.

The gold bond scheme comes with a tenor of eight years, with an exit option

after the fifth year. The option can be exercised on interest payment dates.

The interest on gold bonds is taxable. However, the capital gains arising

out of redemption are exempted for individual investors.

FROM TATAS TO ADANI, PRIVATE PLAYERS TRAIN SIGHTS ON RAILWAY PRIVATISATION

The Indian Railways' move to rope in private players to operate 151 trains

has drawn interest from top companies, including Tatas, Adani Group, Alstom,

and Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line, the world's third-largest cruise line

in terms of the number of passengers.

The national transporter came up with a request for qualification (RFQ),

inviting private players for running 151 trains on 109 routes across the

country. The RFQ stage is expected to be over by September and bids are

expected to be invited in February and finalised by April next year.

These private trains are supposed to run at 160 kilometres per hour, which

is the maximum speed.

"With private players coming in, procuring coaches will be easier and faster

and the process will create jobs too as it will be a Make-In-India approach.

Each factory can generate around 40,000 direct and indirect jobs. In 2016,

we had a trial run and it was proven that our train can clock a very high

speed on Indian tracks," said Subrat Nath, managing director (MD) of Spanish

manufacturer Talgo's India arm.

According to the Indian Railways, the move will help to meet the increased

demand and the passenger waiting list will be shorter.

EXAMINING CONFLICT OF INTEREST COMPLAINT AGAINST VIRAT KOHLI: BCCI

BCCI ethics officer DK Jain on Sunday said he is examining a conflict of

interest complaint against India captain Virat Kohli from Madhya Pradesh

Cricket Association life member Sanjeev Gupta, who has levelled similar

charges against other players in the past which were deemed "infructuous".

In his latest complaint, Gupta has alleged that Kohli is conflicted as he

occupies two posts - captain of the Indian team and director of a venture

which has co-directors linked to a talent management company that has on

board, several of his teammates.

Gupta has alleged that it is a violation of the BCCI constitution which bars

one individual from holding multiple positions.

BOTTAS WINS ACTION-PACKED RACE AS F1 RESUMES

Valtteri Bottas won a chaotic season-opening Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday

while Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton finished fourth after getting a

late time penalty.

The race was interrupted three times by a safety car and nine of 20 drivers

abandoned, including both Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon -

who tried to overtake Hamilton on the outside with 10 laps left, touched

wheels and flew off track.

Hamilton was given a five-second time penalty for causing the collision -

dropping from second to fourth - having earlier been hit with a three-place

grid penalty after an incident in Saturday's qualifying was reviewed by

stewards. Although Bottas started from pole position and Hamilton from

fifth, it looked like a straight fight between the two Mercedes drivers as

has been the case so often in recent years.

But late drama in Spielberg ensured otherwise and Hamilton's time penalty

meant Charles Leclerc took second place for Ferrari and Lando Norris third

for McLaren. All drivers wore "End Racism" T-shirts before the race. Bottas

took a knee as he received the winners' trophy and the podium trio held up a

black T-shirt with "End Racism" written on it. (To take the knee: to kneel

on one knee as a public act of protest. It's a protest against the unfair

treatment of Black Americans - but has now become a globalised symbol of

fighting racism.)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The swiftest path to destruction is through vengeance. - Jedi Proverb

OFF TRACK

One day, Gramma sent her grandson Little Johnny down to the water hole to

get some water for cooking dinner. As he was dipping the bucket in, he saw

two big eyes looking back at him. He dropped the bucket and hightailed it

for Gramma's kitchen. "I can't get any water from that water hole, Gramma"

exclaimed Johnny. "There's a BIG ol' alligator down there!"

"Now don't you mind that ol' alligator, Johnny. He's been there for a few

years now, and he's never hurt no one. Why, he's probably as scared of you

as you are of him!"

"Well, Gramma," replied Johnny, "if he's as scared of me as I am of him,

then that water ain't fit to drink!"