ACKNOWLEDGE COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION: IMA TO CENTRE

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has urged the government to acknowledge

community transmission of COVID-19 in India, with the district as a unit.

The government has been saying that India was not witnessing community

transmission and was only seeing local outbreaks amenable to containment.

While India is set to begin the trials of its indigenous COVID-19 vaccine

from this week, a top official from the IMA has claimed that a vaccine cure

for the deadly COVID-19 upon its development and marketing would reach

usable stage only after 2020.

"Developing a vaccine is not a political decision. It involves a lot of

steps and procedures," said Dr V K Monga, IMA Board of Hospitals Chairman.

"Since the viral infections have shorter immunity; a vaccine with a longer

effect is to be seen, secondly, we have to see that it has no side effect

and thirdly, viruses mutate faster and hence, it has to be seen that the

vaccine is effective on most of the mutants as we don't know which mutated

virus is present in which part of the country," he said.

Speaking about the rise in the recovery rate, Dr Monga said in this

particular disease, approximately 80 per cent of the people are recovering

on their own. "These patients will automatically recover. Home isolation is

a good thing," he said adding that people using masks and adhering to

social-distancing norms was also increasing recovery.

However, he clarified that plasma therapy, which was being seen as the only

solution to COVID-19 in place of the absence of the vaccine, can't minimise

the need of a vaccine. "In the case of COVID-19, only vaccine or immunity

can defeat the present disease," he said.

Regarding community spread of this virus, he added that community spread of

COVID-19 had begun in India and the major causes of this were the migration

of labourers and discontinuing of contact tracing of COVID-19 patients.

SHARAD PAWAR SLAMS RAM TEMPLE TRUST FOR FIXING DATE AMID PANDEMIC

A day after Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust invited Prime Minister

Narendra Modi to lay the foundation stone of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, the

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said some people think building a temple

will help eradicating the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Eradication of COVID-19 is the priority of the Maharashtra government, but

some people think constructing a temple will help in its mitigation," Pawar

told reporters in Solapur.

The NCP supremo said this when asked about the proposed date for laying of

the foundation stone for the Ram temple.

The Trust met Saturday to decide the date of construction of the temple at

the site in Ayodhya where the Babri Masjid once stood. The construction of

the temple, which was set to begin a few months ago, had to be postponed on

account of the coronavirus-induced lockdown in March.

Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, the spokesperson of Ram Mandir Trust president

Nritya Gopal Das said, "We have suggested two auspicious dates - August 3

and 5 - for the prime minister's visit based on calculations of movements of

stars and planets." "The entire country is of the opinion that it (the

bhoomi pujan) should be done by the Prime Minister," said Kameshwar Chaupal,

one of the 15 members of the Trust. He said the construction will start when

the Prime Minister deems it fit after considering the situation in the

country, on the border and the pandemic.

In November 2019, three months after the abrogation of Article 370, a

five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court directed that the

disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site be handed over to a

Centre-appointed Trust for construction of a temple and Muslims be given an

alternate 5-acre site for a mosque.

RICHARD VERMA AND OTHERS MAKE A STRONG PITCH FOR BIDEN AMONG NRIs

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, if elected to power in the

November elections, will help shape international bodies like the United

Nations so that India get a permanent seat on the Security Council, a former

top American diplomat has said.

"There's no question that under his (Biden) leadership, he would help shape

international institutions like the UN to give India a (permanent) seat on

the Security Council, he would fulfil its (India) status as a major defence

partner," former US Ambassador to India Richard Verma said on Saturday. "He

(Biden) would work together with India to keep our citizens collectively

safe. That means standing up against cross-border terrorism and standing

with India when its neighbours attempt to change the status quo," he added.

Verma, an Indian-American who was US ambassador to India from 2014 to 2017,

joined three other prominent Indian-Americans to make a strong pitch for the

small but highly influential community to support and vote for Biden in the

US presidential elections.

Verma, Biden Unity Task Force Economic Policy advisor Sonal Shah, former US

surgeon general Vivek Murthy and Centre for American Progress Action Fund

CEO Neera Tanden in their address to a virtual event argued that over the

past several decades, Biden has a proven track record of being the best

friend of Indians and Indian-Americans, be it as a Senator from Delaware or

as a vice president under the Obama administration.

Verma urged the Indian-American community to make Biden's dream of making

India and the US the two closet nations in the world a reality. "I can

confidently say, there would have been no US India Civil Nuclear Deal but

for Joe Biden," Verma said.

"In 2006, I remember the remarks he made where he said, 'My dream is that in

2020, the two closest nations in the world will be India and the United

States. If that occurs, the world will be safer.' Think about that for a

second. He made those remarks in 2006. And here we are, it's 2020. Let's

make Joe Biden's dream a reality. That only becomes a reality if he becomes

president," he said.

NO LET UP IN RAHUL GANDHI'S TIRADE

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday attacked the BJP and accused it of

"institutionalising lies" over COVID-19 deaths, the GDP figures and the

Chinese aggression at the border. Hitting out at the BJP over the rise in

the number of deaths due to COVID-19, he said India would pay its price when

the "illusion" was shattered.

"BJP has institutionalised lies. 1. Covid19 by restricting testing and

misreporting deaths. 2. GDP by using a new calculation method. 3. Chinese

aggression by frightening the media. The illusion will break soon and India

will pay the price," Gandhi said in a tweet.

He tagged a news report on the COVID-19 situation with his tweet.

Responding to Gandhi, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said in a

tweet: "India paid a huge price for the illusion that the Gandhis created

for decades. Despicable of you to wish Ill for the country. Your vicious

intentions get hopelessly displayed each time you try and mock Indians. But

not anymore."

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

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 11,17,705 (+40,240) / 1,46,42,861 (+2,16,996)

Total Deaths 27,503 (+675) / 6,08,911 (+3,994)

Total Recovered 7,00,399 (+22,769) / 87,35,298 (+1,23,106)

Active Cases 3,89,803 (+16,796) / 52,98,652 (+89,896)

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

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

Cases

1 USA 38,98,550 / 1,43,289 /

18,02,338 / 19,52,923

2 Brazil 20,99,896 / 79,533 /

13,71,229 / 6,49,134

3 India 11,18,107 / 27,503 /

7,00,399 / 3,90,205

4 Russia 7,71,546 / 12,342 /

5,50,344 / 2,08,860

5 South Africa 3,64,328 / 5,033 /

1,91,059 / 1,68,236

6 Peru 3,53,590 / 13,187 /

2,41,955 / 98,448

7 Mexico 3,44,224 / 39,184 /

2,17,423 / 87,617

8 Chile 3,30,930 / 8,503 /

3,01,794 / 20,633

9 Spain 3,07,335 / 28,420 / N/A

/ N/A

10 UK 2,94,792 / 45,300 / N/A

/ N/A

11 Iran 2,73,788 / 14,188 /

2,37,788 / 21,812

12 Pakistan 2,63,496 / 5,568 /

2,04,276 / 53,652

16 Bangladesh 2,04,525 / 2,618 /

1,11,642 / 90,265

110 Sri Lanka 2,724 / 11 /

2,035 / 678

TOP IMPACTED INDIAN STATES SO FAR

State / Confirmed Cases / Active Case / Recovered /

Deceased

Maharashtra 3,10,455 / 1,28,730 /

1,69,569 / 11,854

Tamil Nadu 1,70,693 / 50,297 / 1,17,915

/ 2,481

Delhi 1,22,793 / 16,031 / 1,03,134

/ 3,628

Karnataka 63,772 / 39,366 / 23,066 /

1,336

Andhra Pradesh 49,650 / 26,118 / 22,890 /

642

Uttar Pradesh 49,247 / 18,256 / 29,845 /

1,146

Gujarat 48,441 / 11,413 / 34,882 / 2,146

Telangana 45,076 / 12,223 / 32,438 /

415

West Bengal 42,487 / 16,492 / 24,883 /

1,112

Rajasthan 29,434 / 7,145 / 21,730 /

559

Bihar 26,379 / 9,603 / 16,597 / 179

Haryana 26,164 / 6,022 / 19,793 /

349

Assam 24,000 / 7,911 / 16,024 / 62

Madhya Pradesh 22,600 / 6,568 / 15,311 /

721

Odisha 17,437 / 4,865 / 12,453 / 119

Jammu and Kashmir 13,899 / 5,844 / 7,811 /

244

Kerala 12,481 / 7,064 / 5,370 / 43

Punjab 10,100 / 3,311 / 6,535 / 254

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

TRUMP NOT READY TO COMMIT TO ELECTION RESULTS IF HE LOSES

President Donald Trump is refusing to publicly commit to accepting the

results of the upcoming White House election, recalling a similar threat he

made weeks before the 2016 vote, as he scoffs at polls showing him lagging

behind Democrat Joe Biden. Trump says it's too early to make such an

ironclad guarantee.

"I have to see. Look . I have to see," Trump told moderator Chris Wallace

during a wide-ranging interview on Fox News Sunday.

"No, I'm not going to just say yes. I'm not going to say no, and I didn't

last time either."

Even four years ago, in the closing stages of his race against Hillary

Clinton, he had said he would not commit to honouring the election results

if the Democrat won.

Pressed during an October 2016 debate about whether he would abide by the

voters' will, Trump responded that he would "keep you in suspense".

Trump has seen his presidential popularity erode over his handing of the

coronavirus pandemic and in the aftermath of nationwide protests centered on

racial injustice that erupted after George Floyd's death in Minneapolis

nearly two months.

Trump contends that a series of polls that show his popularity eroding and

Biden holding an advantage are faulty. He believes Republican voters are

underrepresented in such surveys.

"First of all, I'm not losing, because those are fake polls," Trump said in

the taped interview, which aired Sunday. "They were fake in 2016 and now

they're even more fake. The polls were much worse in 2016."

'EMBARASSED' TWITTER APOLOGISES FOR HACK THAT HIT 130 ACCOUNTS

Twitter says the hack that compromised the accounts of some of its most

high-profile users targeted 130 people.

We're embarrassed, we're disappointed, and more than anything, we're sorry.

We know that we must work to regain your trust, and we will support all

efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice, Twitter said in the blog post.

The July 17 attack broke into the Twitter accounts of world leaders,

celebrities and tech moguls in one of the most high-profile security

breaches in recent years. The attackers sent out tweets from the accounts of

the public figures, offering to send $2,000 for every $1,000 sent to an

anonymous Bitcoin address.

While this attack did not appear go further than the Bitcoin ruse - at least

for now - it raises questions about Twitter's ability to secure its service

against election interference and misinformation ahead of the U.S.

presidential election.

THE REST

========

RAJNATH'S APPRECIATION TO SOLDIERS FOR DISPLAYING BRAVERY IN GALWAN CLASH

In his visit to eastern Ladakh on Friday, Defence Miniser Rajnath Singh

personally conveyed his appreciation and compliments to the Army personnel

from the Bihar regiment for displaying exemplary grit and courage in

valiantly fighting the Chinese troops during the Galwan Valley clash on June

15.

In his address to the soldiers in the forward post located at an altitude of

14,000 feet, the defence minister said the Indian soldiers killed in the

Galwan Valley clash not only showed exemplary courage in safeguarding the

border but also protected the pride of 130 crore Indians. "I want to say

that the country will never forget them. You inspire the whole nation. You

are our real strength," he said, asserting that India will not cede an inch

of its territory.

HRD SEEKS PARENTS' FEEDBACK ON WHEN TO REOPEN SCHOOLS

Even as Covid-19 cases continue to rise across the country and various

states are imposing lockdowns, the Department of School Education and

Literacy, part of the HRD Ministry, has sent out a letter to states and

Union Territories to furnish a feedback from parents of schoolgoing children

as to when they would be comfortable with reopening of schools - August,

September or October 2020.

The two specific questions that the ministry has sought responses to are:

(a) What is the likely period when they will be comfortable with reopening

of schools - August/ September/ October 2020; and (b) What are the parents'

expectations from schools as and when they reopen.

FIRST SET OF PRIVATE TRAINS TO BE INTRODUCED BY 2023: INDIAN RAILWAYS

TIMELINE

The first set of 12 private trains will be introduced in 2023, followed by

45 more in the next fiscal, according to an initial timeline drawn by the

railways which plans to roll out all 151 such train services by 2027,

officials said.

In a formal kick-start to its plans to allow private entities to operate

passenger trains on its network, the railways earlier this month invited

proposals from companies to run 151 modern passenger trains on 109 pairs of

routes across the country. The project would entail a private sector

investment of about Rs 30,000 crore.

There would be a reduction in journey time by around 10-15 per cent at 130

kmph and around 30 per cent at 160 kmph. The running time taken by a train

shall be comparable to or faster than the fastest train of Indian Railways

operating in the respective route.

JIO TAKES BIG LEAP, APPLIES TO DoT FOR SPECTRUM FOR 5G TESTING

Just two days after its announcement of an indigenously developed 5G

network, Reliance Jio has taken another significant step by approaching the

Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for assigning adequate spectrum for

field trials of its new network in a few metros.

After the trial runs, India, through Jio, will join the exclusive club of

just a few countries with their own 5G technology that they can sell to the

world. It will also bring Jio into direct confrontation with global

telecommunications (telecom) gear giants, such as Huawei, ZTE, Ericsson,

Nokia, and Samsung, which dominate the global telecom market.

According to DoT sources, Jio has said its 5G network solution is ready and

it can start trials immediately after spectrum is allocated. It has also

revealed that it took the company three years and a few hundred engineers to

turn this dream into reality.

The new networks being developed will be built on open platforms, so that

operators will have the choice of buying hardware or software separately

from different vendors or even building the latter on their own on an open

platform. According to cloud-native network software provider Mavenir, the

new virtualised networks would lead to a saving of 40 per cent in capital

expenditure and 34 per cent in terms of lower operations cost for operators.

BICYCLE FEVER HAS GRIPPED INDIA

From gym fanatics craving for daily exercise to commuters looking for

alternatives to public transport, the humble bicycle seems to be flavour of

the season.

"I have not seen this kind of excitement around bicycles and you are talking

to a 57-year-old man," said Pankaj M Munjal, chairman and managing director,

Hero Motors Company (HMC).

HMC plants are working overtime, at about 110 per cent. "We are working on

Saturdays and Sundays," he says.

"The surge is noticeable in the premium, semi-premium, and recreational bike

category, which shows that more urban consumers are using bicycles for

recreation, physical activity as well as for short-distance commute," said

Munjal. The fast-selling segment turned out to be the Rs 20,000-70,000-price

band, which is largely urban-centric.

A spokesperson for Decathlon Sports India (DSI), the Indian arm of the

French sporting goods retailer, said, "'Online bikes' keyword search has

grown over 80 per cent (internal and external).

DSI said the spare parts business was unprecedented. It's a global trend,

though.

KANGANA RANAUT'S FRESH ATTACK ON KARAN JOHAR, ADITYA CHOPRA

Kangana Ranaut has alleged that Karan Johar declared Sushant Singh Rajput to

be a 'flop star' and ensured that his own film Drive was never released in

theatres. She claimed that Karan was fulfilling the agenda of his 'childhood

friend', Aditya Chopra, to destroy Sushant's career.

According to Kangana, Aditya signed Sushant under the Yash Raj Films talent

agency and made him sign an 'evil' contract that did not allow him to take

up any projects without their consent. She claimed that Aditya did not allow

Sushant to be a part of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Goliyon Ki Raasleela

Ram-Leela and Bajirao Mastani and made sure that Ranveer Singh got the films

instead.

"Why? Because Sushant doesn't know how to do chaploosi? Is this why they

sabotaged his career?," Kangana asked, in an interview with Republic TV.

Kangana asks why Karan could not find buyers for Drive, even after Sushant

delivered a blockbuster like MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. "Let's have a

conversation with exhibitors and producers. I want to know the business and

financial mathematics," she added.

During the interview, Kangana also recalled Karan Johar's comment at the

London School of Economics in 2017, that he was tired of Kangana playing the

'victim and woman card' and should 'leave Bollywood.' The video went viral

after the latest interview became a trending topic on social media.

ENGLAND-WINDIES 2ND TEST MATCH POISED FOR EXCITING FINISH

The third day of Manchester Test was completely washed out. At the end of

Day 2, West Indies were at 32/1, chasing England's first innings score of

469/9 (declared)

On day 4, i.e. Sunday, West Indies started well, reaching lunch on 118/2 but

they crumbled in the third session due to an onslaught from Stuart Broad

(3/66) and Chris Woakes (3/42). West Indies were all out for 287.

It could be an interesting day's play on the final day today.

Scores: England 469/9 (Declared) & 37/2, West Indies 287

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Worrying about things you cannot control is folly. Focus only on those few

things you have any control over, and your life becomes much simpler. -

Jeffrey Fry

OFF TRACK

The artist tried to concentrate on his work, but the attraction he felt for

his model finally became irresistible. He threw down his palette, took her

in his arms, and kissed her.

She pushed him away. "Maybe your other models let you kiss them," she said,

"but I'm not that kind!"

"Actually, I've never tried to kiss a model before," he protested.

"Really?" she said, softening. "Well, how many models have there been?"

"Four so far," he replied, thinking back. "A jug, two apples and a vase."