INDIA, CHINA AGREE TO ANOTHER MEETING OF COMMANDERS

India and China on Friday agreed another meeting of the senior commanders

may be held soon so as to work out further steps to ensure expeditiously

complete disengagement and de-escalation and restoration of peace and

tranquillity in the border areas.

The decision was arrived at the 17th meeting of the Working Mechanism for

Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) held on

Friday.

Reviewing the situation in the India-China border areas and the ongoing

disengagement process along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western

Sector, they agreed that early and complete disengagement of the troops

along the LAC and de-escalation from India-China border areas in accordance

with bilateral agreement and protocols and full restoration of peace and

tranquillity was essential for smooth overall development of bilateral

relations.

The two sides noted that this was in accordance with the agreement reached

between the two Special Representatives during their July 5 telephonic

conversation, a Ministry of External Affairs statement said.

Both sides agreed it was necessary for India and China to sincerely

implement the understandings reached between Senior Commanders in their

meetings till date.

The two sides also agreed to maintain their ongoing engagements both at the

diplomatic and military level, including through the meetings of WMCC.

The Indian delegation was led by Joint Secretary (East Asia) from the

Ministry of External Affairs.

RAJASTHAN GOVERNOR AGREES TO CALL SESSION, CONG MLAS END DHARNA AT RAJ

BHAWAN

Congress MLAs in the Ashok Gehlot camp on Friday ended a five-hour dharna at

the Raj Bhawan after Governor Kalraj Mishra assured that he would call a

session of the state Assembly.

Mishra, however, wanted the government's clarification on some points before

he makes the announcement, Congress leaders said as they emerged from the

Raj Bhawan.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said these points would be taken care of

at a Cabinet meeting which was called by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at 9.30

pm.

The MLAs went to the Raj Bhawan in the afternoon, complaining that the

Governor was sitting on the letter that the Cabinet had sent seeking an

Assembly session on Monday. Earlier in the day, Gehlot claimed the governor

was "under pressure from above" not to call an assembly session. He said, "

It's unusual that the ruling party wants a floor test and the opposition

doesn't."

He threatened that if the demand for the session was not met, the MLAs would

"not be responsible" if people gherao the Raj Bhawan.

At the Raj Bhawan, while Gehlot met the Governor inside, the MLAs squatted

on the laws, shouting slogans. The Governor came out to meet them, but the

MLAs later said they were starting a dharna.

Soon after Congress MLAs ended the protest at Raj Bhawan premises, Governor

Mishra hit back at Gehlot and called the 'dharna' a 'wrong trend'. In a

letter to the CM, Mishra said, "you have publically said that if Raj Bhawan

is 'gheraoed' then it is not your responsibility. If you and your Home

Ministry can't protect the Governor then what about law and order in state?

What agency should be contacted for Governor's security."

SONIA GANDHI FINALLY PUTS NARASIMHA RAO ON CONGRESS PEDESTAL

Calling P V Narasimha Rao "a dedicated Congressman" who "served the party

devotedly in various capacities", Congress chief Sonia Gandhi Friday said

the party takes pride in the "many accomplishments and contributions" of the

former Prime Minister.

She said Rao became Prime Minister at a time of "grave economic crisis" and

the country was able to overcome the many challenges successfully through

his "bold leadership".

Her statement is significant given the strained relations she had with Rao

during and after his tenure as Prime Minister, and till his death in 2004.

The Congress released written speeches of Gandhi, her son and former

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

which were read out during a virtual function, organised by the Telangana

Congress, to launch year-long celebrations to mark Rao's birth centenary.

In the past, Gandhi rarely spoke about Rao's contribution.

Yesterday, she remembered him as a "most scholarly and erudite personality".

The Union Budget of July 24, 1991 (under Rao's Prime Ministership), she

said, paved the way for economic transformation of India. "Rao's tenure was

also marked by a number of political, social and foreign policy achievements

that have endured."

ASSAM, BIHAR GRAPPLE WITH FLOODS

A total of nearly 37 lakh people stand severely affected by devastating

floods in Assam and Bihar.

In Assam, nearly 27 lakh people across 33 districts have been affected by

the deluge. The death toll due to floods and landslides this year has risen

to 122.

Nearly a million people have been affected in Bihar, where the Gandak river

breached two embankments at three places, leaving several areas inundated.

There was no report of loss of life so far.

In Arunachal Pradesh, incessant rain over the past couple of days has

snapped road connectivity to several districts, besides resulting in a

flood-like situation, as per official reports. Landslides triggered by

continuous rain have completely destroyed important road links in various

parts of West Siang district, one such report said.

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

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 13,36,602 (+48,889) / 1,59,40,381 (+2,85,953)

Total Deaths 31,406 (+761) / 6,42,688 (+6,213)

Total Recovered 8,50,107 (+32,514) / 97,24,103 (+1,88,487)

Active Cases 4,55,089 (+15,614) / 55,73,590 (+91,253)

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

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

Cases

1 USA 42,48,327 / 1,48,490 /

20,28,074 / 20,71,763

2 Brazil 23,48,200 / 85,385 /

15,92,281 / 6,70,534

3 India 13,37,022 / 31,406 /

8,50,107 / 4,55,509

4 Russia 8,00,849 / 13,046 /

5,88,774 / 1,99,029

5 South Africa 4,21,996 / 6,343 /

2,45,771 / 1,69,882

6 Mexico 3,78,285 / 42,645 /

2,42,692 / 92,948

7 Peru 3,75,961 / 17,843 /

2,59,423 / 98,695

8 Chile 3,41,304 / 8,914 /

3,13,696 / 18,694

9 Spain 3,19,501 / 28,432 / N/A

/ N/A

10 UK 2,97,914 / 45,677 / N/A

/ N/A

11 Iran 2,86,523 / 15,289 /

2,49,212 / 22,022

12 Pakistan 2,70,400 / 5,763 /

2,19,783 / 44,854

17 Bangladesh 2,18,658 / 2,836 /

1,20,976 / 94,846

111 Sri Lanka 2,764 / 11 /

2,094 / 659

TOP IMPACTED INDIAN STATES SO FAR

State / Confirmed Cases / Active Case / Recovered /

Deceased

Maharashtra 3,57,117 / 1,43,714 /

1,99,967 / 13,132

Tamil Nadu 1,99,749 / 53,132 / 1,43,297

/ 3,320

Delhi 1,28,389 / 13,681 / 1,10,931

/ 3,777

Karnataka 85,870 / 52,788 / 31,347 /

1,726

Andhra Pradesh 80,858 / 39,990 / 39,935 /

933

Uttar Pradesh 60,771 / 21,711 / 37,712 /

1,348

West Bengal 53,973 / 19,154 / 33,529 /

1,290

Gujarat 53,631 / 12,418 / 38,931 / 2,282

Telangana 52,466 / 11,677 / 40,334 /

455

Rajasthan 34,178 / 9,029 / 24,547 /

602

Bihar 33,511 / 10,457 / 22,832 / 221

Assam 29,922 / 8,081 / 21,762 / 76

Haryana 29,755 / 6,420 / 22,953 /

382

Madhya Pradesh 26,210 / 7,553 / 17,866 /

791

Odisha 22,693 / 7,339 / 15,201 / 153

Kerala 16,996 / 9,371 / 7,562 / 55

Jammu and Kashmir 16,782 / 7,269 / 9,217 /

296

Punjab 12,216 / 3,838 / 8,096 / 282

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

POMPEO URGES NATIONS TO JOIN FORCES AGAINST CHINA THREAT

What began with ping-pong diplomacy nearly 50 years ago plunged into

tit-for-tat hostility this week as China retaliated on Friday to the United

States' closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston by ordering the US

consulate in Chengdu to cease operations by Monday.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump and his secretary of state Mike Pompeo

both delivered broadsides against Beijing, firmly placing China as the new

geo-political danger to the free world, threatening a shaky global economic

order at the top of which stands the nearly $650 billion US-China trade. In

remarks at a Covid-19 briefing, Trump said the trade deal with China "means

less to me now than it did when I made it", even though, he suggested,

Beijing was trying to buy its way out of the crisis by purchasing more corn

and soy bean from US farmers than ever before.

Trump repeatedly blamed China for the coronavirus, lamenting that the US had

to turn off its economy "because of what China did", even as his Secretary

of State delivered a tough new message to Beijing: the US will not sit back

in the face of the "China threat" to "our economy, for our liberty, and

indeed for the future of free democracies around the world."

In a speech at the Nixon Presidential library that threw out a call for "a

new grouping of like-minded nations, a new alliance of democracies" to take

on China, Pompeo said the engagement successive US administrations have been

pursuing has not brought the kind of change inside of China that President

Nixon had hoped to induce, but had instead created a "Frankenstein" he had

once feared.

"The truth is that our policies - and those of other free nations -

resurrected China's failing economy, only to see Beijing bite the

international hands that were feeding it," Pompeo said, apportioning blame

to Nato allies and other democratic countries for getting hoodwinked by talk

of China's "peaceful rise" among other things. "For too long we let the

Chinese Communist Party set the terms of engagement, but no longer. Free

nations must set the tone. We must operate on the same principles," he

proposed.

This comes on the heels of an FBI crackdown on Chinese R&D espionage that

resulted in the arrest of three Chinese nationals who the US says were

masquerading as students but were connected to the Chinese army. A fourth

such "researcher", who is said to have taken refuge in the Chinese consulate

in San Francisco, is now in the US custody. The Chinese embassy did not

respond to a request for comment.

The anti-Chinese sentiment in the US has rattled the nearly four million

Americans of Chinese descent and the Chinese-American community.

THE REST

========

MORE +VE CASES DUE TO HIGHER TESTING

Even as India recorded yet another day of highest Covid-19 infections with

49,310 fresh cases recorded in the last 24 hours, govt officials said the

rise in fresh cases is a result of higher testing and the trend is likely to

plateau in the coming days.

The infection is showing a "moving trend" which means different stages of

the disease in different places. At present, the epicentre of the disease is

shifting from major towns to neighbouring districts and newer states like

Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Guwahati (Assam), Bihar and Ganjam

(Odisha). Numbers in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, have started stabilizing.

More than 1.5 crore samples have been tested till now. In the last 24 hours,

3,52,801 samples have been tested. This translates to 11,179.83 tests per

million for India.

The positivity rate (the percentage of of thise turning up positive among

those who are tested) hovered between 10.6% to 13% over the last fortnight

with top officials saying that the rise was due to increased testing. The

government plans to maintain aggressive testing till the positivity rate

comes down to 10% and then maintain it for a prolonged period of time so as

to bring down positivity rate below 5%, as per WHO recommendations.

HC RELIEF FOR PILOT CAMP, CONGRESS CITES SUPREME COURT RULING TO RAISE

QUESTIONS

In further relief to the rebel Congress camp of former Rajasthan Deputy

Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, the Rajasthan High Court directed Friday that

status quo as of July 14 be maintained on notices sent by Assembly Speaker

CP Joshi to the 19 MLAs led by Pilot.

The direction effectively means that rebel MLAs will not be required to

submit their reply to the Speaker and no action can be taken against them

till the hearing resumes in the Supreme Court on July 27.

In New Delhi, Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who is a senior advocate,

questioned the Rajasthan High Court's order saying it has "no jurisdiction

to pass such an order."

"That is the decision in the Kihoto Hollohan case as far back as 1992. And

in this particular case, in Rajasthan, there is a status quo order passed

this morning saying that those proceedings will not go on in the teeth of

Kihoto Hollohan," he said. "You are trying to create a situation where

Constitutional authorities' hands are being tied by virtue of court orders

against the orders of the Supreme Court of India. So, should we now just

give up law? Maybe it's time for us to just take off our robes and say

forget it, why practise in a court of law," Sibal said.

DOMESTIC AIRFARE CAP TO REMAIN IN PLACE TILL NOVEMBER 24: AVIATION MINISTRY

The Aviation Ministry on Friday announced that the cap on airfares for

domestic travel will remain in place till November 24 or until further

orders. The ministry had announced the capping of the fares citing a

possible surge in airfares due to pent-up demand when it decided to open up

the domestic flight services in calibrated manner from May 25 after a hiatus

of two months owing to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

During a press conference in May, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep

Singh Puri had said that in the case of Delhi, Mumbai, the minimum fare

would be Rs 3,500 ,and maximum fare would be Rs 10,000. This would be

operative for 3 months - till one minute to midnight on August 24. Now, the

ministry has extended this for another three months.

In May, Puri had also said that the domestic routes had been divided into

seven sections based on duration of flights ranging from 40 minutes to 210

minutes. "The passengers are expected to certify the status of their health

through the Aarogya Setu app or a self-declaration form," the Union Minister

had said.

'DRAGGED INTO BABRI ROW DUE TO POLITICAL REASONS': ADVANI

Former deputy PM LK Advani on Friday denied allegations of hatching a

conspiracy, along with the 'kar sevaks', in the alleged conspiracy to raze

the "disputed structure" in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 and pleaded that he

had been unnecessarily dragged into the Babri mosque demolition case solely

for political reasons. He also told the court that he would furnish his

defense at an "appropriate stage of the trial proceedings".

Claiming himself to be "completely innocent", Advani told Special CBI judge

SK Yadav in Lucknow that the probe was conducted under political pressure

and the chargesheet was forwarded on the basis of fabricated evidence.

Advani was deposing under Section 313 of CrPC through video-conferencing

from Delhi. The proceedings were mandatory in order to enable the

92-year-old BJP veteran, who is one of the 32 accused facing trial in the

case, to plead his innocence if he so considered. The court has been

recording the statements of the accused persons since July 4 under the same

provisions.

While the special judge put forth 1,050 questions already framed for the

purpose, Advani answered them very cautiously. He denied every allegation of

conspiracy and pressed that there was no occasion to make him stand on

trial.

UNION MINISTER ADVERTISES A PAPAD', CLAIMS IT HELPS FIGHT CORONAVIRUS

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Arjun Meghwal has become the latest

talking point on the social media as he launched a 'papad' by the brand name

'Bhabhi Ji Papad' claiming it would produce antibodies that would help the

body fight coronavirus.

The Minister linked the manufacture of the 'papad' to the BJP government's

Aatm Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, a mission launched with much enthusiasm by

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revive the Indian economy following the

Covid-induced lockdown.

In a video message posted on Twitter that has gone viral, Meghwal can be

seen holding 'Bhabhi Ji Papad' in his hands and boasting about its

ingredients that had the potential to develop antibodies against Covid-19.

"It will be very helpful in fighting coronavirus," he says.

The video has become a rage on Twitter with netizens debating the pros and

cons of the 'papad' and the minister launching the food item.

APPLE STARTS MAKING IPHONE 11 IN FOXCONN'S CHENNAI PLANT

In a boost to Make in India campaign, Apple has started manufacturing iPhone

11 in India, reported Economic Times. Apple is manufacturing its flagship

phone in Foxconn's Chennai plant. This is the first time that Apple has

brought manufacturing of its flagship phone to India.

This move gives a great push to Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India. It

also reduces Apple's dependence on China. Production will be stepped up to

export India-made iPhones. There is no clarity on price cuts but

manufacturing in India saves Apple 22 per cent in duties, said the report.

PROBE INTO COFFEE DAY BLAMES SIDDHARTHA'S POOR BIZ MODEL

The probe into the financial troubles of Coffee Day Enterprises (CDEL),

which runs the Cafe Coffee Day chain, has laid the blame on late promoter V

G Siddhartha's inability to create a profitable business model.

The report also exonerated private equity firms and tax authorities from

harassment charges. It said Siddhartha built the business on the back of

high-cost borrowings and PE investments carrying high rates of returns.

The report that the business model created a serious liquidity crisis which,

coupled with macroeconomic developments, restricted Siddhartha's ability to

borrow further. This led him into a vicious cycle from which he could never

emerge.

The investigation was ordered following Siddhartha's suicide in July last

year.

INDICATORS

Sensex 38,129 (-12), Nifty 11,194 (-21), Trading Value NSE ,(Rs.crores)

63,286

Nasdaq 10,363 (-98) Dow 26,470 (-182), S&P 3,216 (-20)

US$-Rs. 74.57 GBP-Rs. 95.17, Euro-Rs. 86.66, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.30, Can$-Rs.

55.57, Aus$- Rs. 52.89

GBP 0.78 /US$, Euro 0.86 /US$, Jap.Yen 106.19 /US$, Aus$ 1.40 /US$, Sing

1.38 /US$, Bang Taka 83.17 /US$, Can$ 1.34 /US$, Mal Ring 4.25 /US$,

Pak Re 167.02 /US$, Phil Peso 49.32 /US$, Russian Rouble 71.58 /US$, NZ$

1.50 /US$, Thai Baht 31.65 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 27.66 /US$, Norway NOK 9.19

/US$

Bitcoin - USD 9,579

Dollar Index 94.30 Brent Crude 43.34 BDI 1,317.00

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,901 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 5,061 / 4,961

Silver (Rs. Per KG) 62,010

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare. -

Japanese Proverb

OFF TRACK

A biologist phones his wife from his office and says, "Honey, something has

just come up, I realize its not my field season, but I have to visit my

field site for a week. So, would you pack my clothes and my field equipment?

I'll be home in 1 hour to pick them up."

He picks up his bags, leaves and returns home a week later.

"Did you have a good trip, dear?" his wife asked.

"Oh, it was just a typical field trip, you know, work work work," he

exclaimed, and added "But you forgot to pack my pajamas."

"No I didn't," she replied. "I put them in the box of field equipment!"