PARLIAMENT ALL SET TODAY FOR FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND SESSION

Parliament is fully prepared for the 18-day monsoon session from today under

the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic with many firsts, including sitting

of the two Houses in shifts without any off day, entry only to those having

a negative COVID-19 report and compulsory wearing of masks.

In run-up to the session, while over 4,000 people including MPs and staff

have been tested for COVID-19, most parliamentary operations have been

digitalized, entire premises sanitised and doors made touch-free.

The first-of-its-kind monsoon session will see Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

sitting in two different shifts, while special seating arrangements have

been made for MPs in adherence to social distancing guidelines.

Barring on the first day, Rajya Sabha will convene in morning shift from 9

am till 1 pm, and Lok Sabha in evening shift from 3 pm to 7 pm.

As per the standard operating procedures finalised for holding the session

from September 14 till October 1, the MPs and staff of secretariats of both

houses, as also the media personnel covering the proceedings, will be asked

to undergo COVID-19 test, not more than 72 hours before the start of the

session.

This session will not have Question Hour, during which Members of Parliament

ask questions to ministers and hold them accountable for the functioning of

their ministries. Zero Hour, during which members raise matters of public

importance, will also be curtailed and there will be no private members'

Bill. Protesting the move, Opposition leaders accused the government of

trying to reduce Parliament to a "notice board".

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi said the government is ready to

take up unstarred questions. Members get answers to unstarred questions in

writing, and it is deemed to be laid on the table of the House.

The Congress and other opposition parties are set to oppose four of the 11

legislations the government proposes to bring in this Parliament session in

place of ordinances issued earlier and expects Prime Minister Narendra Modi

to reply to their concerns.

Party leader Jairam Ramesh Sunday said the Congress was in touch with other

like-minded parties and had decided to oppose the three agriculture-related

legislations and the amendment to the Banking Regulation Act in both houses.

13 STATES SUBMIT BORROWING OPTION TO CENTRE TO FUND GST SHORTFALL

As many as 13 states ruled by the BJP and parties that have supported it on

various issues have submitted their borrowing options to the Centre to meet

the GST revenue shortfall. These 13 states include Bihar, Odisha, Andhra

Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Meghalaya.

Six more states - Goa, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and

Himachal Pradesh - will be giving their option in a day or two, finance

ministry sources said. In the current fiscal, the states are staring at a

staggering Rs 2.35 lakh crore GST revenue shortfall.

The Centre late last month gave two options to the states to borrow either

Rs 97,000 crore from a special window facilitated by the RBI or Rs 2.35 lakh

crore from market and has also proposed extending the compensation cess

levied on luxury, demerit and sin goods beyond 2022 to repay the borrowing.

Chief ministers of six non-BJP ruled states of West Bengal, Kerala, Delhi,

Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu have written to the Centre opposing

the options which require states to borrow to meet shortfall. Other states

are yet to decide on the options.

XI'S MOVES AGAINST INDIA 'UNEXPECTEDLY FLOPPED': US MAG

Describing Xi Jinping as the "architect" of the PLA's recent aggressive

moves against India, a leading US magazine has reported that the Chinese

President has risked his future with the high-profile incursions into Indian

territory that "unexpectedly flopped" in the face of ferocious fightback by

the Indian Army.

Xi, 67, already roiling the Communist Party with a "rectification" campaign

and mass persecution of foes, will launch "another brutal purge" following

the Chinese army's failures on the Indian border, the Newsweek said in an

opinion piece. "Unfortunately for Xi, he is the "architect" of these

aggressive moves into India and his PLA has unexpectedly flopped.

The Chinese army's failures on the Indian border will have consequences," it

said, adding that the developments give Xi an excuse to pick up the pace of

replacing adversaries in the armed forces with loyal elements.

"More important, the failures motivate China's aggressive ruler- who as

chairman of the Party's Central Military Commission, is the leader of the

People's Liberation Army and the ruling Communist Party of China - to launch

another offensive against Indian positions," the magazine warned.

"China is thought to have suffered at least 43 deaths in the Galwan clash,"

the magazine said. Citing Cleo Paskal of the Foundation for Defense of

Democracies, it said number of Chinese killed could exceed 60. China's

forces were surprised when India mounted their attempt to retake strategic

high points. Stunned Chinese soldiers retreated," it said.

EXPECT COVID-19 VACCINE BY EARLY NEXT YEAR, WILL TAKE FIRST SHOT IF ANY

TRUST DEFICIT: VARDHAN

A COVID-19 vaccine is likely to be available by early next year and the

government is considering its emergency authorisation for high-risk people,

Union Minister Harsh Vardhan Sunday said, asserting he will take the first

shot to address any "trust deficit" over its safety.

According to a Health Ministry statement, he said while no date has been

fixed for the launch of a vaccine, it may be ready by the first quarter of

2021, and made available first to those who need it the most, irrespective

of their paying capacity,

Vardhan stated the government is taking full precautions in human trials of

vaccines and the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for

COVID-19 is drawing up a detailed strategy on how to immunize the majority

of the population.

India's COVID-19 caseload has now mounted to over 48 lakhs, while the death

toll climbed to 79.754 with 1,140 people succumbing to the infection in a

span of 24 hours. The current active cases stand at over 9.8 lakhs.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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AL-QAEDA THREATENS CHARLIE HEBDO FOR REPRINTING CONTROVERSIAL CARICATURES

Days after the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo re-printed a series

of controversial caricatures depicting prophet Mohammed, the Al-Qaeda has

threatened to carry out another massacre at the magazine's office in Paris.

The cartoons had made the weekly magazine the target of a brutal gun rampage

in 2015 that killed 10, including top journalists and two police officers

In the recent edition of its publication 'One Ummah', the terrorist group

warned both the magazine's editorial staff and French President Emmanuel

Macron that the attack carried out by two Al-Qaeda terrorists in 2015 was

not a "one off".

Al Qaeda's warning came after Charlie Hebdo republished the caricatures to

mark the start of a trial of 14 suspected accomplices, who have been accused

of providing logistical and material support to the gunmen five years ago.

The suspects will be tried on multiple charges - including complicity in

murder and terrorist conspiracy - at a courthouse in northwest Paris over

the next few months.

In an editorial note, accompanying the new edition of Charlie Hebdo,

publishing director Laurent "Riss" Sourisseau, explained why the caricatures

were being reprinted. "We will never give up. The hatred that struck us is

still there and, since 2015, it has taken the time to mutate, to change its

appearance, to go unnoticed and to quietly continue its ruthless crusade,"

he wrote.

The magazine's decision to reprint the cartoons was condemned by several

countries, including Iran, Pakistan and Turkey.

GLOBAL OIL DEMAND MAY HAVE PASSED PEAK, SAYS BP ENERGY REPORT

BP has called time on the world's rising demand for fossil fuels after

finding that demand for oil may have already reached its peak and faces an

unprecedented decades-long decline.

Demand for oil may never fully recover from the impact of the coronavirus

pandemic, according to the oil firm, and may begin falling in absolute terms

for the first time in modern history.

BP's influential annual report on the future of energy says oil will be

replaced by clean electricity from windfarms, solar panels and hydropower

plants as renewable energy emerges as the fastest-growing energy source on

record.

Spencer Dale, BP's chief economist, said the company's vision of the world's

energy future had become greener due to a combination of the Covid-19

pandemic and the quickening pace of climate action, which has hastened "peak

oil".

The report in effect sounds a death-knell for the growth of global oil

demand after two of the report's three energy scenarios for the next 30

years found that demand reached a peak in 2019. In BP's third scenario,

showing a world in which climate action does not accelerate, oil demand

plateaus at similar levels seen in 2019 through the 2020s before declining

from 2035.

The report's central scenario, which aligns with the goals of the Paris

climate agreement to keep global temperatures well below 2C above

pre-industrialised levels, shows demand for oil tumbling by 55% over the

next 30 years. Meanwhile, the report's greenest scenario, in which the world

aims to limit global heating to an increase of 1.5C, oil demand falls 80% by

2050.

THE REST

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FORMER UNION MINISTER RAGHUVANSH PRASAD SINGH PASSES AWAY AT 74

Veteran socialist leader, former Union minister and ex-RJD MP Raghuvansh

Prasad Singh Singh breathed his last on Sunday. He was 74. Singh was

undergoing treatment at Delhi's AIIMS after he developed post COVID-19

complications. He was put on a ventilator on Saturday

He was one of the tallest socialist leaders of the post-Karpoori Thakur

generation. As a rural development minister between 2004 and 2009, Singh was

one of the key persons behind the success of the UPA government's flagship

scheme, MNREGS.

At a time when most regional parties have a monolithic structure with its

leaders not being questioned, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh was an outlier. He

never hesitated to question even party supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Singh's longtime associate and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, with whom he parted

ways just days ago, wrote from jail as to how he would miss his old friend.

UP SET TO GET SPECIAL FORCE THAT CAN ARREST A SUSPECT WITHOUT WARRANT IF

'SURE ABOUT CRIME'

The Yogi Adityanath government Sunday issued a notification for the

formation of the Uttar Pradesh Special Security Force (UPSSF), which will

not require warrants for an arrest or to conduct searches as long as it is

"sure about the crime".

The special force will be responsible for the security of important

government buildings, offices and industrial establishments in the state,

while private companies can also hire its services.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on 26 June announced the formation of the

force, which the state cabinet passed. "The UPSSF has got the nod from DGP

of the state. This force will be deployed at places like metro rail,

airports, industrial institutions, courts, religious places, banks and other

financial institutions," Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Avaneesh Awasthi

said.

DELHI RIOTS CASE: FORMER JNU STUDENT UMAR KHALID ARRESTED UNDER UAPA

The Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested former JNU student leader Umar

Khalid under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

According to police, an FIR was registered against Khalid on March 6 based

on information provided by an informer to Sub-Inspector Arvind Kumar of the

narcotics unit of the Crime Branch. As per the FIR, Kumar said the informer

told him that the Northeast Delhi riots in February were part of a

"premeditated conspiracy" allegedly hatched by Khalid, one Danish, and two

others associated with different organisations.

That FIR states: "Khalid allegedly gave provocative speeches at two

different places and appealed to the citizens to come out on the streets and

block the roads during the visit of US President Donald Trump to spread

propaganda at the international level about how minorities in India are

being persecuted."

Khalid's lawyer Trideep Pais says that the allegations against Khalid were

"completely false, fabricated and procured illegally through duress".

LIFT CAP ON TEST COST: PVT LABS TO GOVT

Days after the government brought the cap on Covid tests to Rs 1,600 per

sample, private labs have called for the lifting of the price cap, saying

that they are not able to buy materials required for Covid testing at a

cheaper price.

In a letter to Additional Chief Secretary (Health), the labs said that the

rates were revised without any prior information or consultation and as a

result, they had to stop testing. "Following the price cap, we had to cancel

all standing orders, return all the materials in our stock as we cannot

afford testing within Rs 1600 as our cost involved is around Rs 2,200 per

sample. We are also returning good quality stocks that were procured for

testing and are still not able to find material supplies for testing at a

cheaper rate so that we could afford to test at Rs 1,600 cap. We shall be

grateful if you can suggest some quality supplier who can fulfil our needs

of testing within the same price," the letter read.

The labs owners also said that besides testing, they offer additional

services like home and hospital sample collection, urgent reporting, walk-in

patient sample collection and state portal data entry and ICMR portal entry,

which requires additional costs.

HEALTH MINISTRY ISSUES NEW PROTOCOL FOR RECOVERED PATIENTS

In the light of growing evidence of post-COVID recovery complications, the

Health Ministry on Sunday issued protocols that mandate follow-up of

discharged patients at health facilities within a week.

The post-COVID Management Protocol for holistic follow-up care and

well-being of all post- COVID recovering patients also places huge premium

on AYUSH therapies asking people to have warm water and saline gargles and

steam inhalation with AYUSH herbs in case of cough.

At the hospital level, the protocol says the first follow-up visit of a

recovered patients (physical/telephonic) should be within a week after

discharge, preferably at the hospital where he or she underwent treatment.

The ministry acknowledged it has been observed that after acute COVID-19

illness, recovered patients may continue to report wide variety of signs and

symptoms, including fatigue, body ache, cough, sore throat and difficulty in

breathing, saying the recovery period is likely to be longer for patients

who suffered from more severe form of the disease and those with

pre-existing illness.

DGCA ISSUES A CLARIFICATION ON PHOTOGRAPHY IN FLIGHTS

Clarifying further on its Saturday order relating to in-flight photography,

the aviation regulator DGCA on Sunday said passengers can take photos and

videos inside aircraft but can't use any recording equipment that "creates

chaos, disrupts flight operations, violates safety norms or is banned by the

crew members".

Sunday's order is a clarification on top of the Saturday's order which had

said, "It has been decided that from now on, in case any violation

(photography) occurs on any scheduled passenger aircraft - the schedule of

flight for that particular route shall be suspended for a period of two

weeks from the next day (of the incident)."

SHASHI THAROOR PRAISES CHETAN BHAGAT IN A WAY THAT ONLY HE CAN DO

Chetan Bhagat's in seventh heaven. The popular fiction writer and

columnist's latest column in a leading daily drew praises from several

people, among them Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

"Superb piece by @chetan_bhagat on all that ails our country & what we

should do about it. Chetan's great virtue is the simplicity and directness

of his writing. His message is clear & I hope his fans in the government act

on it," Tharoor tweeted.

His effusive praises had Chetan Bhagat gushing. "Ok I still can't get over

this. The @ShashiTharoor has praised @chetanbhagat. I am floating. Just one

request sir, next time can you use some big words to praise me, like ones

that only you can do. Superb is nice but a big one would really make my

day," Bhagat said in a tweet.

Ever obliging, Tharoor humoured him. "Sure, @chetan_bhagat! It's clear you

are not sesquipedalian nor given to rodomontade. Your ideas are

unembellished with tortuous convolutions & expressed without ostentation. I

appreciate the limpid perspicacity of today's column," Tharoor said in his

tweet.

(We hope you have a dictionary on board!).

2ND ODI: AUSTRALIA COLLAPSE FROM 143/2 TO 207 ALL OUT, ENGLAND LEVEL SERIES

England, batting first in the 2nd ODI vs Australia in Manchester, put up

231/9 in their 50 overs. Australia were all out for 207 in reply. England,

winning by 24 runs, have leveled the series at 1-1.

England never got going in their innings till a 76-run 9th wicket

partnership between Tom Curran (37) and Adil Rashid (35*).

Australia were pegged back by two Jofra Archer (3/34) strikes but were back

on course on the back of a 107-run partnership between Aaron Finch (73) and

Marnus Labuschagne (48). However, just as Australia were looking to run away

with it, the reintroduction of Archer and Chris Woakes (3/32) brought about

a collapse from 143/2. Australia kept losing wickets thereon to be all out

for 207.

THIEM OUTLASTS ZVEREV IN HISTORIC US OPEN FINAL

Dominic Thiem completed an unprecedented comeback on Sunday at the US Open,

rallying from two sets down and 3-5 in the fifth set to defeat Alexander

Zverev 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(8-6) for his maiden Grand Slam title.

This was the first US Open final to be decided by a fifth-set tie-break.

Thiem, 27, is the first player in the Open Era to rally from two sets down

in a US Open final.

Playing in his fourth major final, the 27-year-old won his first Slam

silverware with a comeback as methodical as his rise to this career-defining

moment.

Both men served for the match in the fifth set, Zverev at 5-3 and Thiem at

6-5, but neither came close to ending it. What started as a Zverev rout was

ultimately decided by the finest of margins, 8-6 in the breaker, with each

set more competitive than the one preceding it. There were four breaks of

serve in the final five games of the match, and 15 in total.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Never hate your enemies...it will cloud your thinking. - Michael Corleon

Godfather III

OFF TRACK

Little Johnny and his father were standing in front of the tiger's cage at

the zoo. Johnny's father was explaining how ferocious and strong tigers are,

and Johnny was taking it all in with a serious expression.

Dad," the boy said finally, "if the tiger got out of his cage and ate you

up..."

"Yes, son?" Johnny's father said expectantly.

Johnny continued, "What bus should I take home?"