RAJNATH REACHES MOSCOW, JAISHANKAR AND WANG YI MEET TODAY AT RIC TALKS

A day after his meeting with the military brass on the situation along the

Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reached

Moscow Monday night to start a three-day visit.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, meanwhile, will be participating in

a virtual meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, India and China (RIC)

Tuesday.

This will be Jaishankar's first face-to-face meeting with Chinese

counterpart Wangi Yi after the Galwan Valley incident in which 20 Indian

Army personnel were killed in violent clashes with Chinese troops on the

night of June 15.

As he set out from Delhi, Rajnath Singh, in a Twitter post, said: "Leaving

for Moscow on a three-day visit. The visit to Russia will give me an

opportunity to hold talks on ways to further deepen the India-Russia defence

and strategic partnership. I shall also be attending the 75th Victory Day

Parade in Moscow."

Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe is also likely to be present at

the Moscow military parade on June 24 to mark the 75th anniversary of the

Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

Indian and Chinese troops are participating in the parade, along with

contingents from other countries.

Singh will meet the Russian defence brass and is expected to review supplies

of defence equipment in the coming months. During his discussions with

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov and Defence Minister Sergei

Shoigu, he is likely to raise the issue of the delivery of the S-400 missile

defence systems as well.

Incidentally, the RIC, which will bring Jaishankar and Wang Yi face-to-face,

has become a platform for strategic communication during crises.

On February 27, 2019, then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had

travelled to Wuzhen in China for the RIC meeting. Within hours of the

Balakot air strikes, she met Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey

Lavrov and explained the Indian action.

IN MARATHON TALKS, INDIA SEEKS DE-ESCALATION, CHINESE RETREAT

The meeting between XIV Corps Commander Lt General Harinder Singh and his

Chinese counterpart to reduce tensions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC)

in Ladakh continued for more than ten hours Monday in search of a

breakthrough.

This was the second meeting between the two senior commanders after the

understanding they reached at their meeting on June 6 could not be

implemented following the Galwan Valley clashes between the two sides on

June 15 that left 20 Indian personnel dead.

Like the first meeting, the meeting Monday was held at the Border Personnel

Meeting Point at Moldo on the Chinese side of the LAC, opposite Chushul.

As with the previous meeting, the agenda centered around the restoration of

status quo ante on the LAC as of April, which means disengagement and

de-escalation by both sides along the border.

The process decided during the previous meeting for disengagement had

started from Galwan Valley, wherein the two sides had agreed to create a de

facto 'buffer zone' and both the armies were to step back out of that area

in a phased manner. It was to be implemented after meetings between the

commanders on the ground. During the implementation process, both sides

clashed over the existence of a Chinese Observation Post in the 'buffer

zone'.

PM CANNOT ALLOW CHINA TO USE HIS WORDS AS A VINDICATION OF THEIR POSITION:

MANMOHAN

Breaking his silence on the LAC standoff, former Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be mindful of the

implications of his words and cannot allow China to use them as a

vindication of their position.

In a statement, Singh said disinformation is no substitute for diplomacy and

decisive leadership and the PM must rise to the occasion to ensure justice

for Col B. Santosh Babu and jawans who have made the ultimate sacrifice and

resolutely defended our territorial integrity. "To do any less would be a

historic betrayal of the people's faith," he said.

The Congress veteran said China is brazenly and illegally seeking to claim

parts of Indian territory such as the Galwan Valley and the Pangong Tso Lake

by committing multiple incursions between April 2020 till date.

"At this moment, we stand at historic cross-roads," noted the ex PM adding,

"Our government's decisions and actions will have serious bearings on how

the future generations perceive us. Those who lead us bear the weight of a

solemn duty. And in our democracy that responsibility rests with the office

of the Prime Minister."

BJP President JP Nadda promptly responded saying that Manmohan Singh

belonged to the same party which "helplessly surrendered over 43,000 KM of

Indian territory to the Chinese."

Meanwhile, firing a fresh salvo at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress

leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday asked as to why China was "praising Mr Modi

during this conflict".

"China killed our soldiers. China took our land. Then, why is China praising

Mr Modi during this conflict," he asked on Twitter.

In his tweet, Gandhi tagged a news report that said the Chinese media had

lauded Prime Minister Modi's speech during an all-party meeting on the

Ladakh situation.

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

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 4,40,399 (+13,540) / 91,87,861 (+1,42,404)

Total Deaths 14,015 (+312) / 4,74,339 (+3,641)

Total Recovered 2,48,137 (+10,885) / 49,37,277 (+98,957)

Active Cases 1,78,247 (+2,343) / 37,76,245 (+39,806)

Serious / Critical Cases - N.A. / 57,888 (+3,154)

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

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

Cases

1 USA 23,88,153 / 1,22,610 /

10,02,929 / 12,62,614

2 Brazil 11,11,348 / 51,407 /

5,94,104 / 4,65,837

3 Russia 5,92,280 / 8,206 /

3,44,416 / 2,39,658

4 India 4,40,450 / 14,015 /

2,48,137 / 1,78,298

5 UK 3,05,289 / 42,647 / N/A

/ N/A

6 Spain 2,93,584 / 28,324 / N/A

/ N/A

7 Peru 2,57,447 / 8,223 /

1,45,320 / 1,03,904

8 Chile 2,46,963 / 4,502 /

2,05,397 / 37,064

9 Italy 2,38,720 / 34,657 /

1,83,426 / 20,637

10 Iran 2,07,525 / 9,742 /

1,66,427 / 31,356

11 Germany 1,92,119 / 8,969 /

1,75,300 / 7,850

14 Pakistan 1,81,088 / 3,590 /

71,458 / 1,06,040

17 Bangladesh 1,15,786 / 1,502 /

46,755 / 67,529

105 Sri Lanka 1,951 / 11 /

1,526 / 414

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

Deaths)

State / Confirmed Cases / Active Case / Recovered /

Deceased

Maharashtra 1,35,796 / 61,793 / 67,706 /

6,283

Delhi 62,655 / 23,820 / 36,602 / 2,233

Tamil Nadu 62,087 / 27,181 / 34,112 /

794

Gujarat 27,880 / 6,278 / 19,917 / 1,685

Uttar Pradesh 18,322 / 6,152 / 11,601 /

569

Rajasthan 15,232 / 2,966 / 11,910 /

356

West Bengal 14,358 / 5,102 / 8,687 /

569

Madhya Pradesh 12,078 / 2,342 / 9,215 /

521

Haryana 11,025 / 4,940 / 5,916 /

169

Karnataka 9,399 / 3,523 / 5,730 /

142

Andhra Pradesh 9,372 / 4,826 / 4,435

/ 111

Telangana 8,674 / 4,452 / 4,005 /

217

Bihar 7,893 / 2,074 / 5,767 / 52

Jammu and Kashmir 6,088 / 2,472 / 3,531 /

85

Assam 5,853 / 2,275 / 3,566 / 9

Odisha 5,303 / 1,419 / 3,863 / 21

Punjab 4,235 / 1,309 / 2,825 / 101

Kerala 3,311 / 1,540 / 1,747 / 22

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

TRUMP SUSPENDS H1B, H4 VISAS TILL YEAR END

The Trump administration on Monday extended the freeze on issuance of "green

cards" for new immigrants and suspended range of work visas for foreigners,

including all H1B and H4 (for H1B spouses) till the end of the current

calendar year.

The suspension will not affect those already in the U.S on the visas. The

Optional Practical Training (OPT) that most foreign students are eligible

for after they graduate in the U.S also remains unaffected.

But also suspended are L1 visas (for intracompany transfer) and J1 visas

(widely used by doctors and researchers), although there will be exceptions

for those working on the coronavirus pandemic.

A senior administration official told journalists in a background briefing

that the measures, decreed through an executive order by President Trump,

would be temporary (till December 31), and would free up 525,000 jobs for

American workers.

But businesses including major tech companies and the U.S. Chamber of

Commerce said the visa suspension would stifle the economic recovery after

the damage done by the pandemic.

N. KOREA READY TO SEND MILLIONS OF RETALIATORY LEAFLETS TO THE SOUTH

North Korea has millions of propaganda leaflets ready to send to the South

by an aerial armada of balloons, it said on Monday, heightening its rhetoric

against Seoul after blowing up a liaison office.

In recent weeks, Pyongyang has issued a series of vitriolic condemnations of

Seoul over anti-North leaflets, which defectors based in the South send

across the border - usually attached to balloons or floated in bottles.

Analysts say Pyonygang has been conducting a series of staged provocations

aimed at forcing concessions from Seoul and Washington with nuclear talks at

a standstill.

CORONAVIRUS: SAUDI ARABIA BARS INTERNATIONAL PILGRIMS FOR HAJJ

Saudi Arabia has banned international visitors from making the Islamic

pilgrimage, or Hajj, this year in a bid to control coronavirus.

Only a very limited number of people currently living in the kingdom may

take part, an announcement on state media says.

An estimated two million people would otherwise have visited Mecca and

Medina this summer for the annual gathering.

WITH UNSUBSTANTIATED CLAIM, TRUMP SOWS DOUBT ON US ELECTION

President Donald Trump opened a new front Monday in his fight against

mail-in voting, making unsubstantiated assertions that foreign countries

will print up millions of bogus ballots to rig the results and create what

he called the "scandal of our times."

The claims not only ignore safeguards that states have implemented to

prevent against widespread fraud but they also risk undermining Americans'

faith in the election.

Trump accelerated his attacks following a bruising weekend for his

reelection campaign, when a lower-than-expected turnout at a rally in Tulsa,

Oklahoma, left him seething, and as he fights for a second term during the

worst unemployment since the Great Depression. The rhetoric, coming as

states scramble to adjust voting processes because of the coronavirus

pandemic, represents a two-track approach of trying to both block mail-in

balloting in advance and setting the stage for challenging the results once

it's over.

THE REST

========

SC ALLOWS RESTRICTED PURI RATH YATRA, SAYS 'CAN'T MICROMANAGE' IT

Four days after placing a ban on this year's Lord Jagannath's Rath Yatra at

Puri, the Supreme Court on Monday allowed it in a restricted manner after

the Centre, Odisha Government and the temple management assured that social

distancing norms and other COVID19 protocols shall be followed.

The Puri Rath Yatra festival---which attracts a large number of Indian and

foreign devotees and tourists---is scheduled to commence today.

While allowing a restricted Rath Yatra, a three-judge Bench headed by CJI SA

Bobde made it clear no public participation will be allowed.

While modifying its June 18 order that had put a blanket ban on this year's

Rath Yatra in view of COVID19 pandemic, the Bench issued an elaborate

11-point order to be followed for the Rath Yatra.

It ordered that all entry points into Puri---airports, railway stations,

bus stands, etc.--- shall be closed during Rath Yatra festival.

Odisha Government shall impose a curfew in Puri on all days and during all

the time when Rath Yatra chariots are taken in procession. It may also

impose curfew in Puri on such other days and during such time as deemed

necessary.

Each Rath shall be pulled by not more than 500 persons, including officials

and police personnel, who shall be tested for COVID-19 and shall be

permitted to pull the chariot only if found negative, it said.

There shall be an interval of one hour between two chariots and each one

engaged in pulling the chariot shall maintain social distancing

before, during and after the Rath Yatra, the Bench said.

Only such persons shall be associated with rituals relating to Rath Yatra

who have tested COVID-19 negative, it added.

Home Minister Amit Shah welcomed the court's decision and said the "entire

nation is delighted with Supreme Court's decision".

CHINA DECLINES TO REACT TO VK SINGH'S REMARK THAT 40 PLA SOLDIERS KILLED IN

GALWAN VALLEY CLASH

China on Monday declined to comment on Union Minister and former Indian Army

chief Gen VK Singh (retd)'s remarks that more than 40 Chinese soldiers were

killed in the Galwan Valley clash in eastern Ladakh, saying it had no

information to release on the issue.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, during a media briefing

here, reiterated, "China and India are in communication with each other to

resolve the situation on the ground through diplomatic and military

channels." Asked about the remarks of Singh, he said: "I have no information

to release on that."

Ever since the clash on June 15 at the Galwan Valley between the Indian and

Chinese troops, Beijing has consistently declined to reveal the details of

the casualties on its side, while the official media editorials have said

that China also suffered casualties.

Commenting on the current India-China border standoff, Singh on Saturday

told a news channel, "If we lost 20 soldiers, more than double the number

were killed on their [Chinese] side."

GUJARAT HC REFUSES TO QUASH STAY ON RATH YATRA

After a prolonged hearing that went on past 2 am on Tuesday, the Gujarat

High Court decided to continue with its stay on Rath Yatra processions in

Ahmedabad and elsewhere in the state, as was directed by a division bench on

June 20.

To this effect, the court dismissed all intervening applications, as well as

the state's application seeking a modification in the HC's earlier order.

The state and the other third party interveners were relying on the Supreme

Court ruling Monday, where it permitted the Rath Yatra procession in Puri,

Odisha, subject to restrictions.

However, the division bench headed by Chief Justice Vikram Nath did not

accept these grounds, saying the Covid-19 situation in Gujarat was very

different from Odisha.

TWO LOCUST SWARMS FROM INDO-PAK BORDER AREAS REPORTED

Two locust swarms from Indo-Pak border areas, one each in Bikaner and Sri

Ganganagar district, in Rajasthan, were reported on Monday, the government

said. The officials said the locust-control operation was in full swing

mainly in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

At present, swarms of immature pink locusts with an intermittent population

of maturing yellow adults are active in Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner,

Sri Ganganagar, Jaipur, Nagaur, and Ajmer districts of Rajasthan, Panna

district of Madhya Pradesh and Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

The immature locust is very active and mobile, making it difficult to

control the swarm at one location, owing to which it takes four to five days

to control at different locations to completely eliminate the locust

population in one place.

EC TO ALLOW POSTAL BALLOTS FOR COVID-AFFECTED

Stressing that the Election Commission will go the "extra mile" to ensure

that the pandemic does not affect voter turnout in the Bihar polls later

this year, Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said that Covid patients

will be allowed to vote through postal ballots.

In a strong indication that the Bihar polls are likely to be held on time,

Chandra said the Law Ministry has accepted the EC's proposal on this issue,

following which a new category of "Covid-19 suspect or affected persons" has

been added under Rule 27A of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.

To be eligible under the new category, the voter should have tested positive

in a government healthcare facility or one designated by the government as a

Covid hospital. Voters under "home quarantine or institutional quarantine"

can also avail the postal ballot option, he said.

PATANJALI TO LAUNCH AYURVEDIC DRUG FOR COVID-19 TODAY

Patanjali will launch the ayurvedic medicine for treating Covid-19 at

Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar today/.

Acharya Balkrishna, CEOof Patanjali, had earlier this month claimed that an

Ayurvedic medicine developed by the company has been able to cure Covid-19

patients within 5-14 days.

"We appointed a team of scientists after Covid-19 outbreak. Firstly, the

simulation was done and compounds were identified which can fight the virus

and stop its spread in the body. Then, we conducted a clinical case study on

hundreds of positive patients and we have got 100 per cent favourable

results," Balkrishna said.

"After taking our medicine, COVID patients recovered in 5-14 days and then

tested negative. So, we can say the cure for COVID is possible through

Ayurveda. We are performing controlled clinical trials only. In the next 4-5

days, evidence and data will be released by us," he added.

APPLE SWITCHES TO OWN CHIPS FOR MAC COMPUTERS, DIALS UP PRIVACY FEATURES

Apple Inc on Monday said it will switch to its own chips for its Mac

computers, ending a nearly 15-year reliance on Intel Corp to supply

processors for its flagship laptops and desktop.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said it marked the beginning of a major new

era for a product line powered the company's rise in the 1980s and its

resurgence in the late 1990s.

"Silicon is at the heart of our hardware," Cook said during a virtual

keynote address recorded at the company's Cupertino, California headquarters

for its annual developer conference. "Having a world class silicon design

team is a game changer."

The silicon switch brings the Mac into line with the company's iPhone and

iPads, which already use Apple designed chips.

INDICATORS

Sensex 34,911 (+180), Nifty 10,311 (+67), Trading Value NSE ,(Rs.crores)

70,053

Nasdaq 10.056 (+110) Dow 26,025 (+154), S&P 3,118 (+20)

US$-Rs. 75.67 GBP-Rs. 93.98, Euro-Rs. 84.95, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.60, Can$-Rs.

55.79, Aus$- Rs. 52.09

GBP 0.80 /US$, Euro 0.89 /US$, Jap.Yen 106.89 /US$, Aus$ 1.45 /US$, Sing

1.39 /US$, Bang Taka 83.38 /US$, Can$ 1.35 /US$, Mal Ring 4.27 /US$,

Pak Re 166.29 /US$, Phil Peso 50.05 /US$, Russian Rouble 69.31 /US$, NZ$

1.54 /US$, Thai Baht 30.94 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 26.48 /US$, Norway NOK 9.60

/US$

Bitcoin - USD 9,640

Dollar Index 96.96 Brent Crude 42.54 BDI 1,555

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,754 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,760 / 4,660

Silver (Rs. Per KG) 48,680

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don't

have the strength. - Theodore Roosevelt

OFF TRACK

A shoplifter was caught red-handed trying to steal a watch from an exclusive

jewelry store.

"Listen," said the shoplifter, "I know you don't want any trouble either.

What do you say I just buy the watch and we forget about this?"

The manager agreed and wrote up the sales slip.

The crook looked at the slip and said, "This is a little more than I

intended to spend. Can you show me something less expensive?"