INDIA, GERMANY SET TO INK PACT FOR 6 STEALTH SUBMARINES TODAY

A German submarine maker and Indian public sector company Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) are set to join hands for manufacturing six next-generation stealth conventional submarines at a cost of $5.8 billion.

A preliminary agreement or memorandum of understanding is expected to be signed when the German delegation led by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius arrives in Mumbai today.

The TKMS is one of two global manufacturers to have air independent propulsion (AIP) — technology that helps a submarine stay underwater for a longer duration. India had sought an operational AIP that would allow a submarine to remain underwater for five or six days before clearing the deal.

Pistorius, who arrived in Delhi on Monday, held a bilateral meeting with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said, “Both ministers reviewed the bilateral defence cooperation activities and explored ways to enhance the collaboration, particularly defence industrial partnership.”

Rajnath Singh highlighted opportunities in the defence production sector, including possibilities for German investments. “The Indian defence industry can participate in supply chains of the German defence industry… share strengths of skilled workforce and competitive costs from India while technologies and investment could come from Germany,” the MoD said.

SACHIN PILOT STILL KEEPS RAJASTHAN CONGRESS ON TENTERHOOKS

On Monday night, Congress general secretary in-charge of organisation K C Venugopal had a lengthy telephonic conversation with Sachin Pilot – their third such talk since May 29, when the party leadership managed to make Pilot and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot sit together to thrash out differences.

That meeting ended without the party being able to announce a peace formula.

On Tuesday, as news started swirling that Pilot might announce a new party in the poll-bound state, the Congress seemed no closer to finding a way to accept the younger leader’s three core demands without antagonising the Chief Minister or discrediting his government.

Sources close to the Pilot camp denied news reports that he would float a party on June 11, which marks the death anniversary of his father Rajesh Pilot.

Sachin Pilot's demands are: a high-level inquiry into alleged corruption cases against the previous Vasundhara Raje government, disbanding of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (which has seen leakage of papers in several exams), its reconstitution via a new law, and compensation for students who have suffered due to the question paper leaks.

The Gehlot side believes that acceptance of these demands would show his government in a bad light just months before the elections.

WHITE HOUSE REMARKS ON INDIAN DEMOCRACY ‘TIGHT SLAP’ ON RAHUL GANDHI: BJP

The BJP took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, saying it is “ironical” that while he “shamelessly” continues to criticise India’s democracy during his US visit, the White House says India is a vibrant democracy. It is a tight slap on the “yuvraj” of the Congress, BJP national spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam said.

The White House said Monday that India is a vibrant democracy and anybody who happens to go to New Delhi can see that for themselves, as it dismissed concerns about the health of democracy in India.

BBC ‘ACKNOWLEDGES’ IT PAID LOWER TAXES IN INDIA

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has acknowledged it may have paid lower taxes than its actual liability. BBC sent an email to the Income Tax Department where it reportedly acknowledged underreporting of income by about Rs 40 crore, according to reports. However, the matter can only be confirmed once the BBC files a revised return as such emails have no validity.

The ED had registered a case under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in April against the BBC for foreign exchange violations. The ED had also questioned some of its higher echelons including a BBC India director.

The BBC on the other hand had claimed victimisation from the government after it broadcast a documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots under the watch of then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

“When notice is served to those avoiding taxes, they start a hue and cry,” housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, taking a dig at those who had cited the income tax department’s action against BBC to say that democracy was under attack in India.

GOVERNMENT WILLING TO HAVE DISCUSSION WITH PROTESTING WRESTLERS, SAYS SPORTS MINISTER ANURAG THAKUR

Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports of India, Anurag Thakur has tweeted that the central government is willing to have a ‘discussion’ with protesting wrestlers. “The government is willing to have a discussion with the wrestlers on their issues. I have once again invited the wrestlers for the same,” Thakur wrote via his social media past midnight on Wednesday.

The statement comes four days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah met a delegation of protesting wrestlers at his official residence in the capital.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

US, CHINA ON ‘BULLYING, COERCION AND HEGEMONY’

Reacting to US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin’s remarks that the world witnesses “bullying and coercion” from Beijing, China Tuesday said the US resorts to all types of measures for coercion and hegemony instead.

Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India Wang Xiaojian said China is a contributor to world peace and prosperity. “It is the US, not China, who resorts to all types of measures for coercion and hegemony. Victims to US coercion and bullying include its allies and partners, with developing countries bearing the brunt of it,” Wang tweeted.

Stating that the current China-India border situation is stable, he said the boundary question is a matter between China and India, and brooks no interference of any third party.

Austin Monday told a section of the media that there is bullying and coercion from China, and the Russian aggression against Ukraine is seeking to redraw borders by force and threatens national sovereignty as well as transnational challenges such as terrorism and climate change.

“Preserving and protecting the freedoms that are essential to peace and prosperity will require vigorous leadership from the United States and India. And we still have a lot of work to do, but I am confident that the US-India partnership will help to secure an open and prosperous future for the Indo-Pacific and the wider world,” he had said.

COLLAPSE OF MAJOR DAM IN SOUTHERN UKRAINE TRIGGERS EMERGENCY

The wall of a major dam in southern Ukraine collapsed Tuesday, triggering floods, endangering Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and threatening drinking water supplies as both sides in the war rushed to evacuate residents and blamed each other for the destruction.

Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station on the Dnieper River in an area that Moscow controls, while Russian officials blamed Ukrainian bombardment in the contested area.

The potentially far-reaching environmental and social consequences of the disaster quickly became clear as homes, streets and businesses flooded downstream and emergency crews began evacuations; officials raced to check cooling systems at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant; and authorities expressed concern about supplies of drinking water to the south in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

It was not immediately clear whether either side benefits from the damage to the dam, since both Russian-controlled and Ukrainian-held lands are at risk.

THE REST

=========

MILITANTS IN MANIPUR TARGET SECURITYMEN

In a fresh spurt of violence in Manipur, a BSF constable was killed and two Assam Rifles personnel injured following an encounter with suspected Kuki insurgents in the Serou area early Tuesday morning.

The state government on Tuesday extended its ban on Internet services till June 10.

At least 98 persons lost their lives and 310 were injured in the ethnic violence in Manipur that broke out a month ago. A total of 37,450 people are currently sheltered in 272 relief camps.

ODISHA GOVT REVISES TRAIN ACCIDENT TOLL TO 288; 205 BODIES IDENTIFIED

The Odisha government on Tuesday revised the death toll in the Balasore train crash to 288.

Speaking to reporters, chief secretary PK Jena said, 275 deaths were confirmed till Monday, and after verification of the bodies, the figure was raised to 288.

Jena said that 205 bodies of the total 288 have been identified so far and handed over to their families. The remaining 83 bodies were kept at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar and other hospitals for identification, he said.

The government had reported the toll figure of 288 earlier as well, but then revised it downwards to 275, stating that some of the bodies were counted twice. It was then raised to 278, and further to 288 again.

On another note, The Odisha government’s years of investment in capacity building and procuring state-of-the art equipment to handle disasters paid off in the rescue operation following the three-way disaster in Balasore district.

It was after the super cyclone in 1999 that claimed over 10,000 lives that the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government decided to constitute a professionally trained group equipped with emergency equipment. Thus was born the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), the first of its kind agency in the country, predating the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) that was set up in 2006.

The ODRAF is now the frontline responder in any disaster in Odisha. It now has 20 units (50 personnel in each team), stationed in 17 different locations, with the government arming them with better training and equipment over the years.

On June 2, within half an hour of the train disaster, even as the scope of what had happened was still becoming clear, a team of 30 ODRAF personnel had reached the site from Balasore and swung into action. Within three hours, four more teams comprising 120 additional personnel had arrived.

BIGGEST LSD HAUL, DARKNET CARTEL BUSTED

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) yesterday said it had busted a pan-India drugs trafficking network operating on the darknet with the “largest-ever” single seizure of 15,000 LSD blots in one operation and the arrest of six persons.

The seizure, as per officials, is estimated to be worth over Rs 10 crore (Rs 5,000-7,000 per blot) in the international market and all six who have been taken into custody, beginning late last month, are students and youngsters who wanted to make “easy money” by remaining anonymous within the deep layers of secret internet-based apps and messenger service like WICKR.

“This is the largest-ever seizure of LSD blots in the country in a single operation,” said NCB Deputy Director General (northern region) Gyaneshwar Singh. “The suppliers and consumers intercepted by us had no personal interaction and every contact was on the darknet,” Singh said.

BYJU'S 'SKIPS' INTEREST PAYMENT ON $1.2-BILLION LOAN

Byju’s has filed a suit against US-based investment management firm Redwood, challenging the acceleration of a $1.2-billion term loan B (TLB) facility and to disqualify the lender for its “predatory tactics”, the edtech major said on Tuesday. Byju’s also skipped an interest payment of about $40 million on the loan, thus becoming the only Indian start-up to have defaulted on a US-dollar loan.

Given that legal proceedings are now on in both Delaware and New York, the entire TLB is disputed, the company said in a statement. “As such, Byju’s cannot be expected to and has elected not to make any further payment to the TLB lenders, including any interest, until the dispute is decided by the court,” it said.

700 INDIAN STUDENTS, MOSTLY FROM PUNJAB, FACE DEPORTATION FROM CANADA

Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldip Singh Dhaliwal Tuesday sought intervention of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in the matter of 700 Indian students facing deportation from Canada.

As many as 700 Indian students, mostly from Punjab, are facing deportation from Canada after the authorities in that country found “admission offer letters” to educational institutions to be fake. The matter came to light in March when these students applied for permanent residency in Canada.

In the letter to the EAM, Dhaliwal said, “These (700) students are innocent and have been cheated by the clique of fraudsters…” “I shall be highly grateful if you again look into the matter personally and take up the matter with concerned agencies including High Commission of Canada and government of Canada so that these students can be saved from being deported,” wrote Dhaliwal.

These students should not be deported and given work permits considering their visas, he said.

AUCTION SPECTRUM BY DISTRICTS TO SATELLITE OPERATORS, JIO TELLS TRAI

Reliance Jio has suggested an alternative plan to the TRAI under which spectrum required by non-geostationary orbit satellite (NGSO) operators to run their  gateway terminals should be auctioned geographically, based on districts, rather than circles as done for mobile services.

The move is significant as the auctioning of satellite space spectrum has been vehemently opposed by low earth orbit satellite operators (satellites which circle at low altitudes of 200-2000 km). The opposition has been led by the Sunil Mittal-controlled OneWeb. Mittal says that auctions the spectrum, OneWeb will stay away. He also said he has not heard of anyone explaining how it can be auctioned, especially as there is no precedent.

Mittal is supported by Amazon’s Kuiper, Tata Communications, Hughes Communications, and associations like Nasscom, and Broadband India Forum who have told the regulator they want space spectrum to be allocated administratively. 

MS TO PAY $20M TO SETTLE US CHARGES OF COLLECTING KIDS’ DATA ILLEGALLY

Microsoft will pay a fine of $20 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it illegally collected and retained the data of children who signed up to use its Xbox video gameconsole.

The agency charged that Microsoft gathered the data without notifying parents or obtaining their consent, and that it also illegally held onto the data. Those actions violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, the FTCstated.

In a blog post, Microsoft corporate vice president for Xbox Dave McCarthy outlined additional steps the company is now taking to improve its age verification systems and to ensure that parents are involved in the creation of child accounts for the service.

INDIA TAKE ON AUSTRALIA TODAY IN WTC FINAL

A formidable bunch of Indian cricketers will require a perfect blend of skill and temperament when it clashes with an equally-strong Australia in the World Test Championship final, starting today, with an aim to end a decade-long global trophy jinx.

India have been the most consistent side over the past two WTC cycles and also reached knockout phases of major white-ball tournaments over the last 10 years but a trophy has eluded them.

The last major ICC trophy India won was way back in 2013 when it bagged the Champions Trophy in England. Since then, the side has lost three finals and on four occasion it bit dust at the semifinal stage. It also made an exit at the preliminary stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup.

FRENCH OPEN: A RUTHLESS ALCARAZ BOOKS DJOKOVIC SEMI

Carlos Alcaraz has confirmed an appointment against Novak Djokovic on Friday at Roland-Garros in what shapes as one of the most eagerly-anticipated matches in years.

The world No.1 delivered a phenomenal performance to reach his first semi-final in Paris by blitzing two-time Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-1, 7-6(5) on Tuesday night.  The ease with which Alcaraz dominated the No.5 seed, who was the runner-up at Roland-Garros in 2021, in the first two sets was astonishing.

His clash against Djokovic will be their second overall and first at a major. It pits a young champion versus a legend.

The eyes of the tennis world and beyond will be on Roland-Garros for the semi-final.

Earlier in the day, Novak Djokovic overcame a first-set blip to beat Russian Karen Khachanov 4-6 7-6(0) 6-2 6-4 and reach the French Open semi-finals on Tuesday, staying on course for a record-breaking 23rd men's singles Grand Slam title.

The twice Roland Garros champion could not find a weakness in the 11th-seeded Khachanov's serve at first, but once he took the second set tiebreak there was no looking back for the Serbian.

IN WOMEN’S SINGLES, SABALENKA, MUCHOVA SET SEMI-FINAL DATE

World number two Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus powered past Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-4 in a highly anticipated clash on Tuesday to reach the French Open semi-finals.

The match was an intriguing prospect with Svitolina, who last year became a mother, refusing to shake hands with players from Russia or Belarus following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year.

Australian Open champion Sabalenka, who next faces Czech Karolina Muchova, caused a furore by snubbing the media after her last two matches, having been grilled about the war and her country's involvement as a staging ground for Russian troops.

But she was all business on Court Philippe Chatrier, cruising through her quarter-final in straight sets despite a flurry of 37 unforced errors compared to her opponent's 12.

Karolina Muchova stopped resurgent former French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in her tracks with a 7-5 6-2 victory to march into the Roland Garros semi-finals for the first time in her career.

INDICATORS

Sensex 62,793 (+6), Nifty 18,599 (+5)

Nasdaq 13,276 (+47) Dow 33,573 (+10), S&P 4,284 (+10)

US$-Rs. 82.55, GBP-Rs. 102.57, Euro-Rs. 88.32, UAE Dhm-Rs. 22.47, Can$-Rs. 61.52, Aus$- Rs. 54.94

GBP 0.80 /US$, Euro 0.93 /US$, Jap.Yen 139.54 /US$, Aus$ 1.50 /US$, Sing 1.34 /US$, Bang Taka 106.58 /US$, Can$ 1.34 /US$, Mal Ring 4.59 /US$, Pak Re 285.43 /US$, Phil Peso 56.17 /US$, Russian Rouble 81.16 /US$, NZ$ 1.64 /US$, Thai Baht 34.73 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 36.65 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 27,154, Dollar Index 104.01, Brent Crude 76.39, BDI 1,016

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,965 India (Rs. Per gm 24k/22k) 6,065 / 5,560, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 78,000

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes His creatures, or has a will of the type of which we are conscious ourselves. - Albert Einstein

OFF TRACK

An old farmer decided to visit a pond in the back of his property that he had not visited in a long time. As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing.  As he came closer, he discovered a bunch of young women were skinny dipping in his pond. He politely made the women aware of his presence, and soon they all moved to the deep end of the pond.

One of the women shouted to him, "We're not coming out until you leave!"  

The farmer replied, "Oh, don't worry about me. I didn't come down here to see you skinny dipping. I'm just here to feed the alligator."