China seeks India’s withdrawal from Galwan Valley

The Hindu Newsletter - China seeks Indian withdrawal from Galwan Valley Wednesday 24, June 2020 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap [Here are the big news stories of the day]( [alt_text]( Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Here are the big stories that you need to follow today: China calls for India’s withdrawal from Galwan Valley Even as commander-level talks are on at the India-China border, China is ratcheting up the rhetoric on its territorial claims. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) today said the [June 15 clash in Galwan Valley](“happened entirely on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control” (LAC). It accused Indian troops of crossing the line, saying “the responsibility entirely lies with India” for the incident. The Defence Ministry in Beijing reiterated China’s “sovereignty over Galwan Valley”. It is the most detailed comment so far from any arm of the Chinese establishment on the unprecedented clash in the Valley that claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers. China has not revealed the number of its casualties. “What is shocking is that on the evening of June 15, the Indian front line frontier troops openly violated the consensus reached by the two parties [on June 6], went back and forth across the line, crossed the LAC again, and deliberately provoked China,” said PLA Senior Colonel and Defence Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian. “While negotiating on the spot, Chinese officers and soldiers were suddenly violently attacked by the Indian side. This triggered intense physical clashes between officers and soldiers on both sides, resulting in casualties,” he said. India, however, has stressed that [it was the Chinese side that attacked its troops in a “pre-meditated” manner](, following a dispute over a tent set up by China on India’s side of the LAC. PLA calls Galwan incident ‘unfortunate’ Even as those claims were being made today, an exclusive story from The Hindu reports that PLA officers at the [Corps Commanders meeting](with the Indian Army delegation on Monday repeatedly stated that the Galwan clash was an “unfortunate incident”. India and China have agreed to “disengage from three friction points” in Ladakh and pull back from their current positions, where the Indian army and the Chinese PLA are in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation, a top Indian official said. The three areas are Galwan, Hot Springs, and the Finger area near Pangong Tso (lake) in Ladakh along the contentious LAC. The three areas have witnessed an unprecedented build-up of troops since April-May. Diesel price tops petrol in Delhi After prices were raised for a record 18th day in a row, the [price of diesel in the national capital topped the petrol rates]( for the first time in living memory. According to a price notification of state oil marketing companies, the petrol price was unchanged after 17 consecutive increases, while diesel rates were increased by 48 paise per litre across the country. Diesel now costs ₹79.88 per litre in Delhi as compared to the petrol price of ₹79.76 a litre. [ ] Rates differ from state to state depending on the incidence of VAT. At present, diesel is costlier than petrol only in the national capital, where the state government had raised local sales tax or VAT on the fuel sharply last month. Yet, it’s worth noting that the days when diesel used to cost up to ₹20 less than petrol seem long gone. Petrol costs ₹86.54 a litre in Mumbai and diesel is priced at ₹78.22. In Chennai, a litre of petrol comes for ₹83.04 and diesel for ₹77.17. Rahul slams Centre again over fuel prices, Covid-19 Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the Modi government again over the increase in fuel prices and the mounting Covid-19 cases in the country, saying it has “unlocked” the pandemic and fuel price hikes. “The Modi government has ‘unlocked’ the corona pandemic and prices of petrol-diesel,” [he said in a tweet in Hindi](. Gandhi also tagged a graph captioned, “coronavirus is not the only rising curve”. The graph showed a steady rise in the daily Covid-19 cases and fuel prices after the lockdown. Meanwhile, BJP president J.P. Nadda launched a counter-attack on the Congress after the latter’s working committee attributed the [India-China]( border crisis to mismanagement by the Narendra Modi government. Nadda said the Congress was not equal to the whole of the Opposition and its attempts to usurp the position was due to yet another attempted re-launching of Rahul Gandhi. “A rejected and ejected dynasty is not equal to the entire Opposition. One dynasty’s interests are not India’s interests. Today, the nation is united and supportive of our armed forces. This is the time for unity and solidarity. Relaunch of ‘the scion’ for the nth time can wait,” said Nadda in a series of tweets. Co-op banks to be brought under RBI supervision The Union Cabinet on Wednesday decided to bring all cooperative banks under the RBI through an ordinance. This was announced by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar during a virtual press meet. Javadekar addressed the media on Cabinet decisions from his residence, saying “this is the new normal” and that “the depositor will be assured that his money is safe.” "Government banks, including 1,482 urban cooperative banks and 58 multi-state cooperative banks, are now being brought under supervisory powers of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)," Javadekar said today. These banks will come under RBI supervision from the date of President’s approval on the ordinance. In the wake of the Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank crisis, the Union Cabinet in February approved amendments to the Banking Regulation Act to bring 1,540 cooperative banks under RBI regulation. IMF projects contraction of 4.5% for Indian economy The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that the Indian economy will contract by as much as 4.5%, in the year 2020. It attributed this “historic low” to the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic which has adversely affected economic activity. However, it said the country is likely to bounce back in 2021 with a robust 6% growth rate. The IMF projected global growth for 2020 at –4.9 per cent, 1.9 percentage points below the April 2020 World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecast. “We are projecting a sharp contraction in 2020 of -4.5%. Given the unprecedented nature of this crisis, as is the case for almost all countries, this projected contraction is a historic low,” Gita Gopinath, IMF's Chief Economist, told PTI as she released the World Economic Outlook Update. Covid Watch: Numbers and developments The number of coronavirus cases in the country stood at 4,70,439 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 14, 862. India today recorded a jump of nearly 16,000 new cases. About 2,69,000 people have recovered. [People being tested for COVID-19 in Appughar area, which reported more than 60 Covid positive cases in last few days, in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. ] People being tested for COVID-19 in Appughar area, which reported more than 60 Covid positive cases in last few days, in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Tamil Nadu has reported 2,865 new cases today, while Delhi reported close to 4,000 news cases, taking its total past 70,000 today as the Delhi government announced plans to screen every house in the Capital from July 6 as part of its new coronavirus response plan. At a meeting with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal last week, Home Minister Amit Shah had directed the government to ramp up house-to-house surveillance. In brief: The Union Cabinet today gave the final nod for private participation in the space sector. A new outfit, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) will “provide a level playing field for private companies to use Indian space infrastructure.” IN-SPACe will also promote and guide private industry in space activities through a friendly regulatory environment. A criminal complaint has been filed in a Bihar court [against yoga guru Baba Ramdev]( and Patanjali Ayurved MD Acharya Balkrishna, alleging that they have misled and put at risk the lives of lakhs of people by claiming to have developed a medicine to treat Covid-19. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he was extremely proud that a 75-member tri-service contingent of the Indian Armed Forces participated in the 75th anniversary of the Victory Day Parade at the iconic Red Square in Moscow on June 24. Singh arrived in Moscow on a three-day visit on June 23 to attend the celebrations. [ Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attends the Victory Day Parade to commemorate the 75th anniversary of victory of the Soviet People in the Patriotic War of 1941-1945, at Red Square in Moscow. ] Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attends the Victory Day Parade to commemorate the 75th anniversary of victory of the Soviet People in the Patriotic War of 1941-1945, at Red Square in Moscow. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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