New Delhi, August 5: India and China held a special round of military talks on Tuesday at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point in Eastern Ladakh to discuss air space violations and provocations by the Chinese side in that area in the last 45 days.
The talks were held after the Indian Air Force sternly countered the Chinese attempts to provoke in the Eastern Ladakh sector by violating air space and the confidence-building measure lines which mandate that both sides should fly fighter planes within 10 Kms of the LAC.
“During the military talks, the Indian side strongly raised objections over the Chinese flying activities near Eastern Ladakh sector for over a month now and asked them to avoid such provocative activities,” government sources said.
The talks have also come at a time when the Chinese are having tense relations with multiple countries including the US over a high-profile American visit to Taiwan and its firing of ballistic missiles in the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone.
The talks between the two sides included Air Force officers from both sides along with Army representatives.
The Indian Air Force was represented by Air Commodore Amit Sharma from the Operations branch while an equivalent rank officer came from the People’s Liberation Army’s Air Force side for the discussions.
The Indian Army was represented by a Major General-rank officer under the Fire and Fury Corps headed by Lt Gen A Sengupta, the sources said.
The Chinese have been complaining about the Indian Air Force upgrading its capability to detect Chinese Air Force aircraft operating within the territory controlled by them in the Tibet region.
The confrontation between the two Air Forces started in June last week when on June 25, a PLAAF J-11 fighter aircraft flew very close to a friction point in Eastern Ladakh around 4 AM and was picked up by both men on ground as well as radars.
The Chinese activities opposite the Chumar sector continued for over a month and the Indian Air Force responded strongly by scrambling its fighter aircraft including the Mirage 2000 and MiG-29s from its advance bases near the Ladakh region.
The sources said the Chinese had not expected such a strong reaction from the IAF which was ready for taking on any possible misadventure from the PLAAF side.
During this time, IAF was also taking precautions to ensure that there was no escalation of the matters on the ground along with keeping a close watch on their air activities, they said.
In an earlier interview with news agency a few weeks ago, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari had stated that “Whenever we find that Chinese aircraft or remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) are coming a little too close to the LAC, we take appropriate measures by scrambling our fighters or putting our systems on high alert. This has deterred them to quite an extent,” the IAF chief said.
The Air Force elements of both countries are now likely to form part of the talks between the two countries at the Corps Commander level in future also.
India and China have held 16 rounds of Corps commander-level talks between them to deescalate the situation and tensions which started after the Chinese tried to alter the status quo on the LAC in 2020.
Till now, the talks led by the Fire and Fury Corps Commander from the Indian side have representatives from the ITBP and the Ministry of External Affairs.
The two sides have been able to resolve three frictions points in eastern Ladakh and are holding discussions to find solutions for the Hot Springs area also.
The Chinese are discussing only the issues of boundary dispute which have emerged post-May 2020 and have refused to hold talks on legacy issues.
The Indian Air Force has upgraded its detection. capabilities along the China border in the Ladakh sector also but it has to further strengthen its network and coverage to keep a close eye on the PLAAF activities near the Indian territory. (Agencies)

Murali Sreeshankar of India won silver in the men’s long jump competition at the Commonwealth Games on Thursday at the Alexander Stadium in Glasgow.

This is India’s second athletics medal at Birmingham 2022, following Tejaswin Shankar’s bronze in the high jump on Wednesday.

This medal brings India’s total medal count at the Commonwealth Games to 19 (five gold, seven silver, and seven silver).

Sreeshankar leapfrogged from seventh to second place with a superb jump on his fifth attempt of 8.08 metres.

The athlete from Palakkad, Kerala, tied for first place at 8.08 metres, but Laquan Nairn of Bahamas won the gold medal with a better second jump of 7.94 metres, compared to 7.84 metres by Sreeshankar, who had a very disappointing performance at the Tokyo Olympics. Jovan van Vuuren of South Africa took bronze with a best effort of 8.06 metres.

This is India’s first silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in men’s long jump, and its second medal in this discipline after Suresh Babu won bronze in Edmonton, Canada in 1978.

Anju Bobby George, who won the women’s long jump bronze medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, was the last Indian to do so.

The other Indian in the men’s long jump final, Muhammad Anees Yahiya, finished fifth with a best effort of 7.97 metres.

Mumbai, Aug 5: The Reserve Bank on Friday raised the key interest rate by 50 basis points, the third straight increase since May in an effort to cool stubbornly high inflation and defend the rupee.
The repurchase rate was raised by 50 basis points to lift the interest rate to the pre-pandemic level. The 5.40 per cent repo rate was last seen in August 2019.
Announcing the rate hike, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das did not offer any indication of a change in the stance or a possible pause in the next policy due in late September.
The Reserve Bank of India’s six-member rate-setting panel voted unanimously on the rate hike decision while sticking to its resolve to withdraw the accommodative stance.
It, however, retained GDP growth projection at 7.2 per cent for the current fiscal ending March 31, 2023, and kept the inflation outlook for the year unchanged at 6.7 per cent.
“Inflationary pressures are broad-based and core inflation remains elevated. Inflation is projected to remain above the upper tolerance level of 6 per cent through the first three quarters of 2022-23, entailing the risk of destablishing inflation expectations and triggering second-round effects,” he said.
The RBI targets inflation at 2-6 per cent.
June was the sixth consecutive month when headline CPI inflation remained at or above the upper tolerance level of 6 per cent.
Stating that there has been some let-up in global commodity prices, particularly in prices of industrial metals, and some softening in global food prices, the governor said domestic edible oil prices are expected to soften further on the back of improving supplies from key producing countries.

Further, the advance of the southwest monsoon is by and large on track and kharif sowing has picked up in the recent weeks.
“The shortfall in kharif sowing of paddy, however, needs to be watched closely, although buffer stocks are quite large. Household inflation expectations have eased but they still remain elevated,” he said.
The central bank surprised markets with a 40 bps hike at an unscheduled meeting in May, followed by a 50 bps increase in June, but prices have shown little sign of cooling off yet.
The latest increase mirrors the US Federal Reserve-led global tightening of interest rates to rein in spiraling prices, caused by supply snarls and energy price shocks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The MPC believes “calibrated withdrawal of monetary policy accommodation is warranted to keep inflation expectations anchored and contain the second round effects,” Das said.
On the rupee depreciating against the US dollar, he said at a 4.7 per cent decline, the rupee fared much better than several reserve currencies as well as many of its EME and Asian peers.
“The depreciation of the Indian rupee is more on account of the appreciation of the US dollar rather than weakness in macroeconomic fundamentals of the Indian economy. Market interventions by the RBI have helped in containing volatility and ensuring the orderly movement of the rupee,” he said.
He said the RBI will remain watchful and maintain the stability of the rupee.
The Indian economy has been impacted by the global economic situation and is grappling with the problem of high inflation.
“Nevertheless, with strong and resilient fundamentals, India is expected to be amongst the fastest growing economies during 2022-23 according to the IMF, with signs of inflation moderating over the course of the year,” he said.
The financial sector is well capitalised and sound while the foreign exchange reserves – supplemented by net forward assets – provide insurance against global spillovers. “Our umbrella remains strong,” he said. (Agencies)

The Delhi Police have imposed Section 144 of the CrPC in the New Delhi district except Jantar Mantar, ahead of the Congress party’s call for nationwide protests against inflation and unemployment.

In the wake of a protest call given by the Congress party, the Delhi Traffic Police on Friday issued an advisory asking commuters to avoid certain roads especially of New Delhi area.

As per the advisory issued, commuters should expect heavy congestion on Sardar Patel Marg, Shanti Path, Panchsheel Marg, Tughlaq Road, APJ Abdul Kalam road, Prithvi Raj Road, Shahjahan Road, Zakir Hussain Marg, Maulana Azad Road, Rafi Marg, Janpath Road, Ashoka Road, Rajendra Prasad Road, Mother Teresa Crescent Marg, Baba Kharag Singh Marg and Mathura Road.

It also stated that traffic movement will be hardly possible on Kamal Attatuk marg, Kauttilya Marg, Teen Murti Marg, Raja ji Marg, Akbar Road, Safdarjung Road.

Even though the Delhi Police has denied the permisiion to hold the protest, the Congress party leaders has decided to go ahead and stage a pan-India protest today.

All the party general secretaries, state in-charges and state presidents have been given directions to stage the protest at all levels in their respective states. They were also told to ensure that the office-bearers of the party connect with the public for the nationwide agitation.

They have planned to hold a demonstration outside the residences of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu.

Due to special traffic arrangements, movement of buses will be restricted beyond Dhaula Kuan, Ridge Road, Shankar Road, Panchkuian Road, Chelmsford Road, Minto Road, Mathura Road, W-Point, Lodhi Road, Aurobindo Marg, Africa Road and Moti Bagh red light.

Meanwhile, there is heavy presence of police personnel outside the Congress headquarters at 24, Akbar Road.

NEW DELHI, Aug 5: More than 78 per cent of total Rs 446.72 crore released during 2016-2019 for ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme was spent only on media advocacy, a Parliamentary Panel has said, suggesting that the Government should reconsider spending on advertisements.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee said the Government should instead focus on planned expenditure allocation for sectoral interventions in education and health under the Government’s flagship scheme.
The Sixth Report of the Committee on Empowerment of Women (2021-22) on the action taken on the subject “Empowerment of Women through Education with Special Reference to ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ (BBBP) Scheme”, was presented in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
The panel said over the last six years, through focused advocacy BBBP has been able to capture the attention of political leadership and national consciousness towards valuing the girl child.
“Now, it is time to focus on other verticals by making ample financial provisions to help achieve measurable outcomes related to education and health envisaged under the scheme,” it said.
Calling it one of the most important schemes of the Government to improve child sex ratio in backward regions and ensure education of the girl child, the committee recommended that the Government should, hereafter, reconsider spending on advertisements under the scheme and focus on planned expenditure allocation for sectoral interventions in education and health.

The committee said according to the scheme’s guidelines, regular or quarterly meetings are to be conducted to review the progress at the district level.
Regular process of documentation of all activities conducted at the district/block and gram panchayat level is required to be undertaken through regular reports and photographic documentation at the district level, it said.
“However, the committee finds that there is a lapse in undertaking required number of task force meetings and collecting monthly reports or statement of expenditure from districts on time. Such examples of non-compliance of the guidelines are clear indicators that the scheme is not being reviewed or monitored properly,” the committee said.
The panel noted that regular audits and real-time updating of activities are necessary to ensure compliance.
“The committee also finds that records of the activities held for information, education and communication at the state/district level with the national task force authorities are not maintained,” it said.
The panel recommended that being the nodal ministry of the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ scheme, the Ministry of Women and Child Development must ensure that review meetings of national, state and district task forces are conducted as per the scheme’s guidelines.
In order to achieve better oversight, the committee said the Ministry should develop without further delay the online management information system portal for monitoring and supervision at state, district, block and village level and to make available the data in the web portal for transparency and real-time monitoring.
“Social audit of BBBP should compulsorily be got done either by the civil society group or third party/expert at the district level and the outcome may be communicated to this committee,” it said. (AGENCIES)