| 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 amassing troops since early May, breaking norms: MEA
In a sharp departure from its earlier stance, the Centre today said that the conduct of the Chinese forces has been in complete disregard of all mutually agreed norms, China has been amassing troops at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since early May, in violation of all norms for troop movement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. In effectively holding Beijing responsible for the heightened tensions in eastern Ladakh, the statement marks a departure from earlier government statements, which had maintained that the tensions were a routine affair, caused by "differing perceptions" of the LAC. MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that in early May, China took action to hinder India's "normal, traditional" patrolling patterns in the Galwan Valley area, while seeking to change the status quo in other areas of the Western Sector. Observing that China's actions were not in accordance with the provisions of various bilateral agreements, especially the key 1993 Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the border, he said, "Obviously, the Indian side had to undertake counter deployments and the resulting tension has thereafter expressed itself." 'Consensus on disengagement yet to be implemented' On the ground, the situation continues to remain uncertain. The consensus on disengagement reached by the Corps Commanders on June 22 is yet to be implemented, a defence source told The Hindu. Satellite images and reports, meanwhile, indicate a massive build-up and construction activity by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh, in Galwan valley as well as in Depsang plains. "It is wait-and-watch, and not ending in a hurry. Optimism of ongoing engagement has to viewed with due caution," a defence source said. At the Corps Commander level talks, the two sides agreed on the modalities for disengagement from "all the friction areas" in Eastern Ladakh. Officials said this would be done in a phased manner, though the timeline for this process remains unclear. Congress calls for a virtual Parliament session The Congress on Thursday said satellite imagery clearly showed China making "grave and new" provocations by building fresh structures in the Galwan Valley and the Pangong Lake area, and asked the government to spell out its plans to deal with the situation. The party demanded a virtual session of Parliament to discuss important issues, especially the border stand-off with China. It said India's armed forces could give a befitting reply to China but "the Modi government lacked strong political will". CBSE, ICSE, cancel pending exams In other big news, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Union government informed the Supreme Court that the Board examinations for Class X and XII will be cancelled in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. The examinations were scheduled to be held between July 1 and 15. The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) also agreed with the government's decision to cancel remaining exams.  Students may face the risk of infection during exams, some parents have said. Class XII students can opt for the assessment scheme to be notified by the CBSE shortly, or they can opt to appear in exams when conditions become conducive, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court. Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu had conveyed their inability to conduct CBSE exams. CBSE will conduct exams when conditions become conducive, Mehta told the Bench. When asked who will decide if the conditions are conducive, he said the Central government will decide. Fair and Lovely says 'no fair' The Indian unit of Unilever said on Thursday it will drop the word "fair" from its "Fair & Lovely" range of products. Fair & Lovely cream, one of the most recognisable brands in the Indian FMCG sector, has long been synonymous with negative stereotypes of people with darker skin.  File picture of a pedestrian walking past the Hindustan Unilever Limited headquarters in Mumbai January 19, 2015. The move comes against amidst a social media backlash against cosmetics companies around the world in the context of the Black Lives Matter protests in America. "We are making our skin care portfolio more inclusive ... a more diverse portrayal of beauty," Hindustan Unilever Chairman Sanjiv Mehta said in a statement. Sources had told Reuters earlier that the company was considering such changes. Skin-lightening products have a huge market in South Asia. While several Bollywood celebrities have come out with social media messages in support of Black Lives Matter, many have also endorsed skin-lightening cosmetics. "We recognise that the use of the words 'fair', 'white' and 'light' suggest a singular ideal of beauty that we don't think is right, and we want to address this," Sunny Jain, Unilever's president of its beauty and personal care division said in a separate statement. Covid Watch: Numbers and developments The number of coronavirus cases in the country stood at 4,89,616 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 15,293. India registered its worst single-day increase in Covid-19 cases on June 25, recording close to 17,000 coronavirus infections, according to Union Health Ministry data. The number of people who have recovered is 2,84,761. The central government announced today that a special team led by Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry, will visit Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana between June 26 and 29 to coordinate with state officials and strengthen Covid-19 management efforts. Meanwhile, the Centre has withdrawn an order that had made it compulsory for every coronavirus patient in Delhi to visit government facilities for clinical assessment. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had requested the Centre to withdraw the directive. NPP returns to BJP-led coalition in Manipur Nine days after withdrawing support, the National People's Party (NPP) on June 25 confirmed its return to the BJP-led coalition government in Manipur. Two others among the nine MLAs, including three of the BJP, who had pulled out of the government on June 17, also left the Opposition Congress and rejoined the saffron party camp. Meghalaya Chief Minister and NPP national president Conrad Sangma confirmed the return of his party MLAs to the BJP fold soon after arriving in Imphal from New Delhi at around 1:30 pm. Both leaders, however, were not clear about the fate of Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren. ISRO welcomes private sector participation Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Sivan today said the private sector can now be part of inter-planetary missions. This follows yesterday's cabinet announcement on reforms promoting private sector participation in space.  ISRO Chairman K Sivan. "The private industry will also be offered opportunities to undertake R&D [research and development] activities and be a co-traveller in advanced inter-planetary missions," ISRO said in a statement. "The reforms in the space sector are aimed at enabling private enterprises and start-ups to undertake end-to-end space activities." In Brief: Sasikala Natarajan, president of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) and close aide of the late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa, is likely to be released from Parapana Agarahara Central Jail, Bengaluru, on August 14, 2020. The Congress changed its nominee at the last hour for the Bihar Legislative Council poll, as its leader Tariq Anwar's name was not found in the voters list. He was replaced with working president of the State unit Sameer Kumar Singh. The Congress hit back at Home Minister Amit Shah over his comments on the 45th anniversary of the Emergency and asked why the BJP-led Centre that runs a "majoritarian rule" is described as a "government of two people". Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the country's ruling party needs to answer "why is horse-trading, mass defections and institutions capture its only legacy". The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered Oil India Limited (OIL) to deposit ₹25 crore with the administration of eastern Assam's Tinsukia district for environmental damage caused by the fire in one of its wells. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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