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India inflicted heavy casualties on Chinese troops in Galwan clash, says Rajnath in Parliament
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday acknowledged that the ongoing stand-off with China in Ladakh was different from those in the past and asserted that Indian troops had inflicted heavy casualties on the Chinese in the Galwan valley clash of June 15 that had left 20 Indian personnel dead. "As of now, the Chinese side has mobilised a large number of troops and armaments along the LAC as well as in the depth areas. There are several friction areas in Eastern Ladakh, including Gogra, Kongka La and North and South Banks of the Pangong lake. In response to China's actions, our armed forces have also made appropriate counter deployments in these areas to ensure that India's security interests are fully protected," Singh told the Lok Sabha. The amassing of troops by China went against the 1993 and 1996 agreements. Respecting and strictly observing the LAC was the basis of peace and tranquility in the border areas and that was explicitly recognised in the agreements, he said. "While our armed forces abide scrupulously by it, this has not been reciprocated by the Chinese side." The Chinese actions on June 15 at Galwan and the attempts to alter the status quo of the south bank of the lake on August 29 and 30 "reflect a disregard of our various bilateral agreements," he said. SC stays Sudarshan TV show broadcast The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the broadcast of 'Bindas Bol', a show aired by Sudarshan news channel, till further orders. It observed that the object of the programme, prima facie, was to vilify the Muslim community and accuse it of surreptitiously trying to infiltrate the civil services. "Episodes broadcast till now show the nature and objective of the programme. Pending further orders of the court, Sudarshan News stands injuncted from making any more broadcasts on this subject on any other name too," a three-judge Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud ordered. The court further said that it was "insidious" to use the freedom of press to make "rabid" allegations and mount an attack on a religious minority community. The court was hearing a plea alleging that the show makes communal remarks about the entry of members of the Muslim community into the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission). Nothing that the anchor used the phrase "UPSC jihad," the court said, "The edifice of a stable democratic society and observance of constitutional rights and duties is based on the co-existence of communities... India is a melting pot of civilisations, cultures and values... Any attempt to vilify a community must be viewed with disfavour." The court noted that it was duty-bound to ensure adherence to the Programme Code framed under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995. Justice Chandrachud said, "As the Supreme Court of the nation, we cannot allow you to say that Muslims are infiltrating civil services". Referring to the content of the programme, the court said it would not tolerate if the channel tried to portray that students of Jamia Millia were a part of a group trying to infiltrate the civil services. "How rabid can it get? Targeting a community for appearing in the civil services exam? Such insidious charges put a question mark on the UPSC exams itself. Can such programmes be allowed in a free society?" the court asked. Senior advocate Anoop Chaudhari, for petitioner Firoz Iqbal Khan, said the show was "blatantly communal" and had become a "focal point" of hate speech. It was a nine-part show and only the first few parts were over. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the channel, said he was instructed that it was an investigative story done keeping in mind public interest and national security. He agreed to file a detailed reply by September 17, the next date of hearing. Opposition to move resolution against agriculture ordinances  A scene in the Lok Sabha during the monsoon session. File Opposition members in the Lok Sabha plan to move, on Wednesday, a resolution against two agricultural marketing reform ordinances promulgated during the lockdown, following which Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will move that both the Bills replacing those ordinances be passed. MPs from the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Shiv Sena, the Revolutionary Socialist Party and both Communist parties will move a resolution that the House disapproves of the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020, promulgated by the President on June 5. The government says the legislation will promote transparent and barrier-free trade, with more choices and remunerative price realisation for farmers. The Opposition MPs will also move a resolution against the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020 which is being replaced by the Bill of the same name. The legislation seeks to facilitate contract farming agreements between primary producers and agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers. Facebook India MD doesn't appear before Delhi Assembly panel  AAP national spokesperson Raghav Chadha. Facebook India's Vice-President and Managing Director Ajit Mohan did not appear before the Delhi Assembly Committee on Peace and Harmony on Tuesday. The committee, which is looking into Facebook's alleged role in the Delhi riots in February, had summoned him via a notice. Committee chairman Raghav Chadha said on Tuesday that Facebook India officials had "objected" to the notice sent by the committee. "Refusing to appear before the committee is contempt of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. Your refusal to appear before the committee is an attempt to conceal crucial facts in relation to Facebook's role in the February 2020 Delhi communal violence. This shows that Facebook has something to hide. This shows that Facebook is running away from this committee and allegations on Facebook's role in Delhi riots may not be completely baseless," Chadha said. The committee is looking into alleged "deliberate and intentional" inaction by Facebook to contain "hateful content". On August 31, the committee had said that prima facie it seemed that Facebook had a role in the Delhi riots and it should be treated as a co-accused. Last week, the committee had sent a notice summoning Mohan to appear before the committee on Tuesday. NCB makes more arrests in Sushant Singh Rajput case The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested two more persons in connection with the drug procurement angle in the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, an official said on Tuesday. The probe agency earlier took into custody 16 people, including Rajput's girlfriend and actor Rhea Chakraborty, in connection with the case.On Monday, the NCB arrested Suryadeep Malhotra, a school friend of Rhea Chakraborty's brother Showik Chakraborty, from Mumbai. One Chris Costa was also detained by the NCB in Goa on Saturday. He was subsequently brought to Mumbai and arrested after questioning, the official said. In all, so far 18 people have been arrested by the NCB, which is probing the drug angle in the case of Rajput's death. Youtube tests a new rival to Tik Tok in India  YouTube tests TikTok rival in India. YouTube on Monday began testing a TikTok rival in India, saying it would refine its short video format and roll it out in more countries in the coming months. YouTube Shorts made its debut as TikTok pursues a partnership with Oracle that it hopes will save it from being shut-down in the U.S. by President Donald Trump. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday confirmed a bid from Oracle concerning TikTok's American operations, after the video-sharing app's parent, ByteDance, rejected a proposal from Microsoft. It however remains unclear whether the venture would pass muster with Washington regulators. "Shorts is a new short-form video experience for creators and artists who want to shoot short, catchy videos using nothing but their mobile phones," YouTube vice president of product management Chris Jaffe said in a blog. "Over the next few days in India, we're launching an early beta of Shorts with a handful of new creation tools to test this out." YouTube Shorts videos are limited to 15 seconds, according to the Google-owned platform used by some 2 billion people worldwide. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 5009036 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 82,150. The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said that the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package insurance scheme for health workers fighting Covid-19 has now been extended for another 180 days. The scheme was announced on March 30 for 90 days and was extended for 90 days, up to September 25. The Central sector scheme provides an insurance cover of ₹50 lakh to healthcare providers who may have to be in direct contact with Covid-19 patients and are thus at risk of being infected. Toyota won't expand in India, says message they're getting is 'we don't want you' Toyota Motor Corp. won't expand further in India due to the country's high tax regime, according to reporting from Bloomberg, which quotes Shekar Viswanathan, vice chairman of Toyota's local unit, Toyota Kirloskar Motor. The government keeps taxes on cars and motorbikes so high that companies find it hard to build scale. The high levies also put owning a car out of reach of many consumers, which means factories lie idle and jobs aren't created, he says. "The message we are getting, after we have come here and invested money, is that we don't want you," Viswanathan said in an interview. In the absence of any reforms, "we won't exit India, but we won't scale up." The news comes as a blow for the Narendra Modi government, which has been trying to lure foreign investment to India with promises of a 'business friendly' environment. Scientists detect possible signs of alien life in Venus's clouds  Data from NASA's Magellan spacecraft and Pioneer Venus Orbiter is used in an undated composite image of the planet Venus. Scientists on Monday said they have detected, in the harshly acidic clouds of Venus, a gas called phosphine, which indicates that there might be microbes living in Earth' s inhospitable neighbor. The researchers did not discover actual life forms, but noted that on Earth, phosphine is produced by bacteria thriving in oxygen-starved environments. The international scientific team first spotted the phosphine using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii and confirmed it using a radio telescope in Chile. "I was very surprised, stunned, in fact," said astronomer Jane Greaves of CardiffUniversity in Wales, lead author of the research published in the journal Nature Astronomy. The existence of extraterrestrial life has long been a central question in science. Researchers have used probes and telescopes to seek "biosignatures" -- indirect signs of life -- on other planets and moons in our solar system and beyond. "With what we currently know of Venus, the most plausible explanation for phosphine, as fantastical as it might sound, is life," said Massachusetts Institute of Technology molecular astrophysicist and study co-author Clara Sousa-Silva. In Brief: The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which was passed by the Lok Sabha on March 17, was today passed by the Rajya Sabha by voice vote. The legislation gives statutory powers to three aviation regulators – the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau -- and enhances the fine for violations from ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore in a bid to improve aircraft safety. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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