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The Hindu June 25, 2020 In its first global report on the illegal wildlife trade, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has described it as a “global threat”, which also has links with other organised crimes like modern slavery, drug trafficking and arms trade. The illegal trade is estimated to generate revenues of up to $23 billion a year. The report says financial probe is key to dismantling the syndicates involved, which can in turn significantly impact the associated criminal activities. ‘Easy to blame China; but India’s wildlife trade is thriving too’ Findings of the study, which expressed concern over the lack of focus on the financial aspects of the crime, are based on inputs from about 50 jurisdictions across the FATF global network, as well as expertise from the private sector and civil society. Complex fraud and tax evasion The “Money Laundering and the Illegal Wildlife Trade” report said “criminals are frequently misusing the legitimate wildlif...

The Indian Express June 26, 2020 IN WHAT may bring borrowers a huge relief, the government is in active discussion with the Reserve Bank of India to offer a one-time loan restructuring plan to companies for them to survive the adverse impact of Covid-19 pandemic, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Thursday. She also stressed on the need for banks to pass on the benefits of repo rate cuts by reducing interest rate aggressively, and indicated that the benefit of emergency credit line guarantee scheme (ECLGS) would be extended to individual borrowers such as truck owners. “In these pandemic times, it has actually caused a lot of pain and stress. We are talking to Reserve Bank to see if a one-time restructuring can be offered so that everyone comes out a bit more honourably (out) of this (crisis),” she said in a video conference interaction with senior members of Chennai International Centre. Banks argue that the RBI needs to give operational flexibility to banks for ...

Hindustan Times Jun 25, 2020 The June 15 clashes between India and China have finally broken the four-decade record of relative peace on the Himalayan frontier. Reactions have been sharp, ranging from calls to evict the Chinese from their entrenched positions to others calling for a Cold War. The debate over China’s rise has been raging for the past two decades, if not since 1950, when the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) swept into Tibet. India-China relations have seen it all — from engagement to a dramatic collapse in 1959, a brief-but-traumatic war in 1962, a hiatus of no- war, no-peace in the decades that followed. And, finally a diplomatic breakthrough with the 1988 modus vivendi that paved the way for India and China to build a relationship without settling the border dispute. The core premise was that the stable development of relations is predicated on a peaceful periphery. It reflected pragmatism and broader shifts in Chinese and Indian priorities in favour of econo...

The Indian Express June 29, 2020 In April, rivals Google and Apple made an unprecedented move of joining hands to help governments in tracing contacts of Covid-19-positive people. On Sunday, the “COVID-19 exposure notifications” feature appeared on Android and Apple phones everywhere. But that means very little for those living in India. Apple-Google contact tracing app: Does it not work in India? As of now, it does not. The feature will only work in a phone that has downloaded an application that it works with. “What we have built is not an app — rather public health agencies will incorporate the API into their own apple that people install,” the companies said in a release. In other words, the software links up to the government’s own contact tracing applications through an API, or application programming interface. An API is a highway that allows two programs to speak to each other, and it is different from a single application installed in your phone. India’s ...

The Hindu Business Line June 29, 2020  The latest ‘All India Crop Situation’ report of the Agriculture Ministry shows a massive increase in planted acreage for various kharif season crops as of June 26, compared with the same time last year; but it may not be time to celebrate yet. Crops such as cotton, oilseeds, maize and pulses have shown a remarkable increase in planted area for this time of the year, as can be seen from the adjoining data. If one went by the previous three years’ planting data, the current year’s numbers appear exceptional and, in some sense, too good to be true. To be sure, we have had a combination of fortuitous circumstances, including the India Meteorological Department’s forecast of a normal south-west monsoon, timely onset of monsoon over Kerala and its rapid progress so as to cover the whole country two weeks ahead of normal time. Additionally, the reservoir position has been satisfactory. It is possible, due to reverse migration foll...

The Hindu Business Line June 25, 2020  Tensions with China are forcing India to relook its trade policy. The US, on the other hand, has dealt a major blow with its visa ban These are dystopian times brought about by three heavyweights of the global order. The US, India, and China are currently mired in a health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. And, they are also locked in a triangular clash, either militarily or on the trade front. Despite the repeated bearhugs between the three leaders — Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Donald Trump, and President Xi Jinping — tensions have escalated with limited prospects of resolution. After the June 15 Galwan Valley setback inflicted by China, the Narendra Modi government is now toying with various options to hit back against the Middle Kingdom. While the military preparations could take time, it reckons Beijing could be punished immediately on the trade front. The government’s e-commerce platform, for example, m...

The Indian Express June 29, 2020 IMF’s Chief Economist Gita Gopinath said, “We are projecting a sharp contraction in 2020 of – 4.5 per cent… a historic low”. However, the IMF expects a sharp recovery of 6% in the very next year. Later in the week, S&P Global Ratings released a report that stated that “India’s economy is in deep trouble”. But it, too, stated that the economy will rebound sharply in 2021-22. Many (especially in the government) have suggested that the recovery has already started. The horticultural metaphor — “green shoots” — made a comeback in the national economic discourse. In fact, according to the latest quarterly review of the economy by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), it is even possible, under some ambitious assumptions, for India to achieve a positive GDP growth rate —1.3% — in the current financial year. The GDP or Gross Domestic Product, as you know, is nothing but the market value of all goods and services...

Arab News 28 June 2020 India is seeking the extradition of a top Pakistan militant suspected to have planned the 2008 Mumbai attacks after the United States said last week he was living freely in Pakistan, government officials said on Sunday. India and the United States have both indicted Sajid Mir of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group for the three-day attacks on hotels, a train station and a Jewish center in which 166 people were killed including six Americans. While Pakistan took action against the Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed last year, it continued to provide safe harbor to other top militant leaders, the US State Department’s 2019 country report on terrorism said. One of them was Sajid, the “project manager” of the Mumbai attack, believed to remain free in Pakistan, the US report said. An Indian official said the government has repeatedly asked Pakistan to hand over Sajid who is charged with serving as chief planner of the attacks, directing preparations and ...

The Hindu June 28, 2020 Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli of Nepal on Sunday said meetings are being organised in India to topple his government. Addressing a gathering at his official residence to mark the 69th birth anniversary of the late communist leader Madan Bhandari, Mr. Oli said his government enjoys parliamentary majority and the ouster plans will fail. “There is news coming from Delhi about this. Look at the meetings being organised in India against Nepal’s decision to amend the Constitution to place the revised map of the country in the national emblem,” said Prime Minister Oli, pointing at the alleged plot to overthrow his government. The lower house of Nepal’s parliament unanimously passed the Second Constitution Amendment on June 13, which gave constitutional status to the new map of the country including the disputed Limpiyadhura-Kalapani-Lipulekh region that is in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The bill was signed by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari o...

FirstPost June 26, 2020 Support for year-long pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong has slipped, now getting the backing of a slim majority, as the city braces for the imposition of Beijing-drafted national security legislation, a survey conducted for Reuters showed. Protests escalated last June over a since-withdrawn bill that would have allowed extraditions of defendants to mainland China. They later morphed into a push for greater democracy, often involving violent clashes with the police. Support for Hong Kongs prodemocracy protests dips but 49 strongly oppose Chinas national security law finds survey The protests have resumed, but with far fewer participants, since China announced plans for the security law, which has alarmed foreign governments and democracy activists in Hong Kong. The survey conducted by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute between June 15-18 showed the legislation is opposed by a majority in the financial centre. Support for...

FirstPost June 27, 2020  The deaths of P Jayaraj and his son Fenix, allegedly in police custody in Madras's Tuticorin, have caused massive outrage across the country. Jayaraj and Fenix died at a Kovilpatti hospital on 23 June after being arrested for allegedly extending business hours of their cellphone shop in violation of lockdown norms. Their relatives have accused police of severely thrashing the father and son at Sathankulam Police Station. It is a tragedy that this occurred, allegedly at the hands of those meant to uphold law and order. While it is important to note that an official report affixing responsibility is yet to be released, this is hardly an isolated instance of police brutality. Indeed, the history of policing in India is closely intertwined with oppressive colonialism. The first formal system of policing was established in the mid 19th Century via the Indian Councils Act of 1861. The establishment of such a control structure was ...