1. PM Modi’s Participate G7: deliberate on AI, Ukraine war, India to host Quad summit in 2024
2. PM Modi lands Papua New Guinea
3. RBI withdraws Rs 2000 notes from circulation, asks all to exchange or deposit by Sept 30
4. India: Congress’s Siddaramaiah takes oath as Karnataka’s new CM, Shivakumar his deputy
5. Centre passes ordinance to nullify Supreme Court’s decision favoring Delhi govt

What Else

6. Tibet Matters March a wake-up call for India and world, says TYC president Gonpo Dhundup
7. Infiltration bid foiled along LoC in J&K’s Poonch, one terrorist killed
8. G20 working group meeting in Srinagar draws excellent response from all member nations
9. ‘Gross interference’: China summons Japanese envoy over G7 communique
10. Imran Khan claims plan afoot to ban PTI amid crackdown on May 9 rioters
11. 2 soldiers martyred, 3 terrorists killed in Tank IBO: ISPR

PM Modi’s Participate G7: deliberate on AI, Ukraine war, India to host Quad summit in 2024

• Quad leaders pledge to uphold peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region
• PM Modi on Sat highlighted the importance of the Quad while addressing concerns over Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.
• “With united efforts, we are giving practical dimension to our vision for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific,” he said.
• “We will be happy to host the Quad summit in India in 2024,” PM Modi said in the opening remarks of the Quad meeting held on the sidelines of a G7. (here)
• “India is fully prepared and committed to protecting its sovereignty and dignity, Peace and tranquility in the border areas are essential for normal bilateral ties with China”: he said ahead of the G7 summit in Hiroshima
• PM Modi unveils bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Japan’s Hiroshima, says it will take forward the idea of non-violence (here)
• PM Modi on Sat met Ukrainian President Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Japan’s Hiroshima, for the 1^st time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• “….. But for me, it’s not a matter of politics or economy, but of humanity and human values,” PM Modi said during the meeting.
• PM Modi and his Japanese PM Kishida on Sat held talks focusing on boosting cooperation in areas of green hydrogen, high tech, semiconductors, etc. (here)
• PM on Sat held a bilateral meeting with French President Macron and discussed a broad range of issues including built-up in the defense, and civil nuclear cooperation. (here)
• PM Modi reviewed bilateral strategic ties with his British PM Rishi Sunak on Sun (here)
• PM Modi held bilateral talks with Brazilian President Lula da Silva on Sun on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
• On Sat, PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and UN Secy-Gen (here)
• The Russian and Chinese sides did not take lightly: Moscow was the 1^st to react saying decisions at the G7 meet were aimed at the “double containment of Russia and China”.
• Meanwhile, Beijing said G7’s “approach has no international credibility whatsoever“. […..Nor they are bound by any international laws]
• G7 agreed to tighten sanctions against Moscow and also urged China, Moscow’s partner to press Putin to halt his military aggression and withdraw troops. (here)

PM Modi lands Papua New Guinea

• PM Modi holds talks with Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape and underlines the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific at the FIPIC Summit.
• India announces a 12-step action plan to strengthen ties with the Pacific, including setting up of 100-bed hospital in Fiji, a Jaipur foot camp in Papua New Guinea, sea ambulances, and dialysis units.
• Millets form a key part of lunch hosted by Indian PM Modi to the Pacific leaders at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

RBI withdraws Rs 2000 notes from circulation, asks all to exchange or deposit by Sept 30

• India’s Central Bank RBI on Fri announced the withdrawal of its highest-value currency note, Rs 2,000, from circulation, but the notes will continue to be legal tender.
• It said the existing Rs 2,000 notes can be deposited or exchanged in banks until Sept 30 but set a limit of “Rs 20,000 at a time”.
• The Rs 2,000 notes were introduced during demonetization in Nov 2016, after withdrawing Rs 500 and 1000 values notes.
• Asked if the Finance Ministry had been consulted, the official said, “Such a decision would not be made by the RBI alone.”
• About 89% of the Rs 2,000 notes were issued before Mar 2017 and are at the end of their estimated life span of 4-5 years. (here)

India: Congress’s Siddaramaiah takes oath as Karnataka’s new CM, Shivakumar his deputy

• Veteran Congress leader Siddaramaiah and KPCC president D K Shivakumar were sworn in as Karnataka’s new Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister on Sat.
• 8 elected members of Congress have been sworn in as Ministers in the Cabinet.
• Besides Congress leaders, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Sharad Pawar (NCP), and Farooq Abdullah (NC), attended the swearing-in ceremony.
• Siddaramaiah, 75, is a backward-class politician with over 5 decades of experience and is regarded as one of the state’s 3 remaining mass leaders
• KPCC president DK Shivakumar, who is from the Vokkaliga group, is regarded as the architect of the triumph in Karnataka.
• Congress’s victory: After a 10-year absence, the Congress returned to power in Karnataka on its strength on May 13, with victories or leads in 137 of 224 seats.
• A swing of 2-5% points is enough for the Congress to prevail over the BJP. (here)

Centre passes ordinance to nullify Supreme Court’s decision favoring Delhi govt

• President Promulgated the Govt of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023 on Fri
• In a bid to nullify the SC’s decision to hand over the reins of ‘Services’ (the power to transfer bureaucrats posted to Delhi), and give more teeth to the Lt Governor.
• The Ordinance creates a statutory authority -NCCSA – which will be headed by the CM, Delhi in addition to the Chief Secy and the Principal Secy, the federal Home Deptt.
• Notably, all matters required to be decided by the body shall be decided by “majority of votes of the members present and voting.”
• This means, that in effect, the decision of the elected chief minister of Delhi can be overruled by the two senior bureaucrats. (here)

Tibet Matters March a wake-up call for India and world, says TYC president Gonpo Dhundup

• The month-long Tibet Matters March, organized by the Tibetan Youth Congress that began on Apr 29 is close to its culmination on May 23.
• The march may end next week but the struggle of Tibetans against China’s decades-long oppression doesn’t end here.
• However, this march will start an even stronger campaign against China that will help in echoing the Tibet issue.
• The President of the TYC, Gonpo Dhundup is leading the march undeterred even amid the heavy rainfall, with 80 volunteers from the regional chapters in India and Nepal.
• On Apr 29 in 1998, the Struggle attained a major landmark when P Thupten Ngodup self-immolated to protest against the lack of international attention. (here)

Infiltration bid foiled along LoC in J&K’s Poonch, one terrorist killed

• Ahead of the G20 from May 22, security forces on Sat foiled an intrusion and shot dead a terrorist along the LoC in Mendhar and recovered explosives and drugs.
• According to officials, the unidentified terrorist was trying to infiltrate Indian territory when troops noticed him along the border.
• Meanwhile, National Investigation Agency on Sat conducted raids at 15 locations in 7 districts in J&K in a crackdown on terror operatives. (here)
• J-K terror conspiracy case: NIA arrests JeM operative from in Kashmir: An operative of the Pakistan-based JeM terror outfit, who was allegedly passing secret information about the movement of security forces in J&K, has been arrested, on Sun.
• Various incriminating documents showing his involvement in the furtherance of terror activities were recovered from his possession at the time of his arrest.
• IEDs and explosives are often delivered from across the border using drones and are also being assembled locally to execute terrorist attacks. (here)

G20 working group meeting in Srinagar draws excellent response from all member nations

• The picturesque Kashmir in India’s north is hosting its first-ever G20 meeting in the run-up to the Group of 20 nations’ summit later this year in New Delhi.
• All the arrangements have been made by the Jammu and Kashmir administration about the event as well as the security of the venue in Srinagar.
• Tourism Secretary said that this meeting draws excellent responses from all the member countries, all the invited countries, and the international organizations. (here)
• China and Turkey are not participating.
• Pakistan FM Bilawal Bhutto Zardari arrived in PoK on Sun to reaffirm Pakistan’s continuing & unstinted diplomatic, political & moral support to the people of Kashmir in their just struggle for self-determination.

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

‘Gross interference’: China summons Japanese envoy over G7 communique

• China and Russia already registered their strong protest against the G7 communique which rebuked both nations over issues ranging from human rights violations, marine militarisation and war in Ukraine.
• However, it seems Beijing wants to take it a notch up and make it a case in point.
• China Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong summoned the Japanese ambassador over the G7 joint statement, a ministry statement said Sun.
• Chinese minister Sun said Japan along with the other G7 leaders built “hype around China-related issues” at the G7 summit over the weekend.”
• Sun said the joint declaration “smear and attack China, grossly interfering in China’s internal affairs, violating the basic principles of international law and the spirit of the 4 political documents between China and Japan.” (here)

Imran Khan claims plan afoot to ban PTI amid crackdown on May 9 rioters

• Given the govt’s move to try May 9 rioters in military and anti-terrorism courts, PTI Chief Imran Khan on Sun accused efforts were being made to “impose a ban” on PTI.
• “In order to keep me out [of politics], the entire democratic system is being dismantled,” said the former PM — who was ousted from office via a vote o no-confidence.
• Also, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on May 13 said that there was no other option but to impose a ban on the PTI following 3-day-long violent protests. (here)
• Def Min Khawaja Asif on Sun said that the attack on GHQ— motivated by Imran Khan’s arrest — was included in India’s anti-Pakistan objectives. (here)

• Leaked audio reveals PTI chief’s Zoom meeting with US Congresswoman Waters: In a surprising turn of events, an audio clip allegedly capturing a Zoom meeting between Imran Khan and US Congresswoman Maxine Moore Waters has surfaced on social media, causing a stir among political circles.
• Notwithstanding its public posturing against the US, the PTI has been making behind-the-scene efforts to repair ties with Washington as the former ruling party has abandoned the anti-US narrative it adopted following Khan’s ouster from power through a no-trust vote in parliament last year. (here)

2 soldiers martyred, 3 terrorists killed in Tank IBO: ISPR

• 2 soldiers embraced martyrdom and three terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation in Tank, KP, the army’s media wing, ISPR said in the wee hours of Sun.
• ISPR- the killed terrorists remained actively involved in “numerous terrorist activities against security forces as well as innocent citizens”.
• “Sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area,” the ISPR said.
• A day earlier, a terrorist was killed and 3 soldiers were martyred when security forces retaliated to an attack on one of their posts in the Zarghoon area of Balochistan. (here)

• According to a report issued by the Pakistan HRC, 533 people were killed and 832 injured in 376 incidents of terrorism in 2022.
• 2022 was also very painful in terms of natural disasters, floods affected more than 33 million people, 1730 people died, 12, 867 were injured, 82% of standing crops and 17% of livestock were lost. (Jasarat)