1. India unstoppable now, country moving ahead with the speed parallel to Vande Bharat: PM
2. 25 Parties Expected to Attend Inauguration of New Parliament By PM Modi
3. Amit Shah to visit Manipur; says justice will be done with everyone, appeals for peace
4. Three Islamic countries attended India-hosted G20 meet in Jammu and Kashmir
5. EAM Jaishankar meets US envoy Garcetti, Nepal’s envoy Sharma to discuss ties

What Else

6. Science From India Returned Millennia Later As “Western Discoveries”: ISRO Chief
7. Centre Accords ‘Z-Plus’ Security To Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann
8. PM Modi To Chair NITI Aayog Governing Council Meet On Sat
9. Strong Performance Of Indian Banks To Continue: S&P Global Ratings
10. China’s Apple loss is India’s gain, as 2022 supplier list shows shift in supply chain preferences
11. India-US ties: US Defence Secretary to visit Delhi next week
12. Pakistan: Civilians’ trial by military illegal in peacetime: Imran
13. Former PM Imran Khan added to no-fly list: Pak Media
14. US nod sought for Iran gas pipeline to avoid $18bn penalty
15. Afghanistan Restarts Direct Flights to China After 3 Years
16. Ukraine war: China peace envoy told again that Beijing must push Moscow to end invasion

India unstoppable now, country moving ahead with the speed parallel to Vande Bharat: PM

• PM Modi on Thu said that India is being watched with great hope by the world and has made notable progress in firming the economy, battling poverty, and combatting Covid.
• The PM said that from all over the world people want to come to India to see India and understand its essence said the PM who virtually flagged off the Vande Bharat.
• The PM said that work on the Char Dham Grand Project with a cost of Rs 12,000 crore is going on at a fast pace.
• Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav thanking PM Modi said that this time arrangements up to Rs 5000 crores have been made for railways in Uttarakhand. (here)
• PM Modi took a veiled jibe at the Opposition boycotting the inauguration.
• Referring to the event in Australia, PM Modi said that not only the PM of Australia, Anthony Albanese, but also the country’s former PM and Opposition leaders were present together for the sake of their nation. (here)

25 Parties Expected to Attend Inauguration of New Parliament By PM Modi

• As many as 25 parties are expected to attend the inauguration of the new Parliament building by PM Modi on Sun even as 20 Opposition parties have decided to boycott.
• Apart from the 18 members of the ruling NDA, including the BJP, 7 non-NDA parties will attend the ceremony.
• The presence of these 7 parties, which together account for 50 MPs in the Lok Sabha, will be a major relief for the BJP-led NDA.
• Their participation will help the NDA blunt the Oppn’s charge that it is all a govt event.
• 7 parties include Shiv Sena, NPP, NDPP, SKM, JJP, AIDMK, IMKMK, AJSU, RPI, MNF, TMC, ITFT (Tripura), BPP, PMK, MGP, Apna Dal and AGP. (here)
• PIL filed in SC seeking inauguration by President Murmu: The PIL seeking direction from the apex court said Lok Sabha Secretariat violated the Constitution by not inviting the President for the inauguration. (here)

Amit Shah to visit Manipur; says justice will be done with everyone, appeals for peace

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thu appealed to people in Manipur to maintain peace and said he will visit the state after a few days and stay there for 3 days.
• He said justice will be done with everyone in the state.
• Manipur has seen ethnic violence with state CM N Biren Singh stating earlier this month that around 60 people have lost their lives.
• Houses have also been burnt during the violence with new incidents also reported from some parts of the state.
• The opposition has accused the BJP state govt having failed to maintain peace and order and said that thousands of people in the state have been rendered homeless.
• The SC had on May 17 directed the state govt to file a fresh status report on all the security, relief, and rehabilitation efforts made for the people affected by the violence.
• The govt said a total of 318 relief camps have been opened where more than 47,914 persons have been given relief, and 626 FIRs have been registered. (here)

Three Islamic countries attended India-hosted G20 meet in Jammu and Kashmir

• In a significant development for India’s diplomatic ties, 3 OIC countries — Indonesia, UAE, and Bangladesh — attended the G20 tourism meeting held in Srinagar.
• This gathering marked the first international meeting in the UT since the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two UTs in August 2019.
• Representing Bangladesh at the meeting was its High Commissioner Mustafizur Rahman, while the UAE sent two officials from its capital.
• The presence of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country and a member of the OIC as well as the G20, was particularly noteworthy. (here)

EAM Jaishankar meets US envoy Garcetti, Nepal’s envoy Sharma to discuss ties

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thu met the US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, and Nepal’s Ambassador to India, Shankar P Sharma
• He also discussed views on Quad.
• The makeshift version of the Quad meeting (which was earlier scheduled to take place in Sydney) happened in Japan’s Hiroshima recently.
• During the meeting, PM Modi, along with US President, Biden; PM of Japan, Kishida, and Australian PM Albanese shared a collective vision of a free, open Indo-Pacific.
• Furthermore, the EAM also met with Nepal’s Ambassador, Shankar P Sharma.
• India and Nepal have a profound and enduring bond rooted in deep socio-political, economic, cultural, and religious ties that have spanned centuries.
• This relationship showcases the strength and resilience of their interconnectedness, illustrating a remarkable synergy that transcends geographical proximity. (here)

Science From India Returned Millennia Later As “Western Discoveries”: ISRO Chief

• India was a knowledge society since Vedic times involving Maths, medicine, metaphysics, astronomy, etc written in Sanskrit, but all such learning came back to the country several thousand years later as “discoveries by Western scientists”, ISRO chairman S Somnath has said.
• Addressing the 4^th convocation ceremony of the Maharishi Panini Sanskrit and Vedic University here on Wed, Somnath said Sanskrit was one of the most ancient languages of the world with its repertoire including poetry, logic, grammar, philosophy, science, technology, maths, and other allied subjects. (here)

Centre Accords ‘Z-Plus’ Security To Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann

• (sources)- The Centre has accorded ‘Z+’ category armed security cover to Punjab CM Mann given possible threats to him emanating from the country and abroad.
• The top-category cover will be provided to Mann all across India and the Home Ministry recently accorded the sanction for this.
• They said the CRPF will soon take over the task and a team of 55 armed personnel has been earmarked for it. (here)

PM Modi To Chair NITI Aayog Governing Council Meet On Sat

• PM Modi will chair NITI Aayog’s 8^th Governing Council meeting on Sat to deliberate on issues like health, skill, women empowerment, and infrastructure, to make India a developed nation by 2047.
• The council, the top body of NITI Aayog, includes all CMs, Lt governors of UT, and several Union ministers.
• PM Modi is the Chairman of NITI Aayog.
• “NITI Aayog will be organizing its 8th Governing Council Meeting on the theme of ‘Viksit Bharat4@2047: Role of Team India’. (here)

Strong Performance Of Indian Banks To Continue: S&P Global Ratings

• S&P Global Ratings today said Indian banking sector profitability will stabilise at a healthy level, and asset quality will continue to improve.
• “The banking sector has improved substantially in the past seven years, from a period when many public-sector lenders were grappling with bad loans,” S&P Global Ratings
• A strong recovery is underway in the Indian banking sector, and lenders have just reported their best results in a decade, S&P Global Ratings said.
• Banking profitability is benefiting from higher net interest margins and lower credit costs.
• We estimate a system-wide return on average assets (ROAA) at 1.2% for fiscal 2023 (end Mar). (here)

China’s Apple loss is India’s gain, as 2022 supplier list shows shift in supply chain preferences

• Apple added 5 new mainland Chinese suppliers while removing 8 in mainland China in its latest financial year ended Sept 2022, after China’s strict Covid-19 controls disrupted iPhone production last holiday season
• Globally, Apple added 18 new suppliers while cutting 19, resulting in a small adjustment in its supply chain, but one that has made India a clear winner.
• The number of Apple production sites in the country increased to 14 last year compared with 11 in 2021, signaling the iPhone maker’s accelerated expansion in the country.
• It also opened its first two retail outlets in India this year.
• In China, the 5 new suppliers include metal processing companies Cathay Tat Ming and Bichamp Cutting Technology, as well as Zhuhai CosMX Battery.
• Sunny Optical Technology, which was the largest supplier of high-end wide-angle lenses for the iPhone 14 series of smartphones last year, was also included. (here)

India-US ties: US Defence Secretary to visit Delhi next week

• The US Secy of Defence Lloyd J Austin III will visit India and meet Def Min Rajnath Singh along with other leaders in the national capital next week.
• The US and India continue to modernize the US-India major defense partnership.
• Apart from India, Austin will also visit Japan, Singapore, and France next week.
• The WH has earlier said the visit of PM Modi to the US will be an opportunity to reaffirm the deep, close partnership between US and India.
• Prime Minister Modi’s state visit holds significant importance as it marks his first visit to the US since President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden extended the invitation.
• The visit will include a state dinner hosted by the US President and First Lady on June 22 to honor the Prime Minister. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

Pakistan: Civilians’ trial by military illegal in peacetime: Imran

• An undaunted Imran Khan on Thu challenged the way his supporters are being treated over riots, urging the SC to declare the arrests, investigation, and trial of civilians
• He said the trial of civilians in peacetime under the Army Act and the Official Secrets Act as a negation of the Constitution.
• In a petition, the PTI chief also urged the SC to order the formation of a judicial commission consisting of its judges to probe the horrendous incidents of May 9 and 10.
• The commission should fix responsibility, besides recommending actions against persons involved in the unfortunate incidents.
• Earlier on Mon, a similar petition was filed by Advocate on behalf of PTI. (here)

Former PM Imran Khan added to no-fly list: Pak Media

• PTI Chief and former PM of Pakistan Imran Khan has been added to the no-fly list, local media reported on Thu quoting sources.
• However, there has been no official confirmation of it.
• This comes a day after Pakistan Def Min Khawaja Asif said that the govt is considering imposing a ban on the PTI over the incidents that took place on May 9. (here)
• The unverified report says, that 600 PTI leaders and workers are kept in RIA.
• Journalist Sami Abraham ‘picked up’, family says Abraham was reportedly taken away by unidentified men in (“namaloom”) Islamabad on Wed
• The family claimed that there was no information about his whereabouts.
• (Sources)- Abraham was arrested by police, but a statement issued by capital police said they would cooperate with the family and leave no stone unturned to track him. (here)
• ISI and MI say Imran Riaz not in their custody, senior cop tells LHC-Lahore police told the high court on Thu that both the ISI and the MI had said that Imran Riaz Khan — whose whereabouts remain unknown since his arrest on May 11 — was not in their custody. (here)

US nod sought for Iran gas pipeline to avoid $18bn penalty

• Pakistan is believed to have asked the US to allow it to build a pipeline for buying gas from Iran or help it pay an expected $18 billion penalty it would face if it did not complete the project by March 2024.
• (sources)- Petroleum Minister Malik raised this issue with US officials, explaining to them that it’s legally bound to either complete the project by Mar 2024 or pay billions of dollars in penalty. [remember we reported a warning of Iran a few months back]
• According to these sources, “Washington is still reviewing the request.” (here)

Afghanistan Restarts Direct Flights to China After 3 Years

• Taliban have announced the resumption of direct flights between Afghanistan and China after 3 years, saying it would help boost bilateral economic and political relations

The first weekly passenger flight of the national flag carrier Ariana Afghan Airlines left Kabul on Wed for Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the air operation in early 2020.

• No country, including China, has recognized the Taliban as the legitimate rulers, mainly over human rights concerns and restrictions imposed on women.
• On Tue, the Chinese diplomat to Kabul, Wang Yu, told Taliban FM Muttaqi that Beijing “has maintained normal relations with Afghanistan and is willing to strengthen it.”
• Muttaqi’s office said Wang promised his country would facilitate increased Afghan exports to China and expedite “preliminary work” on the Mes Ainak mines, which contain Afghanistan’s largest copper deposits. (here)

Ukraine war: China peace envoy told again that Beijing must push Moscow to end invasion

• A top EU official has used a high-profile meeting with a Chinese envoy in Brussels to press Beijing again to use its leverage with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
• Li Hui, Beijing’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs, who is leading China’s pacifying effort, met Enrique Mora, the EU’s dy secy gen for political affairs, on Thu.
• After the meeting, the EU said that Mora had stressed “the necessity to respect” Ukraine’s sovereignty.
• “The EU expects China … to play a constructive role and to use every occasion to uphold and promote the UN Charter and international law,” the EU said. (here)