1. Major fire onboard INS Brahmaputra: one sailor missing, ship leaning to left
2. China’s Pangong Tso bridge, capable of carrying tanks, completed in Eastern Ladakh
3. FM Nirmala Sitharaman reaches Ministry ahead of Union Budget presentation
4. Army foils terrorists’ infiltration bid from LoC in J-K; 1 soldier injured
5. Centre says no case for granting Bihar special status, cites 2012 report rejecting demand

What Else

1. MP minister Chouhan threatens to quit post after losing 2 portfolios to Congress defector
2. Supreme Court stays state directive on ID display for food stalls on Kanwar Yatra route
3. Newly appointed UK foreign secretary David Lammy set to make 2-day visit to India this week
4. Chinese FM holds talks with Maldivian FM: Xinhua
5. Bangladesh: Pause in protests after top court scraps job quotas, Radicals, ISI, NGOs politicize student protests
6. Chinese gamblers get Filipino setback after Marcos announces POGOs ban
7. China set to raise statutory retirement age to combat population woes
8. Headquarters of Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan’s party raided
9. Myanmar’s embattled junta chief takes on role of nominal president
10. UN report contradicts Pakistan’s claim on arrest of Osama associate

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Major fire onboard INS Brahmaputra: one sailor missing, ship leaning to left

• A sailor is missing after a major fire broke out onboard an INS Brahmaputra at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai on Jul 21^st evening leading to the ship listing on one of its sides.
• “The fire was detected by the ship’s duty staff while carrying out routine work … No casualties have been reported in the incident,” Indian Navy spox briefed on July 22.
• The fire was brought under control by July 22 morning.
• Subsequently, sanitization checks for assessment of residual risk of fire were carried out by the crew and repair staff.
• However, post-incident, the ship was listed on one of its sides.
• All the personnel were accounted for except for 1 junior sailor, for whom a search is underway.
• INS Brahmaputra is the lead ship of her class of guided missile frigates of the Navy.
• This is not the first incident of a naval vessel catching fire.
• Since 2010, there have been at least 20 instances of accidents or fire leading to death of naval personnel.
• In the past, the Indian Navy has lost two of its vessels during peacetime, particularly in Mumbai due to fire or other accident. (here)

China’s Pangong Tso bridge, capable of carrying tanks, completed in Eastern Ladakh

• China has this month completed the construction of a bridge in the territory held by it overlooking the Pangong Tso in E Ladakh, making it easier for the movement of troops.
• Cutting down a 180-km loop from Khurnak to the S banks through Rutog county in Tibet, the bridge will also give the capability to bring heavier war-fighting equipment.
• Latest satellite images show that the blacktopping has been completed this month.
• The People’s Liberation Army was building a bridge over the Pangong Tso on its territory in Khurnak, the narrowest part of the lake.
• It was later revealed that the structure was being used as a service bridge for the construction of the main bridge, work on which was started.
• Damien Symon, @_Detresfa, said the bridge connecting the north and south bank of Pangong Lake shows signs that indicate it might be ready for use shortly.
• The bridge enhances the mobility of Chinese forces and helps cut down the time needed to launch a quick operation. (here)

FM Nirmala Sitharaman reaches Ministry ahead of Union Budget presentation

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her 7^th straight Budget on Jul 23 for the fiscal 2024-25, surpassing the record of former PM Morarji Desai.
• The presentation on July 23 will be the first Budget by the BJP-led NDA govt since it was re-elected in Jun.
• Unlike in 2019, when the BJP had 303 seats in the Lok Sabha, it now has 240 seats.
• Coalition politics and the aspirations of the regional coalition cannot be ignored.
• The reduced seat tally for the BJP could suggest resentment with and dissent against the economic policies adopted by the government during its second term in 2019-24.
• The electorate seems to have conveyed its disappointment with the govt in being able to address its concerns and anxieties. Therefore, this Budget is being keenly watched.
• The fiscal deficit for FY 2023-24 was 5.63% of GDP with a target of 5.1% for FY ‘24-25
• Given the significant share of personal tax in overall direct tax collections, the govt is unlikely to introduce measures that would greatly reduce tax revenue.
• Ahead of the Union Budget, the Minister tabled the Economic Survey of the FY 2024 in the Lok Sabha on July 22.
• The Survey projected India’s financial year 2025 GDP growth to range between 6.5% and 7%, while projected growth for 2024-25 is lower than the economic growth rate of 8.2% estimated for the previous financial year. (here)

Army foils terrorists’ infiltration bid from LoC in J-K; 1 soldier injured

• Indian Army foiled an infiltration attempt along the Line of Control in J&K’s Battal sector along LoC in the early hours of Tuesday.
• 1 soldier was injured during the exchange of heavy fire with the infiltrating terrorists.
• The operation is underway, officials said.
• Second attack in 24 hours in Jammu: This comes a day after terrorists attacked the house of a Village Defence Guard (VDG) member in Gundha, Rajouri on Mon.
• However, an alert Army unit nearby responded swiftly preventing a major loss.
• Parshottam Kumar, recently awarded the Shaurya Chakra was the target of the attack.
• His uncle, Vijay Kumar, was injured, and a cow was killed in the gunfire. (here)

Centre says no case for granting Bihar special status, cites 2012 report rejecting demand

• The Centre on Mon said that no case was made out to grant special status to Bihar, noting that the demand was considered and rejected in 2012.
• In response to the statement, the RJD demanded that CM Nitish Kumar resign, recalling that he had promised to get special status for the state.
• Union MoS for Fin Pankaj Chaudhary, responding to a question by JD(U) MP in the Lok Sabha, said that in the past, the special status category had been granted to some states by the National Development Council.
• He said that special status was granted on special consideration – like hilly and difficult terrain, low population density, a sizeable share of tribal population, strategic location, economic and infrastructural backwardness, and non-viable nature of state finances.
• Bihar has been demanding special status ever since mineral-rich Jharkhand was carved out of the state in 2000.
• Nitish Kumar, who heads the JD(U) has been at the forefront of demanding Bihar’s inclusion in the category. (here)

MP minister Chouhan threatens to quit post after losing 2 portfolios to Congress defector

• A tribal minister in Madhya Pradesh, Nagar Singh Chouhan threatened to quit Mon after he was divested of 2 key portfolios to accommodate a defector from the Congress.
• Chouhan was left with a Scheduled Caste welfare portfolio after his other portfolios, environment, and forest, were handed to Ram Niwas Rawat, who was made a minister after he quit the Congress.
• In his statement to the media, Chouhan, a four-time MLA from the Alirajpur (ST) seat, who became a minister for the 1^st time under CM Mohan Yadav’s govt last year, accused the party of neglecting a core worker of the BJP to placate a “Congress leader”.
• He also accused the govt and the state BJP of abruptly stripping him of his ministries without consulting him or taking him into confidence. (here)

Supreme Court stays state directive on ID display for food stalls on Kanwar Yatra route

• The Supreme Court has put a stay on the directive issued by the govts of UP, Uttarakhand, and MP, which mandated eateries along the Kanwariya Yatra route to display the owners’ names.
• The Court, on Monday, issued notices to these state govts, seeking their response to the petitions challenging this directive, and has scheduled the next hearing for July 26.
• The Supreme Court emphasized that food sellers should not be compelled to display the names of owners and staff.
• Earlier on Mon, BJP MP Arun Govil expressed support for the UP govt’s directive, stating that there was nothing wrong with displaying the owners’ names. (here)

Newly appointed UK foreign secretary David Lammy set to make 2-day visit to India this week

• Newly appointed UK foreign secy David Lammy will make a 2-day visit to India later this week, en route to Laos for the ASEAN-UK Ministerial Meet on Jul 26
• Lammy is expected to make some “positive statements” about the India-UK FTA during his brief stopover in Delhi, the people said.
• While no big announcements are expected, the significance of the visit lies in its timing — it comes within 20 days of Lammy assuming office.
• This is the first major ministerial-level visit to India under the new British govt.
• During the visit, Lammy is expected to meet EAM S Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and other top officials.
• British PM Keir Starmer spoke to his counterpart, Modi, on 13 July and said his govt was committed to concluding an FTA that worked for both sides. (here)
• This week: EAM S Jaishankar visits Japan for Quad FMs meet; Lao for ASEAN FMs Meet; Bhutan King on private India visit; UNESCO World Heritage Committee Meet in India; Sri Lankan Prez Elections notice; Maldives FM, Nepal FS in China (@sidhant)

 [Neighborhood]

Chinese FM holds talks with Maldivian FM: Xinhua

• Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Maldivian FM Moosa Zameer on Mon in Beijing.
• Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said that [PRC] and the Maldives have continuously given each other mutual respect and support since the two sides established diplomatic ties 52 years ago. [?]
• The two heads of state have agreed to China-Maldives relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership early this year and jointly build a community with a shared future for China and the Maldives.
• Wang said China is ready actively implement the important consensus reached by the leaders, deepen political mutual trust, promote friendly exchanges at all levels, and strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields.
• Zameer said the Maldives believes that China’s further comprehensive deepening of reform will bring more benefits to the world.
• He noted that the Maldives firmly adheres to the one-China principle and is willing to continue to actively participate in the BRI, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in economy, trade, finance, tourism, culture, and other fields. [on Lankan path] (here)

Bangladesh: Pause in protests after top court scraps job quotas, Radicals, ISI, NGOs politicize student protests

• The streets of Bangladesh appeared calm on July 22 amid a curfew, a day after the country’s top Court scrapped most quotas for govt jobs that had angered student-led activists and resulted in deadly protests.
• Late on July 21, protesters gave Bangladesh’s govt 48 hours to meet new demands, including a public apology from PM Sheikh Hasina for the violence, and the restoration of internet connections disrupted during the unrest.
• On July 22, most appeared to be obeying a curfew in cities that had seen regular demonstrations after a High Court in Jun reinstated old quotas that reserved many state jobs for descendants of freedom fighters and other groups.
• A public holiday declared over the last two days was extended to July 23
• “Normalcy will return within one or two days,” Home Minister Khan told reporters.
• At least 147 people have died in the violence, as per information from hospitals. (here)
• Radicals, ISI, NGOs politicize Bangladesh student protests: A possible role of Chattra Shibir, the student wing of the outlawed Jamaat-e-Islami backed by Pakistan’s ISI, is under the scanner for instigating violence.
• The motive of Pak’s army and ISI is to destabilize the Shiekh Hasina govt and bring the opposition BNP back into power through protests and street violence, (sources).
• The govt is monitoring the activities of opposition leaders, they said.
• The role of the ISI in undermining the govt which has cracked down against radicals is not new, but now, what started as a student protest is distorted into political movement.
• The role of Western-backed NGOs in Bangladesh and their reported involvement in the current crisis are also under the scanner of the local govt, they said. (here)

Chinese gamblers get Filipino setback after Marcos announces POGOs ban

• The Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Mon that the online casinos catering to gamblers overseas have been banned, a major setback to the China-based gamblers operating Filipino online casinos.
• The development comes just a day after Manila and Beijing reached an understanding of the “provisional arrangement” for resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, which China describes as the South China Sea.
• These operators, which primarily target Chinese gamblers, saw significant growth during the tenure of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
• Critics argue that the economic benefits of POGOs are outweighed by their reputational risks and criminal activities.
• Authorities have frozen up to 90 bank accounts connected to Guo and other individuals over suspicions of laundering, human trafficking, and fraud—allegations that Guo’s representatives have consistently denied.
• The ties between the two remain tense over the Chinese show of maritime belligerence in and around the West Philippine Sea.
• On Sun, more than a month after the China Coast Guard attacked Filipino soldiers in Shoal in mid-Jun 2024, it was announced that the two sides had “reached an understanding on the provisional arrangement” with China on these missions. (here)

China set to raise statutory retirement age to combat population woes

• China will gradually raise its statutory retirement age – now among the world’s lowest – to allow people to work longer, as it struggles to relieve soaring pressure on pension budgets, with many provinces already facing deficits.
• The reform is urgent, with life expectancy having risen to 78 years by 2021 from about 44 years in 1960, outstripping the US, and projected to exceed 80 years by 2050.
• The announcement on Jul 21 came in a key policy document that also rolled out plans to sharpen a strategy to combat an aging population and a declining birth rate that fell for a 2^nd straight year in 2023, and is seen to be falling for decades. (here)

Headquarters of Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan’s party raided

• Pakistan police raided the headquarters of jailed former PM Imran Khan’s party on Jul 22, a week after the military-backed govt vowed to ban the political movement.
• An AFP journalist at the scene saw the hq of Khan’s PT) sealed off by officers, who led several party workers into waiting vans.
• An anonymous official told AFP that they had arrested Mr Raoof Hasan, a founding member of the party and head of its press department.
• Party chairman Gohar Ali Khan, a barrister, said he accompanied Hasan to the police station, after local media and PTI initially reported that he had also been arrested.
• “I was there for Raoof Hassan, he is our senior and I had to be there for him,” the MP told the media.
• “We are always ready for an arrest,” he added. (here)

Myanmar’s embattled junta chief takes on role of nominal president

• All duties of Myanmar’s figurehead president have been transferred to the chief of the junta, Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, after the nominal head of state was placed on medical leave following a period of prolonged illness, state television said on Jul 22.
• Myanmar has been engulfed in chaos since Feb 2021 when the military led by Gen Min Aung Hlaing ousted an elected civilian govt in a coup, triggering a wave of protests that has transformed into a nationwide armed rebellion against the junta.
• Although Myint Swe, 73, is only a figurehead president, the junta has depended on him to sign its decrees and provide a veneer of legitimacy to its rule, which is struggling to contain an expanding civil war and manage a crumbling economy.
• Myint Swe, a former army officer who became president during the coup, is suffering from “neurological disorders”, the state-run newspaper reported last week, adding that he was unable to carry out basic activities, including eating food. (here)

UN report contradicts Pakistan’s claim on arrest of Osama associate

• A UN report, issued earlier this month, has refuted the claims on the manner and the time in which a key associate of Osama bin Laden was arrested by Pakistani authorities.
• The Pakistani authorities had last week announced the arrest of Amin Muhammad ul-Haq Saam Khan, aka Dr Amin, who they described as a close aide of OBL, the mastermind of the deadliest terror attack in the US, the 9/11 attacks.
• The 15th report of the ISIL/Al-Qaeda/Taliban Monitoring Team, submitted to the UNSC on Jul 8 gave a different picture.
• It suggested that the arrest was not the result of a sophisticated intelligence operation but rather a routine border security measure.
• According to the UN report, Saam Khan was arrested for “illegal possession of weapons while crossing from Afghanistan into Pakistan in Mar 2024.”
• The UN report also pointed, out that the arrest happened 4 months ago.
• The Punjab CTD in Pakistan claimed that the arrest was the result of a major operation by the department’s special forces.
• The CTD, in a statement last week, described the arrest as a significant breakthrough.
• The development raises several questions about Pakistan’s reason for concealment, which is not new. (here)