Important Picks of the Day :

[ NATIONAL ]

‘New and extraordinary phase’: PM Modi launches Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

PM Modi on Monday launched the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission via video conferencing.

China shows intent, more PLA shelters come up on LAC

Seventeen months into the military confrontation in eastern Ladakh, China continues to build more troops shelters along the frontier as part of its ongoing overall consolidation of military positions and upgrade of airbases facing India.

‘Spend more, spend fast’ — Rajnath’s direction to armed forces ahead of mid-term budget review

Over the last week, the defense ministry has inked contracts worth about Rs 30,000 crore for procurement of transport aircraft and tanks. Indian envoy to China Vikram Misri said India sees the current issue to be about restoring peace and tranquillity in border areas and not the resolution of the larger boundary question.

HAL signs pact with Alliance Air to supply 2 civil Do-228 aircraft in Arunachal Pradesh

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd signed a lease agreement with Alliance Air Aviation Ltd for the supply of two Civil Do-228 aircraft for regional operations in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday.

Jaishankar agrees to take the India-Nepal alliance forward in meeting with Nepalese counterpart

On September, 22 Nepal PM had appointed Narayan Khadka as the foreign minister to lead the country’s delegation to the ongoing UNGA. EAM S Jaishankar met with Khadka in his 1^st meet, in NY and agreed to take the special relationship forward. He flew to Mexico after several bilateral meetings on UNGA sidelines.

India, Uzbekistan discuss the need to ensure Afghan territory must not be used for terrorism

India and Uzbekistan discussed the importance of maintaining close and regular consultations on the evolving situation in Afghanistan and the need to ensure that the territory of the country is not allowed to be used for any terror activities, during the meeting between the MoS for External Affairs, Meenakshi Lekhi, and Uzbek FM Abdulaziz Kamilov.

Mixed response to Bharat Bandh by farmers; traffic situation in Delhi, nearby areas return to normal.

Bharat Bandh 2021: All emergency establishments and essential services, including hospitals, medical stores, relief, and rescue work, and people attending to personal emergencies will be exempted from the strike.

[ NEIGHBORHOOD ]

Myanmar won’t address the world at the UN, the ousted Afghan government will

Myanmar’s current ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun was appointed by the Aung San Suu Kyi govt which was toppled by the military junta. Afghan ambassador was appointed by Afghanistan’s deposed government.

Taliban recognition ‘not on the table’, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Russia is a member of a nine-member UN credentials committee – along with China and the US – which will deal with the competing claims on Afghanistan’s UN seat later this year.

Taliban urge international airlines to resume flights to Afghanistan

The Taliban government in Afghanistan on Sunday (Sept 26) urged the international airlines to resume flights to and from Kabul, claiming that all technical issues at the country’s main airport have been resolved.

Germany says it shares India’s fears and told the Taliban that its soil should not be used for terrorism by anyone

Germany has said that it shares India’s fears that Afghanistan may be used for spreading international terror and it has told the Taliban that its land should not be used even by neighboring country Pakistan.

African, S American nations hail PM Modi’s vaccine pitch at UNGA

PM Modi’s vaccine pitch during his UNGA address on Saturday went down well with several heads of African and South American countries with many delegates thanking him for offering to make India the hub of global production of the anti-Covid shots and restoring supplies.

How Chinese red tape stopped US scientists from getting early virus access

Emails show that scientists at the Galveston National Laboratory repeatedly urged their counterparts to share the virus in early 2020 to speed up vital research. Despite a warning that China ‘would face heavy criticism’ if the process stalled, the Americans hit a bureaucratic wall.

Meng Wanzhou’s return clears one roadblock to a reset in US-China relations

Release of Huawei boss tops the list of recent goodwill gestures from the Biden White House in response to Beijing’s list of demands. China may now be more open to visits by the US commerce and climate chiefs, and even consider a virtual Xi-Biden summit at the G20 in Oct, analysts say.

‘New and extraordinary phase’: PM Modi launches Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Mon launched the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission via video conferencing and announced the initiative from the ramparts of the Red Fort during his Independence Day speech last year and was implemented as a pilot project in 6 state Union territories.

The Co-Win initiative has enabled India to administer nearly 900 million Covid-19 vaccine doses thus far, PM Modi said, adding that even advanced countries do not have technology such as this.

The key components of the project include a health ID for every citizen that will also work as their health account, to which personal health records can be linked and viewed with the help of a mobile application, a Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR), and Healthcare Facilities Registries (HFR) that will act as a repository of all healthcare providers across both modern and traditional systems of medicine.

This will ensure ease of doing business for doctors and hospitals and healthcare service providers, the statement said. Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya also attended the launch event.

Sino-India Standoff: China shows real intent, more PLA shelters come up on LAC

17 months into the military confrontation in eastern Ladakh, China continues to build more troops shelters along the frontier as part of its ongoing overall consolidation of military positions and upgrade of airbases facing India. However, the situation is by no way seems to go resolve in near future.

Latest surveillance and intelligence reports show the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has constructed new modular container-based accommodations for its soldiers in at least 8 more forward locations (Each has 80 to 84 containers arranged in 7 clusters) along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) opposite eastern Ladakh, range from Wahab Zilga near the Karakoram Pass in the north to Piue, Hot Springs, Chang La, Tashigong, Manza, and Churup, TOI reported citing sources.

• These shelters are in addition to the many more such habitats constructed by the PLA since the military stand-off erupted in April-May last year, clearly demonstrating that China has no intent to de-induct troops from the frontlines for the foreseeable future.
• Both India and China continue to maintain around 50K soldiers each, backed by howitzers, tanks, and surface-to-air missile systems in the “immediate depth areas” along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
• Amidst the uneasy calm, both armies have been regularly rotating their troops due to the harsh terrain and oxygen deprivation in the high-altitude area, while deploying aircraft and drones to keep tabs on each other.
• China has also developed several new airstrips and helipads all along the 3,488-km LAC, stretching from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, apart from upgrading its major air bases like Hotan, Kashgar, Gargunsa (Ngari Gunsa), Lhasa-Gonggar, and Shigatse to base additional fighters and bombers, as was reported by TOI earlier.
• The PLA has also deployed two Russian-origin S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries, apart from several other anti-aircraft systems, to tackle any air strikes by India. “
• India, incidentally, is also slated to begin getting deliveries of five S-400 squadrons by this year-end, under the $5.43 billion (Rs 40,000 crore) contract inked with Russia in October 2018.

Condition as of now: On Sept 19, SCMP published, Chinese military steps up night drills and brings in more advanced equipment close to the Indian border

“The People’s Liberation Army is trying to familiarise its troops with new-generation equipment in the Xinjiang military district”

• The Chinese military’s Western Theatre Command has introduced more night drills for units stationed near the Himalayan border,  as it seeks to familiarise its troops with new-generation weapons and equipment.
• Since the start of the autumn, several forces in the Xinjiang military district have been carrying out night battle drills at altitudes of around 5,000 m, according to the military newspaper PLA Daily.
• “We have ‘revised our schedules and demanded soldiers’ meet higher standards for high-altitude training as we need to deal with a harsher battlefield environment amid increasing challenges in the peripheral areas,” Yang Yang, a company commander, told the newspaper.

‘Spend more, spend fast’ — Rajnath’s direction to armed forces ahead of mid-term budget review: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has directed the Army, Navy, and Air Force to speed up expenditure and spend the allotted amount under the Union Budget 2021-22 ahead of a mid-term review by the Ministry of Finance. ThePrint reported citing Sources in the defense and security establishment said Singh has asked the armed forces to ensure that payments scheduled for Oct to defense public sector undertakings are given out as advance in Sept. (for details pls see last weekend)

People’s Liberation Army personnel | Sino-Indian border conflicts continue (HK01): The latest news shows that Liu Lin, the commander of the Southern Xinjiang Military Region, who served as the front-line commander in the Sino-Indian border conflict, has been promoted to the deputy general of the war zone and was awarded the rank of lieutenant general and also expected to have been promoted to the commander of the Xinjiang Military Region.

• According to local media reports in Xinjiang on Sept 19, the Spiritual Work Deployment Meeting for Xinjiang’s Implementation of the 8^th National Counterpart Support Xinjiang Work Conference was held on Sept 18.
• The autonomous region leader Liu Lin attended the meeting and ranked among the two alternate members of the 19^th Central Committee.
• Between Wang Junzheng, Deputy Secretary of the Xinjiang Party Committee and Secretary of the Party Committee of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and Elken Tuniazi, Member of the Standing Committee of the Xinjiang Party Committee and Vice Chairman of the Autonomous Region Government.
• The screen of “Xinjiang News Network” shows that Liu Lin is dressed in the uniform of a lieutenant general and six rows of one-star qualification badges, showing that he has been promoted to the deputy theater level.

India expressed disappointment over China’s reluctance to permit stranded Indians return

India has told China not to shift goalposts and confuse managing the border affairs and restoring peace at the frontiers with the larger issue of the resolution of the boundary question, which is dealt with by different designated mechanisms, no need of the before border affairs

After the standoff erupted in eastern Ladakh in May last year, India has consistently maintained that peace and tranquillity in the border areas are essential for the overall development of relations between the two countries.

Besides being neighbors, India and China are also large and emerging economies and it is not unusual to have differences and problems”, Indian envoy to China Vikram Misri said while addressing the 4^th High-level Track II Dialogue on China-India Relations held on Sept 23 and co-hosted by the School of International Studies of Sichuan University, China Centre for South Asian Studies and Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in which several former envoys and scholars took part.

• The key question is how to deal with them and ensure that outcomes are informed by reasonableness, maturity, and respect for the maintenance of peace and tranquillity along our frontiers,” Misri said.
• Besides Misri, China’s Ambassador to India Sun Weidong also participated in the meeting.
• Referring to the multi-faceted dialogue held by the two countries Misri said: These contacts have resulted in significant progress on the ground (!).

What all he Said:

• The following disengagement in the Galwan Valley in July last year, the two sides have been able to disengage from the North and South Banks of the Pangong Lake in Feb 2021, and most recently from Gogra in Aug 2021.
• The conversation between the two sides continues regarding the remaining locations and we hope that disengagement at the remaining friction areas
• The experience of this multi-faceted dialogue over the last year and a half leads me to believe that we are well-equipped when it comes to resolving pressing issues in the bilateral relationship,” he said.
• Our leaders have in the past concurred that we must work out issues peacefully, prevent differences from turning into disputes and, most importantly, preserve peace and tranquillity in our border areas.
• We can draw on, we must steer clear of certain obstacles which could block progress,” he said.
• The first is to avoid shifting goalposts.
• The 1988 understanding between our leaders was precisely for keeping the resolution of the boundary question on a track separate yet parallel to the bilateral relationship, with the maintenance of peace and tranquillity as the prerequisite.
• This is the root cause of the tense situation along the borders. We advocate that we should address the boundary issue through peaceful negotiations and we don’t think that the border issue should be linked up to our bilateral ties,” he said.
• In an international community where we interact as equals, and as important major neighbors of each other.
• Safeguarding territorial integrity and national security holds equal value for both sides.
• And to press one’s concerns and disregard the other side’s concerns and sensitivities without any explanation or recourse goes beyond disrespect.
• The third obstacle is viewing bilateral relations through the prism of relations with other countries.
• For India’s part, I would say that a policy approach that came into its own over 6 decades ago, continues to be relevant today.
• It needs to be reformed to better deliver its fruits to all stakeholders.
• Both countries engaged in key global dialogues while simultaneously pursuing their objectives in several smaller forums.
• India-China relations, therefore, must be judged and managed on their own merits.
• The two nations must focus on the actual issues that face them, and employ a “sensitive and constructive problem-solving approach”.
• Addressing and processing differences properly means confronting them head-on and not sweeping them under the carpet.
• We can resolve our current difficulties without the outcome necessarily appearing to be a win or loss for either side.

But at the same for managing border affairs daily, the two countries had evolved a mechanism, consisting of instruments such as the WMCC (Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs) and a succession of agreements, protocols, and CBMs, to govern behavior on the ground and ensure peace and tranquillity.

• As Jaishankar has stated, India-China relations must proceed based on the three mutual, mutual respect, mutual sensitivity, and mutual interests.
• The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control LAC.
• China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet, which is firmly rejected by India.
• Misri also said China should not take a one-sided view of mutual concerns and sensitivities.

Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong has said on Fri, that peace and tranquillity in the border areas with India is important but it is not the “whole story” of the bilateral relations and that the current status of the ties is obviously not in the fundamental interest of either side, remarks that came amid the Ladakh military standoff. After the standoff erupted in eastern Ladakh in May last year, India has consistently maintained that peace and tranquillity in the border areas are essential for the overall development of relations between the two countries.

This was rejected by MEA, “India strongly rejected China’s latest comments blaming it for the Galwan valley clashes and asserted that the “provocative behavior and unilateral” attempts by the Chinese side to alter the status quo in eastern Ladakh resulted in serious disturbance of peace and tranquillity in the mountainous region.

Mixed response to Bharat Bandh by farmers; traffic situation in Delhi, nearby areas return to normal; BKU leader Rakesh Tikait says the strike was ‘successful’

• The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) called a 10-hour-long Bharat Bandh to mark the first anniversary of the Centre’s three controversial farm laws getting a Presidential nod.
• Since morning, traffic snarls were reported at the Delhi-Gurugram and Delhi-Uttar Pradesh borders. Furthermore, several trains were canceled in Delhi, Ambala, and Firozpur divisions.
• Following the start of the Bharat Bandh, many non-BJP leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi extended their support to the farmers.
• However, chaos was reported in Chennai’s Anna Salai after protesters were detained by police.

Left workers vandalize the Broadband office of a news channel in Kozhikode as part of the Hartal that was called today; nearly 15 CITU members barge inside the office, damaging the electronic gadgets, and attacked the staff.

The SKM earlier said that all govt and private offices, educational and other institutions, shops, industries, and commercial establishments will be closed across the nation during the strike, which is scheduled to end at 4 pm today. There will, however, be no restrictions on essential and emergency services, the farmers’ outfit said.

Farmers should leave the path of agitation, opt for dialogue: Narendra Singh Tomar: A day before the proposed Bharat Bandh of the farmers’ unions, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Sun said farmers should leave the path of agitation and opt for dialogue.

• Speaking at a program at Agriculture College in Gwalior, Tomar said, “The govt is ready to consider the objections raised by them.”
• The union minister emphasized that farmers’ protests should not become a political issue.

Farmers have been protesting at different sites since Nov 26^th last year against the 3 enacted farm laws: Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Farmer leaders and the Centre have held 12 rounds of talks but the impasse remains. The main reason is ‘Farmer leaders’ want the protest must be continued, else they should be open for dialogue offered by Govt or may put their issues before the committee constituted by Supreme Court. Their only demand is to repeal all the 3 laws, which is highly unlikely that Modi Govt will do it.

Germany says it shares India’s fears and told the Taliban that its soil should not be used for terrorism by anyone including Pakistan-(ANI)

Germany has said that it shares India’s fears that Afghanistan may be used for spreading international terror and it has told the Taliban that its land should not be used even by neighboring country Pakistan.

During his interview with ANI, German envoy to India Walter J Lindner said, “We are holding talks with Taliban, which we do at low level as we did in Doha. One of our conditions is that Taliban or Afghanistan that matter, there should be no more fostering of international terrorism by anyone whatsoever, be it by neighbor countries like Pakistan or by Afghanistan itself and to all the neighboring countries we have the same message.”

He added “we share the fear of India that international terrorism might get a boost through this Taliban victory and this should not be the case that is why it is one of the biggest worries that this should not be the case in future, our condition to talk to Taliban is also no to fostering this terrorism.

Asked, whether Germany will recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan, Ambassador Walter J. Lindner said, “Well you don’t recognize govt you recognize countries and we are talking to them to get those out of the country who want to and also want to provide humanitarian assistance, so the main reasons why we are talking to them and that’s it for the moment.”

Next government in Germany to be formed by Christmas, said Lindner: German Ambassador to India, Walter J Lindner on Mon said that the next government in Berlin will likely be formed by this Christmas after the left-leaning, Social Democrats party won in the German federal election with over 25% votes.

Myanmar won’t address the world at the UN, the ousted Afghan government will

United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Fri that no representative from Myanmar is scheduled to address United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). This has come amid rival claims for Myanmar’s UN seat after a military coup that toppled the civilian govt, while the Ambassador for the ousted government of Afghanistan will give his speech on Mon.

• Myanmar’s current UN Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun – appointed by Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected govt – had initially been expected to address the 193-member UNGA on Monday, the final day of the gathering.
• But diplomats said China, Russia, and the US had reached an understanding, where Moscow and Beijing will not object to Kyaw Moe Tun remaining in Myanmar’s U.N. seat for the moment as long as he does not speak during the high-level meeting.
• Myanmar’s junta has put forward military veteran Aung Thurein to be its UN envoy, while Kyaw Moe Tun has asked to renew his UN accreditation, despite being the target of a plot to kill or injure him over his opposition to the Feb coup.
• Dujarric said that “for now, the Afghanistan representative inscribed on the list for Monday is Mr. Ghulam M. Isaczai.” Isaczai is the current UN ambassador, who represents Afghanistan’s government ousted by the Taliban.
• Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Monday asked to address the gathering of world leaders at the United Nations and nominated the Islamist group’s Doha-based spokesman Suhail Shaheen as Afghanistan’s UN ambassador.
• UN accreditation issues are dealt with by a nine-member committee, whose members include the US, China, and Russia.
• It traditionally meets in Oct or Nov so a decision would not be made in the time that would allow Muttaqi to address the high-level UNGA meeting this year.
• Until a decision is made by the credentials committee on both Afghanistan and Myanmar, Isaczai and Kyaw Moe Tun will remain in the seats, according to the General Assembly rules.