1. India to host SCO Summit today (Tue); Xi Jinping, Shehbaz Sharif among attendees
2. 2 [4] Indian diplomats targeted in pro-Khalistan posters in Canada [and US]. ‘Will impact ties’, says Jaishankar
3. Manipur Violence: 1 killed, 2 injured, houses burnt in separate incidents; Situation tense, but normal in most districts
4. At parliamentary panel meeting, Congress & DMK oppose UCC, BRS & SS (U) non-committal
5. PM Modi holds ‘fruitful meeting’ with Council of Ministers, exchanges views on policies

What Else

6. Indian Army Faces ‘Shortage’ of Officers, may cut HQ Postings: Report
7. Anti-terror agency NIA busts Maharashtra ISIS module, arrests 4 after raids
8. Land-for-jobs scam: CBI files fresh charge sheet against Lalu, Rabri; names Tejashwi first time
9. India refiners start yuan payments for Russian oil imports –sources
10. Supreme Court’s Constitution bench to hear pleas against abrogation Article 370 on July 11
11. 10,000 people gather in Texas to recite Bhagavad Gita celebrating Guru Purnima
12. China restricts exports of chip-making metals gallium and germanium
13. Pakistan: May this be the last IMF deal, PM prays

India to host SCO Summit today (Tue); Xi Jinping, Shehbaz Sharif among attendees

• India will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit virtually on Tue.
• The summit will see participation from Chinese President Xi and Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan along with the leaders of several central Asian countries.
• President Vladimir Putin of Russia is also expected to attend the summit.
• The previous edition of the leader’s level meeting took place in Samarkand, in Uzbekistan, in Sept last year.
• The summit is likely to see a push for expanding the SCO, with Iran likely to accede to the organization as a member.
• Besides this, the leaders are likely to push for Belarus to also accede to the SCO.
• “Bahrain, Kuwait, Myanmar, the Maldives, and UAE are about to join SCO-led cooperation efforts as new dialogue partners,” as per the Russian Foreign Ministry.
• India joined the SCO in 2005 and became a full member at the Astana Summit in 2017.
• EAM S Jaishankar virtually opened New Delhi Hall in the SCO Secretariat in Beijing. (here)
• CNN-In a sea of authoritarian leaders, “Modi remains something of an odd man out”.

2 [4] Indian diplomats targeted in pro-Khalistan posters in Canada [and US]. ‘Will impact ties’, says Jaishankar

• 2 Indian diplomats in Canada have been targeted in a poster purportedly circulated by Sikh extremists who have accused them of playing a role in the Jun killing of KTF chief and designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
• Similarly, a few extremities set fire in Indian Consulate in San Fransisco, while 2 Indian diplomats have been targeted in a poster purportedly circulated for the same purpose.
• The poster, doing the rounds on social media, features photos of India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa, and Consul General in Toronto.
• The words ‘Faces of Shaheed Nijjar’s Killers in Toronto’ appear above the photos.
• On Mon, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar commented on the ongoing controversy, saying it will impact bilateral relations.
• “We have requested our partner countries like Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia not to give space to the Khalistanis. This will affect our relations,” Jaishankar.
• Canadian High Commission in Delhi and the Ministry of External Affairs for comment but did not receive a response from either.
• The poster, which has reportedly also been doing the rounds among radical Sikh groups in the US, also calls for a protest march on July 8.
• The words ‘Kill India’ also feature on the poster. (here)

Manipur Violence: 1 killed, 2 injured, houses burnt in separate incidents; Situation tense, but normal in most districts

• At least 1 person was killed and 2 others injured by armed assailants while incidents of firing and arson attacks on houses were reported from different districts.
• Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that schools for classes 1 to 8 will start from Jul 5, after being shut since ethnic clashes began in the first week of May. (here)
• The situation is tense in some places of Manipur with sporadic incidents of firing and gathering of unruly mobs in the last 24 hours, the police stated on Mon
• However, the situation is normal in most districts, they added.
• Around 118 checkpoints have been set up and 326 people detained across the state as violence continues unabated in the northeastern state. (here)

At parliamentary panel meeting, Congress & DMK oppose UCC, BRS & SS (U) non-committal

• Congress and ally DMK were the most strident among the opposition to oppose the Uniform Civil Code during a discussion in the parliamentary standing committee Mon
• While BRS remained non-committal, the BSP and the SS (Shinde) supported it while the SS (UT) wanted the 22^nd Law Commission of India to bring out its report first.
• Some of BJP MPs including parliamentary panel chairman Sushil Kumar Modi, suggested that the northeastern states and tribal areas should be exempted from it.
• The panel was hearing the views of the Department of Legal Affairs, the Legislative Department, and the Law Commission of India on the UCC. (here)

PM Modi holds ‘fruitful meeting’ with Council of Ministers, exchanges views on policies

• PM Modi on Mon chaired a meeting of the Council of Ministers and said that the meeting was fruitful.
• (Sources)- said some ministries are likely to present a report of various central schemes and their implementation, and seen in the past as well.
• The govt is preparing agenda for the monsoon session of Parliament- the first time in the new building – which is set to begin on July 20.
• The opposition is likely to raise the issue of UCC to corner the govt.
• PM Modi held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BL Santosh, and BJP’s National President JP Nadda last week. (here)

Indian Army faces ‘shortage’ of officers, may cut HQ postings: Report

• Indian Army is facing an acute shortage of officers at the Major and Captain levels, reported Indian Express.
• The army is planning to reduce the postings of staff officers at various hq to overcome the shortage in units.
• It has also been reported that the army is considering the appointment of re-employed officers to these posts.
• As per current procedures within the army, as mid-level officers of the rank of Major complete around six years of service, they are given exposure to staff appointments in different corps command and division headquarters.
• The shortage: a shortage of 8,129 officers in the Army including medical dental crops.
• The officers needed in the Navy and Air Force are 1,653 and 721, respectively. (here)

Anti-terror agency NIA busts Maharashtra ISIS module, arrests 4 after raids

• The National Investigation Agency on Mon busted a Maharashtra-based ISIS module and arrested 4 accused for terrorist activities at the behest of the banned terrorist outfit.
• The arrests were made after extensive raids in Mumbai, Thane, and Pune.
• The homes of the 4 accused across 5 locations were searched in the case registered by the anti-terror agency on Jun 28.
• Teams of the NIA seized several incriminating evidence including electronic gadgets and documents related to ISIS, from the homes of the accused.
• The seized material exposed the strong and active linkages of the accused with ISIS and their attempts to radicalize vulnerable people to anti-India agenda.
• The NIA raids came after credible inputs that the accused and their links had recruited several people and trained them to make IEDs and weapons. (here)

Land-for-jobs scam: CBI files fresh charge sheet against Lalu, Rabri; names Tejashwi first time

• The CBI on Mon filed a charge sheet against Bihar Dy CM Tejashwi Yadav, his father, former railway minister Lalu Prasad, and former CM Rabri Devi in connection with the land-for-jobs scam.
• Though this is the 2^nd charge sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the case before a special court here, it is the 1^st time that Tejashwi has been named.
• Besides the 3 members of the Yadav family, the federal agency has named 14 individuals and entities in the charge sheet. (here)

India refiners start yuan payments for Russian oil imports –sources

• Reuters (sources) – Indian refiners have begun paying for some oil imports from Russia in Chinese yuan, to find alternatives to the dollar for settling payments.
• Western punishments over Russia, with India emerging as the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil even as it casts about for how to pay for it amid shifting sanctions.
• The U.S. $ has long been the main global oil currency, including for purchases by India, but now the yuan is playing an increasingly important role in Russia’s financial system
• China has also shifted to the yuan for most of its energy imports from Russia, which overtook Saudi Arabia to become China’s top crude supplier in the Q1 of this year. (here)

Supreme Court’s Constitution bench to hear pleas against abrogation Article 370 on July 11

• The SC’s 5-judge Constitution bench will hear on Jul 11 a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state of J&K into 2 UTs.
• The petitions which are pending since 2019 have not been taken up for hearing since Mar 2020.
• On Aug 5, 2019, the Central govt announced its decision to revoke the special status.
• A 5-judge Constitution bench in Mar 2020 had declined to refer to a larger 7-judge bench to a batch of petitions, saying there were no reasons to do so. (here)

10,000 people gather in Texas to recite Bhagavad Gita celebrating Guru Purnima

• On the auspicious occasion of Guru Purnima, a significant event took place at the Allen East Center in Texas, US where 10k individuals gathered together to recite the revered Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita.
• This event, known as the Bhagavad Gita Parayan Yagya, held immense importance as it marked the first of its kind in America.
• The magnificence of this event was not confined to the venue alone. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

China restricts exports of chip-making metals gallium and germanium

• China will ban the export of Ga and Ge, 2 components for chips and radars, in response to the U.S.’s curb on supplies of high-tech items to China, the release said on Mon.
• The Ministry of Commerce will impose export controls on gallium and germanium-related items to safeguard national security and interests, the statement said.
• Exporters shall apply for an export license to the Ministry and report the contract and utility before shipping out the related item, it said.
• The export control took effect on Aug. 1. (here)

Pakistan: May this be the last IMF deal, PM prays

• PM Shehbaz Sharif simultaneously called on Mon the IMF agreement a “breather” and a “moment of concern” and urged all the institutions to make concerted efforts to rid the country of loans and put it on the course to progress.
• The PM, in his remarks at the Cabinet meeting chaired, said while remaining in their respective dominions, the institutions should make an effort for at least the next 15 yrs.
• Under the IMF deal, Pakistan would receive the first installment of $1.1 billion in July.
• The PM spoke high of the Chinese support during the last 3 months by rolling over $5 billion of sovereign and commercial bank loans, which was unprecedented.
• He said the whole Muslim Ummah, including the govt and the people of Pakistan, strongly condemned another incident of burning the Holy Quran in Sweden. (here)