Your Morning Briefing for 27 June 2020 ► Chinese use of force to alter status quo will have repercussions on ties: Indian envoy | India News,The Indian Express

Chinese use of force to alter status quo will have repercussions on ties: Indian envoy | India News,The Indian Express

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Dear Reader, The Conflict While the Galwan Valley clash has significantly altered the dynamics of engagement with China, it's hard to miss how statements from the Indian side on border tensions have become strongly worded.  India’s ambassador to China Vikram Misri warned China that trying to alter the status quo on the ground by resorting to force will not just damage the peace that existed in the border areas but can also have “ripples and repercussions”. Even after a series of talks at diplomatic level and at military level, it appears both sides haven't made much headway in restoring the status quo ante at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). A senior government official blames the Chinese obstinate approach for the deadlock as they keep insisting in all the talks that “it is their territory.” Meanwhile, the Chinese army has begun to consolidate their positions in the Pangong Tso area. They began constructing a helipad at Finger 4 and increased troops on the southern banks of Pangong Tso. An official said this meant that “the Chinese are telling us that they have no intention of going back or restoring the status quo as in April." The soured relations with our neighbour has also hit exporters sending consignments to China. It all began with goods imported from China facing Customs hurdles at Indian ports. Now, the Hong Kong and Chinese Customs are holding back export consignments from India over the last few days.

The Pandemic

The number of daily deaths from Covid-19 in Maharashtra has been declining for over a fortnight now, government data analysed by The Indian Express show.This declining trend contrasts with the continuing rising trend in the number of daily new Covid cases, and could indicate the impact of several relatively recent policy interventions in the battle against the pandemic.

World Health Organization chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan feels slightly optimistic that a vaccine can be developed in 12-18 months as over 200 vaccine candidates are at different stages of development and 15 are in human clinical trials. Such an enterprise may require funding of up to $18.1 billion to deliver two billion doses by the end of 2021, she says.

With economic activity picking up and people returning to big cities from their home states, the Railways have decided to run more trains on selected routes to ease the rush. However, full-fledged resumption of services may not be possible in the near future, Chairman, Railway Board, V K Yadav told reporters on Friday.

Similarly, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has also decided to push for air travel by allowing domestic airlines to operate up to 45 per cent of their pre-lockdown scheduled capacity, compared with 30-35 per cent earlier. Even though international flights have been suspended till July 15, a few may be allowed on selected routes on case to case basis.

Beyond Covid-19

Even though thousands of migrants have been scarred by the lockdown that has left them jobless, a small group in a Madhya Pradesh village decided to give a makeover to a school they were quarantined in free of cost. “We discussed that the school building needs a coat of paint because it was in bad shape. There is no better building in the vicinity now,” says Ashok Vishwakarma.

Hailing from Bihar’s Darbhanga district, Naveen Kumar Choudhary, Principal Secretary, Animal and Sheep Husbandry, has become the first senior IAS officer from outside Jammu and Kashmir to become a domicile of the Union Territory. “I wanted the certificate and just applied for it,” he told The Indian Express, adding, “I am not seeking a job in J&K, as I already have one.

And Finally…

Even though schools have not resumed, 17-year-old Modiyam Sukhlal has to cycle 10 km from his home in Peddakorma, a Maoist affected village deep inside Bastar, to Cherpal in Chhattisgarh daily to catch decent signal to attend virtual classes. Has the migration to the virtual world slowed down the process of learning?

  With the easing of lockdown curbs, cab aggregators are promising safety and regular sanitization. Here is a look at what a cab ride is like in the coronavirus era.

 Until tomorrow,

Leela Prasad G and Liu Chuen Chen