Your Morning Briefing for 05 September 2020

Good morning Readers,

We are covering the meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart in Moscow, the arrest of actor Rhea Chakraborty’s brother and what the declassified White House tapes revealed about former President Richard Nixon’s views on India. 

Big Story

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had a long meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Moscow to try and resolve the border crisis, which Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla described as “unprecedented” since the 1962 war with China.

Also read: Army chief General M M Naravane also said the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is “tense”, but maintained that Indian actions have only been along the LAC.

From The Front Page

The Reserve Bank of India updated its priority sector lending (PSL) guidelines to include start-ups under its ambit and doubled loan limits for renewable energy and health infrastructure.

By invoking the “Act of God” to skip assured payments to states under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, the Centre has set a precedent that could have a bearing on a range of contracts that include payment obligations such as rents, interest payouts, utility bills and even salaries.

Also read our Explained on how 'Act of God' works, and when can it be invoked.

Happy Hours: Staff sanitise a bar in Connaught Place, Delhi, ahead of its reopening from September 9.

India’s first bullet train project is stuck on multiple fronts and staring at a delay of around five years. The Indian Express has learnt that the Railways now expects the project to be commissioned fully by October 2028, instead of the original timeline of December 2023.

A famed residential music gurukul with accreditation to Unesco’s intangible cultural heritage committee is in the middle of a storm with two of its famed gurus — Ramakant Gundecha and Akhilesh Gundecha — accused of sexual harassment.

Must Read

While Rhea Chakraborty’s brother Showik and the house caretaker of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput were on Friday night arrested for allegedly procuring marijuana at least 10-12 times between September 2019 and April this year, the NCB is also probing if the duo were part of a “network” involved in buying and selling of drugs to Bollywood.

With Chief Minister Amarinder Singh reversing his earlier decision, Covid-19 patients in home isolation in Punjab will no longer have to suffer the fear and stigma of social isolation resulting from posters affixed at the entrance of their homes.

A “modern and mainstream syllabus” will now allow students under the Bihar Madrasa Education Board to choose from science, arts and commerce after Class 10, and adoption of SCERT and NCERT textbooks

Viral video: Fifteen-year-old Kusum had always dreamt of becoming famous. Little did the Class 8 student know that a run-in with snatchers, including a hardened criminal would earn her that fame, and a reward of Rs 51,000 from the Jalandhar deputy commissioner.

Shopkeepers at Shastri market in Chandigarh distributed sweets on the first day after the administration discontinued the closure of shops on odd-even basis.

ICYMI

• The Supreme Court dismissed a clutch of petitions, including one filed by Ministers from six Opposition-ruled states, seeking a review of its August 17 order on NEET and JEE exams.
  
• International passengers who have a connecting flight via Delhi will soon have the option of getting an RT-PCR test for Covid-19 at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. 
  
• As Bihar slowly emerges from the clutches of a now-annual struggle with flood, the government hopes that Rs 962 crore disbursed to 16 lakh flood-affected families will hold it in good stead in the upcoming Assembly polls.
  
• The National Investigation Agency has issued notice to a Kolkata-based professor of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research for questioning in the Elgaar Parishad case. 
• A Delhi court stayed the release of a book on Asaram, written by the IPS officer who led the Rajasthan Police team that arrested the self-styled godman on charges of rape seven years ago.

And Finally...

A set of newly declassified White House tapes reveal in stark detail former President Richard Nixon’s deep antipathy towards India and Indians, whom he referred to as the “most sexless” and “pathetic” people.

Delhi Confidential: With former Rajasthan CM Sachin Pilot’s 43rd birthday coming up on Monday, his supporters were keen on a show of strength. But Pilot, who has left it to the Congress high command to resolve the situation, is in no mood to escalate matters and has told his supporters to not come to Jaipur in large numbers to wish him. 

Web series JL50 stars Abhay Deol, Pankaj Kapur and Piyush Mishra in the lead roles. In this exclusive interview by indianexpress.com, Abhay talks about JL50, high concept projects and the OTT space. JL50 is streaming on SonyLIV.

Until tomorrow,

Leela Prasad and Liu Chuen Chen