The death toll due to Covid-19 rose to 4,337 and the total number of cases climbed to 1,51,767 in the country, registering an increase of 170 deaths and 6,387 cases in the last 24 hours, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.
The number of active coronavirus cases stands at 83,004, while 64,425 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.
“Thus, around 42.45 per cent patients have recovered so far,” a senior health ministry official said. The total confirmed cases also includes foreigners.
Of the 170 deaths reported since Tuesday morning, 97 were in Maharashtra, 27 in Gujarat, 12 in Delhi, nine in Tamil Nadu, five each in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, three in Rajasthan and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Telangana and Uttarakhand.
Of the total 4,337 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 1,792 deaths followed by Gujarat with 915 deaths, Madhya Pradesh with 305, Delhi with 288, West Bengal with 283, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with 170 each, Tamil Nadu with 127 and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with 57 deaths each.
The death toll reached 44 in Karnataka and 40 in Punjab. Jammu and Kashmir has reported 24 fatalities due to the disease, Haryana 17 deaths while Bihar has registered 13 and Odisha has seven deaths.
Kerala has reported six deaths, Himachal Pradesh five while Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh and Assam have recorded four deaths each so far. Meghalaya has reported one COVID-19 fatality so far, the ministry data said.
According to the ministry’s website, more than 70 per cent of the deaths are due to comorbidities. According to the health ministry data updated in the morning, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 54,758 followed by Tamil Nadu at 17,728, Gujarat at 14,821, Delhi at 14,465, Rajasthan at 7,536, Madhya Pradesh at 7,024 and Uttar Pradesh at 6,548.
The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 4,009 in West Bengal, 3,171 in Andhra Pradesh and 2,983 in Bihar. It has risen to 2,283 in Karnataka, 2,106 in Punjab, 1,991 in Telangana, 1,759 in Jammu and Kashmir and 1,517 in Odisha.
Haryana has reported 1,305 coronavirus infection cases so far, while Kerala has 963 cases. A total of 616 people have been infected with the virus in Assam and 426 in Jharkhand. Uttarakhand has 401 cases, Chhattisgarh 361, Chandigarh 266, Himachal Pradesh 247, Tripura 207 and Goa has registered 67 cases so far.
Ladakh has reported 53 COVID-19 cases. Puducherry has 46 instances of infection, Manipur 39, while Andaman and Nicobar Islands has registered 33 coronavirus cases.
Meghalaya has registered 15 cases. Nagaland has reported four instances of infection, Dadar and Nagar Haveli and Arunachal Pradesh have reported two cases each, while Mizoram and Sikkim have reported a case each till now.
“A total of 4,013 cases are being reassigned to states,” the ministry said on its website, adding its “figures are being reconciled with the ICMR”. State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it said.
‘Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai’ — the famous slogan which was the catchphrase of India’s diplomacy with China in the mid 1950s now seems to be a distant dream as the two Asian powerhouses are entangled in a serious border dispute along Eastern Ladakh and Naku La in Sikkim.
The current border crisis between India and China is not new. There are various stretches of dispute between the 3,488 kms long Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The India-China border is divided into three sectors — Western (Ladakh), Middle (Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand) and Eastern (Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh). The Middle sector remains largely peaceful. India accuses China of illegally occupying Aksai Chin in Ladakh, while China does not accept the McMahon Line as the official border because it was signed by the Tibetan representatives in the 1914 Simla Convention, and claims the entire Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as its territory.
We look back at some of the more recent INDO-SINO border skirmishes post 2014 and try and connect them with India’s post independence history. We also look at the strategic timing and the diplomacy behind these altercations.
May 2020: Eastern Ladakh and Sikkim
The recent scuffle started near the northern banks of the Pangong Tso Lake, two-thirds of which is under Chinese control. Sources state that on May 5, the Chinese objected to the presence of Indian troops in the disputed area which led to fist-fights and stone pelting, leaving a few injured on both sides.
On May 9, there was a standoff with blows exchanged at the Naku La pass in Sikkim along the LAC, located at 19,000 feet above sea level when a patrol party of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was stopped by Indian soldiers.
The more serious confrontation could happen in the Galwan Valley region of Aksai Region — the flashpoint of the 1962 War — where the Chinese have accused India of undertaking infrastructure construction activities. China was annoyed after India’s Border Roads Organisation had built the Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi road last year. It does not want India to gain a military advantage by gaining access to Daulat Beg Oldi where the Indian Air Force reactivated an Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in 2008.
According to sources, the trigger was the construction of the Col Chewang Rinchen Setu — India’s highest altitude all-weather bridge. The developments at Pangong Tso Lake and Naku La seemed to have triggered the PLA who made incursions 1 to 3 km inside what India claims is their territory. The PLA has moved 5,000 soldiers of its border defence regiments close to the LAC.
This latest aggression by China comes at a time when the country is facing criticism from all over the world for the spread and lack of transparency of information related to Covid-19. China was forced to agree to an impartial probe into the virus source and the role of the WHO’s response to the pandemic after a resolution seeking the same was backed by 120 countries, including India. India’s new leadership role as the Chair of the Executive Board of the WHO may have also peeved China and forced it to show assertiveness back home amid huge economic losses due to Covid-19.
China was also unhappy after India revoked Article 370 in 2019, specifically over the formation of Ladakh as a Union Territory — as it claims Aksai Chin to be a part of their territory.
September 2019: Eastern Ladakh
A face-off between the Indian and Chinese soldiers took place on the northern bank of the Pangong Tso Lake just days before the Indian Army planned to conduct a massive war-game exercise involving all its arms and services to test its new integrated battle groups (IBGs) in Arunachal Pradesh in September 2019. It also happened a month ahead of the visit of the Chinese President, Xi Jinping to India in October.
August 2018: Demchok
PLA troops intruded 400 metres into the Indian side of the LAC in eastern Ladakh and set up five tents in the Cherdong-Nerlong Nallan area in protest against building of a road in the Nerlong area of Ladakh.
June 2017: Doklam
The Indian Armed Forces and the PLA were involved in a 73-day standoff over the construction of a road by the Chinese in the Doklam Plateau claimed both by China as well as Bhutan. India, which supports Bhutan’s claim over the disputed area, sent in 270 troops to stop their Chinese counterparts. The construction of the road was stopped and the troops were mutually withdrawn. India’s strategic restraint enhanced Delhi’s profile in South East Asia.
Doklam is strategically located close to the Siliguri Corridor (also called Chicken’s Neck), connecting mainland India with its north-eastern states and is a vulnerable point for India. China, which has been consolidating its military presence in the Chumbi Valley, realise that Doklam would give them easy access to the Siliguri Corridor.
September 2015: Burtse
The Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Indian Army demolished a temporary hut built by the Chinese troops in Burtse, North Ladakh. The area gave India advantage to overlook the Karakoram highway linking the territory illegally occupied by China with Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir.
September 2014: Demchok and Chumar
India and China had a three-week face-off along the LAC when Indian workers began constructing a 100-foot long water channel in Demchok for local villagers. There was also a 16-day altercation at Chumar, the last village in Ladakh bordering Himachal Pradesh, when some Chinese workers claimed that they had orders to build a road up to Tible, five kilometers deep into the Indian territory. These incidents coincided with Xi Jinping’s visit to India, which was particularly important to the newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
April 2013: Daulat Beg Oldi
A PLA contingent set up a camp in Raki Nula, 30 km south of Daulat Beg Oldi near the Aksai Chin-Ladakh LAC. In retaliation, Indian forces built their own camps 300 metres away. Tensions grew as China brought in reinforcements through trucks and helicopters. The dispute was finally settled after three weeks.
The region, although mostly a wasteland, is strategically important to China due to the presence of a highway that connects Pakistan to Tibet and Xinjiang.
May 1987: Tawang
The Indian military movements in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang were seen as a provocation by the Chinese who threatened India with war. China claimed that the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh was their territory. But India, determined to defend its border with China, had already begun fortifying its defences in the early 1980s under Indira Gandhi. It reacted sharply to the threat of war by granting statehood to Arunachal under Rajiv Gandhi in 1987. Indian and Chinese troops came face to face in places like Sulu La and Bum La by April. A war was predicted and was only averted when the then External Affairs Minister, N.D. Tiwari visited Beijing enroute to Pyongyang clearly stating New Delhi’s position of not aggravating the situation.
Septemer and October 1967: Nathu La & Cho La
The PLA launched an attack on the Indian posts in Nathu La in September 1967, while in October another clash took place at Cho La and ended on the same day. Independent sources suggest that India gained the tactical advantage in these clashes in Sikkim defeating the Chinese forces. According to the Defence Ministry, 88 Indian Army and 340 Chinese soldiers were killed during the two incidents. The competition to control the strategic disputed border land in Chumbi Valley was the major cause leading to these incidents.
The 1962 India-China War
The main reason for the 1962 war was the dispute over the sovereignty of the Aksai Chin region of eastern Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. There had been growing tension and a series of border skirmishes between the two nations following the 1959 Tibetan uprising, when India granted political asylum to the Dalai Lama. Around 3,250 Indian soldiers were killed in the war and the Chinese occupied the region of Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh. It later withdrew from the north-east and declared a ceasefire.
It was the “freedom of contract” which had ruined the concept of parliamentary democracy, Dr BR Ambedkar said in 1943. “Parliamentary democracy took no notice of economic inequalities and did not care to examine the result of freedom of contract on the parties to the contract should they happen to be unequal. It did not mind if the freedom of contract gave the strong the opportunity to defraud the weak,” he said.
The Dalit icon’s words hold increased relevance today, as various Indian states dilute the very labour laws he fought so hard for, during a worldwide pandemic.
Uttar Pradesh had previously suspended all but four labour laws. It revoked the order later, after a notice by the Allahabad High Court.
But other states were quick to step in with labour law relaxations of their own: mandating longer working hours, lax or no government inspections, and dilution of unions, among other things. One of the reasons being put forth for these moves is attracting more investment by increasing labour flexibility.
This comes at a time when India is witnessing a spiralling migrant crisis. Visuals of hungry, poor, and disabled workers walking thousands of kilometres to get to their homes amid the Covid-19 lockdown are now commonplace, and a large section of them belong to marginalised communities.
According to Suraj Yengde, a Dalit scholar with the Harvard University and author of ‘Caste Matters’, of the 395 million intrastate migrants in India, approximately 62 million are Dalits and 31 million are Adivasis. “Can you imagine that?” he says.
“People ask why they (migrants) are walking? That’s because they are forced to this exhaustion,” he says, explaining that migrants often walk kms daily to their work site, subject to difficult circumstances.
“On their return, they face diluted or suspended labour laws,” says Aruna Roy, co-founder of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) and president of the National Federation of Indian Women.
“Oppressed already both by class and caste, discrimination against the migrant labour, daily wage workers, factory and informal sector workers, will be further entrenched by downgrading their rights.”
Professor Khalid Khan from the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies says the share of casual labour who don’t enjoy any social and job security is the highest among scheduled tribes (STs) and scheduled castes (SCs).
“Casual labour makes up 21% of total workers overall but among these, 29% are STs, 39% SCs and 26% Muslims. A similar pattern is observed in states like UP, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh: states where these changes have been announced,” he says.
He also points out that the share of regular salaried workers with long-term contracts and social security is already lower among underprivileged groups.
The proposed changes may further worsen their condition in terms of increased working hours, and provision of basic amenities, Prof Khan says.
‘No Better than Bonded Labour’: Deadlier Workplaces?
Among the states that have come up with labour law changes is Madhya Pradesh. The state’s ordinance has heavily relaxed inspections. According to a report by ET, there will be no factory inspections for three months, no inspections for companies with less than 50 workers. Third-party inspections will also be allowed.
Will relaxations of this nature result in deadlier workplaces for marginalised communities?
According to the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), the watering down of the inspection system has been going on for some time now, especially by the central government.
“They brought about a new ‘inspection scheme’ which curtailed surprise inspections,” AICCTU says. Without the security of tenure, workers become afraid to complain and inspections are important to ensure some level of compliance with the law, the labour body says.
The National Front of Indian Trade Unions (DHN) echoes this perspective. According to Dr Deepak Jaiswal, vice-chairman of the labour body, the relaxations will yield more authority to the employer.
“Weaker sections were already hit. But there was a forum, and with its death, everything will become one-sided,” Jaiswal says. “Jungle raaj ho jayega (it will be like the law of the jungle),” he warns.
And with occupational segregation that accompanies the labour of downtrodden communities, these hazards are ever-present.
According to a report by The Print, the union ministry of social justice and empowerment (MSJE) revealed in an answer to a question by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Rajya Sabha member Vandana Chavan, that 282 sanitation workers had died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks in India from 2016 to November 2019.
“Even with stringent conditions for inspection, they sidestepped their obligations; without legal obligation, the worker will be no better than a bonded labourer,” Roy says.
She points out that the worker is further disadvantaged by entrenched social discrimination, including caste discrimination, and socio-economic realities.
“There is no doubt that the treatment of the SC worker, who already feels the brunt of job and wage insecurity, will worsen when her or his rights and protections are taken away,” says Roy.
MLA Jignesh Mevani from the Vadgam constituency of Gujarat affirms that “oppressed castes” will be the biggest sufferers of these changes. Workers are already facing hunger, discrimination, as they walk with blisters on their feet, the legislator says.
“Now they have legalised 12 hours of work. The workers may even be made to work for 14 hours. If there is violence in a private factory or establishment, how will we get to know? These things hardly come out,” he says.
Yengde says when industrial accidents happen due to oversights and relaxed inspections, ex-gratia payments become a way for the state to assuage those affected and tone down legal reproach. “Their (authorities’) family members have not died,” he says.
‘It Will Strengthen the Caste System’
“The caste system is not merely a division of labour but also a division of labourer, as convincingly argued by Dr Ambedkar,” Prof Khan says.
He points out that while the caste system is justified on the ground of division of labour, the fundamental feature of institutions of caste is the restriction of choice of occupation. This is imposed based on circumstances at birth.
He sheds light on the concept of meritocracy and upward mobility in India: “In its ideal form meritocracy might ensure everyone gets an equal chance of getting into privileged occupations. But in a caste-ridden society like India, meritocracy cannot work.”
There are two reasons for it, he says. First, that caste-based networks play an important role in getting jobs which favour a candidate from a privileged background more. Second, access to education in general and the quality of education is highly unequal.
In the context of such labour law changes, AICCTU points out that by hitting at the wages earned by workers and restricting the same, any possibility of upward mobility is curtailed.
Upward mobility is defined as the capacity or facility for rising to a higher social or economic position. However, in India, the shackles of caste often prevent marginalised communities from rising up the ladder.
“By keeping workers in conditions where they are unable to earn adequately, and through a steady process of privatisation of all basic services such as education, it becomes more difficult for even future generations to come out of the hereditary occupation,” the labour body says.
Yendge points out that, within the workforce, marginalised communities are often not taught other skills, as that would result in their empowerment.
According to Roy, a shocking 98% of safai karamcharis or manual scavengers are Dalits and/or women. The varna is often used as an argument to force lower castes into performing the most venal and menial jobs, she says.
“Other work that is typically done by SCs or STs such as sweeping, garbage collection, cleaning, factory work, etc, is also devalued,” Roy says.
Mevani is of the opinion that if a pro-people, pro-worker socialist economy is favoured, then Dalits would not be the only ones to carry out sanitation jobs. There would be professionalisation of different works.
But if more exploitative, capitalist tendencies are unleashed by the state, he says, then the jobs which certain sections have been historically subjected to would continue, thus strengthening caste stratification.
“Most Dalits, tribals, and OBCs are landless labourers. So when both the big farmers, and the small and marginal farmers suffer due to a failing economy, it is the Dalits and tribals to more brutalities and economic exploitation,” he explains.
“It will strengthen the caste system,” he warns.
Professor Rajendra Prasad Mamgain, from the Giri Institute of Development Studies, who specialises in labour economics, says that his work on recruitment processes shows that even while entering into the formal labour market, one has to have a social network.
“Even when you are coming to the city, you need a social network. And not everyone can migrate to the cities. With informalisation, the insecurity of labour is increased,” he says.
According to him, these labour relaxations will dampen the morale of workers. “If the employer is heavy on you, you cannot raise your voice.”
This, Prof Mamgain says, will result in workers switching more jobs until they find a humane employer, who will provide proper compensation/social security. And it will limit the mobility of occupations for SCs and STs.
Roy underscores the current situation, and feels that it should teach us a lesson: “The economic distress caused by the Covid-19 lockdown should show us that all work has value, and all workers should be treated with dignity, given decent wages as well as livelihood and social security.”
But Will this Even Yield the Desired Results?
Disaster capitalism. This is what Prof Mamgain says Indian states are carrying out, by relaxing labour laws.
The term was popularised by a 2007 book, ‘The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism’, written by Canadian author and social activist Naomi Klein. The theory states that disasters (such as pandemics) provide perfect conditions for governments to carry out questionable policies, while citizens are too distracted to have a proper response to them.
Meanwhile, criticism grows. The International Labour Organisation, after previously condemning India’s labour law changes, has now urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send a clear message to the central and state governments to uphold India’s international commitments (conventions based on labour laws) and engage in social dialogue.
The debate deepens, while one question becomes pertinent: is all this even worth it?
Prof Mamgain is of the opinion that a healthy and virtuous cycle of economic development cannot be created until conditions for effective demand, and better purchasing power are, too.
“Whatever they (states) are doing, it will have a great retrogressive effect on labour. They cannot demand raise in wages. The moment they do so, they will be made to sit down,” he says.
What will that finally do? As their right to demand better wages decreases, and competition culls their daily due, with inflationary pressure, their net income will go down, and so will their living standards, he explains.
Prof Mamgain mentions that there are two types of capital—good, and bad. “There are Japanese enterprises that are delegating work in areas of Gurugram and Manesar. They respect labour laws. India should demonstrate that model, where the worker is not a mere servant but the owner also.”
Coercive measures can be employed to increase the profit, but it will not be good for the long run. “They (employers/industries) will learn from this crisis,” he says.
The professor also underscores the complexity of Indian labour laws. But the industry had learned to live with them, he says.
According to a study conducted by him, “law and order problem” was one of the biggest issues industries faced amid capital generation. Labour laws, Prof Mamgain says, were much farther up the list.
This takes one back to NFITU’s warning about a “law of the jungle” situation that could prevail due to these changes, as aggression rises over unmet demands and decreased social security.
It is also not certain these labour law relaxations, which many experts deem a blight on human rights, would help achieve the purpose.
According to a report published by the Firstpost, there are studies that document the lack of a link between protective labour law regimes and stunted economic growth.
The report cites a 2017 study, which observed the performance in certain states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh, after employer-friendly relaxations were adopted, from 2014-2015.
There were relaxations in Chapter VB of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1950, the Contract Labour Act, 1970, and the Factories Act, 1948, the article states. However, no impact from these changes was seen on growth, employment, or investment of capital.
Mevani says that India should feed its labour force more; make it healthy and strong. “It will benefit the industries more than this,” he argues.
He also links an increased purchasing power to more production and manufacturing. “There should be a demand from the bottom. Once purchasing power increases, people will go out and buy more industrial output,” the Vadgam MLA says.​
Roy says that an exploited, exhausted, sickly and impoverished workforce, receiving a pittance for a 12-hour work day, cannot continue to be productive.
“Workers are human beings with an equal claim to constitutional and fundamental rights. This turnaround brings back the dark ages where the people who were powerless were mere fodder for the rich,” she argues.
She points out that Wipro founder Azim Premji elaborated in an article in ET on how the interests of employers and workers should be more aligned in this time of crisis.
He explained how the dilution and outright suspension of labour laws, without providing social security for the worker, will not increase economic productivity, she says.
“Rather, it is unethical, pits business and workers against one another, and will further create distress for the poor.”
The officer was admitted in an unconscious state by his wife Ratan Saxena at around 7am at a nearby private hospital. The doctors declared him dead at the hospital and informed police for the medico legal case.
A 57-year-old Indian Revenue Officer (IRS) allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself at his residence in Delhi’s Chanakyapuri on Wednesday morning.
The 1988 batch IRS officer identified as Keshav Saxena, was posted as Principal Commissioner, Income Tax Office, at ITO.
He was admitted in an unconscious state by his wife Ratan Saxena at around 7am at a nearby private hospital. The doctors declared him dead at the hospital and informed police for the medico legal case.
The officer allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself to the ceiling fan with the help of a bedsheet.
According to police, there is a ligature mark seen on the body, indicating it to be a clear case of suicide.
During investigation, the family of the deceased told the police that Saxena was under depression for long time now.
The police have also recovered a hand written suicide note. “The suicide note is handwritten. The handwriting analysis would be done,†said Deepak Yadav, Additional DCP New Delhi.
Meanwhile, the crime team has inspected the crime scene and forensic team was called in to collect evidence from the scene of crime.
Australian Eastern Humpback whales are migrating up to the warmer waters of the Great Barrier Reef and locals may have a greater chance of spotting them.
With fewer boats on the water due to the coronavirus pandemic, a large pod is swimming past Byron Bay and into Queensland waters.
Wally Franklin, a whale researcher at Southern Cross University, said the whales could swim up as far as Cairns and Port Douglas.
The majority of humpbacks in Australian waters migrate north from June. (Nine)
“It’s possible the whales might stick a little closer to the coast if there’s fewer boats,” Dr Franklin said.
“Because the population has been steadily growing over the last couple of decades … there’s actually a lot of whales coming up.”
Sightings are tipped to increase in the coming months, with August being peak birthing and breeding month for whales.
The humpback whale population is expected to be around 40,000 this year.
Dr Franklin said the population size had not been this high since whaling increased after World War Two.
Researcher Wally Franklin said with fewer boats on the water there was a chance of the whales coming closer to shore. (Nine)
“In the 1960s there were only about 150 whales left, so we are very privileged to have this group,” Dr Franklin said.
When COVID-19 restrictions are eased to allow whale watching tours to resume, Dr Franklin explained it was important for operators and private vessels to maintain legal distancing requirements.
“If the boats restart during this season…numbers are probably going to be restricted,” he said.
It’s really a question of just taking extra care this year, keeping the regulated distance from the whales.”
India will not stop infrastructure development projects in strategic areas along the nearly 3,500-km Sino-India border notwithstanding China’s well-coordinated efforts to stall them by attempting to vitiate the situation in areas like eastern Ladakh, government sources said.
As the tense stand-off between the Chinese and Indian troops in Eastern Ladakh continues, top commanders of the Indian Army will carry out an in-depth review of the situation in several areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at a three-day conference beginning Wednesday.
The main focus of the deliberations will be on the situation in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese troops were locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball face-off in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie, the sources said.
In view of the nearly 20-day standoff between the two sides, the Indian Army has significantly ramped up its presence in sensitive border areas in North Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh besides Ladakh to send across a message that India will not be wilting under any aggressive military posturing by China, the sources said.
Separately, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and the three service chiefs held a meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Army Chief Gen MM Naravane is learnt to have apprised Singh about the current situation in the disputed areas.
Government sources said Singh has conveyed to the military brass that there was no need for reviewing the implementation of any of the key projects along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand or in Arunachal Pradesh in view of the aggressive behaviour by Chinese troops in several sensitive areas.
The Chinese side has been particularly peeved at India laying a key road in the Finger area of Pangong Tso Lake area besides another road connecting the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie road in Galwan Valley.
In the last five years, India has been focusing on improving road and other key infrastructure along the LAC as part of efforts to bolster military preparedness to deal with any challenge from the Chinese side.
The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on the evening of May 5 which spilled over to the next day before the two sides agreed to “disengage” following a meeting at the level of local commanders.
Over 100 Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured in the violence.
The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in North Sikkim on May 9.
Since then, Chinese military has increased its strength in Pangong Tso lake, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldi, and is resorting to “aggressive patrolling” in these areas. The India Army is also carrying out similar exercise in the region, sources said.
India last week said the Chinese military was hindering normal patrolling by its troops and asserted that India has always taken a very responsible approach towards border management.
At a media briefing, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava also strongly refuted China’s contention that the tension was triggered due to trespassing by Indian forces on the Chinese side.
India’s response came two days after China accused the Indian Army of trespassing into its territory, claiming that it was an “attempt to unilaterally change the status” of the LAC in Sikkim and Ladakh.
On May 5, the Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting in the Pangong Tso lake area in which soldiers on both sides sustained injuries.
In a separate incident, nearly 150 Indian and Chinese military personnel were engaged in a face-off near Naku La Pass in the Sikkim sector on May 9. At least 10 soldiers from both sides sustained injuries.
The troops of India and China were engaged in a 73-day stand-off in Doklam tri-junction in 2017 which even triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet while India contests it.
Both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first informal summit in April 2018 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, months after the Doklam standoff.
In the summit, the two leaders decided to issue “strategic guidance” to their militaries to strengthen communications so that they can build trust and understanding.
Modi and Xi held their second informal summit in Mamallapuram near Chennai in October last year with a focus on further broadening bilateral ties.
As part of its commitment to protect consumers online, the European Commission has co-ordinated a screening (‘sweep’) of websites, with the aim of finding out where consumers in the EU are being subjected to content promoting false claims or scam products in the context of the coronavirus.
The results show that, following the Commission’s call, platforms have removed or blocked millions of misleading advertisements or product listings. The sweep – carried out by the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network – consisted of two parts: a high-level screening of online platforms, and an in-depth analysis of specific advertisements and websites linked to products in high demand because of the coronavirus.
Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said: “The major online platforms have positively replied to the European Commission’s call to address scams and misleading offers and have shown a clear commitment to remove harmful content. However, as this recent sweep has shown, rogue traders continue to find new ways to exploit consumers’ vulnerabilities, circumvent algorithmic checks and set up new websites. In the midst of a global pandemic, you need to be aware of this as a consumer – there are no miracle online cures. I am grateful that national consumer authorities remain on high alert and are working together with the Commission to protect consumers online.â€
The Consumer Protection Authorities of 27 countries participated in the high-level screening of platforms and submitted 126 replies concerning both the companies with which the Commission has been in regular contact and additional national players. Particular attention was given to screening offers linked to protective masks and caps, sanitizing gels, testing kits as well as food, food supplements and non-food products with alleged healing effects related to the coronavirus.
See all the results of the sweep in the press release. The Commission has also published here updated advice for consumers and traders on how to avoid online rogue trading practices.
In 1997, the inhabitants of the tiny Hebridean Isle of Eigg finally succeeded in taking collective control of their island. Tensions had been running high for years: everything from the islanders’ homes to their jobs to their electricity supply depended on the whims of the wealthy businessman who owned it. Sick of putting up with crumbling buildings while he took rich friends for picnics and jaunts in his Rolls Royce, they launched what today would be called a crowdfunder, and eventually raised enough money to buy him out.
Today, Eigg is thriving. A community housing association has refurbished the islanders’ homes and made rents more affordable. The island is 95 percent powered by community-owned renewables, giving islanders 24-hour electricity for the first time. The landscape, previously scarred by damaging spruce tree plantations, has been restored. There is even a community-owned broadband network. Decisions about the island’s future are made democratically by the trust that owns it on behalf of all who live there.
The story of Eigg gives me hope, not just because it shows that change is possible – but because it has deep truths to teach us about what is wrong with our economy and how we can put it right. The power of the global 1 percent is, first and foremost, the power of the landlord.
Today’s economic elite do not generally earn their wealth by producing useful things: They are gatekeepers who extract wealth from others by controlling the resources they rely on, just as landlords extract rent by controlling land and property. Global energy companies control natural resources. Banks control the money supply. Tech giants control our data, as well as the platforms on which we share it.
This means that, like the islanders of Eigg, we can address many of the crises we face by taking control of these assets together for the common good. We can take control of our homes through public housing and community land trusts, pioneered in the US and now found in UK cities from London to Liverpool. We can take control of our energy through city energy supply firms and community wind and solar generation, inspired by Germany and Denmark’s renewable revolution. We can take control of our money supply through public and cooperative banks that support their local communities with affordable credit – a model that works across the world, from India to France. We can demand shared ownership of our data rather than handing it over to corporations, as Barcelona’s pioneering city government has started doing.
Because all of these models take wealth extraction out of the equation, they can give us more affordable access to the necessities of life: warm homes, clean energy, loans to see us through hard times.
But they also give us something deeper: a sense of greater control over our lives, the ability to participate in decisions that affect us. This matters in a world where feelings of alienation and disempowerment are fueling the rise of a racist far right.
A new vision of economic citizenship must be squarely opposed to these politics – defined by your belonging to the community and not the country of your birth. Rather than seeking to regain control by building walls and slamming shut borders, we must build new forms of global solidarity that expand the space for democracy – for instance, by shutting down the tax-avoidance networks and speculative flows of capital that wreck national economies.
Taking collective control of our economy also means we can reorient it towards the things we actually care about: lives and livelihoods, not just GDP and profits.
The pandemic has thrown these issues into stark relief. We can now see who the real “essential workers” are: nurses, bin men and shop assistants, not hedge fund managers and advertising executives. In countries like mine, where social safety nets have been so badly vandalised that sick people cannot afford to stay at home, we are discovering that protecting everyone benefits us all. Our minds are being focused on the relationships that matter: the friends and family we are separated from, and the kindness of neighbours who are helping each other through.
Polling shows that eight out of 10 Britons want the government to prioritise human wellbeing over economic growth. Yet as I write this, the UK is easing lockdown only for activities where money changes hands. You can now invite a cleaner into your home, but not your mother.
In some ways, this is unsurprising. Our current economic system is a bit like a bicycle: it has to keep moving, or it falls over. But the effects of lockdown should be a warning: the ecological emergency means that we simply cannot continue to rely on an ever-expanding economy to give us all a good life. Instead, by finding new ways to provide for our needs collectively, we can reduce our dependence on this extractive and destructive money-circulation machine.
These are dark days. But in such times, we need a vision for a better future as a light to guide us out. Just as a better society was built from the rubble of World War II, so we must learn the lessons of this global crisis and build something better in its wake.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
AsianScientist (May 27, 2020) – The World Economic Forum announced today its Class of 2020 Young Scientists, representing 25 exceptional researchers at the forefront of scientific discovery.
The Young Scientists were nominated by leading research institutes according to criteria including research excellence, leadership potential and commitment to serving society.
“These brilliant academics, 40 and under, have been selected on the basis of their achievements in expanding the boundaries of knowledge and practical applications of science in issues as diverse as child psychology, chemical oceanography and artificial intelligence,†the announcement said.
Eight of this year’s Young Scientists study in Europe, while seven work in Asia, six are based in the Americas, two in South Africa and a further two in the Middle East. Fifteen–more than half–of the 25 Young Scientists are women.
“We are looking forward to working with the Class of 2020 Young Scientists to help leaders from the public and private sector better engage with science and in doing so, help young researchers become stronger ambassadors for science, which the world needs now and will continue to need post-COVID-19,†said Alice Hazelton, programme lead of science and society at the World Economic Forum.
Here are the Young Scientists who are based in Asia:
Lee Sue-Hyun (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea): Lee researches how memories are recalled and updated, and how emotional processes affect human memory, to inform therapeutic interventions for mental disorders
Meng Ke (Tsinghua University, China): Meng seeks to understand the socio-economic causes of population aging and declining population rates to suggest what public policy measures and innovations can be used to address them
Shi Ling (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR): Shi researches the vulnerability of cyber-physical systems to protect safety-critical infrastructures—such as power utilities and water transportation systems—from attacks
Sho Tsuji (University of Tokyo, Japan): Tsuji seeks to understand how an infant’s social environment affects language acquisition—a key predictor of future literacy—to inform culturally sensitive, science-based, societal interventions
Wu Dan (Zhejiang University, China): Wu is researching technological advances in MRI techniques to improve its ability to detect tumors and stroke, as well as monitor fetal brain development
Li Yi (Peking University, China): Li researches social-communicative impairments in children with autism in China to develop more precise screening and diagnosis, as well as innovative treatment approaches in the country
Xu Ying (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China): Xu’s research focuses on enhancing China’s low-orbit Beidou navigation satellite system, which could lead to advances in the commercial aerospace industry
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Source: World Economic Forum; Photo: Pexels. Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing €200 million to Spanish company Gestamp to invest in its research and development programme. The financing is guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments. Gestamp, which employs some 43,000 personnel, will use the financial support to develop safer, lighter vehicles with lower emissions. The R&D activities will take place in Gestamp’s plants in Spain, Germany, France and Sweden.
Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said: “With the financial backing of the European Investment Bank under InvestEU, Gestamp will invest in the development of vehicles which are safer, less polluting, and more efficient. An investment in a green future which we must continue building together once we emerge from this crisis.â€
The press release is available here. As of April 2020, the Investment Plan for Europe has mobilized €478.4 billion of investment across the EU, including €55.1bn in Spain, and supported 1.17 million start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses.
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