1. Indian Forces Bracing for More ‘Shallow Intrusions’ By Chinese Troops
Indian forces are bracing for more “shallow intrusions” or “needling probes” from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) in vulnerable spots along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), according to sources in the Indian defence establishment.
This assessment comes even as both forces held a border personnel meeting (BPM) in eastern Ladakh on Wednesday to calm down tempers, a day after Indian and Chinese soldiers pelted stones at each other near Pangong Lake.
The PLA is unlikely to try anything near the already restive Sikkim-Bhutan-Sikkim tri-junction because Indian troops are militarily much better-placed there and can easily threaten China’s narrow Chumbi Valley in the region, if required, the according to India’s assessment.
“But the PLA could try something in eastern Ladakh, as was seen on Tuesday, or eastern Arunachal Pradesh or Lipulekh Pass and Barahoti in the central sector (Himachal-Uttarakhand),” one of the sources said.
Source: The Times of India
2. Minister Vijay Goel’s NGO Asks for Plot, DDA Changes Norms, Layout Plan to Allot
Dismissing objections raised by its own officials, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) changed its layout plan to allot a plot in the capital earmarked for a post office to an NGO closely associated with Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel in September 2016. In fact, Goel’s NGO kept asking for the plot, adjacent to a school it runs. And at one point, it openly upbraided the DDA for seeking documents.
In January 2014, soon after Goel became a Rajya Sabha member, Vaish Aggarwal Educational Society (VAES) – DDA records mention Goel as vice-president, son Siddhant and daughter Vidyun among members – sought land from the DDA to set up a toy bank.
Records scrutinised by The Indian Express show that a month later, DDA asked VAES to apply “on prescribed form”. Nothing moved for more than a year.
Source: The Indian Express
3. US Designates Hizbul Mujahideen a Foreign Terrorist Organisation, Freezes Assets
The US State department on Wednesday designated Hizbul Mujahideen as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO). The move comes nearly a month after it designated HM chief Syed Salahuddin as a specially designated global terrorist.
According to a statement from US department of States, “The designations seek to deny HM the resources it needs to carry out terrorist attacks. Among other consequences, all of HM’s property and interests in property subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the group.”
Source: The Indian Express
4. 34 More Children Die in 48 Hours at BRD Hospital in Gorakhpur
Thirty-four children died at the BRD Medical College on Monday and Tuesday, official records of the hospital said. The high number of deaths showed that the situation continued to be very alarming nearly a week after over 30 children died at the same hospital on 10 August and 11.
Twenty-four deaths took place on Monday alone, medical college principal PK Singh said. Monday’s deaths included 15 in the neonatal ward (NICU), five in the acute encephalitis syndrome and four in other wards.
Source: Hindustan Times
5. Kerala ‘Love Jihad’: SC Orders NIA Probe into Woman’s Conversion, Marriage
The Supreme Court directed on Wednesday the National Investigation Agency to investigate the alleged forced conversion of a Hindu woman to Islam for marriage in Kerala.
The order came after the country’s counter-terrorism organisation said it was not an isolated case but part of a growing pattern of converting women from Hinduism to Islam.
The NIA made its remarks during a hearing on a petition filed by Kerala-based Shafin Jahan, a Muslim man whose marriage last December with a Hindu woman was annulled by the Kerala high court.
The high court described the wedding as a case of “love jihad”, a term right-wing groups use to allege an Islamist strategy of converting Hindu women through seduction, marriage, money or threat.
Source: Hindustan Times
6. After Ladakh Scuffle, India and China Hold Marathon Border Meet
A nasty scuffle by Indian and Chinese troops in the Ladakh sector and ways to maintain “peace and tranquility” in the sensitive region were discussed at a marathon meeting between military officers of the two neighbours on Wednesday.
More details weren’t immediately known as the army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police officers refused comments. The meeting began in the afternoon and continued till late into the evening.
It was held a day after Chinese troops hurled stones at Indian border troopers, forcing them to retaliate. Blows were also exchanged, leading to injuries on both sides.
Source: Hindustan Times
7. Knee Implants to Cost up to 69 Percent Less as Government Caps Prices
Acting swiftly on PM Narendra Modi's Independence Day promise to take steps to rein in healthcare costs, the government on Wednesday said it is placing knee implants under price control.
The government has slashed the prices of knee implants by between 59 percent and 69 percent using a special provision in the drug pricing law that enables it to intervene in “extraordinary circumstances” in public interest. The move is expected to benefit over three crore arthritis patients in India needing knee replacement surgery.
Official sources said hip implants and intraocular lenses are the next items likely to attract the attention of the regulatory scanner.
Source: The Times of India
8. 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots: SC Forms Panel to Examine SIT Decision to Close 199 Cases
The Supreme Court constituted on Wednesday a supervisory panel of its two retired judges to scrutinise 241 cases related to the anti-Sikh riots.
These cases were closed by the special investigation team (SIT) that the NDA government set up in 2015 to reinvestigate the riots that killed about 3,000 people after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on 31 October, 1984.
Most of the people were murdered in New Delhi. A top court bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra said the panel will submit its report within three months and fixed November 28 for the next hearing.
Source: Hindustan Times
9. For Metro Rail, States Must Bring Private Players: Government
Marking a major shift in its approach to urban mass transit projects, the Union Government has made it mandatory for state governments seeking central financing for their proposed Metro Rail to involve private players in the execution and running of the system.
The Union Cabinet approved Wednesday the New Metro Rail policy, which states that “private participation either for complete provisioning of metro rail or for some unbundled components will form an essential requirement for all metro rail project proposals seeking central financial assistance”.
Source: The Indian Express
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