The Hindu Editorial Analysis | 20th July ’20

Table of Contents

Welcome candour| Tribune

Rajnath Singh said that there is no guarantee that the ongoing talks between India and China would help resolve the border dispute.
This indicates a larger Chinese design to prolong the standoff.
Defence Minister is being realistic
Defence Minister: no power in the world can grab even an inch of Indian territory
6th June: Indian and Chinese corps commanders meets and agrees on disengagement.
June 15: China strikes India – 20 soldiers dies.
Three meetings of the military leaders
July 5: meeting between special representatives on the boundary question, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Credible strategic thinkers have pointed out that the Line of Actual Control could have got shifted westwards into the Indian territory by about a kilometre.
The fear of incursion at Depsang aimed at threatening the Daulat Beg Oldie airstrip is getting more and more real in these circumstances.
How people of India should get themselves ready?

Make the right call on ‘Malabar’ going Quad | TH

India could soon invite Australia to join the Malabar naval exercises.
First time since 2007 that all members of Quad will participate in a joint military drill.
Beijing has long opposed a coalition of democracies in the Indo-Pacific region.
For China, Quad is an Asian-NATO.
The Global Times: India was risking harsh consequences

Malabar exercise may make China uncomfortable.
It may open a new front in Indo-China conflict.
What is strategic rationale of the military-Quad?
The U.S. and its Pacific partners, whose principal motivation in forming a maritime coalition is to implement a ‘rules-based order’ in the Indo-Pacific littorals.
India’s priority is to acquire strategic capabilities to counter a Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean.
Indian Navy is yet to develop the undersea capability to deter Chinese submarines in the eastern Indian Ocean.
U.S. defence companies hesitant to part with proprietary technology.
Quad should benefit India in strategic technology transfer front.
U.S. may draw India into its strategic contest with China.
Australia is the only one ready and able to partner India in securing the Eastern Indian Ocean.
Chinese Navy has avoided any entanglement with Indian naval ships in the subcontinental littorals.
The onus of the first move to precipitate a crisis in the Eastern Indian Ocean lies with the Indian Navy.
Reality check: naval coalition building alone will not credibly deter Chinese naval power in the Indian Ocean
For better result: acquire requisite combat and deterrence capability.
Calculate

Vaccine hope floats | ToI

Global, Covid-19 cases has crossed 1.4 crore, with more than 6 lakh deaths.
Oxford University vaccine candidate has shown considerable promise in early human trials.
The vaccine named ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 has in fact emerged as a frontrunner among the more than 155 vaccine candidates currently under development.
Two things appear to have given the British candidate a leg up – research done previously and the vaccine mechanism.
The university’s Jenner Institute was actually working on a MERS – another coronavirus-induced disease – vaccine before Covid struck.
US biotech firm Moderna’s vaccine candidate too has shown promise and will enter final stage trials this month.
Here in India, the indigenous Covaxin vaccine candidate has got the nod to start human trials from today.
If all goes well, at least one of these vaccine candidates could be available for general public use by the end of the year, which would end the Covid scourge.
USA has also proved to be utterly inept in handling the coronavirus epidemic.
- Total: Four million cases
- Active: nearly 2 million
- Deaths: 140000
- Per day case: 70k
President Trump has consistently viewed public health through the prism of his re-election bid.
In an article published in the New York Times, Larry Hogan, the Governor of Maryland: “The President downplayed the outbreak’s severity and… the White House failed to issue public warnings, draw up a 50- state strategy, or dispatch medical gear or life-saving ventilators from the national stockpile to American hospitals. Eventually, it was clear that waiting around for the President to run the nation’s response was hopeless. So, every governor went their own way, which is how the United States ended up with such a patchwork response.”
Mr Trump: early decision to ban entry of travellers from China saved countless lives. But aviation records show that more than 8,000 people entered from Hong Kong and Macau, which were not covered by the ban, in the next three months.
Federal government advised Americans that masks would not help stop the spread of the virus.
It has since emerged that this advise was issued so that Personal Protective Equipment that was in short supply for emergency medical staff would not be consumed by ordinary Americans.

Policy retreat | TH

Market forces and common sense appeared to triumph over narrow-minded economic protectionism in the U.S. on student visas.
Legal challenge was immediately mounted by Harvard University, the MIT, and over 200 other universities.
The universities joining the case against the decision of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement argued in court that this policy, described as “cruel” and “illegal”, undermined their efforts to create a safe, online-based learning system amidst the raging panemic.
Both the universities and their prospective international enrollees would be wise to remain alert to the possibility of additional restrictions foisted onto the entry process at a future date.
H-1B visas for skilled workers and several other worker visas.
Trump’s job approval ratings are on the decline.
His Democratic rival, Joe Biden, is trying to capitalise on Mr. Trump’s failings and find a path to victory in November’s presidential election.
However, he will have to proactively address the precarious state of the U.S. macroeconomy through fiscal measures, while also providing succour to tens of millions of workers who have lost their livelihoods through this crisis.

NEWS

India’s Case Fatality Rate of COVID-19
- Government has said that India’s Case Fatality Rate of COVID-19 has fallen below 2.5 per cent for the first time.
- India has one of the lowest fatality rates in the world.
- The Health Ministry has said, at the ground level, front line health workers like ASHAs and ANMs have done a commendable job of managing the migrant population and to enhance awareness at the community level.
Bihar Covid-19 cases
- The central team has asked the Bihar government to hike testing capacity in view of the spike in COVID-19 cases throughout the state.
- The team also stressed on increasing the testing capacity through RT PCR, a confirmatory test for COVID-19.
Northern Railway has made available 503 isolation coaches equivalent to 8,048 beds as COVID Care Centres at nine stations in Delhi.
The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to increase Covid beds immediately in Lucknow in the wake of the spike in Corona infection.
Telangana touched the 45,000 COVID cases mark following 1296 new cases confirmed Coronavirus positive cases yesterday.
In Tamil Nadu, the total infections crossed one lakh seventy thousand yesterday with the confirmation of 4979 new cases.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up state chief minister Edappadi Palaniswamy yesterday and inquired about the ground situation.
In Karnataka, 4120 new COVID-19 positive cases were reported yesterday, taking the total tally to 63,772.
- Ten lakh people were tested yesterday in the State.
- The Karnataka government has given 50,000 Rapid Antigen Testing Kits to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike to identify the COVID-19 positive cases in the Bengaluru city.
Gujarat has recorded 965 new cases during the past 24 hours.
- Total cases in the state detected so far have gone up to 48,441.
- In Madhya Pradesh, devotees from outside the state will not be allowed to enter the Mahakal temple campus in Ujjain from today in view of the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
- Mahakal temple is one of the 12 jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva which attracts lakhs of devotees every year.
- Puducherry
- Lieutenent Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi will not deliver her customary address of the budget session in the legislative assembly this morning.
- The Lt Governor has refused to address the house saying Chief Minister V Narayanasamy did not send her the annual financial statement and demand for grants meant to be presented in the House today.
- Dr Bedi said, she has informed the chief minister that he has not sent her the documents as required under the provisions of the Government of Union Territories Act 1963.
- In a letter to Mr Narayanasamy, she asked him to give a new date for budget presentation. Lt Governor said, the Chief Minister also sent her the inaugural address late last evening.
- She said, the budget is not approved as is mandated and therefore no point to address the House in such circumstances.
- Dr Bedi said, she has also informed Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the development.
- She said, the Chief Minister’s Office has refused to accept her letter.
Ajai Shanker Memorial Award
- Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts, EPCH has conferred Ajai Shanker Memorial Award to J&K’s Handicrafts and Handloom Department and three business firms for contribution in the promotion of export of exotic handicraft products in the Union Territory.
- The awards were presented during a glittering valedictory function of the 49th IHGF Delhi Fair, Virtual Edition, yesterday.
- EPCH presented the awards to the Handicrafts and Handloom Department and the craft exporters in ‘Best Virtual Booth’ category under J&K Pavilion during the fair.
- The winners in this category were Chinar Arts for papier-machie, Venoo’s Furniture for walnut wood furniture and Ramzan & Sons for willow wicker.