With the government reportedly taking a look at more than 275 Chinese apps for a potential ban, after a ban on over 100 apps has already been ordered, rumours are that PUBG Mobile could finally be banned in India. Many in the country seem set to welcome the new move, though Gadgets 360 is yet to receive a clarity on the matter. However, many fans of the game have been requesting the authorities to not include PUBG Mobile in any fresh list of banned apps.

What is PUBG Mobile?

PUBG is a battle royale game developed by PUBG Corporation, a subsidiary of South Korean video game company Bluehole. The game is available on PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Mobile. The game was created by Brendan Greene (PlayerUnknown) and released back in 2017.

The game starts with 100 players jumping onto an abandoned island and turning it into a battlefield. The last player left standing wins the match and gets the metaphorical ‘Chicken Dinner’. The game is quite fast-paced with the safe zone collapsing and wild elements like the Red Zone. It is the game that is credited with popularizing the battle royale genre of gaming.

 

Apart from installs, there are many Indian gamers who actively stream PUBG Mobile through their channels on Twitch and YouTube. Niko Partners Senior Analyst Daniel Ahmad tweeted that while the game has a large base in India, it doesn't generate revenue at the same scale, making around $2-3 million (roughly Rs. 15-22 crores) on a monthly basis.

Craig Chapple, Mobile Insights Strategist, EMEA at Sensor Tower, told Gadgets 360, citing the data from Sensor Tower Store Intelligence estimates, that despite receiving close to 450 crore new installs from Apple App Store and Google Play in the first half of 2020, India ranks low for player spending, generating approximately $94 million (roughly Rs. 704 crores). "For comparison, the United States' mobile games market generated close to $10.1 billion from player spending during the same period," he said.

The disparity in installs and revenues reflects in case of PUBG Mobile as well. However, Chapple said that it is still a leading example that this type of games can monetise in India.

 

BANNING PUBG

Although the government didn't provide the list of apps it had banned under the new decision, it is said to be considering prohibiting PUBG Mobile among some other China-backed apps and games, including AliExpress, Ludo World, Resso, ULIke, and Zili, Other developers such as LBE Tech.

It could be a part of the list of over 275 apps that will reportedly be examined for any user privacy and national security violations. However, ahead of any official announcement, the arrival of PUBG Mobile's name in the news reports has taken social media by storm.

In India, the game has generated 180.3 million downloads to date, and generated $38.6 million [roughly Rs. 289 crores in lifetime revenue. In the first half of 2020, it was India's top grossing mobile game.

Is PUBG Mobile really a Chinese game?

With the reports suggesting the potential ban of PUBG Mobile, some people have started raising comments that it's a Korean game and not a Chinese one. This is indeed true for PUBG that is meant for online gamers and is developed and published by PUBG Corporation, which is a subsidiary of South Korean video game company Bluehole. However, PUBG Mobile was created in a collaboration between PUBG Corporation and Shenzhen-headquartered Tencent Game. It, thus, has some relation with China.

Nevertheless, some industry watchers feel PUBG Mobile's China connection is weak, and Chapple of Sensor Tower says, "I would note that the PUBG IP is owned by PUBG Corp, which is part of Krafton Game Union, a South Korea-based holding company."

Would India get any impact from the PUBG Mobile ban?

One of the popular alternatives to PUBG Mobile is Fortnite. But since the latter requires more powerful hardware and doesn't perform well on entry-level Android devices, India is chiefly a PUBG-country so far. This is a major reason why many people are demanding the government to exclude PUBG Mobile from its banning plans. Many gamers are upset about its potential ban and expressing their views on social media.

 

The pandemic had resulted in a halt over everyone’s education, careers, livelihoods, but for the fraudsters in Sydney. These grifters have a fresh way to make their living now, and they chose the Chinese students who’ve been stranded in the unknown land, away from their homes as their new means of income.

The process they follow as these scam artists after choosing their victims, they tend to blackmail them to release sensitive information. In order to avoid that the victims are forces to stage their own kidnapping and make the abduction seem genuine and send this recording as a proof to their relatives in China which will help them obtain the ransom. They deliver the messages to thousands of random phone numbers purporting to be from a messenger service. It is a robocalls and says a package needs to be delivered.

On Tuesday, the police in New South Wales confirmed of eight such cases had occurred with ransom one case confirmed that the family paid $2 million and in others the price range was between a few thousand dollars to more than $200,000, of kidnapping which never took place. A young, 21-year old woman was a victim of such a scam. The video she sent to her family in China seemed genuine to them where the student seemed to be in pain and pleaded for their help in an unreleased location in Australia. A few hours later the female’s housemate information the police in Sydney on July 14, she was found be safe at a hotel where she lured by the perpetrators.

The victims in Australia return calls from someone who greets in Mandarin and ask for their basic identity information or that they have been implicated in a crime in China as the person claims to be speaking from the Chinese Government or the Chinese embassy or some other authority. In some cases, the students were also persuaded to not to contact their families for days in order to root a possibility that the student might in danger.

What seemed unusual to the police that after the ransom was paid, the victims were found safe and sound the very next day. The reason the affected students did not report this crime was that they felt ashamed of reporting it in the first place, still traumatised and frightened of the fact that their information might be leaked or that their parents won’t spare them.

"The victims of virtual kidnappings we have engaged are traumatised by what has occurred, believing they have placed themselves, and their loved ones, in real danger," said NSW Police.

According to the advocate for the international students in Australia, made a statement where the person assured that the international students have been the most vulnerable amidst this unfortunate situation. The reason of this he claimed to be was the student’s reliance on casual work and their exclusion from the government welfare.

"Students can do two important things to protect themselves against these types of crimes - firstly, be aware they exist and secondly, ask for help early if they think it might be happening to them or someone they know," advised the NSW Police.

Now there also have been new reports from New Zealand and the United States.

Ambitious, young aspirants, striving to achieve their dreams move away from the comfort of their own homes and set foot in a foreign land to start their journey. The very experience traumatizes a few, not knowing how to deal with it or whom to turn into for help. It is unfortunate to see such bilks are reprobates are on the lookout for such naïve persons to make their living through them. The Government should stringent the laws and take firm actions.

A batch of five Rafale fighter jets touched down to a special water cannon salute at the Ambala air base this afternoon, the first western combat aircraft to join the Indian Air Force 23 years after Sukhoi aircraft were imported. The French-manufactured Rafale multi-role combat jets covered a distance of nearly 7,000 km and were escorted by two Sukhoi 30 MKIs after they entered the Indian air space. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted that the "birds" had landed safely in Ambala.

"Welcome home 'Golden Arrows'. Blue skies always," the Indian Air Force tweeted with a photo of the Rafales in the "Arrow formation".

This is the first batch from a contingent of 36 Rafale jets from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation as part of a Rs 59,000-crore deal signed by the government on September 23, 2016. The planes are expected to give a mega-boost to India's air power amid tensions with China and Pakistan.

The jets, piloted by IAF officers, took off from Merignac in southwest France on Monday. Spectacular visuals posted by the Air Force yesterday showed the jets refueling from a French tanker at a height of 30,000 feet.

The jets made a stopover in Al Dhafra in the UAE, where France has an air base. Soon after taking off from the UAE, the Rafales established contact with Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata in the Western Arabian Sea. "Welcome to the Indian Ocean... May you touch the sky with glory," the Naval warship was heard telling a Rafale commander in an audio.

 

2020: A repeat of 2008?

With huge economic strain given the impact of pandemic, it's time we question the leaders, the economists on whether it's a repeat of the history of the great recession of 2008?

A decade after the Great Recession of 2008, the global economy indicates the resurgence of economic complacency and unpredictability of markets as we dwell within close proximity of yet another global economic crisis.

 

Now: Main Street has collapsed

The current recession is not caused by a broken link within the system, but from an external threat, a worldwide pandemic. In order to keep the disease from spreading, many governments forced non-essential businesses to close and brought in lockdown orders, bringing many industries to a grinding halt.

But luckily, the overall financial system is in much better shape this time around - in part because of some of the policy changes made in response to the 2008 the recession.

Who's to be blamed?

USA, the hegemon seems to be the reason for such escalated international tensions. 

 Indices of major stock markets have been on a gradual decline in the financial year. Some even hint at the possibility of a “global debt bubble” which would inevitably cause another global recession. 

A bubble is an economic cycle which includes the rapid escalation of asset prices followed by contraction of the asset prices due to exuberant market behavior. With USA being the superpower, dollar's strength is incredible. Slight ramifications and the world pays off. 

The ramifications of the dollar's strength are witnessed via the trade war between the USA and China. This trade war has not only impacted their relation but also other countries especially south Asian countries who were caught between the crossfire. 

The USA should not be held solely responsible for an imminent global economic crisis. The global market faces stiff uncertainty in the midst of rising tautness in the European Union, with reference to Brexit, leading to Britain opting out of EU. 

Three major economic similarities between 2020 and 2008 recession 

1. Uncertainty: Both crises share uncertainty as a key factor once they emerged in one of the two leading economies (the United States in 2008 and China end of 2019) and spread globally.

To put it simply and following Frank Knight (1921), “uncertainty” can be defined as a non-quantifiable risk. It is a risk that cannot easily be traced so that its probability of occurrence and its impact can hardly be predicted. This applies both to the new non-visible coronavirus and to the ‘‘subprime’’ virus.

2. Collapse: The initial drops in the stock exchanges of major countries (up to one-fourth of their valuation) have been analogous between both crises. And both global recessions have been successively qualified as the largest since the Great Depression.

 

Warnings  but  'No Measures'.

Even with clear warning signs of an imminent global financial crisis, world leaders fail to take corrective measures and seek only benefit without realizing the damage. 

Ironically, the recession of 2020 will produce well-educated unemployed labour force. Isn't that great ?

A return to how life was at the start of 2020 is some way off. Even when lockdown restrictions are eased, coronavirus will affect our lives in many ways. What will struggle to get back to how it was before, and what might change for ever?

From Zooming clients to neighbourhood WhatsApp groups, digital platforms have become the only way for many of us to work, get fit or be educated and entertained. 

We're more relaxed about screen time hours for us and our kids, a huge culture shift from just a few weeks ago. It feels unlikely that'll disappear overnight. 

But key to a recovery will be job creation and keeping down living costs. The former means that, however uneasy, governments may have to tolerate China's continued investment around the globe. 

As for the latter, businesses need to keep costs low, and overseas sourcing of non-essential will continue. Some of the biggest brands, including H&M, have committed to helping workers in factories thousands of miles away to keep supply chains functioning. 

Those companies were already looking beyond China to lower cost nations such as Vietnam, Ethiopia and Bangladesh - countries which will work even harder to attract foreign customers. 

 

There'll be a lot less money in defence budgets for shiny new weaponry - with security being redefined because of the extraordinary weaknesses revealed by the pandemic. National security capability will be judged by stockpiled medical equipment and preparedness for the next pandemic or environmental catastrophe, not just on how many tank brigades can be deployed. 

 

As COVID-19 still goes on to continue with the same pace, On a great note, Russia has provided the world with a sigh of relief as it has reportedly completed its first phase of COVID-19 human clinical trials, successfully.

The COVID-19 vaccine is being developed by the Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in collaboration with the Russian Defence Ministry.

The Chief researcher and the head of the Center for Clinical Research on Medications at Sechenov University, Dr Elena Smolyarchuk said that the  1st phase of human trials for the vaccine have been completed at the Sechenov University and they will be discharged to the market for commercial purposes soon.

However, there are controversies and contradictions on Russia's success in the 1st trial, since many countries and netizens all over the world since they believe that the world is still far from reaching the solution of the pandemic. 

No information on when this vaccine would enter commercial production stage has been published yet.

In another news, as of Sunday morning, the total number of global cases stood at 12,681,472, while the fatalities due to COVID rose to 564,420, increasing the graph day by day.

We can only hope that Russia's claims are true and the humanity savior vaccine enters the markets soon. 

Image credits- Inshorts Screengrab. 

Withdrawal of Chinese troops in Hot Springs complete

Indian and Chinese armies continued with the troop withdrawal process on Wednesday clearing patrol point-15 – another friction zone in eastern Ladakh that was on the knife-edge during the nine-week long stand-off in India’s northernmost union territory.

The disengagement has been completed at PP-15 (Gogra Post/Hot Spring areas) where the troops have moved back by nearly two km from the line of actual control, government sources said. At PP-17 and PP-17A in the same area, it would take another day or two to finish the task.

The Chinese military removed all temporary structures and completed withdrawal of its troops from the face-off site in Hot Springs in eastern Ladakh on Wednesday even as the Indian Army kept a close watch on the pull back and maintained a high-level of combat readiness in the region, PTI reported quoting sources.  The news report said the two armies are expected to carry out a joint verification in the next few days to assess the implementation of the disengagement process once the dismantling of the temporary infrastructure and withdrawal of troops by China are completed at the friction points along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. There has been thinning out of troops from Finger areas in Pangong Tso as well, they report said. Pangong Tso has been a major face-off site between the two sides. 

Amidst reports of withdrawal of Indian and Chiese soldiers from the contested Galwan Valley, a statement was issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. China has said that both countries are working to reduce border tension but did not clarify whether its army had retreated or not.
News agency Reuters asked Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian “According to Indian media reports, China has retreated with tents and equipment from the Galwan Valley, where there was a clash between the two countries.” Can you confirm it has happened?

In response, Zhao Lijian said – “there is progress made on front-line troops taking effective measures to disengage and ease the tensions.” He said the Chinese and Indian troops held commander-level talks on June 30 as the two sides continued to work to implement the consensus reached at the two previous rounds of talks.
Anti-China sentiment has been growing in India since the high-altitude clash, with the government banning Chinese mobile apps including the wildly popular TikTok.

The symbolic disengagement of Indian and Chinese armies from few areas in eastern Ladakh has shown their intent to resolve the border standoff peacefully ahead of another round of military talks on Wednesday. The gesture explains that the dialogue between the two countries was successful and China too understood that bullying tactics will not work against India.

Taking a strict action against the country's online security matters, India has recently banned around 59 Chinese origin apps which included popular apps like TikTok, Cam Scanner, Xender etc.

This has triggered a sort of digital cold war between the two countries who are already having tension on the borders. 

Weibo was one such app to be banned by the Indian Govt. To give momentum to the drive, The Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi has deleted his personal Weibo account.

PM Modi's Weibo account was created back then in 2015 and he was quite active on the platform with around 100 posts and 200,000 followers.

It is to be noted that China has negligible presence on Non-China based apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp etc.

PM Modi was one of the few international leaders who was using this platform apart from some of the Chinese leaders.

 

The government of India on Monday, June 28, 2020 announced yet another astounding news across the country. All Chinese app which are available for android as well as iOS users will be banned, effective immediately, as a result of which a day later, one of the most installed apps; Tik Tok has been taken down from Google Playstore and Apple’s Appstore.

Considering the uproar against Tik Tok which was a result of the CarryMinati’s video which has been eradicated from the popular platform of YouTube, titled “YouTube vs Tik Tok.” The war between content creators comparing the mediums and unity within the community while CarryMinati’s video was reported for harassment and cyberbullying. Following this, the content was critically analysed on the app and hence, brought on a huge negativity on the platform. All this while the apps functionality was also analysed which revealed the Chinese apps were engaged activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and of India, Defence of India and security and state of public order.

For those who have installed the app “Tik Tok” have received an alert which read “Dear users, we are in the process of complying with the Government of India’s directive to block 59 apps. Ensuring this privacy and security of all our users in India remains our utmost priority.” It has also been claimed by some users that they’ve been facing difficulty whilst scrolling through their feed or they’re unable to it at all and some are even unable to upload videos and a pop-up flashes “network issue.” One explanation to this can be that the telecom operators must have blocked Tik Tok until the government’s next order.

This has also resulted in a moment of cheer for Carry’s fans who had helped trend a hashtag fancied in his name #justiceforcarry  following the removal of the video. Many also felt that the 21-year-old YouTuber predicted the End of Tik Tok.

According to the Digital Forensics, an Open Technology Fund contracted Cure53, which a Germany based cybersecurity firm, examined the Chinese apps by disuniting the app and determining its capabilities. The researchers investigated the Android version of the app, used in smartphones manufactures by Oppo, vivo etc. as in iOS does not allow the type of “superuser” surveillance to be conducted. Although it wasn’t possible to assess the apps functionalities due to the code designed to thwart the attempts to dissect the app, It managed to expose that the code manages to open a back door to the users phone, this, in turn grants the developer of the app tantamount right to the users phone, allowing to download any software, modify files and, install a program to log key strokes, have access to all the messages as well as pictures and even allows them to turn on the microphone as per their will.

This study was reported in the United States of America.

In India, the recommendation of the intelligence agencies backed by the National Security Council Secretariat supported the take of the decision which could be detrimental to the country’s security, a report which was claimed by an unnamed government official. The Ministry of Information Technology received complaints from various sources regarding the misuse of some application in transmission of data in an unauthorized manner to servers with location outside India. The Indian Intelligence agency red flagged these Chinese apps as it challenged the privacy concerns of the users. They were left with two choices, either advice people to not to use the apps or ban the use of it once n for all.

Official press released on the ban of these apps, the Ministry of Information Technology claimed, “invoking it’s power under section 69A of the Information Technology Act read with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009 and in view of the emergent nature of threats has decided to block 59 apps ( see Appendix) since in view of information available they are engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.” Adding to their statement, “upon receiving of recent credible inputs that such Apps pose threat to sovereignty and integrity of India, the Government of India has decided to disallow the usage of certain Apps, used in both mobile and non-mobile Internet enabled devices. This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace.”

The step has proved to the assurance that India is not only on the verge but it is going to prove it is “atmanirbhar.” The ban on the applications also imply the intensive invasiveness is unacceptable by India and that the relation between the two countries cannot be mended. India has officially made it’s relations with the country loud and clear.

The list of the apps banned is as follows-

#dbdbdb ; border-left:1px solid #dbdbdb ; border-right:1px solid #dbdbdb ; border-top:1px solid #dbdbdb ; vertical-align:top"> Tik Tok Shareit Kwai UC Browser Baidu map Shein Clash of Kings DU battery saver Helo Likee YouCam makeup Mi Community CM Browers Virus Cleaner APUS Browser ROMWE Club Factory Newsdog Beutry Plus WeChat UC News QQ Mail Weibo Xender QQ Music QQ Newsfeed Bigo Live SelfieCity Mail Master Parallel Space

#dbdbdb ; border-left:none; border-right:1px solid #dbdbdb ; border-top:1px solid #dbdbdb ; vertical-align:top"> Mi Video Call – Xiaomi WeSync ES File Explorer Viva Video – QU Video Inc Meitu Vigo Video New Video Status DU Recorder Vault- Hide Cache Cleaner DU App studio DU Cleaner DU Browser Hago Play With New Friends Cam Scanner Clean Master – Cheetah Mobile Wonder Camera Photo Wonder QQ Player We Meet Sweet Selfie Baidu Translate Vmate QQ International QQ Security Center

Amidst all the tension in the Kashmir valley, An order has been passed by the Jammu and Kashmir administration, which has asked the people to stock up LPG cylinders, for two months.

This sudden notice has created an environment of tension panic among residents.

In a separate order, the J&K administration also ordered the school buildings to be vacated in order to use them as accommodation for security forces in the Ganderbal district which has added to the the panic and anxiety of people in wake of the recent border tensions with China.

The order was described as a “most urgent matter” , and was passed by the Director of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumers.

It has also asked oil companies in the valley to arrange enough stocks of LPG that can last to up to two months at bottling plans as well as godowns.

In an addition to this, fhe government has also announced the closure of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway due to "frequent landslides" as the reason for its contingency plan for stocking up LPG cylinders.

Orders similar to this "most urgent matter" were issues last year as well, after the airstrike at a terrorist camp in Balakot and when the state was divided into two Union Territories after scrapping off the special status under the Constitution.

China on Thursday said that it was ready to work things out with India amidst problems rocketing in Ladakh. Beijing asked India to meet it halfway, asserting that “suspicion and friction” is not a good way to deal things with as it goes against the fundamental aspirations of the people of the two countries. India and China are able to manage their differences and trying to talk their way into peace and stability.

“We hope the Indian side meets the Chinese side halfway, avoids taking actions that may complicate the border situation and takes concrete actions to maintain stability in the border areas,” Mr. Sun said. He added that at present, the overall situation in the China-India border areas is “stable and controllable.

“China and India are both large developing countries and emerging economies with more than one billion people, and both have the historic mission of realising our own development and revitalisation,” he said.

Referring to talks between foreign ministers of the two countries on June 17, the envoy said both sides agreed to “fairly address” the serious situation caused by the Galwan conflict and vowed to jointly follow the consensus reached at the commander-level meeting on June 6 to ease the situation as soon as possible.

 A commemorative declaration marking the 75th anniversary of the signing of the U.N. Charter was delayed as member states could not reach an agreement on phraseology regarding the phrase, “community with a shared future for mankind” is linked with the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese President Xi Jinping as a method of the country’s vision for the world.

 The Five Eyes, is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States — along with India, objected to the use of a phrase “shared vision of a common future”, associated with China. 

The current situation is because China’s relationships with a number of countries, including India, Australia and the U.S., are spoilt. 

The objecting countries wanted the resolution to read, “We will work together with partners to strengthen coordination and global governance for the common good of present and future generations and to realize our shared vision for a better future as envisaged in the preamble of the UN Charter.”

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom has predicted that the number of CoronaVirus cases globally is set to reach 10 million this week. Global cases of the novel coronavirus surpassed 9 million and is currently at 9.3, as Brazil and India brought light on spike in infections, and the United States, China and other suffering countries reported new outbreaks. Since late last year, the virus has spread across the globe and declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, however, differences in testing mean that the number of cases may be understated for some countries. The number could in actual, have crossed the 10 M mark. The number of deaths is a more dependable indicator. The disease has hit certain countries, including Brazil, India and the US, as leaders are unable to effectively comprehend the situation. Meanwhile in Asia, where the disease began, the spread continues, although in China it seems for now to have passed its peak and the second wave of virus coming after them.

The world faces a shortage of oxygen concentrators as the number of worldwide cases of coronavirus infection nears the 10 million mark, the World Health Organization head said. The demand has crossed it's supply, which is why numerous nations are facing trouble dealing with the ongoing situation.

Inaugurated in August of 2016, the portal of Governments e-commerce platform (GeM) hosted by DGS&D wherein goods of a common user can which includes services can be procured.  This portal focuses on purchases made by government officers. It is user friendly, self-sustaining and dynamic.

The Public procurement forms a very important part of the government activity and caters the needs of MSMEs. GeM is not only an e-commerce platform but also renders a range of services for the online businesses running in India which includes Company Incorporation, GST Registration, ISO certification, Import Export Code, MSME Registration, Trademark, Copyright, Patent, Tax Return filing, do accounting, legal and financial compliance(s).

India has faced trade imbalance which is heavily in favour of China and with the ongoing border dispute between the two countries has given rise to a nationalist sentiment which has, in turn, driven the citizens of India even more to be “vocal for local” and boycott the Chinese products and services. The Union Government has stipulated that all the sellers to specify the country of origin while registering new products, whereas hitherto the sellers with registered products have been receiving regular warnings where they will be obliterated if they don’t update the information regarding the same.

The commerce & industry ministry has seen Rs 55,048 crore worth of transactions till now, are in the approach of invoking the interest of “Atamnirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India). “Sellers who have already uploaded their products before introduction of this new feature on the GeM, are being reminded regularly to update the country of origin. It’s with a warning that their products will be removed from the GeM if they fail to update," said the Ministry on Tuesday. 

All central and state governments, related to public sector agencies are mandated to directly purchase common-use goods and services solely through GeM. A provision of indication of percentage has been enabled of the percentage of local products. Class I and Class II (local content greater than 20 per cent) local suppliers are exclusively are allowed to bid on bids which stand below ₹ 200 crores with Class (local content greater than 50 per cent) suppliers getting purchase preference.

The country’s two largest purchases are the ministries of defence and railways which are subsumed under GeM. Therefore, by September, all the goods and services which have been purchased by the Railways and Defence through the Indian Railways E-Procurement Systems, the Defence e-Procurement portal, and the Central Public Procurement portal, will have to be made through the GeM, said officials.

The encouragement towards the policy of self- reliance has led to 395,081 sellers and service providers and according to recent reports, the portal brandishes 1.83 million separate products and services. 

Do you think the remark made by the former PM Singh in the context of Spread of Disinformation about the face-off is true?
In his first remarks on the Ladakh face-off, former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said PM Narendra Modi must be mindful of the implications of his words and cannot allow China to use them as a vindication of its position.
The former PM "reminded the government that disinformation is no substitute for diplomacy or decisive leadership. The truth cannot be suppressed by having pliant allies spout comforting but false statements."
"We call upon the Prime Minister and the Government to rise to the occasion, to ensure justice for Col. B. Santosh Babu and our jawans who have made the ultimate sacrifice and resolutely defended our territorial integrity," said Singh.

"To do any less would be a historic betrayal of the people’s faith," said the former PM.
Twenty Indian Army personnel were killed in a brutal attack by the Chinese military in eastern Ladakhs Galwan Valley on June 15.

The Australian cybersecurity attack spanned government, industry, political organizations, education, health, essential service providers, and operators of other critical infrastructure.

Australia refused to give any further details regarding the attacks. Previously, defense manufacturers, government contractors, and accounting firms have been among those to report data breaches.

According to Prime Minister Morrison, Australia's government and institutions are being targeted by ongoing sophisticated state-based cyber hacks, for a long time. But the Cyber intelligence experts have long linked various hacks in Australia to China.

Australia is reluctant to name the culprit or suspect because relations between the countries have grown tense in recent years.

Investigations are going on, but what we know is that Australia's leadership has chosen a moment when its relationship with its powerful trading partner is at an all-time low to announce publicly that it is under cyber-attack from a powerful state.

CSIR constituent lab CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) Lucknow has received permission for carrying out Phase III trial of antiviral drug Umifenovir, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said on Friday. Umifenovir is mainly used for the treatment of influenza and is available in China and Russia, and has recently come into prominence due to its potential use for COVID-19 patients.

 

Why Umifenovir ??

•The drug has a good safety profile and acts by preventing entry of viruses into human cells and also by priming the immune system.

•All the raw materials for the drug are indigenously available and if the clinical trial is successful, Umifenovir can be a safe, efficacious, affordable drug against COVID-19. The drug has the potential for prophylactic use.

•If the clinical trial is successful, Umifenovir can be a safe, efficacious, affordable drug against COVID-19.

 

CSIR labs have been trying to repurpose different drugs for treating coronavirus patients. For the last three months, the Drug Controller General of India has allowed the use of Favipiravir drug, developed within the country by a CSIR laboratory, for clinical trials to treat coronavirus patients.

 

•India was elected unopposed as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. India won 184 votes in the 193-member General Assembly in the election held Wednesday.

•  India will sit in the powerful UN body for two years beginning January 1, along with the five permanent members.

• Along with India, Ireland, Mexico and Norway also won the Security Council elections held on June 17.

Due to the COVID-19 situation, special rules were made for voting, with diplomats submitted their ballots at pre-arranged time slots in the General Assembly hall.

India was the sole candidate for a non-permanent seat from the Asia-Pacific category for the 2021-22 term. Its victory was expected since it had already got an endorsement from the 55-member Asia Pacific group, including China and Pakistan, last year.

“We have received overwhelming support and we deeply humbled by the tremendous confidence that the member states of the United Nations have reposed in India,” T S Tirumurti, the Indian permanent representative to the UN said in a video-recorded message.

Previously, India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the Council for the years 1950-1951, 1967-1968, 1972-1973, 1977-1978, 1984-1985, 1991-1992 and most recently in 2011-2012.

Among the five newly elected members, India has served the maximum of seven terms while Mexico and Norway have served four terms each while Ireland and Kenya have served thrice and twice, respectively.

India’s last two trysts with UNSC elections have been mixed. It won the 2011-12 elections by a similarly wide margin but had lost badly to Japan when contesting for the 1996-97 term.

In the immediate term, India will seek more transparency, consultations and coordination in UNSC and the UN Secretariat.

Should India fight China for the Galvan Valley? What do you think ?

While China had stopped reporting a rise in the fresh cases of COVID-19 and was gradually returning 

back to the track, the virus has again begin to haunt it as new strains have been found in the Chinese 

capital- Beijing, causing the highest daily total of new COVID-19 cases in China in the last 2 months.

As of Sunday, a total number of 8 cases were reported, bringing the toll to 74, all linked to the Xinfadi 

wholesale food market in South Beijing's Fengtai district. The government officials have also reported an 

outbreak in another wholesale market of Haidain district of China. The Chinese experts claimed that the 

genome sequencing had shown that the strains were from Europe, however they are yet to know how it 

came in the Chinese markets.

Following the sudden outbreak conditions, The Xinfadi and Haidain markets in China were immediately 

shut down along with 15 neighbouring residential and official compounds. According to recent reports 

24 testing stations have been set up while 10000 tests have already been taken. Around 5800 swab 

samples also been collected on random basis of people who were in close contact with those who 

visited the Xinfadi markets.

In the meantime, a complete lockdown has been imposed in the affected areas and all the schools, 

markets and officers have been closed as a precautionary measure. While the second wave of 

coronavirus has hit China again, it has brought with it a political wave as well, wherein the officials are 

playing the blame game with each other, causing the removal and transfer of as many as 5 secretaries 

and managers of district level administration.

It is to be noted that even though the fresh cases are few in number, it could yet cause a recession in the 

Chinese economy, keeping in view the political instability and the potential of the COVID-19 to create an emergency.

 

Featured Image Credits : Yahoo

•During the ongoing de-escalation process, a violent face-off took place between Indian and Chinese troops leading to the demise of three Army personnel, including an officer and two soldiers, in Galwan Valley, Ladakh.

•According to the Indian Army personnel, the face-off took place on Monday night, leading to “casualties on both sides.”

•First violent incident with casualties on the India-China Border, after 1975

Border- dispute between India and China has always been a hotly debated topic. Uncertainties flare on a fairly regular purpose between India and China over their 3,500-kilometre periphery and so the standoffs between the world’s most populous nations are crafting promptly. 

Indian and Chinese military commanders had been in dialogues in Galwan Valley area and Hot Springs, to work out the border-dispute but there has not been any substantial build-up activity by both sides. 

When the world is scrambling to find life-saving vaccines, there has been a loss of 3 brave beings due to violence. During the ongoing de-escalation process, a violent face-off took place last night between India and China, leading to the death of three Army personnel, including an officer and two soldiers, in Galwan Valley, Ladakh. There was no shootout or gunshot wounds but violent hand-to-hand brawls. 

Beijing, in an aggressive statement, accused India of crossing the border, “attacking Chinese personnel”, reported AFP. China’s Foreign Ministry was quoted by Reuters as saying India should not take unilateral actions or stir up trouble. 

Army sources had said there has been disengagement between Indian and Chinese battalions at more locations where they have been in standoff positions for the last many weeks now. 

Well, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, the three service chiefs and External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar over the recent developments in Eastern Ladakh on Tuesday. 

Till 2019, plopping the border dispute in a box was the great success of the Indian – Chinese relationship. But the violent face-off can deepen differences between the two Asian countries during the pandemic. Both nations need to act wisely to slim the likelihood of escalation.

The Trade war between US and China creates a need of self-dependency on Global Production.Many of the Chinese neighbouring Countries including India takes a audacious action by reconstructing their own supply chain.The virus will accelarate a change that was a already driven by market forces as rising wages and costs in china will cause lower-value manufacturing.While the US trade network with china was diaphanous but recent virus situation create of omnious relations between them but increasing disparity between them will help US to create good economic strategy that will help to strenghten the relations with countries like India,Australia,New Zealand,Japan and South Korea.Many Companies in china have been adopting "China Plus One" manufacturing strategy to bring chinese production on its peak.China Plus One is creating a baffling situation for global manufacturers as chinese low cost production facilities to global producers.The US has three alternatives ahead. First, is to expand the scope of technology restrictions on China.Second, is to outcompete China by dramatically boosting US high-tech capabilities by pouring fresh investments into education, basic research and support sectors of the industrial setup as used to be the case in the Cold War.Third, is to continue to push China, using the existing weapons of tariffs and diplomacy, to modify the parts of its behaviour that the US finds unacceptable.The developments relating to deglobalisation and decoupling offer opportunities for India and New Delhi would be wise to pursue them. Notwithstanding the slogan of “Aatmnirbharta” (self-reliance) that has come in the wake of COVID-19, foreign direct investment and foreign trade remain the two key requirements to pull India out of the poverty trap.In the end, the biggest force diluting china's position in the global supply chain will likely be the long, slow evolution of global trade.

WHAT IS G-7

The Group of Seven, as the G-7 expands to, is an intergovernmental organisation formed in 1975 to discuss and exchange ideas on a range of issues such as global economy, security and energy. G-7 presently has one the most advanced economies of the world i.e. US, UK, France, Germany, Japan, Canada & Italy. 

 

EXPANSION

•US President Donald Trump described G-7 as “very outdated group of countries”, and wants it to be rechristened into G-10 or G-11 by including countries such as India, Russia, South Korea & Australia to the G-7. 

•Trump discussed the plans of expanding G-7 with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

 

WHY IS IT CONTROVERSIAL 

*Russia was earlier a part of the group but was removed after it annexed Crimea in Ukraine in 2014 with which G-8 became G-7. Trump wants Russia to be readmitted to the group, because “a lot of the things we talk about have to do with Russia”

*On the decision to invite Australia, India, South Korea to the G7, China said any attempts to seek a 'small circle' against it is 'doomed to fail'.

 

INDIA’S PARTICIPATION IN G-7 

•India was invited as a "Biarritz partner country” for the 45th G7 summit by French President Emmanuel Macron & India attended the G7 summit after, almost 15 years. 

•India attended the summit was in 2005 as well,  when PM Manmohan Singh had represented India at the summit on the invitation of the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

 

NEXT G-7 SUMMIT

The 46th G-7 summit, which was earlier supposed to be held at Camp David in the United States from June 10-12, has been postponed by US President Trump to September 2020. 

 

China's legislature has approved a proposal to impose a highly contentious national security law in Hong Kong, in an unprecedented move that critics say threatens fundamental political freedoms and civil liberties in the semi-autonomous territory.

The country's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), nearly unanimously approved the resolution Thursday to introduce the sweeping security legislation, which bans secession, subversion of state power, terrorism, foreign intervention and allows mainland China's state security agencies to operate in the city.

Only one delegate voted against the proposal, while 2,878 voted for and six abstained.

The law will drastically broaden Beijing's power over Hong Kong, which last year was roiled by anti-government protests calling for greater democracy and more autonomy from mainland China.

Recently, India’s Defence Minister inaugurated a motorable road that connects India with China and reduces the time of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra significantly. This road passes through a territory of the Lipulekh pass that Nepal claims as its own. Following this, Nepal released it’s new political map that claims the disputed areas of Kalapani, Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh regions (Uttarakhand) & Susta (Bihar) to be a part of its territory. India rejected Nepals new map saying it will not accept ‘‘Artificial enlargement of territorial claims’’ and asked Nepal to return to dialogue. Free movement of people is allowed across the India-Nepal border and it is imperative for both governments to preserve such harmonious ties that only a handful of countries throughout the globe share.

             For more such content and indispensable brief news feel free to FOLLOW the_brief_bulletin on Instagram. 

 

On 31st December when the hands of the clock struck 12, the whole world rejoiced, making New Year’s resolutions, promising to make this year count. Little did they know 2020 was a year of destruction. Since January the year has been off to a rocky start. This has specially been problematic for China.

The corona virus was first identified in China on 31st December 2019 according to the WHO China Country Office. The Virus was isolated on January 7, 2020 and finally the WHO confirmed the outbreak of the virus on January 12, 2020. This put China on the Hit list by the world. The Country was severely censured by all the countries, especially with the US, commonly referred to as the “Political Virus” these days. The US President is failing not to leave any chance to criticize China as he refers Covid-19 as the “Wuhan Virus” or the “Chinese Virus.”

As per a scientist in WHO, he claims to believe that the virus had been originated in lab, during a research going on bats. However, the origination of coronavirus remains unknown and unclear. Following to the statement made by the scientist, the city which experienced the merciless effects of the virus was Wuhan. This put China under a tremendous amount of pressure.  The Chinese Virology Institute was at the centre of the US allegations, as claimed it could be the place of birth of the virus.

Following this, the supposedly virus strains on bats which were used during the research were collected to verify the source. Astonishingly, the pathogens failed to match those which are the cause of the pandemic. It could be assumed that the evidence could’ve been tampered with.

The worlds two superpower countries are seemingly in a cold war. The US President Mr. Donal Trump claims it was China behind the outbreak of the pandemic. The president didn’t hesitate to call WHO a “puppet” of China. The were some serious accusations made the president, but when the tests came out to be negative, the Chinese administrations was in convulse with the US, stating that the claims made the US president were “pure fabrication.”  

Wang Yi, the former foreign minister of China was filmed for an interview on May 13, 2020 but was made public after a few days, where he states “Now we have three strains of live viruses... But their highest similarity to SARS-CoV-2 only reaches 79.8 %.” He also claims that the most politicians have ignored the most basic facts and they’ve created numerous lies and conspiracies to discredit China.

However, the US President should grasp the severity of the situation and concentrate more on controlling and treating those affected by the virus. He has reacted sharply against China. The coronavirus has created a havoc internationally, especially in the European countries and the world and they should put China under pressure to find a solution for elimination of this deadly virus.

1. Australia welcomes probe resolution of WHA and promises to offer monetary assistance
2. China reacts over Australia negative remarks and asks to stop political manouver .
3. WHA elects 34 new members including India for executive board for 3 year term.
4. India in top contender list for Director post of executive board - WHA
5. USA hints WHA over stopping of funding if probe donot goes seriously 
6. INDIA agrees to increase its monetary contribution in WHA inspite of USA remarks.

1. China agrees on probe of Covid19.
2. Taiwan not invited by WHO to attend delegate introduction.
3. Issue of Taiwan neglected not in list of WHA essentials. 
4. WHA decides to set new credential goals.
5. Union of India calls for inclusive approach on probe of Covid19  China backs the call.

 

 “The world could learn from Taiwan’s success in responding to the coronavirus pandemic, yet it doesn’t have a seat at the World Health Organization.”

On Monday, May 18, representatives of 194 countries gathered virtually for one of the most important public health meetings in recent memory. A country thought to have had one of the best public health responses to the coronavirus pandemic—Taiwan was not invited. 
Taiwan attended the assembly as an observer from 2009 to 2016 but China blocked further participation after the election of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, whom China views as a separatist, an accusation she rejects. 
Taiwan is not a member of the WHO as China has opposed its entry into international bodies. Taiwan was the first to begin screening passengers from Wuhan, starting December 31. 
Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations (UN) or its sub-organizations, but it aspires to participate. China also claims Taiwan as part of its territory and denies that Taiwan is a sovereign state. China is adamant about preventing recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state and its membership in the UN system. Like other U.N. organizations, the WHO considers Taiwan a part of the People’s Republic of China and excludes its government from membership. This, critics say, is detrimental to global cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Taiwan has emerged as one of the most effective countries in combating the disease. Taiwan and its defenders have strongly criticized the WHO and its director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, for being overly deferential to Beijing.
 China, officially called the People’s Republic of China (PRC), refuses to allow that to happen. The PRC claims that Taiwan is a province of China, not an independent state. It says that only the PRC has the right to represent all of China in the United Nations and other international organizations, including the WHO, that limit membership to states. Taiwan’s government, generally called the Republic of China on Taiwan, has all the elements of statehood required by international law and maintains diplomatic relations with fifteen countries. Yet due to the PRC’s great-power status, including its seat as a permanent UN Security Council member, Beijing has been able to impose its “One China” policy upon the world.
 
In the early days of the outbreak, health officials in Taipei say the WHO ignored their warnings—based on communication with mainland colleagues—that the disease could be transmitted between humans, slowing the global response to the growing threat. Instead, in mid-January, the organization issued a now-infamous endorsement of China’s finding that there was no human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan. The WHO continued to praise China’s handling of the virus throughout January, despite abundant evidence that authorities were covering up the severity of the situation in Wuhan. This praise was especially stark in contrast to the organization’s criticism of China during SARS. Taiwan has had remarkable success in combating the virus. More than two months after COVID-19 arrived on the island, it has seen only 380 cases and five deaths. Yet its health officials remain frozen out of emergency meetings and briefings at the main organization coordinating the global response to the pandemic. (In a painfully awkward interview with a Hong Kong journalist, one senior WHO official seemed to pretend not to hear the question and then insisted on moving on when asked about Taiwan.)

Why is Taiwan’s exclusion a problem, especially during the coronavirus pandemic?

Taiwan is an important stakeholder and a valuable partner in fighting this unprecedented crisis. Taiwan’s government is donating masks to countries in need and sharing its experience using technology to investigate outbreaks. It is also working with U.S. experts to develop more rapid diagnostic test kits and vaccines.
Despite Taiwan’s valuable input, the WHO continues to shun it. For example, when asked by a journalist about Taiwan’s exclusion and experience dealing with the pandemic during a recent interview, WHO senior advisor Bruce Aylward hung up the call after trying to avoid the questions. After this public relations disaster, the WHO claimed it was closely working with Taiwan experts, which Taiwan’s government refuted. Taiwan has continually shared coronavirus data with the WHO, but the WHO has never released this information to its members. Additionally, in a February coronavirus status report, the WHO misreported the number of cases in Taiwan based on information provided by China. It also continues to deceptively list Taiwan’s case numbers under China’s. Taiwan was snubbed by the WHO yet again when it was not invited to the organization’s emergency meetings in January. After repeated requests, in February, the WHO finally allowed two Taiwanese experts to attend an online forum. Such ludicrous limitations have rightly been scoffed at by many governments and critics.
The WHO’s exclusion of Taiwan from the global fight against the pandemic is a reckless dereliction of duty. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whose election was due in large part to China’s support, has been widely criticized for actions that appeared to help China downplay the outbreak, delaying the international response as a result. Taiwan’s exclusion is an example of how the world’s health body puts politics before public health. Governments and concerned citizens must demand that the WHO fulfill its obligation—to represent the world’s health interests, not China’s—and hold the WHO accountable when it fails.
Wu said that Taiwan had agreed the issue of its participation would be put off until later in the year so the shorted assembly can focus on the coronavirus.
"Understandably, countries want to use the limited time available to concentrate on ways of containing the pandemic," he said.
"For this reason, like-minded nations and diplomatic allies have suggested that the proposal be taken up later this year when meetings will be conducted normally, to make sure there will be a full and open discussion," Wu added.

U.S AND TAIWAN

The United States has attempted to maximize Taiwan’s involvement in international relations and has, without success, supported Taiwan’s “meaningful participation” in various institutions, including the World Health Assembly (WHA), the WHO’s highest decision-making body. In March 2020, the Donald J. Trump administration enacted the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act, aimed at supporting Taiwan’s international presence. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the State Department would “do [its] best to assist” Taiwan’s “appropriate role” in the WHO.
 Nearly 15 countries, including Belize, Guatemala, the Marshall Islands,, and Honduras, had written to the director-general of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, asking that the question of Taiwan's participation be added to the agenda.
But on Monday Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu said "countries want to use the limited time available to concentrate on ways of containing the pandemic".

"We have accepted the suggestion from our allies and like-minded nations to wait until the resumed session before further promoting our bid," Wu said. He added that allies had suggested instead the proposal be taken up later in the year when the WHO is expected to hold in-person meetings. The calls for Taiwan to join the meetings had angered Beijing.

Covid crisis has revived the health sector of India both in quality and credibility basis.

India can get advantage of situation of economic depression  prevailing in China .

India is not going to be effected much by global economy crisis as Indian economy relies mostly on it's own people.

Indian administration has got a golden chance to divert people towards ambitious schemes as Make in India.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING SECTOR IN INDIA , SINCE CHINAS WORLD IMAGE HAS WORSENED AFTER THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK IN THEIR PROVINCE THAT WAS THE MAIN EPICENTER AND REASON FOR THE WORLD SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS ?