PM tightrope: Killing of children very painful; listening to Putin, I have hope

Acknowledging that his visit to Moscow was being watched by the "entire world" which was trying to decode its meaning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi walked the hard diplomatic tightrope in his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

So, a day after a suspected Russian missile struck a children's hospital in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, Modi told Putin that the death of innocent children causes "pain and the heart simply explodes", "peace talks do not succeed amid bombs, guns and bullets", and "solution (to any conflict) cannot be found on the battlefield".

Bill to set up urban land, property records authority in works in Delhi

In a first, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry is working on a Bill to create an urban land and immovable property records system-covering all urban lands, buildings, apartments, and flats- for Delhi with an authority to be headed by the Lieutenant-Governor. 

The Delhi Urban Land and Immovable Property Records, Bill, 2024 that will cover all notified urban areas and apartments is a work in progress, said sources. At present, Delhi does not have an Act for the management of urban land records, officials added.

Russia, India agree to speed up delivery of military spare parts

India and Russia have agreed to expedite the delivery of spare parts of Russian-origin military platforms by setting up joint ventures in India among other ways, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said, the Government's first public acknowledgement of a delay in Russian supplies amid the war in Ukraine.

Kwatra said Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue with Russian President Vladimir as the two leaders discussed bilateral defence ties at the 22nd India- Russia annual summit in Moscow.

"Both sides had a general sense of agreement that this would be expedited, including through setting up joint venture partnerships in India to look at some of these spare parts, particularly the more critical spare parts so that we are able to address this challenge in a more meaningful and sustainable way," Kwatra said.

'India seen as strong pillar of new world order... Russia its trusted ally'

Praising India as a "strong pillar" of the new world order and calling Russia its "trusted ally" and "all-weather friend", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the opening of two new Indian consulates in the country - in Kazan and Ekaterinburg to enhance travel and trade.

At a diaspora event in Moscow, Modi hailed President Vladimir Putin's leadership in strengthening the India-Russia ties over the past two decades.

India-Russia joint statement: Terror attacks condemned, $100 bn trade target

India and Russia issued a joint statement underlining that both the countries have remained resilient in the backdrop of the "prevailing complex, challenging and uncertain geopolitical situation". 

The statement condemned the terror attacks in Jammu & Kashmir, Dagestan and Moscow and also mentioned setting up a bilateral trade target of USD 100 billion by 2030.

Both sides have strived to forge a "contemporary, balanced, mutually beneficial, sustainable and long-term partnership", said the statement.

The joint statement agreed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin "strongly condemned the recent dastardly terrorist attack on an Army convoy in Kathua area of Jammu & Kashmir on 8th July 2024, in Dagestan on 23rd June and on the Crocus City Hall in Moscow on 22nd March and stressed that these terrorist attacks are a grim reminder for further strengthening cooperation to combat terrorism".

The desperate neighbour

The fact, however, is this: Pakistan is nowhere close to a collapse. 

No major country desires this outcome in a highly volatile space with a nuclear arsenal. 

Second, there has been no sign of the Pakistani establishment abnegating terrorism. 

It has been merely calibrating and adapting its terror activity by, inter alia, taking out the notorious faces of its terror machine in response to the Financial Action Task Force scrutiny and our security/punitive measures.

Third, the revocation of the special status of J&K has not put an end to the Pakistan dimension of our problem there.

WHAT IS ORDER OF SAINT ANDREW THE APOSTLE, CONFERRED UPON PM MODI?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded Russia's highest civilian honour, the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, during his visit to the country.

The award for the PM was announced in 2019, for "exceptional services in promoting special & privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India and friendly relations between the Russian and Indian peoples."

What is the award, and who gets it?

The award is given to prominent Government and public figures, military leaders, and outstanding representatives of science, culture, art, and various sectors of the economy for exceptional services to Russia. It can also be awarded to heads of foreign states for outstanding services to the Russian Federation.

The High Seas Treaty

The Indian government on Monday said it would soon sign and ratify the High Seas Treaty, a new international legal architecture for maintaining the ecological health of the oceans. The treaty is meant for reducing pollution, and for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and other marine resources in ocean waters.

It is also called the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions (BBNJ) Agreement as high seas are areas outside the national jurisdiction of any country. The treaty is formally known as the Agreement on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.

Protection and Access

The High Seas Treaty seeks to achieve three substantive objectives. One, the conservation and protection of marine ecology. Two, fair and equitable sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources. Three, to make environmental impact assessments (EIA) for any activity that can degrade the marine ecosystem a mandatory practice.

There is a fourth objective as well, that of capacity building and transfer of marine technologies to developing countries. This will help make full use of the benefits of the oceans while at the same time contributing towards its conservation.

Inflows into equity MFs rose 17% to all-time high of ₹40,608 cr in June

Net Inflows into equity mutual fund schemes grew by 17 per cent month-on-month to an all-time high of Rs 40,608.19 crore in June, from Rs 34,697 crore in May, the latest data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed. June marks the 40th month of positive inflows into equity mutual fund schemes.

The net assets under management (AUM) of the mutual fund industry surpassed the Rs 60 lakh crore mark for the first time to reach Rs 61.16 lakh crore as on June 30, 2024.

The contribution of systematic investment plans (SIP) touched an all-time high of 21,262 crore in the reporting month, compared to Rs 20,904 crore in May and Rs 20,371.47 crore in April.

Higher inflows into equity mutual funds was driven by robust investor sentiments on domestic stock market. 

The Sensex and the Nifty rose around 7 per cent each in June as the Lok Sabha-related election uncertainty settled. In the first quarter ended June 30, total net inflows into equity mutual funds stood at Rs 94,222.28 crore.

Why the latest RBI jobs data show a bump up in employment

The employment growth in the country jumped by nearly 6 per cent in the fiscal 2023-24 (FY24), as compared to an increase of 3.2 per cent recorded in FY23, according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) data. 

In FY24, the workforce in the country increased by around 4.67 crore to 64.33 crore, compared to 59.67 crore in FY23, the data, which measures productivity at the industry level, showed.

The RBI's data comes a few days after a research report by Citigroup India which said that the country will struggle to create sufficient employment opportunities even with a 7 per cent growth rate a claim refuted by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

16th FC sets up five-member advisory panel

The Sixteenth Finance Commission, headed by Arvind Panagariya, on Tuesday set up a five-member advisory council to advise the Commission on the Terms of Reference (ToR), assist in the preparation of research papers and help broaden the Commission's ambit, a statement by the Finance Ministry said.