THE INDIAN EXPRESS

Labour heads for big victory as UK polls end

Britons were voting in a parliamentary election that is expected to bring Keir Starmer's Labour Party to power, sweeping away Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservatives after 14 often turbulent years.

This means Starmer, a 61-year-old former human rights lawyer, could take office with one of the biggest to-do lists in British history but without a groundswell of support or the financial resources to tackle it.

India & China agree: Situation at LAC not in each other's interest

In their first meeting, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed that the "prolongation of the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side".

The military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, which began in May 2020, is now in its fifth year and has soured relations between the two countries.

For integrity of exams, Centre asks states to help in security

The union government has reached out to the states for help in ensuring the integrity of its entrance tests.

Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla held a meeting with all state Chief Secretaries and DGPs to seek their assistance in overseeing the conduct of upcoming tests including the All India Ayush Postgraduate Entrance Test (AIAPGET) and the Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE) on July 6.

The AIAPGET, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for the Ayush Ministry, is for admissions to MD/MS programmes in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy. 

The FMGE, conducted biannually by the National Board of Examination (NBE) under the Health Ministry, screens overseas medical graduates seeking to practice medicine in India. 

50k villages in 310 districts: Govt prepares plan for climate-resilient farming

The union government plans to unveil a framework to promote climate-resilient agriculture in 50,000 villages located in climatically-vulnerable districts. 

The initiative is part of a national programme on climate-resilient agriculture, which the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare plans to launch as part of a 100-day agenda. A proposal to this effect will likely to be approved by the Union Cabinet soon, said a source.

The ministry plans to promote climate-resilient crop varieties in these 50,000 villages, the source said, adding that the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has developed more than 2,000 such varieties for improving food production. These include both abiotic stress-tolerant varieties and biotic stress-tolerant varieties.

Health Ministry to MHA, MEA: Inform foreigners about organ transplant law

The Union Health Ministry has written to the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs to make the foreign nationals coming to the country for organ transplants aware of the key legalities of the Indian law governing such operations.

"India has emerged as one of the leading destinations for foreign nationals to get their organs transplanted owing to the world-class health facilities in the country and its highly skilled medical professionals.... In order to sensitise foreign nationals who visit India the ministry of health and family welfare has prepared scroll messages and creatives, with a proposition of wide dissemination," the letters written last month to the home and foreign secretaries states.

The letters urge the home secretary to display the messages on websites and portals of the Bureau of Immigration and the foreign secretary to display it at conspicuous places at the airports as well as on the websites of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Embassies and Missions of India abroad.

Constitution at the centre

Surely, the Prime Minister was right to stress in the Rajya Sabha that the Constitution is not a miscellany of dry provisions and that we should also look at its underlying spirit. 

That is precisely what 'Kesavananda Bharati' and its normative progeny decided. 

The defence of the Constitution needs to now be made more specific: No matter how the Constitution may be amended in the future, with an all-party consensus, its Basic Structure and foundational principles should never be allowed to be eclipsed. 

SCO

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Later, while delivering remarks on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jaishankar said, "The SCO occupies a prominent place in our foreign policy." He also extended his wishes to Belarus, which has become the grouping's latest number. 

SCO comes from the earlier "Shanghai Five" grouping, formed in 1996, comprising China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan. and

With the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, there were concerns about extremist religious groups and ethnic tensions flaring up in the region. The organisation was thus created primarily for cooperation on security matters.

Building on this, SCO was established in Shanghai on June 15, 2001, as an international organisation. Before Belarus joined, it had nine members: India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

India needs to sustain growth trajectory for next two decades, says NK Singh

India needs to sustain its current growth trajectory for the next two decades as it hopes to achieve developed nation status, NK Singh, Chairperson of the 15th Finance Commission and former Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, said Wednesday. Singh was conferred an Honorary Fellowship by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) at a ceremony in London.

In his acceptance speech titled "The India Era", Singh highlighted the country's growth trajectory as it hopes to achieve developed nation status by 2047. 

"This is the third term of Prime Minister Modi, he and all members of the Council of Ministers are deeply committed to a developed India by 2047 for the next two decades, India needs to sustain this kind of growth trajectory. 

The Indian growth story also demonstrates that democracy and development are not inimical to each other," he said. "From time immemorial, India has been a mine of precious ideas; ushering in the India age is predicated in this deep belief, in our quest, in our anxiety, in our earnestness, in our restlessness to achieve what is ordained for us," Singh said.

New model of producer price index to capture input costs better on the anvil

The Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary said that the department has finalised a new model of the producer price index (PPI) to efficiently capture input prices in the economy and has shared it with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Singh, during a press briefing, said that the government is working towards changing the base year of the wholesale price index (WPI) from 2011-12 and is also mulling on moving from the WPI to PPI going ahead in line with most G20 economies. 

Consultations regarding the same have been undertaken with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, he said.

Govt to streamline visa process for Chinese technicians, others

The union government is working on a framework to process visa applications for the entry of Chinese and other foreign technicians needed in non-Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme sectors to boost production, a senior government official said. 

DPIIT Secretary at a press briefing said that a framework for entry of technicians in PLI sectors already exists and that the government is looking at extending it to other non-PLI beneficiaries which are operating in those same strategic sectors.

"We felt if one is getting a subsidy and a visa clearance, the other is not ... at least he should also get a streamlined process.

The final decision has not been taken but we are moving in that direction and we are hopeful that it will be done," the Secretary said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs will take the final call, Singh said.