National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, the first elected government in the Union Territory since 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated.
Although the Supreme Court has mandated the Centre to conduct the polls by the end of September, a spate of terrorist attacks in J&K could cause delays.
The disengagement process between India and China in eastern Ladakh is in final stages and on the brink of completion, top officials of the country's defence establishment on Thursday told a parliamentary panel during a meeting, which sources said turned 'stormy' amid several questions asked by opposition members including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
China and India have agreed to work to maintain peace along the Line of Actual Control and resolve the border standoff through talks while implementing the consensus reached between the two countries' leadership that 'differences' do not escalate into 'disputes', a top Chinese official said.
The MEA said the two sides shared their perspectives on the matter in the talks held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere.
"When we have something to share, we will share. Discussions are ongoing," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said replying to a volley of questions on whether India and China are working on specific proposals to resolve the over six-month-long row in eastern Ladakh.
Delivering a thinly veiled message to Pakistan from its soil, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said activities across borders characterised by the 'three evils' of terrorism, extremism and separatism are unlikely to encourage trade, energy flows and connectivity.
'In Eastern Ladakh the Chinese attempted salami slicing.' 'Our response has been superb. Our military has responded magnificently.'
Two days ago, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asserted that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was, is and will always be part of India.
During the meeting, it was reiterated that "restoration of peace and tranquillity, and respect for the LAC are the essential basis for restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations", it said.
The J&K Ranji team is not known to have featured a player from Ladakh till date. The upcoming Ranji Trophy season is scheduled to start in December later this year.
The jawan underwent an emergency surgery at the Army's Research Referral (R&R) Hospital in New Delhi, and his severed hand was stitched back, they said.
The enhancement of combat capability by the two armies in the region came even as both the countries continued their efforts to resolve the dispute through talks at military and diplomatic levels.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said India is committed to resolve all issues through dialogue, noting the way ahead to address the issue is negotiations.
He will succeed incumbent Rajiv Gauba, who completes his unprecedented five-year term in the top bureaucratic post this month-end.
India and China should be able to achieve status quo in eastern Ladakh in a gradual manner as both sides understand that it is in the best interest of ensuring peace and tranquillity in the region, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said.
Rajnath appreciated the proactive response by the IAF in bolstering its operational capabilities over the past few months.
The young MP earned the praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his speech. In a tweet, the prime minister said the Ladakh BJP MP coherently presented aspirations of people of the region in his speech.
The Jaishankar-Wang talks came amid the dragging border row in eastern Ladakh that entered its fifth year in May.
With the addition of two new UTs, its total number will go up to nine -- J&K, Ladakh, Delhi, Puducherry, Diu and Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In a statement, it said compared to physically and psychologically battle-hardened Indian troops, Chinese troops mostly are from urban areas and not used to hardships or prolonged deployment under field conditions.
It has been argued that India should have held back on disengagement from the Kailash Range, using that as a trump card to force Chinese concessions in areas such as Depsang, where they hold the advantage.
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said the recent induction of Rafale jets along with previous acquisitions of C-17 Globemaster aircraft as well as Chinook and Apache helicopters have provided the IAF with substantial tactical and strategic capability enhancement.
'Trump's disregard for norms and institutions could prove very costly for America's social fabric.'
The Indians felt that if they acceded to Chinese claims in Ladakh, Beijing would simply be emboldened to press for further concessions in the future. A revealing excerpt from India And The Cold War.
With the Indian Army having blocked the PLA several kilometres inside India, hundreds of soldiers from both sides remain in a tense face-off.
The confrontation, which happened on January 2, saw the shepherds reportedly throwing rocks at the Chinese personnel.
Tarun Vijay, the Member of Parliament who has just returned from Ladakh, recalls the agony of a region devastated by last week's flash floods.
GST collections in July rose 10.3 per cent to over Rs 1.82 lakh crore, mainly driven by domestic transactions in goods and services, according to official data released on Thursday. This is the third-highest-ever monthly collection recorded since the indirect tax regime was rolled out 7 years ago on July 1, 2017. According to the data, total refunds stood at Rs 16,283 crore in July.
After the swearing-in, Mathur, who was given a guard of honour at the venue by the Ladakh Police, said a lot of development activities needed to be carried out in the border areas.
The Indian Army has been matching up to the Chinese build up in both Pangong Tso lake and Galwan Valley, the two locations in Ladakh which have witnessed major reinforcement of troops in the last two weeks, sources said. There was very little chance of easing of tension anytime soon as both sides are aggressively holding onto their respective positions, they said.
The comments by External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava came at a media briefing when asked about the fresh comments by the Chinese foreign ministry blaming India again for the border situation in eastern Ladakh.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will review the performance of regional rural banks (RRBs) after the Budget session of Parliament, according to two people familiar with the matter. The finance minister will review the performance of RRBs after August 13. The review will include discussions on enhancing the digital capabilities of RRBs, said a senior government official.
Rajnath patted some of the soldiers of the regiment while commending their bravery in protecting India's pride and self-respect.
Indian and Chinese troops remained engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball situation in several disputed areas.
Singh said a meeting between senior Indian and Chinese military leaders has been scheduled for June 6 even as he asserted that India is not going to back off from its position. Asked about the current situation in sensitive areas in eastern Ladakh, he said Chinese have come up to what they claim is their territory while Indians believed it is theirs.
The athlete from Nagaland became the first Paralympics medallist from northeast India. He had also won a bronze medal at the Hangzhou Para Asian Games last year.
Pakistan may want to undertake a 'false flag' operation in J&K to divert attention from the situation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but infiltrating one SSG battalion into J&K and having two SSG battalions waiting to follow suit means war, which Pakistan cannot afford in its current economic crisis, notes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
A book that gives readers a flavour of what Ladakh truly is based on the author's 10,000 km journey across the region
In an interactive session at a think-tank in Paris, Jaishankar said he was optimistic about resolving the issue through dialogue and that significant headway has been made in many of the friction points.
