| | 5 THINGS FIRST | PM Modi to address first World Solar Technology Summit; Congress panel meet to chalk out floor strategy; Delhi court to resume final arguments in MJ Akbar defamation case; US Open quarter-finals; International Literacy Day | |
| | 1. India joins exclusive hypersonic missile tech club |  | - India on Monday successfully tested an indigenously-developed hypersonic technology demonstrator vehicle (HSTDV), powered by a scramjet engine, which will serve as the building block for next-generation hypersonic cruise missiles. Expected in the next five to six years, they will be capable of flying at speeds above Mach 5.
- Only a handful of countries, like the US, Russia and China, have demonstrated this hypersonic technology capability till now. And now India joins the exclusive club. Besides its utility for long-range cruise missiles of the future, it can have multiple civilian applications, including launching satellites at a low-cost.
- A scramjet engine is an improvement over the ramjet engine because the former operates efficiently at hypersonic speeds and allows supersonic combustion. Ramjets (think BrahMos), in contrast, operate well at supersonic speeds around Mach 3. However, their efficiency drops at hypersonic speeds. More here.
- The maiden launch of the HSTDV, powered by the solid rocket motor of an Agni ballistic missile, in June last year had failed. However, Monday’s test, conducted from the APJ Abdul Kalam testing range (Wheeler Island) in Balasore, Odisha was successful.
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| | 2. A funeral in Leh and Delhi’s dilemma over Tibet |  | - A funeral: BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on Monday attended the funeral of Nyima Tenzin, the Tibetan company commander of the Special Frontier Force who died in a mine explosion last week. In a tweet, Madhav spoke of “a Tibetan who laid down his life protecting our borders”, adding such sacrifices “would bring peace along the Indo-Tibetan border”.
- The significance: His presence in Leh and tweet on the Indo-Tibetan border (and not Indo-China) is seen as a message to China. But the Ministry of External Affairs told The Hindu Madhav “does not represent the government”, and Madhav later deleted the tweet. Former foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said it would be “wise to avoid unnecessary publicity about the SFF”, adding concerns over antagonising China may have led to the deletion of the tweet.
- India, which has provided asylum to the Dalai Lama, has acknowledged China's control of Tibet since at least the 1954 Sino-Indian Trade Agreement over Tibetan Border. Analyst Brahma Chellaney writes this accord expired in 1962 when China invaded India. But in 2003, the joint document during the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit to China said India “recognises that the Tibet Autonomous Region is part of the territory of the People's Republic of China”.
- Another factor in play: External affairs minister S Jaishankar is to meet his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Moscow on Thursday. The tweet and the subsequent deletion thus underline India’s balancing act.
Also: China said it doesn’t recognise India’s sovereignty over Arunachal (Beijing considers it as south Tibet) amid concerns over the missing Indian civilians. | |
| | 3. ED arrests Deepak Kochhar in money laundering case |  | - The husband of former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday. The development comes days ahead of a chargesheet to be filed in a money laundering case against the couple.
- In January, the ED had attached the Kochhars’ assets worth Rs 78 crore as “proceeds of crime”. The agency accused the banker and her husband of receiving Rs 64 crore from Videocon in NuPower Renewables, owned by Deepak. The transfer was in September 2009, a day after Chanda-led ICICI Bank sanctioned a loan of Rs 300 crore to Videocon International Electronics.
- Chanda is accused of “illegal sanctioning of loans” worth Rs 1,875 crore to Videocon group of companies. The CBI first filed an FIR against the former ICICI Bank CEO and her husband on Jan. 22, 2019. Later, the ED initiated an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act trailing Rs 325 crore Deepak received in his Nupower Renewables from two Mauritius-based entities.
- There is a strong possibility that Chanda and Videocon group chairman Venugopal Dhoot may also face action for being evasive during questioning over the past one year. “We have traced all the bribe money paid to the Kochhars by Dhoot through banking transactions in companies and trusts owned and controlled by them,” a senior official involved with the investigation told TOI.
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| | 4. Djokovic’s disqualification throws open the US Open |  | Hits umpire: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was on Sunday disqualified from the US Open after accidentally striking a line judge during the Round of 16 match against Pablo Carreno Busta. - Frustrated from losing a point, Djokovic lobbed a ball straight into a line judge's throat. Though unintentional, it was a clear violation of the “abuse of ball” code.
- Djokovic was trailing the first set 5-6 at the time. The disqualification meant Carreno Busta advanced to the quarter-finals.
The shock exit has opened the men’s singles title chase. - None of the remaining contenders has previously won a major; men’s tennis would thus have a maiden Grand Slam winner for the first time since 2014. Note: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had skipped the US Open.
- The Big Three have won the last 13 Grand Slam titles.
- The last time a major quarterfinal did not have any of the three was way back in 2004 French Open.
Advantage:- Three-time major finalist and second seed Dominic Thiem, who beat Felix Auger Aliassime 7-6, 6-1, 6-1 to reach the quarters, and last year’s losing finalist Daniil Medvedev, due to play early Tuesday, are now the favourites.
- 23-year-old Alexander Zverev (seeded fifth) would also fancy his chances; he beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 to make the quarters.
- 20-year-old Denis Shapovalov is a long shot, but his 6-7(0), 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 win over David Goffin was a statement.
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| | | 6. India’s weekend tally higher than US+Brazil |  | - As Covid-19 infections surged to an unprecedented high in India over the weekend, the country moved to the centre stage of the pandemic, accounting for over 40% of all cases recorded worldwide on Sunday. Cases in India on both Saturday and Sunday were higher than those recorded in the US and Brazil, the other two worst-hit countries, put together (see above graphic).
Monday’s count:- Cases: 74,960; Overall: 4,277,584
- Deaths: 1,125; Overall: 72,725
- In court: A walk through disinfection tunnels may not shield one from the coronavirus but could actually prove deadly as it does not kill the virus but could cause physical and psychological damage, the Centre informed the Supreme Court, citing expert opinion.
- Finally: Taj Mahal will reopen for visitors on September 21 after six months. However, only 5,000 tourists would be allowed per day, the Agra district administration said, adding that masks will be mandatory for all at all times and thermal screening would be conducted at the gates.
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| | 7. No compensation for ‘loss of love and affection’: SC |  | - The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Motor Accident Claims Tribunals (MACTs) or high courts cannot grant compensation to kin of the deceased for 'loss of love and affection' once it has awarded monies on the head of 'loss of consortium'.
- Some insurance companies had challenged questioning judgments of various HCs in cases arising from awards by MACTs under the two heads.
- The court said that as ‘loss of love and affection’ is comprehended in ‘loss of consortium’, there is no justification to award compensation towards ‘loss of love and affection’ as a separate head.
- Quoting an earlier judgment, the SC said, "consortium is to be taken as a compendious term, which encompasses spousal consortium, parental consortium, as well as filial consortium. The right to consortium would include the company, care, help, comfort, guidance, solace and affection of the deceased, which is a loss to his family."
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| | 8. Putin critic Navalny out of coma |  | - Poisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s condition has improved and doctors have taken him out of an induced coma, the German hospital treating him said in a statement. Navalny was flown to Germany last month after his family raised concerns over Moscow pressuring Russian doctors to obfuscate the truth.
- This comes a week after German authorities said tests showed “proof without doubt” that Navalny was poisoned with a Soviet-era chemical nerve agent. Navalny, a critic of President Vladimir Putin, fell ill and slipped into a coma last month after drinking tea suspected to be laced with poison while returning to Moscow from Tomsk, Siberia, by plane.
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| | 9. Is the National Security Act being misused? |  | - A large section of the legal fraternity has condemned the "indiscriminate use" of the National Security Act (NSA) that has been used by governments to book people for 'offences' ranging from criticising the 'lackadaisical' approach of authorities in dealing with the Covid threat at airports to organising a Muharram procession. Many were later found to be not guilty while many continue to languish in jails.
- Legal experts say statutes like the NSA, with its preventive detention power, often become a tool that authorities resort to, not for prevention of any crime but as a method to punish.
- In Uttar Pradesh alone, at least 142 people have been slapped with the act this year. The NSA has been invoked against 76 in cow slaughter cases, nine others in cases of crime against girl children, 37 against those accused in heinous crimes and 20 others in miscellaneous cases. Dr Kafeel Khan's case is the first this year where a court has intervened.
- The Allahabad high court, while ordering the release of Khan, who spent 7 months in jail after he was slapped with the NSA by UP police, had said his detention was "unsustainable in the eyes of the law" and that the law was slapped "on a whim". More on charges and cases here.
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| | | BEFORE YOU GO | | 10. Expect a prolonged monsoon this year |  | - According to the India Meteorological Department, while the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon may begin from west Rajasthan per the usual date of September 17, there are new low pressure areas developing over the Bay of Bengal. These are likely to cause good rains over Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala in the next four weeks.
- In other parts, there could be an increase in rainfall from the third week of the month, with the country getting overall normal to above normal monsoon rain during the June-September season.
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| | Answer to NEWS IN CLUES | Kangana Ranaut. The Centre on Monday sanctioned ‘Y-plus’ security cover (with 11 CRPF men in security detail) for the actor based on a review of her threat perception. Bristling with the Centre’s decision, Maharashtra ministers demanded action against the actor for “insulting Mumbai and Maharashtra”. | |
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| Edited by: Judhajit Basu
Written by: Rakesh Rai, Sumil Sudhakaran, Tejeesh N.S. Behl; Research: Rajesh Sharma
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