Front Page

• PM’s Central Asia visit will focus on fighting Islamic State menace: The major focus will be on counter-terrorist activities, training of forces and counter-radicalism. Advancements in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline are also expected.

• Full mobile number portability from July 3: This is an important step in the agglomeration of  mobile services in the country, and will also help in arresting the inflated mobile subscriber base. Mobile Number Portability was expected to be operational from May 3, but operators had demanded two extra months back then.

Editorial/Opinion

• The woes of Greece: The referendum scheduled in Greece is not just to decide whether to accept the demands of Greece’s debtors, but could potentially signal whether Greece is going to remain in the European Union or not.

• Opening up legal services: The govt’s proposal for the entry of foreign law firms into the country is rather toothless because it does not allow those law firms into litigation or international commercial arbitration.

• No reason for IIMs to be alarmed: The Indian Institutes of Management Bill should not be seen just as an attack on the autonomy of the IIMs. It does not take away as much power from the IIMs as was taken away from the IITs by the IITs Act.

• The taxi drivers: The natural progression of the taxi/cab market from the old black-and-yellow cabs to radio cabs and now to app-driven services to cater to consumer needs has greatly made the services convenient. Traditional drivers face a struggle to either keep up to the changes, or risk becoming irrelevant.

National

• Digital India Week’ could provide investment boost: The event, which starts from today, is expected to bring about announcements from various Indian and foreign companies about new investments they plan on making.

• Green Climate Fund to become operational soon: The $100-billion Green Climate Fund will soon become operational in India. The process of choosing companies that can access funds via it is ongoing.

• Industries under 24×7 pollution watch: The Ministry of Environment and Forests  has started full-time monitoring of polluting agencies in order to crack down on industries violating environmental norms.

International/ World Affairs

• Greece on the brink: Greece is spiraling on a path potentially out of the euro with unforeseeable consequences for both the European Union’s currency project  and the overall global economy. The govt is requesting a two-year deal covering funding support and debt restructuring.

Economy/Business

• Core sector registers 4.4 % growth in May:These eight core industries (coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity) account for 37.9 per cent in the overall Index of Industrial Production.

• Rationalisation of mutual fund fees: India is among a few countries which charge both upfront and trail commissions, and an especially high upfront commission. The sense is that this is not a long term policy.