Front Page

• Socio-economic Census: No access to ownership of land (30% of the people) is the major form of deprivation in rural India, where 73% of households still live. The second most common form of deprivation is literacy with 23.5 per cent of rural households having no literate adults above the age of 25.

• India abstains from UNHRC vote against Israel: In what could turn out to be major shift in foreign policy (although it has been denied by the govt), India abstained from a vote against Israel at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. This is an indication of India’s growing proximity to Israel.

Editorial/Opinion

• Dreading the facts: The deportation of a foreign national from India, who was researching human rights violations in Kashmir, suggests that India is afraid the facts that might emerge if free access is given to research fellows to do their jobs.

• Tribal alienation in an unequal India: While industrialisation and development can reduce the spread of poverty, nothing can be done to change the prevalence of inequality until the actual mindset of people changes.

• Cuba si, Yankee si: The announcement by the United States on July 1, ending the U.S.’s prolonged enmity with Cuba has opened up an opportunity for Cuba to evolve its position in world affairs, while not losing its own identity under the influence of world politics. It also benefits the U.S. whose rhetoric will now be accepted by countries of Latin America.

International/ World Affairs

• Evidence weakens for BBC story on MQM-RAW links: The credibility of a recent report run by the BBC claiming the Indian intelligence agency RAW funded Pakistan’s Muttahida Qaumi Movement, have been seriously weakened. Britain’s Metropolitan Police has stated that one of the documents being shown around as proof does not belong to them, as was being claimed.

• PM’s Central Asia trip to give impetus to trade, energy security: The Prime Minister is going on a five-nation tour of Central Asia from July 6. He will also attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting and the BRICS summit in Ufa, Russia, on June 9 and 10.

• Tsipras dismisses Europe’s warnings: The Greek Prime Minister has said that Sunday’s referendum is only to decide whether or not to accept the austerity measures as proposed to Greece. It is not going to be an indication of whether or not Greece stays in the European Union.

• France denies Assange asylum: The French government has rejected an asylum request from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, saying he is “not in immediate danger” while holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in west London.

Economy/Business

• Airbus, Mahindras ink JV: In what is a major achievement for the “Make in India” initiative, Airbus Helicopters and Mahindra Defence have signed a memorandum of understanding to produce helicopters in India and jointly bid for defence contracts in India.

• Govt mulls incentives for discarding old cars: The Centre is considering giving financial incentives to those willing to discard their old cars under a new policy. Expect details about this to emerge soon.

• Coal linkage to power companies without PPAs: The government has evolved a mechanism for supplying coal to stressed power companies without blocks through an auction route, under which two e-auction windows will be created. The Centre is also coming out with a tariff policy and a policy for bidding for Ultra Mega Power Plants (UMPP).

• Taking internet to rural women: In a significant initiative aimed at bridging the technology gender divide, Tata Trusts have tied up with Google to launch ‘Internet Saathi’. The joint initiative announced today aims at empowering women in rural India with the power of the Internet so they may benefit from it in their daily lives.