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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to France starting on July 13 would be both rich in form and substance and would set new benchmarks for strategic partnership between the two countries in the future, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said Wednesday.
Addressing the media ahead of the visit, Kwatra spoke about increasing defence cooperation between the militaries of the two countries in terms of joint exercises as well as cooperation in logistics support and maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region and the Indo-Pacific and research and design in the defence sector.
He said the discussions between Modi and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron would hinge on co-production, co-development of military hardware with a focus on India’s self-reliance goals. He refused to comment on specific details of the deals expected to be announced during the visit.
A few big-ticket announcements on the defence front are expected during the Prime Minister’s visit, including India’s procurement of 26 Rafale M fighters and additional Scorpene submarines for the Navy and a deal to jointly develop an aircraft engine in India.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to meet to clear the deals likely to be announced during the visit.
Express Network
Critical of 28% GST on full face value of casino bets, Goa puts blame on UP
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Stating that the GST Council’s decision to levy a uniform 28% tax on “full face value” for online gaming, casinos and horse-racing will be a “negative factor” for the industry, hamper fresh investment and lead to decline in footfall at casinos, Goa Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho said a consensus could not be reached at the Council meeting due to opposition from Uttar Pradesh.
Godinho, who represented Goa at the Council’s meeting, said the state had sought a 28% tax to be levied on “gross gaming revenue” (GGR), and not on the full face value of bets, or full value of consideration paid.
GGR is the total amount of money a gambling business brings in through bets, deducting the amount that is paid for the win. I feel it is going to be a very negative factor for the industry and hamper fresh investment. It will hamper the existing industry, (as) footfall is bound to decrease.
Godinho said that at one stage during the GST Council meeting, it appeared that a consensus had “almost been reached”, but “all of a sudden” the minister from Uttar Pradesh opposed it.
That’s how they decided on the full face value as well as on 28% (tax). With TDS also coming in, it is not going to be very positive for the industry.”
The Chief Minister (Pramod Sawant) said he will take it up. It will ultimately go for reconsideration to the (GST) Council — it has to go. If there is a representation from our government — and it will be there — I have told the Chief Minister to write to the Finance Minister as well as others. I think other representations from other industries are bound to come.
Editorial
Time to be prepared (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Disaster Management)
Last weekend, parts of North India witnessed heavy rains that triggered flash floods and left a trail of destruction. Homes were flooded, roads and bridges washed away and communication networks disrupted, isolating communities and hampering rescue efforts. At least 50 deaths were reported.
The rains triggered landslides which caused more damage. Himachal Pradesh was the worst affected. Several places in Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh reported record rainfall.
Three main factors can trigger such heavy rains in the region and the Himalaya. First, an active monsoon with strong winds in the lower air layers, bringing moisture into the region from the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea.
Second, a large-scale atmospheric forcing in the form of outflows in the upper layers of the atmosphere moving eastward through mid-latitude troughs. These troughs can also direct the flow of moisture towards the Himalaya. Third, deep convection triggered by orographic uplift combined with the steep terrain of the Himalaya.
All these ingredients were present last weekend. The synoptic conditions were conducive to heavy rainfall. The monsoon was active with strong moist easterly winds entering the region and an eastward moving mid-latitude trough in the atmosphere’s upper layers.
There was also moisture intrusion from the North Arabian Sea. The floods in Uttarakhand in 2013 were caused by similar synoptic conditions. Another good example is the 2010 floods in Pakistan.
World
NATO offers security assurances to Ukraine, Biden slams craven Putin (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
President Joe Biden accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having a "craven lust for land and power" at the end of a NATO summit where Ukraine won new security assurances from the US and its allies for its defence against Moscow.
Members of the world's most powerful military bloc offered the prospect of long-term protection a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decried as "absurd" a refusal to offer an invitation or timetable for Ukraine's entry into NATO.
Ukraine has been pushing for rapid membership while fighting a Russian invasion unleashed in February 2022 that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.
Instead, a declaration by the G7 group of the world's most industrialised countries launched a framework for bilateral negotiations to provide military and financial support, intelligence sharing and a promise of immediate steps if Russia should attack again.
It's a powerful statement of our commitment to Ukraine," Biden said, alongside Zelensky and leaders of the G7, which is made up of the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Speaking in Vilnius, Lithuania, at the end of the two-day meeting on Russia's doorstep, Biden said Putin had badly underestimated the resolve of the US-led military alliance.
Explained
The moon missions compared (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
India’s third mission to the moon will take off on Friday. The mission aims to achieve what its predecessor could not — land softly on the lunar surface and explore it with a rover.
A successful soft landing will make India the fourth country, after the United States, Russia, and China, to achieve the feat. The position remains vacant after the missions from Israel and India in 2019 crash-landed and the spacecraft carrying a lander-rover from Japan and a rover from UAE failed in 2022.
While the objectives of the mission remain the same, scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have learnt from the previous mission.
The lander’s design was improved after a series of tests to see how it performs under various circumstances, such as inability to reach the landing spot, failure of electronics or sensors, velocity being higher than needed, among others.
After launching into an orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 179 km, the spacecraft will gradually increase its orbit in a series of manoeuvres to escape the Earth’s gravity and slingshot towards the moon.
After reaching close to the moon, the spacecraft will need to be captured by its gravity. Once that happens, another series of manoeuvres will reduce the orbit of the spacecraft to a 100×100 km circular one.
Thereafter, the lander, which carries the rover inside it, will separate from the propulsion module and start its powered descent.
Uniform 28% tax on online gaming: implications of GST Council's move (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, in its 50th meeting, decided to levy a uniform 28 per cent tax on full face value for online gaming, casinos and horse-racing.
The government is now expected to bring in a legal amendment to facilitate this in the monsoon session of Parliament, which will enable inclusion of online gaming and horse racing under actionable claim and hence, facilitate taxation of these categories with no distinction for game of skill or chance.
While the government has maintained that this decision is not intended to end any industry, online gaming companies have raised concerns about the impact of this move on the industry, as it is likely to affect volumes and thus the viability of gaming companies.
The uniform levy of 28 per cent tax will be applicable on the face value of the chips purchased in the case of casinos, on the full value of the bets placed with bookmaker/totalisator in the case of horse racing, and on the full value of the bets placed in case of online gaming.
Economy
June retail inflation rises to 3 months high on costlier food; IIP up 5.2% in May (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Retail inflation rose to a three-month high of 4.81 per cent in June, mainly on account of higher foods inflation especially prices of cereals and pulses, though it remained within the 4+/- 2 percent band of Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term inflation target, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
Meanwhile, India’s factory output grew to a three-month high of 5.2 per cent in May as against 4.5 per cent growth in April, primarily due to pickup in manufacturing and mining output, according to separately released data by the NSO.
The Consumer Price Index (Combined)-based inflation moved up after moderating for four months since February. The RBI, which will be announcing its next bi-monthly monetary policy early next month, mainly factors in the retail inflation while deciding the benchmark interest rate (repo).
Retail inflation stood at 4.31 per per cent (revised upward from 4.25 per cent) in May and 7 per cent in June 2022. The previous high CPI was in March at 5.66 per cent.
Food inflation was recorded at 4.49 per cent in June, higher than 2.96 per cent in May. The food basket accounts for nearly half of the CPI.
The inflation rate was 19.19 per cent in case of spices, 12.71 per cent in ‘cereals and products’, 10.53 per cent in ‘pulses and products’, and 7 per cent in eggs.
Fruits too were marginally costlier in June year-on-year. However, there was a decline in inflation in ‘oil and fats’ (- 18.12 per cent) and vegetables (-0.93 per cent).