Briefing, 28 August 2024

ModiWatch: On Monday, PM Narendra Modi and U.S. President Biden had a phone call addressing several regional and global issues. Modi expressed appreciation for Biden's commitment to the U.S.-India strategic partnership. They discussed the Ukraine conflict, with Modi briefing Biden on his visit and reiterating India's consistent position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy. Both leaders expressed concern over the Bangladesh situation, emphasising the need to protect minorities, especially Hindus. They reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation in multilateral forums, including the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue partnership between Australia, India, Japan and the United States.

PM Modi also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing ways to strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. Modi shared insights from his recent Ukraine visit and reiterated India's commitment to a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The conversation emphasised “India’s firm commitment to support an early, abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict.”

India-Chile Partnership: The first India-Chile Summit is being held in Mumbai and Delhi this week. The Chilean delegation led by the Foreign Minister Alberto Van Klaveren will meet the Foreign Minister of India Dr. S. Jaishankar today in New Delhi. “India is a market that continues to grow, on the rise and where we are positioned very well” said Estaben Rodrigeuz. President of ChileNut, the guild that brings togethers the exporter of Walnuts, a product that has an 83% market share in India. This summit will bring energy, agricultural, film and audio-visual industry delegations.

Singapore-India talks pave way for Modi's  visit: Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan announced that recent high-level meetings between Indian and Singaporean ministers have laid the groundwork for Prime Minister Modi's visit to Singapore. The two nations have expanded their bilateral cooperation platform to include new focus areas: advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, aviation and maritime connectivity. 

Indigenous Mpox testing kit: India has developed an indigenous RT-PCR testing kit for Mpox. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Mpox its second public health emergency of international concern. Mumbai based Siemens Healthineers' IMDX Monkeypox Detection RT-PCR has received manufacturing approval  from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). The test results would be available in just 40 minutes, which is faster than traditional methods that take 1-2 hours. The new kit will help reduce the turnaround time, enabling quicker responses.

Telegram under Indian government scrutiny: The government is investigating Telegram over its alleged role in criminal activities such as extortion and gambling, with a potential ban on the app depending on the probe's findings. This follows the arrest of Telegram's founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, in Paris for reportedly failing to prevent illegal activities on the platform. The probe is being conducted by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

Judicial custody extended: Delhi Rouse Avenue Court has extended the judicial custody of  Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in an Excise corruption case until September 3. On the other hand a bench of the Supreme Court postponed the hearing of his bail plea in the same case until September 5 after the CBI requested more time to file an affidavit. Kejriwal has filed two petitions - one challenging the denial of the bail and another against his arrest by the CBI.

Delhi Today: Partly sunny with a couple of showers, mainly early in the day.

Lok Sabha: Not in session.

Rajya Sabha: Not in session.

What we have been reading:

On Prime Minister Modi’s Ukraine visit - The Hindu