Daily Briefing / August 19, 2019

ISRO to inject Chandrayaan-2 into lunar orbit 

In a significant milestone for India’s Moon mission, ISRO will fire liquid engine of Chandrayaan-2 on August 20 to insert the spacecraft into a lunar orbit. Following this, there will be further four orbit manoeuvres to make the spacecraft enter into its final orbit passing over the lunar poles at a distance of about 100 km from Moon’s surface, ISRO has said. Subsequently, the Vikram lander will separate from the orbiter on September 2. Two orbit manoeuvres will be performed on the lander before the initiation of powered descent to make a soft landing on the lunar surface on September 7, ISRO said. Chandrayaan-2, launched on July 22 by GSLV MkIII-M1 vehicle, had entered the Lunar Transfer Trajectory on August 14 after final orbit raising manoeuvre of the spacecraft was successfully carried out.

Rajnath ups the ante on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir

Raising the pitch on PoK issue, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said any talks with Pakistan in future would be only about Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), while his ministerial colleague Jitendra Singh voiced hope that the region would be integrated with India. Rajnath Singh, who was addressing a public rally in Haryana's Kalka, said there would be no talks with Pakistan unless it acts against terrorists and stops supporting terror activities. Referring to scrapping of the provision granting special status to Jammu & Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution, Singh said the decision had sent jitters in Pakistan. Union Minister Jitendra Singh said after the revocation of Article 370 provisions, people should now pray for the integration of PoK with India in their lifetime. “Let us move forward with a positive thinking of freeing PoK from the illegal occupation of Pakistan and making it an integral part of the country in accordance with the unanimously passed resolution in Parliament (in 1994),” he said. 

NSA briefs Amit Shah on situation in J&K

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on August 19 briefed Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the prevailing security situation in Jammu & Kashmir, where restrictions have been imposed since August 5, officials said. This was the first time that Doval met Shah after his return from the Kashmir Valley, where he stayed for about 10 days and personally monitored the situation. Union home secretary Rajiv Gauba and other top officials also attended the meeting that reviewed the steps taken to maintain the law and order situation in the state. The restrictions were imposed on communication links and movement of people in Jammu & Kashmir on August 5 following the Centre’s move to abrogate provisions of Article 370 and bifurcated the state into Union Territories. However, restrictions have gradually lifted in some areas in Jammu region and the Kashmir Valley, but the curb is still continuing in many parts.

RBI rules out asset quality review of NBFCs 

Even as he reiterated the regulatory resolve to not let any large non-banking financial company (NBFC) fail, Reserve Bank governor Shaktikanta Das ruled out ordering an asset quality review of the systematically important shadow banks for now. The over 12,000-odd non-banking financial institutions, coupled with their housing finance peers, collectively control a quarter of the credit market, have been under severe stress following the bankruptcy of one of the largest players IL&FS group last September. The IL&FS group owes close to  Rs 1 trillion to the system and more than half of that is to banks, mostly state-owned ones. Its failure has made banks highly risk averse to the NBFC sector, leading to a severe liquidity crunch. Das ruled out ordering an asset quality review of the large NBFCs, says the RBI is not thinking about conducting one for now as it had done for the banks in late 2016 and early 2017, under which it identified 40 largest stressed accounts and asked banks to send for bankruptcy resolution. 

US economists expect recession in 2020 or 2021

A majority of economists expect a US recession in the next two years, but have pushed back the onset amid Federal Reserve actions, according to a survey released on August 19. The survey came out after President Donald Trump pushed back against talk of a looming recession as a raft of US data reports last week showed a mixed picture on the economy. “I’m prepared for everything. I don’t think we’re having a recession. We’re doing tremendously well. Our consumers are rich,” Trump said. The National Association for Business Economists (NABE) found far fewer experts now think the next recession will start this year compared to a survey in February. NABE conducted its policy poll as Trump put the Fed under constant attack, demanding more stimulus, but before the central bank cut the benchmark lending rate on July 31.

63 killed in Kabul wedding hall blast

Joy and celebration turned into horror and carnage when an Islamic State suicide bomber targeted a packed Afghan wedding hall, killing at least 63 people in the deadliest attack to rock Kabul in months, officials said on August 18. The massive blast, which took place on August 17 in west Kabul, underscores both the inadequacy of Afghanistan’s security forces and the scale of the problem they face as Washington and the Taliban finalise a deal to reduce the US military presence in Afghanistan and hopefully build a roadmap to a ceasefire. Afghanistan’s president vowed to “eliminate” all safe havens of the Islamic State group as the country marked a subdued 100th Independence Day on August 19. Many outraged Afghans ask whether an approaching deal between the United States and the Taliban to end nearly 18 years of fighting America’s longest war will bring peace to long-suffering civilians.

PM Modi to visit to UAE and Bahrain 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a three-day visit to United Arab Emirates and Bahrain beginning August 23 and hold extensive talks with top leaders of the two countries on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. The prime minister will first travel to UAE where he would receive the ‘Order of Zayed’, the highest civil decoration of the country, the ministry of external affairs said. From UAE, Modi will leave for Bahrain on August 24 on a two-day visit, which will be the first ever prime ministerial visit from India to the Gulf nation, the ministry said. In April, the UAE announced conferring the prestigious award on Modi for playing a “pivotal role” in giving a “big boost” to the bilateral strategic ties.

1st central institute of chemical engineering in Guj

The country’s first Central Institute of Chemical Engineering & Technology (CICET) will be set up in Gujarat to give boost to the chemical industry, Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya said. The CICET will come up either at Ahmedabad or Surat. “The state has a significant presence of chemical industry, especially in Vapi, Ankleshwar and Vatva in Valsad, Bharuch, and Ahmedabad districts, and the first-of-its-kind institute will facilitate the chemical industry with research and innovations,” he said. The minister of state for chemical and fertilisers also announced setting up of another campus of the Central Institute of Plastic Engineering & Technology (CIPET) in Valsad at the cost of  Rs 54 crore for the benefit of tribal students and the plastic industry. The Central government is also planning to set up a Plastic Waste Management Centre in Ahmedabad to find out solutions to systematic segregation and recycling of plastic waste.

Newsmaker

Three-time Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra passed away on August 19 at the age of 82. Mishra, who was with the Congress, had also served as Union minister in PV Narasimha Rao’s Cabinet. He was convicted in three cases linked to the fodder scam.