“Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh Will Develop As Locals Wish,” Assures PM Modi

  • Ending special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and splitting it into two union territories is among the biggest decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his second term. In a record-setting session of Parliament, the decades-old “temporary” provision came to an end as the government’s move was cleared by both houses.
  • The decision on Article 370 has been welcomed by many, but there has also been strong criticism by opposition parties over the manner in which it was done. News agency IANS spoke with the prime minister on the Kashmir move.

US to delay China tariffs on some products, including laptops, cell phones

  • The Trump administration on Tuesday delayed imposing a 10% import tariff on laptops, cell phones, video game consoles and some other products made in China that had been scheduled to start next month, in an abrupt pull-back from a hardline stance on Chinese trade.
  • The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office action was published just minutes after China’s Ministry of Commerce said Vice Premier Liu He conducted a phone call with U.S. trade officials.

Inflation falls for first time in 6 months; July CPI inflation breaks rising streak

  • Snapping the 6-month rising streak, the retail inflation fell in the month of July, the government data released on Tuesday showed.
  • The CPI-based inflation was reduced to 3.15 per cent in the last month. In June 2019, CPI inflation had soared to 3.18 per cent compared to 3.05 per cent in the previous month.
  • According to the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the inflation in the food basket was 2.36 per cent in July, marginally up from 2.25 per cent in the previous month.

Chandrayaan 2 Leaves Earth’s Orbit, Heads Towards Moon

  • India’s ambitious lunar mission Chandrayaan 2 left the earth’s orbit today and is headed towards the moon after a crucial manoeuvre by the Indian Space Research Organisation.
  • The satellite is another step closer to the moon after the “Trans Lunar Insertion (TLI) manoeuvre was carried out successfully at 2.21 am as planned”, the space agency said.