Washington DC , July 8 ,2020: Australian Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds, Japanese Minister of Defense KONO Taro, and US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper convened a virtual trilateral defence ministerial meeting on Tuesday (local time) to re-affirm mutual cooperation amid coronavirus pandemic and promote vigorous trilateral defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
On recent China’s action in the South China Sea, the US Defence Department said, “The ministers reinforced strong opposition to the use of force or coercion to alter the status quo, and reaffirmed the importance of upholding freedom of navigation and overflight. They expressed serious concern about recent incidents, including the continued militarization of disputed features, dangerous or coercive use of coast guard vessels and “maritime militia,” and efforts to disrupt other countries’ resource exploitation activities.”
The Ministers emphasised the importance of peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and called for all countries in the region to take meaningful steps to ease tension and build trust.
“The ministers also called for any Code of Conduct in the South China Sea to be consistent with existing international law, in particular as reflected in UNCLOS; not to prejudice the interests of third parties or the rights of any State under international law; and to reinforce existing inclusive regional architecture,” the Department said.
They also expressed their concern over China’s imposition of national security law in Hong Kong as it undermined the city’s special status.
On North Korea’s ballistic missile launches, the Department said, “The ministers shared their strong concern that North Korea’s series of ballistic missile launches pose a serious threat to international security and condemned the repeated violations of multiple United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs). They expressed concern about North Korea’s announcement that it no longer considered itself bound by its moratorium on nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles.”
The ministers have again urged North Korea to cease actions that increase tensions and undermine regional stability, to comply with its international obligations, and take clear steps to achieve the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles programs of all ranges in accordance with UNSCRs.
“To this end, they commended ongoing diplomatic efforts to engage North Korea, and called on North Korea to return to the negotiating table and make a sustained commitment to dialogue,” the US Defence Department added.
New Delhi, Jul 8,2020: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the capital infusion for an overall value of Rs 12,450 crore in the three Public Sector General Insurance Companies.
The insurance firms include Oriental Insurance Company Limited (OlCL), National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) and United India Insurance Company Limited (UIICL).
Of the Rs 12,450 crore, Rs 3,475 crore will be released immediately while Rs, 6475 crore will be infused later.
Among the approved amount, Rs 2,500 crore of FY 2019-20 will also be infused.
Cabinet also approved increase in authorised share capital of NICL to Rs 7,500 crore and that of UIICL and OlCL to Rs 5,000 crore respectively to give effect to the capital infusion, an official statement said.
Further, the process of merger has been ceased so far in view of the current scenario and instead, the focus shall be on their profitable growth.
The capital infusion of Rs 3,475 crore will be allocated to three PSGICs viz. OlCL, NICL and UIICL as the first tranche in the current financial year and the balance amount will be released in one or more tranches.
To give effect to the infusion, the authorised capital of NICL will be increased to Rs 7,500 crore and that of UIICL and OlCL to Rs 5,000 crore respectively.
The capital infusion will enable the three PSGICs to improve their financial and solvency position, meet the insurance needs of the economy, absorb changes and enhance the capacity to raise resources and improved risk management.
In the current financial year, the immediate financial implication would be Rs 3,475 crore as a result of capital infusion in three PSGICs — OlCL, NICL and UIICL–as the first tranche which will be followed by Rs 6,475 crore.
To ensure optimum utilization of the capital being provided, the Government has issued guidelines in the form of KPIs aimed at bringing business efficiency and profitable growth.
In the meanwhile, given the current scenario, the process of merger has been ceased so far and/instead focus shall be on their solvency and profitable growth, post capital infusion.
New Delhi:July 07,2020: With fresh 22,252 new cases and 467 fatalities in the last 24 hours, India’s tally of coronavirus surpassed the seven lakh mark on Tuesday. While the total number of cases reached 7,19,665 including 2,59,557 active ones and 4,39,948 cured/discharged/migrated, the death toll, on the other hand, mounted to 20,160.
Meanwhile, the total number of samples tested up to July 6 is 1,02,11,092 of which 2,41,430 samples were tested yesterday, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said today.