It will be the third road link to Ladakh after the other two roads: the Manali-Leh road and Srinagar-Leh highway. The work on reopening an alternative road to Ladakh from Himachal Pradesh has been expedited as it is a strategically key road, said an official on condition of anonymity, adding the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
From the protests in Belarus, to people in Beirut picking up the pieces after the deadly blast, to the Democratic National Convention held in Delaware in the United States, here are the top images from the week gone by.
This is the first time that the defence ministry has admitted officially about the transgressions by the Chinese troops.
'China has forcibly occupied territory it had never occupied before, blocked Indian patrols' access to areas they had patrolled for decades and, most provocatively, killed 20 Indian soldiers.' 'Most countries would regard these as acts of war.' 'New Delhi has apparently taken off the table the option of evicting the PLA with force,' observes Ajai Shukla.
The sources said the ongoing engagement and dialogue at military and diplomatic levels have resulted in complete disengagement of troops at patrolling point 14, 15 and 17 A in eastern Ladakh.
To tide over the difficulties due to incessant shutdowns, several farmers in Maharashtra have turned into aggregators and started selling their produce without the help of mandis or agents. They have started contracting with bulk consumers like hypermarkets and co-operative housing societies to sell their produce directly.
The Chinese military has already completed moving back its troops from the face-off sites in Galwan Valley, Gogra and Hot Springs in line with the first phase of the disengagement process from the friction points on the LAC in eastern Ladakh, sources said. The main focus now shifts to Pangong Tso. India has been insisting that China must withdraw its forces from areas between Finger Four and Eight.
China will flood direct flights to India with wholesale takeaways of the authentic stuff; Indian businessmen will fight for the commission and the consumers for the cuisine, predicts Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
'We should not minimise the seriousness of Chinese encroachments because their perception is different.' 'Nor should we fall into the trap of accepting so-called 'buffer zones' in areas of overlapping claims. We cannot have buffer zones in our own territory,' asserts Ambassador Shyam Saran, a former foreign secretary.
'As for tricky relations with China, India needs less of summitry type event management and more anticipatory analysis and management of events,' says Ambassador Jaimini Bhagwati.
Sources said that even though India and China have been talking at the diplomatic and the military level for over six weeks now, there has been no thinning down in troop numbers or equipment by the Chinese side on this front.
;The world paid a heavy price for the megalomania of the Third Reich's fuehrer.' 'Will it pay a similar price for the ambitions of China's leader-for-life?' asks Amulya Ganguli.
Chinese troops are reinforcing their posts in large numbers, increasing their patrolling, stepping up violations in the Tawang and Walong areas.
The government must figure out what the Chinese game plan is and thwart the endgame before it is upon us, possibly in early winter, advises David Devadas.
With the Indian Army having blocked the PLA several kilometres inside India, hundreds of soldiers from both sides remain in a tense face-off.
Congress as the opposition party has become increasingly aggressive against the Narendra Modi government over its handling of the border standoff with China.
'(The) PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression. If the land was Chinese: Why were our soldiers killed? Where were they killed,' he asked on Twitter, tagging the prime minister's remark.
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria was at the Leh IAF base on Wednesday where he reviewed operational preparedness of the force in effectively guarding the sensitive border areas in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese armies have been on a nearly six-week standoff.
The last time the Chinese military had taken Indian soldiers captive was in July 1962 after a clash in Galwan Valley.
The talks between the two sides near Galwan Valley ended in a stalemate on Tuesday as well as Wednesday, the sources said.
The major general-level meeting discussed ways to implement the disengagement of troops from Galwan Valley as agreed during high-level military talks between the two sides on June 6. The Indian delegation at the talks was led by Leh-based 3 Infantry Division commander Major General Abhijit Bapat. The two sides held Major General-level talks on Tuesday as well.
Out of 18, four personnel were critically injured but they are responding to treatment and are stable now, people familiar with the matter said.
Out of 18, four personnel were critically injured but they are responding to treatment and are stable now, people familiar with the matter said.
India on Wednesday delivered a strong message to China that the 'unprecedented' incident in the Galwan Valley will have a 'serious impact' on the bilateral relationship and held the 'pre-meditated' action by Chinese army directly responsible for the violence that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead.
Indian military sources said no firearms were used in the clashes and that most of the injuries were sustained following stone-pelting and use of rods by the Chinese side.
This is the first such incident along the border with China that Indian armed forces personnel have been killed after a gap of nearly 45 years.
The Chinese have only created limited defences for protection of their posts which are located well in depth and much away from the Line of Actual Control, notes Colonel S Dinny (retd).
Army chief General Naravane said the ongoing dialogue will sort out all the perceived differences between the two countries.
In the review meeting, Singh told the top military brass to continue to deal with the situation in eastern Ladakh and other areas with "firmness".
'They cannot use firearms.' 'They have to be restrained.' 'It is a game of patience and chess board moves.' 'It is not like India and Pakistan where bullets get fired and people get killed.'
'The Indian Army's surveillance had noticed the Chinese movements.' 'There was no intelligence failure.'
The talks came a day after the two armies began a limited disengagement in a few areas in Galwan Valley and Hot Spring in a demonstration of their intent to end the row peacefully.
Asked about the reports of the troops on both sides disengaging and moving back to their previous positions, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing in Beijing that both sides are taking steps to ease the situation along the borders.
The talks between the two armies are going to be held this week at multiple locations including Patroling point 14 (Galwan area), Patrolling point 15, and Hot Springs area, top government sources said.
Talks between the two sides were held on June 6 at the military commanders' level, including the 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh from the Indian side while the Chinese side was represented by its South Xinjiang Military District commander Major General Liu Lin at Moldo opposite Chushul in Ladakh.
'The government will ensure that India's pride is not affected as far as the situation along Indo-China border is concerned'
China and India have agreed to work to maintain peace along the Line of Actual Control and resolve the border standoff through talks while implementing the consensus reached between the two countries' leadership that 'differences' do not escalate into 'disputes', a top Chinese official said.
The Indian delegation led by Lt General Harinder Singh, the general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, and Commander of the Tibet Military District Maj Gen Liu Lin held an extensive meeting in Maldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh on Saturday that began at around 11.30 am and went on till evening.
Sources said the Indian delegation was warmly greeted by senior officials of the Chinese Army before the talks began.
The two sides have already held at least 12 rounds of talks between local commanders and three rounds of talks between major general-rank officials but no positive outcome came out from the discussions, they said.
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