Modi govt preventing WHO’s release of India’s covid death data: The agency has calculated that 15 million people have died as a result of the pandemic, far more than earlier estimates, but has yet to release those numbers; The Modi government is concerned about the political impact of the report, since the agency has calculated far more deaths than the government’s reported numbers

India’s message to Russia: Indian Air Force (IAF) cancels plans to buy 48 Mi-17 helicopters from Russia; IAF cites Make in India as the reason, but there is no Indian variant of this helicopter even on the drawing board; The timing of the cancellation is not a mere coincidence in context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and US’s pressure on India to be more firm on Russia

Communal riots in Delhi: 20 arrested after violence breaks out during Hanuman Jayanti procession; Three firearms and five swords were recovered from the accused persons; As per the FIR, stones were pelted on a Hindu religious procession that had stopped in front of a mosque; Bystanders report that the procession had shouted slogans such as, “Bharat mein rehna hoga toh Jai Shri Ram kehna hoga” and an attempt was made to forcefully enter the mosque

Resistance to Hindi imposition: Assam is up in arms against Amit Shah’s proposal to make Hindi compulsory till Class 10; The Assam BJP is caught in a bind, trying to assuage regional anxieties while following the central leadership’s line

China expanding drone usage network along India border: China continues to expand its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) network and usage in areas close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC)