Sumer Sharma

Lover of music, stories and everything fun | Believes in common humanity - connection is why we're here | Have written for @YourStoryCo

[Sumer Sharma @sumer1311]

On #INC winners (6):
- 2 veterans won, incl 75+ 3 time MLA Manohar Prasad Singh and Abidur Rehman. Rumours over Rehman's ticket being cut and delayed announcement led to backlash
- But Krishna's EBC/BC strategy also worked in 2 unwinnable NDA strongholds

[Sincere Dibya @TheSincereDude]

Kailash Mansarovar was once hailed by the BJP as the soul of India’s civilizational heritage. Today, Indian pilgrims must wait for China’s approval to visit one of Hinduism’s holiest sites.

Thousands of permits remain pending, pilgrims are stranded, and New Delhi’s response is reduced to advisories.

After years of claiming a muscular foreign policy and a “56-inch chest,” the reality is this: Indian citizens must first seek Beijing’s permission before they can seek Lord Shiva’s blessings.

If this is the outcome of a decade of diplomacy, it’s not a moment of strength; it’s a deeply uncomfortable question about India’s leverage with China.

[Michael McDonough @M_McDonough]

*Hormuz Vessel Crossing Update, Back down to 24

The pullback to 24 reflects renewed escalation: the U.S. conducted fresh strikes on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday in response to a drone attack on the tanker M/T Kiku, days after an Iranian drone struck the container ship Ever Lovely — the first vessel hit since the U.S.–Iran ceasefire was signed.

The back-and-forth is straining the agreement's plan to restore normal marine traffic, with CENTCOM noting commercial vessels are still transiting but well below pre-crisis levels.

Powered by our commercial vessel crossing index, using AIS data refreshed every 30 minutes.

[ParanjoyGuhaThakurta @paranjoygt]

The Telegraph editor’s passport not being renewed in Kolkata

Note from R. Rajagopal
Former Editor, The Telegraph
——-
In March this year, my name was deleted from the Ballygunge constituency electoral roll in Kolkata, apparently because the Special Intensive Revision process could not trace either my name or that of my late father in the 2002 voters' list. My father, a Gandhian, retired professor and former State Secretary of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi in Kerala, passed away in 2016. I remain unable to understand how a conscientious voter like him could have been absent from the rolls.

Like nearly 27 lakh other residents of West Bengal, I was excluded on account of what were described as “logical discrepancies”. No reason was furnished even after I submitted my matriculation certificate, and my appeal is now pending before one of the tribunals constituted pursuant to the Supreme Court's directions. As a consequence, I was unable to vote in the recent election.

More distressing has been the fate of my passport renewal application. Although I completed the biometric formalities on March 19, 2026, police verification has not been cleared because my name no longer appears on the electoral roll. Despite submitting several alternative documents, I have been informed that they are insufficient. In fact, today (June 27, 2026) is the 100th day since my biometrics for passport renewal were taken. I was formally informed last week by the passport-issuing authority that Kolkata Police sent an adverse report, citing the deletion of my name from the voters' list. I have been asked to appear before the Regional Passport Office in Calcutta "immediately" but when I sought an appointment, without which it is difficult to gain entry, the date granted is July 17, 2026.

In between, our daughter, a journalist in California, got married in San Francisco on April 17. Needless to say, it would have been impossible for me to attend the wedding in the absence of an active passport, notwithstanding my possession of a valid ten-year US visa.

For all practical purposes, I find myself in a state of civic uncertainty although recently the government iterated that a passport is no proof of citizenship. Much of my time is now consumed by efforts to reconstruct family records and secure documents dating back several decades….

My days begin with checking my voting right appeal status and then the passport tracker. Then I write to the college where my mother taught in 1965 and to her school from where she passed out in 1959, asking for any document that proves she existed. The school has been very helpful but not the college. Similarly, I speak to prohibition campaign activists in Kerala, running down a list I collected after coming across an activist's name in a group by chance, asking for any news clipping or photographs that show my father campaigning against illegal liquor vends and communalism.

Some close friends and public figures have helped me in all these efforts. However, I am unaware if any media outlet or journalists' association or guild (of which I am not a member) has shown any interest in my situation. A senior journalist reminded me that this situation is by no means unique as "rejection" has been the daily certainty confronting millions of Indians for centuries. I accept that point.

My intention has never been to project myself as a victim. Rather, I have wanted to underline a larger point: if someone who spent his professional life in journalism and edited a relatively known newspaper can encounter such difficulties, one can only imagine what the truly marginalised must endure. Did I approach any newspaper? No, because I do not want it to become an issue concerning me. Do editors and journalists know about my issue? Of course, several do. If they don't, they should not be in the profession, don't you think?

Yet, the complete silence of newspapers on this issue has confirmed my suspicion, now reinforced with personal experience, that so-called mainstream journalism has little to do with my life. I do not "read" any newspaper now. I glance at some but hardly find anything that piques my interest.

[The Hindu @the_hindu]

Centre proposes revising NFSA foodgrain allocation for AAY households from a fixed 35 kg per family to a per-person formula, sparking concerns over reduced benefits for larger families and widening regional disparities.

✍️ A.M. Jigeesh
https://t.co/raZCDHJUlz

[Down To Earth @down2earthindia]

India’s poorest households may soon get subsidised grain based on family size, instead of a fixed 35kg monthly quota.

But food rights experts say the draft food security amendment still leaves major gaps: a 35kg cap for larger families, no pulses or oils, and no fix for PDS exclusions, reports @shagun__k

https://t.co/BbPPozeEKC

#FoodSecurity #NFSA #AntyodayaAnnaYojana #PDS #RightToFood #Nutrition #RationCards #India #PublicDistributionSystem #Welfare

[Jagmohan Mehta @jagmohanmehta]

GoI published a draft of proposed amendments in National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013.

It proposes, 7 kg of foodgrains for a person, and maximum 35 kg for a household under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY).

Read The Hindu Article

#NFSA #Antyodaya #UPSC

[Trita Parsi @tparsi]

At least the Israelis do not have much doubt about what the Lebanese-Israeli agreement means. This is what the anchor on Channel 13 said:

"It seems we're leading Lebanon to a civil war. Maybe it's not so bad for us, let the Lebanese government fight Hezbollah... That's been the goal from the start."

[Vineet @cozyduke_apt29]

HT: Indian and Pakistani delegations comprising politicians and retired military officials and diplomats participated in Track 2 discussions on the margins of a regional security conference organised in Colombo this week by a London-based think tank, people familiar with the matter said.

The security conference organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) featured delegates from several countries, including India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the UK. The Indian and Pakistani delegates held separate discussions spread over a day and a half at the Hilton Colombo, the people said on condition of anonymity.

HT first reported on April 17 that Indian and Pakistani strategic experts, parliamentarians and former diplomats have participated in at least four back channel meetings since the conflict in May 2025, with the first such engagement held just two months after Operation Sindoor in London in July last year. That engagement too was organised by IISS.

[Sumer Sharma @sumer1311]

quite smthg

[Sushant Singh @SushantSin]

Last para here. Who is negotiating with the police in a BJP ruled state? Jailed MP Amritpal's father and other Waris Punjab De leaders.

[Sarthak Sidhant @sidhant_sarthak]

transparency needs to be accessible.
from today it is.

within the past 2 weeks, around 1 crore 66 lakh records were scraped from the government's CPP Portal.

The Nation's procurement database is now publicly available to all.

link below

[Sumer Sharma @sumer1311]

very interesting

[Piyush Rai @Benarasiyaa]

Nepotism has been repackaged.

[Nazmul Ahasan @the_nazmul]

Bangladesh has signed an agreement with a Chinese state-owned company to develop an economic zone at Mongla on land originally earmarked for an Indian economic zone.

https://t.co/voVF6rtWj9

[Sumer Sharma @sumer1311]

reiterated

[RT_India @RT_India_news]

Piyush Goyal: India Won't Activate US Trade Deal Until Competitive Edge Is Secured

The Indian Commerce Minister alluded that New Delhi is seeking clarity on how it will retain an edge over competing manufacturing economies before moving ahead with the deal.

He noted that the agreement had originally been negotiated around lower tariff levels, but the US Supreme Court's decision striking down the tariffs and the pending expiry of the 10% tariff on July 24 have changed the landscape.

📹 Piyush Goyal Official / YouTube

[Sushant Singh @SushantSin]

FPIs are still selling, and selling big.

[Kyle Chan @kyleichan]

China is making a broader push to internationalize the RMB. But as it converts loans from USD to RMB, China seems to be restructuring debt on more favorable terms for recipient countries, at least with Kenya.

New @AidData report: https://t.co/ttPOAvfek3

[Sumer Sharma @sumer1311]

top 10 worst take contender

[Diva Jain @DivaJain2]

Most people whining about lack of eggs have never run an organization. Veg/Non Veg segregation is a logistical nightmare for a project of this scale.
Also Govt is under no obligation to help you meet your (expensive) protein goals.
If you want eggs/meat please eat them at home.

[Sumer Sharma @sumer1311]

markets are jumping
but physical situ not rosy

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

🇺🇸 US Crude Inventories Plunge Further as Brent Crude Falls Below Feb’ 27 Price

🔹US commercial crude oil inventories fell by 6.1 million barrels for the week ending June 19, to 412.1 million barrels, the EIA reported Wednesday, far exceeding analyst forecasts of a 3.9 million barrel draw and running about 7 percent below the five-year average.

🔹 Brent crude prices have completely erased their wartime premium, collapsing more than 4% on Wednesday to settle at $73.74 a barrel and sliding further to $72.27 in early trading today. This drop pushes the international benchmark below the $72.48 closing price recorded on Friday, February 27, the final trading day before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28. The market has shed roughly 40% from its wartime peak of around $119 a barrel.

🔹 Another figure drawing attention are the levels at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for US benchmark WTI crude. Stocks there fell another 1.077 million barrels to roughly 19 million, a ninth straight weekly drop and the lowest level since October 2014.

🔹 That puts Cushing at what the industry treats as “tank bottom,” the operational minimum near 18-20 million barrels. The hub can never run empty, because sludge, water, and sediment settle at the base, leaving the bottom layer contaminated and hard to pump. Pipelines need a minimum volume to keep pressure; too low and pumps draw air.

🔹 Analysts are split on what this means. Some warn that nearing the operational floor risks physical supply disruptions and sharp price spikes, mirroring the market panics seen in 2008 and 2022. Others argue that the hub's extensive network of over 24 interconnected pipelines allows it to naturally self-correct. They believe low storage levels will simply change regional price spreads rather than cause an actual supply breakdown.

[Milan Vaishnav @MilanV]

.@Rukmini: "While India was younger than many comparable countries and than the world on average for a long time, this is set to change soon. Within the next ten years, India will become older than the world on average" https://t.co/sLwqTxuDVh

[Manisha Pande @MnshaP]

The lady muted by PTI while taking to Yogi? This is her.

@tfzaidi21 spoke to her right after the Lucknow fire accident that killed her relative. Yogi told her not to give ‘bhashaan’ and she’s very clearly a supporter of the party

[Rahul Verma @rahul_tverma]

Regional parties in India on decline?

Very sharp data piece @Roshanjnu & @NishantTISS

- first phase of BJP expansion was at the expense of Congress, regional parties are on notice in the second phase

- state party systems under flux, with national politics becoming bi-nodal