2 min readJun 13, 2026 06:30 AM IST
First published on: Jun 13, 2026 at 06:30 AM IST

The transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab and Hindi-speaking areas in lieu of the city to Haryana on June 21, as announced by the government, depends upon a settlement between the chief ministers of the two states. The Venkataramiah Commission has awarded 70,000 acres of land to Haryana in lieu of Chandigarh. But the commission has not identified the areas and has instead suggested either the appointment of another commission to determine these or a settlement between the two states.

France offers high technology

France offered to transfer high technology to India without any pre-condition. The offer was made during 30 minutes of talks, covering a wide range of subjects between the French PM, Jacques Chirac, and the Vice-President, R Venkataraman. The areas covered during the talks included transfer of technology, trade relations between India and France, the situation in Sri Lanka and holding of the French festival in India.

Hegde’s word satisfies Chavan

The Maharashtra Chief Minister, S B Chavan, said that his Karnataka counterpart, Ramakrishna Hegde, had made it clear to him that there would be no compulsory introduction of Kannada in primary schools in the bilingual boundary region of the state. He said during his talks with Hegde, the latter offered to show him the government circular on the issue and had promised that his government would not do anything unconstitutional.

SALT is dead: US

The White House declared the SALT-2 strategic arms treaty dead and said any future decisions on arms reduction made by the United States would be based on “Soviet behaviour” in key areas. The presidential spokesman, Larry Speakes, told reporters, “SALT is dead. The SALT treaty no longer exists.” His statement appeared aimed at clarifying remarks in which he softened the US position on the unratified 1979 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty.