22:47 June 18
The government is considering hiking customs duty on a number of products, mainly imported from China, amid ongoing border tensions with the neighbouring country, sources said.
Although nothing has been finalised as yet, the focus would be on cutting down import of non-essential items.
22:46 June 18
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is open to boycotting Chinese products and sponsors in the wake of the border clash between the two countries.
Stating that it is with the country, IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta said that the Olympic body is mulling boycotting Chinese sponsors like 'Li Ning' with whom they have sponsorships deal till the Tokyo Olympics.
22:40 June 18
People under the banner of Ladakh Buddhists Association took out a candle march today to pay tribute to martyres.
22:39 June 18
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said India should no longer depend on China and instead focus on research and innovation to ramp up domestic manufacturing, adding that government is working on formulating a new policy for import substitution.
22:31 June 18
MEA spokesperson said, "We expect China to confine its activities to its side of the border. While we remain convinced of the need for maintenance of peace & tranquillity on border areas & resolution of differences through dialogue, at the same time as PM said yesterday, we are strongly committed to ensuring India's sovereignty & territorial integrity."
22:29 June 18
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Governor Draupadi Murmu paid tributes to Sepoy Ganesh Hansda who was laid to rest with full military honours. "In addition to compensation, we will give plot of land anywhere in a state free of cost to bereaved families and request Centre to allot petrol pump to them," he told media.
18:44 June 18
Wreath laying ceremony of Naib Subedar Nuduram Soren and Sepoy Chandrakanta Pradhan being performed in Bhubaneswar. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was present at the ceremony to pay homage to martyres.
18:33 June 18
Wreath laying ceremony of Havaldar Sunil Kumar, Sepoy Chandan Kumar, Sepoy Kundan Kumar, Sepoy Aman Kumar and Sepoy Jai Kishor Singh being performed in Patna. CM Nitish Kumar also paid tribute to the martyres.
18:26 June 18
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) said it will conduct a door-to-door campaign across the country appealing to people to boycott Chinese goods and mobile phones to break the backbone of the country.
18:08 June 18
Amid the ongoing row, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has pushed a proposal to the government for acquiring 33 new fighter aircraft, including 21 MiG-29s and 12 Su-30MKIs from Russia.
17:57 June 18
Wreath laying ceremony of Sepoy Ganesh Ram being performed in Chhattisgarh's Raipur. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Former CM Raman Singh were present at the ceremony.
17:39 June 18
Mortal remains of Indian Army's Naib Subedar Satnam Singh, who lost his life fighting back Chinese troops, were brought to his native place in Gurdaspur.
17:31 June 18
The Additional Directorate General of Public Information (AGDPI) of Indian Army said that no personnel is missing due to face-off in Galwan valley.
17:24 June 18
All Indian troops guarding the border with China carry arms, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday, replying to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's poser that why Army personnel in Galwan Valley were sent "unarmed to martyrdom."
"Let us get the facts straight. All troops on border duty always carry arms, especially when leaving post. Those at Galwan on 15 June did so. Long-standing practice (as per 1996 & 2005 agreements) not to use firearms during faceoffs," Jaishankar said.
Reacting to Gandhi's question, MoS Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said that Gandhi doesn't understand local, national or international issues therefore there is no need to reply to his questions.
"He has totally failed and is irrelevant in Indian politics: MoS Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy on the Congress leader's questions regarding Galwan valley clash," he added.
16:22 June 18
Amin Galwan, grandson of Ghulam Rasool Galwan after whose name Galwan valley was named, said that there are a lot of activities happening in Galwan Valley these days.
"The area belongs to us for the last over 200 years...War is not a solution and the issue should be resolved through talks," he added.
15:10 June 18
Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Chairperson Gyal P Wangyal said, "I pay tributes to 20 soldiers who attained martyrdom guarding our borders. People of Ladakh stand shoulder to shoulder with Indian Army. We hope that our Army will thwart Chinese conspiracy along the border."
He further said "Several areas close to Line of Actual Control including Changtang, Durbuk & Nyoma are completely cut off from communication. We are unable to contact our councillors in these areas," he added.
13:30 June 18
India must not underestimate China's firm will to safeguard its territorial sovereignty: China
Accusing India of deliberately provoking and attacking Chinese officers along LAC, Hua Chunying, spokesperson of Chinese foreign ministry asked India to not misjudge the present situation.
"Indian front-line troops broke the consensus and crossed the Line of Actual Control, deliberately provoking and attacking Chinese officers and soldiers, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties," she tweeted, adding that, "India must not misjudge the current situation or underestimate China's firm will to safeguard its territorial sovereignty,"
13:23 June 18
Restaurants selling Chinese food should be banned, I appeal to people to boycott Chinese food: says Union Minister Ramdas Athawale
12:33 June 18
Birbhum(West Bengal): Tributes being paid to Sepoy Rajesh Orang who lost his life in action in Galwan Valley, Ladakh. CM Mamata Banerjee has announced Rs 5 lakh compensation and job to a member of the family.
12:12 June 18
Major General-level talks between India and China are underway. The talks had ended on an inconclusive note on Wednesday.
12:10 June 18
Confederation Of All India Traders urges bollywood, sports fraternity to boycott Chinese goods
We request Bollywood & Sports fraternity to join hands with CAIT for boycott of Chinese goods in the larger interest of the nation & urging celebrities who are endorsing Chinese products to immediately stop such endorsements: Confederation Of All India Traders (CAIT)
11:03 June 18
J P Nadda pays homage to soldiers who martyred in violent clash between India-China along LAC
"The supreme sacrifice of our brave soldiers while guarding our motherland in Galwan valley will always be remembered. The nation is indebted to them. I pay homage to the martyrs. BJP has decided to postpone all its political programmes including virtual rallies for next 2 days," he wrote on his Twitter handle.
10:56 June 18
Last rites of Havaldar Sunil Kumar, who lost his life in the violent face-off with China in Galwan Valley, being performed in Maner, Bihar.
People in large numbers attended the last rites of the late soldier.
10:16 June 18
Major General level talks to be held between India-China today
Major General level talks between India and China will be held today at 10:30 am to resolve the issues related to the violent face-off in Galwan area on June 15-16, according to sources in the Army.
Earlier yesterday the talks between Major Generals of India and China in the Galwan valley in Ladakh remained inconclusive.
"Talks between Major Generals of India and China in the Galwan valley are over. The talks have remained inconclusive as no immediate disengagement or change in the ground has taken place. More talks to take place in the coming days," sources said.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday conveyed a clear and unequivocal tough message to his Chinese counterpart Foreign Minister Wang Yi that what happened in Galwan was a "pre-mediated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties."
India wants restoration of old status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) prevailing before May 2020 when the first reports of Chinese incursions started appearing.
10:09 June 18
Mortal remains of Colonel Santosh Babu, the Commanding Officer of the 16 Bihar regiment, who lost his life in the violent face-off with China in Galwan Valley, being taken for last rites.
09:23 June 18
Suryapet: Last respects being paid to Colonel Santosh Babu, Commanding Officer of the 16 Bihar regiment, who lost his life in Galwan Valley clash
09:12 June 18
People in large numbers gathered at the Suryapet residence of late Colonel Santosh Babu, Commanding Officer of the 16 Bihar regiment, to pay their last respects. He lost his life in the violent face-off with China in Galwan Valley.
08:13 June 18
Patna(Bihar): Mortal remains of Havaldar Sunil Kumar who lost his life in the violent face-off with China in Galwan Valley, being taken for last rites in Bihta.
Mortal remains of Havaldar Sunil Kumar being taken for last rites in Bihta
08:13 June 18
Indian Army on Wednesday released the names of 20 soldiers who lost their lives in the 'violent faceoff' with China in Ladakh's Galwan Valley.
06:56 June 18
India-China faceoff LIVE: China should confine activities to its side of border, says MEA
New Delhi: Indian and Chinese military talks at Galwan Valley over the violent clash along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh ended in a stalemate on Wednesday. The three-hour dialogue remained inconclusive at the end of the day but will continue.
The clash, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, occurred at the south bank of Galwan river, which flows in an east-west direction before its confluence with Shyok river.
The dialogue took place to ensure that Chinese People's Liberation Army pulls back all its troops from the Galwan Valley and removed all the military-grade tents which house them.
Both the forces have re-deployed troops at the site of the clash. Sources said that India Army officials have made clear to Chinese counterparts that they have to move back. "The dialogue to continue on Thursday also. India represented by a Major General slated to meet the counterpart tomorrow (Thursday) again," said a senior Indian Army official.
Major Gen. Abhijit Bapat, who is the Commander of the Indian Army's 3 Division, raised several points with the Chinese officers with regards to the incident on the intervening night of June 15/16.
Read:|LAC faceoff: Indian Army releases list of Galwan Valley martyrs
These were the first casualties faced by the Indian Army in a clash with the Chinese People's Liberation Army since 1975 when an Indian patrol was ambushed by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh.
Around 120 Indian soldiers were trapped and encircled by Chinese troops and thereafter savagely beaten, many to the point of mutilation, on Monday night, sources said on Wednesday.
Pointing firearms at them, Chinese troops brutally tortured Indian soldiers to death, sources said. Many Indian soldiers were helpless with the Indian government's direction not to use firearms, sources said. It was not a hand-to-hand fight between the forces, said sources, adding that PLA troops completely overran the Indian soldiers, who started losing their lives as they bravely fought against superior numbers.
Sources said Indian Army troops were outnumbered five times when they came under attack from the Chinese soldiers at patrolling point number 14 on the LAC.
China's PLA 'savagely attacked' the Indian Army personnel, according to sources in the government with knowledge of the details of the Monday night clashes between the two armies.
"The numbers were stacked up against the Indian Army troops. Yet, the Indian side decided to fight the PLA. The Indian soldiers were outnumbered 1:5 by the Chinese troopers," a source said on Wednesday.
China is also said to have used thermal imaging drones to trace the Indian soldiers scattered on the treacherous terrain before brutally attacking them.
Read:|Anger over Galwan rules as sober India-China border meeting ends on surly note
"It was the deadliest attack carried on Indian Army personnel by Chinese military personnel in our memory," the government source said.
"We were outnumbered," admitted an Indian Army officer, about the clash that went on for six to seven hours.
Indian Army said that its soldiers went to the spot where the clashes happened without any animosity and were displaying friendly gestures to the Chinese side as they sought to check if the de-escalation agreement was being followed as promised.
"Several Indian Army soldiers are currently 'critically injured' and are undergoing treatment. The fatality numbers could increase" as the current critically injured personnel numbers are more than 10, the sources said.
Inputs from agencies