In top national news: In a tit-for-tat response signalling a downgrade of the relationship between the two countries, India sent a mid-ranking official for the first in-person National Day reception hosted by the Chinese embassy in New Delhi since 2019. The government sent Gourangalal Das, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs, as the chief guest at the Chinese National Day reception Monday — the first in-person gathering since the start of the Covid pandemic and the Chinese incursions in eastern Ladakh in 2020. Usually, the government sends ministers, holding a Cabinet rank or a Minister of…