‘Benchmark deal…trade will double by 2030'
The landmark India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will make Indian farmers, fishermen, artisans, and small businesses shine globally, create numerous jobs, and help the common man get high-quality goods at competitive rates in line with the PM's vision.
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The Hindu
5 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Philippines President Marcos Jr. to visit India as two sides deepen maritime cooperation
NEW DELHI In a move aimed at deepening maritime cooperation with the southeast Asian region, India will host Philippines President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. during August 4-8. This will be the first visit by President Marcos Jr, son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos who visited India in 1976. The Ministry of External Affairs said the visit would formally begin with the ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan which would be followed by a visit by President Marcos Jr. to the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. Soon after the welcome ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Marcos Jr. will hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the two sides signing multiple agreements and MoUs. On August 7, he will visit Bengaluru. The visit is being viewed as the culmination of sustained political-level dialogue even as they strengthened maritime cooperation as both Philippines and India are strong proponents of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Mr. Modi had met President Marcos Jr. on the sidelines of 21st ASEAN-India Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit in Vientiane, Lao PDR in October 2024. They had also met on the sidelines of the 20th ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta in September 2023. Earlier, Mr. Modi had congratulated President Marcos Jr after his electoral victory in 2022. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had met Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Enrique A. Manalo on March 18, 2025 when Mr. Manalo participated in the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi. The Ministers also met in Vientiane, on July 25, 2024, on the sidelines of the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' meeting. Mr. Jaishankar had visited the Philippines from March 25-27, 2025. During the visit, he met Secretary Manalo and the Secretary of National Defence of the Philippines, Teodoro Gilbert, and called on President Marcos Jr. The Marcos family has been part of Philippine politics for more than half century. President Ferdinand Marcos who had imposed martial law in Philippines in 1972, visited India in May 1976 on his way back from the fourth session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which took place in Nairobi in May 1976. The upcoming five-day visit is drawing attention as it starts soon after several Indian Navy destroyers reached the Port of Manila to conduct joint patrol of the West Philippine Sea with the Philippine Navy. On August 1, Indian Naval Ships INS Delhi, INS Shakti and INS Kiltan of the Eastern Fleet led by Rear Admiral Susheel Menon were welcomed in Philippines. Armed Forces of Philippines Chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. told the Philippines media that the presence of the Indian destroyers was a 'clear demonstration' of mutual resolve to guard the maritime domain. The development comes months after the first India-Philippines Maritime Dialogue was held in December 2024.
Indian Express
5 minutes ago
- Indian Express
TCS layoffs signal rising strain on Indian IT as AI disruption, US economic woes trigger uncertainty
The recent decision by tech major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to lay off 2 per cent of its workforce highlights the growing pressures on India's IT sector, driven by the fast-paced adoption of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and ongoing economic uncertainty in the US, a key market for Indian tech companies. In the first quarter of FY26, a considerable number of IT companies posted weak top-line performance and a squeeze in margins due to the tariff-related uncertainties. Last week, IT bellwether TCS said that it will be laying off 12,000 employees, which is 2 per cent of its global workforce. The move is going to impact employees from the mid and senior levels. Framed as a push toward building a 'future-ready generation' through 'skilling and redeployment,' TCS's move is, in effect, a sweeping cost-cutting exercise. Analysts warn that as the use of AI continues to grow across the IT industry, a significant number of jobs could be at risk. With AI increasingly taking over tasks that were once handled manually — such as coding, data analysis and customer support — companies are likely to reassess workforce needs, potentially leading to widespread layoffs. Experts also point out that roles involving repetitive or process-driven functions are especially vulnerable, unless employees upskill or transition into areas where human oversight and creativity remain essential. 'Aggregate headcount saw a modest quarter-on-quarter increase in Q1 FY26, but several IT companies announced workforce reductions,' BNP Paribas Securities India said in a report. 'TCS laid off nearly 2 per cent of its employees, while HCL Technologies is adjusting its talent deployment outside India, particularly scaling down in the automotive engineering and R&D segment. Wipro incurred a restructuring charge of Rs 247 crore linked to severance payouts in Europe.' Understandably, the employee retrenchment has started the debate of GenAI starting to impact the workforce, it said. The layoffs in the Indian IT sector are increasingly becoming common mainly due to skill mismatches and deployment challenges. 'With growing pressure to reduce costs and align talent with AI-driven models, tech majors are slowing fresher hiring and trimming staff, signalling a structural shift in workforce strategy,' said Arun Kailasan, research analyst – Fundamental Research, Geojit Investments Ltd. Rather than going for lateral hiring, IT firms are focusing on upskilling their existing workforce in emerging areas like AI and generative AI to take care of project execution going ahead. Besides AI, other important factors for layoffs in the IT sector are the macroeconomic headwinds in the US due to tariff-related uncertainty and delay in rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve, resulting in a slower execution of projects by clients. These factors will affect the margins of domestic IT companies. 'During our April 2025 earnings call, we had called out delays in decision-making and projects start with respect to discretionary investments. This trend has continued and intensified to some extent in this quarter,' TCS chief executive officer and managing director, K Krithivasan, said during the Q1 FY26 earnings call. 'Global businesses were disrupted due to conflicts, economic uncertainties and supply chain issues. We saw cost pressures in our customers causing previously unseen project pauses, deferrals and decision delays that resulted in less than expected revenue conversion,' he said. In its recent policy announced on July 30, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept the interest rate unchanged at 4.25-4.5 per cent. 'At the beginning of the year, there was an expectation that the US Fed would reduce rates by 50-100 basis points. This cut has been consistently getting extended. When interest rates are high, spending in the US gets impacted, including on IT. This has a bearing on the contracts awarded to Indian IT firms,' said an analyst. Analysts say that due to weak demand, IT companies are likely to slow down their hiring in the near future. 'With muted demand and tighter budgets, companies are focusing on optimising existing talent rather than expanding headcount. Hiring remains subdued, while utilisation rates are rising and attrition has stabilised. The shift is towards value-based deployment and reskilling for AI-driven roles, setting the stage for long-term workforce transformation,' Kailasan of Geojit Investments said. IT analysts said that domestic IT companies are likely to see soft earnings for the rest of 2025 amid volatile and uncertain geopolitical conditions. 'The main challenge remains the slowdown in decision-making among major US clients,' said Ashish Gupta, chief investment officer at Axis Mutual Fund. 'There's a lot of uncertainty around the outlook—questions about retail spending, how consumers will respond to potentially higher interest rates, and whether the US economy can maintain its momentum. The broader economic picture remains unclear.' A report by Nuvama Research said that the demand environment is expected to remain challenging for the next one to two quarters for the IT sector due to the macro — tariff-related — uncertainty. 'In the near term, we expect lack of clarity on macro to continue until most of the trade deals are announced. In general, a large part of the impact of delays was felt in Q1 FY26. The second quarter of FY26 can have some residual impact of the delays. If there are no further delays, Q2 FY26 will be at least better than the first quarter,' said Sumit Pokharna, vice president (Fundamental Research), Kotak Securities. IT sector experts anticipate recovery in 2026 as clarity on the US tariffs emerges and potential rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve help revive demand.
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Business Standard
5 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Mamata slams Delhi police for calling Bengali a Bangladeshi language
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday accused the Delhi Police of describing Bengali as a "Bangladeshi language", calling it scandalous, anti-national and unconstitutional. Sharing a letter by Delhi Police on X, Banerjee said, "See now how Delhi police under the direct control of the Ministry of Home, Government of India, is describing Bengali as 'Bangladeshi' language! Bengali, our mother tongue, the language of Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda, the language in which our National Anthem and the National Song (the latter by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay) are written, the language in which crores of Indians speak and write, the language which is sanctified and recognised by the Constitution of India, is now described as a Bangladeshi language!!" She called the act 'scandalous' and urged everyone to strongly protest against the government for disrespecting Bengali-speaking people. "Scandalous, insulting, anti-national, unconstitutional!! This insults all Bengali-speaking people of India. They cannot use this kind of language which degrades and debases us all. We urge immediate strongest possible protests from all against the anti-Bengali Government of India who are using such anti-Constitutional language to insult and humiliate the Bengali-speaking people of India," the post reads. On July 28, Banerjee said she is not against any language or community and supports unity in diversity. Addressing the Bhasha Andolan in Birbhum, Mamata Banerjee said, "I am not against any language or divisive policy. We want unity in diversity. Have I told Hindi-speaking people to leave Bengal? I never said that. You are also my are 1.5 crore migrant workers in Bengal, and 22 lakh people from Bengal work in other states. You should stop your oppression." A row over the Bengali language surfaced after Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress raised the issue during the 'Shahid Dibas' (Martyrs' Day) celebrations on July 21.
