Is political consensus on Operation Sindoor over? Panelists debate on Preeti Choudhry's show
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Wire
26 minutes ago
- The Wire
India ‘Perplexed' By US Logic Behind Steep Tariffs, China ‘Stands With India'
Diplomacy External affairs minister S. Jaishankar also said that the US had urged India to help stabilise global energy markets, including by buying Russian oil. S. Jaishankar attends a joint news conference with his Russian opposite number Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on August 21, 2025. Photo: AP/PTI. New Delhi: India on Thursday (August 21) said it was 'perplexed' by Washington's justification for slapping steep new tariffs on Indian goods over its Russian oil imports, even as China publicly backed New Delhi, with ambassador Xu Feihong warning that 'silence or compromise only emboldens the bully' and declaring that Beijing 'firmly stands with India' against the US measures. The tariffs, announced earlier this month and due to take effect next week, will raise overall duties on Indian exports to the US to as high as 50%. They were defended in recent interventions by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, writing in the Financial Times, and US treasury secretary Scott Bessent in an interview with CNBC. Both argued that India's discounted oil imports from Russia indirectly strengthened Moscow's war effort and alleged that politically connected Indian conglomerates, rather than ordinary citizens, were profiting. However, recent data shows that India's reliance on Russian crude has already declined. According to Bloomberg, Russia's seaborne crude shipments to India have plunged nearly threefold this month, falling to about 400,000 barrels a day this month from an average of 1.18 million earlier this year. Despite the decline, Russia still remained India's top oil supplier in July, though volumes were down 24.5% compared to June, Reuters reported. Speaking in Moscow after talks with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar dismissed the US argument as flawed. 'Quite honestly, we are very perplexed at the logic of the argument that you had referred to,' he told reporters in response to a question about Navarro's remarks. Jaishankar stressed that India was far from being Russia's largest energy customer. 'We are not the biggest purchasers of Russian oil, that is China. We are not the biggest purchasers of Russian LNG. I'm not sure, but I think that is the European Union. We are not a country which has the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022. I think there are some countries to the south,' he said. While China is the largest buyer of Russian oil, the US has not imposed any specific tariffs on Beijing in response to its purchases of crude from Moscow. Both countries are currently in the middle of talks for a trade deal, with Washington postponing the imposition of country-specific tariffs on China until November. India has consistently maintained that its imports are guided by market factors and cited the necessity of securing cheap energy for its large population. Jaishankar also recalled that Washington itself had urged New Delhi to help stabilise global energy markets. 'We are a country where actually the Americans said for the last few years that we should do everything to stabilise the world energy markets, including buying oil from Russia. Incidentally, we also buy oil from America and that amount has been increasing,' he added. He noted that his talks with Lavrov and first deputy prime minister Denis Manturov had focused on preparing concrete outcomes for the annual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin later this year. Discussions covered negotiations on a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, market access, trade barriers and cooperation in energy, fertilisers, infrastructure and skilled labour mobility. The minister also called on Putin at the end of his three-day visit. He additionally raised concern over Indian nationals recruited into the Russian Army. 'While many have been released, there are still some pending cases and some missing persons. We hope that the Russian side will expeditiously resolve these matters,' he said. According to official Indian figures, 126 Indians had been enlisted, of whom 96 have been discharged, 12 were killed and 16 remain missing or unaccounted for. China, meanwhile, went beyond merely opposing the US tariffs to explicitly aligning itself with India. In a speech in New Delhi to mark the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, ambassador Xu accused the US of undermining global trade rules. 'The United States has imposed tariffs of up to 50% on India and even threatened for more. China firmly opposes it,' he said. He warned that 'in the face of such acts, silence or compromise only emboldens the bully', and pledged that 'China will firmly stand with India to uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organisation at its core'. Xu also framed Sino-Indian cooperation as essential for the wider region. Calling China and India the 'double engines of economic growth in Asia', he urged the two neighbours to 'enhance strategic mutual trust' and work together to 'safeguard international fairness and justice' in the face of tariff wars and protectionism. Modi is expected to travel to China later this month for the SCO summit, his first visit in seven years. Ties between the two countries were largely frozen for four years during the military standoff in eastern Ladakh, which was resolved in October 2024. This article went live on August twenty-first, two thousand twenty five, at twenty-eight minutes past eleven at night. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments. Advertisement
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
26 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Parliament's monsoon session sees lowest functioning of 18th Lok Sabha
The Monsoon Session of Parliament was held between July 21 and August 21. Both Houses functioned for 21 days as scheduled Archis Mohan New Delhi Monsoon session sees lowest functioning in 18th LS The Monsoon Session of Parliament was held between July 21 and August 21. Both Houses functioned for 21 days as scheduled. However, two-thirds of the planned time was lost to disruptions. The Lok Sabha (LS) functioned for 29% of its scheduled time, while the Rajya Sabha (RS) for 34 per cent, according PRS Legislative Research -- a think-tank that studies legislative performance. This was the lowest functioning seen during the 18th LS. Question Hour functioned for 23%of scheduled time in the LS and for 6% in the RS. No questions were answered orally on 12 days in the RS and seven days in the LS. There was limited discussion on Bills before passing 13 Bills were introduced during the session (excluding appropriation Bills). Five Bills were referred to committees. Three were referred to Joint Committees, and two were referred to Select Committees of LS. The other eight were passed within the session. 50% of the functioning time of the LS (19 hrs) and more than a third of the functioning time of the RS (16 hrs) was spent on discussing Operation Sindoor. A motion to impeach Justice Yashwant Varma was admitted by the LS Speaker. A three-member committee has been constituted to examine the issue.
Time of India
40 minutes ago
- Time of India
Liquor scam: Marandi slams ACB probe, seeks CBI investigation
Ranchi: State BJP president Babulal Marandi on Thursday said he was concerned over the attempts being made by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to weaken the Rs 38 crore liquor scam case in Jharkhand. Terming the ACB arrests as sham, he reiterated his demand for a CBI probe to conduct an impartial investigation in the case. Days after former excise secretary Vinay Kumar Choubey and two others were granted bail after the ACB failed to file a charge sheet within 90 days, Marandi wrote to chief minister Hemant Soren saying that his suspicions that the arrests were merely an attempt to deceive the public and protect the key conspirators were proving to be true. Criticising the ACB for failing to file a charge sheet in the case, the former CM claimed that the agency did not record the statements of the accused during questioning, allowing the investigating officers to record statements as they see fit, potentially implicating or exonerating individuals at will. "I have come to know that the interrogation of none of the arrested officers has been recorded so that the investigating officer can record the statement that suits him, trap whoever he wants, and save whoever he wants," the letter said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play this game for 1 minute and see why everyone is crazy about it Undo Questioning Soren's role in the scam, Marandi said he should act against the officers without delay. Reacting to the claims, spokesperson and general secretary of JMM, Supriyo Bhattacharya, said that he would not like to comment on the letter since he has not read it. "Let me read it first and then I will comment on it tomorrow," he said. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
