India Hits Trump's Rawest Nerve: 'US F-16 Aircraft Shot Down With Russian S-400'
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The Hindu
4 minutes ago
- The Hindu
The difficult path for Trump's ‘one big budget bet'
The most debated government downsizing reform that has been implemented in recent history has been the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative under the Donald Trump administration in its second term. The initiative aims to reduce U.S. federal spending, deficit, debt and interest burden, streamline government operations, and enhance government efficiency. The initiative was much in the news with the appointment of Elon Musk, to advise and guide the government on the initiative, and his declaration that the overall goal is to achieve a leaner government by cutting the deficit and reducing the number of federal agencies from over 400 to 99. Root cause of deficit and debt The need for a smaller government was felt by the Trump administration due to enormous government spending and deficits. The size of the U.S. government, measured by public expenditure as a percentage of GDP, on average, was 36.49% from 2001 to 2024. Surprisingly, this was the smallest among the seven major advanced economies (MAE). France (56.53%) had the largest government, followed by Italy (49.81%), Germany (46.64%), Canada (41.24%), the United Kingdom (41.09%), and Japan (37.56%). The size of the government in the U.S. has remained the smallest among the MAE for most of the last 25 years. Yet, overall fiscal balance and government debt have been higher in the U.S. when compared to the MAE. In the triennium ending (TE) 2024, the U.S. had a fiscal balance and debt burden of (-)6.0% and 119.5% of GDP, respectively, compared to the figures of (-)4.1% and 108.6%, respectively, for the MAE. The underlying reason is the lower revenue collection in the U.S. The total revenue of the U.S. government as a percentage of GDP on an average was the lowest (30.55%) during the period 2001–2022 compared to France (51.48%), Italy (45.93%), Germany (44.93%), Canada (39.92%), and the U.K. (36.63%). Between 2001 and 2022, the U.S. has clocked the lowest tax-GDP ratio of 19.27% as against 28.59% for Italy, 28.12% for France, 27.99% for Canada, 26.89% for the U.K., 22.70% for Germany, and 32.74% for OECD countries. Initiatives and outcomes The several expenditure reforms the DOGE has implemented are the termination of unused federal government office space leases, cancellation of wasteful contracts, recovery of misallocated funds, federal workforce optimisation involving initiatives such as hiring restrictions, workforce reduction, and offering voluntary buyouts, deregulatory measures aimed at ensuring lawful governance and reducing red tape. There is also Artificial Intelligence-based monitoring of federal employee activity, productivity assessment, and detection of inefficiencies, identifying and consolidating overlapping functions across departments, and cutting down overseas humanitarian and development spending. DOGE follows a transparent communication strategy by publicly sharing updates (on X or DOGE's portal) on the outcomes. The total estimated expenditure savings from contract/lease cancellations and renegotiations, grant cancellations, fraud and improper payment detection and elimination, asset sales, employee reductions and regulatory changes have been $190 billion, which amounts to $1,180 per taxpayer. DOGE has made the distribution of government grants transparent through a payments portal, which allows citizens to see recipient-wise payments of federal grants. DOGE's Workforce Portal provides information on the agency-wise size of the U.S. government civilian workforce. To streamline layoffs, it has implemented the 'Workforce Reshaping Tool', a modernised version of the Pentagon's Automated Reduction in Force (AutoRIF) software, which assists in terminating federal employees based on criteria such as seniority and performance. So far, approximately 2,60,000 federal employees have been laid off, retired early, or accepted buyouts. Several federal regulations were repealed and modified, with a cost savings of $30.1 billion due to reduced regulatory compliance; also, 1.8 million words have been deleted from the rules of several Federal regulations. DOGE publishes a unique unconstitutionality index (UI) measuring the extent of bureaucracy's role in shaping federal policy. As per UI, for every law passed by Congress in 2024, there were about 19 rules created by the bureaucracy. The path ahead However, DOGE's journey has seen an unexpected turn after Elon Musk publicly disagreed with U.S. President Donald Trump over the provision incorporated in the much-debated One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) for removing tax credits offered to purchase electric vehicles. The OBBB is a legislative extension of the DOGE reform, as it aims to embed multiple fiscal priorities and DOGE-style government efficiency reforms into a single federal law. Ironically, by opposing OBBB, Mr. Musk contradicted his initiatives as an adviser to DOGE. However, the bigger challenge facing the DOGE initiative is that its extended form, the OBBB, is unlikely to resolve the U.S.'s deficit and debt problem, as the tax cuts proposed in the OBBB far exceed the spending cuts, leading to an addition of $3.2 trillion to the U.S. national debt over the next decade. Currently, the U.S. has the lowest and below-OECD-average corporate tax rates among the MAE, lower effective tax rates on the rich, and tighter secrecy laws that enable tax evasion by wealthy individuals and corporations. Therefore, unless efforts are made to boost government revenues, Mr. Trump's 'One Big Budget Bet' of reducing America's deficit and debt through DOGE-style expenditure reforms is unlikely to pay off. Sthanu R Nair teaches Economics and Public Policy at the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, Kerala. Pratik Sinha is a consultant for a multinational firm. He was an Assistant Director, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India
Mint
4 minutes ago
- Mint
Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir makes nuclear threat from US soil: ‘If we think we are going down, we'll take…'
The Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir, who on Sunday visited Washington for the second time in a span of two months, threatened to plunge the region into nuclear war if Islamabad faces an existential threat. "We are a nuclear nation, if we think we are going down, we'll take half the world down with us,' reported ThePrint, quoting Field Marshal Asim Munir as saying. Munir made the threatening comment during a black-tie dinner hosted by businessman Adnan Asad, who is the honorary consul in Tampa. Further raking up the issue of Indus Waters Treaty, Munir said that India's decision to place it in abeyance could put 250 million at risk of starvation. 'We will wait for India to build a dam, and when it does so, phir 10 missile sey faarigh kar dengey [we will destroy it with 10 missiles].' 'The Indus river is not the Indians' family property. Humein missilon ki kami nahin hai, al-Hamdulillah [we have no shortage of missiles, Praise be to God],' ThePrint quoted Munir as saying. The Indus Waters Treaty was put in abeyance after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in April 2025. Following that, Pakistan has written multiple letters to India, asking it to review its decision on the treaty. Meanwhile, addressing Pakistani community during the US visit, Asim Munir claimed that there is no sympathy for terrorists and they will have to face justice with full force. "The devotion and commitment of overseas Pakistanis to their beloved homeland is an open fact. Our 64 percent young population is full of immense potential, which will play a key role in building the future. Reacting to Munir's threat, Shiv Sena UBT's Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi called him the 'Failed Marshal' 'The Failed Marshal of Pakistan is talking about taking half the world down by launching a nuclear attack on India. And our BCCI &GoI want India team to play cricket with Pakistan team. Junk the Aman ki Asha. Dump your revenue sharing model! ! Call off the Asia Cup!,' Chaturvedi added. During his second visit to US, which comes two months after President Donald Trump hosted him, Munir, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), engaged in high-level interactions with senior political and military leadership. Munir also attended the Retirement Ceremony of outgoing US Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander General Michael E. Kurilla. Munir held talks with US Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Dan Caine and invited him to visit Pakistan.
India Today
4 minutes ago
- India Today
Anand Sharma resigns as chairman of Congress's foreign affairs department
Veteran Congress leader Anand Sharma resigned as the chairman of the party's foreign affairs department on Sunday to help in its reconstitution and enable bringing in younger former Union minister led the department for around a decade as the National Committee of Department of Foreign Affairs was last constituted in 2018."As I have conveyed earlier both to CP and Chairperson CPP, in my considered view, the committee needs to be reconstituted to bring in younger leaders of potential and promise. That will ensure continuity in its "Expressing my gratitude to the party leadership for having entrusted me with this responsibility, I am submitting my resignation as Chairman DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) to facilitate its reconstitution," Sharma said in his resignation letter addressed to Congress president Mallikarjun a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body in the party, has been the Congress's leading face on international affairs for almost four however, continues to be a member of the has earlier played a crucial role in the negotiations of the Indo-US nuclear deal, pitched for India-specific waivers at the Nuclear Suppliers Group and is also credited with institutionalising the India-Africa partnership in a structured manner and convening the first India-Africa was also a member of the recent all-party parliamentary delegations that were sent abroad to put forth India's stance in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. Sharma also articulated India's position to the world after the 2008 Mumbai terror his tenure as the commerce minister, the first-ever WTO Agreement and comprehensive trade agreements were his letter, Sharma said the DFA has, over the last few decades, been actively engaged in building and strengthening the Congress's relations with like-minded political parties across the world, which share the values of democracy, equality and human said the Congress has built strong relations with major political parties in Asia, Africa, Middle East, Europe and Latin America. The foreign affairs department of the party has established an institutional mechanism for the exchange of leadership delegations with fraternal political parties and international organisations."I have had the privilege to have been proactively associated with all major international initiatives of the Congress since mid-1980s as IYC president. These included: NAM youth conference 1985 and the historic 'Anti Apartheid Conference' in 1987. These were universally acclaimed," Sharma also said the Congress successfully convened the historic Satyagraha centenary conference in January 2007 and an international conference on the 125th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru in November 2014, which were attended by eminent world leaders. These conferences, chaired by then Congress president Sonia Gandhi, received worldwide acclaim.- EndsMust Watch
