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Mint
23 minutes ago
- Mint
Best of the Week: Power. Tariffs. Tensions. What's next for global trade?
Key export sectors such as textiles, auto parts, and food products were dealt a rude shock when US President Donald Trump slapped a 25% tariff—along with an additional 'penalty'—on Indian goods starting 7 August. But this isn't just about tariffs. It's about shifting alliances, rising economic nationalism, and a global order that's being reimagined in real time. That's why Mint is bringing together sharp global minds for a timely webinar: Because geoeconomics now drives geopolitics. And understanding this shift could help you make sense of everything from de-risking strategies to India's evolving equation with both the US and China. Can India and the US still find common ground on agriculture, tech, and digital rules? Or has this move reset the clock on 25 years of strategic engagement? Amb. Arun K. Singh, former Indian envoy to the US, with decades of high-stakes diplomatic experience. Ajay Srivastava, trade policy expert and founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI). Moderated by Elizabeth Roche, former foreign affairs editor at Mint and now a professor at Jindal School of International Affairs. Register now if you want to decode the new rules of power, trade, and global influence. India's $87 billion export engine to the US just hit a speed bump. US President Donald Trump's call for a 25% tariff on Indian goods has raised eyebrows—and concerns. Textiles, electronics, pharma, even auto parts—everything's in the crosshairs. Is this the return of a full-blown trade war or just political posturing? With over 75% of Indian exports at risk, and key sectors bracing for impact, the stakes are high. Can India negotiate its way out, or will exporters feel the heat? The 25 August trade talks may hold the answers. India's early trade deals? Not exactly blockbuster hits. With partners like ASEAN, Japan, and South Korea, exports stagnated while imports surged. But India has learnt its lessons—and it shows. Recent pacts with the UAE and Australia are already yielding real returns. Now, the India-UK free trade agreement seems to be the boldest step yet. With smart tariff cuts, stronger services play, and mobility provisions, could this be the new blueprint? Is India finally turning the trade tide in its favour? Women are showing up—but not staying on. A new report by Udaiti Foundation and Quess Corp reveals that 52% of women in India's blue- and grey-collar workforce plan to exit within a year. Why? Low pay, poor work culture, safety concerns, and long, unsafe commutes top the list. Even as their numbers double, retention remains weak. What's pushing women out? And more importantly, what will bring them back in—and keep them there? With India's economy leaning on this workforce, creating jobs isn't enough. We need to make them worth staying for. TCS is letting go of 12,000 employees—mainly seniors—this year, citing AI disruption and slower growth. The message? India's IT giants are rebalancing. As clients demand cheaper deals and smarter tech, the people-heavy model is under stress. And TCS isn't alone—Wipro is testing language skills, HCL is trimming freshers. So, is AI really taking over—or is this just a reset for an evolving industry? Either way, tech talent will need more than just code to stay future-ready. Is the great Indian consumption story picking up pace again? Hindustan Unilever thinks so—and the numbers agree. After quarters of sluggish growth, HUL posted a strong 3% volume rise and an 8% jump in profit, riding on tax sops, easing inflation, and a monsoon boost. Urban and rural demand is inching up, new product bets are paying off, and optimism is back at the FMCG bellwether. But can this momentum last? If you've been waiting for signs of revival in India's consumer economy—this might just be it. Indian companies' profit pie is still heavily skewed towards its biggest firms, even though smaller listed firms made strong post-pandemic gains. A Mint analysis of 5,096 firms shows that the top 10% by revenue cornered over 90% of profits in 2024-25—unchanged for two years. While some sectors like textiles and hospitality saw smaller firms thrive, dominance by giants remains strong across others. The revival in mergers and acquisitions suggests the playing field could tilt further. This data-packed story, with rich charts and sector-level insights, examines whether India's small firms are losing ground again in a David vs Goliath battle. In Tiptur, Karnataka, a hen named Kaveri is laying the foundation for a new kind of egg economy. She's part of Akshayakalpa's cage-free, antibiotic-free farm, where eggs are premium, traceable, and sold with a promise of purity. Startups like Eggoz, Henfruit, and Farm Made are trying to turn eggs into branded health products, not just cheap protein. But with fragile supply chains and price-sensitive consumers, can this sunny-side-up revolution scale? Or will it remain a niche, yolk-tinted dream? Nayara Energy, one of India's top fuel retailers, recently had its Microsoft services suspended. Why? Microsoft interpreted EU sanctions against Nayara's Russian shareholder as reason enough to halt emails, team communications, and operations. Though services were restored in two days, the episode exposed a deeper fault line: how dependent critical businesses are on foreign tech firms. As firms increasingly run on cloud tools, this incident shows how easily geopolitics can trigger service cuts, even without clear legal mandates in India. This year's generous monsoon—8% above normal so far—has boosted kharif sowing across India, especially of rice and maize. Nearly 84% of the country has seen normal or excess rainfall, with major gains in states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. This has led to a 13% jump in rice planting and 9% in maize, offering hope for stable food prices and a push toward ethanol production. However, farmers are steering away from oilseeds due to poor returns, raising questions about long-term crop diversity. Could the shift towards water-intensive crops and biofuel-linked grains come at the cost of sustainable farming and future food security? This monsoon, cities across India—from Patna and Delhi to Mumbai and Bengaluru—have been brought to their knees by flooding. The reasons are well known: clogged drains, haphazard construction, poor waste management, and chronic underfunding of city infrastructure. The deeper problem? India's municipalities are broke, dependent on state grants, with little ability to raise their own funds or fix core services. Waste-to-energy plants, revamped drainage, and better accounting exist, but require serious investment and planning. Municipal bonds were meant to help, but few cities can even qualify. As flooding becomes an annual urban ritual, the question is no longer why this happens but how long can India's cities survive this cycle of neglect? That's all for this week. I hope you have a pleasant weekend! If you have feedback, want to discuss food, movies and shows or have anything else to say about our journalism, write to me at or reply to this email. You can also write to feedback@
Hindustan Times
23 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Gopalganj, Kishanganj see max share of SIR deletions
The Election Commission of India (ECI) removed roughly 6.56 million names from the draft Bihar electoral roll published on Friday on account of deaths, permanent shifts and multiple enrolment, marking potentially the largest single deletion of such entries in the history of independent India. Booth Level Officers verify documents in Patna. (HT Photo) The announcement came days after the controversial special intensive revision (SIR) in the state came to a close; the poll watchdog said that genuine names can be added till September 1 and a verification will be done in case an objection is raised for a name. In absolute numbers and compared with the electoral roll before SIR began, ECI data showed Patna district saw the highest deletion of 395,500 voters, followed by Madhubani district (352,545), East Champaran district (316,793) and Gopalganj district (310,363). But in percentage terms as against the 2024 Lok Sabha electoral roll, Gopalganj district saw the maximum deletions (13.9%), followed by Kishanganj district (10.5%), Purnia district (9.7%), Madhubani (8.7%) and Bhagalpur (7.8%), according to an HT analysis. In terms of assembly constituencies, the highest percentage deletion was in Gopalganj assembly seat, followed by Kuchaikote seat, Motihari seat, Kishanganj seat, Barauli seat, and Purnia seat, the HT analysis showed. Among the 10 assembly seats that saw the maximum percentage of deletions, the ruling National Democratic Alliance won seven in the 2020 assembly elections and the Opposition Grand Alliance won three, the HT analysis showed. ECI said of the 6.5 million names missing from the rolls, deaths accounted for 2.2 million, people who permanently shifted or not found accounted for 3.6 million and people enrolled in multiple places accounted for 700,000. In all, the draft electoral roll shrunk from 78.9 million to 72.4 million, ECI said. 'In their endeavour to reach each village, each ward, each house and add the name of each eligible elector to the draft electoral roll, the CEO of Bihar; DEOs of all 38 districts; EROs of all 243 assembly constituencies, 2,976 AEROs; BLOs of 90,712 polling booths, lakhs of volunteers and the 1.60 Lakh BLAs nominated by all the 12 political parties have carried out the task with full responsibility,' the poll body said in a statement. The first phase of SIR ended on July 26. The new draft electoral roll was published on Friday, which is also when the month-long claims and verification process began. The final electoral roll will be published on September 30 for the assembly polls, scheduled later this year. The number of deletions possibly represent the largest single potential removal of voters from any state's electoral rolls in recent memory, a move the poll panel has defended as being necessary in the Supreme Court to maintain the sanctity of elections. The exercise began on July 1. During SIR, those who have their name in the 2003 voter roll could just cite that extract. For others, there were three buckets (those born before 1987 could just give their own identity proof, those born between 1987 and 2004 had to provide their own proof plus documents of either parent, and those born after 2004 had to provide documents for themselves as well as both parents. Voters could submit one of 11 listed documents, which didn't include Aadhaar, voter ID or ration card. Opposition MPs have demonstrated against the exercise in Parliament, alleging it is an affront to electoral democracy. But ECI has dismissed these allegations. The Supreme Court has earlier refused to stay the exercise but asked the commission to consider accepting Aadhaar cards and voter IDs as supporting documents. The next hearing is on August 13, and the top court has warned against mass exclusions, saying it will step in. ECI said from August 1 to September 1 will be the time of claims and objections. 'During this period, to add the name of any eligible elector or to delete the name of any ineligible elector, any elector or any political party, can file claims and objections in a prescribed form before the concerned ERO,' the body said. 'All eligible electors are appealed to check their names in the draft list, and if their name does not exist in the list, they should fill and submit Form 6 along with the declaration form,' the body added. ECI said that the SIR draft copies were given to representatives of all recognised political parties. Chief electoral officer, Bihar Vinod Singh Gunjiyal, also held a meeting with the representatives of political parties on Friday evening in Patna. Rashtriya Janata Dal spokesperson Chittaranjan Gagan, who attended the meeting on Friday, said that it was very surprising that 6.5 million names were deleted without giving them any notice. 'As per norms and rules, any elector's name can be deleted from the rolls only after giving notice. How can the ECI delete such a big number of names on the pretext of permanently shifting or deaths. This is not fair, We will get the rolls checked by our own people,' Gagan said. BJP officials did not respond to requests seeking comment on the matter.
The Print
23 minutes ago
- The Print
Malegaon blast probe politics will simmer till Maharashtra polls
A trial court in Mumbai gave its judgment on the case Thursday, acquitting all seven accused, including former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Pragya Singh Thakur, saying there was strong suspicion, but not enough evidence to convict them. And, the most unfortunate part is that nobody seems to be interested in finding out, least of all the government. An explosive went off during the holy month of Ramadan in Maharashtra's Malegaon in 2008. Six people died. Almost a hundred others were injured. It's been 17 years, but in the eyes of the judiciary, there are still no answers as to who was responsible for the attack. The court ordered compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the families of those who died in the attack, and Rs 50,000 for the families of those injured. But it is too little, too late. The Malegaon blast case has, after all, been a victim of politics, and justice or closure has been the biggest casualty. For this reason, the Malegaon blast verdict is ThePrint's 'Newsmaker of the Week.' 'Saffron terror' politics The Malegaon case has been in the public discourse for 17 years, more for the politics surrounding it than for any significant details regarding the investigation process. The probe in the immediate aftermath of the blasts, under the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) and its former chief Hemant Karkare, had led to the arrests of a bunch of Hindutva activists, including Pragya Singh Thakur, as well as Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit, an Army officer. The accused were said to be linked to a Hindu fundamentalist group, Abhinav Bharat. India had seen a fair number of terror attacks across the country in 2008, raising questions on the efficiency of the home ministry under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. The initial revelations in the Malegaon probe gave a political opportunity to the Congress to turn the narrative. The party raised red flags on terrorism allegedly sponsored by Hindutva organisations, with some senior leaders such as P Chidambaram, Digvijaya Singh, and Sushilkumar Shinde using the word 'saffron terror'. They blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for allegedly encouraging such fringe Hindutva groups. These strong statements had at the time sparked a debate on how the term 'saffron terror' defames the entire Hindu religion and how terror should not be seen through the lens of any religious colour. The BJP and RSS, meanwhile, slammed the Congress for allegedly trying to appease the minorities. Karkare was killed in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. His death too became politically controversial as the Union Minority Affairs Minister AR Antulay, a Congressman from Maharashtra, suggested that there could be a larger controversy behind the IPS officer's death. Thursday's verdict came as vindication for the BJP's political narrative, with party leaders blaming the Congress for allegedly casting Hindus in a bad light, asking for an apology. It was ironic. The government's law enforcement agency had lost a case. It had failed to show sufficient evidence to get a conviction, despite having 17 years, over ten of which were under a BJP-led government at the Centre. And yet, those in power were celebrating. Also read: Fauja Singh's death shows Indian roads remain a national emergency—474 lives lost every day Opposition busy trying to get script right After the verdict, several Congress leaders asked if Pragya Singh Thakur and others are now acquitted, then who was behind the blast? However, the question was blunted by their more emphatic attempts at distancing the Congress from the term 'saffron terror'. Talking about 'saffron terror' in a Hindu-majority democracy had hurt the Congress even back then. In today's scenario, where the BJP has been working with every small spiritual and religious outfit on the ground to consolidate the Hindutva voter base, the consequences could be even worse. So, one after the other, leaders of the Congress tried to make all the right noises, loudly speaking about how they had never coined the term 'saffron terror,' how terror has no religion, and how Congress condemns all acts of terror. The question that should have been the loudest of all—who committed the crime—came out barely as a whimper. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) questioned the failure of the government's law enforcement agencies with two back-to-back acquittals in terror cases—first the 2006 Mumbai train blasts and now the 2008 Malegaon blast. However, it stopped short of asking or even suggesting that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) should appeal against the trial court's decision in a higher court. After all, back in 2008, when the Shiv Sena was still undivided under Bal Thackeray's leadership and was a BJP ally, it had openly supported the Malegaon blast accused. On one occasion, party workers had even showered flower petals over the accused outside a Nashik courtroom. Last month, after the Bombay High Court tore into the Maharashtra ATS over the 2006 Mumbai train blasts probe and acquitted all 12 accused, all of whom were Muslims, the Maharashtra government promptly appealed in the Supreme Court. Now that an NIA trial court has done the same in the Malegaon blast case, neither the government nor the agency has shown any urgency in appealing to a higher court. The NIA has said it will decide whether to appeal after studying the order. The political pandemonium will continue as Maharashtra gears up for urban and rural local body polls sometime next year. For the victims and their families, any closure still seems to be a long way off. (Edited by Ratan Priya)
