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Indian Express
5 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Daily Briefing: Can India avoid 50% tariffs?
Good morning! As India faces a 50 per cent tariff on its goods in the United States, a lot rides on the so far elusive bilateral trade deal. Speaking publicly for the first time, without specifying the trade negotiations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that though he would 'personally' have to 'pay a very heavy price', he would 'never compromise on the interests of farmers, livestock rearers and fisherfolk'. Crucially, India has drawn red lines around sensitive sectors like agriculture and dairy in its talks with the US. Zoom in: These high tariffs, set to take effect later this month, are a way for Trump to 'punish' India for its purchase of Russian oil. He is also motivated by his desire to eliminate the trade deficit with all US partners. So, how do these tariffs affect India? Since tariffs typically raise the cost of goods for consumers in the country imposing them, Indian consumers may not feel a direct price increase. However, the real damage will come in terms of loss of livelihoods and employment. If American companies shift their sourcing to countries facing lower tariffs, Indian exporters could lose significant business. Way ahead: Our Managing Editor, P Vaidyanathan Iyer, reports that the government has adopted a wait-and-watch strategy. Sources have said that the government won't compromise on India's sovereign decisions, such as trading with Russia or being part of the BRICS coalition. The Indian side has also noted that the stance of the US negotiators keeps changing, and that the talks have been hindered by non-trade and diplomatic issues. The government had also sought suggestions from industry executives for ways to sweeten the deal for the US. Some of these suggestions include allowing duty-free market access to US cotton and accepting agricultural items under limited quotas. Watch out: Trump hopes that he can pressure his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, into agreeing to a ceasefire in Ukraine with secondary tariffs on its trading partners. However, Nandan Unnikrishnan, a Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, opines that Putin is unlikely to succumb to economic pressure. As Trump and Putin prepare to meet next week, the hope is that they will agree on a roadmap for peace, which could bring relief for India. 🎧 For more on Trump's tariffs, tune in to today's '3 Things' podcast episode. On that note, let's get to the rest of today's edition. In Part 2 of the Express Investigation into the 'illegal surveillance' under the BRS regime in Telangana, my colleague Nikhila Henry zeroes in on the 'RR module' or the 'Revanth Reddy' module. According to investigators, an entire module was dedicated to illegally surveilling the Chief Minister, who was then the chief Opposition member as president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee. Read our report for more details. In case you missed Part 1 of the Investigation, read it here. Misuse? In July, Maharashtra transport minister Pratap Sarnaik came down heavily on Rapido for operating bike taxis in Mumbai 'without permission'. His department launched raids and confiscated 78 bike taxis operating for the ride-hailing platform. A month later, Rapido has emerged as the main sponsor of Pro-Govinda League 2025, a Dahi Handi competition in Mumbai organised by Sarnaik's son. The Opposition has accused Sarnaik of misusing his power. 'Vote chori': Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has accused the Election Commission and the BJP of perpetrating a 'huge criminal fraud' in elections. Gandhi has alleged that votes were stolen from the Congress in Karnataka's Mahadevpura Assembly seat through duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses, and bulk voters in a single address, among others. The EC has asked Gandhi to submit a written declaration to the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka. 'Who needs couples therapy when you can watch two fictional people break up and reunite every 47 minutes?' Though recent romance OTT shows, like When Life Gives You Tangerines, Nobody Wants This and Too Much, may hit the right emotional chords, binge-watching them may not be the best idea. These stories serve heartbreak, lust, and the relief of reconciliations on loop, in algorithm-approved portions. The storylines may span years, but we watch them in mere hours. I leave you with the latest Fresh Take, which dives into the risks of binge-watching romance shows and how that may be skewing our sense of real relationships. That's all for today, folks! Happy weekend-ing! Sonal Gupta Sonal Gupta is a Deputy Copy Editor on the news desk. She writes feature stories and explainers on a wide range of topics from art and culture to international affairs. She also curates the Morning Expresso, a daily briefing of top stories of the day, which won gold in the 'best newsletter' category at the WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2023. She also edits our newly-launched pop culture section, Fresh Take. ... Read More
Indian Express
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Daily Briefing: The Gill factor
Good morning, India roared back to life after the heartbreak at Headingley, levelling the England vs India series 1-1 in the second Test. In a performance for the ages, the young Indian side scripted history with a 336-run win, marking their first-ever Test victory at Edgbaston and the largest margin of triumph on foreign soil. With no Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin, and in this match, Jasprit Bumrah, this fledgling unit has a lot to prove. And leading the charge is Shubman Gill, whose record-breaking 430 runs aggregate in the Test helped seal the deal. While it's too early to judge his captaincy, Gill proved that he has steel for the role. As national sports editor Sandeep Dwivedi writes, 'He has a reassuring presence on the field. The 25-year-old doesn't show anxiety that most new leaders experience or press the panic button too early. There is a quiet confidence about him.' We have more on the Edgbaston Test, but first, let's cover the rest of the day's headlines. The Election Commission's herculean task to revise the electoral rolls in time for the Bihar elections has come under scrutiny, sparking concern among Opposition parties as well as voters. On Sunday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar defended the exercise, stating that the revision was being done after all recognised political parties expressed dissatisfaction with the current status of electoral rolls for 'one reason or the other'. With numerous voters facing difficulties in furnishing documents required to prove their citizenship, an advertisement published by the Bihar Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) clarified that electors can submit enumeration forms for now and provide the documents later, anytime before July 25, 2025. Kumar clarified that this was always the case as per the June 24 order. Here are the guidelines. Paper trail: Last week, The Indian Express fanned out in different districts of Bihar to observe the challenges on the ground to the revision exercise. Continuing the series today, my colleague Santosh Singh reports on the upper castes, largely viewed as an NDA vote bank, who echo the unease of the poor and marginalised. Among the many villages Singh visited, one refrain was common — the lack of domicile certificates, leaving authorities to deal with thousands of domicile applications daily. Legal hurdle: The exercise now faces legal challenges in court. RJD MP Manoj Jha has moved the Supreme Court, questioning the timing of the revision, which could 'disenfranchise Bihar's mobile workforce'. TMC MP Mahua Moitra and civil society organisations, the Association for Democratic Reforms and the People's Union for Civil Liberties, have moved similar petitions in the SC. The pleas are crucial, given that the EC plans to eventually implement the exercise all over India. 🎧 For more on the Bihar electoral rolls revision, tune in to today's '3 Things' podcast episode. In the latest Idea Exchange session, Union Minister of Jal Shakti C R Patil elaborated on the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), which recently came under the scanner for alleged corruption and the action taken by his ministry to rein it in. He also spoke about the controversial Namami Gange project and Gujarat politics. Read. The climb: 'Some arrived as modern adventurers, sporting jackets, proper hiking boots, and carefully planned provisions. Others embodied raw faith, undertaking the trek barefoot in simple knickers and shirts, cigarettes dangling from their lips,' writes Anand Mohan J from Sheshnag in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam. He has joined the scores of pilgrims undertaking the Amarnath Yatra, the first since the April 22 terror attack. Read his richly detailed account. Cabbie killer: After 25 long years, the Delhi Police have finally apprehended the elusive serial killer responsible for a string of brutal crimes between 1999 and 2001. Ajay Lamba, also known as Bansi, is accused of robbing and murdering four taxi drivers across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. He would allegedly dispose of the stolen vehicles by selling them in Nepal. A breakthrough came when the arrest of one of his associates provided crucial leads, ultimately leading to his capture. Re-do: A Wildlife Institute of India (WII) report has left the Ministry of Environment unimpressed. The ministry sent back the annual progress report on the Captive Elephant Database Project to WII, flagging serious issues like plagiarism, data gaps and even the wrong species (an African elephant instead of an Asian one) on the cover. Wild, right? Agent AI: From China's 'intelligentised warfare', which has also benefitted Pakistan, to Ukraine's AI-powered drones and India's defence tech ambitions, there's no doubt deep tech is transforming modern warfare. But here's the twist: all that cutting-edge AI runs on massive amounts of energy, and India may not be ready. In the future battlefield, electricity may be the ultimate weapon. Red lines: Jane Street, an American proprietary trading firm, appeared to be a seasoned global investor in the Indian markets. Until the watchdog, Sebi, took a closer look. It found that Jane Street, trading with its capital instead of client funds, made strategic and malicious attempts to sway the market and drive up its profits. How did Jane Street manipulate the market? We explain. ENG vs IND: Is Bazball, marked by non-conformist, left-field thinking, truly a 'game-changer' or the 'messiah' saving Test cricket from death? If England's Edgbaston defeat and earlier losses against cricketing heavyweights are any indication, the answer might be a resounding no. In this sharp analysis, Sandeep Dwivedi explains why Bazball's rigid commitment to non-conformism could keep England from achieving world dominance. Also read: Nip-backers, 'anushaasan' and wiles: How Akash Deep did the star turn at Edgbaston Birkenstocks, with their distinctive cork footbeds and minimalist designs, have taken the world by storm. They are iconic, comfortable, and a style statement. But their relatively steep price has kept many from buying the orthopaedic sandals. Enter 'Birkanstocks' or 'Brknstock' and so on. Fake Birkenstocks have since flooded the market, selling for cheaper across India, and the world. The German brand has now launched an infringement lawsuit against small-scaled factories in India, which produce counterfeit footwear. As part of the lawsuit, the court has appointed a panel to visit these factories and seize and seal the infringing products, per a Reuters report. That's all for today, folks! Until tomorrow, Sonal Gupta Sonal Gupta is a senior sub-editor on the news desk. She writes feature stories and explainers on a wide range of topics from art and culture to international affairs. She also curates the Morning Expresso, a daily briefing of top stories of the day, which won gold in the 'best newsletter' category at the WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2023. She also edits our newly-launched pop culture section, Fresh Take. ... Read More
Indian Express
29-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Daily Briefing: Trouble in Trumpland
Good morning, not all is hunky-dory in Trumpland. The US President's once-trusted 'first buddy,' Elon Musk, has called time on his 'special government employee' stint at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk's reign saw him mostly wreaking havoc on government institutions to reduce government spending. Musk and Trump had earlier hinted at the Tesla CEO's eventual exit, with the billionaire shifting his focus back to his entrepreneurial pursuits. However, Musk's disillusionment with the Trump administration at the fag end of his tenure has raised several eyebrows. Just yesterday, he criticised Trump's 'one big, beautiful Bill'—the legislative mainstay of his agenda—for undermining DOGE's work. This wasn't the first time Musk had disagreed with the administration. Significantly, he publicly spoke up against the sweeping tariff policies imposed by Trump in April. That brings me to today's big story. Read on. The US Court of International Trade ruled that Trump had overstepped his authority and blocked his tariffs on trading partners from going into effect. The verdict essentially makes the tariffs, which Trump had imposed under emergency powers to combat 'unfair trade practices,' illegal. Zoom in: Invoking the US Constitution, the court declared that Congress has the exclusive authority to regulate commerce with other countries. The President's emergency powers cannot override Congress's authority. While the court refused to comment on the 'effectiveness' of the President's 'use of tariff as leverage', it asserted that the law made it 'impermissible'. Counters: The ruling came in separate cases filed by businesses and states to halt Trump's tariff march. Notably, the Trump administration, last week, had pleaded against narrowing the scope of the President's emergency powers, citing the India-Pakistan conflict. The US Commerce Secretary told the court that Trump's offer for trade access to the duelling countries had 'averted a full-scale war', and an 'adverse ruling' could jeopardise the ceasefire. The State Secretary added that the court's ruling could threaten the ongoing trade negotiations with several countries. (🎧 For more on these US claims, tune in to today's episode of the '3 Things' podcast.) What's next: It's unclear if the tariffs would be revoked immediately and, if so, how. The Justice Department has already filed a notice of appeal. It can appeal the court's ruling in the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and, ultimately, the US Supreme Court. A White House spokesman said, 'It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency'. The Delhi Police has made concerted efforts to identify and deport illegal Bangladeshi migrants. The exercise was ramped up in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. As many as 470 illegal migrants and 50 foreigners who had overstayed were airlifted from the Hindon air base in the national capital on 'special flights' to Tripura's Agartala and then deported via the land border to Bangladesh. Intensifying the crackdown on illegal migrants, it is learnt that the Union Home Ministry has asked authorities to scan the immigration database before handing out identification cards like Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards. Also read: A family in Assam, whose citizenship case is being heard in the Supreme Court, has alleged that one of its members has been 'pushed' into Bangladesh. Clean chit: The anti-corruption ombudsman, Lokpal, has said there was 'not even a tittle of credible material' to prove the allegations against the former Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairperson, Madhabi Puri Buch, of having investments linked to the Adani Group. Peace & power: A group of 10 MLAs of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) met Manipur's Governor, Ajay Bhalla, on Wednesday to press for forming a 'popular government' in the state. Manipur, rocked by ethnic violence, has been under President's rule since February 13. Saving Mumbai: The municipal corporation in Mumbai is cracking down on illegal construction along the city's fragile coastline. In recent weeks, the BMC has issued over 100 notices and razed nearly 30 unauthorised structures in the ecologically sensitive Madh Island. Behind the clean-up lies a determined, almost decade-long battle of one man who owns ancestral land in the area: Vaibhav Thakur. My colleague Mohamed Thaver chronicles Thakur's fight. Injustice: In her weekly column, contributing editor Neerja Chowdhury spotlights the recent—and rather imprudent—remarks made by BJP MP Ram Chander Jangra, who questioned the women survivors of the Pahalgam terror attack for not fighting back. He isn't the first BJP MP to have tainted the party's messaging with good old misogyny. Earlier, a BJP minister had referred to Colonel Sofiya Qureshi as a 'sister' of the terrorists. But Jangra's comments go a step further and 'demean all women', Chowdhury writes. The numbers game: Recently, Niti Aayog CEO, BVR Subrahmanyam, declared that India had overtaken Japan to become the fourth-largest economy in the world. His claim, based on International Monetary Fund (IMF) data, set off a wave of self-congratulations among several Indians. However, a closer examination of IMF data shows that India is still the fifth-largest economy. My colleague Udit Misra would argue that India is, in fact, the third-largest economy. Confused? Here's how to read the data. Cricket central: Our sports writers, Sandip G and Vinayakk Mohanarangan, surveyed nearly 250 players across the 10 teams of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to take a look at the geographical distribution of homegrown talent. Their finding may surprise you. Once irrelevant on India's cricketing map, Madhya Pradesh has transformed into a thriving nursery of IPL stars. Read on. I leave you with the latest offering from 'Fresh Take': The era of 'Netflix parents' is here, quietly changing the living room conversations in Indian households. That's all for today, folks! Until tomorrow, Sonal Gupta Sonal Gupta is a senior sub-editor on the news desk. She writes feature stories and explainers on a wide range of topics from art and culture to international affairs. She also curates the Morning Expresso, a daily briefing of top stories of the day, which won gold in the 'best newsletter' category at the WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2023. She also edits our newly-launched pop culture section, Fresh Take. ... Read More
Indian Express
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Daily Briefing: The big global outreach
Good morning, Let me transport you to Paris for a moment. Think of the iconic Louvre Museum, the shiny glass pyramid right at the city's heart along the banks of the River Seine. The Indian government is keen on a similar glass structure for the upcoming Yuge Yugeen National Museum in Delhi. It will likely be a massive glass dome. A part of the Central Vista Redevelopment Project, the museum, once completed, is expected to overtake the Louvre as the 'largest museum in the world' and add a modern sparkle to this historic landmark. On that note, let's get to today's edition. Three Indian delegations have set out on a global tour to rally support for the country's war against terror emanating from Pakistan. Starting today, teams led by JD(U)'s Sanjay Jha, Shiv Sena's Shrikant Shinde and DMK's Kanimozhi will visit Japan, South Korea, Russia, Spain, and the UAE, among others, over the next two weeks. Seven multi-party contingents will travel to 32 countries, including United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members. They will meet lawmakers, government workers, think tanks and academics as part of the outreach. On agenda: The main objective of this global exercise is to dispel misinformation about India's Operation Sindoor, underlining the country's 'new normal' in response to cross-border terrorism. The delegations are also ready to explain India's stand on the Indus Waters Treaty. The bottom line? Countries must not equate India and Pakistan. One is a victim of terror, and the other a perpetrator. Political wrangle: This diplomatic crusade was not without its share of internal politics. The Congress party was miffed that its recommended leaders were not part of the delegations. The Trinamool Congress, meanwhile, reached a consensus with the Centre, replacing their pick, Yusuf Pathan, with its second-in-command, Abhishek Banerjee. The government also managed to smooth things out with the Shiv Sena (UBT), whose spokesman had earlier called the Opposition parties to abandon the exercise. 'Self-goal': In openly opposing the inclusion of its senior members in these delegations, the Congress party may have scored a 'self-goal', writes columnist Neerja Chowdhury. She also examines how a fractured political terrain has made a working relationship between the Opposition and the government impossible. Read on. For more on the diplomatic outreach, tune in to today's episode of the '3 Things' podcast. Troubled waters: The Jal Jeevan mission began in 2019 with an ambitious aim to provide individual tap connections and drinking water supply to each rural household. Six years later, this is proving to be a costly exercise for the government, prompting the Expenditure Secretary to recommend a 46 per cent cut in the Jal Shakti ministry's proposed additional funding. The Centre has also sent out 100 inspection teams. The Indian Express investigated and found that a tweak in tender guidelines three years ago may have resulted in cost escalations. We scrutinised the details of over 1 lakh schemes between 2022 and 2024 to understand the math. Here's what we found. The North Star: One of the most celebrated Indian astrophysicists, Jayant Narlikar, passed away Tuesday morning in Pune at 87. My colleague Amitabh Sinha writes a fitting tribute to the man who sought to change how the world views its origins. Among his best-known works, Narlikar developed an alternative to the 'Big Bang' theory with his PhD advisor Fred Hoyle. Unlike the Big Bang theory, which envisions a beginning and possibly an end to the universe, Hoyle and Narlikar's steady-state theory espouses that the universe has always been, and would continue to be, the way it is. Trump-proof: The United States favoured bilateral dialogue between Delhi and Rawalpindi on Kashmir for years, avoiding direct mediation. That changed in 2019, when the Donald Trump administration intervened to de-escalate tensions after the Pulwama terror attack and India's Balakot strikes. Cut to 2025: Trump was quick to claim credit for brokering a ceasefire, invoking trade ties with both nations, despite the stark difference in scale. India's annual trade exceeds $1 trillion, while Pakistan's is around $90 billion. In his weekly column, C Raja Mohan argues that Delhi must look beyond Trump-era policies to safeguard the deeper structural and strategic ties with the US. Hi-tech: Are slow WiFi speeds troubling you? In a game-changing move, the government has decided to open up license-free use of a portion of the 6 GHz spectrum band. This long-standing demand of major tech companies like Sony, Apple and Meta was opposed by telecom giants. The high-speed internet would support devices like Sony PlayStation Pro and Meta's virtual reality gear. Know more about it. Karnataka-based activist writer Banu Mushtaq has created history with her short story collection Heart Lamp, translated to English by Deepa Bhasthi, winning the prestigious International Booker Prize 2025. It is the first short story anthology to win the 'translated fiction' award. It's also the first book, originally written in Kannada, to bag a Booker. The 12 tales in Heart Lamp chronicle women's lives in patriarchal communities in southern India. That's all for today, folks! Until tomorrow, Sonal Gupta
