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Indian Express
6 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Daily Briefing: Tariff trouble and a snooping scandal
Good morning! It's yet another day of Trump tariff chaos. But first, let's look at the latest Express Investigation into 'illegal snooping' under the BRS regime in Telananga. The matter first came to light in March 2024, when an Additional Superintendent of Police of the state's Special Intelligence Bureau lodged a complaint against the now-former DSP for unauthorised phone tapping. In just 15 days leading up to the November 30, 2023, Assembly polls, at least 600 phones were tapped, including those of politicians, party workers, and even a High Court judge, among others. The case unravelled after a 'top secret' letter from Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. surfaced, asking whether it should continue surveillance on a list of numbers. Here's what we found. On that note, let's get to the rest of today's edition. Sowing fresh mayhem, US President Donald Trump has doubled the tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent — the highest worldwide, and at par with fellow BRICS member Brazil. Trump had earlier announced a 25 per cent tariff, which comes into effect today (August 7). He has offered a 21-day window before the additional 25 per cent tariff kicks in. India has criticised the action as 'unfair, unjustified and unreasonable'. The government said it would take 'all actions necessary' to 'protect its national interests'. Briefly: The additional tariffs were prompted by India's purchase of Russian oil, an issue that has triggered a volley of criticism from the US and other Western nations. India, in response, has flagged the US and the EU's continued trade with Russia. It also stated that the US had earlier endorsed its purchase of Russian oil to stabilise the global market. Red line: In reprimanding India, Trump has issued a warning to other countries. The latest executive order states that senior Trump administration officials can recommend action against countries importing Russian oil 'directly or indirectly', including the additional ad valorem import duty of 25 per cent. It is believed that by targeting Russia's trading partners, Trump hopes to force the Kremlin's hand in ending the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year. Looking ahead… With trade already dampened due to the tariff-related uncertainty, exporters warn that India cannot absorb the higher rates. Moreover, India loses its edge over most competitors, including China, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Notably, China is the largest buyer of Russian oil. Beijing is already in advanced stages of its negotiations with the US, and there are fears that it might buy concessions to escape the secondary tariffs. Meanwhile, India's own trade deal with the US has been stuck on New Delhi's refusal to open up sensitive sectors, such as agriculture, to the US. Interestingly, though, as my colleague Harish Damodaran reports, trade in farm produce between the two countries is booming and poised to touch a new record this year. Tragic: Flash floods and a debris avalanche on Tuesday have ravaged the town of Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand. At least 60 people are estimated to be missing, while two bodies have been recovered so far. Rescue operations are underway, complicated by heavy rains lashing the state. Dharali, the ground zero of the flash floods, is located in the fragile Bhagirathi eco-sensitive zone. Experts believe that unregulated activities, like construction on the river floodplains, could have worsened the disaster. 🎧 For more on the Uttarkashi floods, tune in to the latest '3 Things' podcast episode. Neighbourhood walk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be set to visit China after a long span of seven years for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, scheduled from August 31 to September 1. The meeting comes as India and China look to improve ties, especially in the face of rising tensions with the US. A nightmare? The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral rolls, just months away from the Assembly elections, has set off a political storm. RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad recently said that his party could 'consider boycotting' the polls altogether, while the Congress said 'every option' is open for discussion. In our Opinion pages today, former Chief Election Commissioner of India, S Y Quraishi, writes why boycotting elections is a 'political blunder'. '…in a democracy, absence is not protest — it is abdication.' Fraud trail: Industrialist Anil Ambani is once again under the scrutiny of investigative agencies, five years after he was questioned in the Yes Bank loan fraud case. The Enforcement Directorate suspects that thousands of crores of rupees, obtained in loans, were diverted to group companies and shell firms, bypassing norms. We explain the ED's case and actions against Ambani. While Saiyaara has been a hit at the Box Office, with fans crying (literally) in theatres, Dhadak 2's success has paled in comparison. But in his weekly column, 'Post Credits Scene', my colleague Rohan Naahar writes that Dhadak 2 may be the best Karan Johar production since Jigra. In an unusual comparison, Naahar writes that Shazia Iqbal's newest venture has more in common with Joaquin Phoenix's billion-dollar-grossing Joker movie than you'd imagine. That's all for today, folks! Until tomorrow, 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. ... 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Time of India
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Maoist leader remanded in 14-day custody
Hyderabad: A day after arresting Sri Vidya, a state committee member of the Dandakaranya Zone, Miyapur police produced her in a local court on Friday. The court then remanded her in custody for 14 days and sent her to Sangareddy prison. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now During the investigation, the police came to know that Sri Vidya had left the Chhattisgarh forests in May and travelled to Mansoorabad. After staying secretly for a few days, she moved to Hyderabad in June, taking a house to rent in a multi-storey apartment block in the Youth Colony in Miyapur. The Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) of the Telangana police received a tip-off that the senior Maoist leader Sri Vidya was taking shelter in Hyderabad. Through their sources, the police discovered that she was staying in Miyapur. The police are expected to submit a petition to the local court seeking permission for her custodial interrogation.
Hindustan Times
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Phone-tapping case: Ex-SIB chief appears before police for questioning
Hyderabad, Former Special Intelligence Bureau chief of Telangana, T Prabhakar Rao, the prime accused in the alleged phone-tapping case on Monday appeared before the police for questioning. Prabhakar Rao, who earlier cited ill health and was believed to be in the United States, landed in Hyderabad on Sunday night. The Supreme Court on May 29 granted interim protection from coercive action to Prabhakar Rao and directed him to appear before the investigating officer. Rao had moved the Supreme Court challenging an order of the Telangana High Court, which dismissed his anticipatory bail plea. Earlier, a Red Corner Notice was issued against him and his passport was revoked. On May 20, a Hyderabad court issued a proclamation order against Rao in the phone-tapping case. According to the order, Rao may be declared a "proclaimed offender" if he does not appear before the court by June 20. Rao, who was 'absconding' in the case, has been accused of forming a "Special Operations Team" under a suspended DSP within the SIB for carrying out certain specific tasks related to political surveillance to benefit the then ruling political party and its leaders. The suspended DSP of the SIB was among the four police officials arrested by the Hyderabad police since March 2024 for allegedly erasing intelligence information from various electronic gadgets as well as for phone-tapping during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi regime in Telangana. They were subsequently granted bail. The accused are part of a "conspiracy", in which they allegedly misused the SIB's resources for political purposes by putting citizens from different walks of life under surveillance. Those named as accused in the case, along with others, had allegedly developed profiles of several people in an unauthorised manner and were accused of monitoring them clandestinely and illegally in the SIB and using them in a partisan manner to favour a political party at the behest of some people. They were also involved in a conspiracy to destroy records to cause disappearance of evidence of their crime, police had said.
Hans India
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Ex-SIB chief lands in city, to appear before SIT today
Hyderabad: The key accused in the phone tapping case, former Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief T Prabhakar Rao arrived in Hyderabad from the United States on Sunday. He is likely to appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Monday. The retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, who has been in the US for 14 months, arrived in India as directed by the Supreme Court last week. Responding to the court orders, Prabhakar Rao gave an undertaking to the Supreme Court that he will return to India soon after receiving a one-time entry passport and cooperate with the investigation. The Indian Embassy in the United States also issued an emergency transit warrant to former SIB chief Prabhakar Rao, following orders by the Supreme Court to appear before the inquiry into the phone tapping case. The investigating team already achieved considerable progress in the phone tapping case by questioning the police officials and influential persons including journalists recently. Prabhakar Rao had allegedly constituted a team within SIB with a group of officials, including Praneeth Rao, for surveillance of rival political leaders, their families and dissidents within the ruling party, businessmen, journalists and even judges. The allegations under the previous government of BRS came to light in March last year with the arrest of Deputy Superintendent of Police Praneeth Rao following a complaint from his superior, D Ramesh, Additional SP with the SIB. The police have so far named six accused in the case. Praneeth Rao, Additional SPs Thirupathanna and Bhujanga Rao and former DCP P Radha Kishan Rao were arrested in the case.
Time of India
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Prabhakar Rao likely to return to India on June 9
Hyderabad: Former Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief Prabhakar Rao, prime accused in the phone tapping case, is expected to come to India on June 9 from the US. It is learnt that Rao approached the Indian embassy in the US and is all set to get his passport. The Supreme Court had recently directed authorities to restore his passport to allow him to travel to India. The SC also protected him from arrest, but directed him to return to India within three days of obtaining his travel documents. The passport had been revoked following a request to Centre from Hyderabad police as he had been avoiding questioning by cops by staying in the US citing ill health. Soon after Hyderabad police registered a case of phone tapping in 2024, Rao had fled to the US.
