Latest news with #US-India
Time of India
18 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Breaking News Live Updates: "Excellent discussions": All-Party delegation wraps up Saudi visit with focus on terrorism and strategic ties
30 May 2025 | 07:14:39 AM IST Breaking News Live Updates: The all-party delegation led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda in Saudi Arabia informed that they held discussions with Saudi officials, policy think tanks, the media, and members of the Indian diaspora over two days in Riyadh. Breaking News Live Updates: The all-party delegation led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda in Saudi Arabia informed that they held discussions with Saudi officials, policy think tanks, the media, and members of the Indian diaspora over two days in Riyadh."We have had excellent discussions in Saudi Arabia. This is the third country that our delegation visited, and we had two full days of discussions with senior government officials, with think tanks who play the role of shaping policy in Saudi Arabia, with the media, and the Indian diaspora," Panda told ANI on Thursday (local time).Panda said discussions were open and direct, especially on terrorism, where both countries share a zero-tolerance added, "We have had free and frank discussions about the terrorism challenge we have been facing. Saudi Arabia has a policy of zero-tolerance towards terrorism, like us. PM Narendra Modi was here when the terrorist attack happened and the joint statement given by the two governments made it very clear that there is no tolerance for any kind of terrorism." Show more US Under Secretary of Defence Elbridge Colby pots on 'X': "It was great to meet today with India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Deputy NSA Pavan Kapoor. The US-India alliance is on fundamentally strong ground based on shared interests and mutual respect. We here at DOD are striving hard to elevate defense cooperation as part of this critical partnership." A US federal appeals court has temporarily reinstated President Donald Trump's broad 'Liberation Day' tariffs, just one day after a lower trade court ruled he had unlawfully invoked emergency powers to impose them. While the ruling restores the White House's leverage for now, legal experts say a longer battle looms. Trump's administration is expected to pursue alternative authorities if the appeal fails. Businesses and foreign governments remain cautious as tariff-related uncertainty continues to impact trade and global markets. Read full story here An unpredictable trade war and daunting environmental targets are on the agenda for global airline bosses at an annual summit in India, as the industry's outlook is clouded by concerns that geopolitical uncertainty will dampen travel demand and raise people are flying than ever before after a full post-pandemic passenger market recovery, but airlines globally are facing rising cost pressures, extended plane delivery delays, lingering supply chain bottlenecks and falling top of this, President Donald Trump's evolving trade war has upended the global aerospace industry's decades-old tariff-free status and added a new layer of volatility and carriers in Europe and Asia report strong demand for flying, the U.S. airline sector has been hit by a recent slump in travel demand, with carriers struggling to forecast passenger behaviour and operational costs. India's Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Anil Chauhan is in Singapore for the 22nd Shangri La Dialogue, one of the biggest defence fora being held here from Friday to the crucial dialogue, Gen Chauhan will speak on the 'Future Wars and Warfare' on Saturday. He will then participate in the simultaneous special sessions and speak on the topic 'Defence Innovation Solutions for Future Challenges'.Gen Chauhan is also scheduled to hold bilaterals with senior defence officials and military leaders from Australia, the EU, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, the UK, and the US, officials said. U.S. federal authorities are investigating an effort to impersonate White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the report said Wiles had told associates that some of her cellphone contacts had been hacked, allowing the impersonator to access private phone incident affected her personal phone, not her government phone, the report Journal reported that in recent weeks, senators, governors, top U.S. business executives and other figures received messages and calls from a person who claimed to be Wiles, citing the people familiar with the messages. The all-party delegation led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda in Saudi Arabia informed that they held discussions with Saudi officials, policy think tanks, the media, and members of the Indian diaspora over two days in Riyadh."We have had excellent discussions in Saudi Arabia. This is the third country that our delegation visited, and we had two full days of discussions with senior government officials, with think tanks who play the role of shaping policy in Saudi Arabia, with the media, and the Indian diaspora," Panda told ANI on Thursday (local time).Panda said discussions were open and direct, especially on terrorism, where both countries share a zero-tolerance added, "We have had free and frank discussions about the terrorism challenge we have been facing. Saudi Arabia has a policy of zero-tolerance towards terrorism, like us. PM Narendra Modi was here when the terrorist attack happened and the joint statement given by the two governments made it very clear that there is no tolerance for any kind of terrorism."
Economic Times
a day ago
- Business
- Economic Times
TRUST but verify: India, US reboot AI chip talks
A high-level Indian delegation, including foreign secretary Vikram Misri and deputy NSA Pavan Kapoor, met their US counterparts in Washington this week. Among other issues, they discussed implementing TRUST (Transforming the Relationship Utilising Strategic Technology) initiative, and US-India COMPACT (Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology) partnership. At the centre of Misri's discussions with US deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau was how tech-trade-talent will shape the India-US May, the Trump administration had repealed the AI Diffusion Rule introduced towards the end of Joe Biden's tenure. The rule classified countries across three tiers, laying down specific criteria for exporting - or not - AI infrastructure to them. India, placed in tier 2, with about 120 other countries, faced a cap of 50,000 advanced GPUs to be imported from the US through 2027. Also, no US company could deploy over 7% of its overall compute power in India. That rule is slated to be replaced, with recent reports suggesting that new rules on exporting US AI infra could be driven by country-specific negotiations, and may feature in their ongoing bilateral trade negotiations. For India, there are no clear indications yet on what the new rules could mean for it. As of now, repeal of AI Diffusion Rule is widely seen as a 'big breather'. However, importing an uncapped number of GPUs, or other advanced AI chips, from the US may not necessarily translate to sufficient compute capacity for India. AI Diffusion Rule's repeal should be an opportunity to understand other roadblocks to building compute capacity for computing power is necessary to fuel any AI ambitions, GoI recently provisioned about 14,000 GPUs on subsidy for its AI ecosystem. It's expected to procure 15,000 more from 7 shortlisted bidders in the coming of volume, any GPUs or advanced AI chips imported need to be housed in data centres. This assumes significance as a May 2025 Deloitte report, 'Attracting AI Data Centre Infrastructure Investment in India', highlights that India may need 45-50 mn sq ft real estate, coupled with 40-45 terawatt hours (TWh) incremental power for data centres by 2030 for its AI demand. So, challenges to building data centres must remain in India's policymaking focus. The rule repeal remains positive news, though limited in its impact and contingent on other factors relating to India's overall compute capabilities. But it serves as an opportunity to clear the mist on capabilities of India's data centres that will ultimately house high-end AI chips from the US. Both governments must now double down on identifying roadblocks to bringing AI infra to India, particularly under the timely TRUST initiative. Further, the Quad leaders' summit, to be hosted by India later this year, can be opportune platform for presenting Washington's and New Delhi's findings on TRUST. This could lead to reformative policymaking relating to power, finance and regulatory capacity is only one of the building blocks for India's AI ambitions. Launched last year, the IndiaAI Mission, with a ₹10,300 cr-plus budget outlay, has made significant strides on its seven pillars. In addition to its massive and ongoing compute procurement, its AIKosh platform, unveiled in March, now boasts 350+ datasets and will only month, GoI selected the Bengaluru-based startup Sarvam AI to build India's first sovereign LLM model. It also awarded several projects for safety-enhancing technologies, and has called for partnerships for its AI Safety Institute. But more needs to be done, especially to address AI-induced structural unemployment, and the need to increase public-private spending on the R&D ecosystem. The writer is associate director,US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Anil Ambani is back. Is it for real? Can inclusive growth dividend transform economic security in India? He termed IndiGo a 'paan ki dukaan'. Still made INR30k crore by selling its shares Will revised economic capital framework lead to higher RBI dividend to govt? What pizzas are Indians eating? The clue lies with India's largest QSR. Stock Radar: KEC International stock reclaims 200-EMA; stock showing signs of bottoming out after 30% fall from highs Multibagger or IBC - Part 8: This Indian auto ancillary is expanding beyond 2Ws, with a foray into 4Ws Should you sell or hold Voltas, Blue Star and other 'summer stocks' because the monsoon is early? Answer is not in black & white Buy, sell or hold: UBS upgrades Aarti Industries to buy; Antique maintains buy on Shilpa Medicare
Fibre2Fashion
a day ago
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
Risk of barriers after US tariff pause expires key weakness for India
The potential risk of trade barriers, after the 90-day pause on the 26-per cent tariff on Indian exports to the United States expires on July 9, is a key external vulnerability for the Indian economy, and the outcome of a pause in the US-China reciprocal tariffs is also important, the country's finance ministry noted in its Monthly Economic Review for April. 'A successful [US-India] trade deal could mitigate these risks and boost exports, even as private investment remains cautious in the face of global uncertainty,' officials from the department of economic affairs (DEA) wrote in the review. The risk of trade barriers, after the 90-day pause on the 26-per cent US tariff on Indian exports expires in July, is a key external vulnerability for India, and the outcome of a pause in the US-China reciprocal tariffs is also important, the finance ministry noted. India will benefit from supply chain adjustments, diverse FDI sources and greater collaboration with global investors, it said. 'In the future, India will benefit from supply chain adjustments, diverse foreign direct investment sources, and greater collaboration with global investors seeking resilience and growth, supported by its existing trade connections,' they wrote. The external sector performance remains resilient, with fiscal 2025-26 commencing on a favourable note, they noted. The country's foreign exchange reserves remain adequate, providing an import cover of approximately eleven months. The trade-related and other global uncertainties faced by India are faced by several other nations but most of them lack the advantages that India has: macroeconomic stability, fiscal policy that is focused on quality of expenditure and prudence delivering lower cost of capital to the country, a benign inflation and monetary policy backdrop and financial and corporate sectors with strong balance sheets, they added. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
India-US ties at 'historic zenith', says state Deputy Secretary Landau
The India-US relationship is at a historic zenith and represents a key partnership in the 21st century, a top Trump administration official said as New Delhi and Washington reaffirmed shared desire to maintain regional stability and peace. US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau made the remarks after meeting Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in Washington DC on Wednesday. Misri is currently on a three-day official visit to the US. The Indian Embassy in Washington said in an X post that the two had a great first meeting and discussed the full breadth of the India-US bilateral agenda and shared priorities. In a post on X, Landau said he had a great lunch with Misri to talk about the US-India relationship, which is at a historic zenith and represents a key partnership in the 21st century". We discussed the importance of expanding fair and reciprocal trade, combatting illegal immigration, and expanding counternarcotics cooperation, he added. A statement by State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Landau reaffirmed the close partnership between the US and India, calling it a key component of Washington's foreign policy. The Deputy Secretary and the Foreign Secretary also reaffirmed their shared desire to maintain regional stability and peace, Bruce said. During the meeting, Landau also underscored the importance of fair and reciprocal market access to foster economic growth and prosperity in both countries, Bruce said. According to the Indian Embassy, both sides agreed that tech, trade and talent will shape the India-US partnership in the current era. They also reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the leadership's vision and to strengthen the India-US comprehensive global strategic partnership, the Embassy said. In another post on X, the Embassy said that Misri led the Indian delegation along with Deputy National Security Advisor Pavan Kapoor for the inter-agency discussions on the India-US COMPACT (Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce and Technology). The US delegation was led by Andy Baker, who is Vice President JD Vance's national security adviser and will take up new responsibility as deputy national security adviser, and Counselor Michael Needham. Discussions at the White House focused on implementing the TRUST (Transforming Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology) initiative, taking forward cooperation in the defence and energy domains, and strengthening the Quad, IMEEC (India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor), and I2U2 (India, Israel, the UAE and the US) initiatives, the Embassy said. Misri's visit from May 27-29 includes engagements with senior officials of the US Administration, the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi said in a statement on Monday. The visit is a follow-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US in February 2025, during which both sides had launched the India-US COMPACT for the 21st century, the MEA said. On Tuesday, Misri met US Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler to advance bilateral cooperation in critical and emerging technologies, the Indian Embassy said. "They also discussed early convening of the India-US Strategic Trade Dialogue to deepen tech & trade collaboration, it added.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
New data raises concerns over India as an investment destination. Trade pacts can offer a solution
In 2024-25, foreign direct investment (gross) into India stood at $81 billion. But net FDI — essentially the difference between direct investment to and that by India — fell to just $353 million, down from $10.1 billion in the previous year. The reasons for this stunning collapse can be traced to an increase in investments by Indian firms abroad and greater repatriation/disinvestment by foreign firms from the country. Coming at a time of subdued domestic private investments, and when the country is trying to emerge as an attractive destination for firms moving operations out of China and integrate itself to a greater extent in global supply chains, this fall raises questions. Are both domestic and foreign firms finding more attractive investment opportunities in jurisdictions other than India? Do other countries offer a more favourable risk-return ratio? This deserves closer attention. The finance ministry has taken note of this trend and voiced its concern. In its most recent monthly economic review, the ministry says that increasing investment by Indian firms abroad 'even as uncertainty reigned in the world, warrants attention, especially given their cautious attitude towards domestic investment'. And while it also notes that gross FDI inflows have 'remained broadly stable', not only are flows lower than in 2021-22, but over the past few years, FDI (net inflows as a percentage of GDP) has remained well below recent highs as per data from the World Bank. Surprisingly, though, the RBI appears to be more sanguine about these trends. In its monthly bulletin, the Bank says that the moderation in net FDI, which reflects a rise in net outward FDI and repatriation FDI, 'is a sign of a mature market where foreign investors can enter and exit smoothly, which reflects positively on the Indian economy'. Compared to India, UBS says that the 'ASEAN 6's FDI dynamics are robust' based on the first three quarters of 2024, and McKinsey has recently noted that most Southeast Asian economies are 'seeing higher FDI in the fourth quarter' than in previous quarters. As these countries are India's competitors in the China+1 play, these trends call for policy intervention at multiple levels to address the issues/impediments that are holding back investments from both domestic and foreign firms. The near-term outlook for investments remains muddied as both firms and households face uncertainty due to US President Donald Trump's tariffs . The finance ministry's monthly review also notes that private sector capex 'could lag behind, with firms adopting a more cautious stance amid global uncertainty'. However, a successful conclusion of the ongoing trade talks with the US and the EU could have a positive impact on investments and exports. After all, investment is more likely to flow to regions with broader and deeper trade agreements. The finance ministry also notes that 'a successful US-India trade agreement could flip current headwinds into tailwinds, opening up new market access and energising exports'. The government must press ahead with these trade deals.
