The Times of India

The first is the India-Pakistan re-hyphenation Trump has brought upon India through his courting of Rawalpindi. It is here US ambassador to India Sergio Gor, who seems to have found a way out of the trade impasse within weeks of arrival, may have an important role to play. Suspense still looms over his dual role as Trumps special envoy for south Asia and any false move bracketing India with Pakistan, let alone playing sheriff, will be met with resistance.

In recognition of his contribution, he was offered an ex gratia lump sum amount of Rs 6,32,000, payable after 18 months from the date of cessation of employment, subject to the condition that from the date of cessation he would not join competing companies, namely Philips India Limited or Bajaj Electricals Ltd.

A division bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice AK Chaudhary passed the verdict on a PIL filed by Motilal Yadav in 2013, seeking direction against holding of caste-based rallies by political parties. In an interim order in July 2013 itself, a bench of Justice Uma Nath Singh and Justice Mahendra Dayal had stayed caste-based rallies with immediate effect throughout UP.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha held that the family courts order showed no illegality or defect warranting interference by the HC. The HC noted that when the husband had filed a petition seeking restitution of conjugal rights, the woman could have returned to her matrimonial home to resume marital life.

A litigant who approaches the court must get to know what judgment is given on his plea, the CJI said. The same HC judge, Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay, was found to have kept several judgments pending for years, even in cases where the convicts had appealed against their capital and life sentences. The judge had delivered the verdicts in those cases only after SC took judicial notice of the same.

Keen to project a message of ethnic reconciliation in the north-eastern state, which was rocked by Meitei versus Kuki violence, BJP is considering appointing two deputy CMs one each from the Kuki and Naga communities, with Singh being a Meitei. Nemcha Kipgen, a Kuki figure and former minister, is likely to be one of the deputy CMs.

The first grounding occurred on Feb 1 after a malfunction was registered by the crew of B787 (VT-ANX) during engine start to operate flight AI-132 from London to Bengaluru. The incident was critical as the fuel control switch locking mechanism has been at the centre of the investigation into the June 12 Air India Ahmedabad crash.

The burden was highest among urban metro residents, people aged 40-49 years, and those from lower-income groups. Regionally, pollution-linked depression showed stronger associations in eastern India, while anxiety was more prominent in the western region. Risks also peaked during the post-monsoon season, when pollution levels typically rise. he study went beyond overall PM2.5 levels to examine individual chemical constituents of air pollution.

Referring to the activists speech, the solicitor general said he had stated that Ladakhis could not choose their own representatives while China and Tibet etc have autonomous rights which is highly objectionable. This is a preventive action so that he doesnt keep repeating the things he (Wangchuk) said. The detention strikes at the very purpose for which the NSA was enacted. It will have a contextual meaning. Every state has region specific sensitivities, Mehta said.

Peacocks in Himachal Pradesh are generally found at altitudes of 1,000m but some thrive in areas up to 1,500m. Himachal Pradesh has become significantly warmer in the last 124 years. According to meteorological department, the state has recorded a rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius in average mean temperature since 1901.

Speaking at a pharma conclave in the city on Tuesday, he said restoring public confidence was as big a challenge as tackling crime after 2017. Yogi said he had seen how criminals mocked the law and made the people of the state suffer between 2003 and 2017, adding that law and order was his biggest challenge when PM Narendra Modi delegated the responsibility of UP to him in 2017.

Dealing with appeals by WhatsApp, its parent company Meta which also owns Facebook, challenging a NCLAT decision that upheld Competition Commissions finding of abuse of dominant position against the social media giant, a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi scorched it with admonitions for violating right to privacy of Indian citizens.

The United States is set to host the inaugural critical minerals ministerial on Wednesday (local time) in Washington DC, bringing together delegations from more than 50 countries to deepen cooperation on securing and diversifying global critical mineral supply chains, according to a notice issued earlier by the US State Departments Office of the Spokesperson.

When the health cess was introduced, the understanding was that it would boost health expenditure by topping up what the govt was already allocating. Clearly, that has not happened. Instead, cess is masking what would otherwise be a steep cut in the share of health in total Budget and in GDP. From 0.32% of the GDP in 2019, the year before Covid struck, the share has fallen to 0.27% even with the cess component.

The MoU was signed in the presence of defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and A Anbarasu, DG (acquisition) in the department of defence (MoD), who called the collaboration a strategic marriage. It comes just a week after the Adani company and Brazilian aerospace major Embraer announced a strategic collaboration for setting up a fixed-wing aircraft manufacturing facility in India.

Rahul Gandhi said the case against Adani basically targets the PM because the business leader represents the financial structure of Modi and BJP, while the US has not yet released the full material they have on Epstein Files. These are the two pressure points, and the country should understand that the PM is compromised, he told reporters.

Addressing the BJP-led NDA parliamentary party meeting where he was felicitated for Indias trade agreements, including with EU and US, Modi said India is at the centre of an uncertain world as past alliances give way to new alignments, emphasising that the new year has been particularly encouraging for India, sources said.

As a result, cereals, maize, soybean and genetically modified food may be kept out of the bilateral trade agreement, which has been in the works since last Feb. Goyal said that Modi had managed to secure a very good deal for India, which was better than what US had offered to some other competing countries. Indian and American officials are currently engaged in drafting a joint statement which is expected to be finalised in the next few days.

Most exporters spent early Tuesday with buyers discussing the way forward, especially with garment orders for the next season being finalised. We are in talks with our buyers and they are very happy. The timing of the announcement has been very good as orders for the next season were being finalised. The future is looking very bright, and we need to build scale, focus on expansion and skilling to take advantage of it, said Sudhir Sekhri of Trendsetters, an exporter of womenswear.

With the US accounting for nearly 35% of Indias overall pharma shipments of over $30 billion in FY24-25, the move is expected to bolster growth prospects and pipeline visibility. A potential India-US trade deal offers long-awaited stability for the domestic pharma sector, which plays a critical role in supplying affordable medicines to the US, industry experts told TOI.

Textile and apparel exporters are now expecting an increased sourcing by global brands as India will now enjoy one of the lowest tariff regimes among major Asian manufacturing hubs, with a marginal advantage over competitors, such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and China. The tariff relief is expected to create a level-playing field, particularly for small and medium exporters in clusters such as Surat, Gurugram and Tirupur.

Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) said it expects shipments to rebound following the conclusion of the India-US trade deal and the reduction of tariffs to 18%. We are confident that with the conclusion of the trade deal and lowering of tariffs to 18%, the quantum of export of seafood from India to the US will show an increase and soon reach back to the previous levels, the association said. SEAI also welcomed the role played by govt in finalising the agreement.

There are strong reasons why India and the US should have strong trade ties. Each has comparative advantages and they have complementarities that explained the hope that the first trade deal under Trump 2.0 will be with India. But, things went haywire for reasons not related to trade: Indias refusal to engage Trumps claims on Operation Sindoor and the pressure on him domestically to appear tough on Moscow resulting a 25% secondary tariff for Indias purchase of Russian crude.

Peak XV, in a separate blog post, said it mutually decided to part ways with Agrawal, adding that Mittal and Sharma chose to join him. The firm did not disclose details of the new fund or its investment strategy. Together, the exits have thinned Peak XVs mid-generation leadership bench. Agrawal was part of the venture investing team and led several early bets, including Groww, alongside investments across fintech, education finance, healthcare, and SaaS.

The RBI cut rates in Dec after the MPC placed greater weight on inflation slipping below the lower bound of the flexible inflation targeting framework. With inflation now expected to move higher, including under the new base-year series to be released from Feb 12, economists see limited scope for further easing. Growth is also expected to slow and settle in the 6.7-7% range in FY27, close to the Economic Surveys estimate of potential growth at 7%.

Arvind Shrivastava, secretary, department of revenue, said the deal would deepen trade ties between 2 of the worlds largest economies. He said it would create fresh opportunities for Indias labour-intensive and manufacturing sectors in the US market, while also giving a push to collaboration in high and advanced technology areas and give impetus to mutually beneficial collaboration in high and advanced technology sectors, he said.

After Trump and Modi went public, officials have been engaged on the next steps. Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday that a joint statement will be released shortly. Officials indicated that it should be ready in a few days, and will be followed by the vetting of the agreement before it is signed.

The Aug decision by US President Donald Trump to impose stiff tariffs on India for purchasing Russian oil had stunned policymakers and exporters. Financial markets turned choppy and triggered unease about the trajectory of growth. But the economy remained resilient and growth momentum robust as it navigated the turbulent period.

The rupee jumped 124 paise to 90.27 against the dollar, its strongest single-day gain in seven years and the best since late 2018. The currency had closed at 91.51 in the previous session and has strengthened 165 paise over two days. The rebound followed a recent record low of 91.99, when corporate dollar hedging and concerns over capital outflows had weighed on the currency.

Within this landscape, Tata Steels Indian operations do not export to the US, though its UK unit does. In contrast, JSW Steel, with facilities in Ohio and Texas, produces steel locally, shielding it from import tariffs. Hindalco exports negligible aluminium and no copper from India to the US due to strong domestic demand.

So far in 2026, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have net sold stocks worth nearly Rs 35,000 crore in the Indian market. This comes on top of the Rs 1.7 lakh crore worth of stocks net offloaded in 2025. The sell-off, in turn, put pressure on the rupee. Despite strong central govt intervention, the rupee had depreciated over 6% since the start of 2025.

The feel-good rally that followed lifted sensex by nearly 4,200 points (5.2%) in early trades but soon profit booking at higher levels pulled it down a bit. After a steady session, sensex closed 2.5% up. On the NSE, Nifty too treaded a similar path and closed 639 points (2.6%) up at 25,728 points. According to A Balasubramanian, MD & CEO, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, the announcements about the India-US trade deal removed a key overhang for Indian markets.

The UK govt did not conclude a bilateral investment treaty, or arrangements in relation to legal services, new market access for financial services, or final arrangements for mutual recognition of professional qualifications, and India did not get as much on the mobility issues as it would have liked, the report says.

The governing National Conference said the halted proposals include the Bijbehara-Pahalgam railway link and the Pulwama-Shopian railway project. The issue was earlier raised by local farmers, legislators, including Anantnag-Poonch MP Mian Altaf and the opposition PDP leaders. Vaishnaw said there was a demand for three additional railway projects in the region, but these had been kept on hold for now due to the objections raised.

Officials said at least two to three Pakistani terrorists were believed to be trapped within the cordon. The White Knight Corps post stated that a joint team of Counter Insurgency Force Delta, police, and CRPF established contact with the terrorists around 4pm. Earlier, security forces had launched a search operation in Jopher area in Udhampurs Ramnagar late Sunday.

The Speaker further pointed out that granting statehood falls within the domain of the Centre and advised Lone to raise only those issues on which J&K govt is competent to respond or take a decision. Outside the assembly, Lone said four of his other amendments were, however, accepted, including those concerning daily wagers, NLU and condemnation of attacks on Kashmiris outside J&K.

Indian drugmakers anticipate significant benefits from the proposed India-US trade agreement, offering much-needed clarity and stability for the lucrative US pharmaceutical market. This development is expected to boost expansion plans and growth prospects for major companies like Sun Pharma and Dr. Reddy's, enhancing their competitive edge and strengthening India's role in global supply chains.

The US will reduce tariffs on most Indian goods to 18% from 50% as part of a new trade agreement, aiming to address the large trade deficit. India has agreed to cut tariffs on a range of US products, including industrial goods, wine, and spirits, to zero. Sensitive Indian agriculture and dairy sectors remain protected under the deal.

India will significantly reduce crude oil imports from Russia, adhering to a US-brokered trade deal that lowers tariffs on Indian goods. While existing contracts will be honored, new orders for Russian crude will cease, except for Nayara Energy due to its unique circumstances. This move aims to boost Indian exports and diversify energy sources.