The government is considering initiating a probe by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) against Gensol Engineering and its promoters, according to sources familiar with the matter. "It is under consideration at this stage. A final decision will be taken soon," a government official said.
India's major imports from the US include crude oil and petroleum products, gold and jewellery, plastics, aircraft, and electrical machinery and components. The key exports to the US comprise pharmaceuticals and biologicals, telecom equipment, precious and semi-precious stones, petroleum products, gold and precious metal jewellery, and ready-made garments.
India's trade deficit with China neared $100 billion in FY25, amid escalating concerns of dumping, data released by the commerce department on Wednesday showed. Chinese imports rose by 11.5 per cent to $113.45 billion, while outbound shipments to the neighbouring country saw 14.5 per cent contraction to $14.2 billion.
A government official said India and the US are exploring an interim trade deal within 90 days.
With US President Donald Trump "temporarily suspending" country-specific reciprocal tariffs until July 9, India sees the three-month window as an opportunity to renew its push for a proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US and expedite finalisation of the first tranche of the trade deal.
The US Trade Representative noted that India's average applied tariff rate stood at 17% per cent, the highest of any major world economy.
'Reciprocal tariffs are not going to affect India except specific sectors and there are opportunities to capture.'
Geopolitical tensions, trade policy uncertainties, volatility in international commodity prices and financial market uncertainties pose considerable risks to India's economic growth in the coming year, the finance ministry cautioned on Wednesday. "Global trade continues to be affected by uncertainty in the policy environment... tariff-related developments in multiple countries have heightened trade-related risks, affecting investment and trade flows globally.
'Indian players in the digital market should not be dominated by global players, and they should not dominate the smaller players -- these discussions are on.'
Since India relies heavily on specialised imported fasteners for critical applications in industries, such as automobiles, aerospace, electronics, and defence, their sudden unavailability will jeopardise production.
'And America will invite India in to have really an extraordinary opportunity and relationship with us.'
I'...additional concessions, such as opening government procurement, reducing agricultural subsidies, weakening patent protections, and allowing unrestricted data flows -- demands India has resisted for decades.'
'Every Indian should move to an EV, and the government should not buy any fossil fuel cars. The government should become the first driver of EV adoption.'
The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Grameen has the highest unutilised amount (Rs 13,111 crore) compared to any other centrally sponsored scheme.
'The US has agreed to negotiate with us a mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement, which will go for reduction of tariffs on both sides so that our trade can grow.'
For the first time, the government is likely to dip into the Oil Industry Development Fund (OIDF) to finance part of its fertiliser subsidy programme for 2025-26, according to official sources. The finance ministry has accounted for Rs 23,000 crore in the FY26 Budget as net additional resources to be drawn from dedicated reserve funds, including the OIDF, the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Fund, and the Universal Service Obligation Fund.
The interest rate on these schemes have remained unchanged for over a year now.
Ahead of the visit, officials from key government departments held intense discussions to identify key trade-related proposals.
'We are getting to understand the mind of this generation.' 'Minor tweaks are being made to ease the process as we go along.'
'For the Indian economy to maintain a growth rate of 7 to 8 per cent, it needs large foreign direct investment coming in, and that's mainly coming from the US.'
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