The BRICS nations have expressed concern over the proliferation of trade-restrictive actions in the form of 'indiscriminate rising' of tariffs, particularly measures used as a means of 'coercion', cautioning that such practices risk marginalising the Global South countries.
United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said India has not been a good trading partner and announced that he will raise the tariffs on New Delhi 'very substantially' over the next 24 hours because it is buying Russian oil.
'The world now realises that semiconductors are not just important for national security, but also for economic prosperity.'
Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan identifies China border dispute as India's biggest national security challenge, followed by Pakistan's proxy war. He also highlighted regional instability, future warfare scenarios, and dealing with nuclear-armed adversaries as major concerns.
'Immigrants have always been America's greatest strength, building prosperity, breakthroughs, and communities that enrich us all. Instead of embracing that strength, Trump is clamping down on every form of immigration, tearing families apart, destabilising businesses, and weakening our economy'
Whether Trump will actually press ahead with the oil sanctions remains unclear, since keeping Russian oil out of the world market risks high oil prices which could boomerang on the US economy and be damaging politically for Trump, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'China is India's primary strategic challenge, which will not go away.
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu's party secured a 'supermajority' in Parliament by winning over 60 seats in Sunday's crucial parliamentary election, seen as a litmus test for the pro-Beijing politician whose policies are being closely watched by both India and China amidst regional power dynamics.
The Galwan clashes indicate to the limitations in relations if they do not address border stability, points out Srikanth Kondapalli.
'...it should not delude itself into thinking that India's security or its great-power ambitions will be advanced by those partnerships.'
'Instead, what India should focus on is on riding out the next three-and-a-half years of Trump's presidency with minimal damage to itself.'
The Galwan clashes indicate to the limitations in relations if they do not address border stability, points out Srikanth Kondapalli.
Sullivan remarks come amid the rising friction between Washington and New Delhi due to the 50 percent tariffs imposed on Indian goods, which include a 25 percent penalty for buying Russian oil.
In a move sending a strong signal to China, foreign ministers from Quad countries -- India, Australia, Japan and the United States -- in a joint statement on Tuesday strongly opposed any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion.
The Global Times, a prominent state-run Chinese media outlet, published an article titled "China and India are cooperation partners, not rivals: Xi," highlighting President Xi Jinping's remarks about the bilateral meeting, saying, "as long as the two countries stick to this overarching direction, China-India relations can sustain steady and long-term growth."
'While my generation carries with it the memory of the Chinese perfidy of 1962, this generation will carry the memory of Chinese perfidy in Galwan.'
Stressing that wars are "very bad", Trump said that he seems to have "an ability to end them, to get people together" for which he uses the "power of the United States".
The way to deal with a bully is to resist bullying, because submission in the first instance only invites even more overbearing demands in future. What may seem like a small price to pay now will lead to a much higher price later, warns former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
China has approved the construction of the world's largest dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, close to the Indian border. The USD 137 billion project, which is expected to dwarf even China's own Three Gorges Dam, has raised concerns in India and Bangladesh, the downstream riparian states. Concerns in India are centered around China's potential to control water flow, potentially enabling the release of large amounts of water to flood border areas in times of hostilities. The dam is part of China's 14th Five-Year Plan, and the Chinese government claims that the project is safe and prioritizes ecological protection.
In 2023, the number of kindergartens fell by 14,808 to 274,400, the annual report by the Chinese education ministry stated. It is the second consecutive annual decline in the latest indicator of China's falling birth rates.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday presented India's strong stance against terrorism, calling out the 'some countries' for their open support of terrorism and reaffirming that such 'double standards' are not acceptable.
'Trump's aggressive stance towards China and preference for military posturing could shift the Quad's balance towards overt militarisation.'
The US Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration's decision to impose a USD 100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions, arguing it harms American innovation and competitiveness.
India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will travel to Beijing for a two-day trip beginning Sunday, marking the second high-profile visit from India to China in less than one-and-a-half months. The visit comes amidst ongoing border tensions and follows a recent disengagement pact between the two countries in eastern Ladakh. The Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism meeting will focus on the next steps for India-China relations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains. The decision to revive this bilateral mechanism was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan in October.
To those who ask, "Is all this really worth it? Why can't domestic demand fill the gap?", it is important to remind them that only 13 economies since the Second World War have grown at 7 per cent or more for 25 years -- like India needs to. They all had one thing in common: Strong export growth underpinned by strong global engagement, explains Sajjid Z Chinoy.
Trump reiterated that he is not negotiating on behalf of Ukraine, but rather aiming to bring the parties to the negotiating table.
Silver prices are up 59.3 per cent in 2025, hitting nearly $44.55 an ounce (oz) in international markets and Rs 137,040 per kilogram (kg) in India on Thursday. It's the best return the metal has given since 2016.
The Quad grouping has called for bringing the perpetrators, organisers and financiers of the Pahalgam terror attack to justice without any delay and urged UN member nations to extend cooperation for it.
Lavrov, who addressed the UN General Assembly shortly before External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's speech at the high-level General Debate, said India and Russia share a "particularly privileged strategic partnership".
The announcement on expansion of CPEC was made following a meeting among Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar and Afghanistan's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Beijing, according to a Pakistani readout.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he "helped settle" the tensions between India and Pakistan and that he told the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that America would do a "lot of trade" with them if they stopped the conflict.
The Tata Group is one of the very few Indian MNCs which has carved out a niche in China's highly competitive market, notes Rup Narayan Das.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his upcoming visit to India in December and expressed his intention to address the trade imbalance between the two countries, particularly concerning India's crude oil imports from Russia. He also lauded India's independent stance on international issues and highlighted the strong relationship between the two nations.
He said that the two nations will have issues in the foreseeable future. However, there are ways of addressing those issues and what happened in 2020 was not the way to address those issues.
China has defended its plan to build the world's largest dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, assuring that the project will not affect riparian states and safety issues have been addressed through decades of studies. The dam, estimated to cost USD 137 billion, has raised concerns in India and Bangladesh, but Chinese authorities maintain that the project has been thoroughly studied and safeguards are in place. The dam is part of China's efforts to develop clean energy and respond to climate change.
United States President Joe Biden was caught on a hot mic telling leaders of the Quad nations that China was testing them, thus reflecting upon the American seriousness of the emerging Chinese threat.
The MiG-21 episode demonstrates that procurement is always strategic.
Choices about what aircraft to acquire, who builds them, who supplies the spares, who trains the pilots and technicians are decisions with political consequences lasting for decades.
Russia has a "special mechanism" to confront any challenge arising out of the US slapping punitive measures against India for its procurement of Russian crude oil, Russian charge d'affaires Roman Babushkin said on Wednesday.
India and Russia always stood "shoulder-to-shoulder" even in the most difficult situations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, against the backdrop of possibly the worst phase in New Delhi's ties with the US in over two decades.
Industry leaders urge India to pursue diplomatic talks with the US, strengthen manufacturing, and consider China ties to gain leverage against tariff pressures.
'They are totally disconnected with farm activities which their families have been involved in for years.'
