US President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to impose high tariffs on three of its trading partners, including China will provide huge export opportunities for India and the domestic industry should prepare itself to tap into that, Niti Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said on Wednesday. Trump last week vowed to introduce 25 per cent tariffs (or customs duty) on imports from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10 per cent on China.
US President Donald Trump shared a video link of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interaction with US-based popular podcaster and computer scientist Lex Fridman on his social media platform Truth Social. During the interaction lasting over three hours, Modi on Sunday said he and Trump connect well as both put their respective countries first and asserted that their mutual trust remained unshaken even when the Republican leader was out of office during Joe Biden's presidency. Modi recalled that during Trump's first term, he ignored security protocol and agreed to Modi's request to take a lap around the stadium hosting the 'Howdy Modi' event in Houston. Modi also lauded Mahatma Gandhi's legacy and described himself as a peacemaker who has nudged both Russian and Ukrainian leaders to come to the negotiating table. In the podcast, Modi also opened up on a host of foreign affairs issues and touched on various aspects of his life journey.
While there was no mention of India in the National Cyber Threat Assessment reports of 2018, 2020 and 2023-24, the 2025-26 assessment mentions India -- along with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea -- in the 'Cyber threat from state adversaries' section that introduces the state cyber threat ecosystem and discusses the cyber threats to Canada.
The deal is for the swapping of 18 Sukhoi fighter jets in service with the IAF for the latest version of air superiority multi-role warbirds tailored to meet Indian requirements
China has honored an army regiment commander who was injured in the Galwan Valley border clash with Indian soldiers in 2020 as an outstanding member of the national advisory body - Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Qi Fabao, who was made the torchbearer for the Winter Olympics in 2022, was among the 33 individuals honored with the 2024 Outstanding Performance Award for CPPCC Members. The incident, which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers, led to a freeze in relations between the two countries for over four years. Ties were restored after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in October 2023.
India has confirmed that 12 Indian nationals have died while serving in the Russian military during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Another 16 Indians, who were serving in the Russian armed forces, are listed as missing by Russia. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said a total of 126 Indians were serving with the Russian military and 96 of them have so far been discharged.
'The Indian activities at the UN are fully reflecting the merit of our special and privileged strategic partnership'
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has announced that India and China have reached an understanding to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in 2025. While an understanding has been reached, the modalities of the pilgrimage are yet to be firmed up. The Yatra has been suspended since 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak and non-renewal of Yatra arrangements by the Chinese side.
This was the first time two chiefs of the armed forces undertook a flight together.
"The two sides express concern over the continuing deterioration of the situation in Iraq," a joint statement issued by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Vladimir Putin, after their talks in New Delhi, said.
Magnus Carlsen concluded the first nine rounds with an impressive 6.5 points out of a possible 9.
Lisa Curtis, who served as deputy assistant to President Trump and as National Security Council senior director for South and Central Asia from 2017 to 2021, said she expected the same bumps for India and the US, as in Trump's first term, including tariff, dependence on Russia over arms supply and oil purchase from Iran. Curtis, however, said both countries could never enter an alliance but develop a partnership that is "short of an alliance". She hoped them to achieve a cooperation that deters China, but also prepares both countries in case of a crisis or conflict, be it in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, or another flare-up on the India-China border.
Indian rescue personnel are being lauded for their compassion and expertise in assisting with the recovery efforts in earthquake-stricken Mandalay, Myanmar. The story of a Muslim family resisting initial attempts to recover a deceased loved one from the rubble, ultimately accepting the help of Indian rescuers who preserved the dignity of the woman's final posture in prayer, highlights the sensitivity and skill of the Indian team. The NDRF has rescued around 30 bodies and is working tirelessly in different locations, including the historic U Hla Thein monastery and Ganga Ghat Hindu Temple, where many are still missing. The Indian Army has also set up a field hospital, treating over 200 patients, and providing food to earthquake victims.
Russia has been grappling with sanctions slapped by the US and its allies over Moscow's invasion of Crimea.
India, Russia to sign military IPR agreement in December
Buoyed by the remarkable success of the supersonic BrahMos cruise missiles, India and Russia are now mulling the joint development of a futuristic 'smart' battle tank, featuring higher speed and better firepower. "We put forward this idea (of developing the tank) at the turn of the 21st century. The Indian side has now come up with a similar proposal," Nikolai Malykh, director general of Russia's biggest tank producer Uralvagonzavod, said.
After two straight wins, India went down 1-3 to a formidable Russian team in a fourth Pool A match in the FIDE World Women's Team Chess Championship, in Sitges, Spain.
India's Navy has commissioned its new Russian-made guided missile frigate, INS Tushil, in the Russian coastal city of Kaliningrad. The ship, part of a $2.5 billion deal for four stealth frigates, is expected to significantly enhance the Indian Navy's capabilities in the Indian Ocean. The commissioning ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, and other senior Indian officials. Singh described the commissioning as a testament to India's growing maritime strength and a milestone in its long-standing ties with Russia. The INS Tushil, an upgraded Krivak III class frigate of Project 1135.6, boasts advanced stealth features and stability characteristics, and incorporates 26% indigenous content thanks to collaboration with Indian naval specialists and Severnoye Design Bureau.
The ATAGS has a range of 35-45 kilometres, depending on the ammunition used, and achieved a 47-km firing range during trials.
"The joint development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft will mark the start of cooperation in the development of major state-of-the-art new technology weapon systems," Antony said, adding that both India and Russia would have equal financial and technological stakes and issues related to the intellectual property and specific requirement of the Indian Air Force have been resolved.
"The Modi government's approach to the entire crisis could be described as DDLJ: Deny, Distract, Lie and Justify," Ramesh said.
India supports dialogue and diplomacy and not war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) Summit in Kazan, Russia on Wednesday, in an unambiguous message calling for resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through peaceful negotiations.
India, Russia for resolving Iran issue within IAEA framework
"In situ chemical analysis and resource exploration is the main objective of Chandrayaan-II," said Mylaswamy Annadurai, Project Director of Chandrayaan-I. Annadurai visited Russia late last month to hold initial technical discussions on Chandrayaan-II, which is expected to be a much shorter mission than Chandrayaan-I, scheduled for launch on April 9, 2008.
In a year bookended by intractable conflicts and geopolitical fragmentation, India focused on ramping up military prowess by broadly firming up defence procurement worth Rs 4.22 lakh crore even as Indian and Chinese militaries completed pulling back their troops from border face-off points in eastern Ladakh.
Global trends, trading activity of foreign investors and news flow on tariffs are expected to influence movement in the equity market in a holiday-shortened week ahead, analysts said. Equity markets would remain closed on Wednesday for 'Mahashivratri'.
'By his words, actions, and body language during their joint press appearance wanted to convey his personal respect and, more broadly, his desire to work closely with India.'
Prime Minister Modi will hold in-person meetings with President Putin for 8-9 hours during his nearly 24-hour stay in Russia, they said.
India, Russia to develop aircraft version of BrahMos missile
The war games codenamed INDRA-2007 are aimed at practising cooperative engagement in the fight against terrorism, Russian Pacific Fleet said in its press release. It is the third such joint exercise since 2003.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told Russian President Vladimir Putin that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace efforts do not succeed in the midst of bombs and bullets even as he flagged concerns over a missile strike on a children's hospital in Kyiv.
Zelenskyy said on the same day that 37 people, including three children, were killed and 170 others were injured due to Russia's missile strike at the largest children's hospital in Ukraine's capital city Kyiv.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will represent India at the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States on January 20.
Dr Singh reminded that today, most of the equipment used by the three wings of the Indian armed forces is of Russian origin.
Trump further pointed out India's strong economic position and high tariffs on US goods, stating, "They got a lot of money. They're one of the highest taxing countries in the world in terms of us. We can hardly get in there because their tariffs are so high."
It's a strategic approach in which the country's military and defence mechanisms evolve continuously in tandem with emerging threats. The new strategy anticipates events and prepares to counter those proactively.
As part of their counter-terrorism war games, the armies of India and Russia on Friday deployed their attack choppers and tanks in Bikaner, Rajasthan and captured a notional terrorist strong-point in a South Sudan-like scenario.