Opposition leaders in India have expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of the deportation of Indian illegal immigrants from the United States during his recent visit. They criticized the manner in which the Indians were sent back, shackled and handcuffed on a military aircraft. The leaders also discussed the need for India to address the root causes of migration and the importance of national interest in diplomatic relations with the United States.
"I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honour of my professional life," Bharara tweeted from his personal verified Twitter account, making a reference to his jurisdiction the Southern District of New York.
'Modi's intention was to create goodwill that will allow India to be seen by Trump as more than just a bad tariff problem.' 'He succeeded brilliantly on that count but none of these wins are unfortunately permanent.' 'Modi will have to do this again and again if Trump's grievances are to be durably assuaged.'
Modi lived up to his declaration that his visit was purely meant to strengthen India's relationship with the US, but there may be situations in which our silence on some issues will haunt us in the future, cautions Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has criticized the Centre over the landing of US planes carrying illegal Indian immigrants at Amritsar airport, calling it a "deport centre." He stated that the holy city is known for its religious sites and should not be used for deportations. Mann has also questioned the choice of Amritsar as the landing site, suggesting that other airports in the country could have been used instead. The second US flight carrying 119 illegal Indian immigrants is slated to land in Amritsar on Saturday night. The Punjab government has made arrangements to take the residents of Punjab from among the second batch of deportees to their hometowns.
The US Supreme Court has upheld a law requiring TikTok's China-based parent company to divest from the app, paving the way for the popular platform to be banned from the US starting Sunday. The court's decision was unanimous, with the justices citing national security concerns related to TikTok's data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary. While existing users may still access the app, new users will be unable to download it and updates will no longer be available. The decision comes as the Biden administration prepares to hand over the reins to the incoming Trump administration, which is expected to review the situation before making a final determination on TikTok's fate.
'We are not incentivising the old tax scheme. These taxpayers will also shift to the new regime after comparison.'
'As the global economy undergoes significant transformations in 2025, India's ability to navigate the complexities of trade wars, financial realignments, and emerging blocs will be pivotal,' explain Harsh V Pant and Soumya Bhowmik.
'...he keeps his campaign promises, does what he said he will do which led to his huge victory.'
The India-United States relationship is set to expand under the Donald Trump administration, but there could be some unease on issues like imports, tariffs and immigration, strategic affairs experts said after the Republican leader won the fiercely contested presidential election.
Of Trump's reciprocal tariffs and trade deals
Glimpses of Republican presidential nominee Donald J Trump's final campaign rally at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 4, 2024.
Global brokerage firm CLSA has reversed its early tactical shift from Indian equities to Chinese stocks, and has decided to raise India allocation while cutting exposure to China. In its report titled 'Pouncing Tiger, Prevaricating Dragon', CLSA cited challenges facing Chinese markets in the aftermath of Donald Trump's victory in the US elections as the reason for the move. "Misfortune can happen in threes. So it has played out for Chinese equities over the past week.
Soon after he was sworn in by Vice President J D Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Penny Wong from Australia and Japan's Iwaya Takeshi for his first multilateral meeting as the top American diplomat.
Notably Trump had withdrawn from the Paris Agreement immediately after his first inauguration in January 2017. Joe Biden reversed that decision later.
The US is currently Earth's most powerful country and a certain latitude of understanding -- a world view -- is popularly expected from its leadership. From a country identified with freedom, constitution, debate, democracy and the likes of Abraham Lincoln even as it had the most powerful military around, the US, following Trump's actions, seemed repositioned as militarily powerful with other qualities secondary, observes Shyam G Menon.
In the weeks between his phenomenal electoral victory and swearing-in as the 47th president of the United States, the world got a preview of what a second Donald Trump presidency will entail -- both for itself and America.
'Netanyahu lured Trump into a trap by enticing him with a seductive scenario of massive lucrative business in Gaza's reconstruction.' 'Trump's imagination is running riot, completely disconnected from ground realities,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
'To everyone voting for Trump, I have only this simple question: Would you let him have lunch with your daughter or sister or wife or mother?' 'Then why would you let him have our lunch (and so much more) for four more years?', asks Sree Sreenivasan.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign a series of executive orders fulfilling campaign promises, including declaring an emergency at the southern border, addressing a national energy crisis, and defining sex-related policies. The orders aim to address immigration, national security, and energy independence, with a focus on reversing policies implemented by the previous administration.
The changes if legalised would have a detrimental effect on the functioning of Indian tech companies in the US and also small and medium-sized contractual farms in the IT sector, which are mostly owned by Indian Americans.
Murthy is the second Indian-American to be removed by the Trump administration from a senior position.
However, copious oil supplies amid growing global output and slowing Chinese oil consumption will put India in a better bargaining position with Gulf suppliers.
'Someone posts a job on LinkedIn and there are a thousand resumes in an hour? This is not the America IT professionals are used to.' 'Once they lose their job, it's impossible to get a job.'
A strong partnership with US would deter China from making any aggressive posture against India, said Puneet Ahluwalia, a member of the Trump's Advisory Committee on Asian Americans.
'He is the key to unravel the 26/11 conspiracy.'
A major divide has emerged within Donald Trump's MAGA team in the United States, as Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy who advocated for the expansion of the visa program for 'highly skilled workers' faced heavy backlash from within President-elect's base, CNN reported.
Zelenskyy further said that the assault occurred overnight and into the morning, and involved a barrage of approximately 120 missiles and 90 drones, including Shaheds, Zircons, Iskanders, and Kinzhals.
President-elect Donald Trump ruled out two of his previous Cabinet members -- former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley -- to be part of his upcoming administration.
The rupee tumbled 3 per cent against the US dollar in 2024 as concerns over slower economic growth and a stronger greenback in global markets weighed, but it was among the least volatile currencies in the world and the headwinds may be less intense in the coming year.
'We may see even more restrictive policies during 2.0.'
The US govt has urged the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court order on the Tata Mundra Power Plant in Gujarat funded by a financial wing of the World Bank
'With India's growing capabilities in the space sector, this creates promising opportunities for enhanced collaboration and market access.'
By picking Rubio and Waltz as his top diplomat and NSA guarantees a continuation of bi-partisan support and further strengthening of India-US relationship under the second Trump administration.
The Trump administration announced those F-1 and M-1 (non-academic and vocational students) visa holders planning to take online classes only will not be allowed to remain in the United State.
The Indian rupee is likely to depreciate further against the US dollar through the end of 2024. This is due to the continued strengthening of the greenback, combined with the weakening of the Chinese yuan, which is expected to keep pressure on the Indian currency.
United States President-elect Donald Trump's plan to overhaul the government with a new department headed by tech billionaire Elon Musk and Indian-origin entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will be a biggest threat for China as it has to compete with far more efficient US political system, a policy advisor to the Chinese government said.
'Trump will absolutely back New Delhi on its position that Pakistan must do more to crack down on terrorists that threaten India.'
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Kash Patel, a close confidante, as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This appointment would make Patel the highest-ranking Indian American in Trump's incoming administration. Patel has previously served in various roles in the Trump administration, including Chief of Staff at the Department of Defense, Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council. Trump praised Patel's work in uncovering the "Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax" and his commitment to "bringing back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI." Patel, who has extensive experience in law enforcement and national security, is known for his work on the Russia investigation and his criticism of the "deep state."