Senior officials of India and the US will begin three-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement in New Delhi on Wednesday amid threats of reciprocal tariffs from the Trump-administration, an official said. To formally start the negotiations on the pact, Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, along with a team of officials, is in New Delhi.
India and the visiting US officials have decided to hold a wrap-up session on Saturday morning to conclude the three-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement, government sources said. They said the discussions are at a "very" early stage.
Here is a list of Q & As to explain these issues and implications of the US move.
India and the US have decided to hold sector-specific talks in the coming weeks to finalise the structure of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA), the government said on Saturday. The engagement between the two countries came in the backdrop of the USA's threat to impose reciprocal tariffs on its key trading partners, including India, on April 2.
Steel maker JSW Steel's Q3 results, announced on January 24, 2025, after market hours, failed to meet Street expectations. The company reported a consolidated net profit attributable to the owners of Rs 717 crore in Q3FY25, reflecting a 70.3 per cent decline Y-o-Y, compared to Rs 2,415 crore in Q3FY24.
Of Trump's reciprocal tariffs and trade deals
Domestic steel prices have seen an increase over the past couple of months in anticipation of a safeguard duty, but a looming global trade war is likely to weigh as threat of import rises and prospect of export flounders. Data from BigMint showed that in March 2025, hot rolled coil (HRC) prices ex-Mumbai increased by Rs 600 per tonne month-on-month (M-o-M), rising from Rs 48,400 per tonne in February to Rs 49,000 per tonne.
The trade war between the US and China is expected to benefit Indian exporters in increasing their shipments to the American market, sources said. They said the country was the fourth-largest gainer when the US imposed higher duties on Chinese goods during US President Donald Trump's first tenure.
Rashmi flaunts her mehendi... Janhvi shoots for a song... Malaika goes sailing...
India and the United States will finalize the contours, schedule of negotiations, and terms of reference for a proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) during a three-day meeting beginning Tuesday. The agreement is expected to be finalized in two tranches, with the first phase focusing on goods trade. The US team, led by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, will be in India from March 25-29 to discuss the agreement. Both countries are aiming to conclude the first phase of the agreement by fall 2025.
Coca-Cola will, apart from the coming World Cup in England and Wales, feature as the exclusive non-alcoholic beverage partner at all major ICC events -- men's and women's T20 World Cups in Australia in 2020, ICC Women's World Cup 2021 in New Zealand... Also, the World Cup 2023, to be hosted by India.
"The doctrinal error in the Krishna Iyer approach was, postulating a rigid economic theory, which advocates for greater State control over private resources, as the exclusive basis for constitutional governance," the CJI wrote in the 193-page judgment.
Justice BV Nagarathna also partially agreed with the majority verdict but criticised the CJI's views on Justice Iyer's judicial approach in dealing with "material resources" and state's power over them.
And possibly in all of Asia, going by his reported fee of Rs 275 crore for Thalapathy 69, his coming movie.
The Q2FY25 revenue for Coal India (CIL) was reported at Rs 30,700 crore (down 6 per cent year-on-year or Y-o-Y and 16 per cent sequentially). The blended average selling price was Rs 1,622/tonne (down 6 per cent Y-o-Y and 3 per cent quarter-on-quarter or Q-o-Q). Adjusted operating profit stood at Rs 7,200 crore (down 20 per cent Y-o-Y and 38 per cent Q-o-Q) due to lower-than-expected e-auction volumes and higher costs.
In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court by a majority of 7:2 on Tuesday held all private properties cannot form part of "material resources of the community" empowering states to take them over for distribution to serve "common good" under the Constitution.
Diljit's songs, such as Patiala Pegg and Panchatara, were specifically mentioned in the complaint.
The FMCG industry hopes for a revival in consumption growth in 2025 with some 'green shoots' already visible, after having a challenging year amid escalating input costs and a double-digit rise in food inflation, which ultimately slowed down the pace of the urban market growth in the second half of 2024. Soaring prices of commodities such as palm oil, coffee, cocoa and wheat forced FMCG players to go for a hike of 3 to 5 per cent or resort to shrinkflation by reducing pack sizes and grammage to retain attractive price points, fearing a volume loss.
'It has changed the political character of India by ejecting socialism as an ideology from the Constitution of India.'
'If people want to work 90 hours, we should let them work.' 'If people want to work 30 hours, you should let them work 30 hours.' 'But they should not expect the same level of success and attention.'
Clean air needs action all year round; and that it will work only if we act jointly and at scale, asserts Sunita Narain.
The good news for PepsiCo is that the foods segment has normalised much faster to pre-pandemic levels than beverages.
Analysts are advising a cautious stance on the steel sector due to a combination of factors. The major one is that China has maintained momentum on steel exports in CY24 and there could also be domestic over-supply in the medium-term. Trade data for Jan-Feb'24 shows that China's finished steel exports rose 31 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 15.9 MT.
'The biggest impact will be on coal and hence on power cost. Then comes iron ore, coking coal, bauxite.'
The introduction of the two new products is an indication of the importance of India as a market.
'The Budget will be positive, continuing on the path of growth taken so far.'
We do what the boss wants us to. And we do not mind putting body and soul on the line, notes Suveen Sinha.
1982: Diet Coke is introduced on July 29 in a gala celebration from the stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York. By 1983, Diet Coke becomes the #1 diet sparkling beverage in the United States.
'A rigid or overly broad interpretation could lead to a chilling effect on investments and growth in sectors traditionally driven by private initiative.' 'Entrepreneurs may fear that their assets could be arbitrarily appropriated by the State under the guise of serving the 'common good' without sufficient legal safeguards.' 'The judgment thus supports a more nuanced view, one that balances individual property rights with public welfare objectives.'
Coal India's (CIL's) revenue for the first quarter of 2024-25 (Q1FY25) came in at Rs 36,500 crore, up 1 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) and down 3 per cent sequentially, which was in line with consensus. The blended average selling price was Rs 1,687/tonne, down 5 per cent Y-o-Y and down 1 per cent Q-o-Q, which was below estimates. The adjusted operating profit (excluding overburden removal or OBR costs) stood at Rs 11,500 crore up 3 per cent Y-o-Y and up 17 per cent Q-o-Q, which beat the street. This was due to lower operating expenses.
Coca-Cola's acquisition of British coffee chain Costa, its biggest acquisition of a brand in history, faces three challenges in India.
Exports of 19 major commodities, including petroleum products, coal and marine items, saw growth in terms of volume during April 2023-February 2024, even as they witnessed contraction in value terms during the same period. Government officials said the rise in export volume despite a decline in value implies that these commodities show a stronger market demand.
India and Russia on Tuesday set a target of $100 billion in annual trade volume by 2030 and vowed to develop a robust bilateral payment settlement mechanism using national currencies. The two sides also inked a total of nine agreements to further broadbase cooperation in a range of areas including in the economic domain following summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
With Maaza, which already has the biggest share in mango beverages in the Indian market, Coke is betting on a winning horse, say experts.
After rows over water usage at its plants in Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, it is now the turn of its Gujarat factory.
Coca-Cola India on Wednesday launched Vanilla Coke in India. The company said that the new drink offers the 'same true taste of Coca-Cola with a hint of vanilla flavour.'
Close on the heels of a major health scare on finding pesticides in bottled drinking water, CSE claimed that the bottled soft drinks owned by PepsiCo and Coke also failed the same health standards testing positive for pesticides.
Coca-Cola on Tuesday forayed into the cold coffee and iced tea business and extended its tie-up with McDonald's to sell the cold beverages under the brand name Georgia.
'With the deployment of a higher degree of mechanisation, awarding contractual mining to MDOs and operational efficiency, we feel confident of achieving the desired target.'