United States President Donald Trump has backed a sanctions bill that could impose 500 per cent tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, giving the White House leverage against countries like China and India to stop them from purchasing cheap oil from Moscow.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly supported efforts to end the war in Ukraine and conveyed to Russian President Vladimir Putin that India will stand shoulder-to-shoulder in all peace efforts to find an amicable solution to the conflict.
The Centre is regularly holding consultations with stakeholders to streamline foreign direct investments (FDIs) and foreign institutional investments (FIIs) related processes to enable faster and more efficient investment flows into the country, said Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, adding one such meeting with stakeholders was held on Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi for a two-day visit focused on strengthening ties with India, including defense cooperation and trade, amidst a changing geopolitical landscape.
US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter will sign a fresh 10-year defence framework agreement with India on Wednesday
The scaling up of the India-US strategic partnership to the level of non-NATO ally with defence deals, sharing and transfer of defence technology, interoperability, joint collaboration and joint production of defence equipment has exacerbated Moscow's anxiety, notes Rup Narayan Das.
Trade, defence cooperation and regional strategy had long formed the backbone of India-US ties, but the latest rift shows how quickly those pillars can be shaken by personal grievances and political optics.
'We are a responsible nation, and would prefer to deal with sensitive issues with the maturity they deserve rather than take to social media.'
'We should watch -- in the near term -- for signs that the two have totally fallen out at a personal, political level.' 'Trump and Modi know how to be dealmakers, but they also know how to hold a grudge.'
'If Washington has to balance Chinese power, she will have to turn to the third biggest power in the world which is India.' 'The United States and India will have to work together in order to keep Chinese ambitions in check.'
While both sides have announced the decision to restart talks for a trade deal, government officials said discussions are continuing virtually.
Officials said the government-to-government engagement between the two countries on all other issues remains normal, but conceded rough spots over trade that need ironing out.
What appeared to be a generous act of friendship was, in truth, a manoeuvre within a much larger strategic game. The United States used the 1962 war not just to aid India but to test how far it could be pulled into the Western fold, points out Dr Kumar.
'Trump is not shy when he is frustrated with countries'
Jim Mattis in his resignation letter to the US president wrote that he deserved a defence secretary whose views were better aligned with his on these and other subjects.
India and the US renewed 10-year Defence Framework Agreement.
Now, the NDAA needs to be passed by the Senate before it can be sent to the White House for the US President Donald Trump to sign into law.
Stepping up defence cooperation, India and the US are poised to unveil a roadmap for industries in the sector to partner closely in co-production, co-development and maintaining supply change during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US beginning June 21.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, marking his first visit in over seven years. The visit signals a potential improvement in India-China relations after recent tensions.
'Personalities are temporary, policies provide for stability.' 'With the former, when personalities change so does the nature of the relationship.' 'Policies and structures, on the other hand, are idiot-proof, as well as maverick-resistant,' explains Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Indian policymakers must realise that in buying small quantities of equipment, it becomes hard to start manufacturing them in India, explains Ajai Shukla.
India and the US on Thursday said they are looking forward to the reconvening of the India-US Trade Policy Forum later this year to further enhance trade relationship and identify new areas for engagement.
The real intention of the 'Tariff Man' (as Trump calls himself) may not even be to put the 'Tariff King' (as he describes India) on the mat with a knockout punch but to arm-twist the Indian leadership to agree to some multi-billion dollar mega arms deal, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The border deal offers a hedge for India against Trump's unpredictability when it comes to his approach to competition with China.'
India on Thursday said it expects the United States to consider visa applications of Indian students on merit amid growing concerns over the Trump administration halting new student visa interviews.
India-US relations, like Rome, were not built in a day, nor can they be demolished in a day.
All said and done, when the new global order emerges, India can only remain with the democracies, asserts Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
US Vice President J D Vance and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz are scheduled to visit India on April 21, reflecting Washington's focus on strengthening its relationship with India amidst global concerns over President Donald Trump's tariff policy. Vance's visit is likely to be more of a private trip, while Waltz's visit will be a business trip with discussions on security in the Indo-Pacific region, high technology, critical minerals, and export controls. Both are expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi before his trip to Saudi Arabia. The visits come in the wake of Trump's recent pause on tariffs on all countries except China, following widespread economic concerns.
India and China are expected to discuss new confidence-building measures for durable peace and tranquillity along their contested border during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's two-day visit to India. The visit is seen as an effort to rebuild relations after the Galwan Valley clashes.
In trade negotiations, as in chess, sometimes you need to accept a temporary disadvantage to secure a better long-term position, points out Sonal Varma, chief economist (India and Asia ex-Japan) at Nomura.
'It brings precarious peace because the red lines have shifted. 'The next Pahalgam attack would mean a full scale war.'
'It is typical of China's strategic deception of making virtue out of necessity,' observes Rup Narayan Das.
'A less tense US-China relationship would make Beijing less likely to provoke India -- including on the border -- in retaliation for its close defence ties with the US.'
'The strategic direction of the relationship will not be affected. But the perception has been affected.'
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.
Richard Verma, the highest-ranking Indian-American official in the State Department, has expressed optimism about the future of US-India ties and emphasized the need to base the relationship on shared values rather than mere transactional dealings. Verma, who previously served as America's Ambassador to India, stressed the importance of the Quad in defending the international order, highlighting its shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
'A lot of people,' says India's Ambassador to the US, 'are struggling how to define this relationship.' Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com reports from Washington, DC.
'Trump administration wanted a positive tone at this summit, but there was still some anxiety that there could be some awkward moments -- and there were not.'
