The United States offers an "abundance" of stability and transparency, which makes the world's largest economy an attractive investment destination for the Aditya Birla Group, a top official from the Indian conglomerate has said. Kumar Mangalam Birla said the group chaired by him has invested $15 billion in the US over the last 17 years, making it the biggest Indian investor in the country.
Chinese import tariffs have unwittingly come to India's assistance to help boost imports of US liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at rates cheaper than what it pays for supplies from West Asia, according to industry sources and shipping data.
From just 0.2 per cent before the Russia-Ukraine war to now accounting for 35-40 per cent of total crude imports, India's reliance on Russian oil has surged -- drawing fresh scrutiny with US President Donald Trump announcing a penalty on top of a 25 per cent tariff, or tax, on all goods going to the US.
Fitch Ratings on Thursday cut India's GDP growth estimate by 10 basis points to 6.4 per cent for the current fiscal, but retained the projections for the next financial year, on concerns over a 'severe' escalation in global trade war. "It is hard to predict US trade policy with any confidence. Massive policy uncertainty is hurting business investment prospects, equity price falls are reducing household wealth, and US exporters will be hit by retaliation," Fitch said in its special update to quarterly Global Economic Outlook (GEO).
Mid-tier information-technology (IT) companies last financial year reported better growth numbers than their larger counterparts, highlighting their ability to navigate the uncertain macroeconomic environment. Most of these companies - such as Persistent Systems, Coforge, KPIT, and Mphasis - focus on niche businesses and industries that allow them to go deeper in terms of client mining and expanding wallet share from existing customers.
Global consumer preferences can be influenced through music, films, literature, yoga and sports because they create interest and a sense of familiarity that can help our businesses to access foreign markets, suggests T N C Rajagopalan.
'These efforts by Beijing can be weaponised one day with economic, security and political implications for India.'
The Trump trade shock is a chance to push long-overdue reforms, rather than tinker with tariffs to appease the US, suggests M Govinda Rao.
'Entering India is exciting, but it's also challenging. You have to be prepared for long-term investment.'
President Droupadi Murmu addressed the nation on the eve of Independence Day, praising the response to terrorism, highlighting achievements in defense self-reliance, and emphasizing unity and progress.
Singapore's state investor Temasek Holdings, which recently picked up 10 per cent stake in Haldiram, has been consistently expanding its footprint in India while slowly withdrawing from China over the last three years amid growing geopolitical risks and economic headwinds. India has become Temasek's third-largest market, after Singapore (27 per cent) and China (18 per cent), with its exposure to the country higher than the rest of Asia Pacific excluding the three (11 per cent), according to Temasek's annual review.
"These latest so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs are reckless and self-destructive, inflicting financial pain on Illinois at a time when people are already struggling to keep their small businesses afloat and put food on the table."
India's economic growth forecast for 2025 has been revised downward to 6.3 per cent, and despite a projected moderation, the country remains one of the fastest-growing large economies, supported by resilient consumption and government spending, the United Nations has said.
If Beijing succeeds in this multipronged effort to challenge the current dominant power, it will have not just economic but political and security consequences. There is no let-up in the South China Sea nor any de-escalation moves on the India-China border. This portends to ominous signalling from Beijing, observes China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
Early this week, the US imposed sanctions on suppliers to Pakistan's ballistic missile programme, including three companies from China.
Trump went on to say that "I'm using trade to settle scores and to make peace."
Here is a list of Q & As to explain these issues and implications of the US move.
'We've maintained that India is a high-penetration game. It's not only a premiumisation game.'
Homegrown fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Dabur India is set to record low single-digit growth in consolidated revenue in the December quarter, it said in an update on Friday. The maker of Hajmola candy and Real fruit juice said rural consumption continued to be resilient and grow faster than urban in the third quarter.
Registering a jump of 10 places in the rankings, Uttar Pradesh occupied the second position in 2019 as against 12th in 2018.
The growing rift between MSIL and rival automakers has complicated the government's efforts to finalise the CAFE norms.
Acutely conscious that he's left with less than four years to create his legacy, Trump is undoubtedly a man in a hurry, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
More screens, more films, and longer windows will convert to more people watching, assuming they know a film is releasing, points out Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
The revised guidelines are aimed at curbing discretionary practices by field officers, especially the tendency to seek documents not mandated under the law.
'No retaliatory tariffs now. You can retaliate after a few months.' 'Today, there is no need to retaliate because it is a question of long term benefits.'
The Supreme Court has initiated a suo motu case regarding investigation agencies summoning lawyers and will examine if they can be put to notice. The action follows the Enforcement Directorate summoning senior lawyers, which was condemned by bar associations.
'And America will invite India in to have really an extraordinary opportunity and relationship with us.'
'Trump's sons, and the son of Trump's Mideast envoy Steven Witkoff, are in the crypto business and recently signed deals with Pakistan's crypto council.' 'It may not be coincidental that not long before the Trump-Munir meeting, the head of Pakistan's crypto council met with Trump's White House crypto policy czar.'
'I certainly hope the two can avoid a trade war and believe they will.' 'I expect some in India will push for retaliatory tariffs if the Trump administration applies significant reciprocal tariffs.'
United States President Donald Trump attacked India's tariffs regime, saying it is next to impossible to sell anything to India because of the 'high tariffs'.
Issues related to the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) and bilateral investment treaty between India and the UK are expected to figure during the three-day visit of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to London from April 8-10, official sources said. The minister will attend a host of meetings, including the India-United Kingdom Economic and Financial Dialogue, in London.
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.
Industry associations and companies in the United States, including the US Chamber of Commerce, Coalition of Services Industries and the iconic bike company Harley Davidson have called on the Donald Trump dispensation to push India to reduce tariffs, non-tariffs, and regulatory barriers to boost American exports.
When Gensol Engineering made its public market debut through a small and medium enterprises (SME) initial public offering (IPO) in September 2019, its promoters held a commanding 96 per cent stake. Now, that figure has shrunk to a "negligible" fraction.
President Droupadi Murmu's address to the nation on the eve of the 79th Independence Day.
Kant, a retired 1980-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Kerala cadre, was appointed as India's G20 Sherpa in July 2022, months before India assumed the G20 Presidency.
On India, the chart showed that the country charged 52 per cent tariffs on the US "including currency manipulation and trade barriers," and America will now charge India "discounted reciprocal tariffs" of 26 per cent.
Tata Motors is hoping to beat its target year of 2030 and have 30 per cent of its portfolio comprising electric vehicles (EVs), according to Chairman N Chandrasekaran, who was speaking at the company's last annual general meeting (AGM) ahead if its demerger.
India and Chile on Tuesday announced starting negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership pact as PM Modi and Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font held wide-ranging talks focusing on boosting the ties in areas of trade, defence, critical minerals and health.
LIC said USTR's views are based on an incomplete understanding of Indian insurance regulation and LIC's functioning.
