Business
Our approach is ‘India First’ in trade talks with US, says Piyush Goyal

New Delhi, March 14: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday on Friday said that he “had a forward-looking discussion with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on a mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement” between India and the US.
“Our approach will be guided by ‘India First’, ‘Viksit Bharat’ and our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” Goyal posted on X along with a photo of his meeting Greer.
Goyal had previously met Greer and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during his visit to the US last week. This followed US President Donald Trump and PM Narendra Modi’s talks on negotiating the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by the fall of 2025.
The two leaders resolved to deepen the US-India trade relationship to promote growth that ensures fairness, national security, and job creation. To this end, the leaders set a bold new goal for bilateral trade – “Mission 500” – aiming to more than double total bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.
US Trade Secretary Lutnick said recently that he was keen to negotiate a broad-based trade agreement with India, taking into account the entire trade relationship rather than individual products.
Meanwhile, the government has informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs that India has not made any commitment to reduce tariffs on goods imported from the USA.
In a briefing on the issue, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal told the Parliamentary committee that negotiations between India and the US were still ongoing and that no trade agreement had been finalised.
The Commerce Secretary’s clarification came in the wake of US President Trump’s statement that India has agreed to bring “way down” its tariffs on US goods.
Barthwal said: “One cannot go by the US President’s claims and on media reports as the bilateral trade agreement talks between the two nations are still on. India has not committed to anything on trade tariffs to the US.”
He also made it clear that India’s interests were of paramount importance and would be taken care of during the trade negotiations.
Barthwal said that India was in favour of increasing bilateral trade with the USA but would not indiscriminately lower tariffs, especially in sectors crucial to its domestic economy.
“India prefers to negotiate tariff reductions bilaterally rather than multilaterally to ensure national interests are upheld,” Barthwal told the committee.
Trump’s ‘America First’ policy has the potential to disrupt world trade as the US President has accused trading partners of unfair practices and threatened to impose punitive tariffs on a large scale. He has accused India of levying massive tariffs on US goods.
Business
India red-flags $800 million ADB aid package to Pakistan

New Delhi, June 4: India has expressed deep concerns over the potential misuse of the $800 million ADB aid package to Pakistan as the country is increasing its defence expenditure, despite the poor fiscal position, with the army exercising de facto control over the government in Islamabad.
The army top brass now leads the Special Investment Facilitation Council, which gives it more control over the economic policy. India has warned that this entrenched military role poses serious risks of policy reversal and poor reform implementation, according to reliable sources.
Pakistan’s tax-GDP ratio has been declining, with the country going through an economic crisis. The foreign exchange reserves have hit rock bottom, and inflation has soared to double-digit figures. However, despite the dire economic situation, the military-driven government has gone for increasing expenditure on defence.
India has also pointed out that Pakistan has a very poor track record in implementing the economic reforms that are mandatory with these aid packages from multilateral institutions.
India’s concern is that these funds can be diverted for defence expenditure. The fighter jets purchased from China and the large number of drones used by Pakistan in the wake of Operation Sindoor reflect the increased spending on military hardware, an official said.
It pointed out that Pakistan recently approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the 24th bailout, indicating policy ineffectiveness. This further shows that the previous ADB and IMF-supported programmes have failed to create sustainable macroeconomic stability.
India has also highlighted that Pakistan’s policy of promoting cross-border terrorism has led to a worsening of the security situation in the region.
It has further pointed out that Islamabad’s track record on implementation of the FATF action points related to terrorist financing investigations and prosecution of leaders of UN-designated terrorist groups and freezing and confiscation of criminal assets is also highly unsatisfactory.
National
Monsoon session of Parliament from July 21 to August 12

New Delhi, June 4: The Monsoon Session of Parliament will begin on July 21 and conclude on August 12, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Wednesday.
Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will convene at 11 a.m. on the opening day, marking the start of the first parliamentary session in over three months.
The session is expected to be politically charged, especially against the backdrop of heightened demands by the Opposition for a special session.
Sixteen opposition parties had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, pressing for an immediate session to discuss the recent Pahalgam terror attack and the retaliatory Operation Sindoor — a cross-border military operation targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
In response, the government has now formalised the Monsoon Session schedule, asserting that all issues, including those raised by the Opposition, can be taken up during the scheduled sitting.
The Budget Session earlier this year ran from January 31 to April 4 in two phases and saw the passage of several key legislations, including the Waqf Amendment Bill which seeks to focus on improving the management of waqf properties, empowerment of stakeholders relevant to management of waqf properties, improving the efficiency in survey, registration and case disposal process, and development of waqf properties.
While the core purpose remains to manage waqf properties, the aim is to implement modern and scientific methods for better governance. The Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923, was also repealed.
Apart from the Waqf Amendment Bill, the government also passed the ‘Tribhuvan’ Sahkari University Bill, 2025, for the establishment of ‘Tribhuvan’ Sahkari University to provide education, training, and capacity building in the cooperative sector and undertake research and development activities in related areas.
The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, was also passed to simplify the laws for the requirement of passports or other travel documents in respect of persons entering into and exiting from India and for regulating matters related to foreigners, including the requirement of a visa and registration.
Crime
Man arrested for raping, murdering 80-year-old woman in Karnataka

Kolar, June 4: A man has been arrested on charges of raping and murdering an 80-year-old woman in Srinivasapura town of Karnataka’s Kolar district.
The police have apprehended the accused, who has since been remanded to judicial custody.
The accused has been identified as 37-year-old Baba Jaan, a resident of Gaffar Khan Mohalla in Srinivasapura.
According to the police, the victim’s body was discovered on Monday evening at a garage near an open field on Mulbagal Road in Srinivasapura town.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim had been raped and murdered.
The victim had left home two days ago, informing her family that she would visit the church at Srinivasapura.
The woman stayed in Srinivasapura for two days, and on Monday evening, when the woman was waiting for a bus to return home, the accused targeted her.
The accused spoke to her to ensure she was alone.
He then allegedly lifted and carried her to an isolated place, where he brutally raped her before strangling her to death.
The accused also robbed Rs 15,000 from her bag.
During their investigation, the police obtained CCTV footage from a nearby shop, which captured the accused lifting the victim and hurriedly carrying her away.
While the police were gathering information, the accused returned to the crime scene to observe the unfolding events. Alert police personnel identified and apprehended him.
The accused later confessed to committing the crime to rob the victim’s money and jewellery.
The victim’s family has urged the police to “kill” the accused due to the heinous nature of the crime.
More details regarding the incident are yet to emerge.
On August 21, 2024, the Chintamani police had arrested a 28-year-old labourer for sexually assaulting a 65-year-old woman on the hospital premises in the wee hours.
Based on a complaint by the staffers at the Chintamani government hospital, the police launched a hunt and nabbed the accused.
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