Rush Hour: India and UK sign free trade deal, SC stays 2006 Mumbai blasts acquittal order and more
India and the United Kingdom has signed a Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement. The free trade agreement will benefit Indian farmers, the micro, small and medium enterprises sector, footwear and jewellery exports, as well as the seafood and engineering goods sectors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the trade deal would help British workers in cutting-edge manufacturing, and would also benefit whiskey distillers across Scotland and the service sector in London, Manchester and Leeds.
The free trade agreement was signed by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and his British counterpart Jonanthan Reynolds during Modi's visit to the UK.
New Delhi and Britain had announced the agreement in May after more than three years and 14 rounds of negotiations. Read on.
The Supreme Court has stayed a Bombay High Court order acquitting 12 persons accused in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case. However, it said that those who were released following the verdict will not have to go back to jail while the matter is being heard.
The case pertains to the seven bomb blasts in suburban trains on Mumbai's Western Railway line on July 11, 2006, killing 189 persons and injuring 824.
Following a trial under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, a special court had in October 2015 convicted the 12 persons. However, on Monday, the High Court acquitted all of them holding that the prosecution had 'utterly failed' in establishing their guilt. Five of the accused persons had been sentenced to death.
The Maharashtra government challenged the acquittal on Tuesday. .
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a contempt petition against Assam's chief secretary and Goalpara district authorities for alleged violations of its earlier guidelines during eviction and demolition drives that took place last month. The bench sought the responses of the officials within two weeks.
The contempt plea was filed by eight residents of Hasilabeel village in Goalpara who claimed that that authorities issued eviction notices to the resident of the area just two days before razing their homes last month.
The petition relied on a Supreme Court judgement from November that held as illegal the practice of demolishing properties of persons accused of crimes as a punitive measure. It added that processes must be followed before removing allegedly illegal encroachments.
Between 2016 and August 2024, more than 10,620 families – the majority of them Muslim – have been evicted from government land, according to data provided by the state revenue and disaster management department. Read on.
The Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at over 35 premises and searched 50 companies and 25 persons as part of its money-laundering investigation linked to industrialist Anil Ambani's Reliance Group companies. The investigation is based on two cases filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in September 2022.
The first information reports pertained to two separate loans given by the crisis-hit Yes Bank to Reliance Home Finance Limited and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited.
It has been alleged that loans of around Rs 3,000 crore received by the companies from the bank between 2017 and 2019 were illegally diverted
This comes days after the Union government told Parliament that the State Bank of India had classified Reliance Communications and Ambani, its promoter-director, as 'fraud'.
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Nimisha Priya's death sentence overturned in Yemen after high-level talks
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Letters to The Editor — July 29, 2025
Honouring Chola legacy India should formally honour the Chola legacy for launching successful naval expeditions beyond India shores and establishing the Tamil influence across Southeast Asia. Getting the Indian Navy to celebrate 'Rajendra Chola' day would be a fitting tribute to these unmatched maritime achievements. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's references to Chola military and democratic legacy rightly spotlights their enduring contributions. Their practice of Kudavolai Murai — selecting local representatives by lot — was a democratic model that was centuries ahead of its time. The Chola overseas campaigns were not just conquests but also acts of cultural diplomacy and naval vision. Honouring the Cholas would not be symbolic alone. It would reclaim India's proud naval heritage and inspire a forward-looking maritime spirit rooted in our own history. Avinashiappan Myilsami, Coimbatore It is a matter of pride that Tamil Nadu is now home to a number of World Heritage sites. One can think of Gingee Fort along with the great Chola temples and the Mahabalipuram monuments. The only drawback at these sites is the lack of proper infrastructure. Connectivity is an issue. Pollution control too is another problem. A.S. Thirumalai, Chennai Crowd management Stampedes have become a frequent occurrence, leading to a tragic loss of lives (Front page, July 28). There needs to be comprehensive crowd control and management measures in place at all places of public gathering. There needs to be a posse of well-trained volunteers (with a specific dress code) to guide people and ensure their orderly movement. Kosaraju Chandramouli, Hyderabad
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The visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tamil Nadu had a subtle political message. In his address at the valediction of the annual Aadi Thiruvathirai festival at Gangaikonda Cholapuram to mark the birth anniversary of Rajendra Chola I, he focused on the legacy of the Chola emperor and his father Rajaraja Chola I to underline that contemporary India would be as enterprising as ancient India under the imperial Cholas, in expanding trade, and in guarding India's sovereignty. The festival was also organised to commemorate 1,000 years of the maritime expedition of Rajendra Chola to south-east Asia as well as the construction of the iconic temple, a World Heritage Site. The grandeur of the Chola dynasty is fascinating to recall, but there are other mundane facets of the Chola rule which are of modern relevance — its water management, tax and land revenue collection, and democratic processes. In creating infrastructure, especially, the Cholas hold many lessons. In recent months, there have been fatal accidents involving civic structures. The resilience of the Brihadisvara temples, which have stood tall for over 1,000 years, could provide learnings. Studies show that the southern peninsula was the epicentre of several earthquakes in the last 200-odd years. Archaeologists are of the view that the superstructure of the temples holds the key to modern building techniques when it comes to seismic resilience. A close study of the temples for structural stability can be of immense value in the contemporary context. Apart from focusing on the heritage and culture of the Cholas, India could try and replicate their success in administration. Management of water resources, especially, could be an important learning. The Cauvery delta, where Gangaikonda Cholapuram is located, may experience floods, with a large volume of water draining into the sea without being harnessed for periods of scarcity. More than 30 years have passed since the adoption of the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution, but a large number of local bodies, even in the major cities, are functioning without elected representatives. The celebration is an opportunity for an analysis of the functioning of grassroots-level democratic bodies. Mr. Modi announced that the Centre would install the statues of Rajaraja Chola and Rajendra Chola to remind the country of its historical consciousness. But this exercise would have greater purpose if it reminds the country of the administrative acumen of the Cholas, and nudges those in governance to address many of the chronic flaws and problems.
