PM Modi Addresses Ghana Parliament; Talks of Global South Unity, Colonial Pain
PM Modi Addresses Ghana Parliament; Talks of Global South Unity, Colonial Pain | Firstpost Africa
On his historic visit to Ghana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the country's Parliament, calling India-Ghana ties 'boundaryless' and praising Ghana as a beacon for Africa. He highlighted the nation's growth and potential in key global markets, while also evoking the shared colonial pain between the two countries, stressing it has not shaken their spirit. Modi's speech carried a larger message for Global South unity, with Africa playing a central role. He called for urgent reforms in global governance and underlined the importance of giving voice to the Global South, recalling India's push to include the African Union in the G20.
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Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
The India-US trade deal is on Trump's desk. Will he sign?
The first tranche of the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) is now awaiting US President Donald Trump's final approval, after being greenlit by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, three people directly involved in the process told Mint on the condition of anonymity. The key sticking points remain the same as reported by Mint on 11 June. 'The final stretch of India-US trade talks has centred around sensitive sectors such as dairy, agriculture, digital, genetically modified (GM) seeds and medical services, with Washington pushing for greater access while New Delhi is seeking a balanced agreement that safeguards its vital sectors," said the first of the three people cited above. With the US pause on reciprocal tariffs set to end on 9 July and the Trump administration shifting its stance from mutual tariff reduction to seeking greater market access, Indian negotiators are burning the midnight oil to secure a 'respectable deal," the person added. The Indian team extended its stay in Washington beyond the originally scheduled two-day visit that ended on 27 June, in a final effort to resolve differences, particularly over agriculture, and to conclude negotiations for an interim trade agreement. According to the second person, the US has proposed two alternative options for tariff reduction in case White House does not 'fully agree" with the terms finalized by Indian negotiators and their American counterparts. 'If India agrees to US demands for greater market access in agricultural goods, dairy and seeds, then Indian goods may face only a 10% additional tariff—which, while not ideal, is still much lower than what other countries in the Asian region are facing," said the second person. 'And in case India does not agree, it could face a 20% tariff—comprising the existing 10% baseline duty and a 10% reciprocal tariff carved out of the 16% additional duty imposed on 2 April as part of the US's Liberation Day action," the person added. In that scenario, India would still gain a 6% relief. The recently concluded in-person round of talks is seen as critical, especially since the US has already finalized trade deals with China, Vietnam and the UK. Although talks with China began after India's, they progressed more quickly and helped ease bilateral tensions. Indian negotiators are seeking the elimination of reciprocal tariffs and additional duties such as those on steel, aluminium, and auto components—along with assurances that no future tariffs will be imposed. 'Indian negotiators did their best to convince their US counterparts about the domestic sensitivities involved in these sectors. To some extent, the USTR has agreed to India's position on not fully opening up the agriculture sector. Now, it's up to the US President to take the final call," said the third person aware of the discussions. However, this person expressed confidence that the deal is on track and likely to be announced by Trump before 8 July in the US. The pact is likely to follow the US model adopted in its agreements with the UK and, more recently, with Vietnam, according to trade experts. 'Nothing would be better than the US removing the 10% baseline duty from Indian goods, but India should not open its critical sectors just to get that 10% duty removed," said Ajay Srivastava, co-founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), a think tank. 'India should aggressively plan to diversify its exports to other countries and minimise its dependency on the US. There may be a knee-jerk impact in the initial stage, but in the long run, it will help build resilience and strengthen India's global trade position," he added. In its trade deal with the UK, the US did not remove the 10% baseline duty that applies to all countries. In Vietnam's case, the total tariff was lowered from 46% to 20%, including the 10% baseline duty imposed under the Trump administration's reciprocal tariff framework. The US-Vietnam deal also introduced a 40% tariff on transhipments through Vietnam, aimed at curbing Chinese goods being routed to the US using Vietnamese facilities. 'Trade agreements aim to eliminate trade barriers and to set rules that support high-standard, seamless trade that creates certainty for businesses. To that definition, none will be done with the US by 9 July. At best, there may be frameworks for future negotiations. There are too many issues to resolve with too many parties," said Steven Okun, CEO, APAC Advisors, a Singapore-based consultancy firm. As of now, tariffs on Indian exports to the US (26%) are lower compared to those on Vietnam (46%), Cambodia (49%), Bangladesh (37%) and Thailand (36%), offering India a strategic tariff advantage in sectors such as electronics, apparel, and toys. In the case of China, tariffs on Chinese goods had previously surged as high as 145%, but following a truce in Geneva, they were brought down to 30%. Under the new agreement, however, these have now been restructured into a flat 55% rate—significantly higher than the tariff levels currently applied to Indian goods. Queries sent to the Indian commerce ministry, spokespersons of the USTR, and the US Embassy in New Delhi remained unanswered till press time. In the meantime, Indian exporters have been benefiting from steeper US tariffs on Chinese goods, which gave Indian products a competitive edge. China's exports to the US plummeted 34.5% year-on-year to $28.8 billion in May from $44 billion a year earlier, according to data released by China's General Administration of Customs on 10 June. This, however, was offset by China's rising exports to members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (up 15% year-on-year to $58.4 billion in May), and the European Union (up 12% to $49.5 billion According to data released by India's commerce ministry on 16 June, India's imports from China rose 21.7% to $10.32 billion in May from $8.48 billion a year earlier, driven by higher inflows of electronic goods, machinery, chemicals, and project-related equipment. Meanwhile, India's imports from the US declined to $3.63 billion in May from $3.85 billion a year ago, while exports to the country grew 17.3% year-on-year to $8.8 billion, led by higher shipments of smartphones and electronics. According to commerce ministry data, Indian goods exports to the US in the last financial year (FY25) increased by 11.6%, from $77.52 billion in FY24 to $86.51 billion in FY25. Imports from the US also rose, but by a smaller margin of 7.42%, increasing from $42.20 billion to $45.33 billion during the fiscal year that ended on 31 March. Meanwhile, imports of goods from China rose by 11.5%, from $101.74 billion in FY24 to $113.46 billion in FY25, while exports to China decreased by 14.5%, from $16.67 billion in FY24 to $14.25 billion in FY25, the data showed.
Deccan Herald
an hour ago
- Deccan Herald
The row over rolls revision: Voters' lists must be cleaned up
The Congress, which had imposed Emergency during its stint in power in the 1970s, is now stooping to a new low as an opposition party. The Bharatiya Janata Party, on the other hand, set a high moral standard in opposition politics and always lived up to the expectations of a democratic India. After the defeat in the assembly elections of Maharashtra, Haryana and the 2024 parliamentary elections, the Congress is questioning the impartiality of the Election Commission of India, which has a longstanding record of credibility in conducting free and fair elections in India. This is the time in India when the Opposition is constantly attacking all the pillars of democracy – legislature, executive, judiciary, and media – for its superficial politics and casting doubts on them. . The Opposition is even targeting India's foreign policy and the Indian Armed Forces. The target of all these allegations is Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. It seems that the Opposition, which is continuously failing in politics, is now engaged in destroying the democratic tradition of India. It would be understandable if Pakistan or China took this approach to India, but, unfortunately, it is the Congress and other opposition parties, which resorted to this strategy, only to survive in politics. Now, the question is whether the opposition will be able to revive its fortune in politics by tearing apart the democratic dignity of India? Are the traditions, ethics and principles of India's democratic politics a thing of the past, thanks to the Opposition? Will the opposition counter the ruling party only by maligning the image of the impartial institutions and the pillars of democracy, like the ECI?.The row over rolls revision: Great Bihar disenfranchisement. As the ECI has started the revision of the voter list in Bihar, the Congress-led INDI Alliance has started attacking the prime minister, the government and, of course, the commission. Whereas the reality is that the ECI keeps revising its voter list at regular intervals every year. In India, elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, panchayats and municipal corporations are held every year in several phases. By-elections also keep happening in between. It is the important responsibility of the ECI to be fully prepared and ready for elections on time. It seems that frustrated by the repeated failure to stand against the BJP, the Congress is raising questions on the ECI in desperation and frustration, hence desires to create doubts among the masses to play politics. The complete accuracy of the voter list is essential for a successful voting process and to strengthen democracy. No one can deny the fact that a large number of fake voters are registered across the country. According to an estimate, there are at least 5000 to 25000 fake, or double or triple registered voters are enrolled in every assembly constituency of Bihar. This needs to be revised and corrected on a priority basis before the election is announced. Even within the same assembly constituency, a voter is registered at multiple places. It is necessary to clean up the voter lists and free the rolls of duplications. The BJP has been demanding that the ECI should link the electoral rolls with Aadhaar, so that the fraud in the voting system could be stopped completely. There should be a positive participation of all the political parties. The Opposition should encourage the process for strengthening democracy, rather than indulging in superficial politics through propaganda. It is the responsibility of all the political parties to strengthen the democratic institutions and cooperate with the ECI in making the electoral process completely free and fair. The Congress and the rest of the INDI Alliance are pretending to make a political move, but are, in reality, trying to weaken democracy in India by hitting at the pillars of democracy.. (The writer is presently the National General Secretary of the BJP's OBC Morcha.)
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Govt doesn't take stand on matters of faith, says MEA on Dalai succession issue
NEW DELHI: Following remarks by Union minister Kiren Rijiju backing the Dalai Lama's announcement about his succession, including the statement that China will have no role in it, India on Friday said it had taken no position on what was an issue concerning faith and religion. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Interestingly, the Chinese foreign ministry, after cautioning India at a media briefing, according to agency reports from Beijing, against interfering in Tibetan affairs at the expense of Sino-India ties, omitted its comments objecting to Rijiju's remarks from the official transcript of the briefing. "Govt of India does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion," foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, responding to media queries. Govt committed to protecting freedom of religion for everyone in India, says MEA The MEA spokesperson added that Indian govt has always upheld freedom of religion for all in India and would continue to do so. India's ties with China have shown signs of improvement in the past nine months, since they resolved the almost-five-year-long border stand-off in eastern Ladakh, leading to resumption of high-level bilateral visits. Amid global uncertainties, both sides seem keen to maintain a steady working relationship. Defence minister Rajnath Singh visited China last month for a meeting of the SCO defence ministers. NSA Ajit Doval has twice visited China since PM Modi's meeting with President Xi Jinping in Oct last year on the margins of the Brics summit in Russia. As special representative for boundary talks, Wang himself is likely to visit India this month for talks with Doval. India, however, is yet to confirm Modi's participation in the SCO summit in China in Sept. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Unlike the US, which officially maintains that China has no role to play in the Dalai Lama's succession, India has never taken any position on the issue. China maintains that the successor to the 14th Dalai Lama can only be appointed through the "traditional" process that includes approval by the central govt. In rare remarks by an Indian minister, Rijiju had backed the spiritual leader's assertion that no one else other than his trust would help choose his successor. The minister clarified on Friday that he wasn't speaking on behalf of the Indian govt but as a devotee himself, expressing the perspective of the Dalai Lama's followers. "All over the world, the people who follow Buddhism and who believe in the sacred, supreme Dalai Lama-ji... it is everyone's wish that the Dalai Lama-ji himself will decide. There is no need for govt of India or for me to say anything. I am speaking as a follower. I am not saying anything on... the Chinese govt's statement," the minister said.
