Modi leaves for Maldives after concluding U.K. trip
Mr. Modi was hosted by his U.K. counterpart, Keir Starmer, at Chequers— the official country residence of the British Prime Minister— for an intense session of talks that also covered regional and global issues of mutual interest.
'Concluding a very important U.K. visit. The outcomes of this visit will benefit our future generations and contribute to shared growth and prosperity. Gratitude to the PM Keir Starmer, the U.K. government and people for their warmth,' Mr. Modi said in social media post.
Concluding a very important UK visit. The outcomes of this visit will benefit our future generations and contribute to shared growth and prosperity. Gratitude to the PM Keir Starmer, the UK Government and people for their warmth. Here are highlights from the visit…… pic.twitter.com/nUaiGh9DNc — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 24, 2025
He leaves for the Maldives for the second leg of his two-nation tour, soon after an audience with King Charles III at his Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, eastern England. He presented the British monarch with a Sonoma dove tree, or handkerchief tree to be planted at the royal estate in the Autumn as part of his environmental initiative 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam'.
'The leaders celebrated the landmark U.K.-India Free Trade Agreement, which was signed today and will see growth in every part of the country – delivering on the government's Plan for Change,' 10 Downing Street said in a readout of the prime ministerial engagement at Chequers.
'The leaders also discussed the importance of the U.K.-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which will see closer collaboration on trade, defence, security, technology and education – underscored by the close and historic relationship between the two countries,' it said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
27 minutes ago
- Mint
In the driver's seat: Tata's trusted man Balaji has his task cut out at JLR
New Delhi: Tata Group chairperson Natarajan Chandrasekaran is known to be someone who trusts his inner circle of leaders to accomplish the task he has assigned them. The announcement of group chief financial officer of Tata Motors P.B. Balaji as the new chief executive of British luxury brand Jaguar Land Rover seems to be an example of the long-running instinct of the 62-year-old chairperson of the salt-to-steel conglomerate. Late on Monday night, the news of the appointment of Balaji emerged just days after it was known that the current chief executive officer (CEO) Adrian Mardell was on his way out. Mardell was JLR's finance chief before taking over as its CEO. Although Mardell's decision to retire became public just two months after the automaker assured investors that the company's growth journey was on track, Chandrasekaran's statement on the appointment of Balaji as the new helsman suggested that a search was on for a few months. 'The search for a suitable candidate to lead JLR has been undertaken by the board for the past few months and after careful consideration it was decided to appoint Balaji. He has been associated with the company for the past many years and is familiar with the company, its strategy and has been working with the JLR leadership team,' Chandrasekaran said. The search efforts converged on Balaji, one of the first few leaders hired in the Tata Group nine months after Chandrasekaran took over the leadership of the conglomerate in February 2017. Balaji is one of the trusted hands for Tata Motors, and Chandrasekaran recently praised the turnaround of the company, particularly its finances. 'Here, let me pause and mention one example that exemplifies the best of what we can do: Tata Motors,' Chandrasekaran said in his letter to shareholders of Tata Sons. 'With barely 5% share in passenger vehicles in 2017, it seemed an implausible idea that Tata Motors could launch India's first electric vehicle in under one year from design to production, that its market position could rise from 6th to top-3 in the Indian market, that it could transform from a debt of ₹ 62,000 crore to net cash positive status,' he added in his letter. A lot of the credit for this turnaround at Tata Motors could be attributed to Balaji, who joined Tata Motors in November 2017. 'PB Balaji has the chairperson's backing and his trust, given the work he has done over the last few years,' said Naveen Khajanchi, CEO and director at NKH Foundation Pvt Ltd, a leadership coaching firm. In Chandrasekaran's eyes, the automobile business holds significant importance, as he put in his address to shareholders. 'I had the opportunity to constantly share updates with Ratan Tata about the business in the last few years. While we all miss him, I want you to know that he would have been very proud of the turnaround of the business as Tata Motors was very close to his heart,' Chandrasekaran told shareholders. And for the good health of the automobile business, JLR holds utmost importance. In FY25, the company contributed 71% to Tata Motors' consolidated revenue of ₹ 4.4 trillion. Given the flux in the global automobile markets, thanks to Trump tariffs and China's curbs on rare earth magnets, the timing of the move couldn't be more crucial for Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Motors. The country's third-largest car maker will demerge into two separate entities for passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle businesses. The UK-based JLR is facing headwinds on multiple fronts. The imposition of tariffs by the US president Donald Trump's administration has meant that sales in its largest market could slow down. Moreover, it is facing challenges in the Chinese market as domestic brands there continue to surge. Balaji's appointment also comes at a time when the head of state of its biggest market - United States - has publicly slammed the brand for its "woke" advertisements and rebranding exercise. "The CEO just resigned in disgrace and the company is in absolute turmoil," US president Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. In 2024-25, JLR's revenue fell 0.1% to £28.9 billion, while profit after tax declined 30% to £1.8 billion. Retail sales declined 0.6% to 428,854 units. The company has also guided for 5-7% margins in the current financial year, down from 10%. 'Balaji has proved himself with financial turnaround and health of the automobile business. But now being the CEO of an automobile company, he will have to look after the innovation, design and competitiveness of the brand,' Khajanchi noted. European automakers are being challenged in their home market by Chinese rivals BYD. Moreover, JLR is undergoing a transition under which it has discontinued all the models of Jaguar, barring one, as it moves towards an all-electric positioning. When he takes over in November this year, Balaji will have to navigate Trump's tariff tantrums, uncertainty in global markets, severe competition from China and an electric transition. Analysts' commentary on the near-term prospects of the company has been anything but positive. 'JLR is facing multiple headwinds, which include tariff-led uncertainty for exports to the US, demand weakness in key regions like Europe and China, and rising VME (variable marketing expenses), warranty and emission costs,' analysts at Motilal Oswal Financial Services wrote in a 10 June note. Agreeing with the observations in the Motilal Oswal note, Raghunandhan NL, Manav Shah and Rahul Kumar of Nuvama Institutional Equities said the path ahead for JLR appears to be difficult in the near term. 'In JLR, discontinuance of 'Jaguar' models, loss of market share in the China region and imposition of tariffs in the US region, shall lead to a volume contraction ahead,' the analysts wrote in a 10 June note. Investors also seem to be jittery about the company, with shares of Tata Motors declining by 13% in 2025 so far as against a 3% rise in Nifty Auto. The history of the role Balaji is inheriting wouldn't give too much confidence, barring one exception. Since the takeover of JLR by Tata Group in 2008 for $2.3 billion, there have been four chief executives. Former Ford executive David Smith, who steered the company between 2008 and 2010, left at a time when the British brand saw its sales fall by more than a fifth. Taking over from Smith was Ralf Speth, who had stints at BMW and Ford, before joining JLR. The executive led the company for nearly a decade before stepping down in 2020, the year Covid-19 ravaged sales of automakers globally. Thereafter, former Renault chief executive Thierry Bolloré took the reins, setting the company on a path to full electrification. However, Bollore stepped down in 2022 citing personal reasons, and was replaced by Mardell, an old-timer at JLR who has been with the brand since it was taken over by the Tatas. As most of his predecessors had experience of working with automobile firms with luxury brands, Balaji's choice may seem unorthodox. However, he is someone who is well entrenched across the Tata Group, even with firms with whom JLR will have to work closely in future. The former Unilever chief financial officer, Balaji also serves on the boards of Titan, Air India, Agratas Energy and Tata Consumer. Agratas is building a 40 GWh electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in the UK whose anchor customer is going to be JLR. Balaji has been a key financial architect and a turnaround man for Tata Motors for eight years. Now, as CEO, his ultimate test would be whether he can fashion a similar revival for JLR, which is going through its most challenging period in a decade.
Time of India
40 minutes ago
- Time of India
Riders fume as wait for 2.6km E-W stretch stretches beyond 3 months
1 2 Kolkata: The commuter frustration over the inordinate delay in commissioning the 2.6-km stretch of East-West Metro, connecting the two disjointed sections — Sector V-Sealdah and Esplanade-Howrah Maidan — is turning into anger. People are questioning the rationale of an already long-delayed project being intentionally kept on hold by Metro Railway officials despite its completion more than three months earlier. The frustration has become more pronounced in recent weeks as commuters endure punishing road conditions — pothole-ridden thoroughfares, waterlogged lanes, and prolonged traffic snarls — to travel along the stretch. Some of these commuters have taken to social media, questioning why there is no light at the end of the tunnel for the crucial Sealdah-Esplanade section, although the project was approved for revenue operations on April 28. On Tuesday, singer-composer Shruti Pathak, who is running a campaign for the metro line's launch, posted on her X handle: "Day 12 of asking for the Esplanade-Sealdah metro to open. 12 days. 12 sincere requests. Still no action. We need this metro to run — not just for convenience, but for dignity." She has tagged @PMOIndia and @metrorailwaykolkata in her appeal. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata The East-West Metro or Green Line will eventually span 16.6 km. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo The 9.2-km Sector V-Sealdah section was opened in three phases from Feb 2020 while the 4.8-km Esplanade-Howrah Maidan was launched by PM Narendra Modi in March 2024. The first stretch ferries 45,000-odd passengers every day while the second registers nearly 55,000 daily riders, providing an under-river connection between Kolkata and Howrah. The missing link — the 2.6-km Esplanade-Sealdah corridor passing through the subsidence-prone Bowbazar — is yet to open. Metro Railway estimates that daily passenger count could reach 7 lakh once the full East-West Metro line is operational. Around mid-April, Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC), the project's implementer, was asked to wrap up work on the Esplanade-Sealdah stretch and be ready for an "imminent inauguration". Despite overcoming various setbacks and receiving the final authorisation for revenue services from the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) on April 28, there is yet no sign of integration of the two Green Line sections. Metro engineers admit opening the entire 16.6-km Sector V-Howrah Maidan corridor will transform the way Kolkatans travel. Chanchal Das, a Salt Lake resident, voiced a common concern: "So many years, so many deadlines missed, especially for the last section, for which several Bowbazar residents are still living in rented flats. When will we be able to zip to Howrah and also use the Esplanade interchange to access the North-South Metro?"
Time of India
40 minutes ago
- Time of India
Maratha map in NCERT text includes Raj, angers ex-royals; Maha historians cite treaty
Kolhapur: The depiction of Jaisalmer as part of the Maratha empire in a map featured in NCERT's Class 8 social science textbook has been criticised as historically misleading and wrong by Chaitanya Raj Singh, head of the former Jaisalmer royal family. He urged Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on 'X' to "correct" the "erroneous, malicious, and agenda-driven content" without delay. However, Maratha historians from Pune and Kolhapur said the depiction was accurate and cited documentary evidence such as the 1752 pact between the Mughal Empire and the Marathas to buttress the claim. The objection raised by Rajasthan's ex-royals to the depiction of Jaisalmer as part of the Maratha empire pertains to the map on Page 71 of Unit 3 'Rise of Marathas' published in the textbook 'Exploring Society: India and Beyond.' Prior to Chaitanya Raj Singh's objection, Bhupesh Singh, head of the former royal family of Bundi, had on X contested the portrayal of Rajput princely states as part of the Maratha empire and gone as far as declaring the Maratha empire a fictitious entity. "In the context of the Jaisalmer princely state, no authentic historical sources mention any Maratha dominance, invasion, taxation, or authority. Our royal records clearly state the Marathas never had any interference in the Jaisalmer princely state," Singh wrote. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Rajsamand's BJP MP Mahima Kumari Mewar and her MLA husband V S Mewar, a descendent of Maharana Pratap, joined in, as did Congress's ex-Union minister Jitendra Singh, member of the erstwhile Alwar royal family. "First misrepresented as being under British, now as under Marathas –– who is going to educate the educationists in NCERT?! Are they capable of presenting the factual history of India; seriously doubt it," Kumari wrote on X. NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Sakhlani and Gouri Srivastava, head of department of education in social sciences at NCERT, hadn't responded to calls and texts from TOI till late on Tuesday. Historian Pandurang Balkawade from Pune countered these claims, citing pacts and documents that demonstrate Maratha dominance. He referenced the NCERT map, which illustrates the Maratha Empire, including tributary states denoted in a specific colour, and cities governed by Marathas and their allies. Although Jaisalmer is not explicitly mentioned, the map's expanse includes Rajput states, showing Maratha reach from Peshawar to Cuttack. Indrajit Sawant, a Kolhapur-based historian, said, "Rajputana came under influence of the Marathas after Marathas started domination over the Mughal Badshah. Marathas used to run the Mughal empire and the Rajput states came under it. The Rajputs were jagirdars of the Mughals. They were made to mandatorily pay taxes. Though the Marathas didn't have day-to-day control over the Rajput states, there were deployments to ensure the terms were followed." Balkawade pointed to the 'Ahadnama', a pact between Mughal Badshah Ahmad Shah Bahadur and Malharrao Holkar and Mahadji Shinde for Nanasaheb Peshwa in April 1752, as evidence of Maratha authority over Rajput states. "There are sources and documents that provide a description of 'Ahadnama', the pact signed between Safdar Jung on behalf of the Mughal emperor and Shinde-Holkar on behalf of the Peshwa at Kannauj. The wazir of the Badshah brought Badshah's message that Ahmed Shah Abdali was marching towards Delhi, and he wanted Marathas to protect his empire. As per the pact, Marathas had to protect the emperor from internal enemies like Pathans, Rajputs or other rebels and external foes like Abdali. Marathas were given Rs 50 lakh for this. The Peshwa was given the right to levy chauth from Punjab, Sindh, and Doab, and the Peshwa was also granted viceroyalty of Agra and Ajmer," Balkawade said. He said Peshwa records indicate regular collection of chauth from regions including Ajmer, with a document showing Rs 13 lakh collected as tax. Other chauth areas were Delhi, Agra, Ujjain (Malwa) and Odisha. Following Badshah's death, Shinde installed Shah Alam on the throne in 1771, becoming deputy regent of empire. He pointed to disputes in royal families of Jodhpur and Jaipur on succession. "Marathas adjudicated in both and both rulers joined Maratha empire. "
