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The Hindu
25 minutes ago
- The Hindu
What India needs from U.K. is another FTA — Fugitive Transfer Agreement: Congress' dig at government
The Congress on Thursday (July 24, 2025) took a swipe at the Modi government ahead of the signing of the India-U.K. free trade agreement, saying what India needs from that country is the announcement of another and more effective FTA — Fugitive Transfer Agreement. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "three stars of the Modi Model of bhagodanomics are still waiting for their ghar wapsi — Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Lalit Modi. There may well be others too." "The India-U.K. FTA (Free Trade Agreement) will be signed today in London in the presence of Prime Minister Modi. What India needs from the UK is the announcement of another and more effective FTA (Fugitive Transfer Agreement)," Mr. Ramesh said on X. The India-U.K. FTA, billed as the U.K.'s most economically significant bilateral trade deal since leaving the European Union, will be signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Keir Starmer. The two Prime Ministers will also unveil an "U.K.-India Vision 2035" to take their partnership to new heights in a time of rapid global change. With the India-U.K. FTA to be signed during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Britain, the Congress on Wednesday (July 23, 2025) had claimed that serious questions have emerged on its impact on India's domestic industry. In May, India and the U.K. sealed the FTA that is expected to benefit 99 per cent of Indian exports from tariffs and will make it easier for British firms to export whisky, cars and other products to India besides boosting the overall trade basket. The trade deal, firmed up after three years of negotiations, is expected to ensure comprehensive market access for Indian goods across all sectors and India will gain from tariff elimination on about 99 per cent of tariff lines (product categories) covering almost 100 per cent of the trade values, according to officials.
Time of India
34 minutes ago
- Time of India
Indian firm shipped explosives to Russia despite US warnings
Live Events WASHINGTON WOOS NEW DELHI (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel An Indian company shipped $1.4 million worth of an explosive compound with military uses to Russia in December, according to Indian customs data seen by Reuters, despite U.S. threats to impose sanctions on any entity supporting Russia's Ukraine war of the Russian companies listed as receiving the compound, known as HMX or octogen, is the explosives manufacturer Promsintez , which an official at Ukraine's SBU security service said has ties to the country's official said that Ukraine launched a drone attack in April against a Promsintez-owned factory. According to the Pentagon's Defense Technical Information Center and related defense research programs, HMX is widely used in missile and torpedo warheads, rocket motors, exploding projectiles and plastic-bonded explosives for advanced military U.S. government has identified HMX as "critical for Russia's war effort" and has warned financial institutions against facilitating any sales of the substance to HMX sale to Russian firms has not been previously defense manufacturers have been working around the clock for the past several years to sustain President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, which intensified with Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor in which has recently forged closer ties with the United States in an effort to counterbalance China's growing influence, has not abandoned its longstanding military and economic ties with trade with Russia - especially its purchases of Russian oil - has remained robust, even as Western nations have tried to cripple Russia's war economy with sanctions.U.S. President Donald Trump threatened earlier in July to hit nations with a 100% tariff if they continued purchasing Russian U.S. Treasury Department has the authority to sanction those who sell HMX and similar substances to Russia, according to three sanctions lawyers. HMX is known as a "high explosive," meaning it detonates rapidly and is designed for maximum has no indication that the HMX shipments violated Indian government policy. One Indian official with knowledge of the shipments said that the compound has some limited civilian applications, in addition to its better-known military foreign ministry said in a statement: "India has been carrying out exports of dual-use items taking into account its international obligations on non-proliferation, and based on its robust legal and regulatory framework that includes a holistic assessment of relevant criteria on such exports."The U.S. State Department did not comment on the specific shipments identified by Reuters but said it had repeatedly communicated to India that companies doing military-related business are at risk of sanctions."India is a strategic partner with whom we engage in full and frank dialogue, including on India's relationship with Russia," a spokesperson said."We have repeatedly made clear to all our partners, including India, that any foreign company or financial institution that does business with Russia's military industrial base are at risk of U.S. sanctions."Russia's defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment."While India has not typically been among the primary jurisdictions used for circumventing sanctions, we are aware that isolated cases can occur," Ukrainian presidential adviser Vladyslav Vlasiuk told Reuters."We can confirm that the Russian company Promsintez has appeared on our radar in the past, including in connection with cooperation involving Indian counterparts," added Vlasiuk, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's top sanctions identified two HMX shipments sent in December by Indian firm Ideal Detonators Private Limited, both of which were unloaded in St. Petersburg, according to the Indian customs data. An Indian government official with direct knowledge of the shipments confirmed shipment, worth $405,200, was purchased by a Russian company called High Technology Initiation Systems, the data show. The other shipment, worth more than $1 million was purchased by Promsintez. Both purchasers are based in Samara Oblast, near the border of Kazakhstan in southern Russia, according to the Detonators Private Limited, based in the Indian state of Telangana, did not respond to a request for and High Technology Initiation Systems also did not respond to requests for several Indian entities were sanctioned during the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden for supporting Russia's war effort, sanctions were applied sparingly due to geopolitical considerations, according to two U.S. officials who worked on sanctions under Trump, Russia-related sanctions work has slowed to a trickle, and it is not clear if the United States will take further action against Indian companies doing business with Russia's defense has long sought closer relations with India to pull the South Asian country away from Prince, a partner at Washington-based law firm Akin, said the U.S. government often prefers to communicate its concerns privately to allies and only take punitive actions as a last resort.
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
German government denies rift over Israel's conduct in Gaza
This is an AI- generated image used for representational purposes only German Chancellery Minister Thorsten Frei on Wednesday dismissed concerns of a rift within Germany's coalition government over its position on Israel. An apparent split emerged after Germany opted not to join dozens of Western countries in signing a condemnation of the "inhumane killing" of Palestinian civilians in Gaza on Monday. What has Berlin said about the Gaza letter? Frei, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's top aide, said the coalition was united in its aims regarding Gaza, even if there were divisions over how Germany could achieve them. "There's not even a sheet of paper between the partners," Frei told German broadcaster ZDF. "Of course, you can have different views about the form and the path to a shared goal." On Tuesday, leading figures in the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the junior coalition partner to Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU), urged the government to join a joint declaration signed by 28 states, including France, Italy and the UK, as well as the European Commission, the European Union's executive branch. It called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and condemned Israel's actions. Germany has so far declined to sign on to the declaration. However, Frei defended the government's stance, saying the declaration lacked clarity in its sequencing of events. "It must be made clear that the starting point of this war was Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023, and that Hamas continues to hold hostages," he said. He added that Germany maintains "many channels of contact" with the Israeli government. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Swelling and internal bleeding in the brain, help this baby Donate For Health Donate Now Undo Frei emphasized that "the humanitarian situation in Gaza must change," and while Israel has the right to self-defense, protecting civilians is "a legal imperative under international law." What did the SPD say about the declaration? Matthias Miersch, the SPD's parliamentary leader, praised the signatory states, including Germany's "closest partners such as France, Canada and Austria," for sending "a clear signal." The countries involved condemned what they called the "drip feeding of aid" to Palestinians in Gaza and said it was "horrifying" that more than 800 civilians had been killed while seeking food and water. "If international law is systematically violated, there must be consequences," Miersch wrote on the platform X. "Germany should join the UK's initiative and not opt out here." "Starving children, destroyed infrastructure, attacks on people seeking help: That goes against everything that international humanitarian law protects," the senior SPD politician said. Reem Alabali Radovan, Germany's international development minister and an SPD member, said Tuesday she was disappointed by the decision. "The demands in the letter from the 29 partners to the Israeli government are understandable to me. I would have wished for Germany to join the signal sent by the 29 partners," she said. SPD foreign policy spokesperson Adis Ahmetovic and rapporteur for the Middle East Rolf Mützenich, both senior lawmakers within the party, also called on Germany to join the declaration. They stressed in a joint statement that "the situation in Gaza is catastrophic and represents a humanitarian abyss." How has Merz defined his position? German officials have said their stance on Israel is shaped by a unique responsibility, the Staatsraison (reason of state), rooted in the country's Nazi-era history and the Holocaust. They argued they can accomplish more through private diplomatic channels than with public declarations. Merz has said the European Council, the heads of state or government of the European Union, had already issued a joint declaration "practically identical in content to what is expressed in the letter" now circulating. He pointed to the Council's June statement, which deplored the humanitarian crisis in Gaza but was less emotional and bluntly critical of Israel and did not condemn its planned relocation of Palestinians to a so-called "humanitarian city" unveiled earlier this month. "I was one of the first to say very clearly, even in Germany, that the situation there is no longer acceptable," Merz said, pushing back on claims of any split. On Monday, he said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, telling him "very clearly and very explicitly that we do not share the Israeli government's policy on Gaza." "The way the Israeli army is operating there is not acceptable," Merz said. Fractures within the ruling coalition, only in power since May, were already exposed over a dispute about the appointment of a Constitutional Court judge.
