Indian goods to face 50pc tariff in US from today
The United States has issued a draft notice detailing plans to implement an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian products from August 27, impacting more than $ 48 billion worth of India's exports to the US.
The total tariff on Indian goods entering the US market, with certain exceptions, will now be 50 per cent. The US imposed a 25 per cent tariff on India on August 7 and had announced another 25 per cent duties from August 27 as a penalty for buying Russian crude oil and military equipment.
The sectors, which would bear the brunt of the high US import duties include textiles, clothing, gems and jewellery, shrimp, leather and footwear, animal products, chemicals, and electrical and mechanical machinery.
Sectors such as pharma, energy products and electronic goods are out of the ambit of these sweeping duties.
Besides India, Brazil is the only US trading partner which is facing a 50 per cent import duty.
According to the Commerce Ministry, around USD 48.2 billion of India's merchandise exports (based on 2024 trade value) to the US will be subject to additional tariffs.
Navy commissions multi-mission stealth frigates
In a major boost to the country's maritime strike capabilities, the Indian Navy Tuesday commissioned two multi-mission stealth frigates, INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri, each equipped with eight BrahMos missiles and featuring a suite of advanced weapons and sensors developed by the indigenous manufacturers. The commissioning of two state-of-the-art Project 17A stealth frigates, which was presided over by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh here at the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy, marks the first occasion when two frontline surface combatants constructed at two different shipyards were commissioned simultaneously.
Incidentally, Udaygiri happens to be the 100th ship designed by the Navy's Warship Design Bureau (WDB), marking a milestone in five decades of indigenous warship design. The two are follow-on ships of the Project 17 (Shivalik) class frigates, and both the vessels incorporate significant improvements in design, stealth, weapon, and sensor systems, capable of executing a full spectrum of maritime missions in 'blue water' conditions, according to officials.
"Two state-of-the-art combatant platforms join the Indian Navy fleet, fortifying India's strength at sea..." said the Indian Navy in a post on 'X' late on Monday.
Udaygiri is the second ship from Project 17A stealth frigates and was built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai, while Himgiri is the first of the P17A ships to be constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata. Both the frigates represent a generational leap over earlier designs.
Udaygiri also holds the distinction of being the fastest ship of her class to be delivered post-launch, a result of the modular construction methodology adopted by Indian shipyards.
Rifle shooter Sift Kaur makes it a golden double for India in Asian Championships
Olympian Sift Kaur Samra pulled off an incredible show, clinching the individual women's 50m rifle 3 positions gold and helping the country to the team title as well in the Asian Shooting Championships in Shymkent (Kazakhstan) on Tuesday. The 23-year-old world record holder fired a superb 459.2 in the final to beat China's Yang Yujie (458.8) for gold, and the trio of Samra, stalwart Anjum Moudgil and Ashi Chouksey also bagged the top podium in the team event with an aggregate of 1753 points. This was Samra's fourth Asian Championships gold, and she was in a different zone altogether in the event as she qualified for the eight-shooter final placed No.1 with a score of 589.
India are placed second on the charts with 20 medals, nine of them gold. China are leading the table with 24 medals, including 13 gold.
Another Indian, Shriyanka Sadandi, who had topped the qualification round was not eligible for the final as she was competing for 'Ranking Points Only' (RPO).
US to allow entry of 600,000 students from China: Trump
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that the US will allow the entry of 6,00,000 students from China.
Amid tariff talks with China, Trump said that the inflow of Chinese students was important. "I hear so many stories about we're not going to allow their students- We're going to allow their students to come in. We're going to allow it. It's very important. 6,00,000 students. It's very important," he said.
Trump said that he was affirmative of having good relations with China. "President Xi would like me to come to China, it's a very important relationship. As you know, we're taking a lot of money in from China because of the tariffs and different things, and it's a very important relationship. We're going to get along good with China," he said.
"But we're going to get along with China. But it's a different relationship that we have now with China. It's a much better relationship economically than it was before with Biden," he said.
