At a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Kapur said that despite trade uncertainty, India-US ties have picked up momentum in areas such as defence.
Trade language can feel like sleight of hand to those who live with its consequences. But it would be a serious mistake to allow ill-informed agitations to dominate the response.
Foreign ownership in SBI, India’s largest lender, and 11 other state-run banks is capped at 20%, a legacy limit aimed at keeping government control over the financial system.
While officials from the two sides have remained in touch, at the highest levels, the ties are stalled over trade & tariffs. Jaishankar will meet a number of US officials too.
One of the steepest tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump-administration continue to deal a heavy blow to India’s textile, handicraft, apparel, gems and leather industries.
India’s competitiveness cannot be defended abroad if it is eroded at home. Short-term measures can provide a cushion, but without reforms, exporters will remain perpetually vulnerable.
Tariffs have been used in the past by countries like Japan and South, to promote or hinder industrialisation. The surprise in Trump’s tariff argument is two-fold.
The collusion between the new class of bureaucrats, politicians, businessmen and trade union bosses perpetuates itself partly because of the short-run benefits and partly because they see no way out of the system, wrote author MH Mody in 1980.
IAF is firming up plans to revamp airlift capabilities with medium transport aircraft that will be assembled in India & serve as its main workhorse. Embraer is leading contender as of now.
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