In a sharp escalation of trade tensions, US President Donald Trump has announced a 25% tariff along with an additional penalty on Indian imports, effective August 1. While terming India a “friend”, Trump accused New Delhi of imposing “obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers” and maintaining excessively high tariffs, which he claimed had contributed to a “massive trade deficit” for the United States.

High tariffs, Russia ties cited as key reasons

The announcement, made via a social media post, came amid ongoing negotiations between India and the US for a proposed bilateral trade agreement. Trump alleged that India continues to procure most of its military hardware and energy supplies from Russia, even as global pressure mounts on Moscow over the Ukraine war.

He wrote, “While India is our friend, we have done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are among the highest in the world and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers.”

Trump further criticised India’s strong trade relations with Russia, stating that India remains one of Russia’s largest energy buyers, alongside China. This, he said, undermines global efforts to isolate Russia diplomatically and economically.

Bilateral talks under strain

The announcement comes at a delicate moment. A US delegation is set to visit India next month to continue negotiations on the long-pending bilateral trade deal. Last week, the two countries concluded the fifth round of talks in Washington, led by India’s Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce, Rajesh Agrawal, and US Assistant Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, Brendan Lynch.

So far, India has not issued an official response to the tariff declaration.

Trump’s latest tariff directive risks derailing progress made in trade talks and could complicate bilateral relations, especially in the areas of defence and energy cooperation.

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has introduced sweeping changes to the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in a bid to protect farmers from suffering due to the negligence of state governments in paying crop insurance premiums.

Why the reform was needed

While addressing Parliament, Chouhan referred to past experiences under the former Andhra Pradesh government, which had pledged to bear the farmers’ share of crop insurance premiums. However, the government, led by then-Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, allegedly defaulted on its premium contribution for three years, resulting in thousands of farmers being denied crop insurance claims.

Chouhan stated that this “bad experience” had prompted the Centre to revisit the policy to prevent any repeat of such situations.

What has changed in PMFBY

Under the revised scheme, the Union Government will now disburse its share of the premium regardless of whether the state fulfils its contribution. More significantly, the new rules include a penalty clause aimed at enforcing state accountability.

“If a state fails to pay its share, it will be liable to pay 12% interest, and this penal amount will be directly transferred to the affected farmers’ accounts,” Chouhan said during his reply to a question posed by Rajasthan MP Hanuman Beniwal.

Focus on farmer welfare and timely claim settlements

The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana was originally launched as an improved version of the earlier National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS), with a target to settle farmer claims within 21 days. However, state-level lapses had emerged as a critical bottleneck, causing undue suffering for farmers.

The new amendment now aims to eliminate delays and uncertainty by holding state governments financially accountable without letting farmers bear the consequences.

With this step, the government hopes to fortify the crop insurance framework, ensuring that natural calamities and policy failures at the state level do not deprive farmers of their due protections.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday firmly rejected opposition claims about an alleged phone call between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, clarifying in the Rajya Sabha that no such communication occurred between April 22 and June 16.

Speaking during a discussion on Operation Sindoor in the Upper House, Jaishankar addressed the controversy, stating unequivocally, “Kaan kholke sun le… from April 22 to June 16, not a single phone call took place between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi.” His remark was directed at the Opposition, which had raised questions regarding foreign mediation in the India-Pakistan dispute.

‘No scope for mediation in India-Pakistan issues’

Reaffirming India’s long-standing position, Jaishankar stressed that all matters between India and Pakistan are strictly bilateral and do not require third-party involvement. Referring to the context of Operation Sindoor, he said, “We were not open to any mediation. Anything between us and Pakistan will only be bilateral.”

He explained that while several countries reached out during the operation to assess the situation, India maintained a consistent message: that Pakistan would have to formally seek de-escalation via military communication through the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO). Jaishankar reiterated that India was merely responding to Pakistan’s provocation and would continue to do so unless Pakistan made a formal request to halt hostilities.

Congress slammed over discomfort with historical accountability

In a sharp attack on the Congress, Jaishankar accused the party of being “uncomfortable with history” while defending the Centre’s decision to suspend the Indus Water Treaty after the Pahalgam terror attack. The External Affairs Minister highlighted how India had allowed the major rivers of its own territory to flow into Pakistan without reciprocal rights.

Calling the 1960 Indus Water Treaty “a very unique agreement”, Jaishankar took aim at the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for sidelining Indian farmers’ interests. Quoting Nehru’s speech from November 30, 1960, he noted how Nehru prioritized Pakistani Punjab in the treaty without mentioning Indian regions like Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, or Gujarat.

‘Modi corrected Nehru’s mistakes’: Jaishankar

Jaishankar concluded by contrasting the current government’s approach with that of past Congress leadership. He asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “corrected” the historical blunders made by Nehru, particularly concerning Article 370 and the handling of the Indus Water Treaty.