Russia and India's leaders announced on Friday (5) a raft of deals worth billions of dollars including for a military defence system, as New Delhi walks a tightrope between Moscow and Washington with a wary eye on China.
The flagship accord announced during a visit to India by President Vladimir Putin was for the formidable S-400 surface-to-air missile defence system, worth $5.2 billion according to an Indian source.
Other agreements -announced following a meeting between Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi that began with a hug -were in railways, fertilisers and space, with Russia set to train astronauts for India's first crewed space mission in 2022.
"We welcome you as a leader of a country which has second-to-none relations with us," Modi told a joint news conference. "Today we have taken decisions that will make our long term relations even stronger."
Russia "reiterated its unwavering support to India for permanent membership in an expanded UN Security Council" and for India joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group of countries controlling access to nuclear technology, a joint statement said.
The talks also covered Russia potentially building a new nuclear power plant in India, and also India paying Russia $2bn for frigates and $1bn for helicopters, although these last two were absent from the communique.
India's decision to purchase the S-400, which shoots down any incoming enemy aircraft and missiles, flies in the face of the United States imposing sanctions on countries buying Russian military hardware, as happened with China last month.
US-Russia ties are plumbing depths not seen since the Cold War, plunging further still this week as Western powers accused Moscow of orchestrating a brazen string of global cyber attacks.
However, Washington is in a tricky position with India, seeking to bolster ties with the Asian giant to counter China's growing assertiveness, something which has also rattled New Delhi.
Last year India and China had a military standoff over a Himalayan plateau claimed by both Beijing and Bhutan, a close ally of India.
China has also perturbed India by loaning large amounts of money to Indian Ocean countries where Delhi has long held sway.
"It is... important for India to keep friendly relations with the Russians so that they don't completely move into the Chinese camp," said Manoj Joshi from the New Delhi-based think-tank Observer Research Foundation.
"Also, the fact is that unlike the US, Russian regional interests largely overlap with India's regional policy," he told AFP.
Washington and New Delhi announced plans last month for joint military drills in 2019, and agreed on the exchange of sensitive military information. The US is now India's second-biggest arms supplier.
India therefore could expect to gain a sympathetic ear if it seeks a waiver from the US sanctions, but President Donald Trump's administration has signalled this is unlikely.
Iranian Crude Oil
Russia and India have been close since the 1950s and Moscow remains its biggest source of weaponry as it prepares itself for perceived potential threats from China and Pakistan.
India has also been irked by Trump's decision to exit from the 2015 nuclear deal between major powers and Iran, a major supplier of oil to the fast-growing Indian economy.
Meanwhile Indo-Russian annual trade has slipped below $10 bn since 2014, as Modi cultivated closer diplomatic and economic ties with Washington, while Russia has courted Pakistan and China.
The president of state-run Russian bank VTB, Andrei Kostin, said in Delhi on Friday that the two countries aimed to triple the two-way flow of goods and services to $30 bn.
"We have a strategic partnership and a very harmonious dialogue at the political level," Kostin told reporters.
"But we have to complete this with the strengthening of economic ties."
The Enforcement Directorate searches were conducted at locations linked to the Gupta brothers, Piyoosh Goyal of World Window Group, and entities such as Sahara Computers and ITJ Retails Pvt Ltd.
INDIA's financial crime fighting agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday carried out searches at locations connected to the Gupta brothers of South Africa and their associates in a money laundering case.
The action followed a Mutual Legal Assistance Request (MLAR) received by India from South Africa in connection with the "state capture scam," reported PTI quoting sources.
The three brothers of Indian origin—Atul, Ajay, and Rajesh Gupta—are accused of siphoning off billions of rands in South Africa through their ties with former president Jacob Zuma. The brothers and Zuma have denied any wrongdoing.
The Guptas and their families moved to Dubai after Zuma was removed from office in 2018.
Searches were conducted at locations linked to the Gupta brothers, Piyoosh Goyal of World Window Group, and entities such as Sahara Computers and ITJ Retails Pvt Ltd.
ED sources told PTI they also searched premises of Ram Ratan Jagati in Ahmedabad, who was described as a "key person" in the money laundering network.
Jagati allegedly set up a shell company named JJ Trading FZE in Dubai, which was used by Piyoosh Goyal and the Gupta brothers for money laundering, according to the sources.
The Gupta brothers had shifted to South Africa after the fall of apartheid, building their business empire through Sahara Computers and later expanding into IT, media, and mining. Some of their assets in South Africa were recently auctioned by the government there.
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Donald Trump speaks with the press as he meets with Narendra Modi in the Oval Office of the White House on February 13, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)
US tariffs on Indian imports rise to as much as 50 per cent
Nearly 55 per cent of India’s $87bn exports to US could be affected
Exporters warn of job losses and call for loan moratoriums
India says support measures will be offered to affected exporters
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s doubling of tariffs on Indian imports took effect on Wednesday, raising duties on some shipments to as much as 50 per cent. The move escalates trade tensions between India and the United States.
A 25 per cent tariff announced earlier in July was followed by another 25 per cent duty linked to India’s purchases of Russian oil, taking total tariffs to as high as 50 per cent on items such as garments, gems and jewellery, footwear, sporting goods, furniture and chemicals. These rates are on par with those imposed by the US on Brazil and China.
The new tariffs are expected to affect thousands of small exporters and jobs, including in prime minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat. Exporter groups estimate nearly 55 per cent of India’s 87 billion dollars in merchandise exports to the US could be impacted, benefiting competitors such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and China.
India and the US have held five rounds of talks since April to try to reach a trade agreement, but differences over access to India’s farm and dairy sectors, as well as India’s rising imports of Russian oil, led to a breakdown.
Officials on both sides blamed political misjudgment and missed signals for the collapse. US Census Bureau data shows their two-way goods trade totalled 129 billion dollars in 2024, with a US trade deficit of 45.8 billion dollars.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro confirmed the new tariffs would take effect as announced. “Yeah,” he said when asked if the increased tariffs on India’s exports would be implemented on Wednesday.
Indian officials had earlier indicated hope that US tariffs could be capped at 15 per cent, the rate applied to some other US trade partners including Japan, South Korea and the European Union.
The additional tariffs will affect goods such as textiles, chemicals and leather. Exporters say this could create a price disadvantage of 30–35 per cent compared to competitors.
“The move will disrupt Indian exports to the largest export market,” said SC Ralhan, president of Federation of Indian Export Organisations. He suggested the government provide a one-year moratorium on bank loans for affected exporters, besides extending low-cost credit and easier loan access.
A US Customs and Border Protection notice allows a three-week exemption for Indian goods shipped before the deadline. These shipments can enter the US under the earlier lower tariffs until September 17.
Steel, aluminium and derivative products, passenger vehicles, copper and other goods subject to separate tariffs of up to 50 per cent under the Section 232 national security trade law remain exempt.
India’s response
India’s Commerce Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. However, an official said on condition of anonymity that exporters hit by the tariffs would be given financial assistance and encouraged to diversify to markets such as China, Latin America and the Middle East.
Rajeswari Sengupta, an economics professor at Mumbai’s Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, said a weaker rupee could provide indirect support to exporters by helping them regain competitiveness.
Officials say trade talks with the US are continuing. India has not announced any change in its stance on Russian oil purchases. Russian officials in New Delhi have said Moscow expects to continue supplying oil to India.
Broader ties
Despite the tariff dispute, both countries have stressed their broader strategic partnership. On Tuesday, the US State Department and India’s Ministry of External Affairs issued identical statements saying senior officials met virtually and expressed “eagerness to continue enhancing the breadth and depth of the bilateral relationship.”
Both sides also reaffirmed their commitment to the Quad grouping, which includes the US, India, Australia and Japan.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Craftsmen work on diamonds at a diamond processing unit in Surat, India, August 15, 2025. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
THE SURAT Diamond Bourse, billed as the world's largest office complex and bigger than the Pentagon, remains largely empty with only a few traders working.
Business has slowed, and the outlook is uncertain.
India’s diamond exports have fallen to a two-decade low due to weak Chinese demand. Now, higher US tariffs under president Donald Trump are set to hit the industry’s biggest market, which takes nearly one-third of its $28.5 billion annual exports of gems and jewellery.
In Surat, where more than 80 per cent of the world’s rough diamonds are cut and polished, orders are shrinking as the US tariffs undermine buyer confidence.
Smaller exporters have limited options, while bigger firms are considering moving part of their operations to countries like Botswana, which faces a lower 15 per cent tariff. India’s current 25 per cent tariff is set to double on 27 August.
"We are in a wait-and-watch mode until the end of August but may increase production in Botswana if this continues," said Hitesh Patel, managing director of Dharmanandan Diamonds, which expects US tariffs to cut its annual revenue by 20–25 per cent.
Shaunak Parikh, vice chairman of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), said the industry was cutting working days and hours to adjust to slower demand.
At the Surat Diamond Bourse, more than 4,700 offices have been sold but fewer than 250 are in use, with several firms reconsidering plans to move in, a bourse official said.
A Mumbai-based diamond company owner, who bought office space last year, said he had postponed shifting. "U.S. tariffs have already shaken our business, and we don't want the added hassle of moving from Mumbai to Surat," he said, requesting anonymity.
In December 2023, prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Surat Diamond Bourse, spread over 6.7 million square feet, larger than the Pentagon’s 6.5 million. Modi called it a symbol of "new India's strength and new resolve".
The bourse, with nine interconnected towers of 15 floors each, also houses banks, customs offices, vaults, and a jewellery mall, designed as a one-stop hub for the global diamond trade.
LITTLE SPARKLE DESPITE PEAK SEASON
Surat’s units usually step up production during this period to meet US demand ahead of Christmas and New Year. This year, many workers are unsure if they will have jobs.
"Demand has slumped so badly that the diamond packets I sold for 25,000 rupees ($285.84) last year now barely fetch 18,000," said Shailesh Mangukiya, who runs a polishing unit in Surat. He said his workforce has been cut in half to 125.
Parikh of GJEPC said without a trade deal to lower tariffs, 150,000 to 200,000 workers could lose jobs.
Industry officials said US buyers are likely to shift to suppliers in Israel, Belgium and Botswana.
Exporters are looking to Asia, Europe and the Middle East to offset US losses, but finding new buyers is difficult, they said. Many are reducing rough diamond purchases and working with small inventories, while some smaller units are offering discounts to survive.
India’s domestic demand, however, is holding. The country recently overtook China as the second-largest diamond market.
"Our sale for the last 10–15 days has slowed down a little but not that much because the loss of American demand is being compensated by some good demand in the Indian market," said Hitesh Shah, a partner at Venus Jewel, which supplies brands including Tiffany & Co and Harry Winston.
Bitcoin whale dumped 24,000 BTC, triggering a flash crash that sent the price plummeting by $110,000. This depressed market sentiment, led to the liquidation of numerous leveraged long positions, and intensified short-term selling pressure.
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