FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR Balancing Act Australia accuses Iran of organising antisemitic attacks Page 6 Page 9 BRIEFLY Peace without power is utopian: CDS Page 5 MSE to start derivatives trading soon: New Delhi: With the Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India Limited (MSE) successfully raising funds of Rs 1000 crore, Ms Latika S Kundu, who has been reappointed as MD and CEO for the next three years of the stock exchange, said it was now poised to deepen market liquidity in Equity Cash, followed by Derivatives Segments very soon. (Page 10) P rime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting at the Prime Minister's Office to discuss the 50 per cent tariff imposed by the United States on goods imported from India, due to kick in from Wednesday, informed sources said. The meeting comes in the wake of the US government's official notification for an additional 25 per cent tariff on top of the existing 25 per cent duty, effective from 27 August. The meeting included key ministers such as Home Affairs and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, along with senior officials from the commerce and finance ministries. The 50 per cent tariff is Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at the Suzuki Motor plant at Hansalpur in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. ANI expected to potentially affect India's exports and economy, sparking concerns about a trade war between the two nations. Economists estimate that the elevated tariff rate could shave off over 0.3 percentage points from India's growth rate. The commerce and industry ministry has been consulting exporters and export promotion councils to assess the impact of the existing 25 per cent levy. Policy options under discussion include targeted support for specific industries rather than broad, economy-wide measures. Some of the options being considered included targeted support for specific industries, such as sector-specific credit PM Modi inaugurates Maruti Suzuki’s EV plant in Gujarat STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 26 August Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated two landmark projects at Suzuki Motor's Hansalpur plant in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. These include a plant to manufacture Suzuki's first global strategic Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), the "e-VITARA", and a facility for localised production of hybrid battery electrodes at the TDS Lithium-Ion Battery plant. "Make in India, Make for the World is a big leap towards the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. From today, India-made EVs will be exported globally, and hybrid battery electrode manufacturing will also begin," PM Modi said while inaugurating the projects. "India has the power of democracy. India has the advantage of demography. We also have a very large pool of skilled workforce. Therefore, this creates a win-win situation for every partner of ours," he said. "Today, the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ (Self-Reliant India Campaign) is getting great energy from Gujarat, and behind this are two decades of hard work." The projects are expected to significantly strengthen domestic manufacturing capabilities and accelerate India's transition toward clean energy innovation. The Made-in-India BEVs will be exported to over 100 countries, including advanced markets such as Europe and Japan. With this milestone, India will become Suzuki's global manufacturing hub for electric vehicles. Modi’s China visit expected to give new momentum to bilateral ties NIKHIL VYAS New Delhi, 26 August Amid the ongoing tariff tensions between India and the United States, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to China from 31 August to 1 September is expected to bring new momentum in bilateral ties between the two nations. This will be PM Modi's first visit to China since the Galwan clash in 2020, which severely strained bilateral ties. Mr Modi's upcoming visit to Japan and China also holds significance as it comes amid escalating trade tensions between India and the United States over India’s oil purchases from Russia. US President Donald Tr ump recently increased tariffs imposed on Indian goods to 50 per cent, effective from 27 August, in what is seen as a sign of his frustration over failing to stop the Russia-Ukraine war. Addressing a special press briefing ahead of PM Modi's visits to Japan and China, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Page 12 50 pc US tariffs to kick in today, PM holds key meet New Delhi, 26 August New Delhi: The Indian Navy on Tuesday commissioned two stealth frigates – INS Himgiri and INS Udaygiri, in a ceremony presided over by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in Visakhapatnam. Both the warships are homegrown with over 75 per cent indigenous component, sourced from Indian manufacturers as well as MSMEs. Rajnath Singh hailed the induction of INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri into the naval fleet. “This is our firm resolve for self-reliance. INS Udaygiri and INS Himagiri are proof of that very resolve. Indian Navy has completed a century with the commissioning of these warships. In the construction of these warships, more than 75 per cent of the components are sourced from Indian manufacturers and MSMEs,” he said. Fit-again SKY gearing up to lead India in Asia Cup NATION SHAHID K ABBAS Navy launches 2 new warships: Wednesday, 27 August 2025 SPORTS WORLD EDITORIAL PAGE | Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan on 23 October 2024. FILE PHOTO Tanmay Lal, on Tuesday said: "Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Tianjin, China, for the 25th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Council, the SCO, on August 31 and September 1, at the invitation of President Xi Jinping of China." The Prime Minister is expected to hold some bilateral meetings during the Summit's sidelines, the official said. The SCO comprises 10 members. In addition to India, they include Belarus, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. There are a number of dialogue partners and observers also. India has been a member of the SCO since 2017; it was earlier an observer since 2005. During the period of its membership, India has held the chair of the SCO C o uncil of Heads of Government in 2020 and of the SCO Council of Heads of State during 2022-2023. India engages actively with various institutional processes and mechanisms of the SCO and par ticipates in the ministerial meetings and other dialogue formats. Sharing the programme elements for the upcoming SCO Summit in Tianjin, Mr Lal said it includes a welcome banquet dinner in the evening of 31 August, with the main summit to be held on 1 September. Briefing the mediapersons on the Prime Minister's visit to Japan, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said: "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is embarking on an official visit to Japan on the evening of August 28. He will be in Japan from August 29-30 to hold the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit with the Prime Minister of Japan, Shigeru Ishiba. This is a significant visit for several reasons. It's Prime Minister Modi's first annual summit with Prime Minister Ishiba." According to the MEA, this will be Prime Minister Modi's eighth visit to Japan and the first standalone summit with Mr Ishiba. lines with collateral support and easing liquidity pressures forexportersthroughcluster-based working capital funds. Protecting export-oriented units and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) remains central to the government's strategy, given their vulnerability to external shocks. The government is exploring options to provide relief to these sectors, including potential support measures to mitigate the impact of the tariffs. Earlier, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had confirmed that the enhanced tariffs will take effect from 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on 27 August (9.31 a.m. IST). The duties target India under the policy of countering “threats to the United States by the government of the Russian Federation,” a notification issued by the DHS secretary, Kristi Noem said. “To address that unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, Executive Order 14066 prohibited, among other things, the importation into the United States of certain products of Russian Federation origin, including crude oil; petroleum; and petroleum fuels, oils, and products of their distillation,” the notice said. It is to be noted that a wide range of Indian goods are covered under the new decision. The document made it clear that the tariffs apply to any items arriving for use in the United States or released from warehouses after the cut-off time. US President Donald Trump had said the decision was linked to India’s continued purchase of Russian oil, which Washington argues helps fund Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Five Vaishno Devi pilgrims killed in Jammu landslide STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Jammu, 26 August At least nine people, including five Vaishno Devi pilgrims, were killed and at least 24 were injured on Tuesday in flash-flood and landsliderelated incidents triggered due to incessant rains in the Jammu region. Five pilgrims were killed & more than 14 were injured when a landslide hit them on the 13 km trek to the Vaishnodevi shrine. Four people were killed when a cloudburst hit villages in the Doda district of Jammu division. Reports said that two people were killed in Gandoh, and one each in Thathri & Bhaderwah.