THURSDAY 31 JULY 2025 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR MANOJ JHA TEARS INTO CENTRE OVER OP SINDOOR RESPONSE P5 SENSEX 81,481.86 p143.91 WEATHER GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY. LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN ACCOMPANIED WITH THUNDERSTORM/ LIGHTNING. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 31 AND 24 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: 015.0 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 100% TEMPERATURE Max: 32.7°C (-1.7) SUN RISES 05:43 hrs MOON RISES 12:32 hrs P8 NIFTY 24,855.05 p33.95 GOLD `1,01,890 SILVER `1,17,000 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 71.85 The US President said India would face an additional ‘penalty’ for its relations with Russia Will take all steps necessary to secure national interest: Govt STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 30 JULY THUMBNAILS STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 30 JULY I n a setback for India on the trade front, United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods starting 1 August. Notably, anticipations were high that the US President would give some relaxations and levy at the utmost 10 per cent tariff on India. Announcing the move on Wednesday, Mr Trump cited India's ‘high trade barriers’ and continued energy and defence ties with Russia. Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), in a strongly worded statement, Donald Trump said while India is a “friend”, it has imposed some of the “highest tariffs” on the United States and maintained “obnoxious” nonmonetary trade barriers. “Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious nonmonetary Trade Barriers of any Country,” he wrote. Mr Trump also criticised India’s military and oil imports from Russia, citing Moscow's war on Ukraine. Along with the tariff, Mr Trump said India would face an additional “penalty” for its relations with Russia and “massive trade deficit”. “Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!” “India will therefore be paying a tariff of 25%, plus a penalty for the above, starting on August first. After US President Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports, plus an unspecified penalty, starting 1 August, India said it has taken note of the statement and will take all steps necessary to secure the national interest. Reacting to Mr Trump’s announcement, made on social media, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in a statement said: "The Government has taken note of a statement by the US President on bilateral trade. The Government is studying its implications." India and the USA have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months. "We remain committed to that objective," the statement said. “The Government attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs,” it said. “The Government will take all steps necessary to secure our national interest, as has been the case with other trade agreements including the latest Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the UK," it added. Over the past few months, India and the USA have been negotiating for an interim trade deal, but there were some reservations from the Indian side on the US demand for opening up the agricultural and dairy sectors. Agriculture and dairy are critical for India as these two sectors provide livelihood opportunities to a large section of its people. India reportedly faces US demands, for allowing remanufactured goods, opening up agriculture and dairy, accepting genetically modified (GM) feed, and adopting US rules on digital trade and product standards. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAGA!"” Mr Trump wrote. Mr Trump has earlier repeatedly labelled India a “trade abuser” with “obnoxious non monetary trade barriers,” citing its high import duties on American products and lack of alignment with sanctions on Russia. Earlier in the day, before announcing the tariffs, when asked about the upcoming tariffs on India, Mr Trump had said: “Yeah, I think so. India is my friend. They ended the war with Pakistan at my request...The deal with India is not finalised. India has been a good friend, but India has charged basically more tariffs than almost any other country.” SC reserves judgment on Justice Yashwant ‘Congress gave away PoK, BJP will get Varma’s plea, questions his conduct it back,’ says Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 30 JULY The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its judgment on Justice Yashwant Varma’s plea seeking the quashing of the in-house committee’s report and the then Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna’s communication to the President and the Prime Minister, recommending his removal over the recovery of a large sum of unaccounted cash from his then official residence in Delhi on 14 March, while observing that “Your (Justice Varma) conduct does not inspire confidence”. Making a distinction between a ‘recommendation for removal’ by the then Chief Justice Khanna and ‘removal’ as such, Justice Dipankar Datta, heading a bench also comprising Justice Augustine P12 Prez Trump slaps India with 25 per cent tariffs Min: 25.8°C (-1.3) SUN SETS 19:13 hrs MOON SETS 22:56 hrs NISAR satellite lifts off successfully from Sriharikota: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday successfully launched NISAR, a first-of-its-kind earth observation satellite jointly developed with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The satellite -NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar -- lifted off at 5:40 pm aboard the GSLV-F16, India’s heavy-lift Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle. A team of scientists from NASA visited the space centre on India’s southeastern coast to witness the launch. The rocket inserted the NISAR satellite into a 747 km sun-synchronous orbit, nearly 20 minutes after the initial lift-off. (P 8) NEW NO. 1 T20I BATTER P6 ` vs $ 87.72 Min. 79% Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi inspects the Guard of Honour during his 4-day official visit to Japan on Wednesday. nANI STARVED OF TRUTH ‘CONG GOVT TOOK NO ACTION DESPITE REPEATED ATTACKS’ George Masih said that after the receipt of the report from the in-house committee, the then Chief Justice could not have acted as a post office, just forwarding it the President and the Prime Minister. As senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued that the in-house mechanism was created to address a significant legal vacuum, Justice Datta said: “Precisely, the in-house process was created in 1999 for seeing what action can be taken. The Chief Justice is not a post office, and he also has some duties towards the nation. If the CJI has material to believe that there is misconduct, he can inform that and that he has informed the President and Prime Minister, that is all." In the course of the hearing, which lasted over an hour, there were hints that the Supreme Court is unlikely to interfere in the matter as Parliament is already considering the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma, currently posted in Allahabad High Court, on a motion initiated by the Union government in the wake of the then CJI’s 8 May recommendation. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, arguing for Justice Yashwant Varma, pointed out that both the inquiry committee report and the tapes, which were mandated to be kept confidential, were made public and leaked, respectively. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 30 JULY Union Home Minister Amit Shah Wednesday alleged that the Congress party's past actions led to the creation of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), and it is the BJP's duty to reclaim it. Mr Shah's remarks came during a debate on Operation Sindoor, the military operation conducted by the Indian Armed Forces in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Delivering a fiery speech in the Rajya Sabha, the home minister said: "You gave away Pakistan occupied Kashmir and it's our duty to take it back." As Mr Shah began his reply to the special debate on Operation Sindoor, the Opposition staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha over the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the House. Later, Mr Shah continued his speech and slammed the Opposition for alleged inaction against terrorism during the UPA government. He admitted that there have been instances of infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir, and that Pakistan has been successful in conducting some terror attacks, but emphasised that the number Tsunami alerts issued in several nations after waves hit Russia, US, Japan following magnitude 8.8 quake off Russia’s east coast AGENCIES MOSCOW, 30 JULY Tsunami waves have hit parts of Russia, Japan and the United States after a massive earthquake off the Russian coast, with alerts issued for dozens of other countries across Latin America, Asia and the Pacific. But the danger appeared to be waning in some places, with the US state of Hawaii and Japan downgrading their warnings. Authorities on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands near the quake’s epicentre also cancelled their tsunami warning on Wednesday evening after a flooded seaport town there had earlier been evacuated. Residents in parts of coastal Pacific, Asian and Latin American areas remained ready for potential tsunami waves stemming from one of the largest quakes on record. Local authorities in French Poly- nesia in the South Pacific warned that waves of up to 4 metres (13 feet) are expected to hit the Marquesas Islands. Waves ranging from “1.10 metres to 4 metres” (3.6 to 13ft) on the island of Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas archipelago are expected overnight from about 1am local time (11:00 GMT), the High Commission of the French Republic in French Polynesia said in a statement. The islands of Ua Huka and Hiva Oa are also expected to be affected, it added. The US Tsunami Warning Centers said waves as high as 3 metres (9.8ft) could hit Ecuador, which urged coastal residents to evacuate, while waves of 1 to 3 metres (3.3-9.8ft) were possible in Hawaii, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Japan and some Pacific islands. Chile’s disaster agency, Senapred, declared a tsunami red alert for municipalities along the coastline between the regions of Arica and Parinacota, in the north of the country, and Magallanes in the south. The US National Weather Service originally issued tsunami “warnings” for Hawaii, Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and parts of California, as well as lower-level tsunami advisories for parts of Washington and Oregon. A less serious tsunami watch was in place for the entire US West Coast. However, the threat level for Alaska and the Hawaiian islands was later downgraded from a warning to an advisory, meaning that people who had evacuated can now return to their homes. Tsunami waves reached California’s San Francisco at 1:12am (08:12 GMT), according to the National Weather Service for the San Francisco Bay Area, with the tsunami making its way further down the coast. of incidents is reducing. "I admit that even today, Pakistan is able to do some terrorist attacks, and there is infiltration, but the number of incidents is reducing. The Narendra Modi government is committed to ending terrorism and infiltration," Mr Shah said. Targeting the Congress, the Union Home Minister alleged that for many years, no action was taken to intimidate terrorists. "For all these years, no action was taken to intimidate them (terrorists), so why would they have been afraid? Earlier, we only kept sending dossiers, but Narendra Modi gave a reply to them (Pakistan) with airstrike and surgical strike...Khauf paida ho gaya (Fear has been created)," Amit Shah said. Operation Sindoor debate: Jaishankar rebuts Trump’s claims on India-Pak ceasefire STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI 30 JULY External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday firmly rejected US President Donald Trump's claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, stating that no phone call took place between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Trump between 22 April and 16 June. "No phone call took place between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Trump between April 22 and June 16," he said in the Rajya Sabha, emphasising that the cessation of hostilities was negotiated directly between India and Pakistan. Mr Jaishankar clarified that India's military action and subsequent ceasefire were the result of direct communication between Indian and Pakistani DGMOs. Asserting that India will not accept foreign mediation in its conflict with Pakistan, Mr Jaishankar reiterated the government's resolve to address terrorism bilaterally. He also expressed annoyance over Opposition members' persistent disruptions, particularly targeting leaders Shakti Singh Gohil and Sanjay Singh. "You can't just speak your mind without listening to others; that's not how parliamentary proceedings work," he said, reminding members that they would also get a chance to speak. He strongly condemned the Pahalgam attack, calling it "completely unacceptable" and emphasising the need to hold the perpetrators accountable and ensure justice for victims. He highlighted India's commitment to global cooperation in combating terrorism, with a focus on the United Nations Security Council. The minister highlighted that Operation Sindoor aimed to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and neutralise threats. Outlining the government's steps following the Pahalgam attack, including diplomatic efforts and military actions, to address the threat of terrorism, Mr Jaishankar defended Operation Sindoor emphasising India's resolve to counter cross-border terrorism. He asserted that India sent a clear and firm message through Operation Sindoor that it is not open to external mediation and will not yield to nuclear blackmail. Sacred Piprahwa relics of Lord Buddha returned after 127 years, says PM Modi STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 30 JULY The sacred Piprahwa relics of Lord Buddha have returned to India after 127 long years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, calling it a proud and joyous moment for the nation's rich cultural heritage. In a post on social media platform 'X', Mr Modi expressed his delight, saying: "A joyous day for our cultural heritage! It would make every Indian proud that the sacred Piprahwa relics of Bhagwan Buddha have come home after 127 long years." Mr Modi emphasised India's close association with Lord Buddha and his noble teachings, highlighting the nation's commitment to pre- serving its spiritual and historical legacy. The Piprahwa relics are associated with Lord Buddha himself, and were found in 1898 by British landowner and amateur archaeologist William Claxton Peppe. The discovery was made during an excavation of a large stupa in Piprahwa, a village in Siddharthnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, close to the IndiaNepal border and near the ancient city of Kapilavastu, where the Buddha is believed to have spent his early life. Apart from bone fragments believed to be of the Buddha, the Piprahwa relics also included soapstone and crystal caskets, a sandstone coffer, and offerings such as gold ornaments and gemstones. Following their discovery, a portion of the relics remained in India, but some were taken abroad during the colonial era. They appeared in an international auction earlier this year, prompting objections from the government and negotiations for their return. PM Modi expressed gratitude to all those involved in the effort to bring the relics back to India, saying, "I appreciate all those who have been involved in this effort."