6 d. ago Trump says he and Modi will ‘always be friends’ despite escalating trade war

India’s Modi responds saying says he reciprocates President Trump's ‘sentiments and positive assessment of our ties’ – but will it change anything about their trade impasse?

Politics

6 d. ago Blindsided by Trump, Modi is learning hard lessons about India's place in the new world order | Mukul Kesavan

New Delhi spent decades cosying up to the US. The truth is, Washington doesn’t have allies outside the west – it has clientsSign up for our new weekly newsletter Matters of Opinion, where our columnists and writers will reflect on what they’ve been debating, thinking about, reading and moreWhen Donald Trump won his second term, India’s ruling elite must have been quietly pleased. Prime minister Narendra Modi’s performative courting of King Donald, both in and out of office, suggested a special chemistry between these two titans of the hard right.As Trump set about remaking global trade and geopolitics by weaponising tariffs, India got into trade negotiations with the US early. New Delhi accepted that negotiations would be difficult, given its red lines on agricultural and dairy products. Yet it was optimistic about getting a deal commensurate with India’s economic heft – and strategic value to the US as a counterweight to China.Mukul Kesavan is an Indian historian, novelist and poli...

Politics

9 d. ago India to cut taxes on hundreds of consumer goods to boost local demand following steep US tariffs

India moves to cut taxes on hundreds of consumer goods ranging from air conditioners to small cars to bolster local consumption and cushion the economy from the blow of steep U.S. import tariffs

Economics

9 d. ago German foreign minister seeks India's help to bring ally Russia into Ukraine peace talks

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has urged India to press its close ally Russia to return to peace talks over the war in Ukraine

Politics

1 week ago The Guardian view on Donald Trump and India: the tariff war that boosted China | Editorial

The White House wanted India to bow. Instead, Narendra Modi flew to China, shook Xi Jinping’s hand and left Washington sidelined Donald Trump’s imperial tendencies see the US president wield tariffs and sanctions in the expectation that America will receive tributes. Yet his latest move – punishing India with 50% tariffs for Russian oil purchases once encouraged by the US – has produced not submission but spectacle. It has sent India’s Narendra Modi to China for the first time in seven years as Xi Jinping hosted more than 20 leaders for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin. And it is in Tianjin, not Washington, where it looks as if the hinge of history is moving.The SCO is easy to dismiss: the bloc is a bundle of contradictions. India and Pakistan remain adversaries. China and India still stare across a garrisoned Himalayan frontier, though relations have thawed since last October’s border breakthrough. Russia and China vie for influence in Central Asia. Unl...

Politics

1 week ago Trump aide Navarro asks why Modi is ‘getting into bed’ with Putin and Xi

Peter Navarro says Brahmins are profiteering at the expense of the Indian people

Politics

1 week ago Trump aide Nevarro asks why Modi is ‘getting into bed’ with Putin and Xi

Peter Navarro says Brahmins are profiteering at the expense of the Indian people

Politics

2 w. ago India's Modi and Japan's Ishiba agree to expand ties. Here's what they said

India and Japan have agreed to further expand ties and deepen cooperation in areas such as security, economy, clean energy and human resources

Politics

2 w. ago Indian court says Modi’s university degree can be kept confidential

Delhi High Court rules academic records of even public figures constitute personal information that is exempt from disclosure under India’s transparency law

Events

2 w. ago India’s opposition leader hosts ‘dead’ voters alleging rigging in upcoming state elections

As 6.5 million Indian voters go ‘missing’ from electoral database, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi accuses prime minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of rigging polls in India, Arpan Rai reports

Politics

3 w. ago China’s top diplomat Wang Yi set for key talks with Modi in India

Wang Yi will also meet India’s top intelligence chief Ajit Doval in New Delhi ahead of his talks with Modi

Politics