New Delhi, Jul 6: With India setting its red lines on key issues in sectors such as agriculture and dairy for the proposed interim trade agreement with the US, the ball is now in Washington’s court to finalise the deal, sources said. They said if issues are settled, an interim trade pact could be announced before July 9, which marks the end of the 90-day suspension period of the Trump tariffs announced on April 2 on dozens of countries, including India.

“India has drawn its red lines… now the ball is in the US court,” they said.

In February, the two countries announced starting negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA). They fixed a deadline to conclude the first tranche or phase of the BTA by fall (September-October) this year. Before that, the two sides are locking to finalise an interim trade pact.

On April 2, the US imposed an additional 26 percent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods but suspended it for 90 days. However, the 10 percent baseline tariff imposed by America remains in place. India is seeking full exemption from this 26 percent tariff.

“If the proposed trade talks fail, the 26 percent tariffs will come into force again,” one of the sources said. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal last week stated that India does not enter into any trade agreement based on deadlines and will accept the proposed trade deal with the US only when it is fully finalised, properly concluded and in the national interest.

FTAs are possible only when both sides benefit, and it should be a win-win agreement, he has said.

“National interest should always be supreme. Keeping that in mind, if a deal is made, then India is always ready to deal with developed countries,” Goyal had said on July 4.

The Indian team returned from Washington last week after holding talks with the US on an interim trade pact. Differences are also there on steel, aluminium (50 percent) and auto (25 percent) tariffs.

India has hardened its position on giving duty concessions to the US on agriculture and dairy products, as both are sensitive subjects. India has never opened the dairy sector in any of the previous trade pacts signed.

US President Donald Trump last week said his administration is sending letters to the first batch of 10-12 countries, sharing details of reciprocal tariff rates, and the entire process could be completed by July 9. His comments came amid increasing suspense in India on whether New Delhi and Washington would be able to firm up a much-anticipated trade deal before the US president’s tariff deadline ends. He has, however, not named the countries.

The president has stated that the reciprocal tariffs would come into effect from August 1. While the US is looking at duty concessions in sectors like certain industrial goods, automobiles (electric vehicles particularly), wines, petrochemical products, dairy, and agriculture items such as apples, tree nuts, and alfalfa hay; India may look at duty cuts for labour-intensive sectors like apparels, textiles, gems and jewellery, leather, plastics, chemicals, oil seeds, shrimp, and horticulture products.

The US is India’s largest trading partner from 2021-22. During 2024-25, the bilateral trade in goods stood at USD 131.84 billion (USD 86.51 billion worth of exports, USD 45.33 billion of imports and USD 41.18 billion trade surplus).

India’s merchandise exports to the US rose 21.78 percent to USD 17.25 billion in April-May this fiscal year, while imports rose 25.8 percent to USD 8.87 billion. The two-way trade in services expanded from USD 54.1 billion in 2018 to an estimated USD 70.5 billion in 2024.

India is also a key destination for American businesses such as professional, scientific, and technical services, manufacturing, and IT. The US accounts for about 18 percent of India’s total goods exports and over 6 percent in imports and about 11 percent in bilateral trade.

India received USD 70.65 billion between April 2000 and March 2025, making Washington the third largest investor. In 2024, India’s main exports to the US included drug formulations and biologicals (USD 8.1 billion), telecom instruments (USD 6.5 billion), precious and semi-precious stones (USD 5.3 billion), petroleum products (USD 4.1 billion), gold and other precious metal jewellery (USD 3.2 billion), ready-made garments of cotton, including accessories (USD 2.8 billion), and products of iron and steel (USD 2.7 billion).

Imports included crude oil (USD 4.5 billion), petroleum products (USD 3.6 billion), coal, coke (USD 3.4 billion), cut and polished diamonds (USD 2.6 billion), electric machinery (USD 1.4 billion), aircraft, spacecraft and parts (USD 1.3 billion), and gold (USD 1.3 billion).

New Delhi, July 6: The Government of India has clarified that it has not issued any order to withhold the X account of the international news agency Reuters in the country.

“There is no requirement from the Government of India to withhold Reuters handle. We are continuously working with X to resolve the problem,” an official spokesperson said in a statement.

This clarification comes after Reuters’ X account was found to be withheld in India, prompting concerns over press freedom and censorship. Users attempting to access the handle were shown a notice stating that the account had been withheld “in response to a legal demand”.

Reuters confirmed the development earlier, saying it was seeking more information on why its handle was blocked in India.

According to officials familiar with the matter, the only request for blocking Reuters’ X account was issued on May 7, during Operation Sindoor launched against Pakistan following the massacre of 26 Indian tourists in Pahalgam in an Islamabad-sponsored terrorist attack. This was a part of a national security exercise.

However, although several hundred accounts were blocked due to national security reasons, no action was implemented to block the Reuters handle on X despite the government order, the official said.

It appears that X, owned by Elon Musk, may have mistakenly enforced the outdated order.

“The issue is not relevant anymore. The government has reached out to X, asking them to explain the blocking and to lift the embargo,” a senior official said.

Reuters has not issued any public statement on the issue.

Despite the block on Reuters’ main and Reuters World handles, several affiliated accounts, including Reuters Tech News, Reuters Fact Check, Reuters Asia, and Reuters China, remain accessible within India.

Gujarat, July 06: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday paid rich tributes to Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee and remembered his contributions and sacrifices for the country, especially Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a gathering in Gujarat’s Anand, Shah asserted that Mookerjee sacrificed himself for Jammu and Kashmir, adding that the territory would never have become an integral part of India without him.

Mookerjee strongly opposed the special status and autonomy granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. He advocated for the complete integration of J-K with the rest of India.

Shah said, “Today is a very important day. On this day in 1901, Syama Prasad Mookerjee was born. Born in the land of West Bengal, he was a nationalist leader… The people of the nation are associating him with Jammu and Kashmir. That is correct because Kashmir would never have become an integral part of India without Syama Prasad.”

“He sacrificed himself for Kashmir, raising the slogan ‘Ek desh mein do Vidhan, do Pradhan aur Do Nishan nahi chalenge’. The entire credit for West Bengal being a part of our nation today goes to Syama Prasad and Swami Pranavananda…” the Union Minister said..

Expressing pride, the BJP leader stated that Bharatiya Jana Sangh, started by Mookerjee with just 10 members, has now become the world’s largest political party.

Shah stated, “He had resigned from Jawaharlal Nehru’s Council of Ministers in protest against the policy of appeasement, after which he formed Bharatiya Jana Sangh, a party that was dedicated for India’s soil, culture and interest. The party he started with 10 members has today become the world’s largest political party with a membership of 12 crore people. On this occasion, I bow my head to pay tributes to Syama Prasad Mookerjee.”

Syama Prasad Mookerjee was the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the ideological parent organisation of the BJP.

Born on July 6, 1901, in Calcutta, was a multifaceted personality – patriot, educationist, parliamentarian, statesman, and humanitarian. He inherited a legacy of erudition and nationalism from his father, Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee, an esteemed Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University and Judge of the Calcutta High Court.

Post-Independence, he joined the interim government under Jawaharlal Nehru as Minister for Industry and Supply, where he laid the foundation for India’s industrial growth by establishing iconic institutions like the Chittaranjan Locomotive Factory, Sindri Fertilizer Corporation and the Hindustan.

However, ideological differences led to his resignation, after which he founded the All-India Bharatiya Jan Sangh (1951) to champion nationalist ideals.

According to the BJP’s official website, on the issue of the Delhi pact with Likayat Ali Khan, Mookerjee resigned from the Cabinet on April 6, 1950. Later on October 21, 1951, Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in Delhi and became its first president.

Mookerjee went to visit Kashmir in 1953 and was arrested on May 11. He died under detention on June 23, 1953.