Rio de Janeiro, July 06: Victims and supporters of terrorism cannot be weighed on the same scale and there should be no hesitation in imposing sanctions against terrorists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the BRICS Summit on Sunday.

In an address at a session on peace and security, Modi said the “cowardly” Pahalgam terror attack was a direct strike on the “soul, identity and dignity” of India as he called for united efforts to combat the challenge of terrorism.

“Terrorism has become the most serious challenge for humanity today,” he said.

The top leaders of BRICS held deliberations on a range of pressing challenges facing the globe on the first day of the grouping’s two-day annual summit in this seaside Brazilian city.

“This attack was a blow not only on India but on the entire humanity,” Modi said about the Pahalgam attack, adding “condemning terrorism should be our ‘principle’, not just a ‘convenience’”.

“If we first see in which country the attack took place, against whom, then it would be a betrayal against humanity. There should be no hesitation in imposing sanctions against terrorists,” he said.

Modi’s call for imposing sanctions on terrorists without hesitation comes against the backdrop of China blocking efforts at the UN Security Council in recent years to list several Pakistan-based terrorists.

The prime minister also asserted that the victims and supporters of terrorism cannot be “weighed on the same scale”.

Modi’s remarks came against the backdrop of unease in New Delhi over several countries hyphenating India and Pakistan following their May 7-10 military clashes.

“For personal or political gain, giving silent consent to terrorism, supporting terror or terrorists, should not be acceptable under any circumstances,” he said.

“There should be no difference between words and actions regarding terrorism. If we cannot do this, then the question naturally arises whether we are serious about the fight against terrorism or not,” he asked.

The prime minister expressed his “heartfelt gratitude” to the friendly countries who stood with India and supported it following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin skipped the summit, hosted by Brazil in its capacity as the current chair of the grouping.

The BRICS has emerged as an influential grouping as it brings together 11 major emerging economies of the world, representing around 49.5 per cent of the global population, around 40 per cent of the global GDP and around 26 per cent of the global trade.

Modi said global peace and security is not just an ideal, but it is the “foundation of our common interests and future”.

“Development of humanity is possible only in a peaceful and secure environment. BRICS has a very important role in fulfilling this objective,” he said.

“To face our common challenges, we have to unite and make collective efforts. We have to move forward together,” he added.

In his remarks, Modi also expressed serious concerns over the situation in Gaza.

“From West Asia to Europe, today the world is surrounded by disputes and tensions. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is a cause of great concern,” he said.

The prime minister added: “India firmly believes that no matter how difficult the circumstances are, the path of peace is the only option for the welfare of humanity.”

“India is the land of Lord Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi. There is no place for war and violence for us,” he added.

The prime minister said “India supports every effort that takes the world away from division and conflict and leads it towards dialogue, cooperation and coordination and increases solidarity and trust”.

“In this direction, we are committed to cooperation and partnership with all friendly countries,” he said.

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).