Table of contents for 15 September 2025 in India Today

IT’S STILL SHORT OF OPEN WARFARE, but the trenches around those Deccan forts are all lit up by stray can-nonballs—some even hint it’s friendly fire. The ruling Mahayuti hadn’t ever been a happy ménage a trois that went waltzing into a honey-moon after its historic mandate in the 2024 assembly polls. But the tacit animus, especially centred around a sulking Eknath Shinde, is now getting explicit. One signal came via an absence, a pointedly conspicuous one. In mid-August, the deputy CM and party colleague Bharatseth Gogawale sat out a state cabinet meeting. As the month wound down, the air thickened again, this time with a presence: that of Manoj Jarange-Patil at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan. The Maratha activist’s now-on, now-off agitations had appeared mysteriously at critical moments. His siege ended on…

THE OLD INDIAN EPICS HAD DIVINITIES streaming into forest land fairly regularly, but it’s not a plot device you would have expected to reappear in contemporary times. Yet, Madhya Pradesh’s famed tiger reserves are where the saints go marching in today. The phenomenon has turned them into sites of a new conflict—between faith and conservation. Actually, it’s the scale that’s new. Most of the nine tiger reserves in the state happen to enclose within their jungles some old sacred sites: points of religious or community reverence. And these hubs are registering a perilous increase in pilgrim footfalls every year. So much so that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the state government to formulate a policy to regulate public movement in tiger reserves. The hotspots, where the pilgrim rush…

For 58-year-old Asad K. Iraqi, CEO of Kanpur-based footwear company AKI India Limited, Donald Trump’s whims are upending a business he spent three decades building. From Kanpur’s crowded lanes, he expanded AKI into a public listed company, with a registered office in Jajmau, and a tannery and footwear manufacturing unit in Akrampur, Unnao, employing 300 people in all. It sold footwear and leather goods under the brand Maplewood in India and Tresbon in the UK, while also producing for European labels like Solovair, a British heritage name. AKI’s turnover touched Rs 75 crore in FY24. Exports to the US constituted 10 per cent of its total. In FY25, Iraqi had shipments worth nearly Rs 7.5 crore lined up for the American market. Now, finished goods lie waiting, undelivered, after US…

↘ The Fallout: A labour-intensive sector, India’s garment industry is among the hardest hit by Trump’s tariffs. The United States, the largest market, accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the country’s total textile and apparel exports, valued at $10.8 billion (Rs 95,040 crore). Readymade garments and home textiles dominate the export basket, with a 45.7 per cent and 36 per cent share, respectively. But with tariff uncertainties clouding the future, new orders have all but dried up since April. “Our major exports to the US are value-added products like apparel, bedsheets and terry towels,” says Chandrima Chatterjee, secretary general of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI). “The tremors will be felt not just by manufacturers, but across the entire upstream value chain.” The ripple effects could travel in…

↘ The Fallout: India’s auto component exports will be only partially exposed to the blow of Trumpian tariffs. Of its $6.6 billion (Rs 58,100 crore) worth of auto parts exports to the US in calendar year 2024, as much as $3.58 billion (Rs 31,504 crore), or 55 per cent, will face 25 per cent tariffs. These include parts and components for cars and small trucks, covered under US Proclamation 10908. The remaining 45 per cent—a little over $3 billion (Rs 26,400 crore)—will attract the steep 50 per cent levy. ↘ The Competitors: Global exporters are recalibrating their supply chains, and Mexico is emerging as a key pivot point. Chinese and Japanese companies are already establishing manufacturing bases there. A significant advantage Mexico has is that labour is far cheaper there…

↘ The Fallout: India’s rice exporters had reason to be optimistic until recently, with annual shipments surging past 6 million tonnes after years of stagnation. While the US accounted for only around 5 per cent of this volume, it had been a prized destination where branding, visibility and margins mattered as much as volumes. But now they along with India’s remaining agricultural sector face a significant setback as new US tariffs target high-value exports, including basmati rice, spices, tea, pulses and processed food. This comes after a period of notable growth. And that’s where the real pinch lies. As former agriculture secretary Siraj Hussain states, “The 50 per cent tariff will hit Indian exports quite hard.” Exporters are now forced to either absorb severe losses or risk losing decades of…

SU-57 FELON Fifth generation, twin engine, stealth multirole fighter ROLE: Aerial combat, ground and maritime strikes SPEED Mach 2 (2,400 kmph) COMBAT RADIUS Over 1,900 km AVIONICS: Data fusion systems; EW suite: L402 Himalayas RADAR: AN036 Byelka AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) with 400 km range WEAPONS: K/R-77M beyond visual range air to air missile (80-200 km range), R74 M2 short-range missile, KAB-500 precision guided bombs PRICE: $65 mn (₹562 cr.) approx. per unit RAFALE 4.5 generation multirole, twin-engine fighter ROLE: Aerial superiority, surveillance, ground support and strike missions SPEED Mach 1.8 (2,200 kmph) COMBAT RADIUS 1,850 km AVIONICS: Integrated system provides situational awareness; OSF passive infrared search and track system, EW suite: Spectra RADAR: Rbe2 AESA (200 km range) WEAPONS: Meteor air to air missile (150-200 km range), SCALP cruise…

Burma Burma, Mumbai Burma Burma’s latest outpost—at the new Gourmet Village dining destination at Palladium Mall—is a sprawling 2,888 sq ft, 106-seater space, with décor inspired by Burma’s ancient caves. There’s a new Small Plates menu too—featuring dishes like Charred Edamame with Spicy Laphet (smoky bites of edamame beans and spicy pickled tea leaves tossed in a sesame-lime dressing)—paired with Zero-Proof Cocktails which draw on Burmese pantry staples—such as the Burma Sour, a tropical blend of cold-pressed jackfruit and pineapple with zero-proof whisky. KIKLI, DELHI There’s no butter chicken on the menu at Kikli, Chef Amninder Sandhu’s brave new venture, which showcases Punjabi dishes rarely seen in restaurants. With décor to evoke rural Punjab, this Connaught Place joint is spotlighting dishes like ‘pathiya sekiya kukkad’—chicken which was originally cooked over…

IT WAS LATE ON THE NIGHT OF SEPTEMBER 3 WHEN FINANCE MINISTER NIRMALA SITH-ARAMAN, looking both resolute and weary after a gruelling day of GST Council deliberations, walked into National Media Centre in New Delhi for a press briefing. As cameras flashed, she unveiled what the government called “GST 2.0”—a sweeping overhaul of India’s Goods and Services Tax. The four tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent, she announced, have been folded into a simpler two-tier structure of 5 and 18 per cent, with a special 40 per cent levy on ‘sin and luxury goods’. The revamp, long demanded by industry and tax professionals, is being seen as a calibrated bet on consumption, coming just days after India posted a 7.8 per cent real GDP growth in…

CHIEF MINISTER Bhajan Lal Sharma must have felt an awful sense of deja vu on the first two days of the monsoon session over September 1-3. The Congress was back to the unusual belligerence it has displayed of late, forcing adjournments and the like. Over the previous three sessions, the BJP government had struggled to own the narrative. Sharma’s ministers—many first-timers among them—faltered before the blitz. Even senior BJP men allowed themselves a jibe or two. Erasing the sense of authority deficit is thus a vital task for the CM. The marathon sessions he held over August 25-26 with MLAs and MPs was part of that. Politically, his strategy also reveals his anxieties. It’s the classic tool in the hands of any CM: dangling the prospect of a cabinet reshuffle.…

THE ODISHA BJP’S FIRST-TIME CHIEF MINISTER, Mohan Charan Majhi, has not had an easy ride—what with the colossus-like Naveen Patnaik around as a constant point of reference. Now Majhi is taking a leaf out of his predecessor’s book to get some of that éclat. With years of work, Naveen had put Odisha on the international sporting map, earning renown as one of India’s most sport-forward states. Capital Bhubaneswar was its node, hosting marquee hockey tournaments at its Kalinga Stadium. Majhi’s innovation is to take that legacy and extend it beyond the capital city. His government has launched a flagship programme to construct stadiums in all 314 blocks of the state, with an outlay of Rs 4,124 crore spread over five years. Alongside, a separate package of Rs 600 crore has…

↘ The Fallout: The Indian diamond industry, spanning polishing, jewellery-making and trading, has been hammered by the latest US tariffs. The US is India’s single-largest market, accounting for over $10 billion (over Rs 88,000 crore) in exports, or 63 per cent of the nearly $16 billion (Rs 1.4 lakh crore) of India’s cut and polished natural diamonds exports in FY25. Industry leaders warn the stalled shipments alone could cost thousands of crores. The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has termed the tariffs “simply unsustainable”. Insiders say the industry has already been in free fall for five years—owing to the sanctions on Russian roughs, a post-COVID slump and market loss to cheaper lab-grown diamonds. Exports to the US are projected to fall by more than 75 per cent in FY26.…

↘ The Fallout: As the tide of trade tensions rises, it has pulled in India’s $7.45 billion (Rs 65,560 crore) seafood exports industry. Roughly $2.8 billion (Rs 24,640 crore) of this seafood heads to the US. Trump’s tariffs have now ensured they stay stuck in cold storage. “Normally, the US imports seafood from September to October, anticipating large sales for Christmas and New Year’s,” says K.N. Raghavan, secretary general of the Seafood Export Association of India. “But [this time, our exporters] have been directed to hold back shipments.” Frozen shrimps account for nearly 75 per cent ($2.1 billion or Rs 18,480 crore) of these exports. US supply chains, food stores and local vendors have long preferred the Indian variety because of the high-quality value-added processing and compliance with US…

↘ The Fallout: India exported toys worth $79 million (Rs 695 crore) to the US in FY25. This accounts for 47 per cent of India’s global toy exports. Therefore, the 50 per cent tariffs have landed these exports in grave uncertainty, with job losses a possibility for some of the estimated three million people who work in the sector. Ajay Aggarwal, president of the Toy Association of India, says the uncertainty will make it difficult for companies to frame business plans. “The 25 per cent extra duty [over and above 25 per cent] will be shared across stakeholders—including manufacturers, who will squeeze their margins, the US consumer, who will pay more, and possibly some government subsidy,” he explains. Most of the orders for this year, which peak during Christmas and…

"I don’t teach experimental cinema to my students; I encourage them to experiment.” These moving words by American experimental filmmaker Leighton Pierce guided Indian filmmaker Mehdi Jahan as he curated 15 Indian and 27 international films out of 1,100 submissions for the fourth Emami Art Experimental Film Festival. To be held in Kolkata from September 11 to 14, the festival encourages “alternative practices in moving image-making”. According to Jahan, who also teaches at Kolkata’s Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, he has observed a resistance “to experimental cinema within the majority of Indian film schools, where the instructional framework predominantly favours narrative cinema… which stifles the possibility for students to develop their own language of cinema.” For example, Mumbai’s Rushnan Jaleel, whose The Dithering Veil is an official selection, has been…

The INDIA bloc’s unveiling of its VP candidate B. Sudershan Reddy at the Samajwadi Party HQ in Lucknow on Aug. 26 was a grand affair. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and UP Congress president Ajay Rai led the show, flanked by senior leaders of both parties. But one man missed the show: Kishori Lal Sharma, the man who defeated Smriti Irani and reclaimed Amethi for the Congress in last year’s LS polls. He had come to the venue, only to be stopped by the security guards at the entrance. Offended, Sharma left, even as Akhilesh and Rai rushed to placate him. The party, though, moved on, celebrating the SP’s youngest MP Iqra Hasan’s birthday. As she cut a cake amid cheers, Akhilesh pressed a crisp Rs 100 note into her hand…

A visual emerging from the recent summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tianjin, China, has gone viral. It shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Vladimir Putin and President Xi Jinping in a relaxed moment. Some have interpreted it as an indication of an evolving strategic realignment, bringing India, Russia and China together. Modi’s decision to travel to China after a gap of seven years to attend the SCO summit, and his bilateral engagements with Russian and Chinese leaders reflected an ongoing recalibration in India’s foreign policy amidst the backdrop of geopolitical turbulence. But any notion of India making common cause with China, either bilaterally or along with Russia, to deal with the current strain in its strategic partnership with the United States, will be a misreading of its…

PRIME MINISTER NAR-ENDRA MODI CHOSE the virtual launch of a Bihar women’s self-help cooperative on September 2 to break his silence. “My mother had nothing to do with politics,” he said, voice heavy with hurt, referencing the viral video of a minor abusing his late mother in Darbhanga on August 27, seeking to turn a personal wound into a national lament. That he framed it as an affront to “every mother, sister and daughter in India” wasn’t a random ethical point. It was careful targeting. Bihar’s women are powerful, engaged voters. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, with a 59.45 per cent turnout, they vastly outnumbered men (53 per cent). And in the past decade, the Modi-Nitish Kumar duo have held a strong appeal for women voters, built around social…

↘ The Fallout: When Manoj and Pankaj Chadha calculated the Rs 44 crore hit their company now stares at, it was clear the pain was not theirs alone. India’s $20 billion (Rs 1.8 lakh crore) worth of engineering exports to the US—part of the sector’s overall $118 billion (Rs 10.4 lakh crore)—have taken some of the worst blows of Donald Trump’s tariff salvos. Exports valued at $5 billion (Rs 44,000 crore) were already under the 50 per cent duties on steel and aluminium imposed earlier this year across all trading partners. Of the remaining shipments, goods worth $12.5 billion (Rs 1.1 lakh crore) will also attract a crippling 50 per cent levy. Another $2.5 billion (Rs 22,000 crore) in automobiles and components will face tariffs of either 50 or 25…

↘ The Fallout: India’s chemical exporters, long reliant on steady American demand, now face their toughest reckoning yet. The US, which absorbs nearly 15 per cent of India’s $42 billion (Rs 3.7 lakh crore) in chemical shipments, has slapped a 50 per cent import duty on roughly half that trade—about $3 billion (Rs 26,400 crore). But relief lies in exemptions for a large chunk, including pharma intermediates, according to the India Ratings and Research, a credit rating agency. The American market is vast and varied, spanning more than 200 categories of Indian chemicals. From organic compounds like benzene and p-xylene, to agrochemicals such as fertilisers and insecticides, and inorganic products including silicon dioxide and carbon black, the list runs long. Dyes and pigments form a large share, with production clustered in…

↘ The Fallout: India’s leather industry, valued at $5.7 billion (Rs 50,160 crore) in exports during 2024–25, faces a sharp setback with the Trump administration’s punitive tariffs. The US, which absorbed 21.7 per cent of Indian leather exports in FY25, has overnight become a difficult market to access. The numbers highlight how crucial the US is as a buyer: in 2023-24, America accounted for over 19 per cent (Rs 8,025 crore) of the $4.8 billion (Rs 42,240 crore) worth of leather goods exported. The brunt will be borne by eastern India, especially West Bengal. The region exported leather products worth Rs 5,700 crore in 2024-25, with nearly 19 per cent of this directed to the US. In Bengal, 700 leather goods manufacturers, with 550 exporters amongst them, employ 700,000 people.…

↘ The Fallout: India has 744 handicraft clusters and employs 212,000 artisans directly, offering 35,000 kinds of products, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation. The value of exports in FY25 was $3.48 billion (Rs 30,624 crore) and, in the previous fiscal, 41 per cent of it—the largest chunk, valued at $1.72 billion (Rs 15,160 crore) —had the US as its destination. Rajasthan itself has handicraft exports of $1.2 billion (Rs 10,578 crore), of which 60 per cent (or Rs 6,346 crore) goes to the US. Some 150,000 people are directly and indirectly involved in this trade in Rajasthan. When it comes to furniture exports, around half—worth $532 million (Rs 4,689 crore)—went to the US in FY25. ↘ The Competitors: China and Vietnam both rank higher than India when it…

WHAT STARTED OUT A FEW YEARS AGO as a vague, lofty aspiration to be the world’s first ‘net-zero (on greenhouse gas emissions)’ rail network by the end of this decade has now crystallised into a data-rich, executable plan for the Indian railways. The network finally stands just shy of 100 per cent electrification, and is already eyeing its next big leap: nuclear power. Not in the locomotives, but in the energy mix that drives them. Indian Railways has, in recent months, initiated talks with the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) along with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) to gain access to nuclear energy—more specifically Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)—to provide a reliable portion of the 10 GW (Gigawatts) of power it will require each year by 2030. As Union…

After four successful editions in Kolkata and an outing in Mumbai earlier this year, DAG’s flagship art and heritage festival The City as a Museum makes its debut in Delhi. The showcase, spanning exhibitions, walks, performances and dialogues from September 6–21, returns to the city where DAG started nearly 30 years ago. “Delhi felt like a natural progression,” says Ashish Anand, CEO and MD, DAG. “It’s where our story began, and its layered history—from Sultanate and Mughal eras to colonial rule and independent India—offers a unique lens on the ties between art, culture and nation.” The edition foregrounds Delhi’s unique cultural ecosystem, highlighting its role in shaping modern Indian art not only through state-led initiatives but also through artist-driven neighbourhoods. Among the highlights is historian Rudrangshu Mukherjee’s revisiting of Delhi…