kOCHI l friday l april 04, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION India and Thailand elevate ties to a strategic partnership PM Narendra Modi met his Thai counterpart on Thursday where the two countries agreed to turrn their ties into a strategic partnership ALL for development, not expansionism cooperation in tourism, education Prime Minister Narendra Modi after meeting his former Thai counterpart Thaksin Shinawatra and Thailand PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra asserted that both countries support a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based order in Indo-Pacific, and believe in a policy of development, not expansionism. Modi described the meeting as a ‘delight’ ■ ■ India emphasised cooperation in the fields of tourism, culture, and education between India’s northeastern states and Thailand The Prime Minister will later join BIMSTEC leaders from Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, and Bhutan to oversee the signing of an agreement on Maritime Cooperation in the region $16 billion the volume of bilateral trade between india, thailand in 2023 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI India brazens out US reciprocal tariff Sees opportunities amid challenges in Trump’s 27% levy D IPA K M ON D AL @ New Delhi india may have escaped with a milder ‘reciprocal’ tariff but the brute force of US President Donald Trump’s import levy could shake up the country’s economic prospects. Trump, in the wee hours on Thursday, announced reciprocal tariffs ranging from 10% to 49% on countries with which the US has trade deficit. He imposed a baseline tariff of 10% on all imports (effective April 5) and specific reciprocal tariffs on multiple countries (effective April 9). Some sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, copper, and energy products, will remain exempt from additional tariffs. India has a trade surplus of $35 billion with the US and Indian goods will attract 27% tariff. While this is lower than 54% on China, 46% on Vietnam, 37% on Bangladesh, and 36% on Thailand, it is still higher than what was expected. “We had expected 10-15% additional tariff,” said Ajay Sahai, CEO, Federation of Indian Export Organisations. He said exports of seafood and carpets are among the most impacted. Trump had initially put the tariff for India at 26%, but the White House later clarified that this would be 27%. While in relative terms India has an edge over its Asian peers, the gains would be limited, say analysts. The additional cost of higher tariffs is likely to be passed on to consumers, leading to an increase in prices and muted demand over the medium term, triggering a slowdown. Meanwhile, the Indian government on Thursday said it is carefully examining the implications of reciprocal tariff. The commerce ministry said it is also looking at the opportunities that may arise due to the new development. MARKETS BLEED 5.54% 4.32% Dow Jones 3.35% Nikkei 2.77% Hang Seng  1.52% Sensex  0.42% Nasdaq S&P 500  (Early trade figures for US markets) WHAT TO EXPECT Analysts flag global recession fears India’s FY26 GDP growth may slip 50-100 bps from expected levels Govt, Oppn cross swords in RS over Waqf Bill RA J E S H K U M AR THA K UR @ New Delhi The Rajya Sabha witnessed heated debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, hours after Lok Sabha passed it 288-232 in the wee hours of Thursday. The debate that continued way past midnight, saw very high participation. Introducing the bill, Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju rejected the Opposition’s claims that the legislation would infringe upon Muslim rights. He asserted that the amendments make the law more inclusive, adding they aimed at improving the representation of women on the Waqf Board and protecting the rights of all Muslim sects. He said the objective of the bill was to bring in transparency, accountability and efficiency in the , management of waqf properties. However, the Opposition termed the bill unconstitutional and accused the government of aiming to deprive Muslims of their rights concerning Waqf properties. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, in his pushback rejected the NDA’s claims about the bill’s benefits. “There is nothing new except the clauses that will destroy the people,” he said, dismissing it as having no real welfare provisions for Muslims. Members of the TMC, DMK, AAP , Shiv Sena (UBT), SP RJD, and Left , parties alleged that the bill was in- troduced with malafide intentions. Leader of the House J P Nadda said the bill was designed to assist the poor and protect the rights of Muslim women. He accused the Congress of relegating Muslim women to second-class status during its tenure in power. Congress member Syed Naseer Hussain alleged that the BJP was using the legislation to stoke communal tension in the country and polarise the society to strengthen its electoral base. Union Health Minister J P Nadda speaks in the Rajya Sabha on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 | PTI NDA comfortable in the Upper House The ruling NDA is comfortably placed in the Upper House as it has 128 members as against the Opposition INDIA bloc’s 98. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill needs at least 118 votes to pass muster as there are nine vacancies in the 245-member House. SC upholds fiat invalidating CMRL case: Nod for prosecution 26,000 WB teacher jobs proceedings against CM’s daughter S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi IN a major setback to the Mamata Banerjee govt, the Supreme Court on Thursday in its verdict upheld the Calcutta HC’s decision to cancel 25,753 teachers appointments in West Bengal govt schools, terming the selection process as “vitiated by manipulation and fraud”. A two-judge bench led by the Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice P V Sanjiv Kumar refused to interfere with the Calcutta HC’s decision of April last year. “We have gone through the facts...the entire selection process is vitiated by manipulation and fraud and credibility and legitimacy is denuded. No reason to interfere. Tainted candidates must be terminated..,” the SC said. 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ T’Puram The CM should own moral responsibility and resign. As CM, how will he justify the prosecution steps against his daughter V D Satheesan, Leader of Opposition The Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs has reportedly granted permission for prosecution proceedings against Veena T, daughter of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in the CMRL (Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited) payoff case. The reports sparked calls from the Opposition parties for CM’s resignation. The nod for prosecution proceedings was given on the basis of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) chargesheet, it is learnt. TNIE could not independently verify the grant of permission by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Following reports that Veena has been named in the SFIO chargesheet, the Congress announced statewide protests on Friday demanding Pinarayi’s resignation. Terming the development “serious”, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said the chargesheet confirms the payoff allegations ● More on P6 against Veena.