Trump imposes tariffs on Canada, Mexico & China, spurs trade war

Us President Donald Trump signed an order to impose stiff tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, drawing swift retaliation and an undeniable sense of betrayal from the country's North American neighbours as a trade war erupted among the longtime allies. The tariffs, if sustained, could cause inflation to significantly worsen, threatening the trust that many voters placed in Trump to lower the prices of groceries.

THE FIRST SALVO

After weeks of uncertainty, US President Donald Trump has fired the first salvo, igniting possibly a global trade war that will have implications for trade, growth and inflation. Trump signed executive orders imposing steep tariffs on three of the US's largest trading partners. The US will levy 25 per cent additional tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10 per cent additional tariffs on China-three countries that account for around 40 per cent of US imports. The extraordinary decision, which involves a close US ally, is ostensibly meant to hold these countries "accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs" from flowing into the US.

Stopping short of the farm 

There are several initiatives announced for agriculture that are likely to help the farming community. The special focus on 100 districts to augment agri-productivity, promote sustainable farming practices and crop diversification, extending credit access through Kisan Credit Cards from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, starting a Pulses Mission to attain atma nirbharta in tur, moong and urad, etc, are all steps in the right direction. So is the setting up of a Makhana Board in Bihar. Agriculture's challenges are deeply intertwined with global price dynamics. India continues to face shortages in pulses, oilseeds, and key raw materials for agri-processing industries like cotton and maize, leading to rising import dependence. The budget does little to address these shortages structurally. Expanding the area under pulses in rice-fallow regions and incentivising private-sector participation in oilseed production could help bridge this gap.

ECONOMY OF VERSE

In invoking the words of Telugu poet and playwright Gurajada Apparao and Thiruvalluvar's Tamil classic Thirukkural in her 2025 Budget presentation, Finance Minister seemed to be drawing upon a poetic imagination that tied her speech to a broader cultural narrative. Apparao's "Desamante matti kaadoi, desamante manushuloi (A country is not just its soil, a country is its people)" and Verse 542 of Thirukkural -"Vaanokki vaalum ulakellaam mannavan koalnokki vaalung kuti (Just as living beings live expecting rains, citizens live expecting good governance)" both place the citizen at the heart of the story. The views on the budget she presented may vary, but the FM's selection seemed to be an attempt to invoke larger themes of economic and social justice that have dominated political debates in recent times.

MY WORKPLACE, YOUR HOME

The Supreme Court's directive to the Union government on January 29 to examine the possibility of a separate law for domestic workers is welcome. The bench ordered the Centre to form an inter-ministerial committee to "consider the desirability of recommending a legal framework for the benefit, protection and regulation of the rights of domestic workers". The Code on Wages (2019), unlike the Minimum Wages Act, by definition covers the sector. The different systems of employment of workers part-time/full-time, live in/live out-have contributed to the complexity of the sector. The asymmetric relationship between employer and employee, where the workplace is the former's private space and the latter's workplace is an issue that makes the sector qualitatively different. Further, the work undertaken mundane cleaning tasks and cooking or care work are all socially devalued.

Navigating uncertainty

The budgetary stance for the year 2025-26 tried to strike a balance between fiscal expansion and consolidation. The budget speech emphasised that the Union Budget would initiate reforms in key areas, namely taxation, urban development, mining, the financial sector, power and regulatory frameworks. As per the 2025-26 Budget Estimates, the fiscal deficit is expected to be 4.4 per cent of GDP. Second, simplification of the tax structure, as expected, should aim at ease of compliance and help improve the base. One concern that requires attention is the rising indebtedness of households. The policy consideration which would encourage household savings, reduce excessive financialisation and provide safe saving opportunities for the households would ensure greater financial stability and would also help navigate global shocks better in the current uncertain global environment.

DRDO carries out 3 consecutive tests of Very Short-Range Air Defence system

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted three successive flight-trials of the Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) from Chandipur off the coast of Odisha. These tests were carried out against high-speed targets flying at very low altitude. Vshorads is a 4th Generation, technically-advanced miniaturised Man Portable Air Defence System (MANPAD), indigenously designed and developed by DRDO's Hyderabad based premier facility Research Centre Imarat (RCI) in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian Industry Partners. 

GST rate rationalisation, simplification in the works; Centre-states talks underway

The ministerial panel formed under GST to oversee rate rationalisation is learnt to have held threadbare discussions on the items in each of the key slabs zero, 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent and whether the items need to be moved to a higher or lower slab. But, even after the detailed exercise, the 12 per cent GST slab was proposed to be retained by the panel, along with the other three key slabs. This was flagged in internal discussions as being inconsistent with the objective of reducing the number of slabs. Earlier in internal discussions regarding GST rate rationalisation, a proposal has been dis-cussed to merge the 12 per cent and the 18 per cent slabs to create a new 15 per cent slab, and have only a three-slab structure.

How the Uttarakhand UCC regulates live-in relationships

The Uttarakhand UCC describes a live-in relationship as a relationship between a man and a woman, "who cohabit in a shared household through a relationship in the nature of marriage." This definition, however, covers only heterosexual relationships. The law essentially requires individuals to submit "a statement of live-in relationship" within a month of entering such a relationship, as well a statement of "termination of relationship" if and when that happens. The law says that this registration is only for the "purposes of record keeping", although the Registrar is supposed to forward these statements to local police stations where the couple lives, and in case one of them is less than 21 years of age, to their parent or local guardian.

THE ESCALATING CONFLICT IN CONGO, WHY ITS NEIGHBOURS ARE INVOLVED

The rebels entered Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, and had seized control of the city's airport, after facing pockets of resistance in strategic areas. Hundreds of government troops and allied militia laid down their weapons. The rebels were in control of the devastated city, where corpses still lay in the streets. Since then, M23 fighters have pushed southwards into South Kivu, battling the Congolese army and its allies including Burundian troops. M23, which refers to the March 23, 2009 accord that ended a previous Tutsi-led revolt in eastern Congo, is the latest group of ethnic Tutsi-led insurgents to take up arms against Congolese forces. It launched the current rebellion in 2022. The group has accused the government of not living up to the peace deal and not fully integrating Congolese Tutsis into the army and administration.

The illegal immigration issue

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had his first phone call with US President Donald Trump after the latter returned to the White House. Asked by reporters later whether the Prime Minister had "agree[d] to take illegal immigrants", Trump said: "He (Modi) will do what's right. We are discussing." India has decided to play ball with Trump on the Number 1 priority on his domestic agenda - immigration. Illegal immigration has been identified by the American right as the primary reason for the poor law and order situation in the country. Indian officials have told their American interlocutors that India is ready to take back immigrants who have entered the US illegally. This is a low-cost give for New Delhi -its priority is to ensure that the 20,000 illegal immigrants who are set to be deported as part of Trump's mass deportation plans do not constrict any legal channels for Indians to travel to the US.

FIDE and freestyle chess organisers may end feud soon: What is the dispute?

The Ongoing feud between the organisers of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour and FIDE - the global governing body of chess is close to an amicable agreement. The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour is a series of five events which will be held in cities such as Weissenhaus (Germany), Paris, New York, New Delhi, and Cape Town. The event will be played in freestyle chess, a variant of the sport where games start with pieces on the back ranks in a randomised order. The dispute between FIDE and organisers of freestyle chess is over the use of the phrase "world championship". FIDE contends that as the guardian of the sport, only it has the right to decide which event can be called a world championship. The organisers of the freestyle tour dispute this.