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The Hindu Editorial Analysis
We understand the significance of reading The Hindu newspaper for enhancing reading skills, improving comprehension of passages, staying informed about current events, enhancing essay writing, and more, especially for banking aspirants who need to focus on editorials for vocabulary building. This article will explore today’s editorial points, along with practice questions and key vocabulary.
U.S. tariffs on India reduced to 18%, say Modi and Trump
- Showing an improvement in relations between India and the United States, which had earlier faced several problems, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday that products made in India will now face a lower tax of 18% when sold in the U.S.
- This decision is expected to reduce the heavy impact of the 50% extra tax that the U.S. had imposed on Indian goods in August 2025 during President Trump’s earlier decision.
- Just minutes before Mr. Modi’s statement, Mr. Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that India and the United States had agreed on a trade deal.
- Trump claimed that India has agreed to stop buying oil from Russia and will reduce both tariffs and other trade barriers on U.S. products to zero.
- So far, the External Affairs Ministry of India has not replied to several questions about these claims or shared clear details about what exactly has been agreed upon.
- Reacting to the announcement, Prime Minister Modi said he was very happy that “Made in India” products will now be charged a lower tariff of 18%, and he thanked President Trump for this decision.
- In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr. Modi said that when two big economies and the world’s largest democracies work together, it helps their people and opens many new opportunities for cooperation.
- Earlier, Mr. Trump had written that under the trade agreement, the U.S. would reduce the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25% to 18%.
- Trump also said that India would reduce its own tariffs and non-tariff barriers on U.S. goods completely.
- Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal welcomed the development and called it a positive step.
- The U.S. President further claimed that India would start buying much more from the United States and possibly even from Venezuela.
- Trump said that Prime Minister Modi had promised that India would increase its purchases of U.S. products to $500 billion.
- These announcements led to an immediate reaction from the Congress party. Party leader Jairam Ramesh said that it looks like Mr. Modi has finally given in to U.S. pressure.
- The phone conversation between Mr. Modi and Mr. Trump took place at the same time when External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar started his visit to the United States from February 2 to February 4.
- During this visit, Mr. Jaishankar is scheduled to attend a Critical Minerals Ministerial Meeting, which has been organised by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
- According to the Ministry, this meeting will focus on making supply chains stronger, promoting clean energy, and increasing cooperation in important mineral
- The Ministry also said that Mr. Jaishankar will meet senior officials of the U.S. government during his visit.
- Apart from India, countries like Kenya, South Korea, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which have large mineral resources, will also take part in the meeting.
- The main aim of this ministerial meeting is to reduce dependence on China for critical minerals and to build a full supply chain that includes mining, processing, recycling, and fair pricing.
- Countries joining this initiative are also expected to sign a non-binding agreement, meaning it is not legally compulsory but shows mutual understanding.
14 Jharkhand Migrant Workers Stranded in Dubai Seek Government Assistance to Return Home
- At least 14 migrant workers from Jharkhand have said that they are stuck in Dubai because they have not been paid their wages and are now asking the State government to help them return to India.
- These workers belong to three districts — Giridih, Hazaribagh, and Bokaro.
- The workers shared a video on Monday explaining their problems and suffering. The video was sent to Sikandar Ali, a social activist from Giridih, who later posted it on social media.
- Out of the 14 workers, one is from Bokaro, four are from Giridih, and the rest are from Hazaribagh.
- All the workers are employed by EMC Electromechanical Co. LLC in Dubai and were working on transmission line projects. They have now stopped working.
- Speaking to The Hindu from Dubai, Ajay Kumar Mahato, a 27-year-old worker from Giridih, said they are facing serious difficulties.
- He said that the company has taken away their passports and is not allowing them to return to India.
- Ajay said the workers only want to go back home safely, but cannot do so because their passports are being held by the company.
- He explained that they had agreed to work for a salary of 1,600 dirhams per month, but the company is cutting most of the money, saying it is to recover ticket expenses.
- All the workers had gone to Dubai in the first week of October 2025.
- According to the workers, a man named Ghanshyam Mahato from Hazaribagh, who had worked with the same company for 16 years, helped arrange their jobs.
- When contacted, Ghanshyam Mahato said that the company had clearly told the workers that 50 dirhams per month would be cut from their salary to recover ticket costs.
- He said this condition was written in the contract, but the workers told him that the company deducted the entire ticket amount at once, leaving them with no money.
- Ghanshyam questioned how the company could deduct the full amount in one go when the contract mentioned monthly deductions.
- Another worker, Rajesh Kumar Mahato, aged 25, said the company never told them about any salary deduction.
- Rajesh said they were told that the company would pay for tickets, food, accommodation, and visa, but now the company is charging them even for accommodation.
- He added that the workers do not have enough money even to buy food.
- Shikha Lakra, head of the State Migrant Workers Control Room under the Labour Department, said the department has received the complaint and has spoken directly to the workers.
- She said the workers have been asked to send their employment contracts, after which further action will be taken.
- She added that the government first needs to verify the truth of the incident.
- According to her, some documents have already been received, and the authorities are waiting for the remaining ones.
Form 7 Ling Sparks Outrage in Gujarat
- Serious allegations have come up in Gujarat regarding the large-scale filing of Form 7 applications, which are used to remove names from the voters’ list during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
- Many voters have said that their personal details, such as name, phone number, and voter ID (EPIC) number, were misused, and that their signatures were forged to file fake deletion requests.
- In some cases, voters claimed they were asked to sign hundreds of forms and were told that these were for adding names to the voter list, not removing them.
- Opposition parties like the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused leaders of the ruling BJP of planning and running this exercise.
- They alleged that although the names and signatures of objectors were handwritten, the forms were filed in bulk, which could lead to the deletion of lakhs of voters across the State.
- The BJP rejected all allegations and said the SIR process is transparent and that neither the party nor the government is involved.
- The Election Commission said that any voter in a constituency can submit a Form 7 objection.
- While there is no fixed limit on the number of objections one person can file, submitting more than five forms requires strict checking by the Electoral Registration Officer to prevent misuse.
- When The Hindu contacted several people in Devbhoomi Dwarka, Rajkot, and Ahmedabad, whose names appeared as objectors, they said they had never filed any such forms.
- Despite this, the forms contained their names, EPIC numbers, phone details, and signatures.
- One such case involved Maitra Maheshbhai, an electrician from Rajkot South, whose name appeared on a Form 7 objecting to another voter.
- Maitra said he had never submitted such a form and did not even know about it, though he said he was connected to the BJP.
- Another application was filed in the name of Mansukh Kadavala, a farmer from Bhanvad, but the phone number on the form was wrong.
- Kadavala later confirmed that he had not filed any objection.
- Mustafa D. Surma, a journalist, said that more than 30 forms were submitted using Mr. Kadavala’s name.
- Similar complaints were reported from many other parts of Gujarat.
- In Junagadh, a BJP councillor filed an objection to remove the name of Padma Shri awardee Mir Haji Kasam Rathod, which caused public anger.
- The councillor later said it happened due to a surname mistake.
- Another voter, Devayat Rajshibhai Karmur, said he lives in a remote village and rarely visits the town, yet forms were submitted in his name.
- In Ahmedabad’s Gomtipur area, residents said they were asked to sign between 300 and 1,200 forms, believing they were for voter inclusion.
- When they found out the truth, they submitted affidavits asking the Election Commission to cancel those forms.
- Arbaz Khan, a worker from Patan, said he was taken to a local BJP leader’s residence and asked to sign 700 forms, with promises of benefits.
- As Gujarat nears finalising its voter list, officials initially said nearly 10 lakh deletion forms were received.
- Two days later, this figure was corrected, and the final number was said to be 1.83 lakh.
Important Questions
- What did Prime Minister Narendra Modi announce about “Made in India” products after his telephonic conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the 18% reduced tariff in the United States?
- How is the agreement mentioned by Donald Trump on Truth Social expected to reduce the impact of the 50% penalty tariffs imposed in August 2025 on Indian goods?
- Why did the 14 migrant workers from Giridih, Hazaribagh and Bokaro employed by EMC Electromechanical Co. LLC appeal to the Jharkhand State government for help to return from Dubai?
- What problems did Ajay Kumar Mahato and other workers report regarding non-payment of wages, seizure of passports, and deductions from their 1,600 dirhams salary?
- What allegations were made during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Gujarat regarding mass filing of Form 7 applications for deletion of voters’ names?
- How did voters from districts like Rajkot, Ahmedabad and Devbhoomi Dwarka claim their EPIC numbers, personal details and signatures were misused without consent?
Important Vocabulary
- Tariff – tax charged on goods imported into a country
- Reciprocal – given or done by both sides equally
- Capitulated – surrendered or gave in to pressure
- Non-binding – not legally compulsory or enforceable
- Migrant – a person who moves to another place for work
- Withholding – keeping something back unfairly
- Facilitated – helped to arrange or make possible
- Authenticity – truth or genuineness of something
- Allegations – claims made without final proof
- Forged – copied or signed illegally
- Scrutiny – careful checking or examination
- Affidavits – written statements sworn as true
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