Trump's 50% India Tariff, RBI's Repo Rate Unchanged, ED Heat On Anil Ambani — The Week That Was
The Trump administration escalated its trade offensive on India by announcing a 25% additional tariff as a punitive measure for imports of Russian oil.
India-US trade tensions took centre stage this week as President Donald Trump raised the heat by imposing a unilateral 50% tariff on Indian exports. The Reserve Bank of India kept its benchmark interest rate and monetary policy stance unchanged, besides projecting a muted inflation.
The Enforcement Directorate intensified its investigation of Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani in a large loan fraud case.
Here's a wrap of this week's top business and national developments.
Trump Tariffs And Modi's Response
The Trump administration escalated its trade offensive on India by announcing a 25% additional tariff as a punitive measure for imports of Russian oil. That rate came on top of the 25% 'reciprocal' duty Washington imposed last week on Indian exports.
The Modi government criticised the tariffs and the prime minister pledged to stand up for farmers' interests in the face of US pressure.
The two countries are set to hold their fifth round of trade talks at the end of this month to try to iron out lingering issues.
Notably, the government announced that Modi will visit China around the same time to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit India at the end of 2025, reports said on Thursday.
RBI MPC: Stay Steady In Uncertain Times
The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee decided unanimously to keep the repo rate unchanged at 5.5% and maintain the policy stance at 'neutral'. The central bank emphasised that the real impact of its earlier rate cuts is still filtering through the economy.
Governor Sanjay Malhotra said headline inflation is lower because of steady food prices and inflation is projected to only go up from the last quarter of the current financial year.
The RBI lowered its FY26 inflation estimate to 3.1%, well within its comfort zone.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra at a post-MPC press conference. (Image: RBI)
On the growth front, Malhotra said the economy is holding up and broadly evolving along lines of the central bank's assessment. India's GDP forecast this year has been retained at 6.5%.
The governor noted that global trade challenges continue to linger, but over the medium term, the Indian economy holds bright prospects.
ED Tails Anil Ambani In Loan Fraud Probe
Anil Ambani was questioned by the ED on Tuesday in connection to the alleged loan fraud case linked to Reliance Group entities, seen as one of the biggest corporate loan frauds currently under investigation.
The case involves complex financial dealings, including alleged quid pro quo arrangements with bankers, suspicious investments routed through shell companies, and forged bank guarantees.
The ED has sought details from a dozen banks on the process followed for loan clearances, the timeline of default and recovery action that followed on such accounts, sources said. Bankers may be summoned and questioned if the investigators are not satisfied with the replies, they added.
As per persons privy to the development, Ambani told officials that he is not aware of various transactions which the ED has pointed out related to the loan fraud case. He could be summoned again.
NSDL Listing, JSW Cement IPO
NSDL listed after a strong IPO, (Image: NDTV Profit)
The National Securities Depository Ltd. made an impressive debut on the stock market on Wednesday, listing at a premium 10% over its IPO price. Shares have rallied for three consecutive sessions.
JSW Cement Ltd. hit the primary market to raise funds via IPO. The company aims to raise up to Rs 1,600 crore via a fresh issue, while existing shareholders, including State Bank of India, will sell shares via an offer for sale aggregating up to Rs 2,000 crore.
The stock will list on Aug. 14 on the bourses.
TCS Salary Hike
Tata Consultancy Services announced it will roll out increments to nearly 4.5 lakh staffers from Sept. 1, 2025.
NDTV Profit has learnt that junior to mid-senior level employees in three brackets — C1, C2 and C3A — will qualify for the annual raise. These three categories have an annual CTC (cost to company) of Rs 15 to Rs 35 lakh.
The wage hike comes after India's largest IT company announced a cut to its workforce by 12,000 this year.
Uttarkashi Floods
Tragedy hit Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district on Tuesday as flash floods demolished nearly half of the picturesque Dharali village. The village is the main stopover on the way to Gangotri, from where the Ganga originates.
Evacuation of stranded pilgrims from areas around Dharali continued on Friday, with authorities focusing on rescue and relief operations via air as the Gangotri National Highway and several rural motor roads were damaged at a number of points.
In the rescue operations carried out so far, two bodies have been found while more than 50 are missing, including nine army personnel, officials engaged in rescue operations said.
