FRIDAY 01 AUGUST, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard File photo CHINA IMD PREDICTS ABOVE-NORMAL RAINFALL IN 2ND HALF OF MONSOON RACES TO TAKE ON STARLINK A WETTER SEPTEMBER IN THE OFFING Scientists have been working overtime to counter what Beijing sees as a potent threat: Elon Musk’ s armada of Starlink communications satellites. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9 DON TERMS INDIA’S ECONOMY ‘DEAD’ POKE-MAN I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care Donald Trump TRUMP IS RIGHT, SAYS RAHUL India’s purchase of Russian oil is “a point of irritation” in New Delhi’s relationship with Washington, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday, adding that it is helping Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine NEW DELHI  J8.00 Endorsing Trump’s criticism of the Indian economy, Cong leader Rahul Gandhi said everybody except PM Modi knows India’s economy is ‘dead’. “Yes, he is right... I am glad that President Trump has stated a fact,” he said | P7 P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi EVEN as US President Donald Trump doubled down his attack on India calling it a ‘dead economy’, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal told Parliament on Thursday that India would take all necessary steps to safeguard and promote national interest. Goyal’s assertion came a day after Trump announced 25% tariffs on Indian goods plus an additional penalty for doing business with Russia, with effect from August 1. In a suo motu statement in both the Houses of Parliament, Goyal said the government is examining the implications of the US move and is engaged with all stakeholders, including exporters and industry , for taking feedback of their assessment of the situation. “The government attaches utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, exporters, MSMEs and all sections of industry We will . take all necessary steps to secure and advance our national interest,” he said. The minister also said that in just over a decade, India has emerged the fastest growing major economy in the world and it is expected to become the third largest in a few years. Though Opposition members demanded the government’s re- sponse on Trump’s remarks, Goyal’s statement did not find any mention of it. The Opposition MPs were referring to Trump’s attack on India and Russia for their bonhomie. “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world,” Trump said. In response to Trump’s take, Goyal said international institutions see India as a bright spot. “India is contributing to 16% of global growth. Our exports have steadily increased. In an increasingly protectionist world, India has done mutually beneficial trade pacts with UAE, UK, Australia and EFTA countries. We are committed to similar agreements with others,” he said. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said there was no discussion on the real issues such as failure to reach a trade deal with the US, the imposition of a 25% tariff on Indian exports, and additional punitive actions for trading with Russia and Iran. “The minister wasted time in self-praise. It is quite clear that India now faces new and bigger challenges with the US. The much-touted personal friendship that PM Modi relied on has proved to be completely hollow” Ramesh said. P7 Experts dismiss Don deal on Pak’s oil reserves B A L A C H A U H A N @ Bengaluru AFTER imposing 25% tariff on India, US President Donald Trump sought to rub it in, saying he had struck a deal with Pakistan to develop its ‘massive’ oil reserves. “Who knows, maybe they’ll be selling Oil to India some day!” he quipped. But strategic experts tracking Pakistan were not impressed. “It doesn’t impress anyone for there are no proven offshore or onshore oil reserves in Pakistan,” said Sharat Sabharwal, former Indian Foreign Service officer and former diplomat to Pakistan. Trump’s reference to the oil deal with Pakistan seems to be EXPRESS READ NCP minister in rummy row loses agri portfolio Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Manikrao Kokate, who was embroiled in a row after being seen playing an online rummy game on cellphone in the Assembly, lost agriculture portfolio on Thursday. He will be the new sports and youth welfare minister. | P8 EC: Electoral College finalised for V-P poll The EC said that it would soon announce the schedule for conducting the election to the post of vice-president and has already finalised the Electoral College. The election has been necessitated following the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21.  PAGES 12 WILL TAKE ALL STEPS TO PROMOTE NATIONAL INTEREST, SAYS GOYAL India grins and bears the dead economy barb ‘RUSSIAN OIL TRADE A POINT OF IRRITATION’  Most parts of the country, except the Northeast and adjoining areas of eastern India, are expected to record normal rainfall in August, said IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra during an online press conference. Rainfall in September is likely to be above normal, he said. India received above-normal rainfall during June and July, with flash floods in some parts | P7 part of his effort to ratchet up pressure on India to get his trade deal, he said. The purported oil deal remains “unclear”, said Swathi Kalyani, geospatial researcher at Bengaluru-based think tank, The Takshashila Institution. “While there are claims about surveys done regarding offshore oil reserves in India, there is no publicly available data currently to validate the same for Pakistan... If we compare the proven oil reserves, India’s global position is 23rd, much ahead of Pakistan’s 52,” Kalyani said. Kalyani added that most of Pakistan’s operational oil fields are in its north but a signifi- cant number of gas fields are along the Indus, in the Balochistan region. Kalyani said oil mining will have wider consequences for the region and the dependent population. “With American investments coming in, Pakistan may end up facing collateral damage,” she added. “The well known oil reserve of Pakistan in the Indus basin is the Sari field (World Oil Map) discovered in 1966. It is spread across Sindh majorly, and remains in Balochistan. A 2017 report by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) regarding undiscovered oil reserves in the Lower Indus Basin, too, did not say anything about offshore reserves,” she added. INDIA’S OIL RESERVES MUCH AHEAD OF PAK India’s recoverable oil reserves in 2023 were 4.9 billion barrels (US EIA). In 2024, the estimated crude oil reserves in India stood at 671.40 million tonnes. On the other hand, the known energy potential of Pakistan according to a 2023 report of the Ministry of Energy, Government of Pakistan, is just 1,228.955 million (1.2 billion) US barrels GDP GROWTH COULD TAKE 20-30 BPS HIT, SAY ANALYSTS B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai IF the 25% tariff on Indian goods announced by US President Donald Trump is implemented from August 1, it could pull down India’s economic growth by 20-30 basis points (bps) in the current fiscal, say experts, adding that the effective rate could come down as the trade talks are still on. “We do not see the tariff threat impacting GDP growth meaningfully… at worst, the impact is 30 bps. We expect final tariffs to settle in lower than 25%, as trade talks are on,” said British brokerage Barclays. Elara Securities also expects a 30 bps drag on India’s GDP growth if there is no deal with the US. It added that the weakening rupee will be the first line of defence and thus the probability of a 50 bps rate cut in August has risen, which could cushion the economy against exter nal shocks. But as of now, the tariff is negative on the rupee, which is speculated to reach the 88.5-89 level against the dollar. According to Japanese brokerage Nomura Securities, the net impact of US tariff on India would be lower. “Taking into account sectoral exemptions, we estimate the effective tariff rate at 20% and this will be a 20 bps downside risk to the growth forecast for this fiscal,” Nomura economists Sonal Varma and Aurodeep Nandi said. Nomura has forecast India’s FY26 GDP growth at 6.2% with a downside risk of 20 bps. “Exports to the US account for just 2.2% of the GDP and in, clude pharma, smartphones, gems & jewellery, industrial machinery, auto components, textiles and iron & steel; most of which will likely face margin pressure,” it said. Aditi Raman, associate economist at Moody’s Analytics, said the US is India’s largest trade partner accounting for 18% of total exports. However, India’s economy is more domestically oriented than most of the region and relies far less on trade, she noted. In 2024, Indian exports to the US amounted to $81 billion. Pharma, gems and textiles are the most vulnerable sectors to the US tariff heat. 17 YEARS LATER Court acquits all 7 accused in Malegaon blast S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai ‘Spiritual Policeman’: Capital gets new top cop E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi DIRECTOR General of Home Guards SBK Singh has been given additional charge of Delhi Police Commissioner, replacing Sanjay Arora, who retired on Thursday, according to a Ministry of Home Affairs order. He took charge as the 25th Delhi Police Commissioner. An alumnus of St. Stephen’s College where he studied Physics, Singh had investigated high-profile cases like the Uphaar fire tragedy and Ponty Chaddha murder case. Singh, expected to retire next February is an AGMUT cadre officer , of the 1988-batch. Known for his investigative acumen and ability to handle high-stakes MYANMAR LIFTS EMERGENCY, READY FOR VOTE The military government said it was ending the state of emergency it declared 4 1/2 years ago and restructuring administrative bodies for a new election by year-end. The announcements came as the last of seven consecutive six-month, emergency-rule decrees was set to expire. | P9 cases, Singh authors a blog, ‘Spiritual Policeman’, offering insights into his unique perspective on law enforcement. In his 36-year-long career, Singh served as DGP in Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram and held key assignments in Delhi Police, Research & Analysis Wing, and Pondicherry Police. He received Police Medal for Meritorious Service (2004) and President’s Medal for Distinguished Service (2012). In Delhi Police, he worked as Special Commissioner (Technology and Project Implementation Division), Special CP (Law and Order), and Special CP (Security). He handled security during the high-profile visit of then US President Barack Obama for the Republic Day in 2015 and the Indo-Africa Summit. As Special CP (Law and Order), he introduced Public Facilitation Desks in police stations and supervised probes across seven police districts. Outgoing commissioner Arora, a 1988-batch IPS officer from the Tamil Nadu cadre, served in several key roles, ITBP, and CAPF. He took charge as Delhi Police chief on August 1, 2022. During his tenure, the city witnessed cyber frauds, bomb threats, two blasts in Rohini, and the Shraddha Walkar murder case. Some other major issues also made headlines under his watch, including the arrest of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, the wrestlers’ protest, and the Swati Maliwal assault case. Accused (from top) Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sameer Kulkarni and Ajay Rahirkar BIKE DATA IPS officer SBK Singh takes charge as Delhi Police Commissioner | PARVEEN NEGI Student of Physics SBK Singh studied Physics in St. Stephen’s College and had investigated high-profile cases like Uphaar fire tragedy and Ponty Chaddha murder case. Singh is expected to retire next February. Lahoti said chassis tampering of the bike used in the blast could not be established. Since forensic experts failed to fully recover its serial number, it could not be traced back to Pragya Thakur SEVENTEEN years after the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast that killed six persons, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Thursday acquitted all seven accused, including BJP leader and former Lok Sabha MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit. Pronouncing the verdict, judge A K Lahoti stated, “Terror has no religion because no religion can advocate violence…. So, the judgment cannot be based on moral and public perceptions.” Significantly, NIA special public prosecutor Rohini Salian had in 2015 resigned claiming that the agency was going out of its way to water down the case and had been given standing instructions to go easy on the ‘Hindu terror’ accused. Judge Lahoti faulted the prosecution for failing to prove that the bike used in the blast belonged to Pragya Singh Thakur. “She became a sadhvi at least two years before the blast... no cogent material against her or any other accused,” the judge said. The court also noted that since no fingerprints or DNA samples were collected on time from the spot, the subsequent forensic report could not be relied upon as the evidence was contaminated. “There can be strong suspicion but mere suspicion is not enough to punish them. The high degree of suspicion is established but not enough to convict them,” the court said, adding it has given the accused the benefit of doubt. Lahoti also found no evidence to establish that Abhinav Bharat, an outfit founded by Pragya Thakur and Col Purohit, used its funds for terror activities. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) initially investigated the case and arrested 12 people, including Pragya and Purohit under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The case went to the NIA in 2011. While MCOCA was lifted against the accused after the NIA took over, Lahoti said two sanction orders for invoking the UAPA, passed by ACS-Home, were defective. “Sanction 197 was not required. Hence, UAPA cannot be invoked,” he said. P8 Del-London AI Dreamliner aborts take-off, 2nd case in 10 days E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi IN the second such instance involving an Air India flight within 10 days, the cockpit crew aborted the take-off of Dreamliner Boeing 787-9 aircraft from Delhi to London, carrying 215 passengers, due to a technical glitch and steered the plane to the parking bay . Flight AI2017 was scheduled to take off at 1.25 pm from Terminal 3, according to a flight tracking online platform. The alternative flight took off at 5.47 pm, four hours and 22 minutes behind schedule. “The pilot aborted the takeoff due to technical reasons. As the pilot was taxiing before the take-off, the decision to return was taken,” sources said. An AI spokesperson said, “Flight AI2017 operating from Delhi to London on July 31 returned to the bay due to a suspected technical issue. The cockpit crew decided to discontinue the take-off run following standard operating procedures and brought the aircraft back for precautionary checks.” This is the latest in a series of incidents involving the Air India group. In a similar incident on July 21 an AI flight, an Airbus A320 Neo with 160-plus passengers from Delhi to Kolkata was aborted when it was taxiing for take-off. On June 17, an AI Express Boeing (IX 1113) from Delhi to Ranchi developed a technical snag midair and returned to IGIA. On June 15, an AI flight (AI 819) from Delhi to Vadodara returned to Delhi due to technical issues. On May 31, a Delhi to Singapore AI flight was aborted twice before take-off due to tech glitch.