India meedha tarrifs penchuthunna

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Gautam Adani steps down as executive chairman of Adani Ports

Gautam Adani has officially stepped down from his role as Executive Chairman of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), marking a significant leadership shift in India’s largest private port operator. The announcement was made via a regulatory filing with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday, 5 August 2025.

According to the company’s statement, “The Board approved the re-designation of Mr Gautam S Adani from Executive Chairman to Non-Executive Chairman with effect from August 5, 2025, and consequently, he would cease to be key managerial personnel of the company.”

The change signals a deeper transition in governance at APSEZ, with the group patriarch gradually distancing himself from executive responsibilities across the Adani conglomerate. While no specific reason was cited for the move, it aligns with the group’s ongoing efforts to professionalise operations amid regulatory scrutiny and market pressures.

Leadership Refresh: Manish Kejriwal Joins Board

In a parallel announcement, the board appointed Manish Kejriwal as an Additional Director (Non-Executive, Independent) for a term of three years starting 5 August 2025, subject to shareholder approval within the next three months.

Kejriwal, a well-known figure in the Indian private equity landscape, is the founder of Kedaara Capital and previously served with Temasek Holdings. His appointment is viewed as part of a strategic governance strengthening initiative, bringing external oversight and credibility to the board.

Broader Context: Governance and Strategy

Gautam Adani’s step back from an executive role comes at a pivotal time for the group, following a period of intense global scrutiny. In early 2023, the conglomerate was targeted by a short-seller report from Hindenburg Research, which led to a significant drop in stock prices and a broader re-evaluation of governance practices within the Adani Group.

Since then, the group has moved to shore up investor confidence, reduce debt, and bring in independent directors across its portfolio companies. The appointment of Manish Kejriwal fits within this wider pattern of bolstering corporate governance and attracting credible external oversight.

While Gautam Adani remains a towering figure in Indian industry and retains non-executive influence, the latest move underscores a shift towards institutionalising leadership at APSEZ. 

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NSA Ajit Doval in Moscow, as Trump delivers fresh threats of sanctions on Indian import of Russian oil

NSA Ajit Doval talks to discuss security cooperation, ahead of Putin’s visit to India this year, EAM Jaishankar expected to travel to Moscow soon

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will hold meetings with senior Russian officials in Moscow on Wednesday (August 6, 2025), to discuss India-Russia defence and security cooperation, oil sanctions, and an upcoming Modi-Putin summit.

Mr. Doval’s visit to Russia began even as U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would announce “very substantial” increases to the 25% tariffs on Indian goods expected to kick in on Thursday (August 7, 2025) because of Indian oil purchases from Russia.

“The current escalation of the geopolitical situation will also be discussed. Apart from that, the topics will include such pressing matters as supplies of Russian oil [to India],” Russia’s official TASS agency reported.

Among talks on defence cooperation, Mr. Doval is also expected to speak about the delivery of the remaining S-400 missile systems, that played an important role during the India-Pakistan conflict and operation Sindoor in May this year. This is the NSA’s first visit to Moscow since Operation Sindoor, although he attended the SCO NSA meeting in Beijing in June and met with Mr. Shoigu’s deputy, Russia’s Security Council Deputy Secretary Aleksandr Venediktov there. In addition, Russia’s recent decision to grant recognition to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan is also expected to come up.

While Mr. Doval’s visit was scheduled some weeks ago, he is expected to talk about India’s stand on the U.S. threats and tariffs and will also prepare for the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India later this year for the annual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two sides will also possibly discuss the latest moves for talks between Russia and Ukraine, after the Kremlin said on Tuesday (August 5, 2025) that U.S. Special envoy Steve Witkoff will be in Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Announcing the upcoming visit of Mr. Witkoff on Tuesday (August 5, 2025), Mr. Putin’s Presidential aide Dmitry Peshkov said that Mr. Putin was prepared to meet Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after expert-level talks but gave no timeline for the meeting.

When asked about Mr. Trump’s latest threats against India, Mr. Peshkov said that Russia believes “sovereign countries must have, and do have, the right to choose their trade partners, the partners in trade and economic cooperation, on their own, and independently determine those modes of trade and economic cooperation that suit the interests of a country in question.”

Later this month, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will also visit Moscow for talks on the visit, which has been delayed for several years due to the Ukraine conflict which began in February 2022. PM Modi had visited Moscow last July, reviving the summit after a gap of three years.

Mr. Doval travelled to Moscow overnight, leaving Delhi after the official and bilateral meetings during Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State visit to Delhi.

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Indian FMCG giants mull new manufacturing units for exports to US as tariffs bite

Indian consumer goods manufacturers such as Amul and ITC are evaluating alternative production base for exports to the US, which could include setting up factories in third countries having favourable trade terms or even in the US itself to navigate rising tariff-related uncertainties.

Parle Products, AWL Agri Business, and Godrej Consumer Products are also among those selling atta, noodles, biscuits, frozen products and dairy items in the US to stores owned by Southeast Asians, catering mostly to the Indian diaspora.

While dairy brand Amul has been producing and selling milk in the US, making it more cost-effective, the company is now planning to extend it to cheese, paneer, and butter instead of importing from India, said Jayen Mehta, managing director.

He said dairy products already attract a high 60-70% tariff in the US, and the additional duty announced by US President Donald Trump will make Indian exports to US unviable from the price point of view. "Such tariff burdens are always passed on to the consumers," said Mehta.

President Trump on Wednesday doubled the tariff on India to 50%, leading local exporters to raise concerns about the impact on their operations. To be sure, exports to the US as part of the total export revenue is still in single digits for most consumer goods manufacturers in India, though it has been growing steadily.

An industry executive said ITC may consider exporting biscuits, frozen food and shrimps, and ready-to-eat products from Dubai. A final decision will be taken after a few months to see whether the US government continues the high tariff regime on India. ITC currently packages atta in Dubai for exports to the US since India has an export ban on wheat and wheat products, the executive said.

The US has levied 10% and 25% tariffs on the UAE and Mexico, respectively.

Air-conditioner maker Blue Star managing director B Thiagarajan said the firm has the option to set up a plant in Mexico to cater to US.

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EAM S Jaishankar to visit Moscow for talks with Sergey Lavrov on August 21, confirms Russia

EAM Jaishankar to visit Moscow on August 21 for talks with Russian FM Sergey Lavrov.

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Bessent says tariffs on India could go up if Trump-Putin talks in Alaska fail

More significantly, Bessent wants the European bloc to join the US on these sanctions

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has suggested that the secondary tariffs on India and China could go higher for buying oil from Moscow and the decision will depend upon President Donald Trump’s scheduled meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15.

More significantly, he wants the European bloc to join the US on these sanctions. However, if the talks succeed, these measures against Russia “can be loosened”, Bessent said.

 

“The Europeans need to join us in these sanctions,” Bessent said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. “They need to.”

“It’s put up or shut up time,” Bessent said. “We put secondary tariffs on the Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see if things don’t go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up.”

Trump has imposed a base tariff of 25 percent on Indian exports along with an additional 25 percent penalty for importing Russian oil, taking the total levies on goods to 50 percent.

Trump said India and other nations such as China are funding Russia’s war machine in Ukraine, an accusation that New Delhi has sharply rebutted as “unjustified and unreasonable”.

Bessent claimed that the response from EU on US proposals was cold so far, especially when he floated the idea during a Group of Seven nations meeting earlier in the year.

At a recent G-7 meeting in Canada, Bessent said he “looked at all the leaders around the table, and I said, is everyone at this table willing to put a 200% secondary tariff on China? And you know what? Everybody wanted to see what kind of shoes they were wearing.”

The US, along with European nations, Japan and other countries have piled sanctions on Russia since the start of that country’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The European Union adopted its 18th package of sanctions on Russia in July, including on Russian energy.

Earlier, the treasury secretary had said that several large trade deals are yet to be finalized and India had been "a bit recalcitrant” in talks with the US.