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India and the European Union have finalised a landmark trade deal that will represent a quarter of the world's economy, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday, as the two sides seek to hedge against fickle ties with the U.S, Reuters reported. 

After nearly two decades of on-off negotiations, the deal will pave the way for India to open up its vast and guarded market, the world's largest, to free trade with the 27-nation EU, its biggest trading partner.

"Yesterday, a big agreement was signed between the European Union and India," Modi said, according to Reuters. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday presented a Russian edition of the Bhagavad Gita to President Vladimir Putin, calling the sacred text a source of inspiration for millions across the world, India Today reported. 

Modi shared the moment on X, posting a photograph in which both leaders are seen holding the book during their meeting in Delhi.

“Presented a copy of the Gita in Russian to President Putin. The teachings of the Gita give inspiration to millions across the world,” the Prime Minister wrote, underlining the scripture’s universal appeal, according to India Today. 

Starting Monday, the daily economic burdens of millions of Indians could ease slightly, BBC reported.

Staples like milk and bread, life and medical insurance and life-saving drugs will become tax-free. Consumption tax on small cars, television sets and air conditioners will drop from 28% to 18%. And other common goods like hair oil, toilet soap and shampoo will be taxed at a marginal 5% instead of 12% or 18%.

The sweeping cuts are part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's major overhaul of India's complex goods and services tax (GST) regime announced earlier this month. 

This is expected to both simplify the tax code and give flagging household consumption - which makes up over half of India's gross domestic product (GDP) - a much-needed fillip, according to BBC.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the third day of his China trip, attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) leaders meeting in Tianjin on Monday (September 1, 2025).

He addressed the plenary session of the summit, in which he spoke on the Pahalgam attack, stating that “terrorism is a collective challenge to humanity,” The Hindu reported.

Modi will later participate in a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin before returning to India.

The SCO summit kicked off on Sunday in the northern port city of Tianjin, days before a massive military parade in the capital Beijing to mark 80 years since the end of World War II.

In his opening remarks, China’s President Xi Jinping called for setting up ‘SCO development bank’ for economic cooperation, according to Hindu.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said it is important for the “dragon and the elephant to come together”.

In his opening remarks during delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of SCO Summit in China, President Xi Jinping said on Sunday it is vital for India and China to be friends and good neighbours, Hindustan Times reported.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said it is important for the “dragon and the elephant to come together”.

"The World is going towards transformation. China and India are two of the most civilizational countries. We are the world's two most populous countries and part of the Global South... It is vital to be friends, a good neighbour, and the Dragon and the Elephant to come together...," Xi Jinping said, according to Hindustan Times.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the opening of a regional summit on Sunday in Tianjin, in a formal thaw between the two nuclear-armed powers, Associated Press reported.

Modi is on his first visit to China since relations between the two sides deteriorated after Chinese and Indian soldiers engaged in deadly border clashes in 2020. Modi is visiting as part of India’s membership into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional political, economic and security group founded by China.

Ahead of Modi’s visit, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi flew to New Delhi earlier in August, as the two sides announced their rapprochement. Both governments pledged to restart border talks, and resume issuing visas and direct flights, according to Associated Press.

Wang’s visit coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose 50% tariffs on India for its purchase of Russian oil, but Delhi’s process of rebuilding ties with China had been in the works for months

President Donald Trump’s tariff hike on Indian goods took effect Wednesday, doubling duties to as much as 50 percent on products like textiles, jewelry, footwear, furniture and chemicals, Reuters reported.

The move, tied partly to India’s Russian oil purchases, puts thousands of exporters and jobs at risk, especially in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat. India’s Commerce Ministry says it will support affected businesses and encourage them to seek new markets in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

A short grace period allows goods already in transit to enter the US at lower rates until September 17.

Washington argues Indian tariffs unfairly restrict US exports, pointing to rates as high as 100 percent on autos and heavy duties on farm goods. India counters its average tariff on US imports is only 7.5 percent, according to Reuters.

India and the UK will sign a trade agreement on July 24 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, aiming to double bilateral trade to $120bn by 2030.

The deal is expected to boost Indian exports in textiles, leather, gems and jewellery, pharmaceuticals, and engineering goods by removing duties and easing market access. It may also simplify UK approvals for Indian drugs and open new opportunities for IT and professional services, according to Firstpost.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Donald Trump that Operation Sindoor remains underway and that India will respond to Pakistan’s bullets with bombs, Hindustan Times reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi told US President Donald Trump on Wednesday the decision by India and Pakistan to halt military actions in May was made directly during talks between the armies of the two sides and without any mediation by the US, pushing back against the American leader’s claims that he brokered a ceasefire.

The issue figured in a phone conversation initiated at Trump’s request after the two leaders were unable to meet on the margins of the G7 Summit in Canada because of the US president’s return to the US ahead of schedule, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said, according to Hindustan Times.

During the 35-minute conversation, Modi told Trump that “India has never accepted mediation, does not and will never do so”, Misri said, speaking in Hindi. Modi made it clear to Trump that during the entire episode of the four days of military clashes between the two countries during May 7-10, issues such as the “India-US trade deal or mediation by the US between India and Pakistan” were not discussed “at no time [or] at any level”.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the site of the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad and met with injured victims at the Civil Hospital on Friday.

The London-bound flight crashed into a residential area shortly after take-off on Thursday, killing 241 of the 242 people on board. The sole survivor, British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, is recovering in hospital. The number of casualties on the ground remains unknown, according to Firstpost.

The aircraft was carrying 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian, according to Air India.

Families of the victims have begun providing DNA samples to aid in the identification process.

PM Modi chaired a high-level meeting in Ahmedabad with ministers and senior officials to oversee rescue operations, victim identification, and support measures for affected families, according to Firstpost.

Describing the tragedy as “beyond words,” Modi expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and offered condolences to the bereaved families.

The UK and India have signed a trade agreement to reduce tariffs and boost exports. UK goods like whisky, gin, cars, food products, and medical devices will face lower duties in India, while Indian exports of clothing, footwear, jewellery, and seafood will become cheaper in the UK, according to BBC.

The deal, expected to take effect within a year, aims to increase bilateral trade by £25.5bn annually by 2040. Tariffs on UK whisky will drop from 150 percent to 75 percent, with further cuts to follow.

It also contains bilateral exemptions from double social security contributions for personnel temporarily transferred between the two nations.

Officials hailed the pact as a significant boost to commerce and jobs, while some UK politicians expressed worries about its tax implications, BBC reported.

Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday while reiterating Pakistan’s strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, said that Pakistan as a responsible country was open to participate ‘in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation’ into Pahalgam incident.

He said contrary to it on the Eastern border, their neighbour continued a pattern of exploitation and levelling of baseless allegations and false accusations without credible investigation or verifiable evidences in the recent tragedy of Pahalgam which was ‘yet another example of this perpetual blame game which must come to a grinding halt.’

Addressing a passing out parade of Pakistan Military Academy cadets, the prime minister said that water had been a vital national interest of Pakistan and lifeline for its 240 million people and “Let there be no doubt at all that its availability would be safeguarded at all costs and circumstances.”

In an apparent reference to India’s announcement of suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, the prime minister said “Any attempt to stop, reduce and divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty will be responded to with full force and might and no one should remain under any kind of false impression and confusion.

- APP

Pakistan has called for an international investigation into the deaths of 26 men in Indian-administered Kashmir, expressing a willingness to cooperate with global inspectors.

While India has accused Pakistani groups of being behind the attack, Islamabad strongly denied any participation and criticized New Delhi for using the tragedy to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty and pursue domestic interests, Reuters reported.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has warned that rising tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors could result in regional instability and calamity.

Although the group Kashmir Resistance claimed responsibility for the attack, Indian authorities allege it is linked to Pakistan-based terrorist networks, as stated by Reuters.

Minister Asif rejected these accusations, asserting that such groups are no longer active in Pakistan and that their remaining members are either under house arrest or in custody.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday issued a stern warning to the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack, saying India will "pursue them to the end of the Earth," Business Standard reported.

Addressing a public meeting in Bihar's Madhubani, PM Modi said, "Today, on the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world - India will identify, trace, and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth. India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism."

"Terrorism will not go unpunished. Every effort will be made to make sure that justice is done. The entire nation is one in this resolve. Everyone who believes in humanity is with us. I thank the people of various countries and their leaders who have stood with us," he added, according to Business Standard.

PM Modi's remarks came after terrorists killed 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22. The Prime Minister emphasised that the attack had not just been on unarmed tourists, but on the "faith of the country".

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation on Wednesday.

During the conversation, PM Oli expressed sadness over the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir.

The Prime Minister also thanked the Indian government for offering condolences following the incident in which a Nepali citizen also lost his life.

Informing about the telephone conversation held with Indian Prime Minister Modi, Prime Minister Oli through social media X said that he stands with India in the fight against such terrorist attacks.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia at the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He will co-chair the second meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council, according to the Firstpost.

Prior to his first visit to Jeddah, Modi declared, "India deeply values its long and historic ties with Saudi Arabia, which have acquired strategic depth and momentum in recent years." He added both the countries  are mutually dedicated in promoting regional peace, prosperity, security, and stability, Firstpost reported.

This is PM Modi’s third visit since taking over the office in 2014.