News Headlines for CAT, CLAT and IPM aspirant

Source:The Print Media ( The Hindu, Indian Express and others )

Trump and team ‘frustrated’ with India over trade talks, says U.S. Treasury Secretary

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Donald Trump and the whole trade negotiation team had been “frustrated” with India over the trade talks. His comments came a day after Mr. Trump announced the imposition of a 25% tariff on all goods coming from India starting August 1, plus an unspecified penalty for buying Russian crude oil and military equipment.

India, Russia can take their ‘dead economies’ down together: Trump

A day after announcing 25% tariff rate on India in addition to an unspecified “penalty” tariff for India purchasing Russian energy and arms, U.S. President Donald Trump has dubbed both the nations as “dead economies”. Launching a fresh attack on social platform Truth Social, Mr. Trump wrote “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.”

Government examining impact of Trump tariffs, engaging with all stakeholders: Commerce Minister in Parliament

The Government of India is examining the impact of the 25% tariffs and penalty announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on imports from India, and is communicating with all domestic stakeholders to assess the impact, Commerce and Industry Ministry Piyush Goyal informed both Houses of Parliament on Thursday.

Rahul Gandhi endorses U.S. President’s ‘dead economy’ comment, says BJP ‘destroyed’ India’s economy

Endorsing U.S. President Donald Trump’s statement that India’s economy is a “dead economy”, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said Mr. Trump has stated a fact that everyone knows except the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. Mr. Gandhi accused the BJP of destroying the economic, defence and foreign policy and “running the country to the ground”.

2008 Malegaon blast case: Special NIA court acquits all seven accused, including Pragya Thakur, Lt. Col. Purohit

Seventeen years after the blast, a special NIA court in Mumbai has acquitted all the seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit, in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. The NIA court, in its judgment, said that the prosecution ‘failed to prove the case’ and that the accused ‘deserved the benefit of doubt’. The provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) were not applicable to the case, the court said. The judge observed that the prosecution could not prove that the bike to which the bomb was allegedly strapped, belonged to Pragya Thakur.

ECI finalises electoral college list for V-P election

The Election Commission of India (ECI) said that it has finalised the electoral college list for the Vice-Presidential election. It will be available from the date of notification, “which is likely to be announced soon”, it said. The Vice-Presidential election was necessitated by the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21. It led to a rare mid-term vacancy in the second highest constitutional position of the country. The poll body had last week kicked off the process for holding Vice-Presidential polls by appointing the Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha, P.C. Mody, as the Returning Officer.

Bihar SIR: Day ahead of publication of draft roll, CEC assures voters on claims of inclusion and exclusion

A day ahead of the publication of draft electoral rolls in Bihar following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar assured voters in the State that all electors and political parties would be invited to give claims and objections from August 1 to September 1. The final electoral roll after the SIR exercise, which began on June 24, would be published on September 30.

Lt. Gen. Pushpendra Singh named new army Vice-Chief

Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh, an officer of the Parachute Regiment, has been appointed as the Vice-Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS), will take over the charge on Friday. Mr. Singh have an illustrious career spanning more than 35 years of dedicated service to the Indian Army. He will be succeeding Lt. Gen. NS Raja Subramani, who assumed the office of VCOAS on July 1, 2024.

Donald Trump announces U.S. will develop ‘massive’ oil reserves in Pakistan, says they might sell to ‘India some day’

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced sealing a trade deal with Pakistan and said that Washington will work with Islamabad to develop what he described as the South Asian nation’s “massive oil reserves”. It is not immediately clear what massive oil reserves in Pakistan Mr. Trump was referring to. In a social media post, the U.S. President also wondered if Pakistan could sell oil to India “some day”. There was no immediate reaction from Pakistan on the trade deal with the U.S.

INDIA bloc to intensify stir on SIR beyond Parliament

The INDIA bloc parties, in an unanimous decision at their meeting, resolved to intensify their protests on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, both inside and outside the Parliament. Both Houses of Parliament failed to function on Thursday.  Mr. Gandhi, along with Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, will conduct a two-week long campaign on the SIR issue, in Bihar in the second week of August. Mr. Yadav is the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly.

Fiscal deficit at 17.9% of full-year target in Q1: CGA data

The central government's fiscal deficit stood at 17.9% of the full-year target at the end of June, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA). It was at 8.4% of Budget Estimates (BE) of 2024-25 in the first three months of the previous financial year. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit, or gap between the government's expenditure and revenue, was ₹2,80,732 crore in the April-June period of the 2025-26 fiscal year.

EVMs are tamper-proof, ECI says, after checking and verification process

The Election Commission of India (ECI) stated that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are “tamper-proof” after completion of the ‘Checking and Verification’ (C&V) process for the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election. Having received applications for C&V of EVMs — ballot units, control units, and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) — from 10 candidates who contested in the Maharashtra Assembly election in November 2024, the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer, as directed by the ECI on June 17, carried out the C&V exercise.

ED conducts first-ever search operation in Andaman & Nicobar Islands

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted its first-ever search operation in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands in connection with the Andaman Nicobar State Cooperative Bank (ANSCB) “fraud” case. “Searches are being conducted at nine places in and around Port Blair and two places in Kolkata,” said an official. During the searches in Port Blair, the agency has seized documents purportedly indicating large-scale irregularities in the grant of loans and overdraft facilities by ANSC Bank.

Layoffs: Karnataka Labour Department sends notice to TCS, calls for meeting

In the wake of a controversy erupting around a layoff announcement and alleged forced resignations at IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), sources claimed that the Labour Department had sent a notice to the company after the Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU) filed a case of an industrial dispute. The Hindu has also learnt that a conciliation meeting will be held on August 6 between KITU representatives and the TCS management in the presence of Labour Department officials.

Senior IPS officer SBK Singh takes over as Delhi Police chief

Senior IPS officer S.B.K. Singh took over as Commissioner of Delhi Police. Mr. Singh, a 1988-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre, succeeds Sanjay Arora to the top post. According to an order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday (July 31, 2025), Mr. Singh has been given an additional charge as the police chief.

Allow Sikh students to carry articles of faith to exam centres: Rajasthan govt

The Rajasthan government has reiterated that Sikh students must be allowed to appear for competitive examinations while wearing articles of faith such as kirpan, kada, and pagdi. A fresh directive in this regard was issued on July 29, in the wake of widespread outrage over a female Sikh student being denied entry to a civil judge recruitment examination while wearing a kirpan, or ceremonial dagger.

Piprahwa gems: Sacred Buddha relics, originally set for auction in Hong Kong in May, returns to India

A portion of the sacred Buddhist relics excavated in the northern parts of the country in 1898, which was earlier set to go under the hammer at an international auction house in Hong Kong in May, was returned to India. "This momentous repatriation has been made possible through an exemplary public-private partnership between the government of India and the Godrej Industries Group," the Ministry of Culture said.

Supreme Court agrees to hear pleas on the status of Rohingyas as ‘refugees’, their deportation

The Supreme Court decided on Thursday to hear in detail the question of whether the Rohingyas can be treated as ‘refugees’, or if they are illegal immigrants. A three-judge Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant said it would devote three days to hear the case extensively, saying once this question was answered authoritatively, the consequences would flow automatically.

Dharmasthala mass burial case: Partial skeletal remains found at sixth site

The Special Investigation Team found partial skeletal remains of a body in the sixth of the 13 sites identified by 50-year-old complainant in Dharmasthala, on July 31. The complainant had alleged illegal burial of bodies in Dharmasthala. The SIT officials said they have not found a skull at the sixth site, but have discovered about 15 bones. A few of these bones were broken.

Income Tax Dept conducts survey operation in case against Jane Street

The Income Tax Department on Thursday conducted a survey operation at the premises of some broking companies as part of an alleged tax evasion probe against Jane Street, the U.S.-based proprietary trading firm accused of market manipulation, official sources said.

Maharashtra government withdraws implementation of 10% EWS quota in private medical colleges

The Maharashtra government withdrew its decision to implement a 10% Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota in private medical colleges, stating that the reservation will be applicable only if the Central Government or the respective Council increases the existing seats.

India always supported a negotiated two-state solution: Govt. on Gaza conflict

India has always supported “a negotiated two-state solution“ that would see the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine within secure and recognised borders, living side by side in peace with Israel, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday (July 31, 2025).