| Good morning, Covid-19 cases are on the rise once again. In India, fresh cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, and a new subvariant, NB.1.8.1, has been detected in at least one sample. Several countries are also reporting Covid-19 surges, with World Health Organisation data showing noticeable increases in South-East Asia. So why this sudden spike? Reasons could possibly range from waning immunity to seasonal patterns. Do you need to be worried? While health officials have said there is no indication that they are more transmissible or cause more severe disease compared to earlier variants, masking up, maintaining physical distance, and practicing good hygiene can go a long way. With that, let’s move on to the top stories from today’s edition:
🚨 Big Story In yet another crackdown on international students, the United States administration led by President Donald Trump has asked its embassies and consular sections to “pause scheduling new interviews for student visa applicants.” Moreover, while the visa application (DS-160) does require the applicant’s social media platform and social media identifiers, in its new move, the administration plans to make foreign students undergo social media vetting as part of their application. ‘Strictly’ for India: Earlier in the day, the US Embassy in India also urged students to adhere to the terms of their visas. “If you drop out, skip classes, or leave your program of study without informing your school, your student visa may be revoked, and you may lose eligibility for future US visas,” it stated. This comes as India became the top source of international students for the first time since 2008-09 in 2024, with over 3,31,000 students studying in the US, overtaking China. The US administration is also planning to cancel all remaining contracts with Harvard University, worth about $100 million, while finding “alternative vendors” for future services. Contracts with around nine federal agencies would be affected, including a $49,858 contract with the National Institutes of Health to study the effects of coffee drinking and a $25,800 Homeland Security contract for senior executive training. Uncertainty ahead: This clampdown on federal agencies would also affect researchers at some of India’s leading medical colleges and scientific institutions, as the NIH, which funds these research projects in the country, announced it would not issue awards to domestic or foreign entities (new, renewal or non-competing continuation), that include a subaward to a foreign entity. Several scientists and researchers in India, on the condition of anonymity, told us that despite the budgetary constraints and issues, the manner in which grants have been frozen was not appropriate.
⚡ Only in Express Oopalee Operajita, in her Opinion article today, takes on Nirupama Rao’s explanation of why Pakistan succeeded in taking control of the narrative during Operation Sindoor. Operajita writes: “The resounding and almost aesthetic Indian victory — owing to its finesse, brevity, and perfection — of Operation Sindoor robs the West of its inordinately long exercise of hegemony. What is lost is “the ideological rationale for reducing and reconstituting the (Indian) as someone to be ruled and managed”. That is the inconvenient truth.”
📰 From the Front Page The government is likely to bring an impeachment motion in the upcoming monsoon session against former Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, which comes after his indictment by the Supreme Court in-house inquiry panel. The then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had recommended initiating impeachment proceedings against the judge to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Tej’s eclipse: Two days after Lalu Prasad expelled elder son Tej Pratap Yadav from the party and family, the family of the RJD president huddled around younger son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav in Kolkata a day earlier to welcome his newborn son, his second child. Receiving the news, Tej seemed ready for truce, offering his wishes to Tejashwi on the birth of his son. A much-awaited son born after six sisters, to a father on the ascendant politically, 37-year-old Tej was done – and undone – by proximity to power. Here's his story. Tariff risk: India’s goods exports worth at least $775 million to the United Kingdom continue to face the risk of higher duties under its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) despite the conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) earlier this month. Underlining that CBAM was not part of the India–UK FTA, a UK official said these types of mechanisms usually don’t form part of the deal. The carbon tax negotiations are significant, as the UK’s CBAM will initially target carbon-intensive products such as iron, steel, aluminium, fertilisers, hydrogen, ceramics, glass and cement, with scope to expand the list in future.
📌 Must Read In our Opinion section today, C Raja Mohan pressed on the need for an Indian strategy amid a cryptocurrency collaboration between Pakistan and a firm tied to the Trump family, World Liberty Financial Inc (WLFI). He writes: "But India should pay close attention to Pakistan’s crypto ambitions — especially amid the possible misuse of these digital currencies not controlled by any central bank to fund terror and launder money across borders. Far more consequential, however, is the potential transformation of the global financial order triggered by the Trump administration’s new crypto policy." Even as India negotiates trade agreements with the US and EU, which are both seeking tariff reductions and greater market access for their agricultural products, India’s agriculture exports increased from $43.3 billion in 2013-14 to $51.9 billion in 2024-25. Meanwhile, imports have shown steadier expansion from $15.5 billion in 2013-14 to an all-time-high of $38.5 billion in 2024-25, working out to 148%. We explain how the signing of trade pacts with foreign countries would impact India's agricultural export, import and the surplus.
⏳ And Finally... Best not miss: Magnus Carlsen, who abdicated the world champion’s throne two years ago, forced the reigning world champion Gukesh to resign in 55 moves in the first round of the Norway Chess tournament on Monday. Invoking the memorable fictional character Omar Little on the HBO show The Wire, Carlsen posted online: “You come at the king, you best not miss.” It was, indeed, a spicy culmination to a day that started with Carlsen trying to catch Gukesh off guard more than once right at the start. Gukesh’s army on the chess board will have another shot at Carlsen’s king on June 1, which he best not miss. Lastly, tune in to our latest episode of 3 Things, where we discuss Apple’s decision to increase iPhone production in India amid political pushback from the US; breakdown the strategic importance of a hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh, and the brewing protests against it; and finally, delve into Bombay High Court’s strong remarks on the arrest and rustication of a Pune engineering student over a social media post related to Operation Sindoor. That’s all for today. Have a lovely week ahead! Until next time,
Ariba |
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