| Good morning! The final match of the England vs India Test series begins today. It's a moment of reckoning for the young team, who can either draw the series 2-2 or settle for a 3-1 defeat. But before the game gets underway, the Indian team management has raised a red flag: At Lord’s, where England handed India its second defeat, the latter got a ball 30-35 overs old when they asked for a replacement of the out-of-shape 10-over-old ball. Now, protocols dictate that the replacement must be as old as the original, but umpires told them they had no balls 10 overs old in the stock. Indians feel that was the turning point of the match. Before the replacement, the harder ball swung, giving them the required seam movement, but the older and softer ball disadvantaged them. The team contends that the rules over ball changes need a rethink. National sports editor Sandeep Dwivedi has more details. On that note, let’s get to the rest of today’s edition.
🚨Big Story US President Donald Trump has announced a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods starting August 1, with an additional "penalty" for its defence and energy imports from Russia. The announcement came just two days before the August 1 deadline, when Trump's reciprocal tariffs were scheduled to take effect. Crucially, India and the US have yet to finalise a trade deal. He said-we said: Reasoning his move, Trump said India had the "most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country". He also hit out at India for buying oil from Russia, when the West was looking to sanction Moscow for its war in Ukraine. Doubling down, Trump also took note of India's BRICS membership, accusing the bloc of 'attacking' the dollar. The Indian government, meanwhile, said it's studying the implications of the announcement and remains committed to pursuing a "mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement". It added that the government will take "all steps necessary to secure our national interest". Game of chicken: From India's perspective, they could have finalised a trade deal with the US by October. Trump's announcement, however, has put the burden back on India to fast-track its negotiations. It's also being seen as a way to pressure India into accepting US demands, which it has resisted so far. Notably, India has drawn red lines around critical sectors such as agriculture, averting "the trap of a one-sided deal". China challenge: With China in the advanced stages of negotiations with the US, it would likely have a first-mover advantage. It may carve out a deal with favourable tariff rates and concessions on secondary tariffs. A higher tariff on China would have given India a competitive edge in the market. The best-case scenario? Though Trump has not specified the penalties for Russian oil, his earlier statements indicate that it could be 100 per cent, which would be a significant setback for India. Without the additional penalties, a 25 per cent tariff puts India in a position similar to Vietnam's (20-40%), Indonesia's (19%), and China's (so far 30-34%). Ultimately, India is looking to finalise a deal with a 15 per cent tariff on its goods. It may serve New Delhi well to negotiate an interim deal as of now and carve out a final agreement over time. Also read: India may have to fend off US tariffs on another front: smartphones. Here's why it matters.
⚡Only in Express Since Jagdeep Dhankhar's abrupt resignation as Vice President earlier this month, several reports have indicated that tensions between the VP and the ruling party had been brewing for months. From being robbed of an opportunity to meet US Vice President JD Vance to the final nail in the coffin over an impeachment motion in Parliament, Dhankhar was in a silent tussle with the BJP high command. Now, a new story has come to light. My colleague Mahender Singh Manral reports that the VP's Secretariat had sought new bulletproof vehicles for Dhankhar to replace three ageing BMW cars. In June last year, the Ministry of Home Affairs said it would form a panel to look into the request made in February. But by November, the VP's office decided to opt for a non-bulletproof Innova. Read on.
📰 From the Front Page ‘They are innocent’: Last week, two Kerala nuns were arrested in Chhattisgarh over allegations of forcible conversion and trafficking, triggering a political storm. One of the women they are accused of targeting has told The Indian Express that she was coerced by a woman associated with a right-wing outfit to give a statement against the nuns.
📌Must Read Ring of Fire: The 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Russia's far eastern corner of the Kamchatka Peninsula triggered a tsunami that struck countries on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. The earthquake is among the strongest ones on record. Only five other earthquakes of magnitude 8.5 and above have struck the region in the past two decades. Though the event was rare, it is not unusual. The area is earthquake-prone as it lies on the Circum-Pacific seismic belt, more popularly known as the “Ring of Fire”. This seismically active belt, which encircles the entire Pacific Ocean, witnesses the maximum number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on Earth. Read all about it. Safety check: Aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) found 263 safety-related lapses across operators in annual audits. Government-owned Alliance Air topped the list with 57 lapses, followed by Air India with 51 findings. However, the DGCA has assured that the higher number of lapses is "entirely normal" for large carriers. It added that such findings and consequent corrective actions are "testament to active regulatory oversight".
⏳And Finally… Data shows that movie ticket prices have shot up in the last decade, rising by 12.6 per cent in just the last two years. As moviegoing starts feeling like a luxury, those who bought into the 'first day, first show' hype are now forced to wait for 'last show' discounts or stake out buy-one-get-one offers. I leave you with my colleague Rahul Pratyush's plea for affordable cinema. 🎧 Before you go, do tune in to today’s ‘3 Things’ podcast episode, where we discuss the India-UK free trade agreement and the stampede in Haridwar. That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow, Sonal Gupta | 
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