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In this episode of India Today Explains, Akshita Nandagopal explains President Donald Trump's decision to impose a 50% tariff on India, the West's hypocrisy on Russian trade, the Enforcement Directorate's probe against businessman Anil Ambani and much more.
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00:00Hello and welcome, you're watching India Today Explains, I'm Akshita Nandagopal and over the
00:12next 30 minutes I'll break down some of the week's biggest stories for you. We'll begin
00:17the show with a big Trump tariff move, slapping a 50% tariff on India. India of course has hit
00:23back and we'll explain to you why India has repeatedly highlighted the hypocrisy of the
00:27West on Russian trade. Also on the show, we detail the allegations against Anil Ambani and why the
00:34AD is probing him. This week is also marked the Article 370 abrogation in Johan Kashmir. We go
00:41back in time and talk about how the Modi government took that big step. Also, the Central Vista project
00:47introduced by the Modi government and what the Transform Delhi blueprint actually looks like.
00:52And with the Rahul versus EC war, we break down also what the SIR or SIR exercise was
00:59and why it's got the opposition fuming.
01:05US President Donald Trump has announced a massive 50% tariff on India, a penalty tariff for India's
01:12ties with Russia. As per the executive order signed by Trump, the additional 25% tariff is due to the
01:18government of India importing Russian oil. But India stood firm amid this tariff tyranny as it's
01:25being called that India will protect its own national interests much like other nations do. Importantly,
01:31India has also highlighted the glaring hypocrisy of Trump that America do trades with Russia as does
01:36the European Union and yet India is being penalized. Trump was asked about this and here's what he had said.
01:43India says that the U.S. imports Russian uranium chemicals, fertilizers while criticizing
01:48their energy imports. Your response to that, sir?
01:52I don't know anything about it. I'd have to check, but we'll get back to you on that. Yeah, please.
01:56Now, Mr. Trump says he has no idea. So let's educate the White House. He may not know,
02:01but here's the reality of the U.S.-Russia trade ties. Data from the Office of the United States
02:07Trade Representative shows the total trade between the U.S. and Russia stood at around
02:125.2 billion dollars in 2024. More recent numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of
02:19Economic Analysis shows that U.S. imports from Russia dropped to 2.5 billion dollars in the first
02:24half of 2025 from 14.14 billion dollars four years earlier. Still, since January 2022, the U.S. has
02:33imported a total of 24.51 billion dollars worth of goods from Russia. Let's break that down further
02:40for you, particularly the major imports. In fertilizers, the U.S. imported 1.27 billion
02:46dollars worth in 2024. So that's actually gone up from 1.14 billion dollars in 2021. The war clearly
02:53doesn't matter here. Uranium and plutonium. Imports there stood at 624 million dollars in 2024,
03:01slightly down from 2021. Palladium imports were worth 878 million dollars in 2024, down from 1.59
03:11billion dollars in 2029. So there at least there's been a dip. And yet, despite all of this trade that
03:17we've highlighted for you, Trump has penalized India. And then there's the European Union's ties
03:22with Russia, which again Trump conveniently ignores. Since the beginning of the war, trade between the EU
03:28and Russia has drastically contracted, yes, but very much continues. Imports of goods from Russia in
03:35the first quarter of 2025 totaled 8.74 billion euros. That's about 10.1 billion dollars. The EU
03:43continues to purchase oil, nickel, natural gas, fertilizer, iron and steel from Russia. And since
03:50there's so much talk of oil, let's do a deep dive of EU's oil purchases from Russia. In the first quarter
03:56of 2025, the EU's imports was at 1.48 billion euros. Also about 17% of Europe's gas still comes from
04:04Russia via the TurkStream pipeline and liquefied natural gas, which is LNG shipments. And then there's
04:10the China factor. In 2024, China imported 62.6 billion dollars worth of Russian oil, while India imported
04:1852.7 billion dollars. Yet Trump has not raised concerns about China's oil purchases. So overall, if we look at
04:26each country's share of Russia's crude exports, China's at the top of that list at 36%. Other
04:32countries, including the likes of Turkey, are second at 30%. And then is India 28% and finally EU at 6%.
04:39The fact that India isn't the top importer of Russian oil and yet is facing a 50% tariff
04:44is a clear indication that this is now an arm-twisting tactic by Trump.
04:54Businessman Anil Lambani is in the dock with the enforcement directorate questioning him over a
04:59loan fraud case. Anil Lambani appeared before the ED in Delhi after he was summoned to detail
05:04exactly what happened. So let's tell you about these allegations against him.
05:0917,000 crore. That's the alleged loan fraud committed by Anil Lambani and his company,
05:16which the ED is questioning and looking into. Let's but begin by telling you all about Anil
05:21Lambani. Of course, we all know he's part of the Ambani family, brother of Mukesh Ambani.
05:26But in this explainer, you'll also need to know which companies were or are under him now.
05:32Anil Lambani is associated with the Reliance group, the Reliance ADA group, which he founded
05:38after he split from Mukesh Ambani in 2005. But many of his companies have faced financial
05:44difficulties. Some have undergone insolvency proceedings or also in some cases debt restructuring
05:50or significant downsizing. He owned Reliance Capital Limited till 2002. Reliance Infrastructure,
05:57which is still active. Then you had Reliance Power, which has high debt but is active. Then Reliance
06:04also called R-Com, which filed for bankruptcy in 2019. Reliance Home Finance, which has been taken
06:11over by lenders. And finally, Reliance Naval and Engineering, which is under insolvency.
06:17Anil Lambani claimed in 2020 in a UK court that his net worth was zero due to mounting debts and legal
06:24obligations. Many of the companies once under his control have been taken over by lenders or are in
06:30bankruptcy proceedings. But the current probe against him is over fraud allegations between 2017
06:36to 2019. So according to ED, a preliminary investigation revealed that 3,000 crore rupees
06:43in loans from Yes Bank were dispersed to Reliance Anil Dirubay Ambani group. Similarly, another fraud,
06:51but this time for a whopping 14,000 crore rupees, was allegedly committed by Reliance Communications.
06:57The ED says the fraud is essentially a quid pro quo arrangement where Yes Bank promoters allegedly
07:04received money in their companies shortly before the loans were sanctioned. So Yes Bank's loan
07:09approvals are under the scanner. So here are the red flags found by ED. Backdated credit approval
07:16memorandums. No due diligence or any credit analysis for that matter. Loans were dispersed even before a
07:24sanction was actually given. Funds were rooted through shell companies and that's something ED is looking into
07:30these companies. Misrepresentation of financials and evergreening of loans, which essentially means giving a loan
07:36to pay off another. Then there's another allegation. The 14,000 crore that I referred to earlier. This is linked to
07:45Anil Ambani's flagship telecom firm Reliance Communication, R-Com, which has defaulted on over 14,000 crore rupees and has been officially classified as fraudulent by SBI.
07:55That's not all. R-Com also cheated Canavera Bank of over 1,050 crore rupees, with SBI preparing to file a formal complaint with the CBI over this.
08:06These classifications essentially follow RBI guidelines on fraud recognition. So it's paving the way for criminal prosecution.
08:13In another leg of the probe, you have Reliance Home Finance, which is under the scanner for a dramatic increase in corporate lending from 3,742 crore rupees in 2018 to 8,670 crore in 2019.
08:31So over 5,000 crores in a year. The red flag here is alleged expedited and irregular loan approvals besides common directors and addresses for many of the borrowers.
08:41Questions have been asked of how loans were given to companies with such weak financials.
08:47SEBI has submitted a report on this too to the Enforcement Directorate.
08:52Besides all of these companies being under the scanner, the ED is also probing undisclosed foreign bank accounts and offshore assets linked to Anil Ambani and his group entities.
09:02Now these assets are believed to be layered and concealed using complex financial structures and nominee ownership patterns.
09:11So the probe is also going to be clearly a long winding one to get down to the root of the ownership.
09:17So far, about 18 of Anil Ambani's top executives are under the scanner.
09:22But one big arrest that's been linked to this case is that of Partha Sarthi Biswal, the Managing Director of an Odisha firm in connection with a money laundering case against businessman Anil Ambani.
09:33Biswal allegedly ran a fake bank guarantee issuance racket for business groups.
09:39So his company is suspected of providing one such assurance worth 68 crores for a Reliance Group company.
09:47So with multiple FIRs, seizures, arrests and an inter-agency probe, the investigation into Anil Ambani's empire is widening each week.
09:56As the probe intensifies, the once high-flying business tycoon now faces a rapidly unravelling legal as well as financial crisis.
10:05One that could redefine India's corporate fraud enforcement landscape.
10:09The decision of August 5th, 2019 marked a watershed moment in India's constitutional history.
10:21It was on this day of August 5th that the BJP-led central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi took that bold step of abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution
10:31and so the reorganization of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
10:40Now six years later, the decision continues to spark discussions, debates as well as reflections.
10:47What exactly did Article 370 and Article 35a entail?
10:51Why was their removal considered so significant?
10:54I'll break that all down for you.
10:56But let's begin with the very basics.
10:58What was Article 370?
10:59Introduced in 1952, Article 370 essentially granted Jammu and Kashmir a special autonomous status within the Indian Union.
11:09It allowed the state to have its own constitution, its own flag, to make laws on all subjects except defence, foreign affairs, communications and finance.
11:18In effect, central laws could only be extended to Jammu and Kashmir with the approval of the state government,
11:24significantly limiting the Indian Parliament's legislative authority over the region.
11:29Article 370 was included in Part 21 of the Indian Constitution, which covers temporary and special provisions.
11:38It empowered the state's constituent assembly to determine the extent to which the Indian constitution would apply to Jammu and Kashmir and even to recommend the article's own abrogation.
11:50In its early years, the state had a prime minister, a head of state instead of a chief minister and a governor,
11:55further highlighting exactly how unique its status was within India.
11:59So that's Article 370.
12:02What was Article 35A?
12:04Article 35A was added to the Indian Constitution in 1954 through a presidential order that was issued under Article 370.
12:12It stemmed from the 1952 Delhi Agreement between then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Jammu and Kashmir's leader, Sheikh Abdullah.
12:19The article empowered the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define permanent residents, grant them exclusive rights and privileges in areas like land ownership, in government jobs and education scholarships as well.
12:34So essentially, it barred non-residents from permanently settling, from being able to buy property or access any state benefits.
12:41One of the most controversial aspects of Article 35A was also its blatant gender bias.
12:48Women from Jammu and Kashmir who married non-residents could lose all of their property rights, an impact that often extended to their children as well.
12:56But men weren't subject to the same restriction.
13:00Furthermore, laws enacted under Article 35A were protected from legal challenge.
13:04So what that means is any legislation passed by the state under its authority was immune from being contested in court for violating the Indian Constitution.
13:14There was no way to challenge it.
13:16So let's take you back to the abrogation process now.
13:19The election manifesto of the ruling BJP for the 2009, 2014 and 2019 general elections affirmed its intention to abrogate Article 370.
13:29It was on August 5th, 2019, that Home Minister Amit Shah announced in Parliament, announced in Rajasabha, the revocation of Article 370.
13:40And so with that move, the Rajasabha passed it with 125 votes in favour and 65 against, followed by the Lok Sabha's approval, which was a lot easier.
13:49370 votes for, 70 against.
13:52The subsequent Jamun Kashmir Reorganization Act of 2019, also introduced by Amit Shah, bifurcated the state into two union territories, Jamun Kashmir with a legislature and Ladakh without one.
14:05The constitutional status of an area plagued with decades of unrest changed overnight and it remains one of the most significant achievements of the Modi government.
14:35On August 6th, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Kartavya Bhavan, the first completed building of the Common Central Secretariat.
14:45It will house offices of key ministries, the Home Ministry, External Affairs, Petroleum, Natural Gas, as well as the principal scientific advisor to the Prime Minister.
14:55Now, this building, Kartavya Bhavan 3, is the first building being made ready as part of the Marquis Central Vista revamp that was conceived in 2019.
15:05So, let's tell you what ready this project is.
15:08Located near Rezina Hill in Delhi, the Central Vista is India's power corridor, home to the Parliament, Secretariat buildings and top government offices.
15:18Originally designed by British architects Edwin Lothians and Herbert Baker, when the national capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi back in 1911, the area is now undergoing its most ambitious transformation since independence.
15:33The redevelopment includes a new parliament building, integrated secretariat complexes to house all ministries, new residences and offices for the Prime Minister and Vice President and also expanded garden public spaces.
15:46The goal is to create a cohesive, secure and future-ready administrative ecosystem.
15:52So, why was this necessary?
15:54Well, many existing buildings in the Central Vista are over 50 to 60 years old and nearing the end of their functional lifespan.
16:01These ageing structures therefore face a host of issues, inadequate office space, outdated facilities, poor energy efficiency and costly upkeep as well.
16:11As of now, only 39 of India's 51 ministries are housed within the Vista.
16:17The rest operate out of rented offices spread across Delhi, costing the government over 1,000 crore rupees annually.
16:24And this fragmented setup means that some ministries are split across multiple locations, so that hampers coordination and efficiency.
16:32The redevelopment aims to consolidate ministries, reduce operational costs and improve productivity, all within a modern, well-equipped and centrally located complex.
16:44So, what's the current status?
16:45Well, the ones already delivered are the new parliament building, which is already being used.
16:50It hosted its first session in September 2023.
16:53The redeveloped and re-christened Rajpat as Kartavya Pat, which opened in September 2022.
16:59And the vice president's enclave, which was ready in April 2024.
17:04Two more buildings part of the Kartavya Bhavan are set for completion in September, while construction work on building number 10.
17:11So, it's building number 1 to 10.
17:13Building number 10 will be finished by April next year.
17:17Building 6 and 7 of the Kartavya Bhavan will be constructed by October 2026.
17:22But there has been a lot of talk about what the central Vista project actually costs.
17:26The original goal was to actually finish the entire project by 2026.
17:30That timeline has now been extended to 2028.
17:34Cost escalations have also followed.
17:36What began as a 13,000 crore undertaking is now expected to cost around 20,000 crores.
17:43The government in parliament has attributed this to the overruns, to inflation, higher GST rates, structural modifications, rising material and labour costs.
17:53This ambitious makeover is central to Prime Minister Modi's vision of creating a modern administrative capital,
18:00marking a departure from the colonial era architecture that's long defined India's seat of power.
18:05For the last many weeks, the election commission's special intensive revision, SIR or SIR, has been at the heart of a political controversy.
18:18There's been a political firestorm, not just limited to Bihar, but across the country.
18:24I want the nation to know that there is a huge criminal fraud being perpetrated on this country.
18:35It is being done by the election commission and the party in power.
18:43And we have given you crystal clear, undoubtable proof here.
18:48Before we tell you about the political fight, if you're confused about exactly what SIR is, let me break it down for you.
18:55What is an electoral rule?
18:57Quite simply, the electoral rule is the list of voters registered by the election commission recognised by the EC in a particular region.
19:06It's Article 324 of the Constitution that provides that the electoral rule will be prepared by the EC for all assembly elections and general elections too.
19:15So now there's a revision of these rules being done by the election commission.
19:20A review essentially to ensure there's no duplication of names in the voter list.
19:25The election commission has noted that there have been large-scale additions and deletions to the electoral rules over the last 20 years.
19:33And hence the SIR, the special intensive revision now.
19:36But this isn't just happening in Bihar.
19:39It will be happening across the country, starting with Bihar, which goes to polls in a few months from now.
19:44During the last SIR in Bihar, which was in 2003, there was door-to-door verification with a copy of the details of the existing voters.
19:54But this time around, voters will have to submit a form with additional details.
19:59This is for voters who are registered in the electoral rule after January 2003.
20:04Because as I told you, earlier the last revision took place in 2003.
20:08So in 2003, when the last review happened, the number of voters in Bihar was 49 million voters.
20:15Now, it's about 79 million.
20:18So that's a big jump in voter numbers.
20:20Now, under the SIR being done, the election commission has listed caste certificates, family registers and land allotment certificates as some of the valid documents.
20:30Now, I'm sure you're wondering what about Aadhaar.
20:31Interestingly, the EC has refused to accept Aadhaar in their revision exercise because the Aadhaar card itself carries a disclaimer stating it can't be used as proof of citizenship.
20:42But here's the catch.
20:43When a new voter is registered with the EC, the Aadhaar then is a must.
20:47Form 6 for the inclusion of new voters as per the registration of Elector's Rules 1960 requires that the Aadhaar actually be provided compulsorily unless the person doesn't have one.
20:58It's mentioned as a proof of date of birth and place of residence as per form 6.
21:03And so there's a clear contradiction there that the EC doesn't accept Aadhaar for the review, but accepts it when someone registers as a new voter.
21:11Opposition parties hence are up in arms, saying most people now have only Aadhaars as proof of identity and no other document.
21:18The other big flashpoint is over the revision of the document.
21:48As per the EC, only citizens who are what's referred to as ordinarily resident should be included in the electoral role of a constituency.
21:58Migrants who have moved away for long periods of time on account of education or employment would be included in the electoral role of the constituency of the current residents.
22:07This is as per provisions of the representation of People's Act or the RP Act.
22:11But the RP Act also provides that persons temporarily absent do not cease to be ordinarily resident.
22:20Many migrant workers shift to other places within the state or outside the state, but then they return to their place of birth, to where the upbringing happened, their families, their properties may continue to be in the same location.
22:33And so they choose to retain their right to vote in that very location.
22:37And that's where again, there's a confusion.
22:39But because of this, the opposition has called the EC's exercise as an NRC of sorts, the National Register of Citizenship.
22:47We have to beat the EC's exercise as an NRC of the National Register of the National Register of the National Register of the National Register.
23:06The election commission, meanwhile, has defended the exercise, highlighting that it was the opposition that repeatedly sought review of electoral rules.
23:24What we're seeing right now is a three-month exercise, and in all likelihood, there will be a similar exercise ahead of next year's state elections in Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and other states.
23:36That's all we have time for in this edition of India Today Explains. Thanks very much for tuning in. I'll see you same time next week.
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