Indian-Americans are more optimistic about India’s future than they were four years ago, reveals a recent survey. Compared to 2020, 10 percent more respondents now believe that India is heading in the right direction. The survey also highlights strong diaspora support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with many saying that the 2024 elections strengthened India’s democracy.

The survey was conducted by the Indian American Attitudes Survey (IAAS) in collaboration with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and research firm YouGov. The report was released in the second week of March.

This survey gives a sneak peek into the minds of the over 5 million Indians in the US. This is a substantial number, and the Indian-Americans contribute significantly in several fields in the US.

It highlights how Indian-Americans remain cautious about the future of US-India relations under a second Trump presidency. These concerns stem from Trump’s protectionist policies and focus on reciprocal taxes, with many suggesting that bilateral ties might fare better under Kamala Harris. Overall, 40 percent believe US-India relations will improve under Trump, while 26 percent expect them to deteriorate, and 34 percent anticipate no change.

INDIA ON THE RIGHT TRACK: INDIAN-AMERICANS IN US

But desis in the US remain more “bullish” about India’s trajectory.

The survey reveals a divide between US-born and immigrant Indian-Americans in their perception of India’s direction. While 55 percent of US-born respondents believe India is on the right track, only 42 percent of foreign-born respondents share this view.

However, roughly one-third of both groups feel India is headed in the wrong direction, and immigrants are more likely to be uncertain (25 percent compared to 15 percent of US-born respondents).

MORE DEMOCRATIC, BETTER GOVERNANCE IN INDIA: SURVEY

Regarding India’s governance, 46 percent of respondents express support for the current administration’s policies, while 36 percent are critical. The remaining 18 percent have no opinion.

A key factor behind the positive sentiment appears to be the results of India’s 2024 general election, which led to a more evenly divided Parliament and a stronger opposition. Forty-one percent of respondents believe the election made India more democratic, while 28 percent disagree. Fourteen percent believe it had no impact on democracy.

The BJP remains the most favoured political party among Indian-Americans, with 28 percent identifying with it. The Congress Party follows with 20 percent support, while backing for third parties has declined to just 1 percent, down from 11 percent in 2020.

Modi’s approval ratings within the diaspora have remained largely stable over the past four years. In 2020, 50 percent approved of his performance; in 2024, that figure stands at 47 percent. However, shifts are evident across demographics. Modi has gained support among younger respondents but has seen a decline in those in lower socioeconomic brackets.

Gender and religious affiliations also play a role. Male support has risen slightly, from 49 to 51 percent, while female support has dropped from 50 to 42 percent.

In religious groups, approval among Hindus has fallen from 69 to 64 percent, and among Christians from 33 to 24 percent. Support from Muslims and members of other religious groups has remained largely unchanged.

Despite these shifts, Indian-Americans continue to express strong confidence in India’s future.

India’s auditing system is going high-tech. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has partnered with Bhaskaracharya National Institute of Space Application and Geo-Informatics (BISAG-N) to use geo-spatial technology, AI, and big data for smarter, more precise audits.

This move aims to improve financial oversight, track government projects, and boost transparency in public spending.

The MoU was signed by T.P. Singh, director general of BISAG-N, and S. Ramann, deputy CAG and chief technology officer, in the presence of Comptroller and Auditor General K. Sanjay Murthy on Tuesday.

Emphasising the importance of technological self-reliance, Murthy highlighted that working with an institution like BISAG-N would not only enhance audit capabilities but also showcase India’s progress in using indigenous technological solutions for governance.

He further stated that the initiative aligns with efforts to build digital public infrastructure that can be leveraged across sectors.

The partnership is expected to strengthen audit methodologies by integrating geo-spatial analytics, AI-driven insights, and big data processing, as per an official statement issued by CAG on Wednesday.

Real-time insights & transparency

“These tools will enable auditors to assess infrastructure projects, environmental impact, and financial irregularities with greater precision. The collaboration also aims to develop a dedicated platform for audit analysis using geo-spatial data from the PM-GatiShakti pipeline, offering real-time insights into key government initiatives,” it said.

In addition, joint research efforts will explore the use of satellite imagery and remote sensing for identifying inefficiencies and leakages in public spending, it said.

Also read: Rising global uncertainties threaten exports, and economic growth: Finance Ministry

For CAG, the agreement marks a step towards breaking conventional audit limitations and adopting data-driven, tech-enabled mechanisms to improve financial scrutiny.

With increasing reliance on digital governance, the move also reflects the government’s broader strategy of integrating homegrown technological capabilities into public administration.

By incorporating modern tools and investing in capacity-building programmes, CAG aims to position itself at the forefront of innovation in financial oversight, reinforcing accountability and transparency in governance.

BISAG-N specialises in geospatial technology, satellite communication, and digital applications across sectors like agriculture, water resources, and disaster management. It provides satellite-based advisory services, digital education platforms, and decision-support systems for policy planning and implementation.

These firms export auto components to Europe, Japan, South Korea, and China, which supply vehicles to the United States, MoneyControl reported.

Tata Motors does not have direct exports to the US, but its subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has a strong foothold in the American market.

Read: Donald Trump announces 25% tariff on imported cars. What does it mean?

According to JLR’s FY24 annual report, the US accounted for 22 per cent of its overall sales. In FY24, JLR sold nearly 400,000 vehicles worldwide, with the US being one of its top markets, the report added.

The company’s vehicles sold in the US are primarily manufactured in the UK and other international plants, which will now be subject to a 25 percent tariff.

Meanwhile, Eicher Motors, the maker of Royal Enfield motorcycles, could also feel the impact, as the US is an important market for its 650cc models.

As one of India’s leading auto component manufacturers, Samvardhana Motherson International Ltd has a strong footprint in both Europe and the US.

It supplies parts to major American automakers, including Tesla and Ford. However, with established manufacturing units in the US and Europe, the company is relatively shielded from the impact of import tariffs, unlike firms that rely solely on exports, the report added.

Also read: How countries reacted to Donald Trump’s 25% ‘permanent’ tariff on imported automobiles

Sona Comstar manufactures automotive systems and components, including differential gears and starter motors. The company derives about 66 percent of its revenue from the US and European markets. To mitigate risks, Sona BLW has been diversifying its export base by expanding into China, Japan, and South Korea, aiming for these Eastern markets to contribute over 50 per cent of its revenue within five years.

Other key component makers with significant export exposure include Bharat Forge, Sansera Engineering Ltd, Suprajit Engineering, and Balkrishna Industries.

In the financial year 2024, India exported auto components worth $21.2 billion, contributing to the global auto component market, which stands at $1.2 trillion.

Shipments to the US and Europe, the world’s biggest importers of auto parts, made up approximately 4.5 per cent of the total global trade.

Photo: visvabharati.ac.in

About 20 scholars and experts from China will visit Visva-Bharati University to participate in an international seminar on Rabindranath Tagore on April 1 to mark the 75th anniversary of India-China diplomatic ties, said Chinese Consul General in Kolkata Xu Wei.

Mr. Xu said that Rabindranath Tagore, who visited China in 1924, is the symbol of China-India friendship, and the international seminar at Cheena Bhavana at Visva-Bharati also marks the completion of 100 years of the Nobel laureate’s visit to his country.

“We will hold an international seminar with Cheena Bhavana, Visva-Bharati University, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Tagore’s visit to China and the 75th anniversary of our relationship. Nearly 20 Chinese experts, scholars, and artists will be invited to India to attend the seminar,” the Consul General said, emphasising that it will be the biggest delegation of Chinese scholars visiting Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan.

Speaking with a group of media persons in Kolkata, Mr. Xu said that in 2024, a group of scholars and artists from India visited ‘China to Retrace the Footsteps of Tagore’ and the Consulate in 2024 organised a photo exhibition at Visva-Bharati to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Tagore’s visit to China.

Cheena Bhavana (Department of Chinese Language and Culture) at Visva-Bharati University is the oldest Department of Chinese studies in this sub-continent, established by Tagore and Professor Tan Yun-Shan in April 1937 with the great ideas of strengthening the age-old cultural relations and interfaces between India and China.

The Consul General spoke about the need to increase people-to-people ties and said the spring of India-China ties is arriving. On the people-to-people ties, Mr. Xu touched on the Indian Medical Mission to China in 1938, led by Dwarakanath Kotnis, and spoke about the initiatives and activities of the Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis Memorial Committee, West Bengal. He said that efforts are on to resume direct flights between the cities in India and China.

“Before the pandemic, the two countries had launched direct flights from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Kunming to New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and other cities, with 50 flights per week. The two sides are currently working on resuming direct flights between the two countries as soon as possible,” Mr. Xu said.

Sharing figures on the number of people visiting the respective countries, the Consul General said that in 2019, before the epidemic, there were about 1.07 million personnel exchanges, of which about 8.7 lakh Indian citizens entered mainland China and nearly two lakh mainland Chinese residents entered India.

“What I know is that in 2024, the Chinese embassy and consulates in India issued more than 280 thousand (or 2.8 lakh) visas to Indian friends, of which more than 80% were business visas,” Mr. Xu said.

The hectic parleys come against the backdrop of the looming April 2 deadline when the US is due to enforce reciprocal tariffs. Shortly after taking office on January 20, President Donald Trump resumed a trade war with China and opened two new ones with Canada and Mexico, effectively triggering disputes with the country’s three largest trading partners.

“It is now amply clear that the Trump administration does not club India with countries like China, Mexico and Canada. There is a difference,” said one of these officials with direct knowledge of the matter. “The US has serious issues with China, Mexico and Canada related to currency manipulations, illegal migration and other security concerns. But with India it has only tariff issue, that too both are resolving amicably,” this person added.

The talks, formally named “India-US Fast Track Mechanism”, began on Wednesday with the US team led by assistant trade representative Brendan Lynch and the Indian delegation headed by commerce ministry’s additional secretary Rajesh Agarwal. They are expected to finalise the basic contours of a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by Friday.

The person cited above added that the discussions were “progressing in a cordial spirit and the outcome is expected to be satisfying for both the governments”. “This (the outcome) could be factored in by the Trump administration before deciding reciprocal tariffs on India on April 2 deadline,” this person said.

A second official aware of the matter added that part of the efforts includes another high-level trip that, this time, includes Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman visiting Washington later in April.

“The finance minister’s US visit may build upon the ongoing talks, but it may not be limited to trade and tariff alone. India and the US are committed to strengthen their overall economic relationship – both bilateral and multilateral — as strategic partners,” said this person.

This face-to-face meeting follows Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal’s visit in early March, where he met US trade representative Jamieson Greer and US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick to initiate preliminary BTA discussions.

On February 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump pledged to increase Indo-US bilateral trade from approximately $200 billion to $500 billion (Mission 500) by 2030 and decided to forge a BTA by autumn 2025.

The pledge was in contrast to Trump administration’s moves just days earlier when the US government took aggressive tariff actions against China, Mexico and Canada, framing these moves as necessary to address contraband drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and support domestic manufacturing.

On February 1, Trump imposed a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports, which was increased to 20% on March 4. China retaliated with a 15% tariff on coal and liquified natural gas products, and 10% on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-displacement cars.

Simultaneously, a 25% tariff was imposed on most goods from Canada and Mexico beginning February 1, though tariffs on goods compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) were delayed until April 2. A planned 10% tariff on Canadian oil and gas initially set for March 4 was also suspended until April 2.

HT reported on Wednesday that Washington is pushing for India to reduce high tariff barriers for all American goods comprehensively rather than adopting a piecemeal approach. In exchange, the US is reportedly willing to address New Delhi’s concerns through built-in mechanisms such as quota restrictions to protect Indian farmers and small industries.

“Don’t expect a final solution after the three-day talk. But certainly, it will converge their differences — some based on perception and some due to practical reasons or domestic sensitivities. Once issues are identified, solutions would not be far away,” a third official said on Wednesday.

HT has in the past cited estimates of how tariffs stack up. According to Shoumitro Chatterjee, an assistant professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University and a trade specialist, India ranks eighth among countries with which the US has a trade deficit.

His analysis of 2021-2023 data reveals tariff disparities across sectors. In agriculture, India’s average tariff on US imports is 41.8% compared to the US tariff of 3.8% on Indian imports, with India exporting $7.1 billion versus US exports of $1.6 billion. Similar patterns exist in transport equipment (Indian tariff: 14.9%, US tariff: 0.9%) and sectors like pharmaceuticals, stone, glass, metals, and pearls – with India consistently maintaining higher tariffs while exporting more to the US than it imports.

India has already taken steps to placate the US, including slashing tariffs on motorcycles and bourbon in February and proposing to remove the 6% Google tax (Equalisation Levy on online advertisements). However, these moves, while “good for signalling”, are reportedly not substantial enough to avoid the April 2 deadline.

The April 2 deadline has dominated global market sentiments. Stock indices across the world were jittery on Wednesday as investors awaited more clarity on US tariff plans. Europe’s Stoxx 600 index dropped 0.5%, while futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were down about 0.2%.

In India, the 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 728.69 points or 0.93% to settle at 77,288.50, while the NSE Nifty dropped 181.80 points or 0.77% to 23,486.85. This came after both indices had gained over 5.67% in the previous seven trading sessions.

“The market experienced profit-booking after the recent gains, on the back of next week’s US tariff announcements. The sectors with higher exposure to the US market, like pharma & IT, have witnessed some selling pressure,” said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Investments Limited, told news agency PTI.

India news: SC says Allahabad HC ruling, bringing relief to Kasganj survivor’s family

The family of a minor girl who survived an attempted rape in Uttar Pradesh’s Kasganj has expressed relief after the Supreme Court stayed the Allahabad High Court’s ruling in the case. Advocate Rachna Tyagi, representing the family, stated that the survivor’s mother was “extremely relieved” by the decision.

Tyagi highlighted the family’s struggle for justice, revealing that despite the incident occurring in November 2021, the FIR was not registered. The survivor’s mother had to approach the district court in January 2022 to file a complaint, yet neither the trial court nor the High Court ordered an FIR. She emphasised that attempted rape is a cognisable offence, and an FIR should have been filed immediately.

India and the US are engaged in “active and intense” negotiations for a trade deal and the Trump administration has shown it is more open to forging a stronger partnership with New Delhi in crucial areas such as defence, energy and tech, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.

Jaishankar, speaking at an event organised by Asia Society, said there is a “strong business case” for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US but declined to prejudge the outcome of ongoing talks between Indian negotiators and a visiting US team led by assistant trade representative Brendan Lynch. His comments came against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s threat of imposing reciprocal tariffs from April 2.

Acknowledging the need to balance tariffs and US subsidies in crucial areas such as agriculture in any trade deal, Jaishankar said he was confident Indian negotiators were aware of the country’s interests and would finalise the “best possible deal for us”.

Jaishankar, who was participating in a conversation with Asia Society president Kyung-wha Kang, a former foreign minister of South Korea, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump had a “very open discussion” on trade at their meeting in Washington last month and this led to their decision to conclude a BTA by the fall of 2025.

“That is what is currently under discussion…My colleague, the commerce minister [Piyush Goyal], was in the US last month, and since then, we’ve been working the trade account through virtual means. There’s a very active and intense trade discussion going on at this point of time,” he said.

“I wouldn’t prejudge the outcome. I would wait and see really what happens in terms of our ability to reach an understanding with the US,” he said while responding to a question about balancing tariffs and US subsidies.

“But I don’t believe that a problem should in itself be an insuperable obstacle, because there is a strong business case for a BTA with the US,” he said.

Jaishankar pointed out that Indian and American trade negotiators spent a lot of time trying to finalise a limited trade deal during Trump’s first presidential term. That deal was not pushed with urgency because of the Trump administration’s confidence about returning for a second consecutive term, and this was followed by the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. “So, a trade agreement with the US is actually conceptually not new. What is new is possibly the scale and maybe the urgency with which we are doing it now,” he said.

Jaishankar also highlighted what he described as the greater openness of the Trump administration to engage with India in crucial areas such as defence, energy and emerging technologies. Modi’s discussions with Trump in February led to an assessment by the Indian side about “many changes which suited us or which in some ways form the convergence on which we could build upon”, he said.

In the field of defence, Trump was “much more open and much more active in terms of building a security-defence partnership and much more forthcoming about American technology possibilities”. Even in his first term, Trump personally stepped in and ensured that India could acquire military platforms it was interested in but “were meandering their way somewhere through American bureaucracy”, he said.

“This time around, we suddenly heard a recognition that there has to be a better way of engaging partners. If there are countries who respect and recognise the value of American technology and want to acquire it, there should be easier pathways than the current path. We certainly expect a more substantial, higher quality defence relationship as a result,” Jaishankar said.

In the field of energy, where India wants a stable, reasonable and predictable environment for its long-term growth, Trump “clearly had an interest in ensuring that energy availability was more, energy flows were more diverse, that countries like India could have more choice than we currently do”, he said.

India began importing LNG from the US a decade ago, though this business stayed at a certain level for various reasons. “We have interest in increasing it because the US is a very stable supplier. We found, from the energy perspective, a very positive administration,” Jaishankar said.

The two sides also had a good discussion on critical technologies. “I think big tech recognises the importance of mobility and talent flows and the importance of partnerships, because obviously everything in the tech world can’t happen in America,” he said.

Both sides have greater “understanding and sensitivity” on crucial issues in tech such as creating reliable supply chains, and trusted and transparent partners, he added.

Jaishankar, however, acknowledged that the policies of the Trump administration are leading to a churn and paradigm shift in geopolitics as the US, which underwrote global rules and practices for the past 80 years, has started changing its terms of dealing with the world.

“I think the world will never be the same again. There is something very deep, very profound, very consequential which is happening right now,” he said. The world order is looking at tariff wars and much stronger export controls and the shift means some parts of Asia may be unable to profit economically as they have done in the past, he said in an apparent reference to China.

Jaishankar also said that the past policies of the US were responsible for India not buying more American defence hardware and instead turning to the Soviet Union and Russia. “India was importing defence equipment from the US till 1965. It was the US which cut off India in 1965. It was the US thereafter which did not resume sale of defence equipment to India from 1965 till 2006, barring one exception,” he said.

“If India turned to the Soviet Union and thereafter to Russia, to a large extent, it was a situation also created by the US, which consciously had a policy of not supplying military equipment to India.”

The two sides reached the agreement at official consultations between the foreign ministries in Beijing, a day after a meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs discussed the resumption of cross-border cooperation, especially on trans-border rivers and the Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage.

Both meetings were part of efforts by New Delhi and Beijing to reboot their ties following an understanding last October to end the military standoff in Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which had taken the relationship to a six-decade low. Two days after this understanding, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping met in the Russian city of Kazan and agreed to revive several mechanisms to normalise the overall relationship.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the two sides reviewed action taken so far to implement the strategic direction and specific steps agreed on at a meeting between foreign secretary Vikram Misri and China’s vice foreign minister Sun Weidong on January 27 to stabilise and rebuild ties, according to an Indian readout.

“They agreed to continue efforts to further facilitate and promote people-to-people exchanges, including arrangements for resumption of direct flights, interaction of media and think-tanks, and celebration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations,” the readout said.

“The two sides have made further progress on the modalities to resume Kailash Manasarovar Yatra in 2025,” it said.

The resumption of direct flights has been a key ask of the Chinese side, which has also called for easing of visa restrictions and resumption of wider trade ties.

The two sides also took stock of planned exchanges and activities for this year, and discussed the “resumption of dialogue mechanisms in a step-by-step manner” to use them to address “each other’s priority areas of interest and concern” and move relations to a more stable and predictable path, the readout said.

Gourangalal Das, the joint secretary (East Asia) in the external affairs ministry, participated in the consultative meeting with Liu Jinsong, director general of the Department of Asian Affairs of China’s foreign ministry. Das had also led the Indian team at Tuesday’s meeting of the WMCC, which explored ways to implement decisions made at a meeting of the Special Representatives on the boundary question in Beijing last December.

According to the readout, the two sides also pointed to “positive” developments in bilateral ties since the meeting of Modi and Xi last October. Since then, the foreign ministers have met twice, while the Special Representatives have also met. These high-level meetings provided “strategic guidance to stabilise and further develop relations”, the readout said.

At the meeting between the foreign secretary and the Chinese vice foreign minister in January, the two sides decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage, which has not been held since 2020, and also “agreed in principle” to resume direct flights. They had also agreed to take steps to promote people-to-people exchanges, including media and think tank interactions.

India-China relations plummeted to their lowest point since the 1962 border war following skirmishes between troops of the two sides in Ladakh sector of the LAC in April-May 2020 and a brutal clash at Galwan Valley in June that year which left 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops dead.

Following dozens of rounds of talks under the WMCC mechanism and between senior military commanders, the two sides withdrew frontline forces on both banks of Pangong lake and at Gogra and Hot Springs. On October 21 last year, the two sides reached an understanding on withdrawing forces from the two remaining “friction points” at Demchok and Depsang.

More recently, China has welcomed Modi’s remarks that differences between the two neighbours are natural, but these shouldn’t turn into disputes since bilateral cooperation is necessary for global stability and prosperity. China’s foreign ministry said such comments are “positive” and that Beijing stands ready to work with New Delhi to rebuild the relationship.