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TOI Interview: ‘Rafale deal will toe Make-in-India line’

TOI Interview: ‘Rafale deal will toe Make-in-India line’

Ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to France next week for the G7 summit, French ambassador Thierry Mathou tells TOI in an exclusive interview that India’s involvement with the group of the world’s most advanced and industrialised nations has become indispensable. Mathou said India’s participation in a ‘defensive’ mission to secure Strait of Hormuz once the conflict is over would send a powerful signal.

Bomb threat to Gurugram civic body sparks security scare; search underway

The threat email brought police and security agencies on their toes, with personnel, dog squad, and bomb disposal units rushing to the civic body's Sector 34 office

Sound of falling rain is no longer soothing for Pazhavangadi residents

Local residents say that the toxically polluted Amayizhanjan canal, a noxious black open sewer that doubles as a convenient trash dump and a fertile breeding ground for malaria- and dengue-spreading mosquitoes, which courses through the heart of the city, overflowed, raising the spectre of diseases, including leptospirosis

Google plans to release 32 million Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes across Florida and California

Alphabet's Debug initiative is seeking EPA approval to release 32 million specially treated male mosquitoes in California and Florida. This innovative approach uses Wolbachia bacteria to sterilize wild Culex mosquitoes, aiming to significantly reduce the spread of diseases like West Nile virus. Advanced AI and robotics are enabling this large-scale effort, with trials planned over two years.

Google's 32 Million-Strong Mosquito Army To Fight...Mosquitoes

Releasing males does not add to the biting population.

India-Oman trade deal goes live June 1

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Oman is set to come into force on June 1, marking a significant milestone in bilateral economic relations. Both nations will formally announce the decision on Monday.This marks the fifth free trade agreement (FTA) implemented under the Modi government since 2014. It follows trade pacts rolled out with Mauritius (April 2021), the UAE (May 2022), Australia (December 2022), and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA—comprising Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway in October 2025). India has also signed deals with the UK (July 2025) and New Zealand (April 2026), alongside concluding trade talks with the 27-nation European Union (EU) on January 27 this year.CEPA vs FTAModern trade pacts typically span around 20 chapters. These encompass comprehensive regulations across trade in goods, trade in services, investment, intellectual property rights, customs procedures, and dispute settlement mechanisms.Similar bilateral frameworks are also designated as Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreements (CECA), Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreements (CETA), or Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreements (ECTA).Also read: India-Oman CEPA to strengthen energy security, trade resilience and export growthIndia-Oman tradeBilateral trade between the two nations reached USD 11.18 billion during 2025-26, up from USD 10.61 billion in 2024-25. India’s exports stood at USD 4.02 billion, while imports from Oman were valued at USD 7.16 billion.In the services domain, India's exports to Oman expanded from USD 397 million in 2020 to USD 665 million in 2024, driven primarily by telecommunications, computer and information, transport, and travel sectors. Conversely, services imports from Oman grew from USD 101 million to USD 197.7 million over the same period, led by transport, travel, telecom, and other business services.What does India gain? The deal unlocks 100% duty-free market access for Indian exports to Oman, covering 98.08% of Oman’s tariff lines, which represents 99.38% of the trade value (based on the 2022-23 average).Immediate Concessions: All zero-duty access comes into effect from "Day One" of the agreement. Currently, only 15.33% of India’s export value (11.34% of tariff lines) enters Oman duty-free under the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) regime.Price Competitiveness: The pact eliminates the current 5% import duty on Indian goods worth USD 3.64 billion.Growth Drivers: Key sectors poised for immediate advantages include textiles, agricultural products, transport equipment, precision instruments, processed food, and gems & jewellery.New Horizons: The agreement unlocks fresh export windows for Indian minerals, chemicals, base metals, machinery, plastic, rubber, automobiles, clocks, instruments, glass, ceramics, marble, and paper.India-Oman CEPA: Key sectoral gainsOman will grant immediate zero-duty access to crucial Indian industrial segments, including:Iron and steelElectrical and industrial machineryMarine products and copper goodsFurthermore, the removal of the 5% tariff is set to directly bolster the competitiveness of Indian vehicles in the Omani market, while securing binding zero-duty access for key finished medicines and vaccines.India protects sensitive sectorsTo insulate local industries and farming communities, India has placed 2,789 tariff lines on its exclusion list.Excluded Categories: Key domestic sectors shielded from tariff concessions include transport equipment, major chemicals, cereals, fruits, vegetables, spices, coffee, tea, and products of animal origin.Manufacturing Safeguards: High-value manufacturing chains including rubber, leather, textiles, footwear, petroleum oils, and mineral-based products remain protected.Agricultural Shielding: Strategic segments such as dairy products, meat, oilseeds, vegetable oils, sugar, and food-processing residues are entirely kept out of the liberalisation purview.Service sector stands to gainWith Oman’s total global services imports standing at USD 12.52 billion in 2024, India’s current share of 5.31% presents significant room for expansion.Oman has made robust commitments regarding the temporary entry and stay of Indian service professionals. Notably, the Intra-Corporate Transferees (ICT) ceiling has been raised from 20% to 50%, allowing Indian firms to deploy a higher volume of managerial and specialist personnel.Additionally, for the first time in any FTA, Oman has locked in specific commitments for professional service providers, benefitting Indian talent in IT, accounting, engineering, medical, education, construction, and consulting fields.Gains for India's agri sectorIndian agricultural exports such as natural honey, potatoes, cashews, boneless meat, and bakery items will secure immediate duty-free entry into Oman.Oman has agreed to dismantle tariffs—which currently range from 5% to 100%—on an array of items. These include cheese, curd, milk, cream, frozen fish, butter, meat, yoghurt, pastries, cakes, chocolate, sugar confectionery, mineral water, alongside animal and vegetable fats and oils.In return, Indian consumers will benefit from cheaper imports of Omani dates, with India granting zero-duty access for up to 2,000 tonnes of the commodity annually. New Delhi is also extending tariff concessions to Oman’s traditional products: Gum Arabica (utilised in food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics) and Frankincense (utilised in the incense and perfume sectors).Oman to benefit from tariff concessionsIndia is extending tariff concessions across 77.79% of its total tariff lines (equivalent to 12,556 lines), which encapsulates 94.81% of India’s total imports from Oman by value.For items that hold significant export value for Oman but remain sensitive for domestic industries in India—such as dates, marbles, and specific petrochemical products—liberalisation will be managed via a controlled Tariff-Rate Quota (TRQ) mechanism.India strengthening presence in Middle EastThe Oman CEPA serves as another pillar in India's deepening trade ties with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), following its May 2022 pact with the UAE. New Delhi is set to commence trade talks with Qatar soon, and has already inked terms of reference (TOR) to initiate broader trade pact negotiations with the entire GCC bloc (comprising Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain).Despite its size, Oman commands vast geopolitical importance as it borders the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint heavily relied upon by Asian enterprises for oil trade. The nation serves as a strategic gateway for Indian goods and services into the broader Middle Eastern and African markets.Currently, nearly 7 lakh Indian nationals reside in Oman, sending home approximately USD 2 billion in annual remittances. Over 6,000 Indian establishments operate within Oman, and India has clocked USD 615.54 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) from Oman between April 2000 and September 2025. Notably, this CEPA is the first bilateral trade pact Oman has signed with any nation since its agreement with the United States in 2006, cementing its position as India’s third-largest export market within the GCC.

Mosquito humming to get stronger in California as Google plans to release 32 million insects: Reason may surprise you

These 32 million mosquitoes will be engineered to target diseases carried by them. According to a report in Yahoo, the insects would be released in only a few zones that have witnessed disease transmission at a higher rate.

Tomatoes Become Latest Symbol Of America's Affordability Squeeze

US tariffs collected on tomatoes ballooned from just $16,424 in 2024 to nearly $4.6 million.

Trump fights bid to repay ‘illegal’ tariffs

The Trump administration said it will appeal a judge’s authority to order across-the-board refunds of all tariffs ruled illegal by the US Supreme Court, potentially injecting legal chaos into a claims process that’s already underway.The Justice Department filed notice on Friday that it will appeal a court order compelling customs authorities to recalculate all import taxes that the administration collected under President Donald Trump’s use of a 1970s-era emergency powers law.Also read: US says $20.6 billion of tariff refunds on the way to importersUS Customs and Border Protection launched a new online portal to process refund claims on April 20, signaling that it intended to repay at least some of the approximately $166 billion in levies struck down by the Supreme Court earlier this year. But even as the administration has moved forward with that plan, the Justice Department declined to concede that a judge could exercise nationwide power to oversee the process, leaving open the possibility of another legal fight. “For that reason, defendants intend to appeal the court’s universal injunction and to seek a stay of the injunction except as to the particular importer plaintiffs in each case in which the Court has entered the injunction,” the Justice Department said in the court filing Friday.In a 6-3 decision in February, the Supreme Court held that Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to impose sweeping global tariffs was unlawful. They were silent on the question of refunds, however, sending the litigation back to the US Court of International Trade in Manhattan to determine next steps. Trade Judge Richard Eaton, appointed under former President Bill Clinton, was assigned to preside over thousands of lawsuits importers filed seeking to recoup the taxes they had paid before the Supreme Court ruled. Eaton ordered the customs agency to recalculate tariff amounts for all importers who paid the contested levies, not just the companies that had sued. The government also committed to paying interest on any refunds.Uncertainty has loomed about whether officials would oppose repaying the full amount. Eaton has mostly held non-public court hearings to discuss the government’s progress, but he indicated in a public order there was disagreement about how to handle tariffs that became final, a process that happens automatically on a rolling basis.Also read: US companies, shamed by Trump, tiptoe into $166 billion tariff refund race A customs official had also disclosed in court filings that the first phase of the refund portal roll-out wouldn’t be able to handle a significant proportion of the import entries at issue, and didn’t provide a concrete schedule for expanding the system’s capabilities to deal with more complicated claims.Trump, meanwhile, lambasted the Supreme Court’s decision and suggested that companies that didn’t seek refunds could reap political benefits in the future, saying that he would “remember them.”Separate from the IEEPA legal wrangling, the Trump administration is before the trade court defending a new round of global tariffs that the president imposed under a different law shortly after he lost in the Supreme Court.A three-judge panel declared the policy unlawful. But a federal appeals court temporarily paused that ruling while it weighs the government’s request for a longer-term order allowing customs authorities to continue collecting the levies as the court fight proceeds.