Daily Briefing Top News Today

India and the United States Wednesday wrapped up two days of negotiations over a bilateral trade deal. Describing the outcomes, New Delhi said there was “a comprehensive review” of core elements including “enhanced market access, digital trade, supply chain resilience, reduction of non-tariff barriers, and expanded cooperation in strategic sectors”. According to an industry source, a 7-member US legislative delegation has started exploring tech export opportunities in India. India and the US have, in principle, agreed to the deal and expect the agreement to be signed over the next 15 days. The negotiations took place a month before Washington is expected to come out with a new tariffs architecture under Section 301 of the US Trade Act to replace reciprocal tariffs deemed illegal by the US Supreme Court in February this year.

With that, let’s move on to the top stories from today’s edition:

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) chargesheet filed in connection with the April 22, 2025 attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam reveals that the plan to attack tourists at Baisaran valley was active around April 15 that year. Among the digital records recovered from terrorists was one of the phones, which contained “two map screenshots time-stamped April 15 and 16, depicting locations near Baisaran”. The NIA probe noted that this phone belonged to a terrorist killed during ‘Operation Mahadev’ in the Srinagar area on July 28, 2025. The screenshots obtained indicate that the points were plotted in a mobile app, “consistent with coordinates being received from the (Pakistan-based) handler Sajid Jatt.” “These timestamps show the conspiracy was live at least from April 15 onwards,” the agency stated.

A hasty wedding plan: 25-year-old Ketan Agarwal’s family emphatically denied that his fiancee, Siya Goyal, could have anything to do with his shocking murder at Lohagad Fort, saying “she is our own.” However, the police went ahead with their routine inquiry and ended up uncovering a chilling murder plot. They found clues clearly pointing to how Siya and her boyfriend, Chetan Choudhary, allegedly plotted and executed Ketan’s murder. The cops also found that the families of Ketan and Siya fixed their wedding in February, and they were engaged just a week after the families met. From CCTV footage that showed Siya signalling a man in a hoodie following the couple, to her shifting statements about the incident, the police arrived at the conclusion of her direct involvement in Ketan’s murder.

Poser: Over a two-page note addressing all Secretaries to the Government of India, and a 10-page guide on how to conduct meetings, Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan stated that if they just follow “a beaten track”, the question they might face at the end of their service is: did they get “30 years’ experience or one year’s experience repeated 30 times”. The note underlined the need to improve each year, to get the “small things” right, and to “pause and revisit” matters which may seem “routine”. With the conduct of meetings as the first topic of concern, Somanathan’s guide suggested clearly underlining the purpose of the meeting, its attendees and its timing. It also suggested if the purpose can be achieved through email, phone or text messages, then a meeting should be avoided.

Row: The two men who were arrested by Gurgaon Police in connection with an alleged attempt at bribery linked to a purported “objectionable” video of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann were remanded in eight days’ police custody on Wednesday. While Mann claimed that he is not the individual seen in the video, the Akal Takht declared the clip “authentic” and declared Mann to be against the Gurus and the Panth. The arrests came after Jaspreet Singh complained to police in Haryana that two senior Punjab Police officers had paid him Rs 10 lakh to give a false report on the video. Visits by The Indian Express to two addresses where the alleged fake forensic report on the purported video featuring Mann was prepared found no “forensic labs”.

Addressing the confusion prevalent about the usage of a passport as a proof of Indian citizenship, the Ministry of External Affairs Wednesday asserted that a passport was a travel document, and not a proof of citizenship. Even though it is issued only to citizens, it is not a document that establishes citizenship, officials clarified. The MEA underlined measures incorporated in the new chip-based e-passports, such as biometric data, to boost global acceptance and reduce the risk of fraud. Moreover, for Indians, countries with visa-free entry stand at 27, an increase from 16 in 2019, a ministry official stated.

Is India better prepared for the monsoon? Even though the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted about 92% of normal rainfall for the month of June, the reality remained far from it. The June rainfall deficit was more than 40% and now appears unlikely to be bridged. This monsoon behaviour has raised concerns that the season might be even drier than predicted. While IMD general director Mrutyunjay Mohapatra ruled out El Niño phenomenon for the monsoon performance this month, he suggested other reasons for the deficit such as low pressure systems of inadequate strength; weak monsoon currents; and the unfavourable phase of a moving wind and cloud system called Madden Julian Oscillation, or MJO.

In our Opinion section today, Coomi Kapoor presents a brutally accurate first-hand picture of the Emergency of 1975 under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, as well as addresses the dilemma she faces as she grapples with the present-day restrictions imposed on the media, and authoritarianism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kapoor writes: “In a country as diverse as India, with a culture of outspokenness, debate and argument, truth cannot be suppressed for long, particularly in the days of social media. So why make the mistake that Indira Gandhi made 50 years back in assuming that opposing viewpoints can be wished away?”

That’s all for today. Have a wonderful day!