Nirmala Ganapathy

Bureau Chief, New Delhi Bureau at The Straits Times

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Articles

Japan’s early trade talks with the US offer countries few clues on the way forward

1 week ago | straitstimes.com | Walter Sim |Nirmala Ganapathy |Wendy Z.W. Teo

TOKYO/NEW DELHI/SEOUL – No accord was signed, and a yawning gap still remains between the two countries. But to all intents and purposes, the first round of trade talks between the US and Japan on April 16 is seen in Tokyo as a relative success. Not that US President Donald Trump moved even a millimetre on any of his positions on tariffs.
Indian students rethink studies in the US and the American Dream

2 weeks ago | straitstimes.com | Nirmala Ganapathy |Rohini Mohan

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU – Education consultant Anirudh Gupta has received numerous calls over the last couple of weeks from Indian students in the US asking him whether they should return home for the summer or stay put, over fears that their visas could be cancelled or that they would face trouble during re-entry.
Protests take place over Buddhism’s holiest site in India

2 weeks ago | straitstimes.com | Nirmala Ganapathy

BIHAR – A row has erupted at a holy site in India, where for years Buddhist monks have prayed in front of a sacred fig tree alongside Hindus performing rituals for the peace and redemption of deceased relatives. Hundreds of monks from different parts of the country are now staging a sit-in, demanding that management of the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya be handed to the Buddhist community. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Slash duties, stay mum: How ‘tariff king’ India got off easier in Trump’s trade war

2 weeks ago | straitstimes.com | Nirmala Ganapathy

NEW DELHI - Indian textile businessman Anil Buchasia is looking at a hefty tariff bill running into millions of rupees on his shipments of clothes to the US. Yet he can take small comfort in the fact that things could have been far more worse. Imports from India into the US were hit with a 26 per cent tax as part of the worldwide reciprocal tariffs unleashed by US President Donald Trump on April 2.
Indian manufacturers upbeat as government slaps anti-dumping duties on 5 Chinese products

4 weeks ago | straitstimes.com | Nirmala Ganapathy

PATNA – Mr Rakesh Jain, a Chennai-based entrepreneur who makes stainless steel vacuum bottles, said his business had struggled to compete with cheap Chinese imports. “We also had to sell at a cheaper rate, so we couldn’t make much money. We didn’t have the investment to plough back into additional capacity. We were never able to grow,” said Mr Jain.
India widens diplomatic footprint amid growing diaspora and political ambitions

1 month ago | straitstimes.com | Nirmala Ganapathy

NEW DELHI – India has stepped up the pace of opening new diplomatic missions, with an eye on serving the growing Indian diaspora and expanding the country’s global footprint. In the last seven months, India has opened several consulates and embassies worldwide – from Europe to Asia and Latin America. On March 8, External Affairs Minister S.
Five years after ban, Shein is back in India. Or is it?

1 month ago | straitstimes.com | Nirmala Ganapathy

NEW DELHI – Despite declaring “The OG is back”, Chinese ultra-fast-fashion giant Shein’s Jan 31 comeback in India was a low-key one as it relaunched its website and app after a nearly five-year ban. The question now is whether the garment powerhouse – popular in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, and arguably an OG or “original gangster” that changed the retail game with low-priced, ultra-fast fashion e-commerce – can recover lost ground in India.
India marks Holi, the festival of colours, amid tight security

1 month ago | straitstimes.com | Nirmala Ganapathy

NEW DELHI – Millions of people in India celebrated Holi, but the festival of colours took place amid heightened vigilance in communally sensitive areas as the Hindu festival coincided with Muslims’ Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. Holi is celebrated with people throwing coloured powder or water on each other and eating traditional sweets, food and drinks. The festival signals the end of winter, and celebrates the victory of good over evil.
Why the poor in India have been called ‘parasites’

1 month ago | straitstimes.com | Nirmala Ganapathy

NEW DELHI – Mr Amar Singh is hoping his wife will qualify for a monthly cash handout of 2,500 rupees (S$38) promised to women by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the latest Delhi elections in February. “It would help us reduce our grocery bills. We spend 6,000 rupees every month,” said Mr Singh, who earns anything between 10,000 and 15,000 rupees a month working as a painter earning from job to job. He is the sole breadwinner in the family.
India speeds up free trade talks with Western nations amid US tariff threats

1 month ago | straitstimes.com | Nirmala Ganapathy

US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arriving in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Feb 13. PHOTO: AFP– India is attempting to speed up the pace of free trade agreements with the West to improve market access and boost exports, a move fuelled by US President Donald Trump’s decision to implement reciprocal tariffs on April 2. India and the United Kingdom have resumed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks after an eight-month hiatus.