Good Morning. While America has gone back to what feels like 19th-century imperialism (read abducted leaders and eyes on Greenland), India is back to square one with President Donald Trump. Between the threat of 500% tariffs and Trump’s style of diplomacy, the world order has officially changed. What’s India’s place in this new world?

Indian exchanges on Thursday saw the worst session in a month. The BSE Sensex closed at 84,180.96, falling 780.18 points or 0.92%. The NSE Nifty50 closed at 25,876.85, falling 263.9 points or 1.01%.

In other news, Reliance Industries Limited is reportedly planning to buy Venezuelan oil. Meanwhile, Air India gets its first Dreamliner in 10 years.

Trump’s Imperial Turn Leaves India With No Easy Choices

The world saw the latest avatar of Imperialism, when on January 3, the US carried out a massive military operation to destroy/neutralise Venezuelan defence positions in the Capital Caracas, and abducted President Nicolas Maduro and wife Celia Flores, to bring them to the US, and face charges of operating a drugs cartel, terrorism and possessing machine guns. 

Trump has said the US would run Venezuela, take the country’s oil and use the proceeds of oil sales for the benefit of the Venezuelan people and of the American people. 

Following the action against Venezuela, Trump has renewed his threats to take over Greenland to protect vital national security interests relating to shipping lanes in the Arctic, increasingly attractive for China, besides Russia, and to the island nation’s mineral wealth. European powers are backing Denmark, which claims Greenland as a protectorate.

India Not A Worthy Ally? 

Trump has bared naked self-interest as the underlying motive of US foreign policy. India is not an ally worth cultivating, for Trump. He has shown the greenlight to a bill in Congress that seeks to raise tariffs up to 500% on imports from countries that buy Russian oil. 

The threat of a 500% duty on Indian exports is no scarier than the policy of 50% duty on Indian exports. If dropping a 50 kg stone on a man’s head is enough to kill him, what additional lethality does a 500 kg boulder carry? But more damaging is Trump’s boast that Modi understands that he has to make Trump happy, to avoid penal duties.

Sovereignty Demands National Strength

India cannot afford to legitimise a global norm that holds respect for national sovereignty to be an indulgence. Nor does it make sense for India to let Beijing take the lead in championing national sovereignty in the face of resurgent imperialism. India must take the lead in opposing Trump’s assault on the rules-based world order, and not cede that space to China.

The pursuit of strategic autonomy, however, calls for a whole lot more than taking a firm stand on global affairs. It calls for building economic strength that can sustain much larger spending on defence. It calls for sustained investment in education to create critical thinking in the young. It calls for increasing the outlay on research and development manifold, from the present abysmal level of 0.64% of GDP.

It calls for national coherence and a vision of a shared destiny among 1.5 billion Indians. Sectarian politics that divide the people and pit one section against another undercuts the needed coherence. So does the embrace of stark social and income inequality as a feature of economic efficiency.

How can India achieve this? 

Reliance Eyes Venezuelan Crude

A Reliance spokesperson told Reuters that the company “will consider” buying oil from Venezuela if regulations permit such purchases. 

Fast Facts: The statement comes as India’s largest refiner reassesses its crude sourcing amid mounting pressure from the United States. Previously, Reliance said it wasn’t expecting any Russian oil deliveries in January after Bloomberg reported Russian crude vessels heading to its Jamnagar refinery. 

The Lead: India’s oil imports have become a flashpoint in trade talks with Washington. The US has imposed a 50% tariff on many Indian goods, including a 25% punitive levy tied to India’s purchases of sanctioned Russian oil. Venezuelan oil, long constrained by US sanctions, could reemerge as an alternative supply if regulatory clarity and sanctions relief materialise. 

India Plans China Reset

India’s finance ministry plans to remove five-year-old restrictions on Chinese companies bidding for government contracts, two government sources told Reuters, as New Delhi looks to revive commercial ties amid easing diplomatic and border tensions.

Flashpoint: The curbs were imposed in 2020 after a deadly military clash and required bidders from bordering nations, including China, to register with a government panel and obtain political and security clearances, effectively excluding Chinese firms from contracts worth an estimated $700–$750 billion.

How Did We Get Here? Officials are now working to scrap the registration requirement, with a final decision resting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office. The move follows requests from multiple ministries facing project delays and supply shortages. A high-level panel led by former cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba has also backed easing the curbs.

Consumption Still Cautious

India’s FMCG sector returned to growth in the quarter ending October 2025, but higher prices continued to shape how households spend, according to a recent report by Worldpanel by Numerator. The late recovery was not enough to match last year’s overall performance. 

What’s Next?After several years of steady increases, household shopping trips stalled as consumers paid more per visit and adjusted by buying smaller packs. Everyday categories such as biscuits remained central to spending, while convenience foods continued to see wider adoption. 

Impact: The report shows that recent growth is due to higher prices and premium products than by a clear rise in consumption volumes, raising questions about how durable the recovery will be in the coming months.

Air India Gets Dreamliner

Tata Group-owned Air India has taken delivery of its first line-fit Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, marking the airline’s first induction of the aircraft type in more than eight years. Title transfer was completed at Boeing’s Everett facility in Seattle on January 7, with the aircraft expected to arrive in India in the coming days after DGCA inspections, Business Standard reported.

The Lead: The last line-fit Dreamliner acquired by Air India was delivered in October 2017, when the carrier was under government ownership. The Core spoke to an Air India pilot, who requested anonymity, who said delivery delays were largely due to supply chain disruptions, despite orders being placed on time.

What's Next? The three-class aircraft is the first line-fit Dreamliner delivered to Air India since its privatisation in January 2022 and is the airline’s first wide-body and 52nd overall delivery from its 2023 Boeing order.

✍️ Zinal Dedhia, Kudrat Wadhwa, Shubhangi Bhatia | ✂️ Rohini Chatterji | 🎧 Joshua Thomas

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