Narendra Modi has become the longest-serving elected prime minister of India.
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Below, you can review a roundup of some of the top headlines that got India talking on Tuesday, June 9:
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India does not have surplus manufacturing capacity in steel and textiles, authorities said on Wednesday, countering a claim made in an investigation report published by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) last week.
Section 301 of the US Trade Act authorizes Washington to investigate and respond to foreign trade practices it deems discriminatory or unreasonable.
The provision has previously been used in trade disputes involving China and other major trading partners.
On June 3, the USTR proposed an extra 12.5% tariff on Indian goods, along with several other countries, after an investigation. Washington cited structural excess capacity in several Indian industries, including solar, steel, textiles, and petrochemicals.
Excess capacity can artificially depress the prices of goods globally.
Trade analysts suggest that Washington is using the threat of additional tariffs to force India to open up its agricultural sector to the US — a widely unpopular move in India. Meanwhile, New Delhi has been in discussion with Washington for the finalization of atrade deal.
On Wednesday, India’s additional trade secretary, Amitabh Kumar, refuted the report’s allegations, saying that output capacity should be measured against the size of the population and growth needs. India is the world’s most populous nation.
“Overcapacity is a country’s perspective. We don’t think we have overcapacity in anything,” Kumar said.
He said India’s consumption of textile products per person was very low, particularly of manmade fiber and technical items.
“This country has a hot climate, tropical climate,” he said. “We wear cotton. How do we have overcapacity?”
Kumar also rejected US concerns over steel, saying India’s production reflected its development requirements.
“India’s per capita steel consumption is among the lowest,” he said, adding that output in the world’s second-largest producer of the building material remains low relative to its population and growth needs.
Renowned Tamil film director and actor Bharathiraja died in Chennai at the age of 84.
The acclaimed director suffered from health issues and, in recent months, faced respiratory complications and other age-related ailments.
Revered as one of the Tamil film industry’s most influential storytellers, he is known to have transformed the Tamil cinema by moving away from studio-bound filmmaking and introducing realistic narratives, rural settings and emotionally rich characters to mainstream cinema.
The news of his death triggered an outpouring of grief from the film fraternity and political leaders. Several prominent personalities paid tribute to the legendary filmmaker, acknowledging his immense contribution to Indian cinema and the lasting impact of his work.
Leaders of several nations have congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his record-breaking tenure in office.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he hoped that Modi, who has become India’s longest-serving elected prime minister, would continue to develop relations with Russia.
Under Modi, bilateral relations between Russia and India are developing across all areas, Peskov said on Telegram.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote a congratulatory post featuring a photo of the duo strolling in a garden during Modi’s recent state visitto Italy.
“It has been a pleasure to meet again in Rome in recent weeks and to launch together a Special Strategic Partnership that looks to the future to create new opportunities for our Nations and our peoples,” she said.
European Council Chief Antonio Costa also congratulated Modi on his “visionary leadership” which has made relations between India and the EU “stronger than ever.”
The leaders of Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and Papua New Guinea also hailed Modi, according to India’s state-run radio news outlet.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to discuss trade, visa policies and energy cooperation with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit, according to a source cited by the Reuters news agency.
The June 15-17 summit, in the French town of Evian-les-Bains, will bring together leaders from the world’s major economies alongside other high-level delegations from countries including India.
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The meeting between the two leaders would come at a crucial time, with relations between India and the US turbulent over Trump’s tariffs on Indian products and his claimed intervention during India-Pakistan’s conflict last year.
With US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to India last month, tensions between the two countries have eased somewhat, opening up channels for talks on trade, visas, maritime security, energy supplies and the conflict in the Middle East.
Meta and Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries (RIL) on Wednesday announced a deal to develop an artificial intelligence-enabled data center in the western state of Gujarat.
The agreement comes as the US tech giant seeks to expand its global footprint.
The center is set to be built in Gujarat’s Jamnagar district, a joint statement said.
“RIL will develop a data center with 168 MW capacity to be delivered within two years, with an option to scale,” it said, without adding financial details.
Under the agreement, Meta will lease the facility, and Reliance will provide “end-to-end services spanning the entire lifecycle of the data centre.”
That includes everything — “from design and construction to the ongoing management of utilities, renewable power supply, network connectivity, and fully managed operational services,” the statement said.
“This partnership with Meta marks a transformative moment for India’s digital infrastructure. Building India’s first built-to-suit data centre for a global technology leader of Meta’s scale demonstrates India’s readiness to be at the forefront of the global AI revolution,” said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been pushing India as an AI hub for the world. This has resulted in expanding data centers, which critics say are adversely impacting the local environment. Nearby communities have accused these centers of guzzling their water supply, causing groundwater levels to drop.
“The data center will be powered by renewable energy and cooled with desalinated seawater, demonstrating both RIL’s and Meta’s commitment to sustainability,” the companies’ joint statement said.
Jamnagar is the cornerstone of Reliance Industries’ core energy and manufacturing business. It is also home to Vantara, a wildlife conservation and rehabilitation center widely known as the pet project of Reliance Industries’ owner Mukesh Ambani’s youngest son.
The 3,500-acre Vantara facility claims to be one of the world’s largest wildlife rescue and conservation centers, housing over 2,000 species.
Meanwhile, Meta CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg said he was “proud to be working with Reliance” to build the company’s first AI-enabled data center in India.
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Elon Musk’s Starlink says it is in active discussion with the Indian government and has applied for a license to start satellite communications services in India.
The government has issued a letter of intent to the company, with the final license still pending.
Recent media reports said New Delhi had frozen approval for Starlink’s commercial operations in the country due to security concerns linked to the Iran conflict. But the company has refuted those reports.
“Starlink remains in active and productive discussions with the Government of India contrary to misleading stories based upon unsubstantiated claims from anonymous sources,” Lauren Dreyer, vice president of Starlink Business Operations, said on X.
Dreyer said that Starlink has worked with the government through all of the required regulatory and compliance processes in a transparent and responsible manner.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the longest-serving continuously elected leader of India.
Modi first assumed office in May 2014 and secured a third consecutive term in 2024.
On June 10, Modi crossed the milestone of 4,399 consecutive days in office, overtaking the record previously held by India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
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Nehru, who was sworn in as prime minister on May 13, 1952, remained in office until May 27, 1964, serving a total of 4,398 days.
Modi received an outpouring of warm congratulations from world leaders on Wednesday.
“Public service is the greatest measure of good governance. It is only the individual who works tirelessly with humility, dedication, and a sense of duty who earns the trust of the people,” Modi said in a post on X to mark the occasion.
Good morning! This is Midhat from DW’s New Delhi Studio, bringing you the latest from India today.
Narendra Modi has become the longest-serving elected Indian prime minister.
Elon Musk’s Starlink could be making inroads in India as it seeks a license to start satellite communications services in the country.
Meanwhile, many in India faced a Google Cloud outage after a third-party data center caught fire and was shutdown.
Stay tuned as we bring you these stories and more from across the country.
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