The Editorial Page: With tariff cloud lifting, India-US can shape balance of power in Asia & world 12 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2026 JOURNALISM of COURAGE kOLkATA, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES ₹6.00 (₹12 in North East states, ₹20 in Andaman) l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , kO L k ATA , L U C k N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A DAY AfTER U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ANNOUNCED TRADE DEAL, TARIff CUT fROM 50% TO 18% Farmers secure, agriculture and dairy interests protected: Goyal $100-bn imports a year for 5 yrs: Agri goods, energy, aircraft parts & tech from US to India Says deal better than what India competitors got; USTR: exciting opportunity Ravi Dutta Mishra & Sukalp Sharma New Delhi, February 3 AMID CONCERNS that India has agreed to cut tariffs for agri goods and committed to buy more of these from the US, whichmayhurtfarmers,Union Commerce and Industry MinisterPiyushGoyalsaidTuesday that the interests of sensitive sectors like agriculture and dairy have been fully protected in the India-US trade deal. US President Donald TrumphadonMondayslashed tariffs on India from 50% to 18%, the lowest among most emerging economies and New Delhi’s competitors. While Trump said India has committed to buying American goods including agricultural products at a “higher level”, US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollinssaidthedealwillseethe USexport“morefarmproducts to India’s market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural Ravi Dutta Mishra & Sukalp Sharma New Delhi, February 3 Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal addresses the media on Tuesday. PTI Business as Usual By EP UNNY INDIA IS committed to purchasing $100 billion worth of US products annually for five years, which will largely include aircraft, technology items, precious metals, oil, nuclear products and agricultural goods, The Indian Express has learnt. This is over twice last year’s imports. In FY25, India imported $45.62 billion worth of American goods, while exports to the US stood at $86.51 billion. Under the trade deal announced Monday, Washington loweredtariffsonIndia to 18% from 50% imposed in August 2005, and US President Donald Trump said India will buy over $500-billion worth of American energy, technology, agriculturalproducts,andcoal, among other products. Sources said while Indiahasopeneditsagriculture sector to a wide category of products, it has maintained protection on genetically modified (GM) products, soya meal, poultry, maize, cereals, and corn. E. Quotaaccesshasbeengiven in cotton, pulses, chestnuts, onion among a range of other items,sourcessaid,addingthat Delhi has given market access toproducts,suchasapples,that are already open for other countries. India had given market access to apples to New Zealand »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MORE REPORTS, PAGES 11, 15 World is tilting towards India, says PM as NDA hails ‘historic’ trade pacts Liz Mathew New Delhi, February 3 America.” In an interview, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said India has agreed to cut tariffs across goods »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the NDA parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. ANI ADAYaftertheannouncement of a trade deal with the US followingmonthsofnegotiations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told NDA MPs Tuesday that India is at the global centrestage, shaping the new order and “the world is tilting towards India”. Speakingatameetingofthe NDA parliamentary party, Modi, according to an MP present there, referred to India’s trade deal with the US days afterapactwiththeEU,anddescribed it as a “big decision that will benefit a large section of people in the country”. Hailing the India-EU trade dealasthe“motherofalldeals”, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Happening Bengal SIR: One ‘logical discrepancy’ today category, two sets of data on notices lTHE SUPREME Court will hear a plea filed by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee challenging the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. lfIVE-TIME CHAMPIONS India, led by Ayush Mhatre, face Afghanistan in the semifinal of the ICC Under-19 World Cup. lTHE RbI’S rate-setting panel will start its three-day brainstorming for the next bi-monthly monetary policy. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm Ravik bhattacharya & Damini Nath Kolkata, New Delhi, February 3 THIRTEEN LAKH vs 50.89 lakh. Two sets of data from the Election Commission, both dated January 18, have this mismatch in the number of votersservednoticesunderone category as part of the Special IntensiveRevision(SIR)ofelectoral rolls in West Bengal. Over 1.16 crore electors had been flagged in the state for “logical discrepancies” in their INsIDE PAgE 3 why MAMAtA hAS tAkEN S.I.R. fIght AgAINSt BJP to DELhI documentsafterthefirstround of SIR, and asked to appear for hearings to prove their eligibility as voters. The hearings are currently on in Bengal, with one of the discrepancies flagged being six or more voters naming the same person as a parent. The SIR process in Bengal, along with eight other states and three Union Territories, began in October last year. On January 18, the EC submitteddatathroughaswornaffidavit in the Supreme Court in »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Compromised’: Rahul targets PM; Chair suspends 8 Opposition MPs ThE BIG PICTURE Bail Diaries Manoj C G & Harikishan Sharma Elgaar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case: 16 accused: 1 dead, 1 in custody, 14 out on bail PAgE 10 New Delhi, February 3 THE STANDOFF between the Opposition and the governmentintensifiedonTuesdayas Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi stepped up his attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he was not allowed to quote from or speak about former Army Chief »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NATION Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Hibi Eden and others at the Parliament complex on Tuesday. PTI PAgE 8 StoP ShARINg USER DAtA oR ExIt: SC to MEtA, whAtSAPP l THE WAITER WAS ARRESTED OVER COMPLAINT OF HAVING SERVED BEEF BY MISTAKE Olypub’s Nasimuddin gets bail, his restaurant and his city behind him PAGE 1 anchor Tanusree bose Kolkata, February 3 FOR GENERATIONS, his familyhasbeenworkingatOlypub. First his father, his uncle and then him. Last week, close to 10 years after he joined the iconicKolkatarestaurant-cumbar, Sheikh Nasimuddin found himself behind bars on the complaintofacustomerthathe hadbeenservedbeefinsteadof his order of mutton. The iconic Kolkata restaurant-cum-bar, famous for its beef steak, reopened after two days on Monday. EXPRESS On Tuesday, when Nasimuddin appeared virtually before Chief Judicial Magistrate PayelBanerjeeandwasgranted bail,hiscolleagueswerepresent in the court to offer their support, while the Olypub owner asserted that there was no threat to the 34-year-old’s job. Meanwhile, the restaurantcum-bar, famous for its beef steak, reopened after two days Monday, to bigger crowds than usual. Nasimuddin was arrested on Saturday by the Park Street police on the charge of hurting »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata Yumnam Khemchand Singh set to be Manipur CM; Kuki-Zo, Naga MLAs may be Dy CMs Sukrita baruah & Jatin Anand Guwahati, New Delhi, February 2 AFTER WEEKS of deliberations, the BJP on Tuesday elected 62-year-old Yumnam Khemchand Singh as the leader of the Manipur legislature party, paving the way for government formation and for Singh to take over as the next Chief Minister. Manipur was put under President’s Rule last year, days after N Biren Singh resigned as CM of the state, which had been roiled by eth- Manipur’s former CM N Biren Singh (right) with Yumnam Khemchand Singh (second left) in New Delhi Tuesday. ANI nic violence since May 2023. The decision was taken at a meetinghelmedbyBirenSingh »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2