The police said that Krishnappa travelled from Bagepalli intending to kill his wife and waited for over four hours near Chikkathoguru Road in South Bengaluru
As Indian equity markets panic turn and exporters brace for US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs to kick in, the question is – will it be as harsh as feared? Regardless of gloom forecasters, pragmatism is the key.
Trump has imposed a flat 26% tariff on Indian exports to the US in addition to a baseline duty of 10% applicable to all countries. The latter came into force on April 5 and the country-specific duty will go live Wednesday.
The worst impact will be felt by the electronics, gems, and jewellery sectors, experts fear. But that impact will be limited and short-term because of the country’s moderate share in global exports. The impact of the tariffs on competing economies is another aspect that may end up benefiting India, sources said.
Advantage India?
The US has imposed higher tariffs against countries like China, Vietnam and Indonesia – which compete with India in the export sector – and Indian exporters will benefit from this, said sources. India has the first mover advantage since it is the only country that began negotiations with the US for a Bilateral Trade Agreement, they said.
China, a major manufacturing hub that caters to the world, has retaliated to the Trump tariffs by imposing 34 per cent duty on the US. But India did not make any such move. This was a wise play that gives India an edge in trade talks, sources said.
They also pointed out that the US sent its officials only to India for negotiations on tariffs after Trump took office in January. India and US are now trying to expedite the bilateral trade agreement that will be mutually beneficial and will cover a range of issues including deepening supply chain integration, according to the Commerce Ministry.
India is negotiating with seven countries for a free trade agreement and trade talks will soon begin with Bahrain and Qatar, sources pointed out, suggesting that such deals would resolve the tariff tangle. New Delhi will also find new markets for its marine and jewellery products and other sectors impacted by the tariffs, they said.
Should Exporters Fear?
India’s share in global exports has doubled between 2005 and 2023. It stood at 2.4 per cent in 2023, according to a report by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The share of merchandise exports was 1.8 per cent and that of services export was 4.3 per cent.
“The US is the world’s biggest economy and their global multi-sector tariffs will have an immediate impact on our exporters, but India does not have a big share in global exports, so this won’t impact us a lot in the long term,” said PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) CEO Ranjeet Mehta while talking to NDTV.
The industry body assesses the tariffs on Indian exports could impact only 0.1% of the GDP due to the country’s price competitiveness and supportive government policies.
“Strong domestic manufacturing, continued government handholding by (introducing) strategic policy measures like the PLI, Make in India, and Atmanirbhar Bharat, among others, will support India’s growth resilience,” said Hemant Jain, president, PHDCCI.
‘New Business Models Will Emerge’
At the same time, the tariffs will provide Indian exporters an opportunity to expand their footprint, said Mr Mehta, pointing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “apada me avsar” call to find opportunities amid challenges during the Covid pandemic.
“New business models and policies will emerge from this global tariff war. Even during a global disaster like the pandemic, India managed to find opportunities,” said Mr Mehta.
Diversification and innovation will be key that will sustain Indian exporters despite the challenges. Mr Mehta suggests that India must look for new opportunities and adapt to the changing scenario.
“India is a very big market of 1.4 billion people. Our consumption is huge. India is still the fastest-growing economy in emerging markets. But we must look at new opportunities and create new models. We must create a new ecosystem that will help us make our products more innovative and useful,” he said.
Opportunities Worth $50 Billion
The Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) expects market opportunities to grow by over $50 billion for Indian sellers due to the tariffs. “We assess that in the next two to three years, Indian exporters will have a market opportunity of more than $ 50 billion in the international market due to the reciprocal tariff imposed by the US,” FIEO CEO Ajay Sahai told NDTV.
Ajay Srivastava, founder of think-tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), too said the tariffs present a strategic opportunity for New Delhi to boost its presence in global trade and manufacturing. The textile industry may benefit from this. Higher tariffs on countries like China and Bangladesh may allow Indian garment manufacturers to gain market share, he said.
Higher tariffs may put Vietnam and Thailand on the back foot and India – with initiatives like the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme – may help the domestic electronics manufacturers better position themselves in the global markets, he said. Similarly, with Taiwan facing higher tariffs from US, India has the potential to emerge as a preferred destination for semiconductor manufacturing.
Aman Gupta, co-founder of boAT, has stepped into the debate over India’s startups with a message of solidarity for Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, whose recent remarks drew both criticism and concern from across the startup ecosystem.
“It’s not every day that the government asks founders to dream bigger,” Mr Gupta said in a statement, following Mr Goyal’s comments. “I was there. I heard the full speech. Piyush Goyal ji isn’t against founders. He believes in us. His point was simple: India has come far, but to lead the world…we need to aim higher.”
It’s not every day that the government asks founders to dream bigger.
But at Startup Mahakumbh, that’s exactly what happened. I was there. I heard the full speech. Hon. Minister @PiyushGoyal Ji isn’t against founders. He believes in us.His point was simple: India has come far,… pic.twitter.com/bA4ontAz1M
— Aman Gupta (@amangupta0303) April 6, 2025
Mr Gupta’s statement comes in the wake of Mr Goyal’s remarks at the event Startup Mahakumbh. The minister had questioned whether India should be content with developing apps that deliver groceries or ice cream, especially when Chinese startups are investing in semiconductors, EVs, and AI.
“We are making food/hyper delivery apps; creating cheap labour so the rich can have a meal without stepping out, while the Chinese are working on AI (artificial intelligence), EVs (electric vehicles), and semiconductors. Should we make ice cream (delivery apps) or make chips (i.e., semiconductors)? Dukaandari hi karna hai (Do we just want to sell things)? Mr Goyal asked at the event.
While several prominent entrepreneurs responded with defensive or critical takes on Mr Goyal’s comments, the boAT chief interpreted the minister’s address as a motivational call for ambition. Drawing a parallel from his own experience on the reality show Shark Tank India, he said, “If you want to build a world-class product, you must know your competition. That applies to India too.”
His statement stood in sharp contrast to reactions from others in the startup community who took issue with Mr Goyal’s remarks.
The comments drew fire from Zepto co-founder Aadit Palicha, who launched into a detailed defence of consumer internet startups like his own. In a LinkedIn post, Mr Palicha cited job creation, tax contributions, and foreign investment as proof of real economic value. “Almost 1.5 lakh real people are earning livelihoods on Zepto today,” he said. “If that isn’t a miracle in Indian innovation, I honestly don’t know what is.”
Mr Palicha also argued that many of the world’s largest technology companies – Amazon, Facebook, Tencent – began as consumer internet platforms before evolving into deeper tech ventures. “Most technology-led innovation over the past two decades has originated from consumer internet companies,” he wrote. “We need to build great local champions… not pull down teams that are trying hard to get there.”
Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai urged the government to support startups rather than cast doubt. “India has startups in all those areas [deep tech] too, but they are small. Minister Piyush Goyal should not belittle our startups but ask himself what he has done to help them,” he said, adding that the startup ecosystem had been historically hampered by policy hurdles like the Angel Tax and regulatory constraints from institutions like the Reserve Bank of India.
Others, like Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal, acknowledged the potential of Indian startups but pointed to the need for greater support. “In the last few months, I’ve met a few deep-tech companies that have absolutely blown me away,” he said. “But capital and the ecosystem for growth and commercialisation are severely lacking.”
In a more pointed response, former BharatPe managing director Ashneer Grover noted that even China began with consumer services before building out its deep-tech industry. “China also had food delivery first and then evolved to deep tech. It’s great to aspire to what they’ve done-but maybe time for politicians to aspire for 10%+ economic growth for 20 years flat before chiding today’s job creators,” he posted.
Despite the pushback, Mr Goyal defended his remarks, arguing that they had been misinterpreted-particularly by the Opposition.
“My message for startups has been received positively except by some Congress party social media handles who are hell-bent on manufacturing a controversy. The young Indians are ready to capture the world,” he said.
The Congress accused the minister of contradicting the government’s pro-startup narrative, claiming on social media that Mr Goyal had “admitted India’s startup struggles” and exposed “the lies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on startups.”