Morning Digest: India, China discuss ways to move ties to ‘predictable path’; Trump places 25% tariff on imported autos, expecting to raise $100 billion in tax revenues, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on March 27, 2025

India and China on Wednesday (March 26, 2025) explored ways to rebuild ties and agreed to initiate efforts to promote people-to-people exchanges, including arrangements for resumption of direct flights and resume Kailash Manasarovar Yatra this year. In a meeting in Beijing, the two sides also discussed resumption of dialogue mechanisms in a “step-by-step” manner to utilise them to address each other’s priority areas of interest and concern and move the relations to a “more stable and predictable path”, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday (March 26, 2025) he was placing 25% tariffs on auto imports, a move that the White House claims would foster domestic manufacturing but could also put a financial squeeze on automakers that depend on global supply chains. “This will continue to spur growth,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “We'll effectively be charging a 25% tariff.”

Digital transactions were impacted on Wednesday (March 26, 2025) due to a widespread UPI outage with a large number of users reporting problems in the instant payment interface. The outage triggered a surge in complaints on Downdetector, a platform that monitors service disruptions based on user reports. The system faced temporary issue for about an hour or so and it was subsequently stabilised by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

A U.S. intelligence report has named India and China as “sources of precursors and equipment for drug traffickers” and the primary source country for illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and pill pressing equipment.” The ‘2025 Annual Threat Assessment (ATA)‘, released on Tuesday (March 25, 2025), is the Intelligence Community’s (IC) official, coordinated evaluation of an array of threats to U.S. citizens, the homeland, and U.S. interests in the world. Some transnational criminal organisations (TCOs) are producing and trafficking large amounts of illicit drugs that are imperiling American lives and livelihoods, the report said.

Comedian Kunal Kamra on Wednesday (March 26, 2025) criticised Bollywood studio T-Series, alleging that his stand-up special “Naya Bharat”, which has kicked up a huge controversy over jokes targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, was flagged for copyright violations on YouTube. Mr. Kamra shared a screenshot from YouTube on X, which showed “Naya Bharat”, his new video, has been blocked due to copyright restrictions and therefore is not visible to viewers. Due to copyright claims, the video will not be able to generate revenue as well.

Rajasthan Royals was looking good with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and stand-in captain Riyan Parag involved in a promising partnership, after Sanju Samson came forward and made enough room to get himself yorked by Vaibhav Arora. RR raced to 54 for one by the end of the PowerPlay. KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane then introduced spin, tossing the ball to Moeen Ali, making his debut for the Kolkata franchise in place of the injured Sunil Narine. After restricting RR to 151 for nine, KKR, riding on a superb knock from Quinton de Kock, romped home with eight wickets and 15 balls to spare at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Over 350 people from 16 human rights groups gathered outside the gates of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Chembur, Mumbai, on Wednesday (March 26, 2025) over the suspension of Ramdas P.S., a Dalit PhD research student. The protest was in light of the March 12 Bombay High Court dismissal of a petition filed by Ramadas K.S., challenging his suspension by the TISS last year for alleged repetitive misconduct and anti-national activities.