Morning Digest: Peace march plan brings back tension in Manipur; India focussed on bilateral trade talks with U.S., not tariffs, says Centre, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on March 8, 2025

A proposed peace march on Saturday, timed to coincide with the Centre’s deadline for the start of ‘free movement’ on the highways, has put Manipur on the boil again. Security has been heightened in the State’s Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley and the surrounding hills inhabited mostly by the tribal Kuki-Zos, ahead of a potentially volatile “march to the hills” planned by the Federation of Civil Societies (FOCS), a valley-based conglomerate of about 20 organisations.

Indian officials are focussed on the progress in the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) talks with the United States, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Friday, sidestepping questions on whether the recent flurry of remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump on “reciprocal tariffs” to be imposed from April 2 were a setback to ties.

Donald Trump is on a tariff war on the world. Which countries will be worst hit by the U.S. President’s latest plan for reciprocal taxes and non-tariff barriers from April 2? Does New Delhi have a diplomatic game plan to deal with Trump’s threats? And how are other countries reacting?

Amid the controversy over duplicate Voter ID Card numbers issued to some electors, the Election Commission of India on Friday said it would resolve the matter in the next three months by ensuring a unique national EPIC number to all voters.

Drumming up support from Chief Ministers and former CM of States likely to be affected by the delimitation process, Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin wrote to them on Friday, requesting their consent to join a Joint Action Committee (JAC). Despite the gravity of the issue, the Union government has provided “neither clarity nor any concrete commitment” to address States’ concerns, Mr. Stalin pointed out.

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on April 22 petitions alleging that the Indian establishment used Israeli military grade spyware to snoop on personalities across a spectrum of politicians, activists, and journalists.

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to order a status quo on Dharavi redevelopment project in Mumbai. A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar sought responses from the Maharashtra government and Adani Properties Pvt Ltd, which was awarded the tender for the project, on a petition challenging a December 20, 2024 verdict of the Bombay High Court.