Bannanje Raja comes to Udupi to see his mother in police security
Night stay at city station lock-up
Udupi, July 08: The police have brought underworld fugitive don Bannanje Raja who is in Belagavi jail, to Udupi to see his mother who is suffering from illness, following the permission from the Principal District and Sessions Court of Udupi on Sunday.
As of now, Raja was kept in Udupi city police station lock-up. The police have allowed him to stay with his mother at Kalmadi on Monday from 6am to 6pm.
Court permission
During the hearing at the court, Bannanje Raja who was in Belagavi Hindalga jail had appealed Judge Venkatesh Nayak through video conference to allow him to see his mother as she was ill. His advocate Shantaram Shetty filed an appeal before the court.
Following his appeal, the judge had given permission on July 5 to see his mother and stay with her from 6 am to 6 pm. The court also directed him to bear the expenses of his travel and security and pay it to the police department. Based on that, the DAR police team led by Udupi city police inspector Sunil Kumar went to Belagavi on July 7 and brought him to Udupi on Sunday morning with tight police security. Meanwhile, Raja was subjected to medical check-up at the Kundapura government hospital and brought him to Udupi police station at 6.45 pm.
Tight security around police station
Tight police security was arranged around the city police station where Raja was kept in the lock-up. Armed police personnel were deputed for the security. Before Raja was brought to the station, sufficient police force was deputed around the police station under the leadership of Udupi circle inspector Manjunath. Soon after he was taken inside the police station, the gate was closed and no one was allowed inside.
The police station was equipped with three CCTV cameras to keep a vigil on his movement inside the station where he would stay till July 10 morning. Today, Udupi SP Lakshman Nimbargi and ASP Kumarachandra visited the police station and reviewed the police security. Kundapura DySP Dinesh Nayak was present.
Police security to his house at Kalmadi
Police sources said that Bannanje Raja would be taken to his house at Kalmadi at 7 am with tight police security. The police force has already checked the entire house and inspected it and provided tight police security around the house. Raja was allowed to stay only with his mother from morning to evening. No others would be allowed inside the house. The police would bring him back to the city police station in the evening and keep him till July 10 morning. Later, he would be subjected to medical check-up at the district government hospital and taken to the Belagavi jail, sources said.
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India proposes preferential trade agreement with Mexico to deal with high tariffs
New Delhi (PTI): India has proposed a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Mexico to help domestic exporters deal with the steep tariffs announced by the South American country, a top government official said on Monday.
Mexico has decided to impose steep import tariffs - ranging from about 5 per cent to as high as 50 per cent on a wide range of goods (about 1,463 tariff lines) from countries that do not have free trade agreements with Mexico, including India, China, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that India has engaged with the country on the issue.
"Technical level talks are on...The only fast way forward is to try to get a preferential trade agreement (PTA) because an FTA (free trade agreement) will take a lot of time. So we are trying to see what can be a good way forward," he told reporters here.
While in an FTA two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on maximum number of goods traded between them, in a PTA, duties are cut or removed on a limited number of products.
Trading partners of Mexico cannot file a compliant against the decision on imposing high tariffs as they are WTO (World Trade Organisation) compatible.
The duties are within their bound rates, he said, adding that their primary target was not India.
"We have proposed a PTA because its a WTO-compatible way forward... we can do a PTA and try to get concessions that are required for Indian supply chains and similarly offer them concessions where they have export interests in India," Agrawal said.
ALSO READ: Mexico's Congress approves higher tariffs on goods from India, China and non-FTA nations
Citing support for local production and correction of trade imbalances, Mexico has approved an increase in MFN (most favoured nation) import tariffs (5-50 per cent) with effect from January 1, 2026 on 1,455 tariff lines (or product categories) within the WTO framework, targeting non-FTA partners.
Preliminary estimates suggest that this affects India's around USD 2 billion exports to Mexico particularly -- automobile, two-wheelers, auto parts, textiles, iron and steel, plastics, leather and footwear.
The measure is also aimed at curbing Chinese imports.
India-Mexico merchandise trade totalled USD 8.74 billion in 2024, with exports USD 5.73 billion, imports USD 3.01 billion, and a trade surplus of USD 2.72 billion.
The government has been continuously and comprehensively assessing Mexico's tariff revisions since the issue emerged, engaging stakeholders, safeguarding the interests of Indian exporters, and pursuing constructive dialogue to ensure a stable trade environment benefiting businesses and consumers in both countries.
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Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai has said that Mexico's decision is a matter of concern, particularly for sectors like automobiles and auto components, machinery, electrical and electronics, organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and plastics.
"Such steep duties will erode our competitiveness and risk, disrupting supply chains that have taken years to develop," Sahai said, adding that this development also underlines the little urgency for India and Mexico to fast-track a comprehensive trade agreement.
Domestic auto component manufacturers will face enhanced cost pressures with Mexico hiking duties on Indian imports, according to industry body ACMA.
