US President Trump says he could travel to India next year
New York/Washington(PTI): US President Donald Trump said he could travel to India next year, emphasising that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “wants” him to visit while calling him a “great man” and a friend.
“He's (PM Modi) a friend of mine, and we speak... He wants me to go there. We'll figure that out. I'll go. I will have a great trip there with Prime Minister Modi, he’s a great man. And I'll be going,” Trump said at the Oval Office on Thursday in response to a question.
When asked if he is planning to go to India next year, Trump said, “It could be, yeah.”
India will host leaders from Australia, Japan, and the United States for the Quad summit in New Delhi after the 2024 summit was held in Wilmington, Delaware.
However, the dates for the summit in India are yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, President Trump once again claimed that India has stopped buying from Russia.
"It’s great, going good. He (PM Modi) stopped... Largely he stopped buying oil from Russia,” Trump said in response to a question on how talks with Modi and trade discussions with India are progressing.
Trump imposed 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India and an additional 25 per cent levies for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, bringing the total duties imposed on India to 50 per cent.
India had described the US action as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable" while maintaining that its energy policy is guided by its own national interest.
In his remarks before the press, Trump also reiterated his claim that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan in May using trade.
“Of the eight wars I ended, I would say five or six were ended because of tariffs. I'll give you an example. If you take a look at India and Pakistan, they started to fight, they are two nuclear nations... They were shooting each other. Eight planes were shot down. It was seven. Now it is eight, because the one that was sort of shot down is now abandoned. Eight planes were shot down.
“And I said, 'Listen, if you guys are going to fight, I'm gonna put tariffs on you’. And they both went, you know, they were not happy about that. And within 24 hours, I settled the war. If I didn't have tariffs, I wouldn't have been able to settle that war,” Trump said.
The president also termed tariffs a "great national defence".
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire" after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between the two neighbouring countries.
India has consistently denied any third-party intervention.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
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Oracle lays off around 12,000 employees in India, another round likely within a month
New Delhi (PTI): US-based IT firm Oracle is believed to have laid off approximately 12,000 staff in India, with another round of layoffs expected within a month, impacted employees said on Tuesday.
Globally, the company has fired around 30,000 employees.
"In India, around 12,000 employees have been laid off. The company is planning another mass layoff within a month," said two people impacted by the retrenchment, including one from the company's human resource department.
The company has approximately 30,000 employees in India, including those affected by the layoffs.
Oracle declined to comment on the development.
Oracle, in an email sent to staff, said the employees were informed about certain organisational changes and "because of these changes, a decision has been taken to streamline the operations, and as a result, unfortunately, the position you currently hold will become redundant".
The company has offered 15 days' salary to each employee who has completed a year of service in India, in addition to one month of unpaid wages till termination date, leave encashment, gratuity based on eligibility and pay for a one-month notice period.
Oracle has also offered a two-month salary as a top-up.
However, the severance package is available for those who voluntarily and amicably resign from the company.
An ex-employee of Oracle, Merugu Sridhar, said that he was laid off in September for protesting against the 16-hour work shift that the company has in India.
"I contacted my friends and those who are in human resources. They shared that most of the Indians working in the US with the company have been impacted because the local laws there are very strict when it comes to the retrenchment of their citizens," Sridhar said.
