Image Credit: PTI&X/@CJP_2029

New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor The satirical Cockroach came out in support of the Janata Party (CJP), questioning the blocking of its X account and calling it “disastrous and extremely senseless”.“I’m incredibly intrigued by the rise of #CockroachJantaParty, which has garnered 15 million (now over 19 million) followers on Instagram in just five days,” Tharoor posted on Instagram.

CJP’s X account, which had over two lakh followers, was blocked in India following a legal demand on Wednesday. Founder Abhijeet Dubke confirmed the suspension, writing, “As expected the Cockroach Janata Party account has been blocked in India.” Within hours, the group launched a new account titled “Cockroach is back”, posting: “Did you think you could get rid of us? Hahahaha.”Tharoor said he understands the frustrations of the youth and sees why they are resonating with the satire movement.“This is why blocking the account on He has written.“Democracy needs outlets for dissent, humor, sarcasm and even frustration,” he said.While Tharoor said he is unsure about the future of the movement, he hopes the youth behind it will find a way to channel their energy into mainstream politics.“This is an opportunity which the opposition should take advantage of,” the Congress MP wrote. He suggested that political parties pay attention to the viral trend and work on bringing the youth to their side.Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda also called blocking of CJP’s X account a “cockroach ban” and said it was “completely inappropriate in a democracy.” He said the movement reflects deep-seated anger among the youth against the “flawed system” created by the BJP.The CJP emerged following Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s controversial remarks during a court hearing earlier this month, in which he reportedly compared some unemployed youth to “cockroaches” and “parasites”. The CJI later issued a clarification, saying that his comments were aimed at people using “bogus and bogus degrees” and that reports claiming that he insulted the youth of India were “completely baseless”.But by then, the Cockroach Janata Party had turned the controversy into an internet movement, garnering more than 19.5 million followers on Instagram.The satirical organization describes itself as “a political party for the lazy, unemployed and chronically correct people”, headquartered “wherever WiFi works.” Its manifesto includes demands like ban on post-retirement Rajya Sabha seats for Chief Justices, 20-year election ban for MLAs and MPs who switch parties and 50 percent reservation for women in Parliament.

Sergio Gore (Image Credit: ANI)

Speaking at an event organized by the American Chamber of Commerce, the envoy said the agreement will help strengthen supply chains, encourage new investments and support continued inclusive growth.Target of $500 billion trade by 2030“Our shared ambition to achieve $500 billion in bilateral trade by 2030 reflects the connectivity, built confidence and scale of opportunity between our economies. We stand at a remarkable moment,” he said, as reported by ANI.According to PTI, Gore also said that US President Donald Trump aims to facilitate bilateral trade in a way that creates attractive opportunities for American businesses and workers.Referring to India’s free trade agreement with the European Union being finalized in January, Gore said the negotiations took almost 19 years. However, he expressed confidence that the proposed India-US trade agreement could be concluded within a year and a half of the start of talks.“We are confident that this (India-US) trade agreement can be finalized in the coming weeks and months,” he said.Goyal highlights US investment commitment of $60 billionUnion Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, who attended the event, said that India and America are emerging as natural partners with complementary strengths in all sectors.“The US and India are really working as natural partners. We complement each other. The US can offer very high caliber equipment in the areas of technology, innovation, high-precision defence, digital data centres, quantum computing and medical devices,” Goyal said.He further said, “Given the Amazon, Google data center investment pledges, the US commitment has crossed $60 billion in the last six months; US-India are truly working as natural partners, complementing each other.”India-US trade agreement talksThe outlines of the proposed interim US-India trade agreement were first outlined in a joint statement issued on February 7, however, a major change was seen following the US Supreme Court’s decision reducing reciprocal tariffs.Following the decision, the US imposed a 10 percent ancillary duty on imported goods under Section 122 of the Trade Act for a temporary 150-day period starting February 24.Additionally, Washington also initiated an investigation under Section 301 on issues related to industrial overcapacity and labor practices involving major exporting countries.Indian officials have already submitted formal responses to the investigation, while discussions between the two sides continue as negotiators work to resolve key outstanding issues before a final agreement.

New Delhi/Mumbai: Amidst the fall of rupee, Commerce and Industry Minister… Piyush Goyal Said on Thursday that the government is considering several measures to control the rising current account deficit (CAD). “We are monitoring the situation. All different arms of the government are working as a team. Several steps are being considered. The situation globally is quite challenging, but we have confidence and conviction that we will emerge victorious even in these challenging times,” Goyal told reporters. Stating that the government has no plans to cut non-essential imports, the minister said the public has been urged to be more conscious on products that are dependent on imports.

A few days ago, PM Narendra Modi had urged citizens to postpone gold purchases and avoid destination weddings abroad. Gold imports rose 24% to an all-time high of $72 billion during the last fiscal year, although volumes fell 4.8% to 721 tonnes. Silver imports surged 150% last year to $12 billion, with volumes up 42% to 7,335 tonnes. The government has increased the import duty from 6% to 15%. “With the oil trade deficit likely to widen and potential pressure on remittances from West Asia, we estimate India’s current account deficit (CAD) to widen to 2.2% from an estimated 0.8% last fiscal,” CRISIL economists led by DK Joshi said in a recent analysis. While the trade deficit was driven by rising gold and silver prices last year, the oil shock and withdrawal of portfolio investments following the West Asia conflict resulted in a sharp weakness in the rupee, which hit 97 against the dollar on Wednesday. However, on Thursday it closed 62 paise higher at 96.20 due to central bank intervention and fall in crude oil prices. The Indian currency is one of the worst performers in Asia, losing about 7% of its value so far in 2026. Dealers said the rupee opened 50 paise stronger and was boosted by heavy duty intervention by RBI on public sector banks. “The rupee’s recovery is currently being driven more by profit-booking and softer crude prices rather than any major structural reversal, although lower oil prices may continue to provide temporary relief to the currency,” said Jatin Trivedi, research analyst at LKP Securities. A weak rupee is bad news for imports, especially crude oil, as it could push domestic inflation. “This external energy shock has upset the macro-apple cart and kept the rupee under pressure. Compared to previous crises, India’s external balance is starting from a much stronger position, especially in terms of current account stability and foreign exchange reserves,” DBS economist Radhika Rao and foreign exchange strategist Philip Lee said in a note on Wednesday.

Officials said there were instances where land sold to developers was used to show capital gains as agricultural income. In some cases, officials used satellite maps to detect misuse of tax provision

New Delhi: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has come across several cases where individuals have claimed income tax exemption on agricultural income without land ownership. Over 300 cases have been identified by the authorities – through data analysis alone – where the claimed exempt income was between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 400 crore, but the declared size of land holding was zero. According to CBDT officials, in these 310 cases, the amount of exemption claimed – meaning tax foregone by the government – ​​is Rs 2,038 crore. The investigation revealed that various devices were used to make “non-genuine” claims, including including capital gains as agricultural income. Officials said there were instances where land was sold to developers and capital gains on it were sought to be shown as agricultural income. In some cases, officials used satellite maps to detect misuse of the tax provision. There were also instances where undisclosed income was shown as agricultural income in tax returns – a move aimed not only at avoiding paying tax but also at money laundering. Similarly, tax authorities came across cases where related activities were shown as agriculture to avoid paying tax on income earned. Apart from cases where there was no documentary evidence to show agricultural activity, authorities have also come across cases where there was a massive mismatch in income, which was often disproportionate to the size of land holdings. The tax department, which is deploying tools to better analyze data as part of Saksham, conducted the investigation by collecting tax returns and matching some of them with high levels of farm income. Based on data from over 300 cases, it is urging taxpayers to update or amend their returns to accurately reflect their income and pay tax accordingly. The data was based on tax returns filed from assessment year 2021-22 (FY2020-21) to assessment year 2023-24 (FY2022-23). Going forward, there are calls for using more tools to prevent such misuse of tax provisions. For example, satellite images are being used to keep track of the type of produce coming out of farms for which exemption is being claimed on the basis of agricultural income. While there is no move to tamper with the rebates available or go after smaller producers, the idea is to ensure that the big fish, claiming bigger rebates, do not get away with making false claims.