News India Times

www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know Dr. Sudhir M. Parikh Founder, Chairman & Publisher Ilayas Quraishi Chief Operating Officer Ela Dutt Editor Archana Adalja Contributing Editor T. Vishnudatta Jayaraman Advisor Arun Shah Ahmedabad Bureau Chief Peter Ferreira, Deval Parikh, Freelance Photographers Bhailal M. Patel Executive Vice President Chandrakant Koticha-Rajkot, India Executive Director Business Development Jim Gallentine Business Development Manager - U.S. Shahnaz Sheikh Senior Manager Advertising & Marketing Sonia Lalwani Advertising Manager Shailu Desai Advertising New York Muslima Shethwala Syed Sheeraz Mahmood Advertising Chicago Digant Sompura Consultant for Business Development Ahmedabad, India Hervender Singh Circulation Manager Main Office Editorial & Corporate Headquarters 1655 Oak Tree Toad, Suite 155 Edison, NJ 08820-2843 Tel. (212) 675-7515 Fax. (212) 675-7624 New York Office Tel: (718) 784-8555 E-mails editor@newsindiatimes.com advertising@newsindia-times.com subscription@newsindia-times.com Website www.newsindiatimes.com Chicago Office 8846 Lavergne Ave, Skokie, IL 60077 Tel. (773) 856-3345 California Office 650 Vermont Ave, Suite #46 Anaheim, CA 92805 Mumbai Office Nikita Ajay Pai Goregaon, West Mumbai Ahmedabad Office 303 Kashiparekh Complex C.G. Road, 29 Adarsh Society Ahmedabad 380009 Tel. 26446947 F ax. 26565596 Published weekly, Founded in 1975. The views expressed on the opinion pages are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of News India Times. Copyright © 2025, News India Times News India Times (ISSN 0199-901X) is published every Friday by Parikh Worldwide Media LLC., 1655 Oak Tree Toad, Suite 155 Edison, NJ 08820-2843 Periodicals postage paid at Newark, N.J. , and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address change to News India Times, 1655 Oak Tree Toad, Suite 155 Edison, NJ 08820-2843 Annual Subscription: United States: $28 Disclaimer: Parikh Worldwide Media assumes no liability for claims/ assumptions made in advertisements and advertorials. Disclaimer:The views and opinions expressed on this page are those of the authors and Parikh Worldwide Media does not officially endorse, and is not responsible or liable for them. PHOTO:CourtesyVivekWadhwa Opinion News India Times (August 23, 2025 - August 29, 2025) August 29, 2025 3 In Trump Tariff Threat, Wake-Up Call For India India once had a love affair with Donald Trump L ong before the rest of the world figured him out, Indians were cheer- ing his every move. He was, at one point, more popular in India than in much of the US. His bluster, bra- vado, and disregard for political correct- ness struck a deep chord. In a country weighed down by colonial bureaucracy, obsolete laws, and a culture of red tape, Trump’s instinct to bulldoze through institutions appeared not just refreshing but necessary. He wasn’t seen as just another politi- cian — he was embraced as a wrecking ball aimed at a system that had long ceased to serve its purpose. India, hungry for its own disruptors, welcomed him as a kindred spirit. The stadium rallies, choreographed slogans, and orchestrated pageantry may have looked theatrical, but they reflected something real: A belief that boldness could substitute for reform, and disruption could shortcut progress. Then came the backlash. Tariffs, visa caps, immigration crackdowns, and punitive trade threats landed one after another. India, which had positioned itself as a respectful partner playing by the rules, suddenly found itself on the receiving end. The betrayal was jarring, but in hindsight, it may have been the best thing that could have happened, because it forced a re-examination of assumptions that had gone unchallenged for too long. Trump was never moved by principle or diplomacy. He responded to flattery, theatre, and spectacle. The Pakistanis understood this dynamic early and played him with skill — offering symbolic wins like a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and effusive praise for his social media outbursts. None of it cost them any- thing, but it got them attention. India, by contrast, clung to formality, protocol, and outdated instincts, believing that rational behaviour would win out. What might have worked better was a Bollywood-style spectacle. A Pulitzer for his tweets, a Nobel for bringing peace to South Asia (or at least for trying in all caps), an Oscar for best improvisa- tion in a geopolitical drama, and maybe even an IIFA for lifetime achievement in melodrama — handed to him by Am- itabh Bachchan with a dramatic pause and thunderous applause —would have done magic. It would have been absurd, yes — but with Trump, the absurd often outperformed the rational. The re-examination of assumptions is required across domains. As is the need to change existing systems and policies. In business, for instance, entrepreneurs still wade through overlapping regula- tions and outdated procedures. Scientists are slowed not by the complexity of their research, but by the paperwork it takes to get it funded, approved, or applied. Starting a business often requires not just innovation, but navigation — of licences, inspections, and gatekeepers. Scaling one demands even more: Deep networks, institutional patience, and a working knowledge of which rules to quietly ignore. The outside world sees the scale and talent India offers. But too many of its own citizens remain trapped in systems designed to manage scarcity, not unlock abundance. It’s not a shortage of talent — it’s a surplus of red tape. This moment is an opportunity to clear the air — by eliminating redundant licences, enforcing real-time single-win- dow clearances, and implementing pre- sumptive approvals so that silence from a regulator becomes a green light, not a dead end. Tariffs that raise the cost of ad- vanced manufacturing and research tools should be eliminated, and clarity must be brought to export-import procedures still wrapped in a control-era mindset. State governments should be empow- ered to compete not only on slogans but on actual performance — startup outcomes, busi- ness registration timelines, R&D output, and regulatory speed. Private universities and research institutions need to be liberated frommicroman- agement so they can scale without asking for permission. Industry-academia partner- ships should be fast-tracked. Patents, tech transfer, and procurement should be modernised and made transparent. India doesn’t need to look outward for validation. It has the data, the scale, the engineering depth, and the hunger to lead from within. Health, agriculture, climate, manufacturing, mobility — the datasets alone are a strategic resource waiting to be unlocked. Add to that an unmatched pool of ambitious entrepre- neurs, builders, and scientists, and the country becomes not just a participant in the global innovation race, but a driver of it. That’s exactly what companies like mine, Vionix Biosciences, saw in In- dia — not just scale, but scientific and operational depth that can deliver break- throughs theWest struggles with because it no longer has the talent. Trump may have actually done India a favour. He exposed the fragility of its diplomatic assumptions and reminded it that performance must be matched by persuasion — and execution by storytell- ing. India has been handed lemons — by Trump, by its own bureaucracy, and by the inconsistencies of the global market. The time has come not to complain, delay, or tread cautiously, but to make something from it: To turn those lemons into lemon- ade, to scale the process, bottle it with confidence, and serve it to the world as proof of what is pos- sible when ambition meets execution. Vivek Wadhwa is CEO, Vionix Biosciences. The views expressed are personal. PHOTO:REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves next to U.S. President Donald Trump as they attend the “Namaste Trump” event at Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, in Ahmedabad, India, February 24, 2020. ByVivekWadhwa