CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ Adani Group and Brazilian major Embraer on Tuesday announced a strategic tie-up to set up a regional aircraft manufacturing facility in India | P10 SAMBALPUR l wednesday l january 28, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION CM launches Hindalco projects worth Indian exports that `26.4K cr; company reveals `37K cr plan 4% 10% Gems & jewellery Plastics / Rubber 6.50% Current Tariff Base metal 26% Up to 17% Up to 12.8% 12% Marine products mentary markets,” he said. Among the biggest beneficiaries is the textile sector. Goyal estimated that India’s textile exports to the EU could surge from $7 billion to $35 billion, generating 7 million new jobs. Meanwhile, India will liberalise 92.1% of its tariff lines, covering 97.5% of EU exports by value. India will sharply cut some of its highest import duties, bringing car tariffs down from as much as 110% to as low as 10%, halving levies on European wines from 150% and eventually reducing it to 20%, and eliminating duties of up to 44% on machinery . The two sides also announced a security and defence partnership and a broader strategic agenda, as Europe looks to reduce its reliance on the US and China. The partnership aims to deepen cooperation and improve defence interoperability . “Today, the world’s two largest democracies launched a Security and Defence Partnership—a platform for stronger cooperation on strategic issues that matter most, from defence industry to maritime security,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Textiles & apparel INDIA and the European Union (EU) on Tuesday announced the landmark free trade agreement (FTA), paving the way for dutyfree access for 99% of Indian exports to the lucrative 27-nation European market. In return, India has offered significant market access to EU goods. The FTA is expected to provide relief to India’s labour-intensive sectors that have been under pressure due to US tariffs. With negotiations concluded, the agreement is likely to be signed later this year, the commerce ministry said. Calling it India’s largest FTA to date, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the pact would deliver substantial benefits for the country’s 1.4 billion people. “The historic agreement will make access to European markets easier for our farmers and small industries, create new opportunities in manufacturing, and further strengthen cooperation between our services sectors,” Modi said. India will gain preferential access to the European market across 97% of tariff lines, covering 99.5% of trade value. Key labour-intensive sectors—textiles, apparel, marine products, leather, footwear, chemicals, plastics & rubber, sports goods, toys, and gems & jewellery— accounting for $33 billion in exports will see import duties ranging between 4% and 26% eliminated from the date the agreement comes into force. The government has clarified that safeguards have been built in to protect sensitive sectors such as dairy, cereals, poultry, soymeal, and certain fruits and vegetables. According to the European Commission, the pact will phase out high tariffs on select EU agri-food exports such as olive oil, processed foods, sheep meat, beverages and fruits, while India’s sensitive agricultural sectors remain protected. EU sanitary and food safety standards will remain intact, with no exemptions for Indian exports. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal described the pact as balanced and equitable. “By leaving sensitive issues aside, we have arrived at a fair and win-win free trade agreement for industries in both India and the EU. It opens up a plethora of opportunities for investment and access to comple- Chemicals P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi Leather & footwear WE DID IT! PM Narendra Modi with European Council President Antonio Costa (left) & European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen | PTI will have zero duty Source: Ministry of Commerce Lower duty for imports from EU Duty to drop from 110% to 10% Premium wines From 150% to 20% Spirits From 150% to 40% Duty reduces from Beer 110% to 50% Olive oil From 45% to 0% Pharmaceuticals From 11% to 0% Aircraft and From 11% to 0% spacecraft Cars Source: European Commission This agreement will facilitate easier access for our farmers and small enterprises to European markets, create new opportunities in manufacturing, and strengthen cooperation across services sectors Prime Minister Narendra Modi M AYA N K B H U S A N PA N I @ Sambalpur Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday unveiled three greenfield and brownfield projects of Hindalco Industries Ltd worth about `26,496 crore, including India’s first flat-rolled products (FRP) unit and battery-grade aluminium foil manufacturing facility, at Lapanga in Sambalpur district. Majhi laid foundation for the expansion of Aditya Aluminium smelter with an additional capacity of 3.6 lakh tonnes per annum. It will be implemented at a cost of `21,000 crore. The FRP unit has a 1.7 lakh tonne capacity while the batterygrade aluminium has been de- CM Mohan Charan Majhi with Hindalco Industries Ltd MD Satish Pai at aluminium major’s facility in Lapanga veloped at an investment of `4,500 crore. Addressing the gathering, Majhi described the day as historic for the region. “Western Odisha is emerging as a global industrial hub where worldclass investment meets peoplecentric development. Our fo- ‘No G RAM G Act rollback’: Oppn demand rejected P r eetha N ai r @ New Delhi The government on Tuesday rejected the Opposition’s demand for discussions on the VB-G RAM G Act in the Budget session of Parliament beginning Wednesday with Par, liamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju saying that there will be “no reversing the gear once the law is before the country”. The minister also ruled out discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls, asserting that both the issues had already been debated by both Houses. Rijiju made these remarks after an all-party meeting convened by the government. During the meeting, Opposition members, including the Congress’ Jairam Ramesh and John Brittas of the CPI(M), also objected to the non-circulation of government business for the session, which the minister said would be done in due course. The Opposition demanded structured discussion on a range of issues, including the restoration of the UPA-era MGNREGA, the ongoing SIR, India’s foreign policy and the , controversy over new UGC guidelines.  Continued on P5 cus is to create jobs close to home, strengthen MSMEs, promote value-added and green manufacturing, and ensure that when industry grows, every family, every village and every youth grows with it,” he said. The newly-inaugurated battery foil manufacturing unit, he said it would strengthen India’s self-reliance in battery manufacturing and support the rapid growth of the electric vehicle ecosystem. “Development is not measu r e d by i nve s t m e n t s o r announcements only but by real change in people’s lives, jobs for youth, security for families and better education and healthcare,” the CM Continued on P5 said.  Not Rihaa, but Arijit retires from playback singing H a r sh B H @ Mumbai National award-winning singer Arijit Singh on Tuesday shocked fans the world over by announcing his retirement from playback singing in a series of posts on social media. Thanking his fans for giving him love for 15 years, Arijit wrote, “I am happy to announce that I am not gonna be taking any new assignments as a playback vocalist from now on. I am calling it off. It was a wonderful journey. There are several reasons behind this,” he Continued on P5 said.