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 ■ ■ vijayawada l tuesday l january 13, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Sankranti offers draw large crowds to shops in Visakhapatnam | G S atyanarayana Trade talks back, India on Pax Silica: Gor Modi, Merz agree to J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Signalling an early effort to stabilise India-US ties that have come under strain amid tariff disputes and market jitters, Washington’s new ambassador to New Delhi, Sergio Gor, on Monday said the two sides will take up the outstanding trade issues during a call on Tuesday . Gor said India will be invited next month to join US-led Pax Silica initiative to secure silicon and critical tech supply chain. Speaking on his first day in office, Gor sought to portray current frictions as manageable within a mature partnership. “Real friends can disagree, but always resolve their differences,” he said. Gor said: “The next call on trade will occur tomorrow.” He did not elaborate on the level at which the discussions would take place but noted: “India is the world’s largest nation, so it’s not an easy task to get this across the finish line, but we are determined to get there.” Gor also linked trade to a broader recalibration of US di- PSLV’s third-stage fails for 2nd time B o s k y K h a n n a @ Bengaluru The most-awaited first commercial satellite launch of 2026 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), the PSLVC62 carrying EOS-N1 and 15 other satellites, failed to reach its designated orbit on Monday . The rocket lifted off from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, at 10.18 am. The first two stages went as planned, Isro chair man V Narayanan said. Then, during the third-stage separation, there was a drop in chamber pressure during engine firing, causing the rocket to deviate from its designated path. At the space centre, tension was palpable when the computer screens tracking the rocket started showing errors. Errors appeared from the 378th second of the launch, and after 425 seconds, the failure was noted. “During the end of the third stage, we saw disturbances in the vehicle. Deviations from its designated flight path were observed. We are collecting and analysing data,” the Isro chief said. plomacy. Citing Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he said 2026 would be “a year of reciprocity ,” defined by “fair trade, mutual respect, and shared security.” He stressed that while commerce is a key pillar of the relationship, cooperation would continue across security coun, ter-terrorism, energy technolo, gy education and health. , New labour codes eat into IT profits Even as AI-driven deals lifted revenues for India’s top IT firms in the December quarter, new labour codes weighed heavily on profits The country’s largest IT services company, TCS, reported a 13.91% decline in December quarter net profit to `10,657 cr, down from `12,380 cr in the year-ago period HCLTech’s net profit fell 11.2% to `4,076 cr from `4,591 cr PSLV-C62 lifts off from SDSC on Monday | PTI `2,128 crore is the amount TCS set aside to meet requirements under the new labour codes, which increase in payroll costs by mandating a 50% basic wage, higher employer contributions to PF and gratuity and overtime pay | P14 upgrade bilateral strategic relations delegation of 23 German CEOs, resulted in the signing of 19 MoUs and several announceIN a big push amid rising global ments across defence, trade, protectionism, German Chan- critical minerals and semiconcellor Friedrich Merz on Mon- ductors. Both sides noted that day was optimistic of sealing a bilateral trade in goods and landmark EU-India services crossed $50 free trade agreement billion in 2024, amountby January-end, with ing to over 25% of Intop EU leaders likely dia’s trade with EU. visiting New Delhi to Our growing trade They signed joint and investment sign it, following widedeclarations of intent. ties have infused ranging talks with Modi and Merz new energy into Prime Minister Narenetched a bilateral diaIndia and dra Modi in logue mechanism for Germany’s Ahmedabad. the Indo-Pacific, berelationship Welcoming Merz in sides the establishNarendra Modi Ahmedabad, PM Modi ment of Track 1.5 Forframed the visit as hiseign Policy and toric, coming at a time when In- Security Dialogue. Germany dia and Germany have complet- also announced visa free transit ed 25 years of strate gic for Indians.Further, they signed partnership and are commemo- an offtake agreement for green rating 75 years of diplomatic ammonia between AM Green relations. (India) and Uniper Global The talks, accompanied by a (Germany). D i l i p S i n g h Ks h at r i ya @ Ahmedabad E x p r e s s Re a d AP focusing on ‘speed in governance’: Naidu Vijayawada: Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said at a high-level meeting in the Secretariat on Monday that AP is determined to achieve ‘best results through speed in governance’ in 2026 The outcomes will surpass the achievements of the previous year, he noted | P4 Australia puts curbs on Indian students New Delhi: Australia has put Indian students in the highest risk student visa category, along with those from Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh. Checks will become more stringent | P9