Indo-UK Deal Will Increase Trade and Jobs, Say British PM Starmer and India's Modi; Telangana HC Stays Govt's 42% Backward Classes Quota; EC has a Lot to Answer For in Bihar's Voters List Deletions

Every Family In Bihar Will Get One Government Job, Promises Tejashwi Yadav, Sergio Gor's Nomination as US Ambassador to India is Confirmed, Fatal Cough Syrup Manufacturer Arrested

A newsletter from The Wire | Founded by Tanweer Alam, Sidharth Bhatia, Pratik Kanjilal, Seema Chishti, Sushant Singh, MK Venu, and Siddharth Varadarajan | Contributing writer: Kalrav Joshi, with additional inputs by Anirudh SK

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Snapshot of the day

October 9, 2025

Sidharth Bhatia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British opposite number Keir Starmer in Mumbai today ran a ‘victory lap’ of sorts on the Indo-UK free trade agreement, with both leaders hailing it as a means to increase trade between their countries and create jobs for their people. The two had signed the deal in July – marking a culmination of some three years of negotiations – under which India has cut tariffs on whisky and automobiles and the UK on textiles, gems and seafood. Starmer also announced that all British universities can now establish campuses in India under new rules agreed upon by the two sides. His defence ministry too highlighted that a £350 million contract will see London supply the Indian army with Northern Ireland-made lightweight multirole missiles and launchers.

Meanwhile, foreign secretary Vikrim Misri said that India had again raised the issue of Khalistani extremism, with Modi telling Starmer that “radicalism and violent extremism had no space in democratic societies” and that people “should not be allowed to use or abuse the freedoms provided by democratic frameworks”. The two sides agreed on the need to act against such elements within their respective legal systems, Misri added.

Telangana’s high court today put an interim stay on the state government’s order notifying a 42% quota in local bodies to backward classes, leaving in stasis the much-anticipated and highly delayed local body elections in the state. A bench comprising Chief Justice A.P. Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin directed the state government to file a counter-affidavit within four weeks and the petitioners to file a rejoinder two weeks after that, at which point the court will hear the matter again. The interim order has triggered a war of words in the state, with one Congress cabinet minister calling it “unexpected”.

Despite the Election Commission’s insistence that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar, which will pave the way for a nationwide exercise, is based on the 2003 exercise, guidelines show that the two have been fundamentally different. Not only did the 2003 guidelines provide that it was “not the enumerator’s job to determine citizenship,” they also show that the revision then was conducted for over six months, double the time taken to complete the SIR in 2025, reports Sravasti Dasgupta. This despite the Election Commission telling court that the allegations of the exercise being conducted hastily are “misconceived”. Further, the 2003 guidelines also show that the existing electoral roll and the EPIC (Electronic Electoral Photo Identity Card) formed the base of the 2003 exercise. In contrast, the Election Commission has not only left out the voter ID cards from the 11 documents that could have been provided as proof of eligibility of voters, it also opposed its inclusion in the Supreme Court.

During the hearing on SIR of Bihar’s electoral rolls, activist Yogendra Yadav