This Week in Explainers: Can India do without Russian oil amid Trump threats?

India is staring at a 25 per cent tariff on its goods exported to the United States. Announcing higher rates for India than more than 50 other countries, President Donald Trump has also threatened New Delhi with a ‘penalty’ for buying Russian crude.

The Indian government has confirmed that the three terrorists killed in Operation Mahadev were behind the Pahalgam terror attack. Hashim Musa, the reported mastermind of the April 22 massacre, was among those killed by Indian security forces in a joint operation this week.

Nisar, an Earth-observation satellite built by India and the US, was launched into space. The mission will study minute changes on the Earth’s surface.

Here’s all this and more in our weekly wrap from India.

More from Explainers

Why Trump's public order to reposition nuclear submarines near Russia is concerning 'Will be substantially raising the tariff paid by India', Trump threatens as New Delhi stands by national interest

1. The US imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Indian imports from August 1. American President Trump has been railing against India’s “high tariffs” and the massive trade deficit between the two countries.

Trump’s high tariffs against India come even as New Delhi and Washington continue to negotiate a bilateral trade deal. As the taxes on Indian goods imported to the US come into effect, Americans will face the brunt immediately. India’s GDP could also take a hit. We take a look at the impact in this report.

2. Trump has threatened a “penalty” tariff on India for buying Russian crude oil. The US president has so far failed to achieve a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. India has maintained a neutral stance in the war and continued to buy discounted fuel from Moscow despite pressure from the West.

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Russia accounted for just 0.2 per cent of India’s imports of crude oil before the Ukraine war began in February 2022. Today, India is among the top buyers of Russian oil. How did this shift happen? And can India do without Russian crude? Here’s our report.

3. The week that the Parliament held a discussion on Operation Sindoor, reports came that three terrorists who carried out the Pahalgam attack had been killed. Home Minister Amit Shah told the Parliament that those killed were indeed the Pahalgam attackers and this was established with the aid of forensic and ballistic tests.

He also confirmed that all three terrorists were Pakistani citizens, who were killed in Operation Mahadev, a joint effort by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The encounter between the security forces and the terrorists took place in the upper reaches of Dachigam Forest, which is in Srinagar’s Harwan area. Read our report to know more.

4. Nisar, or Nasa-Isro Synthetic Aperture Radar, was launched into a 747 km sun-synchronous polar orbit this week. It lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, onboard Isro’s GSLV Mk-II rocket.

Weighing 2,392 kilos, Nisar was jointly developed by Isro and Nasa. It has two frequencies — Nasa’s L-band and Isro’s S-band, which will equip the mission to observe changes more accurately than any other satellite. Nisar will scan the globe every 12 days, providing detailed images of the Earth’s surface. We take a look at what makes it special.

GSLV-F16/NISAR
Liftoff Rewind

Catch the liftoff visuals from GSLV-F16/NISAR launch. #NISAR #GSLVF16 #ISRO #NASA pic.twitter.com/umEyrBCF8T

— ISRO (@isro) July 30, 2025

5. A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court announced its verdict in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, acquitting all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit. The explosion near Bhikku Chowk in Maharashtra’s Malegaon town had killed six people and injured 101 others.

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had arrested the accused nearly 17 years ago. However, all have been out on bail for years. The special NIA court has now acquitted all the accused. But why? Here’s our detailed report.

6. An elderly woman accused of the murder of her husband had recently gone viral after her video defending herself in a courtroom with the help of science surfaced. Mamta Pathak, 65, made headlines again this week after the Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld her life sentence for killing her husband by electrocution.

Dr Neeraj Pathak was found dead at his Loknathpuram house in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur in April 2021. But how did the police arrest his wife, a former chemistry professor? Why did she murder her husband? Here’s our story.

This is all we have for you this week. If you like how we analyse news, you can bookmark this page.

PS. In a highly rare pregnancy, the foetus of a woman in Uttar Pradesh is growing in her liver instead of the uterus. Read this report to know more.