This Week in Explainers: How Trump’s H-1B crackdown has put Indians in a limbo

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has concluded a successful trip to three nations — Jordan, Ethiopia, and Oman. During his Muscat visit, India signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Oman.

Ties between India and Bangladesh have not been the same since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last August. Amid strained relations, a diplomatic row broke out between the two neighbours as anti-India rhetoric grows in Dhaka.

North India is battling a pollution crisis. Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) continues to be hazardous, with the city witnessing a thick layer of smog most of the week. The situation is so bad that embassies have started offering advice to India to tackle its pollution woes.

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

1. India and Oman signed a free trade agreement (FTA) during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the West Asian country. This is the second major trade pact finalised by New Delhi in recent months, after the trade deal with the United Kingdom in May. The FTA came during Modi’s three-nation trip, covering West Asia and Africa.

The India-Oman deal comes when Indian exports are facing high tariffs in the United States. To reduce its reliance on a single partner, New Delhi is seeking free trade agreements with other countries to ease pressure on Indian exporters. But what’s in the India-Oman deal? We explain here .

2. The Trump administration has intensified its crackdown on immigration, illegal as well as legal. Several H-1B and H-4 visa holders in the United States have got emails from US consulates that their visas have been ‘prudentially revoked’.

This comes after the US announced that foreign visitors will soon have to share their social media history with authorities. Washington had earlier said it is deferring all H-1B interviews until March. But why is this happening? Know more in our story .

3. India summoned the Bangladesh High Commissioner in Delhi this week over recent threats to the security of the Indian mission in Dhaka. This came after protests were being organised outside the Indian mission in Bangladesh’s capital.

&

This came in the wake of Bangladesh’s National Citizen Party (NCP) leader, Hasnat Abdullah, threatening to isolate the Seven Sisters, a reference to India’s Northeastern states, and provide refuge to Northeast separatists if Bangladesh is destabilised. This is not the first time that leaders in Dhaka have made controversial remarks about India’s Northeast. Read our report on the issue.

4. Delhi’s toxic air is making its residents gasp for breath. The Supreme Court has slammed the ‘total failure’ of the authorities in tackling the pollution crisis, emphasising the need for long-term planning. Delhi has implemented Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap), which allows only BS6 vehicles to enter the national capital.

Yu Jing, the spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in India, has offered advice to India,  particularly Delhi, on how to improve the situation. The Singapore High Commission has, meanwhile, issued a travel advisory for its citizens in New Delhi, urging them to follow the recommendations of authorities related to air pollution and be aware of flight cancellations and delays due to smog . What can Delhi do about its annual air pollution crisis? Read our story on China’s solution .

5. Australia witnessed its worst mass shooting in decades after two gunmen opened fire on members of Sydney’s Jewish community gathered at a small park behind the famous Bondi Beach to celebrate the beginning of Hanukkah on Sunday (December 14), killing 15 people. The suspected shooters were identified as Sajid Akram , the 50-year-old who was shot dead by the police, and Naveed Akram, his 24-year-old son, who was also shot and later hospitalised.

Reports have since emerged that Sajid Akram had links to India. Sajid was originally from Hyderabad and his family still lives in the Telangana capital. Weeks before the attack, he is said to have travelled to the Philippines on an Indian passport, while his son used an Australian one. We take a look at the shooter’s history here .

6. The Parliament has replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), 2005, with the Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–G RAM G) Bill 2025. MNREGA guaranteed at least 100 days of paid work to rural households every year.

The VB–G RAM G Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha amid a huge uproar from the opposition. While the government has defended the legislation, the opposition has hit out over the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the existing rural employment guarantee scheme. But what does the G RAM G bill entail? Read our report .

7. India has passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill. The legislation will repeal and replace the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.

The new bill allows private companies and joint ventures to develop and operate nuclear power plants. The liability clause for suppliers of fuel and technology has divided the lawmakers. We take a look here .

This is all we have for you this week. If you like reading our analyses, you can bookmark this page .