DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 2025, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES PIYUSH GOYAL STATEMENT IN PARLIAMENT US tariff: India bright spot in global economy ...will protect national interest, says Govt HARIKISHAN SHARMA NEW DELHI, JULY 31 A DAY after US President Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods from August 1, with an additional but unspecified “penalty” for its defence and energy imports from Russia, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday that while the governmentwas“examiningthe implications”, it would take “all necessarystepstosafeguardand promote national interest”. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, JULY 31 AMID THE upheaval in Donald Trump’s tariff blitzkrieg, there are certain assumptions New Delhi had factored in: that a bilateral trade deal, like all deals, would involve some give and take; that Washington DC will maintain a substantial differential in tariffs between China and India; and that the American side would be cognizant of redlines that have endured for decades, including concerns over genetically modified crops and safeguards for the vast CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Strongsuspicion,noproof’:Court acquitsMalegaonblastaccused Chorus from victims’ homes: ‘Hopes of justice are shattered’ FormerBJPMP PragyaThakur among7acquitted MUMBAI, JULY 31 ECONOMY U.S. SANCTIONS EIGHT INDIANFIRMS, FIVE INDIANS PAGE 13 Sense in Govt: Stay calm amid headwinds, not get pushed into ‘bad deal’ ANIL SASI 2008 BLAST KILLED 6, INJURED NEARLY 100 SADAF MODAK Union Minister Piyush Goyal in Lok Sabha. PTI INDIA, RUSSIA DEAD ECONOMIES: TRUMP “Idon’tcarewhatIndia doeswithRussia.Theycan taketheirdeadeconomies downtogether,forallIcare” US-PAK TRADE DEAL “Pakistan, US will work together on developing their massive oil reserves... maybe they will be selling oil to India some day ” USPRESIDENT DONALDTRUMP PAGES6,13 `7.00 (`8 RAIPUR, `15 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 OBSERVING THAT there was “strong suspicion” about their role in the 2008 Malegaon blast but that cannot be a substitute for “legal proof”, a special court Thursday acquitted all the seven accused in the case, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh ThakurandLtColPrasadPurohit. Delivering the verdict, SpecialJudgeAKLahotisaidthat while it was proven that a bomb blast had taken place, the prosecution failed to provide reliable evidence to prove that the seven accused were behind it. The case relates to the blast that occurred on September 29, 2008, in Malegaon, about 100 km northeast of Nashik in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ZEESHAN SHAIKH MALEGAON, JULY 31 Former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur leaves the Mumbai court after acquittal, Thursday. Express FULLCOVERAGE,PAGE7 Congress should apologise, conspiracy decimated: BJP EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, JULY 31 FOLLOWING THE acquittal of all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, the BJP Thursday demanded a public apologyfromCongress,including its leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, for “conspiring” to imposeanarrativeof“saffronterror”. “Terrorism was not, is not, and will never be saffron. The Congress must seek forgiveness from the entire Hindu community. The Congress-led UPA CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BIHAR SPECIAL INTENSIVE REVISION: DRAFT ROLL TODAY As next phase starts, EC may deploy its officers to help voters get documents DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI, JULY 31 WITH A minority of the 7.23 croreapplicantssubmittingdocuments to prove their eligibility so far, and Bihar’s draft electoral roll set to go live Friday, the Election Commission (EC) is WHAT WILL NOT COUNT IN BIHAR weighing a new plan — deployingitsownmachineryto helpissue the necessary papers, The Indian Express has learnt. The poll watchdog has asked District Magistrates, who are also District Election Officers (DEOs), to get Assistant Electoral Registration Officers — usually CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SOME OF them had clung to the hope of getting justice for their lovedones;somehadmovedon, trying to forget the two-decadeold trauma and rebuild their lives. But Thursday’s verdict by a Mumbai court, acquitting all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, has come as a shock for all of them. Among the hardest hit was NisarBilal,whose19-year-oldson Azhar was among the six people killedonSeptember29,2008,afterabombplacedinsideamotorcycle exploded at the bustling Bhikhu Chowk in Malegaon, injuring over a hundred others. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Kal Penn, actor and activist, is guest at Express Adda today EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, JULY 31 KAL PENN wears many hats — actor, author, TV show host, producer and former White House staffer. Most recently, he has been making headlines for reprisingtheroleof Kumarinthe upcoming fourth installment in the Harold and Kumar franchise and for the fact that his name for the role of Gogol in Mira Nair’s adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake (2006) was suggested by New York City’s mayoral candidate and Nair’s son Zohran Mamdani. Penn will be the guest at Express Adda in Mumbai on Friday.Hewillbeinconversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Pennbacked KamalaHarris forpostof US President