Washington:

India is taking proactive steps to collaborate with the Trump administration in the United States, aiming to avoid a trade war and strengthen bilateral ties. A significant aspect of this cooperation involves the repatriation of Indian citizens residing illegally in the US. Estimates suggest that around 18,000 Indian migrants are set to be deported, although the actual number could be substantially higher due to the challenges in tracking undocumented individuals, Bloomberg reported.

This move is seen as a strategic effort by India to appease the Trump administration, which has been vocal about its intentions to crack down on illegal immigration. In fact, President Trump has already begun to fulfill his campaign promises, pushing to end birthright citizenship and deploying troops to the US-Mexico border. India hopes that by cooperating on the issue of illegal migration, the Trump administration will reciprocate by protecting legal immigration channels, including student visas and the H-1B program for skilled workers.

India’s cooperation on migration issues is also driven by its desire to maintain a strong relationship with the US, which is crucial for its economic and strategic interests. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been actively engaging with various countries to sign migration agreements, including Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Israel. These agreements aim to promote legal migration and deter illegal migration, while also addressing the issue of labour mobility.

The Indian government’s efforts to cooperate with the US on migration issues are also influenced by its concerns about secessionist movements overseas. For instance, the Khalistan movement, which seeks to establish a separate Sikh state on Indian soil, has been a subject of concern for Indian authorities. By taking back illegal migrants, India hopes to disrupt the support networks of such movements and prevent them from gaining traction.

While India’s cooperation with the US on migration issues is a positive development, there are concerns about the potential risks and challenges involved. For instance, the deportation of large numbers of Indian migrants could lead to social and economic disruptions in India, particularly if the returnees are not provided with adequate support and rehabilitation. Moreover, there are concerns about the potential impact on India’s labour and mobility agreements with other countries, which could be affected by the country’s cooperation with the US on migration issues.

In conclusion, India’s decision to cooperate with the US on migration issues reflects its desire to maintain a strong relationship with the US and avoid a trade war. While there are potential risks and challenges involved, India’s efforts to promote legal migration and deter illegal migration are likely to have a positive impact on its economic and strategic interests.
 

Donald Trump has invited a number of tech titans to attend the inauguration, joining more traditional guests such as his cabinet nominees. Billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg will attend as will Shou Chew, the head of Chinese social media giant TikTok, according to US media.

Trump has courted closer ties with the tech moguls, and his campaign benefited from disinformation spread on social media platforms such as TikTok, Musk’s X and Zuckerberg’s Facebook and Instagram.

Outgoing president Joe Biden will attend the ceremony — despite Trump’s refusal to appear at Biden’s swearing-in when he beat Trump in 2020. All living former presidents — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — will also attend, as will their wives, except for Michelle Obama.

Heads of state are not traditionally invited, but Trump has sent invitations to a handful of foreign leaders, including some who share his right-wing politics.  Far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will attend, her office confirmed Saturday.

Hungary’s Viktor Orban, Argentine President Javier Milei and China’s Xi Jinping have also been invited, but not all will attend. Xi sent Vice President Han Zheng in his place, who met Sunday with J.D. Vance, the transition office said. 

President-elect Donald Trump consulted privately with Republican senators on Sunday (January 19, 2025) before heading off to a series of events designed to celebrate his return to power and the “Make America Great Again” movement, despite deep national political divisions on the eve of his inauguration.

The private meeting featured a breakfast at Blair House, the president’s official guest residence, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, and gave top GOP leaders a chance to lay last-minute plans barely 24 hours before Mr. Trump moves back into the White House.

Meanwhile, Trump supporters, many arriving from around the country and decked out in their fanciest clothes, including fur coats, filled parties — both formal and informal — at hotels and restaurants close to the White House. As they moved between the festivities, some could be heard chanting “MAGA” or simply stating it as a greeting to fellow revelers.

Sunday is Trump’s first full day back in Washington since his election victory and gives him a chance to fire up his core supporters before the official pomp of Inauguration Day, including the swearing-in at noon.

Also read | Trump would have been convicted if he wasn’t elected: U.S. Justice Department in special counsel report

The nation’s capital has prepared in unprecedented ways to keep the events safe and secure. But unlike when Mr. Trump helped spark a mob of his supporters to attack the Capitol and tried to retain power in 2021 after his loss to Democrat Joe Biden, officials are not expecting massive protests, unrest or violence. Instead, the city is braced for crowds celebrating Trump’s second term and MAGA’s total control of the Republican Party.

It is a remarkable turnaround from four years ago, when Mr. Trump left the nation’s capital in disgrace and skipped the inauguration of his successor. He blasted his way through the 2024 GOP presidential primary and won in November with an Electoral College margin unseen since Barack Obama was reelected in 2012.

Yet even with that comfortable victory and his party in full — albeit narrow — control of Congress, the incoming president remains one of the most polarizing figures in U.S. history, with nearly as many fierce detractors as ardent supporters. That means it could be difficult for Trump to fulfill postelection pledges to promote bipartisanship while healing political differences.

The president-elect has insisted that unity will be a theme of his inauguration speech Monday, along with strength and fairness, but he also spent months as a candidate saying that if elected he would seek retribution against political enemies.

Also read | Thousands protest in Washington DC against Donald Trump ahead of inauguration

“January 20th cannot come fast enough!,” Mr. Trump posted on his social media site. “Everybody, even those that initially opposed a Victory by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration, just want it to happen.”

With frigid temperatures expected Monday, Mr. Trump directed his oath of office and most of Monday’s outdoor events to be moved indoors. Officials held a rehearsal Sunday inside the U.S. Capitol. But because the Rotunda holds only 600 people, it was unclear if the 250,000-plus guests who had tickets to view the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds would have any opportunity to watch.

Large viewing screens that were erected around the National Mall were taken down, although Trump said there would be word on alternative, indoor locations for viewing the ceremonies. The traditional parade was to be held, in some form, at Capital One Arena, home to Washington’s pro basketball and hockey teams and where Trump was planning to address a MAGA rally later Sunday.

Meanwhile, national and global events drew some of Trump’s attention Sunday. He took to his social media site to comment on the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the U.S. ban on TikTok.

“Hostages starting to come out today! Three wonderful young women will be first,” Mr. Trump wrote.

Overnight, millions of U.S. users of TikTok lost the ability to watch videos on the social media platform as a federal ban on the app took effect. Though the site later began flickering to life for some users, the disruptions reflected a new law requiring its China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest for national security reasons.

The company made a personal appeal to Mr. Trump to intervene, posting a message saying, “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”

Mr. Trump subsequently posted, “I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!” He promised to issue an executive order Monday “to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security.”

The president-elect also wrote that he was interested in the U.S. owning 50% of TikTok in a “joint venture” model, though he did not offer much detail on what that would look like. Incoming national security adviser Michael Waltz insisted that Trump could find a solution by Monday.

“I think we should all be confident that he can craft that kind of a deal,” Mr. Waltz told CBS’ ”Face the Nation.” He also noted that Mr. Trump discussed TikTok on a weekend call with Chinese President Xi Jinping and they “agreed to work together on this.”

“What we need between now and Monday is to buy the president some time to evaluate those deals,” Mr. Waltz said. “And if it goes dark, that’s going to be, obviously, extremely problematic.”

After meeting with senators, Mr. Trump headed to snow-covered graves at Arlington National Cemetery, where he and Vice President-elect JD Vance — each wearing dark overcoats and red ties — walked together to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for a wreath-laying ceremony that included the playing of taps. Trump mouthed “thank you” after placing the wreath.

The ceremony was also attended by his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., his daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, and other relatives.

Many of Mr. Trump’s picks for the incoming administration’s Cabinet also stood quietly by. They included his choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio and Tulsi Gabbard, the choice for director of national intelligence, as well as Mr. Trump’s announced ambassador to the United Nations, Elise Stefanik. Several medal of honor recipients were also there, wearing their medals.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance later spent nearly half an hour in Section 60, the burial site for military personnel killed while fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, talking with families of three soldiers who died in the 2021 Kabul airport bombing, as well as a fourth whom they did not identify.

The scene was far different than in August, when two Trump campaign staff members reportedly verbally “abused and pushed” aside a cemetery official who tried to stop them from filming and photographing in Section 60.

As President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration inches closer, residents of Washington DC want to flee and not be around “that sort of hostile negative energy”.

With only 2 days left till Trump assumes office, residents are planning to stay away from the event.

Alejandra Whitney-Smith, a DC resident, has already made plans to leave the city and spend a week in a cabin without technology, the Guardian reported. “It [inauguration weekend] coincides with my birthday weekend, which I usually do spend in DC, but when the election happened, I told myself, ‘Oh, no, I can’t be here,'” she said.

Speaking about the re-election of Trump, she said it “represents the ugly side of America that people don’t want to acknowledge”.

She recalled the fear that crept up in Smith when her mother was working at the Library of Congress during the January 6th US Capitol attack by supporters of Trump two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

She further plans to do some vision boarding, reflection and reconnection, during the inauguration weekend.

Expressing her dismay she admitted that she had a lot of faith that people of the United States witnessed what happened during Trump’s first term and would not “regress”, but also added that she knew people of America were not ready for their first Black woman president.

“But I also know the reality of living in this country as a Black woman. As much as I wanted Harris to win, there was something in me that still told me that America is not ready for their first Black woman president. Not only that, she was running against Donald Trump who has an almost cult-like following that is so powerful”, she said.

Tia Butler, another DC resident says that the memories of the January 6 riot and encountering pro-life protesters after the 2020 election makes her “not want to be in the city during the inauguration festivities.” She says that her views are very different from the supporters of the president-elect. “It says to me that we’d rather have a criminal leading our country than a person of color, or a criminal rather than a woman”, she added.

But this showcases one side of America. On the flip side, many conservatives and Republican supporters are excited about the inauguration. As of Wednesday, hotels in the city were 70% booked and fetching $900 to $1,500 a night.

Having said that, Trump does not have the best relationship with Washington DC. He labelled DC as a “filthy and crime ridden embarrassment to our nation” and has even vowed to radically rebuild the capital, recruiting billionaire Elon Musk to slash the federal workforce.
 

New Delhi:

From world leaders to tech giants to business tycoons, the who’s who across the globe is hoping for a pass to the January 20 event at the Capitol building in Washington DC in which Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the US. Vice-President JD Vance will take the oath at the same ceremony. Invites have gone out to major world powers and the US’ key allies, including India. Industry leaders, meanwhile, are jostling for a VIP pass they can use to get into the good books of the incoming administration.

Dr S Jaishankar Is India’s Representative

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will represent India at the January 20 event, the government announced today. “On the invitation of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr. S. Jaishankar will represent the Government of India at the Swearing-In Ceremony of President-Elect Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States of America,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement this morning.

“During the visit, EAM will also have meetings with representatives of the incoming Administration, as also some other dignitaries visiting the US on that occasion,” the statement said.

There is no clarity yet on the people Dr Jaishankar will be meeting during his trip, but New Delhi will look to ensure that the change of guard in the US adds momentum to the bilateral ties that have grown over the past several years.

Which World Leaders Are Attending

Traditionally, world leaders are not invited to the inauguration ceremony of the US President. But Trump has broken tradition this time. The Republican leader has sent personal invites to some leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping. This is significant against the backdrop of the geopolitical rivalry between Washington DC and Beijing. Confirming the invite to Xi, Trump spokeswoman Karolie Leavitt said during a show on Fox News, “This is an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just allies but our adversaries and our competitors, too.”

The Chinese president is unlikely to attend the event, Vice President Han Zheng or Foreign Minister Wang Yi may be sent to the US.

A CNN report quoting sources has said El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Argentinean President Javier Milei have also been invited by Team Trump. His team did not respond to questions about other leaders.

Trump Wants A ‘World Stage’: Report

Last month, shortly after his victory in the US polls, Trump visited Paris on the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron to attend the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was damaged in a fire in 2019. There, he met a battery of world leaders, including UK’s Prince William and Italy’s Meloni.

“It was something really beautiful. And a lot of world leaders, there were about 80 world leaders, different countries, and they were all coming together,” he said.

According to Team Trump, the Republican leader wants his inauguration to be a similar event. “Trump is very eager to have world leaders at the inauguration. He wants a global stage,” one of his advisors has told CNN.

This will, however, pose massive security challenges for the US Secret Service which will need to ensure protection for multiple heads of state and accommodate their respective security profiles.

There is another major challenge. Many of these invites have been extended in passing during an interaction on other matters. Some of them have been through back channels. CNN has reported that the freewheeling nature of the invites has made it difficult for even Trump’s closest aides to keep track of everyone who has received an invitation. “I’ve invited a lot of great people, and they’ve all accepted,” Trump has said. “Everybody I’ve invited has accepted.”

Corporates Line Up With Big Donations

Eager to please the new administration, industry leaders have made massive financial contributions to the inauguration event. According to a report in The New York Times, the inaugural committee has raised over 170 million dollars and is well on its way to crossing the 200 million dollar mark.

Aviation giant Boeing has pledged 1 million dollars for the event. Google, Meta and Microsoft have said they have made similar donations. The list also includes Chevron, Amazon and Uber. Also on the list are Apple CEO Tim Cook and his OpenAI counterpart Sam Altman, who have pledged donations of 1 million dollars each.

The scale of donation this time is best understood when in contrast to the 2021 inauguration of outgoing President Joe Biden, which raised a much smaller kitty — about 62 million dollars. In 2017, when Trump took oath as President for his first term, he had raised a record 107 million dollars, which is set to be broken this time.

VIP Passes Run Out

According to a report in The New York Times, several key donors have been told they won’t get VIP tickets because there is no space. The personalised donation link that fund-raisers had circulated to their networks of major contributors no longer worked on Tuesday and Wednesday. The packages offered to corporate and individual donors had originally been marketed as available through Friday, but ended early due to the extraordinary demand. “Space is limited,” read the marketing materials for the donor packages.

So, individual donors will now have to obtain free tickets available to the public through members of Congress to get a seat at the event. These passes, however, will not provide the access industry leaders look for in an inauguration.

“Seats at the inaugural address, tickets to the ritzy balls or access to other events are typically a major part of why major donors cut checks. Inaugural events are a key time for the lobbying industry, and they draw donations from corporations and wealthy donors eager to gain influence or make amends with a new administration,” the NYT report says, explaining why VIP passes are important.

Those who have contributed 1 million dollars or two million dollars were supposed to be entitled to six tickets each for six different events, according to an updated list of benefits, the NYT reported. These events include the swearing-in ceremony and a sought-after “candlelight dinner” on January 19 with Trump and his wife, Melania.

Washington:

Donald Trump will be sworn in as president of the United States on Jan. 20, ushering in his second term in office and capping one of the most astounding political comebacks in American history.

Inauguration Day is, by tradition, largely dedicated to pomp and circumstance. One president leaves the White House, and another moves in. But Trump also has pledged to sign a flurry of executive orders on subjects ranging from border security to oil and gas production on his first day in office.

Here is what we know about Inauguration Day so far:

WHEN IS THE INAUGURATION?

Trump will take the oath of office, likely administered by US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, at 12 p.m. ET (1700 GMT) in front of the US Capitol.

Trump will then deliver his inaugural address. In interviews, he has said he intends it to be uplifting and unifying. That would mark a departure from his first speech in 2017, which detailed a broken country he described as “American Carnage”.

The outgoing president, Democrat Joe Biden, has said he plans to attend the ceremony and witness the transfer of power, a courtesy Trump did not afford him four years earlier.

Thousands of spectators without tickets are expected to fill the National Mall and watch the ceremony on large video screens.

WHO IS INVITED?

Trump has broken with precedent and invited several foreign leaders to the ceremony. Historically, they have not attended the inaugural due to security concerns and have sent diplomats in their stead.

Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, a strong supporter of Trump’s, has said he will attend, as has Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to reports.

Another Trump backer, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, has said he is considering coming. Chinese President Xi Jinping is not expected to attend, despite an invitation.

PARADE TO THE WHITE HOUSE

After a lunch with congressional leaders at the Capitol, Trump will proceed down Pennsylvania Avenue in a motorcade to the White House, accompanied by a procession of military regiments, school marching bands, floats and citizens’ groups. The new president and his guests will then observe the rest of the parade from a reviewing stand.

GETTING TO WORK

Trump has vowed to use the afternoon to sign more than two dozen executive orders – dictates that do not require congressional approval – that will seek to roll back many of the Biden administration’s policies.

He is expected to sign orders that give immigration officers more latitude to arrest migrants with no criminal records, send more troops to the US-Mexico border and restart construction of the border wall.

The orders will include a drive to increase energy production and follow through on Trump’s oft-stated campaign vow to “drill, baby, drill”.

Trump also is likely to issue the first wave of pardons for defendants convicted by the federal government for their participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of the US Capitol.

WHO COVERS THE COSTS?

There will be a series of inaugural galas held in locations throughout Washington that evening, some of which Trump may attend.

The official events are financed by Trump’s inauguration committee, which is chaired by longtime Trump allies Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer, and Kelly Loeffler, a former US senator. Amazon.com, led by founder Jeff Bezos, and Meta Platforms, helmed by Mark Zuckerberg, have said they will donate $1 million each to the committee, as have Apple CEO Tim Cook and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Uber and its CEO Dara Khosrowshahi have each donated $1 million to the fund.

Trump’s committee will be responsible for covering the costs of everything but the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, which is borne by taxpayers.

Trump raised a record $106.7 million for his 2017 inauguration festivities.

A CAMPAIGN-STYLE RALLY

The day before the inauguration, Trump is set to hold a campaign-style “Make America Great Again Victory Rally” at an arena in downtown Washington.

Such an event likely will help spur thousands of Trump’s supporters to pack the city for the inaugural festivities. Trump is expected to speak at the rally.

It would be Trump’s first rally in the District of Columbia since Jan. 6, 2021, when his supporters entered the US Capitol in a failed bid to delay certification of the 2020 election.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)