President Donald Trump just piled another problem on to the already-full slate of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. By removing zero-duty access for USD 6.3 billion of Indian goods, the US leader threatens growth at a time when India's economy can least afford it.

The country's unemployment rate was at a 45-year high of 6.1 percent in the year to June 2018, while economic growth in the March quarter of 2019 slowed to a five-year low of 5.8 percent, data released Friday showed. Publication of the jobless statistic was held back until after Modi won last month's general election and took his oath for a second term on Thursday, though it had leaked anyway.