Fire in New Delhi Kills 21, US Proposes Tariffs on India, Germany's Citizenship Law

A fire in a building in New Delhi's south killed at least 21 people and injured several others on Wednesday, police said.

The blaze broke out in a building with a restaurant on the ground floor and hotel above in the densely populated Malviya Nagar neighborhood.

The police said more than 40 people were rescued and taken to nearby hospitals after eight fire engines were deployed.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

"There was reportedly a restaurant operating on the ⁠ground floor ​of the building ... it ​is most likely that the fire was connected to ​that restaurant," local ‌administration official Jitendra Kumar told reporters.

Television images showed thick smoke billowing from the building as firefighters battled the flames.

Some of the victims were foreign nationals who had traveled to India for medical treatment, local media reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences over the deaths and announced financial assistance of Rs 200,000 ($2,088, €1,798) for the families of those killed.

The United States has proposed an additional 12.5% tariff on imports from India, saying New Delhi failed to effectively curb imports made with forced labor.

The proposal, announced by the US Trade Representative (USTR), came during a three-day round of trade negotiations in New Delhi between Indian officials and a US delegation.

In a 92-page report released under Section 301 of the US Trade Act, the USTR said India had failed to impose and enforce a prohibition on imports linked to forced labor, calling the policy an unreasonable burden on US commerce.

"The ​failure of ‌our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable," USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer said. "This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field."

India's commerce ministry said on Wednesday that the proposed tariffs were not final and that USTR would undergo a public consultation process before any decision was taken.

Most people applying for German citizenship opt to keep their original nationality, according to a new survey.

Germany's rules changed in 2024 to allow dual citizenship, leading to a surge in new applications. However, Indians do not stand to benefit because India does not allow dual nationality.

"The Constitution of India does not allow holding Indian citizenship and the citizenship of a foreign country simultaneously," an Indian government statement said.

A survey by the Mediendienst Integration research group said that more than 85% of newly naturalized citizens retained their original nationality.

German citizenship a matter of practicality

For someone like Ashish Kumar, 56, taking up German citizenship was eventually a matter of practicality.

"I had the option of getting German citizenship years ago, but I never followed through because of my pride in being Indian," Kumar, who runs an online community helping expats in Germany with the homebuying process, said in an interview with DW.

However, traveling frequently with his German wife and son forced his hand, as a German passport freed him from the constant "lines, queues and paperwork."

"My parents are still in India, so it wasn’t an easy decision, but in the end, frustration pushed me to take German citizenship," he said.

He said it would be great if India had dual citizenship, "especially for my son, so he could keep his roots and connection to the country," Kumar said. "But unfortunately, when I applied, I was told I had to give it up, there was no way around it. So, really, I had no choice."

Madhav, 44, who works in the tech industry in Germany, said that having the option for dual citizenship would allow him to buy back some of his ancestral lands.

"That would be nice."