Indian pharmaceutical factory explosion leaves 42 dead

Wasantha Rupasinghe

In another tragic confirmation that India’s industrial sector remains perilously unsafe for workers, a devastating explosion at a pharmaceutical factory on June 30 in the southern state of Telangana has claimed the lives of at least 42 workers and left many others injured.

Around 143 workers were inside the facility at the time of the blast which started a fire that rapidly engulfed the premises. Several bodies were charred beyond recognition, forcing authorities to rely on DNA testing for identification.

Rescue workers look for survivors after explosion and fire at pharmaceutical factory in India, June 30, 2025. [AP Photo/Uncredited]

The tragedy occurred at Sigachi Industries, which is located in the Pashamylaram industrial area of Sangareddy district in Telangana. Established in 1989, the company is a major manufacturer of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) derived from wood pulp—a key ingredient in pharmaceutical capsules. The company also produces other inert pharmaceutical components and exports its products to more than 65 countries from facilities across India.

The explosion was so loud that it was heard almost two kilometres from the site by Isnapur residents. Speaking to the media, locals described scenes of panic and confusion. Rajitha, a homemaker, thought “a bomb had gone off” and fled with her crying child.

Rama Devi, a local tea vendor, said that the “blast shook our windows” and initially left her confused as to its origin, before she saw “black smoke from far away.” Praveen Kumar, a 24-year-old warehouse worker, described a “deafening sound,” then stepped outside to find the “air filled with smoke and the smell of chemicals.”

In the aftermath, top state officials visited the site. Telangana Health Minister C. Damodar Raja Narasimha made multiple visits, followed by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.

To defuse public anger, Reddy directed officials to provide 10 million rupees (approximately $US1.2 million) in compensation to the family of each deceased worker and 1 million rupees (around $US11,660) to each of those severely injured. Public scepticism remains widespread over whether these compensation promises will be honoured, given Indian authorities’ notorious record of reneging on pledges in similar circumstances.

Reddy claimed the state would take steps to prevent future industrial accidents and announced the formation of a four-member expert panel to investigate safety violations at Sigachi Industries.

According to the Hindu, the committee will to submit its report within a month. Previous experience suggests that its findings are unlikely to result in criminal charges. Media reports have noted that, despite the scale of the disaster, no senior company officials had visited the site, highlighting corporate indifference to workers’ lives.

Acting on a complaint filed by a victim’s family member, Sangareddy police registered a First Information Report (FIR) on June 30 against Sigachi Industries management in connection with the explosion. The case was filed under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), and 117 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code.

The complaint was lodged by 21-year-old Sai Yashwanth, son of Rajanala Venkat Jagan Mohan, a longtime employee who died in the accident. Yashwanth alleged that his father and other workers had repeatedly warned the company management about outdated machinery and the risk of a catastrophic accident. As of now, no arrests have been made.

Citing industrial experts, the Hindu reported that the explosion may have been triggered during the spray-drying process used to convert wood pulp slurry into microcrystalline cellulose. The process involves stripping moisture from the pulp using hot air to produce a fine powder. Experts believe this highly combustible product may have ignited, causing the deadly blast.

Moneycontrol.com, a leading financial news portal, reported that a series of “critical mistakes” revealed during ongoing investigations, collectively led to the explosion. These include faulty temperature sensors and failed alarms that did not detect overheating of MCC, which ignites at around 399°C.

The factory was reportedly operating without a valid fire certificate. Moreover, the plant’s interlocking system—designed to automatically cut off heat or trigger alarms—malfunctioned. Investigators also cited a choked spray dryer, poor maintenance, and unsafe shift timings.

K. Babu Rao, chief scientist at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, described pulp dryers as “ticking time bombs.” High worker density in the hazardous dryer area further increased the risk.

Other factors could include possible instrumentation and filter failures, alongside glaring regulatory lapses. State officials have publicly questioned the adequacy of safety inspections and enforcement at the plant.

The Sigachi Industries explosion is the latest in a string of deadly incidents in India’s pharmaceutical sector. Since 2024, at least three major industrial accidents have occurred.

In 2024, six workers were killed in a blast at SB Organics, also in Sangareddy. In August the same year, 17 workers died in a factory explosion in Anakapalli, in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh. Another incident in June 2025 claimed two lives in Parawada, also in Andhra Pradesh.

According to data from IndustriAll, a global union federation, 2024 was “another dreadful year” for workplace safety in India with over 400 workers killed and 850 seriously injured in industrial accidents. The actual figures are likely much higher due to widespread under-reporting.

The federation also noted that over 100 workers have died and more than 170 injured in 60 workplace incidents within the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors so far in 2025.

The Hindu noted that Telangana produces one-third of the country’s pharmaceuticals, one-fifth of its exports, and one-third of global vaccines. The state has attracted over $1.49 billion in investments over the past four years.

India is often referred to as the “world’s pharmacy” due to its leading role in producing affordable generic medicines and vaccines. In 2022, India’s pharmaceutical industry had a turnover of $50 billion, supplying over 20 percent of global generic drugs and around 60 percent of vaccines worldwide. With over 3,000 pharmaceutical firms, India exports to more than 200 countries.

While India’s cost-effective pharmaceutical production has benefited millions—especially in low- and middle-income nations—gross violations of safety and quality standards, driven by profit motives and government indifference, have had deadly consequences both domestically and internationally.

In 2020, 11 children died in Jammu after consuming adulterated cough syrup. In 2022, nearly 70 children in West Africa died after consuming Indian-made cough syrup that caused acute kidney failure. A World Health Organisation laboratory analysis found the syrups contained “unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol,” chemicals intended for industrial use.

In their 2022 book The Truth Pill: The Myth of Drug Regulations in India, authors Dinesh S. Thakur and Prashant Reddy T. exposed serious flaws in India’s drug approval system. They revealed that Indian regulators have approved drugs never cleared in developed markets.

Even outdated regulations are poorly enforced, with inspectors and magistrates often overlooking serious violations, including medicines containing negligible active ingredients or dangerous bacterial endotoxins. The authors argue that India’s regulatory system prioritises industry growth over scientific rigor, in other words, profit over safety.

Industrial accidents have surged under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, whose alignment with global capitalist interests has further eroded limited work-safe protections. Policies promoting privatisation, reducing labour rights, and encouraging precarious employment have led to increasingly unsafe working conditions.

India’s 2020–21 labour code reform, which consolidated 29 laws into four, including its Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, have significantly weakened basic safeguards, enabling large domestic and multinational corporations to super-exploit workers.

As Erdoğan government repression mounts, CHP leader Özel calls for early elections

Barış Demir

With the political witch-hunt of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government against municipalities controlled by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) continuing to escalate, CHP leader Özgür Özel has responded by calling for early elections in November.

On Saturday, the mayors of three CHP-run municipalities, Abdurrahman Tutdere (Adıyaman Municipality), Muhittin Böcek (Antalya Metropolitan Municipality) and Zeydan Karalar (Adana Metropolitan Municipality), were detained on “corruption” charges. The operation follows the arrest earlier this month of 60 people, including Tunç Soyer, the former mayor of CHP-run Izmir, the country’s third largest city, on “corruption” charges.

On 5 July, CHP leader Özgür Özel greeted participants at a rally in Amasya. [Photo: X / @eczozgurozel]

The politically motivated state repression against the CHP began in October last year with the arrest of Prof. Dr. Ahmet Özer, the mayor of Esenyurt in Istanbul, on charges of “being a member of the armed terrorist organization,” referring to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The official justification for Özer’s arrest and the appointment of a trustee in his place was the CHP’s fully legal electoral alliance with the Kurdish nationalist Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in the 2024 local elections, known as the “urban consensus”. The CHP came first in the local elections against Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul’s mayor and the CHP’s presidential candidate, was ahead of Erdoğan in the polls for the presidential elections. However, on 19 March, he was detained on allegations of “corruption” and “terrorism” and subsequently arrested on “corruption” charges.

In the midst of negotiations between the Erdoğan government and the imprisoned leader of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, the government paused its violent crackdown on the DEM Party and dropped the terror charges, while corruption charges against the CHP were intensified, largely based on “confessions”. This was followed by a wave of arrests of scores of mayors, councillors and party officials across the country in operations portraying İmamoglu as the leader of a “criminal organization”.

At the same time, an investigation was launched into the annulment of the CHP congress in November 2023, at which Özgür Özel was elected with the support of Ekrem İmamoğlu, on the grounds that the process was “shady”. In response, the CHP convened an extraordinary congress and re-elected the current administration. However, a new lawsuit has been filed to annul this congress too. Although legal experts say it is not legally possible for a court to annul a party congress approved by the Supreme Election Board, the case was postponed until September at a hearing held last week.

In a press statement on Saturday, CHP leader Özgür Özel said: “It is clear that they no longer want to govern this country with the nation’s consent. They want to eliminate the only thing left in the hands of the people—the ballot box—and they are preparing to do so. They are imposing authoritarian rule without the ballot box.”

“We will not let you sit there with 29 percent of the vote, Erdoğan,” said Özel, calling for early elections on November 2: “Now, this struggle is between democracy and autocracy. It is a struggle to protect the ballot box. Everyone will take their place in history. On one side are those who protect the ballot box; on the other are those who surrender to Mr. Tayyip [Erdoğan] and his fears.”

Referring to the Egyptian revolution in his speech, Özel said, “You can watch those democracy squares in Turkey on TV just like you watched the square in Egypt… I know the day I will invite the nation to the streets. Think for yourself what you [Erdoğan] will become on that day. But don’t make me invite this nation to the streets.”

Özel’s mention of the Egyptian revolution, a strategic experience for the international working class, exposes the dirty record of both Erdoğan and the CHP on this issue.

In 2011, a mass revolutionary uprising in which the Egyptian working class played a decisive role toppled the decades-old, US-backed regime of President Hosni Mubarak. The subsequent election of Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, as president on a slim majority failed to solve any of the problems that had led to the revolution.

In the summer of 2013, Egypt’s Chief of Staff, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi—backed by the US—staged a bloody coup against Morsi, an ally of Erdoğan, and crushed the ongoing mass movement, massacring thousands.

For a long time, Erdoğan continued to condemn the coup that ousted Morsi and referred to Sisi as a “bloody dictator”. As relations between Egypt and Turkey reached a breaking point, the CHP has long advocated normalizing relations with the Sisi regime. Finally, Erdoğan, as part of the US “New Middle East” plans, hosted al-Sisi in Ankara last year and adopted the CHP’s line.

Immediately after Özel’s speech, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation on the grounds of “insulting the President”, “public incitement to commit a crime” and “insulting and threatening public officials in the performance of their duties”.

In his X statement, İmamoğlu addressed “the AKP politicians, the bureaucracy under tutelage and the business world”. He expressed his concern for the future of the bourgeois state and his expectations of these reactionary forces as follows: “Do you think that a mindset which cowardly imprisons those it cannot defeat, runs away from the nation and elections, and does work with consent of foreign heads of state, will not be rejected by the nation at the first opportunity? This issue is a matter of the state’s existence or non-existence, and of the nation’s. It is a matter of ‘survival’.”

Both Özel’s and İmamoğlu’s statements confirm once again that the CHP is a right-wing party that is oriented towards the bourgeoisie and its state apparatus, rather than towards working people. They fear that the deepening crisis caused by the Erdoğan government’s policies will lead to a mass movement among the working class in defence of democratic and social rights.

The experience of the mass protests in March, which were barely contained, is still fresh. Having become the target of the Erdoğan government’s anti-democratic repression, the CHP has once again proved itself incapable of resisting this and defending democratic rights. After İmamoğlu’s arrest in March, millions of workers and young people took to the streets despite the bans, but the CHP brought this movement to an end.

Contrary to the claims of Özel and İmamoğlu, the establishment of an authoritarian regime and the elimination of democratic rights is not only in Erdoğan’s and “a handful of people’s” interests, but in those of the ruling class as a whole, and it is an international phenomenon. In the face of growing social inequality and class tensions and developing global imperialist war—from the genocide in Gaza to the war against Iran, the US-NATO war against Russia and the preparations for war against China—the ruling class everywhere is turning towards dictatorship.

Donald Trump’s re-election as US president and his attempts to establish a political dictatorship in line with the socio-economic dominance of the financial oligarchy have emboldened and accelerated authoritarian and fascistic tendencies worldwide. Basic democratic rights, such as the right to vote and stand for election, the right to a fair trial, and freedoms of expression, assembly, and the press, are under serious threat everywhere.

Despite Özel’s rhetoric, the possibility of mass opposition expanding and the development of an independent working-class movement frightens the CHP and the trade union apparatus as much as it does the Erdoğan government. Millions of workers are outraged that their basic democratic rights are being stripped away, and that they are being subjected to a violent class offensive.

For the past two years, the government has been implementing a harsh austerity program aimed at reducing real wages in the name of fighting “inflation”. The CHP, together with the unions, has pursued a similar policy in its municipalities.

Currently, despite the pro-government sell-out efforts of the trade union confederations, 600,000 public sector workers are fighting in response to a pay rise offer imposed at the rate of official inflation, which equates to a cut in real pay.

Erdoğan’s commitment to increase defence spending to 5 percent of GDP at the last NATO summit means an additional 1.5 trillion Turkish Liras will be spent from the budget, escalating the attack on the working class. The CHP is as pro-NATO as the Erdoğan government and supports this program of militarism and social attack. As parties of the capitalist order, the CHP and the AKP always join hands on critical class issues.

Trump opens new front in tariff war

Nick Beams

Vehicles for export are parked at a port in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. [AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon]

After sending out letters to a series of countries that will be hit with major “reciprocal tariffs” on August 1, US President Trump has further extended his global trade war, announcing more commodities that will have sharply increased tariffs imposed.

Speaking to reporters before a cabinet meeting yesterday, Trump said “today we’re doing copper,” adding that he expected a 50 percent tariff to be imposed on the metal. He also foreshadowed that a possible 200 percent levy on pharmaceuticals over an 18-month period. Others are set to follow under “national security” investigations being carried out by the administration.

The tariffs on selected products will be carried out under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act while the blanket reciprocal tariffs on countries are being implemented under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Trump said drug companies would be given a year and half to “come in” but after that “they’re going to be tariffed at the very high rate, like 200 percent. We’ll give them a certain period of time to get their act together.”

The copper tariffs will be imposed much earlier. In an interview with the business channel CNBC, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he expected they would be put in place at the end of this month or in early August.

The tariff hike on copper had been expected for some time but not at the level indicated by Trump. Analysts at JPMorgan said the market would “be surprised to the upside by the proposed number” because it had penciled in a 25 percent hike for refined metals.

Copper is widely used for piping in construction and in the electronics industry. The biggest supplier to the US is Chile, followed by Canada and Mexico.

Pierre Gratton, president of the Mining Association of Canada, told the Financial Times (FT) billions of dollars’ worth of copper was sent to the US as part of an integrated North American industry. The US did not have enough refining capacity and smelters, and the high tariff rate would “hurt US manufacturing.”

Those claims are borne out by the analysis of previous tariff increases in steel. Between 2018 and 2020 while several thousand jobs are estimated to have been gained in the steel industry as many as 75,000 jobs were either lost or put at risk in other industries. These included auto manufacturing, construction, machinery and tools, food and beverage packaging, because of increased steel prices.

As he expanded his tariff war front, Trump insisted that the extension of the deadline for the imposition of reciprocal tariffs from July 9 to August 1 would be the last.

Tariffs, he said in a social media post, would start being paid on August 1. “There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change. …No extensions will be granted.”

As the countries most affected by the tariffs, Japan, South Korea, the nations of southeast Asia as well as a number of poorer and smaller economies, scramble to try to secure a last-minute agreement to try to lessen their impact, Trump made clear the content of his so-called negotiations.

With letters to be sent out to other countries, following the 14 delivered on Monday, he said: “I just want you to know a letter means a deal.”

The two major economies with no “deal” struck are the European Union and India.

Trump said that while there had been some progress with the EU, opposition to European taxes on US technology firms could lead him to announce a tariff rate within the next few days.

The administration has said it is close to a deal with India, but it would still be subject to a 10 percent tariff because of its membership of the BRICS group of countries.

This grouping, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which has now expanded to include 11 countries, has been under fire from Trump because of its efforts to bypass the dollar in international trade.

The two largest industrial economies hit by Monday’s announcement, South Korea, the world’s 13th largest economy and Japan, the fourth largest, are still seeking to secure concessions in next three weeks.

A statement from the South Korean trade ministry yesterday said: “We will double our efforts to produce a result mutually beneficial for both sides. We will improve domestic institutions and regulations to help ease the United States’ concerns.”

Last week newly elected South Korean president Lee Jae Myung said it was unclear what the US wanted. The two countries have a free-trade agreement implemented in 2012 that removed most tariffs on US goods, leaving it with little to offer.

The shock of the tariffs has been most significant in Japan. It had expected that it would be able to secure concessions relatively easily, as had taken place under the first Trump administration.

That has not eventuated, however, despite seven rounds of negotiations. The main sticking point has been Japan’s insistence that auto tariffs be eliminated and its refusal to permit increased US exports of rice. Dependent on electoral support from small rice farmers, the somewhat unstable Liberal Democratic Party government of prime minister Shigeru Ishiba has said they will not be sacrificed for concessions on cars and vehicles.

This stance has now drawn opposition from key sections of industry.

In an interview with the FT, Takeshi Niinami the chair of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, criticised the government’s insistence on a total exemption from the US measures.

“They underestimated the determination of Trump,” he said. “They thought time was on Japan’s side. It was a big mistake.”

The result was that Tokyo was now on a weaker footing and could be forced into an agreement.

According to the FT report of the interview: “Niinami said that Japan’s stubbornness—including Ishiba’s refusal to sacrifice the country’s rice farmers to protect its auto industry—had squandered the legacy of the late prime minister Shinzo Abe, who enjoyed warm relations with Trump during the US president’s first term.”

His criticisms were echoed by David Boling, director of Japan and Asian trade at the Eurasia Group think tank, and a former US official involved in the 2020 negotiations with Japan.

“Japan badly miscalculated by taking a maximalist position that the US must eliminate all tariffs. The strategy was a fantasy,” he told the FT. If Japan wanted a deal by August 1, he said, it had to be more “pragmatic.”

As trade conflict develops, with its full effects yet to be felt, it is already starting to have a significant impact.

In May the value of Japanese exports to the US fell by 11 percent compared to the same month a year earlier. The value of transport equipment, including cars and auto parts was down by 8.5 percent.

The Bank of Japan has halved its forecast for growth after what it has called the “unprecedented level” of tariffs imposed by the US which are set to cost the auto industry billions of dollars.

In South Korea, Samsung Electronics, the country’s largest company, reported that its profits for the second quarter had fallen by 56 percent from a year earlier. LG Electronics, a major exporter, said its profits had dropped by 46.6 percent.