When 22-year-old Vinita decided to take a bus from Udaipur instead of boarding a train to reach Jaipur, little did she know that her change in plans to reach the destination early would cost her life.
Dr Manmohan Singh, the architect of India's economic reforms, had to literally face a trial-by-fire to ensure widespread acceptance of his path-breaking Union Budget of 1991 that saw the nation rise from its darkest financial crises.
Over two dozen people have been detained for questioning in connection with the suspected bid to derail the Kalindi Express in Kanpur two days ago, officials said on Wednesday.
Afan, a 23-year-old man from Kerala, allegedly killed five people, including his brother, grandmother, paternal uncle, aunt, and his girlfriend, in a series of brutal hammer attacks. The victims were found with severe head injuries, indicating the severity of the assaults. The accused, who was reportedly a drug abuser, calmly walked to the police station after committing the murders, informing officers about the killings. Police are investigating the motive behind the horrific crime.
India's decadal census is likely to be further delayed after the budget allocated only Rs 574.80 crore for the exercise, a significant reduction from previous years. The census, originally scheduled for 2021, has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government has not yet announced a new schedule. The budget allocation suggests that the exercise may not be carried out even after the delay. The upcoming census will be the first digital census, allowing citizens to self-enumerate using a dedicated portal. The exercise will be made compulsory for citizens who wish to self-enumerate, and Aadhaar or mobile numbers will be required. The census will include questions on household demographics, amenities, and economic status.
Continuing the downward trend, retail inflation fell to a five-month low of 4.31 per cent in January, mainly due to a decline in the prices of vegetables, eggs, and pulses. The Consumer Price Index-based retail inflation was 5.22 per cent in December and 5.1 per cent in January 2024. The previous low inflation was in August 2024 at 3.65 per cent.
Four women died and five others were injured after an explosion caused three houses to collapse in Madhya Pradesh's Morena city. The incident took place in the city's Rathore Colony area around midnight. The body of one of the deceased women was still being extricated from under the debris. Vasudev Rathore, whose house was destroyed in the explosion and whose 28-year-old daughter-in-law was among the deceased, expressed suspicion that the blast was caused by gunpowder. LPG cylinders were found intact during the removal of debris. The injured persons were sent to Gwalior for further treatment.
Raising social security pension amounts, increasing financial assistance given under the 'Rythu Bandhu' investment support scheme for farmers and providing LPG cylinders at Rs 400 each are some of the promises made by the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samiti for the upcoming assembly elections in Telangana.
The ministry of petroleum and natural gas is evaluating a threshold at which the subsidy on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or cooking gas) will be reinstated. According to a senior government official in the know, a survey is currently being conducted to determine the price at which maximum consumers will keep buying domestic cylinders. One of the options also being considered is to limit any subsidy disbursal only to Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) beneficiaries.
GAIL India's second quarter (Q2FY25) performance met expectations.
The market responded positively to the Q1 results of oil marketing companies (OMCs), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) despite numbers being weaker than consensus. BPCL's reported gross refining margin (GRM) was in line at $7.9 per barrel (bbl) in Q1FY25, which implies marketing margin stood at Rs 4.8 per litre. Standalone profit after tax or PAT at Rs 3,000 crore was down versus consensus due to under-recoveries in LPG business.
Jet fuel (ATF) price on Saturday was slashed by 4.5 per cent and that of commercial LPG used in hotels and restaurants by Rs 25.5 per 19-kg cylinder. The price of a 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder was cut to Rs 1,859.50 in the national capital from Rs 1,885, according to a price notification from state-owned fuel retailers. This is the sixth reduction in price of commercial LPG since June, in step with softening international energy prices.
Jet fuel (ATF) price on Tuesday was hiked by 4.2 per cent but that of commercial LPG used in non-residential establishments such as hotels and restaurants was cut by Rs 115.5 per 19-kg cylinder reflecting global energy trends. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price was hiked by Rs 4,842.37 per kilolitre, or 4.19 per cent, to Rs 120,362.64 per kl in the national capital, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. This reverses a 4.5 per cent cut in jet fuel prices affected last month.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman cut fuel subsidies while slapping additional fuel taxes on unblended transport fuels in the latest Union Budget. The former will hit the rural poor, households that secured a subsidised LPG connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), a programme that was partly instrumental in helping the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win the 2019 general elections. The latter will pretty much hurt the entire population after it kicks in from October. That's what it looks like. Or, perhaps, it's not as it appears to be, at least on the subsidy front.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the price of domestic cooking gas cylinder has been raised by Rs 50 and that of commercial gas cylinder by Rs 350 at a time when every person in the country is facing the brunt of high inflation.
President Droupadi Murmu addressed both Houses of Parliament, highlighting the government's achievements in various sectors, including economic growth, social welfare, and infrastructure development. She emphasized the government's efforts to lift the economy out of "policy paralysis" and create a more inclusive society. Murmu also acknowledged the challenges posed by digital fraud and cybercrime and stressed the need for a social infrastructure revolution. The President's speech is considered a policy statement, outlining the government's vision and roadmap for the future.
Cooking gas LPG price was on Thursday hiked by Rs 3.50 per cylinder, the second increase in rate this month following the firming of international energy rates. Non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 1,003 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital, up from Rs 999.50 previously, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. This is the second increase in LPG rate this month and the third in less than two months. The price was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder on March 22 and again by the same quantum on May 7.
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that a wife is entitled to maintenance from her husband even if she refuses to cohabit with him after a decree for restitution of conjugal rights, provided she has valid and sufficient reasons for refusing to live with him. The court stated that the circumstances of each case must be considered individually and a decree for restitution of conjugal rights does not automatically disqualify a wife from receiving maintenance. This landmark ruling clarifies the legal interpretation of Section 125(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) regarding maintenance and emphasizes the importance of considering individual circumstances when determining a wife's right to maintenance.
An FIR has been registered against unknown persons after the police and railway staff recovered a 25-foot long iron rod from the Pilibhit-Bareilly railway track in Uttar Pradesh. The iron rod was found on the track near Lalouri Kheda, forcing a train to stop for four minutes after its engine hit the object. The incident is being investigated as a deliberate attempt to harm the train and its passengers.
Trends in the global energy markets are crucial if India's growth outlook is to remain healthy. Prices for the Indian crude basket were averaging around $86.2 per barrel through Q1FY25 and then moderated to $84 in July and to $78-79 in August (so far). But global crude supply may outpace weak global demand in the short term.
Modi said the transformations in the country in the past 10 years have reignited a risk-taking culture among the citizens.
'I wonder if they will keep it up after the elections.' 'I fear they'll start questioning eligibility -- income, age, bank accounts -- and eventually stop the scheme altogether.'
'The loco pilot alerted the railway officials who passed the information to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Kanpur police, which launched the investigation into the matter'
Cooking gas LPG prices may be hiked next week after under-recovery on the fuel widened to over Rs 100 per cylinder, sources said insisting that the rate hike, including the quantum of increase, is dependent on government permission. If allowed, this will be the fifth increase in cooking gas rates across all categories - households using subsidised gas for cooking and heating purposes, non-subsidised fuel and industrial-sized gas. LPG rates were last hiked by Rs 15 per cylinder on October 6, taking the total increase in rates since July to Rs 90 per 14.2-kg cylinder.
The BJP may win more seats in the February 5 assembly election, but not enough to trump AAP, notes Ramesh Menon.
Cooking gas LPG price on Wednesday was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder, the third increase in rates since May on firming international energy prices. Non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 1,053 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital, up from Rs 1,003 previously, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Common households pay non-subsidised rates for the cooking gas they buy, after the government restricted subsidy to just poor beneficiaries who got connections under the Ujjwala scheme.
Uttam Ghosh and Dominic Xavier offer their respective takes on the Modi Sarkar's decision to hike cooking gas LPG prices.
The scheme will cost the state exchequer altogether Rs 1,650 crore.
The incident occurred between Saradhna and Bangad stations of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor on the Phulera-Ahmedabad stretch.
The opposition party vowed to hit the streets against the "Modi-made inflation" and run a people's movement over price rise.
They said at least four such cases are being looked into by the anti-terror agency officials.
Jet fuel prices on Wednesday were cut by 1.3 per cent -- the first reduction after 10 rounds of price hikes -- on softening international crude oil rates. Simultaneously, prices of commercial LPG - used by business establishments such as hotels and restaurants - were reduced by Rs 135 per 19-kg cylinder. The price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) -- the fuel that helps aeroplanes fly -- has been reduced by Rs 1,563.97 per kilolitre, or 1.27 per cent, to Rs 1,21,475.74 per kl (Rs 121 per litre) in the national capital, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.
An interesting excerpt from Virender Kapoor's latest book Inspiring India: Taking India from Big to Great.
The railway officials launched an investigation jointly with the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) and found there was no criminal intent behind the act.
The Congress hit back at Nadda, saying his letter to Mallikarjun Kharge is a "4D exercise - denial, distortion, distraction, and defamation".
LPG customers of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) will continue to get cooking gas subsidy post-privatisation of the nation's second-biggest fuel retailers, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday. "Subsidy on LPG is paid to consumers directly and not to any company. So the ownership of the company that sells LPG is not of any material consequence," Pradhan told PTI. The government gives 12 cooking gas (LPG) cylinders of 14.2-kg each to households in a year at a subsidised rate.
The Reserve Bank on Wednesday retained the retail inflation projection at 4.5 per cent for fiscal 2024-25, with Governor Shaktikanta Das stressing that the central bank will have to closely monitor the price situation and keep the "inflation horse" under tight leash lest it may bolt again. Unveiling the October bi-monthly monetary policy, the Governor also said the flexible inflation targeting (FIT) framework has completed 8 years since its introduction in 2016 and is a major structural reform of the 21st century in India.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, the CM said, "There is no situation for revisiting it at the government level. There is no such intention, there is no such proposal."
The much-delayed decadal census exercise and the work to update the National Population Register (NPR) are likely to begin early 2025 and the data will be declared by 2026, thus changing future census cycles completely, official sources said.
International oil prices continue to be extremely volatile, falling on one day and rising thereafter, a top oil ministry official said explaining the reason behind no reduction in petrol and diesel prices despite softening in input cost, but could not say if the rates will be cut before Maharashtra elections. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell below $70 per barrel last week -- the first time since December 2021 -- but gained thereafter. Brent was trading at $74.58 per barrel on Thursday while West Texas Intermediate advanced to trade at $71.71.
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