An India-flagged LPG tanker, Jag Vikram, has successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz following a temporary ceasefire between the United States and Iran, marking a significant development for India's energy security.
Iran's ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, has described India as a "reliable and compassionate" partner while asserting Tehran's territorial authority over the Strait of Hormuz amidst ongoing regional tensions.
'Historically, India has depended on the Middle Eastern Gulf for nearly 90 per cent of its LPG imports. Shifting to alternative suppliers is not something that can happen quickly.'
Two more Indian-flagged LPG tankers have safely navigated the Strait of Hormuz, ensuring continued cooking gas supply to India amidst regional conflict. These tankers are expected to reach Indian shores soon, following the successful transit of previous vessels.
The escalating conflict in West Asia has resulted in 19 ships carrying essential energy resources for India being stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns about potential disruptions to the country's energy supply.
For India, much is at stake: Crucial energy supplies traversing the Strait of Hormuz, the fate of its 10 million citizens living and working in West Asia -- who send generous remittances home -- and its major trade links with the region.
Karex, the Malaysian company that makes roughly one in five of the world's condoms -- about five billion a year, supplying Durex and Trojan among others -- announced this week that it is raising prices by up to 30 percent. The reason is the Strait of Hormuz.
The big question is whether Trump is any longer in command of the situation. For all practical purposes, the war seems set to cascade as the US is preparing for a potential ground operation in Iran and threatens to destroy 'bridges next, then electric power plants', points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'There was one sequence in Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya where her character exuberantly runs up to Bobby Deol, piggy-backs on him.' 'Aishwarya told me that she couldn't do the sequence because people would not expect such behaviour from a former Miss World.'
'If everybody knows your name, that's success. Isn't that what society tells us? I experienced all that at a very young age. So how come I wasn't happy?' Lisa Ray wonders.
'Khaike Paan Banarasiwala doesn't sound like a Hindi song,' Kishore Kumar said. 'I don't think I can sing this song.' We pleaded with him. Finally, he relented on one condition...