Israel has for more than two decades and several US presidencies worked to draw the United States into a full-scale war with Iran. Having finally achieved that, the last thing it wants is Trump declaring victory and going home, as he is prone to do. Ali Larijani was the figure most capable of handing Trump a negotiated exit with something to show for it. Without Larijani, the road to an exit gets considerably narrower. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a Rs 100 per cylinder cut in cooking gas LPG price to ease financial burden on households. Non-subsidised cooking gas price will be cut to Rs 803 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital with effect from midnight of Friday/Saturday, official sources said. Prices vary from state to state depending on the incidence on local taxes.
24 Indian-flagged vessels with 677 Indian seafarers were currently located west of the Strait of Hormuz, and four vessels with 101 Indian seafarers were stationed east of the strategic waterway.
In a step towards dual pricing of domestic cooking gas, the government has decided to allow oil-marketing companies to sell the fuel at market prices in distinct fibreglass cylinders. IOC, BPCL and HPCL will sell these cylinders in Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune, which have been identified as test beds for the pilot project. The companies could revise fuel prices for transparent cylinders as LPG for them will not be subsidised. Feasibility of this project is yet to be adjudged.
The scheme will cost the state exchequer altogether Rs 1,650 crore.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of presenting a misleading picture of West Bengal's development and employment situation during a rally in Kolkata, alleging that he is acting more as a BJP campaigner than as the Prime Minister.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is urging the Indian government to take a more proactive role in mediating the escalating conflict between the US-Israel alliance and Iran, emphasising the impact on India's energy security and regional stability.
Diesel prices are still under control with subsidies.
After making it available at petrol pumps, the convenient 5-kg cooking gas (LPG) cylinder will now be available at kirana stores and supermarkets in select cities.
The government should end subsidised domestic cooking gas (LPG) for people with income of more than Rs 6 lakh per annum, a Parliamentary Panel has suggested.
If the conflict continues for a prolonged period, State-run oil companies may have to review retail fuel prices accordingly.
Price of non-subsidised cooking gas (LPG) was today cut by Rs 43.50 per cylinder as international oil rates slumped to their lowest since May 2009.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has proposed immediate demand-side measures, including remote work, lower speed limits, and reduced air travel, to mitigate the impact of a global oil supply shock caused by Middle East disruptions.
The smaller cylinders will be sold at market rates.
Rahul Gandhi accuses the government of compromising India's energy security by allowing the US to dictate oil supply relationships, raising concerns about the impact of global conflicts on India's energy access.
Gehlot made the announcement in the presence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi at a rally here on the sidelines of the "Bharat Jodo Yatra".
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party demanded on Monday that people in the state should be sanctioned 12 cylinders of LPG instead of six at subsidised rate before Diwali.
State-run oil marketing companies on Monday raised the security deposit for new cooking gas (LPG) connections to Rs 1,250 from the existing Rs 850 per cylinder, as also the price of cylinder regulator due to increase in input costs.
In a significant move before the West Bengal assembly elections, the Election Commission has ordered a major reshuffle of the state's police force, transferring 19 senior officers to ensure fair and secure elections.
In a much relief to the common man, Oil Minister Veerppa Moily said that the cap on subsidised liquefied petroleum cylinders is to go up to 9 in a year.
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
Her remarks come after 84 former bureaucrats, 116 veterans, and four lawyers wrote an open letter asking Rahul Gandhi to apologise over an incident in which he had tea and biscuits at the Makar Dwar entrance of Parliament.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released the first part of its manifesto for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, promising Rs 2,500 monthly aid for women, LPG cylinders at Rs 500, and Rs 2,500 pension for senior citizens. BJP president JP Nadda also assured that all existing public welfare schemes in Delhi will continue if the party is voted to power. The manifesto also includes a promise to implement the 'Ayushman Bharat' scheme in Delhi, providing additional health cover of Rs 5 lakh.
The 5-kg cylinder will be price at market rate.
Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
For weeks, the war skirted the edge of catastrophe without tipping over. Missiles flew, there was much destruction, commanders were assassinated, cities across the Gulf and even in Israel struggled to absorb the shock. But one line held: Energy infrastructure, the arteries of the global economy, remained largely untouched. That is no longer true. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
A subsidised 14.2-kg cylinder will now cost Rs 425.06 in Delhi as against Rs 423.09 previously, according to State-owned oil firms
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Iran is fighting a different war: Older, slower, and in some ways more dangerous. Iran doesn't need to shoot down an F/A-18. It only needs to make the Strait of Hormuz feel dangerous long enough for insurance markets, shipping companies, and oil futures traders to do the rest. Prem Panicker continues his must-read daily blog on the war in the Middle East.
Opposition parties are demanding a full Parliament discussion on the West Asia conflict, criticising the government's silence and calling for a contingency plan to protect India's energy security and citizens.
'Was the five-day pause ever meant to hold, or was it simply another instrument of signaling, of positioning, of buying time in a war where even the pauses are tactical?' asks Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
The political rivalry in Nandigram that defined West Bengal's 2021 assembly polls is set to return to centre stage in a new arena, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee locking horns with her protege-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari in Bhabanipur, turning the south Kolkata seat into the likely epicentre of the 2026 electoral battle.
Bowing to party pressure, the government on Thursday raised the quota of subsidised LPG to 12 cylinders per household in a year from nine at present and also put on hold paying users the subsidy into bank accounts using Aadhaar platform.
A fire at a nightclub in North Goa killed 23 people, many of whom were trapped in the kitchen while trying to escape. Fire safety violations are suspected.
Delhi Police have arrested three individuals, including the live-in partner of a UPSC aspirant, in connection with his murder. The suspects allegedly conspired to kill the victim and set his body on fire to conceal the crime.
'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'
The cabinet on Thursday approved a Rs 8,000-crore scheme to provide cooking gas (LPG) connections free of cost to women members of poor households.
The Congress party has pledged to provide free LPG cylinders, ration kits, and electricity up to 300 units to Delhi residents if elected to power. The announcement was made by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, along with AICC Delhi in-charge Qazi Nizamuddin and Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav. This is the latest in a series of promises made by the Congress for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. Earlier, the party had promised a monthly monetary grant of Rs 2,500 to women, free health insurance of up to Rs 25 lakh, and Rs 8,500 every month to educated unemployed youths in Delhi for one year.
To contain misuse of LPG cylinders in markets, Indian Oil Corporation will soon bring out a system by which cylinder refills for domestic use will be coloured differently from those for commercial use. \n
Will rising tensions between US-Israel and Iran threaten crude oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz, putting India's fuel prices, imports, and economic stability at risk?
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