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.
The government has asked Reliance Industries to supply natural gas from the company's eastern offshore D6 fields to the beleaguered Dabhol power plant, a segment that gets top preference for gas allocation along with fertiliser units.
A meeting of the Group of Ministers on freeing natural gas pricing from government control would be held next month, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said in Lok Sabha on Thursday.
The government has appointed Spanish speciality consultancy firm, Mercados Energy Markets International, to examine possibility of a uniform domestic price of natural gas, which is now sold at rates ranging from $1 to $5.73 per mmBtu depending on source.
The government has slashed allocation of natural gas used for LPG production, and diverted the low-priced fuel to city gas retailers like Indraprastha Gas Ltd and Adani-Total Gas Ltd to meet a part of their requirement for CNG/piped cooking gas supplies, according an official order. The government had in October and November last year cut supplies of low-priced natural gas coming from old fields such as Mumbai High and Bassein fields in the Bay of Bengal, to city gas retailers by as much as 40 per cent in view of limited output.
Domestic output is stagnating and the expensive LNG will meet the rising energy demand of the growing economy.
India's decision to import LPG from the US helps it to diversify sources as it reduces almost full reliance on West Asian countries for supply of the country's primary cooking fuel.
With domestic production of just over 140 million standard cubic meters per day meeting barely half the demand, India is importing 10 million tons of liquefied natural gas per annum and is looking at unconventional sources like shale gas.
Reliance hold 90 per cent interest and is the operator of the deep-sea block KG-DWN-2001/1 (D9).
When everyone has footage and no one can verify it, the loudest voice wins, notes Prem Panicker who begins a daily blog on the War in the Middle East.
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the current rate of $4.2 per million thermal units will continue till September end.
Growth of eight key infrastructure sectors remained flat in October as expansion in output of petroleum refinery products, fertiliser and steel was offset by a contraction in coal and electricity production, according to official data released on Thursday.
As the government began consultations with stakeholders on raising gas prices, gas producers and consumers met a committee of secretaries separately with their pleas on the issue.
'Tarique Rahman's refrain during the electoral campaign was that the minorities are safe under BNP. He has to honour that promise.'
'The immediate impact for India will be very minimal as the share of Venezuela in our total overseas production is very low.'
India has gained the least since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and was penalised the most, while the US, China and the European Union emerged as the biggest beneficiaries from the war.
Oil Ministry is likely to announce the new rates sometime this week.
The Union Cabinet in June decided to price all domestically produced natural gas at an average of the price prevailing at international gas trading hubs and the actual cost of importing liquid gas.
The Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday gave its approval to Vedanta Limited's demerger proposal, clearing the way for the group to reorganise its operations into five distinct, sector-specific entities.
RIL has been selling gas from KG-D6 at the same price since it started production in April 2009.
The newer gas finds will help turn the tide for ONGC, which has seen oil and gas output stagnating in recent times.
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has reported a 10 per cent decline in its June quarter net profit on lower oil prices and stagnant production from its aging fields. The company reported a net profit of Rs 8,024 crore in the first quarter of 2025-26 fiscal year, compared to Rs 8,938 crore earning in the same period last year, a company statement said.
The government has raised the prices of natural gas by more than double to $4.20 per mmBtu, leading to a hike in power and fertiliser production costs. However, a hike in CNG rates will come into effect only from next week.
Wholesale price inflation (WPI) came in at (-) 0.32 per cent in November, driven by an uptick in prices of food articles like pulses and vegetables on a month-on-month basis, government data showed on Monday.
Saudi Arabia's steep cut in LPG benchmark prices has pushed India's household LPG underrecoveries to their lowest level in over two years, slashing oil companies' losses from Rs 200-250 per cylinder last year to about Rs 20-40 now.
After a three-month slowdown, India's oil imports (already landed) from Russia bounced back in the first 15 days of October to 1.8 million barrels per day.
The OilMin is likely to announce the price for next six months soon.
Currently, the gas pipelines have a capacity to transport 230 mmscmd of gas.
Under the defence partnership, India and the UAE are eyeing defence industrial collaboration and cooperation in advanced technologies, cyberspace training, special operations, interoperability of their militaries and counter terrorism.
Most CNG pumps, including those operated by Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL), saw long queues from early morning, particularly of black-yellow taxis and autorickshaws, with several drivers reporting wait times of three to four hours, compared to the usual 15 to 30 minutes.
EC on Monday asked the government to defer notifying doubling of price of the fuel produced by companies such as Reliance Industries till general elections are completed.
India will maintain multiple sources for crude oil purchases and diversify them to ensure stability in the supply chain with national interests remaining the "guiding factor" for the procurement, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.
India is growing fast, but to keep growing strong, the government must make more things at home, create jobs, and spend money wisely, suggests Rajiv Memani, regional managing partner, Africa-India Region, EY.
Rural India outpaced urban centres in passenger vehicle sales in 2025, recording a growth of 12 per cent compared with 8 per cent in cities.
India's eight key infrastructure sectors' output stood at 3 per cent in September, slower than the 6.5 per cent expansion recorded in August, according to official data released on Tuesday. The core sectors' output growth was 2.4 per cent in September last year.
United States President Donald Trump reiterated the claims of having to do 'something' about Greenland, saying that if US doesn't take any action, Russia and China would spring in and that Washington, DC does not want to have them as neighbours.
Wholesale price inflation (WPI) fell to (-) 1 .21 per cent in October, driven by a decline in prices of food articles like pulses and vegetables, as well as lower fuel and manufactured items' prices, government data showed on Friday.
Eight infrastructure sectors' growth slowed down to 2 per cent in July 2025 from 6.3 per cent in the same month last year, according to official data released on Wednesday.
India has called for a ceasefire, release of all hostages, and peaceful resolution of the Israel-Hamas conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. The Centre informed Parliament that India welcomed the agreement on the first phase of the Gaza Peace Plan. The article also covers India's energy sourcing strategy and the release of Indian fishermen by Pakistan.
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