The ceasefire is still technically holding, to the extent that no overt hostilities have been reported yet, but the rhetoric has hardened dangerously. The week ahead will also clarify whether the Islamabad failure was a negotiating tactic or whether Washington has genuinely locked itself into a position from which the only exits are climb-down, escalation, or the slow bleed of a new status quo that nobody chose and nobody controls. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
Top commanders of the Indian Navy will discuss the implications of the West Asia crisis on India's energy security and review operational readiness at a three-day conference.
Amid rising tensions, Iran reportedly launched ballistic missiles toward a US-UK military base, prompting concerns about regional stability and the potential for escalating conflict in the Middle East.
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
India's purchase of Russian oil has risen to 2 million barrels per day in August, as refiners continue to prioritise economic considerations in their sourcing decisions. As much as 38 per cent out of an estimated 5.2 million barrels per day of crude oil imported in the first half of August came from Russia, according to global real-time data and analytics provider Kpler.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has proposed a 20-point policy agenda to the finance ministry, including a conflict-linked emergency credit line guarantee scheme and tax rationalisation on energy inputs, to support MSMEs, exporters, and energy-intensive industries affected by the ongoing West Asia war.
India's dependence on imported crude oil to meet domestic demand has been a matter of concern for years. Delivering the inaugural address at the global energy summit - Urja Sangam - in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for enhancing domestic oil and gas production to cut the import burden. He aimed at lowering it by at least 10 per cent by 2022 - to coincide with the platinum jubilee of India's independence. But this target is far from being achieved and the country's import reliance has only risen.
The Indian government is considering additional relief packages for vulnerable sectors like MSMEs to mitigate the impact of the ongoing West Asia crisis on the economy and inflation.
Cooking oil is often discarded after being used for frying at home or in restaurants. However, a refinery of IndianOil has now won a certification to use the same oil to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the company chairman Arvinder Singh Sahney said.
'What we have yet to see on either the US or the Iranian side is willingness to compromise on their ultimate demands and the flexibility to reach an agreement to end the war.
Private bus operators in Sri Lanka warn of potential service disruptions and a nationwide strike due to significant fuel price increases, impacting public transport and raising concerns about inflation.
Keeps open the option to make payments in yen or yuan in the face of sanctions
Amid escalating tensions with Iran, President Trump is urging nations dependent on Middle Eastern oil to deploy warships to the Strait of Hormuz to safeguard critical global energy supplies.
Succumbing to the US pressure, India has decided to cut crude oil import from Iran by over 11 per cent this fiscal to 15.5 million tons.
The logic of war plus the gathering storms in US politics as the midterms loom large leave him with no real alternative but to negotiate, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
On Saturday, it was reported that a drone strike had targeted the Fujairah Port in the UAE, triggering a fire.
The government has no say in where the country's refiners source oil from because these are commercial transactions.
It may now be time to question the price India is paying for Israel's disregard of the serious undermining of India's energy security, asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
India has commissioned its new indigenously-built nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine INS Aridaman into service, further strengthening the naval component of its nuclear triad. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also highlighted the Indian Navy's role in securing maritime trade routes.
'Reliance on crude oil is still very high. Globally, natural gas is 25 per cent of the energy basket. In India, it has fallen to 6.5 per cent, from 11 per cent in 2014.'
Responding to concerns raised by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri said it is the foremost priority of the government that the kitchens of over 33 crore families, especially the poor and the underprivileged, do not face any shortage of gas.
A 500 per cent tariff would effectively shut out India's goods and services exports to the US.
Revenue collection next financial year may be affected, and, along with this, subsidies on food and fertilisers can go up if the war in West Asia drags for long, according to experts.
A group of Indian sailors recount their harrowing experience of being detained in Iran on suspicion of smuggling, and their subsequent escape from the country as regional tensions escalated into open conflict.
Former US President Donald Trump has criticised Iran's stance on the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a form of 'extortion' amid ongoing negotiations for a peace deal. The remarks come as Iran considers imposing transit fees on vessels crossing the strategic waterway.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India this week aims to secure energy supplies, stabilise defence deliveries and ensure bilateral trade continues smoothly despite strong Western sanctions, GTRI said on Tuesday.
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.
The first thing you notice about Bhutan is not the mountains, but the silence.
India's exports jumped by 19.37 per cent to $38.13 billion in November, while imports dipped by 1.88 per cent to $62.66 billion, according to government data released on Monday.
Mumbai Indians aim to leverage their home advantage against Royal Challengers Bengaluru after a mixed start to their IPL campaign. Key batting performances and bowling partnerships will be crucial for both teams.
The purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Rajya Sabha, detailing India's strategies to navigate the global energy crisis sparked by the West Asia conflict, including securing diverse energy sources and expanding strategic oil reserves.
Households should moderate large discretionary expenses for the time being.
'They should prioritise essential spending. They should maintain an emergency fund covering 6 to 12 months of expenses.'
Suryakumar Yadav discusses his successful partnership with head coach Gautam Gambhir, highlighting their shared understanding and mutual respect, which has led to significant success for the Indian T20 team.
The investigation into Sheena Bora's murder, and, later, the case, leans heavily on the half-burnt body found in rural Maharashtra in 2012. Therefore, the very strange and notable differences -- like the Case Of The Rising Skeleton -- between both postmortems/their reports done on it have a critical bearing.
By all available indications, the White House drafted a face-saving note and handed it, ready-made, to Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposed to then post it in the guise of a plea urging Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks 'to allow diplomacy to run its course'. Trump would then graciously accept Pakistan's 'request' and declare a ceasefire. Sharif dutifully posted the message on X. Except that he, or whoever was handling the account, forgot to delete the tell-tale first line visible in the edit history: 'Draft - Pakistan's PM Message on X'. Prem Panicker's must read blog on the Iran War.
President Trump asserts the US military has decimated Iran's forces and no longer requires assistance from NATO allies to secure the Strait of Hormuz, despite earlier requests for support.
Veerappa Moily's suggestions on oil use do not inspire hope
'US and Iran have not annulled the ceasefire, and the possibility of continuing negotiations remains open.'
The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd has decided to actively trade in imported edible oils after failing to procure sufficient quantity of mustard seeds from the domestic market due to high price.
