India News
Achche Din continue: LPG Cylinder prices to be hiked by ₹4 every month
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Union minister for petroleum Dharmendra Pradhan informs Parliament of Modi sarkar’s plan to eliminate subsidies on cooking gas by March 2018
If spiraling prices of vegetables and consumer products has not already burnt a deep hole in your pocket, here is more from the government that won a massive mandate on the plank of ushering in Achche Din: your LPG cylinders are set to get dearer by ₹4 every month from now on. And the hike will not stop till the Narendra Modi government scraps subsidies on cooking gas entirely, the target for which has been set for March 2018.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, on Monday, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan informed that effective from June 1, 2017 his ministry had authorized oil marketing companies (OMCs) “to continue to increase the effective price of subsidised domestic LPG by ₹4 per cylinder per month (excluding VAT) till the reduction of government subsidy to ‘nil’, or till March 2018, or till further orders, whichever is earliest.”
This means that although you have already been paying an increased rate for your LPG cylinders for nearly two months now, the government decided to make the order public now – perhaps only because the minister was asked a question on the subject in the Lok Sabha.
The government had previously asked Indian Oil (IOC), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) to raise rates of subsidised domestic LPG cylinders by ₹2 per 14.2-kg cylinder per month (excluding VAT). However, that hike didn’t seem to match up to the speed with which the Narendra Modi government – which had earlier asked citizens to voluntary give up their subsidies on cylinders – wants to scrap the ‘populist’ policy.
As of now, every household is entitled to 12 LPG cylinders of 14.2-kg each at subsidised rates in a year. Any requirement beyond that is to be purchased at the market price.
“Public sector OMCs were authorised to increase price of subsidised domestic LPG cylinder by Rs2 per cylinder per month (excluding VAT) with effect from July 1, 2016,” Pradhan said in his written reply, conceding that the companies had hiked LPG rates on 10 occasions since that order. This means a hike of ₹24 per cylinder in the past year.
Dharmendra Pradhan
Now, according to Pradhan, “The government vide its order dated May 30, 2017, has again authorised OMCs to continue to increase the effective price of subsidised domestic LPG by ₹4 per cylinder effective June 1, 2017, per month (excluding VAT)”. Considering that this hike became effective in June and is set to continue till March 2018, consumers will end up shelling ₹40 more per cylinder by the end of the current financial year.
Effectively the hike would come to ₹64 per LPG cylinder since the first go-ahead for monthly revision of prices in July 2016.
Subsidised LPG now costs ₹477.46 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi. It was priced at ₹419.18 in June last year. The rate of non-subsidised LPG, which consumers pay after exhausting their 12 cylinders/year quota, costs ₹564 as of now.
There are as many as 18.11 crore customers of subsidised LPG in the country. These include 2.5 crore poor women who were given free connections during the last one year under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna. Additionally, there are 2.66 crore users of non-subsidised cooking gas.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
India News
Chhattisgarh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi hits out at Congress, accuses party of dividing Hindus
PM Modi quoted his predecessor PM Manmohan Singh and said the minorities had the first right to the country’s resources. PM Modi added Congress is now saying the population of the community will decide who will have the first right to the country’s resources.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed Congress after the Bihar government’s caste census results were declared. He said the Congress party is dividing the Hindus as the poor people formed the largest part of the population. PM Modi was addressing a rally in Poll bound Chhattisgarh Jagdalpur
PM Modi quoted his predecessor PM Manmohan Singh and said the minorities had the first right to the country’s resources. PM Modi added Congress is now saying the population of the community will decide who will have the first right to the country’s resources. PM Modi asked if the Congress party wanted to decrease the rights of the minority. He further inquired whether the Congress party wanted to remove the minorities.
PM Modi continued to his attack on the Congress and asked whether the Hindus who formed the largest section of India’s population come forward and take their rights. PM Modi further added the Congress party is not run by its people and has been outsourced. He said senior Congress leaders did not have their say in the decisions made by the Congress party.
PM Modi said the Congress party is trying to divide the Hindus. He added the Congress party is dividing the poor. They are trying to destroy the country. PM Modi slammed the Congress party for playing with the emotions of the poor. He added the Congress party has divided India on the basis of caste lines for sixty years.
The Bihar government released the findings of its caste census. According to the survey extremely Backward classes (EBC’s) and other backward classes (OBC’s) constitute 63 percent of total population of Bihar. The Congress party has promised a caste based census in the country if it came to power at the Centre.
India News
India-Canada ties: India asks Canada to withdraw 40 diplomats by October 10
Canada has currently a total of 62 diplomats in India. New Delhi has instructed Canada to decrease the number to 41 at their high commission.
India has asked Canada to withdraw around 40 diplomats by October 10 as the diplomatic row between the two nations over Ottawa’s allegations of New Delhi’s involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. According to reports India has threatened to remove the diplomatic immunity of any candian diplomat if they remained in India after October 10.
Canada has currently a total of 62 diplomats in India. New Delhi has instructed Canada to decrease the number to 41 at their high commission. Boehm said PM Justin Trudeau does not expect to back down. He added India sees Canada as an easy mark. He said India is aware of Ottawa’s limited capacity to retaliate because of the presence of a minority government in Canada.
Trudeau is the leader of the Liberal Party. He shares power with Canadian Sikh leader and Indian origin Jagmeet Singh who is the head of the New Democratic Party in Canada. India had previously said it wanted an equal number of diplomats posted in the country and Canada. At the High commission in Delhi Canada has many diplomats compared to what India has in Ottawa.
Diplomatic crisis between Canada and India emerged after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said the Canadian agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegation of a potential link the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Indian government. India had stated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. India rejected Canada’s allegations and called them motivated and absurd.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF). He was shot dead outside a Gurudwara in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada in the month of June. Ottawa expelled an Indian official over the case. India in response expelled a Canadian diplomat. Visa services were also expelled by the Indian government for Canadian citizens.
India News
Earthquake of 6.2 magnitude on Richter scale shakes up Delhi-NCR, North India
Reports said the tremors were felt acutely by people residing in high rises and many fled by staircase to the groundfloor and were awaiting more aftershocks.
Strong tremors lasting almost a minute rocked parts of Delhi-National Capital Region, and several northern states after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake at its epicentre hit Nepal.
Reports said the tremors were felt acutely by people residing in high-rises and many fled by staircase to the groundfloor and were awaiting more aftershocks. Similar sights were visible in the region’s office districts. The tremors were also felt in parts of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand just after 2.45 pm. According to the Delhi Disaster Management Authority website, “Delhi is located in zone IV which has fairly high seismicity where the general occurrence of earthquakes is of 5-6 magnitude, a few of magnitude 6-7 and occasionally of 7-8 magnitude. Delhi thus lies among the high-risk areas.” The site adds that Delhi and the union territory region has already seen five earthquakes of the 5.5 to 6.7 scale since 1720.
There has been no report of damage to life and property as of now and reports are awaited on the situation in Nepal. Seismologists said the epicentre was 5 km underground in Bhatekhola in Nepal. The Himalayan country has already faced a massive quake on April 25, 2015 of 7.8 magnitude. Some 9,000 people died and injured more than 20,000.
According to the National German Research Centre for Geo sciences has said that magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Nepal region. According to National Siesmological Centre an earthquake measuring 5.3 magnitude hit western parts of Nepal. No loss of property or life has been reported.
The earthquake was recorded with epicenter at Talkot area of Bajhang district, 700 km west of Kathmandu. Two earthquakes of magnitude 4.6 and 6.2 on the Richter scale jolted Nepal. The two tremors were felt within half an hour time. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya came out of Nirman Bhawan with others, as strong tremors hit different parts of North India.
