India News
India Increases Iranian Oil Imports In June By 48 Percent
Despite US pressure New Delhi and Tehran preparing to continue trading
Despite US pressure to reduce Iranian oil imports to zero by November this year, Indian refiners have imported 48 percent more oil from that country in June than a year ago, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has said in Lok Sabha on Monday.
Pradhan told the law makers that India’s refiners bought around 664,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian oil in June this year, 48 percent more than the volume they purchased in the same month last year.
“Indian refiners imported 1.9 million tons (447,000 bpd) of crude oil from Iran in June 2017 and placed orders for 2.82 million tons in June 2018”, the minister said in a statement.
Read More: Indian Oil PSUs raise import from Iran
According to Pradhan, India loaded about 715,600 bpd oil from Iran in April-June 2018 period, a rise of about 45 percent from the previous quarter. However, India’s private refiners are reportedly working to source oil from Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq and US and others to offset cuts in Iranian oil under US sanctions.
According to Tehran based Press TV, new US sanctions on oil and transactions with the Central Bank of Iran are about to come into effect on November 4. The US has warned third countries against buying Iranian crude amid a rise in Washington’s attempts to choke Iran’s oil revenue.
Last month India has allowed Iran’s Bank Pasargad to open a branch in Mumbai. The Finance Ministry conveyed to RBI that it has no objection in allowing the Tehran based bank to open its branch in India.
Read More: Germany asks India to continue buying oil from Iran
In May this year, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj made it clear that India does not recognize country-specific sanctions. She was quoted saying, “Our foreign policy is not made under pressure from other countries. We recognize UN sanctions and not country-specific sanctions”.
Indian embassy in Tehran has also issued a statement saying, “Iran has always been a reliable energy partner for India and others, seeking a balanced oil market and regional prices of oil which ensure the interest of both countries as consumer and supplier.”
Tehran has offered to insure oil cargoes to India after some insurers stopped providing the service in the face of the impeding sanctions, Press TV reports.
In February this year, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani while visiting New Delhi promised to increase crude oil imports from Iran from 205,000 bpd in 2017-18 to 396,000 bpd in 2018-19.
Read More: India under US pressure to cut oil imports from Iran, Govt says exploring all options
Meanwhile, the Indian Oil Ministry has revealed that India and China have discussed the possibility of forming an “oil buyers’ club” that can negotiate better terms with sellers.
Dhirendra Pradhan, while speaking in the parliament said, “Meetings have been held between India and China, both at ministerial and company levels. During these meetings both sides expressed interest to cooperate and collaborate to deal with high crude oil and gas prices, including through increased communication between companies to work towards control and reduce spikes in prices.”
In May this year, US President Donald Trump had withdrawn US from multilateral Iran-nuclear deal signed by P5+1 and Tehran, which came into effect in January in 2016. US has announced to re-impose sanctions in two stages in August and November this year.
Bihar news
Bihar: 2 die, 3 lose eyesight after consuming spurious liquor in Muzaffarpur
Two people died while three people lost their eyesight in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur after consuming spurious liquor, as per the police.
Two people died while three people lost their eyesight in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur after consuming spurious liquor, as per the police.
Police have received information that two people died after their health suddenly deteriorated. In the prima facie inquiry, it has been told that they both had consumed country-made liquor. We have arrested two people. Further probe underway, the Superintendent of Police Abhishek Dixit said after two people died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in Muzaffarpur.
According to reports, one of the victims, Dharmendra Ram, has revealed that he consumed spurious alcohol after purchasing from Shiv Chandra Paswan, who generally sells adulterated and low-quality liquor, due to which he lost his eyesight.
He started losing his vision after consuming two glasses of low-quality liquor, which cost him Rs 100.
Police, based on the victim’s statement, have arrested two people. One of the arrested persons is a local resident and has been jailed in the past as well in a liquor-related case.
For interrogation, police have also detained accused Shiv Chandra Paswan’s wife and daughter.
Police confirmed that the deaths and loss of eyesight happened due to the consumption of spurious alcohol.
Earlier this year in April, a shocking case was reported from Bihar’e Motihari district where at least 5 people died after consuming illicitly made liquor while twelve others were rushed to a local hospital in critical condition.
The incident was reported from Laxmipur Village of Motihari district in Bihar. The cases of spurious liquor creating hazardous health problems and death of people in Bihar have been in focus for quite some months now. Earlier in January this year it was reported from Siwan that four people died post consuming the spurious liquor after which the Police arrested 16 people who were involved in the storage and trading of alcohol in the state.
Purchase, sale and trade of liquor stands banned in Bihar since April 2016 after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took this move to impose a complete prohibition on the sale and consumption of alcohol in the state.
India News
Mann Ki Baat: PM Modi says India-Middle East-Europe corridor will become future basis of world trade
The India-Middle East-Europe corridor will become the basis of world trade for hundreds of years to come and history will always remember that the corridor was initiated on Indian soil, said PM Modi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 105th episode of Mann Ki Baat said that the India-Middle East-Europe corridor will become the basis of world trade for hundreds of years to come and history will always remember that the corridor was initiated on Indian soil.
On September 24 in his monthly Mann Ki Baat, PM Modi also talked about Chandrayaan-3’s success and urged all citizens to participate in the Chandrayaan-3 Mahaquiz, a unique opportunity to learn and celebrate India’s lunar mission. Let’s embark on this cosmic adventure together, he added.
PM Modi said throughout the year, programmes related to G20 were held at numerous universities in the country. Now in this series, another exciting programme is about to take place in Delhi, which is G20 University Connect Programme, he said.
Speaking about World Tourism Day, he said two days from now, 27th September, is World Tourism Day. Some people view tourism just as a means of touring and travelling, but a very big aspect of tourism is related to employment, the Prime Minister further said.
He further talked about temples in Karnataka. PM Modi said a few days ago, that Shantiniketan and the holy Hoysala temple of Karnataka have been declared world heritage sites by UNESCO. He extended his greetings to the countrymen on this feat.
During the G20 Summit in New Delhi, US principal deputy national security advisor Jon Finer announced an unprecedented and ground-breaking infrastructure initiative involving a railway and shipping corridor that will improve trade, energy, and digital connectivity.
Speaking to reporters, Finer drew an indirect but striking comparison between China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the project, saying it will close a significant infrastructure gap and be high-standards, transparent, sustainable, non-coercive and based on the demand signal from the region instead of being an imposition.
BRI is heavily attacked for entangling nations in unmanageable debt, as well as for being opaque, forceful, and sacrificing standards.
Finer claimed that the project is consistent with the greater West Asian agenda of the Joe Biden administration.
India News
Man seeking job in Indian Army attempts to breach PM Modi’s security in Varanasi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security was breached in Varanasi after a BJP worker jumped in front of PM Modi’s convoy asking for a job in Indian Army.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security was breached in Varanasi. An Indian Army aspirant jumped in front of PM Modi’s convoy, asking for a job in defence. Later, he was held by the police.
After laying the foundation stone of the International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, PM Modi with CM Yogi attended the evening musical show at Rudraksh International Cooperation and Convention Centre.
From there, PM Modi was travelling to Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport, when the incident took place. A man who tried to breach the Prime Minister’s security has been identified as Krishna Kumar, who hails from Ghazipur, allegedly a BJP worker. He is the son of a senior BJP worker Bharat Kumar.
According to reports, Kumar was frustrated as he failed the medical test after clearing the physical test. Kumar tried many times in the past to get recruited into the Indian Army. He also appealed to many people for help but everything failed.
After all this, he decided to meet the Prime Minister in Varanasi regarding his job in Indian Army. Krishna Kumar was waiting for the PM’s convoy to pass at least for an hour, the moment Modi’s convoy crossed beside Kumar, he jumped carrying a file with him asking for a job in Indian Army.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 23 laid the foundation stone of the International Cricket Stadium in Varanasi’s Ganjari, Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was present for the occasion in Varanasi.
Varanasi, PM Modi’s parliamentary constituency also witnessed big names from the cricket fraternity on the occasion. The names include Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Madan Lal, Gundappa Viswanath, and Gopal Sharma.
PM Modi also inaugurated 16 Atal Awasiya Vidyalaya built across Uttar Pradesh, during the programme.
The Varanasi International Cricket Stadium is a step towards realising PM Modi’s vision to develop a modern and world-class sports infrastructure.
