Physics teacher booked under POCSO Act, found guilty in departmental enquiry; dismissed
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
9 hours ago
- Economic Times
India caught in a bind on Russian crude after Trump tariff, may look to diversify further
Indian refiners are likely to go slow on import of oil from Russia and may double down on efforts to diversify their import basket further as New Delhi assesses the impact of US President Donald Trump's announcement of additional tariffs Trump issued an executive order on Wednesday doubling tariffs on goods from India to 50 per cent for continuing to import oil from Russia, which purportedly uses that revenue to fund its war with Ukraine. While the government has given oil companies a free hand to plan crude purchases keeping commercial viability in mind, refiners may look to boost imports from the US and other non-OPEC suppliers as a balancing act, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. After the latest tariff order, refiners would be adopting a cautious approach to Russian imports, they said, adding the government has so far not told them to stop or go slow on purchases from Moscow. Soon after Trump's executive order, officials went into a huddle, discussing possible fallout and alternatives. No official comment was immediately available on the latest US tariffs. India buys about 88 per cent of its crude oil, which is converted into fuels like petrol and diesel, from overseas. Russian oil made up for hardly 0.2 per cent of all crude oil that India imported till 2021. After Moscow invaded Ukraine, Russian oil was available at a discount to international benchmarks due to Western sanctions, and was quickly lapped up by Indian refiners. Russia is now India's largest oil supplier. India imports about 5 million barrels of oil a day, of which 1.6 million came from Russia in July. Sources said discounts on Russian oil have shrunk to less than USD 2 per barrel, not offering much economic benefit for buying from Moscow. But it will be near impossible to swiftly unwind the Russian imports given the volumes India now buys, they said, adding Middle East suppliers, which were the main source in the pre-Ukraine war era, may see a resurgence with the largest volumes. India is the largest importer of Russian crude ahead of China and Turkey. The US tariffs follow the European Union ban on the import of petroleum products (fuel) made from Russian crude starting in January 2026. India's Reliance Industries Ltd and Russian oil giant Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy Ltd will be those hit hard by the sanctions. The two, particularly Reliance, were the biggest exporters of fuel from India to Europe. India historically bought most of its oil from the Middle East, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia. However, things changed when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. India, the world's third-largest crude importer after China and the US, began snapping up Russian oil that was available at a discount after some in the West shunned it as a means to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. From a market share of just 0.2 per cent in India's import basket before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia overtook Iraq and Saudi Arabia to become India's No.1 supplier, with a share as high as 40 per cent at one point of time. Last month, Russia supplied more than a third of all crude oil imported by India. India bought 68,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Russia in January 2022, according to global real-time data and analytics provider Kpler. That month, Indian imports from Iraq were 1.23 million bpd and 883,000 bpd from Saudi Arabia. In June 2022, Russia overtook Iraq to become India's largest oil supplier. Russian imports peaked at 2.15 million bpd in May 2023 and have varied - depending upon the discount at which the oil was available. But the volumes never slipped below 1.4 million bpd since then, which is more than what India was buying from its top supplier Iraq before the Russia-Ukraine conflict. G7 countries in December 2022 imposed a USD 60 per barrel price cap on Russian crude. Under the mechanism, European companies were permitted to transport and insure shipments of Russian oil to third countries as long as it is sold below the capped price -- an effort to limit the impact of the sanctions on global oil flows but ensure Russia earns less from the trade. Last month, the European Union decided to lower the price cap to USD 47.6 and introduced an automatic and dynamic mechanism for its review in the future. The idea is to keep the cap at 15 per cent lower than the average market price. In addition to stoking India's economy, cheap Russian oil gave refiners lucrative business -- refining that crude and exporting the products to deficit countries. These included the European Union, which had banned direct crude oil purchases from Russia. The bulk of the crude that goes to India from Russia arrives at ports in Gujarat, where Reliance Industries Ltd's Jamnagar refinery, the largest in the world, and Nayara Energy-owned India's second-largest refinery, less than 10 miles away at Vadinar, turned them into fuel.
Economic Times
13 hours ago
- Economic Times
Trump tariffs on key sectors may outlast his presidency, warns JPMorgan's geopolitics arm
Agencies Trump Tariffs (Representative image). The effective tariff rate on U.S. imports will settle near 22% and duties on sensitive sectors critical to national security are unlikely to be lifted, JPMorgan Chase's Center for Geopolitics wrote in a report on Wednesday. Tariffs are being viewed across party lines as vital to enhancing the U.S. industrial base in strategic sectors such as semiconductors and defense, making a rollback unlikely even after President Donald Trump's term, the report said. While much of the market optimism has stemmed from the belief that tariffs are primarily a political bargaining tool, the report hints at a more nuanced trade landscape. Recent trade deals have fueled hopes that the White House may eventually soften its stance, but the report said expectations of a return to pre-Trump policies may be misplaced. "It would be a mistake to assume that the United States returns to an era of low tariffs and the pursuit of comprehensive free trade agreements," the report said. "Even if the next U.S. president supports a pre-2017 approach to trade policy, they would face a number of challenges to unwinding the Trump administration's tariff structure." As more times passes, companies might also recalibrate their investments accordingly, reducing the chances of going back to the previous trade regime. JPMorgan launched the Center for Geopolitics in May to help businesses navigate disruptions from global instability and other economic challenges. It is led by Derek Chollet, who has served in the Pentagon, the State Department, the White House and Congress. A report last month by the JPMorganChase Institute estimated that the implementation of full universal tariffs announced on April 2 could add up to $187.7 billion in direct import costs for midsize companies, more than six times the cost of earlier tariffs in place at the start of 2025.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
32 FIRs, 32 arrests in July as Haryana steps up crackdown on illegal abortions
Gurgaon: Thirty-two suspects named in 32 cases were arrested across Haryana last month on the suspicion that they facilitated illegal abortions or engaged in sex-determination before birth. Most of these cases – eight – were registered in Nuh. Two each were filed in Charkhi Dadri, Hisar, Jind, Rewari, Panipat, Panchkula, Palwal and Rohtak; and one each in Narnaul, Kurukshetra and Karnal. More cases were in the process of being registered. Those arrested include clinic operators, their staff members, and unlicensed practitioners who were allegedly involved in carrying out or facilitating illegal abortions. This information was disclosed at a meeting of the state task force formed this year to improve Haryana's sex-ratio at birth (SRB). Officials said the health department has also issued notices to 38 private hospitals and clinics for allegedly violating the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (ACT) Act and the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act. These include 14 facilities in Rohtak, six in Panipat, and four each in Hisar, Karnal and Bhiwani. You Can Also Check: Gurgaon AQI | Weather in Gurgaon | Bank Holidays in Gurgaon | Public Holidays in Gurgaon Much of this crackdown is the result of authorities 'reverse tracking' abortions that were permitted after 12 weeks of pregnancy. TOI had earlier reported that 824 abortion cases were flagged for 'reverse tracking' across all Haryana districts, and 786 have been scrutinised so far. Haryana govt's crackdown is part of the broader campaign to enforce legal safeguards on abortion norms and clamp down on any illegal practices. It was ordered after Haryana recorded a decline in the sex ratio at birth (SRB). Last year, the state's average SRB – the count of girls born for every 1,000 boys – fell to 910, the lowest since 2016. According to govt's own assessment, the drive is making headway. "Haryana's sex ratio at birth improved to 907 girls per 1,000 boys by July-end, up from 899 during the same period last year," additional chief secretary (health) Sudhir Rajpal, who heads the task force, said at the review meeting in Chandigarh on Tuesday. Rajpal also instructed health officials to intensify action, including cancelling the licences of doctors found complicit in facilitating illegal abortions. IVF centres are now facing stricter oversight — all embryo implantations must be registered on an online portal. "Police have been asked to coordinate closely with health teams to identify unregistered abortion centres and track down offenders," Rajpal said, adding that he has sought progress reports on all FIRs filed over the last month. In a first-of-its-kind move, the state has decided to involve the transgender community in celebrating the birth of girl child. Transgender persons will visit households where a girl is born — replicating a tradition usually reserved for boys — and hand over a certificate that says Rs 21,000 will be invested by the govt under the 'Aapki Beti Hamari Beti' scheme. Transgender people will receive an incentive of Rs 1,100 for every visit. Officials said this initiative, which will be supervised by district chief medical officers, will help help mobilise communities to celebrate the birth of a girl child and promote gender-positive messaging at the grassroots. The department of women and child development told the task force that an awareness advertisement under central govt's 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' campaign will be screened in cinema halls across the state.
