
Indian refiners using term deals as hedge against Russian supply risk: Govt

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Hindustan Times
44 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
How random chat got Alaskan man a Ural bike from Putin ahead of Russia-US summit
In an interesting twist to last week's high-stakes summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska, a local Anchorage man became the proud new owner of a Ural motorcycle. Alaska resident Mark Warren rides his new Ural motorcycle, a gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin.(REUTERS) A Russian embassy official handed the man, identified as Mark Warren, the keys to a brand-new Ural bike in the parking lot of the Anchorage hotel where the Russian delegation was staying. "I have to say that this is a personal gift from the President of the Russian Federation," Andrei Ledenev, the embassy employee, told Warren. Warren, white-haired and bespectacled, looked stunned as he climbed aboard his new ride, with Ledenev behind him and another man wedged into the classic Ural sidecar. The three took the bike for a celebratory spin — all smiles and cameras rolling. "It's night and day," Warren said. "I like my old one, but this one is obviously much better. I'm speechless, it's amazing. Thank you very much," he said. Street chat to surprise Putin The whole episode began by chance after Russian state TV reporters were talking to people of Anchorage ahead of the Putin-Trump talks when they spotted Warren with his old Ural motorcycle, a Soviet-era machine he said he loved but struggled to maintain. Warren told a reporter, Valentin Bogdanov, that he struggled to obtain spare parts for the bike, including a new starter, because the manufacturing plant is "located in Ukraine." "So for you, if they resolve this conflict here in Alaska, I mean Putin and Trump, it will be good?" Bogdanov asks Warren. "Yes, it will be good," the Alaskan man replied. Ural bikes Ural, which is headquartered in Washington State, says that all of its motorcycles are assembled in Kazakhstan. The company pulled all its production out of Russia after the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine. Ural did not immediately reply to a request for comment outside working hours in the US. (with inputs from Reuters)


Economic Times
3 hours ago
- Economic Times
Peter Navarro to India: Act like a US partner or pay the price
Synopsis Peter Navarro has criticized India's crude oil imports from Russia, deeming them "opportunistic" and warning of consequences for the US-India strategic partnership. He alleges India's actions are financing Russia's war in Ukraine and jeopardizing access to US markets. These remarks precede a postponed US trade negotiation visit and potential tariffs on Indian goods due to continued Russian oil purchases. Reuters Peter Navarro, Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing for U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks to the media outside the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 30, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/ File Photo New Delhi: US President Donald Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro on Monday criticised India's crude oil imports from Russia, calling the move "opportunistic" and warning that if India "wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one".In an opinion piece in the Financial Times, Navarro alleged that India was "now cosying up to both Russia and China" and argued that New Delhi's Russian crude purchases must stop as they were financing Moscow's war in Ukraine. His comments come ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month, even as Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visits New Delhi for talks on the disputed border. "This two-pronged policy will hit India where it hurts-its access to US markets - even as it seeks to cut off the financial lifeline it has extended to Russia's war effort," Navarro said India's reliance on Russian crude was "opportunistic and deeply corrosive of global efforts to isolate Putin's war economy". The remarks assume significance as US trade negotiators have postponed their planned August 25-29 visit for the sixth round of Bilateral Trade Agreement talks, the first tranche of which is targeted for conclusion by autumn. Trump has already imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods, including a 25% penal levy for continued purchases of Russian oil, despite the external affairs ministry's assertion that India is being unfairly singled out while the US and EU continue to source energy from the 25% tariff on Indian goods entering the US took effect on August 7, the additional 25%, announced as penalty for crude and defence imports from Russia, will kick in on August 27. "India acts as a global clearing house for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs," Navarro wrote, adding that it was risky to transfer cutting-edge US military capabilities to a country "cosying up to both Russia and China".


India.com
3 hours ago
- India.com
Trump will be unhappy with this 200 number as India makes things easier for China, takes this big step to...
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump has invited trouble without any effort. His move to put pressure on India seems to be backfiring. The whole game has suddenly changed with India and China coming closer in the tariff war. Now India has done something that can hurt Trump a lot. The government is making it easier for China to invest money in India. This is a big sign of improvement in the relations between the two countries. All this is happening at a time when Trump has imposed an additional tariff of 25% on India. This will increase the tariff on Indian goods in America to 50% from August 27. Trump has imposed this tariff due to buying Russian oil. What is the government doing to settle the Chinese FDI? The government is preparing to quickly settle the FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) proposals coming from Chinese companies. For this, the government has given instructions to simplify the approval process. According to sources, the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) headed by the Home Secretary will now work on these proposals expeditiously. A meeting of the IMC was also held last week. A senior official said, 'We have clear instructions. Reduce the time taken to process applications.' According to sources, proposals from non-critical sectors like renewable energy, manufacturing and electronics are still being considered. Dixon Technologies' FDI proposal is also under review. It includes two Chinese partners. 200 FDI proposals are awaiting approval Under Press Note 3, about 200 FDI proposals from China are pending. According to this rule, approval has to be taken from the government before investing in countries sharing a land border with India. The government can dispose of them quickly after getting approval from the IMC and the Cabinet Secretariat. Many Chinese companies have been waiting for their proposals to be approved for a long time. However, officials have also made it clear that this move should not be seen as India's soft stance towards China. A source said, 'India's engagement with Chinese FDI should not be seen through the prism of its relations with the US.'