Education ministry seeks explanation from JNU V-C for skipping key conference without approval
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The Ministry of Education has sought an explanation from Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit regarding her absence at a key conference, according to sources.It was noted that Pandit had skipped the conference of Vice-Chancellors of Central Universities without formal approval, they said.There was no immediate response from the JNU Vice-Chancellor on the issue."Her absence was viewed seriously. In such circumstances, Vice-Chancellors are required to take prior approval. There was a conference at JNU coinciding with the Vice-Chancellors' conference. But it should have been kept in mind that the invite for this conference was extended much in advance," a source said.The Ministry of Education organised a two-day conference of Vice-Chancellors of Central Universities in Kevadia, Gujarat from July 10-11.The conference, as part of events to mark the five years of implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, brought together heads of Central universities to review institutional progress and collectively shape the path ahead.
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Time of India
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If Modi allows refiners to keep buying, as his defiant response and domestic pressure would suggest, he instead courts a direct blow to the economy and damaged ties with the country's top trade partner, risking far more than he might saved a modest $3.8 billion in the year to March on oil purchases as discounts on Russian crude narrowed, according to ratings agency ICRA. But it exported roughly $87 billion worth of goods to the US in 2024.A well-supplied oil market, plus less attractive discounts for Moscow's flagship Urals crude, mean that in theory Modi has space to wean the country off Russian oil entirely, dialing back imports that have surged dramatically since 2022. But practice could prove quite different, as his top opponent and party peers line up to criticize US tactics, stirring nationalist fervor.'It's very, very unlikely that Indian oil imports from Russia will go to zero,' said Vandana Hari, founder of consultancy Vanda Insights. 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They asked not to be named as they are not authorized to speak to the like Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. have instead stepped into the spot market over the past week to buy a variety of grades from alternative suppliers — including the US, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates — seeking cargoes for prompt longer-term supplies, Asian traders expect Indian refiners to approach Middle Eastern producers such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq. With year-long contracts typically negotiated near the close of the Indian fiscal year ending in March, buyers will likely be able to seek small incremental volume adjustments from the likes of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as absent a full sanctioning of Russian oil, no one in the industry has yet pointed to a formal or a wholesale India has not been a significant importer of Russian crude, depending more heavily on the Middle East. All that changed in 2022, after the invasion of Ukraine and a $60-per-barrel price cap imposed by the Group of Seven nations that aimed to limit the Kremlin's oil revenues while keeping supplies flowing eschews sanctioned crude from Iran or Venezuela, but this was a permitted bargain and purchases leapt higher, often at the expense of more traditional suppliers like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Nigeria. Russia, which accounted for a negligible portion of India's total imports in 2021, today makes up around 37%, according to data analytics firm Kpler. That's made India one of the two dominant buyers of Russian crude, along with officials argue that the shift helped to prevent a supply crunch and to cool sky-high prices — and until now the US seemed to agree. On a visit to India last year, Treasury officials described the price cap as 'a mechanism for India and other partners to access Russian oil at discounted prices.' 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