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Hindustan Times
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
No fuel for end-of-life petrol and diesel vehicles from July 1 in Delhi
A worker holds a nozzle to pump fuel into a two-wheeler vehicle at a Bharat Petroleum oil and fuel station in Kolkata, India, August 7, 2024. REUTERS/Sahiba Chawdhary (REUTERS) Check Offers All end-of-life (EoL) vehicles in Delhi will not be allowed to refuel at fuel stations starting from July 1, 2025. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has announced the new initiative to crack down on EoL vehicles still plying in the national capital, contributing to the worsening air quality in the region. The EoL vehicles will be identified with the help of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras installed at fuel stations across Delhi. ANPR Cameras: How does it work? The ANPR cameras installed outside fuel stations read the license plate numbers in real-time. The system cross-verifies the registration plate with the Vahan database comprising owner details, fuel type, and vehicle's age. If the system detects the vehicle to be over 10 years (diesel) or 15 years (petrol) of age, it will be flagged as an EoL vehicle. The system will flag the vehicle and alert the fuel station operator to deny refuelling the same. The violation will be logged and shared with the enforcement agencies for further action, including impounding and scrapping the end-of-life vehicle. End-of-Life Vehicles refuelling ban to apply across NCR The CAQM has further announced that the enforcement will extend to Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, and Sonipat from November 1 onwards. Meanwhile, the rest of the National Capital Region (NCR) will follow through by April 1, 2026. CAQM says the ANPR cameras enable real-time recording and tracking vehicle data. A recent report states that about 3.63 crore vehicles have been screened through this system, of which 4.90 lakh vehicles have been identified as end-of-life vehicles. The report further states that 29.52 lakh vehicles renewed their Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCC), helping generate fines amounting to ₹ 168 crore. To ensure compliance of the new order, the Transport Department, Government of NCT of Delhi, has deployed 100 teams to actively monitor vehicle data to identify fuel stations that have a higher concentration of EoL vehicles. Get insights into Upcoming Cars In India, Electric Vehicles, Upcoming Bikes in India and cutting-edge technology transforming the automotive landscape. First Published Date: 21 Jun 2025, 12:01 PM IST
The Star
01-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Cricket-Maxwell to miss rest of IPL with finger injury
Cricket - Indian Premier League - IPL - Kolkata Knight Riders v Punjab Kings - Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India - April 26, 2025 Punjab Kings' Glenn Maxwell walks after losing his wicket REUTERS/Sahiba Chawdhary/File Photo
ABC News
01-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
India is on the warpath against Pakistan after a terror attack. How is this time different?
Talk of war on one of the world's most dangerous borders is reaching fever-pitch after a terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed 26 tourists, infuriating the Indian government. India blames Pakistan for the massacre of civilians in the picturesque locale of Pahalgam on April 22. Pakistan's government, as with previous attacks, denies any involvement. Muslim-majority The targeting of civilians rather than military personnel has angered many in India. ( Reuters: Sahiba Chawdhary ) It has been a flashpoint between the nuclear-armed adversaries for decades, with frequent terror attacks on the Indian-administered side that it blames on Pakistan. After the recent attack, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to hunt the "terrorists and their backers … to the ends of the earth". Experts on both sides are closely monitoring developments — but how likely is military action? 'It's time to strike' The ABC spoke to experts on both sides and most said a military reaction was very likely. Raj Shukla, a retired Indian Army general officer, told the ABC that the Pahalgam attacks were especially heinous for two reasons. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is under increasing pressure to strike Pakistan. ( AP: Mukhtar Khan ) "It was targeted at a certain community [Hindus], threatening our secular fabric, " he said. " And it was targeted at tourists. " Media reports citing survivors of the attack said the militants identified tourists by religion, shooting only Hindus. India has not yet provided evidence about how Pakistan was involved in the attack. Photo shows An Indian border guard raises his hand in a gesture indicating stop to a car with two women in the back. Following a deadly militant attack, Pakistan and India have hit each other with a range of tough measures including cancelling visas, which has left families separated and wondering when they will be able to reunite. Ambar Shamsi, a prominent Pakistani journalist and commentator, told the ABC that India's allegations were "obviously based on a pattern that Pakistan has demonstrated, which our former prime ministers have spoken about". "The problem is the allegation this time is based on a pattern, not on solid evidence," she said. Yet Ian Hall, a professor of international relations at Griffith University, cast doubt on the credibility of Pakistani denials. "We've got pretty good evidence that elements of the Pakistan establishment and military are close with these groups," he said. "Pakistan's arguments are thin on this, but India does tend to point the finger quite early." Mr Modi has said the Indian armed forces have "complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing" of India's response. For now, analysts have played down the prospect of nuclear escalation. ( Reuters: B Mathur ) "It is a crisis. It could be bloody, and it could be a long haul," Lieutenant General Shukla told the ABC. " The time has come now to strike. This is a seminal moment in our statecraft. " Retired Indian colonel and defence commentator Ajai Shukla said both countries were in a difficult position. "Unless there is something to defuse these tensions, something that provides a face-saving way out, there's very little anyone can do," he told the ABC. India has vowed to hunt the "terrorists and their backers … to the ends of the earth". ( Reuters: Adnan Abidi ) Will this escalate to nuclear war? Professor Hall agreed that military retaliation against Pakistan was likely — and the nature of that response would be unprecedented. "I would anticipate that we would again see something new this time," he said. "It's entirely possible they try to strike at targets in Pakistan using sea-based missiles, because Pakistan's air defences are on high alert and watching very carefully across the line of control [in Kashmir]. "Whatever we see will essentially be a surprise." Loading Twitter content While experts say a conventional military confrontation is likely, a nuclear conflagration is not. India has a no-first-use policy on nuclear weapons, whereas Pakistan has said it will use them if it faces an "existential threat". The two countries possess comparable nuclear arsenals, with India holding 172 nuclear warheads and Pakistan 170. Lieutenant General Shukla said members of the Pakistani establishment were intelligent and would not "go up the nuclear ladder", despite leaving that option open. "Between terror and the nuclear threshold, there's a whole lot of space for conventional operations," he said. India has not provided evidence that Pakistan was involved in the Pahalgam attacks. ( Reuters: Francis Mascarenhas ) Colonel Shukla took a similar view — that cooler heads would prevail. "That the international community would allow that, is highly unlikely," he told the ABC from New Delhi. "China would definitely intervene on Pakistan's side, and the US and Russia would try to play honest broker, and matters would grind to a halt without a conclusive ending," he said. Paramilitary soldiers patrol as they guard at a busy market in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir. ( AP: Mukhtar Khan ) Washington-based South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman told the ABC an all-out war was unlikely, but it couldn't be ruled out. He said the fact both countries have nuclear weapons acted as a deterrent to a full-blown conflict. "The escalation risks are limited," he said. Indian government in a 'difficult position' Still, analysts said Mr Modi was under increasing pressure to strike back hard. "His domestic support base is baying for war and to inflict massive damage, so it'll be tricky to calibrate a response," said Subir Sinha, a researcher at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies " If the action is not massive, he loses standing among his carefully cultivated hardcore base. If it's too massive, then there could be an international reaction. " Activists from Hindu nationalist groups burn an effigy and the Pakistani flag in a protest after the Pahalgam attacks. ( Reuters: Amit Dave ) Shamsi, the Pakistani commentator, said while Mr Modi was under domestic pressure to "go big", that 2019 air strikes on Balakot in Pakistan could provide indication of how India would respond. "The action India took last time seemed mostly symbolic, there was not much damage, so maybe they will do something like that again," she said. Photo shows A man holds a sign at a protest that reads, "Water crimes, war crimes" among a sea of green and white flags Relations between India and Pakistan deteriorate after an attack left 26 people dead, with New Delhi blaming Islamabad for the violence. Indian officials claimed to have killed a large number of terrorists, trainers and commanders affiliated with a Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad. Pakistan claimed there were no casualties at all. However, Professor Hall said the Pahalgam attack "struck at the heart" of what Mr Modi's government was seeking to achieve in Kashmir: normalcy. "Modi has positioned himself as a strongman, that he'll solve these problems, but the attacks keep happening," he said. "So this puts more pressure on the Modi government to do something very decisive." Loading YouTube content
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Indian shrimp industry sails in troubled waters after Trump tariffs
By Sahiba Chawdhary, Rishika Sadam, Yury Garcia and Aditya Kalra GANAPAVARAM, India/GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (Reuters) - Turbulence unleashed by President Donald Trump's tariffs could rock global shipments of shrimp to the United States, with exporters in biggest supplier India saying they endanger 2,000 containers packed with the frozen delicacy. But Ecuador, thousands of kilometres nearer to the United States faces a lower tariff rate and stands to benefit, the exporters say, as shrimp is its most important export after oil. India's shrimp industry is staring at a tariff of 26% under Trump's July plan, which threatens a thriving $7-billion seafood export market heavily reliant on U.S. supermarket chains such as Walmart and Kroger as buyers look to renegotiate rates. Farmers are seeing demand dry up amid the uncertainty as exporters have cut offer prices by a tenth since the tariffs. "We are suffering huge losses," said S.V.L. Pathi Raju, 63, standing by the aquaculture pond where he feeds and grows shrimp in India's southern coastal state of Andhra Pradesh. "We don't know who can resolve our price issues," added Raju, one of several families in the state's remote village of Ganapavaram grappling with dwindling sales to exporters. Many also face high payments for shrimp feed and rentals for the land where the saline ponds have been set up. "I am not sure how I will sustain prices," said another farmer, 60-year-old Uppalapati Nagaraju, adding that he had been entirely unaware of the concept of tariffs. "Had I known, I would not have started my cultivation." In the face of erratic demand from exporters, he now regrets having begun shrimp cultivation just 15 days before the tariff news. Although Trump has delayed the 26% rate until July, even the current rate of 10% has made exporters skittish. The United States and China are among India's major markets for seafood exports that touched $7.3 billion last year, on a volume of 1.8 million metric tons that was an all-time high. Shrimp formed the major component, with the 300,000 farmers of Andhra Pradesh contributing the most to industry supplies, accounting for 92% of India's seafood exports of $2.5 billion last year to its biggest market, the United States. Industry representatives have joined a state government panel weighing the impact of tariffs and looking for ways to boost exports to other countries, such as China. But the exporters fear Ecuador's competitive edge from Trump's planned lower tariff rate of 10% for the South American nation, particularly since it is much closer to the United States, its second biggest market for shrimp. Yet Ecuadorean producers, with $1.55 billion in shipments in 2024, are less optimistic. Although U.S. consumers have fuelled growth in the area of processed shrimp, Ecuador has yet to attain the capacity to replace India's production, said Jose Antonio Camposano, president of its National Chamber of Aquaculture. India "will be obliged to look for other markets where Ecuador is selling, like China and the European Union, so we'll have more pressure in other markets," Camposano added. JOURNEY OF 40 DAYS Reuters visited one Indian factory where shrimp was washed and machine sorted automatically by size before a manual quality check by workers in masks and gloves. Then a conveyor belt whisked the seafood away to be quick-frozen. Thousands of tons of frozen shrimp leave Andhra Pradesh each year on a voyage that usually takes 40 days to arrive at ports in New York, Houston and Miami, en route to restaurants and the shelves of retailers such as Safeway and Costco. The chief of India's seafood exporters group, G. Pawan Kumar, said he was worried about shipping containers already packed with frozen produce at previously agreed rates now set to be renegotiated by U.S. buyers following the tariffs. "Ten percent is high, we exporters operate on a 3% to 4% margin," said Kumar, president of the Seafood Exporters Association of India, which is pushing the government to win the industry exemptions in trade talks with the United States. "It's game over" for the Indian industry if the tariff rate of 26% takes effect in July, said one shrimp exporter, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He was in talks with U.S. clients who did not want to fully absorb the 10% tariff, he said, pointing to the risk of earning no profit if he had to sell 130 shipping containers already packed. In Texas, the seafood section at a Walmart supermarket was piled high with packs of frozen shrimp, among them a "jumbo" variant labelled a product of India and priced at $7.92, under Walmart's own "Great Value" brand. "We have built long-lasting and deep relations with suppliers over the years," said Latriece Watkins, the chief merchandising officer for Walmart in the United States. "We expect that to continue, going forward." Sign in to access your portfolio
