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Petrol, diesel prices rise again amid volatility in oil market

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petrol

Petrol and diesel prices rose simultaneously for the fourth day running on Sunday amid volatility in global oil prices with benchmark crude remaining at a high level of over $ 79 a barrel.

Accordingly, diesel price increased by 30 paise per litre in the national capital to Rs 90.77 per litre on Sunday while petrol price increased by 25 paise per litre to Rs 102.39 a litre, according to Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest fuel retailer.

Diesel price has now increased on eight days in the last 10 days taking up its retail price by Rs 2.15 per litre in Delhi. Diesel price was raised on Friday by 20 paise per litre and again by 25 paise per litre each on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and by 30 paise per litre on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Petrol prices had maintained stability since September 5, but the oil companies finally raised the pump prices this week given a spurt in the product prices lately. Petrol price has also risen on five of the previous six days taking up its primo price by Rs 1.20 per litre.

The OMCs had preferred to maintain their watch prices on the global oil situation before making any revision in prices. This is the reason why petrol prices were not revised for the last three weeks. But extreme volatility in the global oil price movement has now pushed OMCs to effect the increase.

The wait and watch plan of OMCs had come to the relief of consumers earlier as no revision came during a period when crude prices were on the rise over a shortfall in US production and inventories and a pick up in demand. This would have necessitated about Rs 1 increase in price of petrol and diesel.

In Mumbai, the petrol price increased by 25 paise per litre to over Rs 108.50 per litre while diesel rates increased close to Rs 98.50 a litre.

Across the country as well petrol and diesel prices increased between 20-30 paise per litre, but their retail rates varied depending on the level of local taxes in the state.

Fuel prices in the country have been hovering at record levels on account of 41 increases in its retail rates since April this year. It fell on a few occasions but largely remained stable.

After rising over a three year high level of $80 a barrel earlier this week, the global benchmark has now come down to $78 a barrel and now again up to $ 79 a litre. Oil rates are up 2 per cent for the week and this is the fifth weekly gain. Since September 5, when both petrol and diesel prices were revised, the price of petrol and diesel in the international market is higher by around $6-7 per barrel as compared to average prices during August.

Under the pricing formula adopted by oil companies, rates of petrol and diesel are to be reviewed and revised by them on a daily basis. The new prices become effective from morning at 6 a.m.

The daily review and revision of prices is based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the international market in the preceding 15-days, and foreign exchange rates.

But, the fluctuations in global oil prices have prevented OMCs to follow this formula in totality and revisions are now being made with longer gaps. This has also prevented companies from increasing fuel prices whenever there is a mismatch between globally arrived and pump price of fuel.

International

Man shot in targeted attack in Australian state of Queensland

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Sydney, June 6: A man has been hospitalised with serious injuries following a targeted shooting in the Australian state of Queensland.

The Queensland Police Service said on Friday that emergency services were deployed to a house in Parkwood, 65 kilometres southeast of Brisbane, around 7:50 p.m. on Thursday in response to reports that a man had sustained gunshot wounds to his leg and other injuries to his hand.

According to media, the 21-year-old man was found at the scene with serious injuries and was taken to hospital in a stable condition.

A police statement said that initial inquiries indicated that the incident was a targeted shooting and that there was no ongoing threat to the public.

An investigation into the attack was ongoing and police commenced a search for the perpetrator.

In a separate incident, Australian police are investigating a fatal stabbing in a remote outback mining town west of Sydney.

Emergency services were called to conduct a welfare check at a home in Broken Hill, over 900 kilometers from Sydney in the far west outback of the state of New South Wales (NSW), just after 11:50 p.m. on Thursday.

Police officers arrived at the scene where they found a man, believed to be aged in his 40s, with stab wounds to his neck.

He was treated by ambulance paramedics but could not be revived and was declared deceased.

Local police established a crime scene at the house and have commenced an investigation into the man’s death with assistance from the NSW Homicide Squad.

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National

Kerala Guv upset after Minister skips event displaying Bharat Mata’s portrait

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Thiruvananthapuram, June 6: Reacting to the controversy after the Kerala Agriculture Minister P. Prasad boycotted the state-level celebrations on the World Environment Day at the Raj Bhavan — the official residence of the state Governor, Rajendra V. Arlekar, the latter expressed his displeasure.

Speaking at the event as the state Governor, Arlekar expressed his displeasure by saying that the Agriculture Minister should also have been present here.

“The State Education Minister informed that he could not come. Then the Agriculture Minister also did not come. I do not know what better issues we have, the Agriculture Minister wanted to remove the portrait of Bharat Mata from the dais,” said Governor Arlekar.

“I told them that we will do everything else, but we cannot remove Bharat Mata’s portrait as this is what we are living for and probably that’s the reason why they did not come,” he added.

“What sort of thinking we have in our minds,” lamented Governor Arlekar.

The reason was that the State Agriculture Minister did not want the portrait of the Bharat Mata, commonly used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to be placed on the central dais.

Minister Prasad told the media that the programme was decided after speaking to the Governor.

“Last night, a change was made, and this was not acceptable to the state government. The picture was not the regular Bharat Mata picture which we use, but at the Raj Bhavan, it was the one that is used by the RSS. It is not right to keep such pictures, and the Governor said it cannot be changed, and hence the state government decided not to take part in the event at the Raj Bhavan,” he said.

“This is an unconstitutional thing. It is only after this Governor took over that there have been such changes. We have the highest regard and respect towards the normal Bharat Mata picture, but not the one used by the RSS,” Prasad added.

Incidentally, on Tuesday evening, officials from the concerned Minister’s office were at the Raj Bhavan for an inspection of the Central Hall, where the picture of Bharat Mata was kept.

Later, the officials who visited the Raj Bhavan told the Minister about the picture. Following this, the Minister spoke to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and later, the decision was taken that Minister Prasad would not attend the meeting.

The Minister called the Raj Bhavan and told that he would not be able to attend the event if the picture of Bharat Mata used by the RSS was not removed.

However, Governor Arlekar stood his ground and said that the picture of Bharat Mata would not be removed.

Later, the state government decided to hold a function in the Durbar Hall of the State Secretariat to mark the World Environment Day celebrations.

The Kerala Chief Secretary, A. Jayathilak, was directed to organise a separate event.

Prior to this event, on Thursday, there were two different state-level functions — one chaired by Governor Arlekar at the Raj Bhavan and the other in the Durbar Hall with Minister Prasad presiding over.

Prasad, a first-time legislator, is a member of the Commmunist Party Of India (CPI).

Former Kerala Minister and State CPI Secretary, Binoy Viswam, said this was unacceptable, as the picture of Bharat Mata used by the RSS should not be displayed at a state function.

Incidentally, last month, Governor Arlekar had invited prominent RSS ideologue S. Gurumurthy for a talk after the successful Operation Sindoor, and Chief Minister Vijayan had said that it was wrong to convert the Raj Bhavan into a place for the RSS.

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Business

EAM Jaishankar lays out three objectives to bolster India-Central Asia trade ties

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New Delhi, June 6: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar has urged the India-Central Asia Business Council to recommend a roadmap for further deepening of India-Central Asia ties in trade, economic and investment.

Addressing the Business Council meeting in the national capital, EAM Jaishankar highlighted three broad objectives for strengthening the economic partnership — deepen existing cooperation, diversify the trade basket and introduce sustainability and predictability in economic interactions.

“One, is to deepen the existing cooperation both in terms of volume and in terms of quality. There is already I think a recognition in each others countries and each others economies of the players and of the products. But, we must build further on that foundation and a very good example here is actually the pharmaceutical sector,” he told the gathering.

“Two, we need to diversify our trade baskets so that all of us have more options and we have more competition and in a way we are looking for new opportunities. I would like our friends from central Asian economies to appreciate that an economy today which is in excess of $4 trillion, which is growing at 6-8 per cent annually, it will create new demands for products, for services and even I would say in a way new demands out of more prosperous lifestyles,” EAM Jaishankar emphasised.

He also stressed on the need to introduce greater sustainability and more predictability in economic interactions.

“That means more long-term contracts and arrangements, cross investments, joint ventures and certainly sectors like energy whether we are talking uranium, whether we are talking crude oil even potentially gas, whether we are looking at mining, If you are talking about coal or if you are discussing fertilizers, I think these are all relevant examples to reach really long term understatings between us,” the foreign minister highlighted.

India’s trade and economic ties with Central Asia over the last decade have shown a very strong positive trend. Mutual trade was less than $500 million a decade ago in 2014.

Today, “what we have collectively is actually a trade volume which is almost touching $2 billion. However, this figure does not reflect the full potential. The need to address this is today even more urgent because of the uncertainties of the international economy and this requires governments and businesses to work together in tandem, which is why all of us are here in this room,” EAM Jaishankar noted.

He also laid out five solutions to further bolster the India-Central Asia economic ties: Digital Economy and Innovation, Financial Services, Healthcare and Pharma, improving connectivity and streamlining Transit Procedures.

“In addition to all of this, I think you would agree that tourism, education, films, and cultural exchanges, these are all important, they should be tapped for their economic and business potential,” he mentioned.

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