Explore Business Standard
Associate Sponsors
Co-sponsor
BS Reads
Bihar was abuzz with speculation on Wednesday over rumours that JD(U) president and the state's longest-serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may move to the Rajya Sabha, paving the way for the BJP to take the top post while accommodating his son Nishant as deputy CM. However, senior BJP leader and Union minister Giriraj Singh dismissed the rumour as a "Holi prank", asserting "Nitish Kumar ji is the chief minister". The filing of nomination papers for five Rajya Sabha seats in the state will close on Thursday. While the BJP has named its two candidates, including national general secretary Nitin Nabin, and confirmed a second consecutive term for junior NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha, the JD(U) is yet to officially announce its nominees. The rumours of Kumar, who turned 75 earlier this month, being one of the candidates of JD(U), surfaced a day after the party had announced that his son Nishant would be making a belated entry into politics. Earlier, there were speculations that the reclus
Oman Air Cargo, a key cargo carrier in the Middle East, has announced to add network capacity to various destinations, including India, soon. The cargo player has suspended flights to and from Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and Dubai due to ongoing regional airspace closures. "Extra belly hold capacity will also be added to our network over the coming days through new flights between Oman, the United Kingdom, Europe, India, and Asia," the company said in a statement. "Flights across the rest of our network may be delayed as a result of longer flight paths. We are working to ensure that all affected cargo is rescheduled once we have more clarity on airspace restrictions," it added. "All customers are being contacted to confirm the status of their cargo, and we will continue to provide regular operational updates. The safety of our staff remains our priority, and we are working closely with the relevant authorities and airport partners to ensure that all necessary precautions are in
A top Sri Lankan official says 32 people have been rescued from a sinking Iranian naval ship off Sri Lanka's southern coast and have been admitted to a hospital. Dr Anil Jasinghe, a top health ministry official, says one of them is in critical condition, seven are receiving emergency treatment, and others are treated for minor injuries. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told Parliament that Sri Lanka's navy received information that the ship Iris Dena with 180 on board was in distress, and that the island nation sent ships and air force planes on a rescue mission. There were no immediate details as to how the sailors were wounded and how the ship was damaged.
India on Tuesday said its mission in Iran has relocated the majority of Indian students from Tehran in view of the precarious security situation in the Iranian capital city. India's move came as the conflict in West Asia intensified with the US and Israel carrying out fresh attacks on Iran while Tehran continued to pound several Gulf countries in retaliation. "Due to the heightened risk perception in Tehran city, the embassy of India has relocated most Indian students who were in Tehran," the Indian mission said. The students were taken to locations outside of Tehran. The embassy said it has made arrangements for the transportation, food, and accommodation of the students. "Only a small number of students who declined the embassy's offer remain in Tehran," it said. "For other Indian students and Indian nationals who still remain in Iran, the advisory issued earlier remains unchanged: stay where you are, remain indoors as far as possible, and stay away from windows," the embassy .
India and Canada strengthened bilateral cooperation in the agri-food sector with the signing of a five-year Memorandum of Understanding between the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management-Kundli (NIFTEM-K) and the University of Saskatchewan (USask). The agreement was signed by NIFTEM-K Director Harinder Singh Oberoi and USask Vice President (Research) Baljit Singh in the presence of Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and senior officials of India's Ministry of Food Processing Industries, according an official statement. The partnership follows the announcement by the Prime Ministers of both countries of a jointly supported Centre of Excellence in Pulse Protein, to be led by NIFTEM-K and USask. The MoU provides for joint research projects, online teaching and training programmes, faculty and student exchanges, integrated degree programmes in Food Processing Technology, and industry-oriented short courses. It also envisages collaborative funding proposals, ..
The cumulative gross revenue of telecom service providers crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark in the December 2025 quarter to Rs 1.02 lakh crore, according to a report by sector regulator Trai, published on Tuesday. The gross revenue of telecom service providers (TSPs) was Rs 96,390 crore a year ago and Rs 99,828 crore in the September 2025 quarter. The adjusted gross revenue (AGR) grew by 8.13 per cent on a year-over-year basis to Rs 84,270 crore in the December 2025 quarter, from Rs 77,934 crore in the same period a year ago. The adjusted gross revenue (AGR) is derived from the sale of telecom services and government levies, including licence fees and spectrum usage charges. Access service providers, which are players like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, etc., accounted for 84.54 per cent of total AGR in the December 2025 quarter. The AGR data published till the September 2025 quarter by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in the performance indicator repor
Russian President Vladimir Putin is making all possible efforts to de-escalate the crisis in the Gulf and is in close contact with the regional leaders as Iran is retaliating with massive strikes on the US facilities and infrastructure on their territories, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. The US and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran on Saturday, assassinating 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alongside family members, including his daughter and grandchildren. Since then, Iran has targeted multiple US bases in the surrounding Gulf States. "Putin will certainly make every effort to facilitate at least a minor easing of tensions. In this regard, we discussed with virtually all of our interlocutors yesterday," the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "Taking advantage of the dialogue we maintain with the Iranian leadership, (President) Putin will convey his deep concern regarding the strikes on their infrastructure to our colleagues in Iran," he added. According
Qatar, India's largest supplier of imported natural gas, has declared force majeure on deliveries following a halt in production in the wake of an Iranian drone strike -- a disruption that has led to a cut in supplies to Indian industry by up to 40 per cent, sources said. Qatar supplies about 40 per cent of the nearly 27 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) that India imports annually to meet demand across sectors ranging from power generation and fertiliser production to CNG distribution and piped cooking gas networks. Gas importer Petronet LNG Ltd has informed gas marketers of Qatar halting its liquefied natural gas production after Iran continued to strike Gulf countries in retaliation for Israeli and US strikes against it, they said. The attacks have also effectively brought oil and LNG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to a near halt, driving up global energy prices as well as sharply raising war-risk insurance and shipping costs. Iran controls the Strait -- a vi