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India's purchase of Russian crude oil has surged 50 per cent in March as New Delhi tapped alternate sources to make up for the shortfall arising from disruption in the Middle East amid a widening military conflict. India bought about 1.5 million barrels of Russian oil this month, up from 1.04 million bpd in February, ship tracking data showed. India, the world's third-largest crude importer, sources 88 per cent of its oil needs from abroad. It consumes 5.8 million barrels per day, of which 2.5-2.7 million barrels came from Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the UAE via the Strait of Hormuz. The chokepoint also carried 55 per cent of India's cooking gas (LPG) and 30 per cent of liquefied natural gas (LNG), used for power, fertilizers, CNG, and household cooking. The ongoing conflict has largely halted shipments through the strait, forcing India to seek alternative crude sources from Russia. "India was expected to import around 2.6 million barrels per day of crude vi
Amid escalating tensions in West Asia threatening global energy supplies, the government on Wednesday said it is fully prepared to meet any unprecedented surge in coal demand, with overall coal stocks at about 210 million tonne -- adequate for around 88 days. This year, coal production and supply have outpaced consumption, leading to record-high stocks at thermal power plants and coal mines. Supplies to the non-regulated sector are up nearly 14 per cent over the previous year. Pithead coal stocks at mines of Coal India Ltd (CIL) stood at 106.78 million tonne (MT) on April 1, 2025, rising to 121.39 MT as of March 9 this year. Further, there is around 6.07 MT of coal at the mines of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), another 15.12 MT at captive, commercial mines, and about 14 MT in transit, totalling 156.58 MT, the highest ever. This stock is in addition to the coal which is already available at power plants, which is around 54.05 MT as on March 9, 2026, adequate for near
Police have arrested seven men after an encounter and recovered more than 500 LPG cylinders stolen during the Holi festivities in Jhansi, an official said on Wednesday. Following a tip-off, the police arrested Javed, Aamir, Ritik, Sumit, Shubhankar, Abhishek and Surendra, all residents of Jhansi, on early Wednesday near a gas warehouse on the Gwalior Road, Senior Superintendent of Police B B G T S Murthy said. The police also recovered Rs 11.10 lakh in cash and Rs 83,820 believed to be proceeds from the sale of cylinders, from their possession, he said. According to the police, the truck driver, Rajkumar, had parked the vehicle loaded with 524 filled LPG cylinders outside the Bharat Petroleum depot in the Sipri Bazar area on March 2 before leaving for his home to celebrate Holi. When he returned on March 6, the truck was missing, following which the owner, Neeraj Agrawal, lodged a complaint. The truck was later found abandoned in the Baragaon area, with its damaged GPS, police sai
As many as 13 flights from Middle East countries to Hyderabad were cancelled on Tuesday following the ongoing conflict there, airport sources said. The sources further said 12 flights scheduled for leave to various countries in the Middle East were also cancelled. "Thirteen flights from the Middle East to Hyderabad were cancelled today. Similarly, 12 flights that should have left for the Middle East were also cancelled," sources told PTI. Social media is flooded with confused travellers seeking updates on the status of their flights. "I have a flight from Hyderabad to Kuwait and Kuwait to New York. Booking reference: AI6CP4. Can you please confirm if the flights will be running-on 13th March. In the app it's still showing confirmed," Rohit Chalumuri, a travellor posted on 'X'. Over 360 flights at Hyderabad Airport have been cancelled from February 28 till March 10, sources added.