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Indian refiners defer maintenance shutdowns to meet local fuel demand: Govt

However, Nayara Energy will shut its 400,000 barrels per day Vadinar refinery for maintenance from April 9, tightening supply of ​liquefied petroleum gas in the country, she said

Sebi wants independent directors to adopt 'constructive approach'

Sebi chairman Tuhim Kanta Pandey on Monday said independent directors discharge a very important responsibility in a company's affairs, and underlined the need for them to adopt a "constructive approach" in discharging their duties. In the comments that came weeks after the resignation of Atanu Chakraborty, an independent director and part-time chairman of HDFC Bank, Pandey said the role of such directors is far more than just compliance, and also encompasses functions like assessing the information and insights from the management, governance, risk management and also financials. "There is a need to discuss on such matters at the board. But a constructive approach (is needed). Shareholders and other stakeholders of a company are influenced by a company's performance and market cap," Pandey told reporters, answering a specific question on investor wealth erosion at HDFC Bank following Chakraborty's resignation. Chakraborty's surprise resignation, citing incongruity in values and ...

TDI Infratech to invest ₹750 crore in 150-acre township project in Ludhiana

Realty firm TDI Infratech on Monday said it will invest Rs 750 crore to develop a 150-acre township in Ludhiana as part of its expansion plan. In the township, the company said it will build luxury group housing, residential plotted developments and low-rise independent floors, targeting both end-users and long-term investors. The project will span over 6 million square feet of developable area. The company, in a statement, said it is "developing about 150 acres of land in Ludhiana for an integrated township with an estimated investment value of Rs 750 crore." Speaking on the expansion, Akshay Taneja, Managing Director, TDI Infratech, said Ludhiana represents a high-potential market with strong economic fundamentals and sustained end-user demand. "Our acquisition of approx 150 acres reflects a long-term commitment to developing a benchmark township that integrates premium housing formats with robust infrastructure and lifestyle amenities. This project also marks an important miles

Iran war: Hormuz traffic hits highest in weeks as more transits are agreed

Iranian vessels continue to dominate traffic, but on Sunday a tanker carrying Iraqi crude made its way through the strait, after Iran said it would grant an exemption to "brotherly Iraq"

Diamond Power Infra bags order worth ₹100 cr from Adani Electricity Mumbai

Diamond Power Infrastructure on Monday said that it has secured an order worth Rs 100.54 crore from Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd for the supply of cables. The order will be executed from April 2026 to February 2027, a regulatory filing stated. The broad consideration, or the size of the order, is Rs 100,54,10,858, including tax, it said. In a separate filing, the company stated that it has received a letter of intent from Adani Power for the supply of various sizes of power and control cables at Raipur Ph-II Thermal Power Projects, Chhattisgarh. The order worth Rs 43,26,10,349, including GST, will be executed by July 31, 2026. In another filing, Diamond Power said that it has received a letter of intent from Adani Green Energy Ltd for the supply of cables worth Rs 19,57,11,313. The order will be executed within 15 days from the issuance of the letter of intent, it stated.

MCD mayoral, panel elections likely to be held in late April: Officials

Elections to the posts of Mayor, deputy Mayor and key civic panels in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi are likely to be held soon, with the process expected to take place in the last week of April, officials said on Monday. According to the officials, polls to fill three vacant seats in the standing committee from the House are also scheduled during the same window. Last year, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stayed away from the mayor contest, allowing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win unopposed. The mayoral post in Delhi follows a rotational system of five one-year terms, where the first year is reserved for women, the second for the general category, the third for the reserved category, and the remaining two again for the general category. A new mayor is elected at the end of each financial year. Last year, the BJP reclaimed control of the MCD after a two-year gap. The previous elections had seen repeated disruptions, with sharp disagreements between AAP and BJP councillors ..

RBI MPC begins policy meet amid West Asia crisis; decision on Wednesday

The Reserve Bank's rate-setting panel on Monday started its three-day brainstorming session on the first bi-monthly monetary policy of the fiscal amid expectations of a status quo on the benchmark lending rate in view of apprehensions of a spike in inflation due to ongoing West Asia crisis. The decision of the six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra, will be announced on Wednesday. The RBI has cut rates by a total of 125 basis points since February 2025, marking its most aggressive easing cycle since 2019. It last reduced the rate by 25 basis points in December and maintained status in its last meeting in February. According to experts, the MPC members will take into account the continuing geopolitical tensions in West Asia, volatility in commodity prices and sharp currency movement hitting the value of the domestic currency. They noted that while retail inflation has moved closer to the RBI's medium-term target of 4 per cent, the

Bharti Airtel deploys over 4,300 new 5G sites in eastern Uttar Pradesh

Bharti Airtel on Monday said it has deployed more than 4,300 new 5G sites across eastern Uttar Pradesh in the last 12 months, boosting its network presence in the region. The large-scale network expansion was undertaken across 48 districts of the UP East circle, covering 34 million people across urban centres, growth towns and remote rural villages. By adding an average of 12 new sites every day, Airtel has accelerated the rollout of high-speed connectivity, ensuring customers experience consistent performance for work, education, entertainment and digital payments, the company said in a statement. Customers in Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Ayodhya, Jhansi and several other districts will directly benefit from this enhanced network footprint. The expanded coverage will enable seamless access to high-speed 5G services, supporting the everyday digital needs of citizens, students, micro entrepreneurs, enterprises and government institutions across urban and rural ...

UAE's Valura.ai makes India debut, onboards 1,000 wealth advisors

Valura.ai, an AI-native global investment platform, on Monday announced the onboarding of over 1,000 wealth advisors across India ahead of its official launch, with a collective AUM pipeline exceeding Rs 3,000 crore over the next 12-18 months. The platform provides access to over one lakh global securities with client assets held in local custody within the IFSC at GIFT City under IFSCA regulation, rather than being routed through offshore brokers. The onboarded network includes independent financial advisors (IFAs), registered investment advisors (RIAs), mutual fund distributors, and chartered accountants. The pre-launch response signals strong demand for a credible global investing infrastructure at a time when India's outbound investment surged 67 per cent to USD 41.6 billion in FY25, and the rupee has depreciated over 8 per cent against the US dollar in the past 12 months, Valura.ai said in a release. "Valura combines AI-driven research and portfolio construction with seamless

Reimagined by crises: Why the United States' Constitution is doomed to fail

A sweeping history traces the US Constitution's roots to medieval England, arguing it was shaped by crisis and expansion rather than pure ideals of liberty

Invest in gold, global funds to cushion portfolio against fall in rupee

Holding gold and global assets can help Indian investors hedge against rupee depreciation, manage inflation risks, and meet dollar-denominated goals such as overseas education and travel

Iraqi ships can transit through Strait of Hormuz: Iranian military

The declaration has the potential to unleash as much as 3 million barrels a day of Iraqi oil cargoes

US deploys bulk of stealthy long-range missiles for Iran conflict

The US has allocated funds to buy more than 6,200 JASSMs since 2009, and production of the baseline JASSM for US supplies ended about 10 years ago

BJP releases fifth list of candidates for Bengal Assembly elections

The BJP on Saturday announced its fifth list of five candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal. According to the list, Saurav Sikdar will contest the Dum Dum Uttar seat, Taraknath Chatterjee will enter the fray from Krishnanagar Uttar, Anupam Biswas from Kalyani, Anindya Raju Banerjee from Madhyamgram, while Rudraprasad Banerjee will contest the Uluberia Purba seat. With this, the BJP has released the names of 292 candidates for the 294 seats in West Bengal, which will go to polls in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The results will be announced on May 4. The ruling Trinamool Congress has already announced candidates for all the 294 seats.

Stranded Indian fishermen in Iran to return home via Armenia: Jaishankar

A group of stranded Indian fishermen in Iran are returning home through Armenia on Saturday, the government said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar thanked his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan for assistance in the return of the Indian nationals. The exact number of Indian nationals in the group and the circumstances that led to them being stranded in Iran are not immediately known. "Thank FM @AraratMirzoyan and the Government of Armenia for facilitating the evacuation of Indian fishermen today from Iran, through Armenia to India," he said on social media. Over 1,150 Indian nationals have left Iran through land border crossings in Armenia and Azerbaijan since the start of the West Asia conflict over a month ago. "A group of Indian fishermen, stranded in Iran, are returning home via Armenia today; their flight is expected to reach India this evening," a government statement said. It said the Ministry of External Affairs continues to closely monitor the evolving situation

CM Saini lays foundation for projects worth ₹120 crore in Faridabad

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday laid the foundation stone for four development projects worth Rs 120.76 crore in Faridabad and said the government is committed to accelerating the city's overall growth. Addressing the 'Dhanyavaad Evam Viksit Faridabad Rally' here, Saini said significant work has been carried out over the past 11.5 years in infrastructure, connectivity, industry, Smart City development, metro expansion and digital services. According to an official statement, the projects include the construction of a rest house at Rs 50.61 crore, a dispensary-cum-chief medical officer office at Rs 41.70 crore, laying of sewerage lines at Rs 25 crore, and a school building in Old Faridabad at Rs 3.45 crore. The chief minister said the government aims to make Faridabad one of the cleanest cities in the country and unveiled a cleanliness mascot and a comic to promote public participation in sanitation drives. He also distributed e-appointment letters to around 1,3

US arrests niece, grand-niece of late Iranian general Qassem Soleimani

The Trump administration has revoked the green cards or US visas of at least four Iranian nationals connected to the current or former Iranian government, including two who have been detained by immigration authorities and are to be deported. The latest actions were taken just this week when Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined they were no longer eligible for either lawful permanent resident status, or to enter the United States. The steps follow a move late last year in which the visas of several diplomats and staffers at Iran's mission to the United Nations were also revoked. In a statement on Saturday, the State Department said the niece and grand-niece of former Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike near the Baghdad airport in 2020, had been arrested late Friday by immigration agents after Rubio revoked their green cards. "Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are now in the custody of US Immigration and Customs ...

US judge halts Trump's push for race data in college admissions process

A federal judge on Friday halted efforts by the Trump administration to collect data that proves higher education institutions aren't considering race in admissions. The ruling from US District Court Judge F Dennis Saylor IV in Boston granting the preliminary injunction follows a lawsuit filed earlier this month by a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general. It will only apply to public universities in plaintiffs The federal judge said the federal government likely has the authority to collect the data, but the demand was rolled out to universities in a "rushed and chaotic" manner. "The 120-day deadline imposed by the President led directly to the failure of NCES (National Centre for Education Statistics) to engage meaningfully with the institutions during the notice-and-comment process to address the multitude of problems presented by the new requirements," Saylor wrote. President Donald Trump ordered the data collection in August after he raised concerns that colleges a

Energy mix needed to meet long-term power demand: Union Power Secretary

Union Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal on Saturday stressed the need for an "energy mix" approach to meet long-term power demand and asked Rajasthan power utilities to accelerate projects based on a combination of renewable and conventional sources. During a review meeting with senior officials of the state's energy department and power companies here, Agarwal said bundling renewable and non-renewable energy sources would help manage the rising electricity demand more efficiently. He noted that decentralised solar projects under the PM-KUSUM Scheme have gained momentum in Rajasthan, but also flagged challenges related to the grid integration of solar power. The Union Power Secretary emphasised the need to strengthen grid stability and to develop battery energy storage systems in a timely manner to ensure an uninterrupted power supply during peak hours, as per an official statement. He also reviewed issues such as daytime electricity supply to the agriculture sector in 24 districts, l

Gujarat HC bars use of AI for decision-making, drafting of judgment

The Gujarat High Court has prohibited the use of Artificial Intelligence for any form of decision-making, judicial reasoning, order drafting or judgment preparation, bail sentencing considerations, or any substantive adjudicatory process. According to the high court's AI policy, unveiled on Saturday at a conference of district judiciary judges in Gujarat, AI should be used to improve the speed and quality of justice delivery, rather than as a replacement for judicial reasoning. As per the policy, these technologies "carry substantial risks - including hallucinations, bias, confidentiality breaches, and erosion of judicial independence - that must be managed with care and institutional discipline". It says that by confining AI to the narrowest conceivable role, purely anonymised, metadata-driven case allocation and research of legal principles, "human supremacy in justice delivery is reaffirmed and limited technological assistance is harnessed to reduce administrative imbalances that