Shambhulal Regar, who lynched Muslim man, all set to contest 2019 polls

New Delhi, Feb 26: Calling the recent violence in Delhi as 'planned conspiracy', Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday demanded Union Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation over the clashes that left 20 people dead in two days.

"CWC (Congress Working Committee) believes Home Minister and Centre is responsible. The Home Minister should tender his resignation with immediate effect," the Congress party's interim chief told reporters here.

Violent clashes erupted between pro and anti-CAA groups in parts of northeast Delhi on Monday, leading to widespread vandalism and arson for over two days.

While many blamed police for inaction to control the mobs, Union Home Minister Amit Shah met the top brass of Delhi Police, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, LG Anil Baijal and directed the officials to control the situation.

Gandhi blamed both the Central and the Delhi governments, saying the administration did not take adequate steps on time to curb violence in the national capital.

"Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Center is equally responsible for not activating the administration to reach out to the people to maintain peace and harmony," Sonia added.

The death toll in the violence rose to 20 on Wednesday, according to GTB hospital authorities.

Government sources told ANI that the National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval has been given the charge of bringing normalcy in the capital.

Sources also said that Doval will brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Cabinet about the prevailing situation.

The NSA last night visited Jaffrabad, Seelampur and other parts of northeast Delhi where he held talks with leaders of different communities.

Without naming any leader, the Congress interim president also targeted the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party for making inflammatory statements saying that "there is a conspiracy behind the violence, country also saw this during Delhi elections. Many BJP leaders made inciting comments creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred."

Mumbai, Jan 10: India’s oil demand growth is set to overtake China by mid-2020s, priming the country for more refinery investment but making it more vulnerable to supply disruption in the Middle East, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday.

India’s oil demand is expected to reach 6 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2024 from 4.4 million bpd in 2017, but its domestic production is expected to rise only marginally, making the country more reliant on crude imports and more vulnerable to supply disruption in the Middle East, the agency said.

China’s demand growth is likely to be slightly lower than that of India by the mid-2020s, as per IEA’s China estimates given in November, but the gap would slowly become bigger thereafter.

“Indian economy is and will become even more exposed to risks of supply disruptions, geopolitical uncertainties and the volatility of oil prices,” the IEA said in a report on India’s energy policies.

Brent crude prices topped USD 70 a barrel on rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, putting pressure on emerging markets such as India. Like the rest of Asia, India is highly dependent on Middle East oil supplies with Iraq being its largest crude supplier.

India, which ranks No 3 in terms of global oil consumption after China and the United States, ships in over 80 per cent of its oil needs, of which 65 per cent is from the Middle East through the Strait of Hormuz, the IEA said.

The IEA, which coordinates release of strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) among developed countries in times of emergency, said it is important for India to expand its reserves.

REFINERY INVESTMENTS

India is the world’s fourth largest oil refiner and a net exporter of refined fuel, mainly gasoline and diesel.

India has drawn plans to lift its refining capacity to about 8 million bpd by 2025 from the current about 5 million bpd.

The IEA, however, forecasts India’s refining capacity to rise to 5.7 million bpd by 2024.

This would make “India a very attractive market for refinery investment,” IEA said.

Drawn to India’s higher fuel demand potential, global oil majors like Saudi Aramco, BP, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co and Total are looking at investing in India’s oil sector.

Saudi Aramco and ADNOC aim to own a 50 per cent stake in a planned 1.2-million bpd refinery in western Maharashtra state, for which land is yet to be acquired.

New Delhi, Apr 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a video conference with chief ministers to discuss the situation arising due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country, which has been under a lockdown since March 25 to contain the spread of the virus, amid indications that the interaction would also focus on a graded exit from the ongoing lockdown.

This is Modi's fourth such interaction with state chief ministers since March 22 when he discussed coronavirus situation and steps taken both by the Centre and the states to contain the pandemic.

Two days later on March 24, Modi announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown. He extended the lockdown by 19 days on April 14, the last day of the initial three week shutdown, till May 3.

Sources in the government had on Sunday indicated that besides discussing the way forward in dealing with the pandemic, the prime ministers and chief ministers could also focus on a "graded" exit from the lockdown.

In a tweet on Monday, the Prime Minister's Office said Modi and the chief ministers will be discussing aspects relating to the COVID-19 situation.

In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio address on Sunday, the prime minister said the country is in the middle of a 'yudh' (war) and asserted that people have to continue being careful and take precautions.

His note of caution came amidst gradual exemptions being granted by the Centre and states to revive economic activities.

"I urge you not to get overconfident. You should in your over-enthusiasm not think that if the coronavirus has not yet reached your city, village, street or office, it is not going to reach now. Never make such a mistake. The experience of the world tells us a lot in this regard," Modi said while referring to a popular Hindi idiom 'Sawdhani hati, durghatna ghati' (disaster strikes when you lower your concentration).

The Centre and the state governments have been giving gradual exemptions to boost economic activities as also to provide relief to people as some states want further relaxation in areas which have seen few or no coronavirus cases.