Diesel demand drops first time in ten years: Indian Oil Corporation

December 6, 2013

Diesel-demandNew Delhi, Dec 6: Diesel demand has declined for the first time in over a decade as monthly price increase and rise in power generation pulled down demand, Indian Oil chairman R S Butola said on Thursday.

"This year, there has been 0.8-1% de-growth," Butola said at the 3rd World Energy Summit here. Improved power generation reduced use of generator sets, which resulted in lesser demand for diesel.

But, the bigger reason is the move to deregulate diesel rates through small monthly increases. "Small adjustments of 50 paise every month has brought some parity with cost," Butola said. Diesel rates have risen by a cumulative Rs 6.62 per litre since January, which has also lead to a drop in demand for diesel cars.

Diesel is India's most-consumed fuel, accounting for close to 45% of the demand of total petroleum products. Since 2003-2004, the demand for the main transportation fuel had been growing at a healthy rate of 6-8%.

Butola said petrol consumption had dropped when the fuel was deregulated in June 2010 but diesel continued to see rise in consumption as it was heavily subsidized, thereby discouraging people to use it optimally. Now petrol is at par with its cost of production but the current selling price of diesel is still Rs 9.99 a litre less than cost. "We believe that market forces need to be allowed to have proper inter-play (on demand and consumption)," he said.

While diesel sales dropped in the first seven months of the fiscal, petrol consumption rose by 10% to 9.1 million tonnes. But, overall fuel demand during the April-October period was largely unchanged at 90.6 million tonnes against 90.2 million tonnes in the same period last year.

Besides losing Rs 9.99 a litre on diesel, state-run fuel retailers are losing Rs 36.2 per litre on kerosene sold through ration shops and Rs 542.5 per cylinder of cooking gas.

The slowdown in economic growth could also be a factor in dampening demand. Growth slowed to a decade low of 5% in 2012-13 and is expected to be in the same territory in the current fiscal year as well. Industrial growth has also remained sluggish.

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News Network
January 23,2020

Patna, Jan 23: "They should go wherever they want," Bihar Chief Minister and JDU supremo Nitish Kumar said on Thursday when asked of Prashant Kishor and Pavan Verma's repeated questions about the party's stand's on the newly enacted Citizenship Act.

"It is their personal decision. They should go wherever they want. We don't have an objection. Don't look at JDU in the context of statements by some people. JDU works with determination. We have a clear stand and don't have any confusion," the Chief Minister told reporters here.

"If they have something to tell, they should come and discuss it within the party. They should go wherever they want. They have my good wishes," he said.

JDU spokesperson and national general secretary Pavan Verma has questioned his party's alliance with the BJP in Delhi Assembly polls while Kishor has more than once made his differences with the party known on the issue of the amended Citizenship Act, and National Register of Citizens.

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Agencies
February 23,2020

Rajghat, Feb 23: The maternal uncle of Dr Kafeel Khan, who was recently arrested for allegedly making inflammatory statements during anti-CAA protests, was shot dead in front of his house at Bankatichak in Rajghat area, police said on Sunday.

Dr Nusratullah Warsi aka Dada (55), a property dealer, was shot dead on Saturday night at about 10:45 pm and an FIR against two people was filed in this connection on a written complaint of his family members.

According to police, it appears to be a case of murder due to monetary and property dispute and they are searching for both the accused.

Dr Kafeel Khan, suspended doctor of Gorakhpur BRD Medical College, was last month arrested under charges of giving a provocative speech during a protest against the CAA and NRC at Aligarh Muslim University and was later charged with the National Security Act.

Warsi on Saturday evening had gone to his lawyer Siraj Tariq's house, a few metres away from his own house, and was returning home on foot when a man shot him in his head, killing him on the spot.

"On the written complaint of family members, case of murder against one Imammuddin and Anil Sonkar has been registered and police has initiated probe and is searching for both the accused. Police met the women in their house and is interrogating them," Circle Officer VP Singh said.

Prima facie it appears to be a case of property and money dispute, he said, adding, three teams have been constituted to investigate the case and soon the accused will be caught.

Dr Kafeel Khan had last month raised apprehension in a Mumbai court about being killed in an "encounter" by the Uttar Pradesh police after claiming that he had been "falsely" implicated in the case by them.

The paediatrician had come to the limelight in 2017 when a controversy broke out after the death of over 60 children in less than a week at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, where he was posted.

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News Network
March 21,2020

New Delhi, Mar 21: A couple was deboarded from a Delhi-bound Rajdhani train on Saturday after co-passengers observed a home quarantine seal on the husband's hand, the Railways said Saturday.

Officials said the Delhi-based couple boarded the Bangalore City-New Delhi Rajdhani at Secunderabad on Saturday morning.

When the train reached Kazipet in Telangana at 9:45 am, a co-passenger noticed the quarantine mark authorities are putting on suspected coronavirus cases —on the husband's hand when he was washing his hands. Other co-passengers then informed the TTE onboard.

The train was briefly detained and the couple was taken to a hospital. The coach was completely sanitised in Kazipet and was locked, officials said.

The air conditioning was also switched off.

The train left for its destination at 11.30 am.

People fleeing quarantine has been a common problem reported from different parts of the country.

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