India news: 'No plans to increase fuel prices'

This was a roundup of some of the major headlines out of India on Tuesday, March 10:

We're closing the blog today. Thank you for reading, we'll be back tomorrow again!

India buys 30 million barrels of Russian oil after US waiver

Indian refiners have purchased about 30 million barrels of oil from Russia after US gave a nod to India and meet its oil demand amid a shortage due to the conflict in the Middle East, according to a Bloomberg report.

Fearing US tariffs, India had cut down its oil imports from Russia since last year and had replaced its supply with oil exports from Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Since US relaxed its stance on Russian oil imports for India, Indian refiners including Indian Oil Corp. and Reliance Industries Ltd. have bought all unsold cargoes of Russian crude.

India tightens gas supplies due to Iran war

India ordered tighter controls over natural and cooking gas on Tuesday following import disruptions caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran.

"The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has resulted in the disruption of liquefied natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz," the Ministry of Petroleum said on Tuesday.

The ministry ordered liquified natural gas (LNG) supplies be prioritized for households, transport and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) production in order to ensure "ensure equitable distribution and continued availability for priority sectors."

Other sectors like fertilizer plants and tea production would receive around 70-80% of their gas needs, subject to "operational availability."

Meanwhile, restaurants and hotels have warned of disruptions to their operations.

150,000 kg of Amul produce destroyed after expiry

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) destroyed 150,000 kg of products of India's best known dairy brand, Amul.

The Amul-branded non-dairy products were disposed of after a food safety raid revealed that the product had expired and a firm in the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, was allegedly preparing to sale it by altering the date of the food items.

"Expiry dates were erased and new dates were inscribed for huge profits," the Department of Information & Public Relations, Rajasthan said in a post on X.

The massive quantity of the food items took four days for FSSAI to destroy them.

The products, as reported by the Indian newspaper The Indian Express, included noodles, ketchup, energy drinks etc.

Officials said that some 12,000 cartons were found with expired food items.

Opposition seeks removal of Lok Sabha Speaker

On the second day of the budget session, the opposition moved a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing him of acting with partiality.

Congress MP Dr. Mohammad Jawed submitted the resolution seeking Birla’s removal, alleging that the Speaker has failed to uphold the neutrality required of his office.

Opposition leaders have argued that Birla repeatedly denied them opportunities to speak, made unwarranted remarks about women MPs, and suspended members for the entire session after they raised issues of public importance.

The notice for the resolution was formally admitted in the Lok Sabha after more than the required 50 members stood in support.

During the previous winter session, 100 opposition MPs were suspended from the House within a single week — the largest mass suspension in the history of India’s Parliament.

According to a report by Indian news portal The Quint, suspensions of MPs have risen sharply over the past two decades and have reached their highest levels during Birla’s tenure as Speaker.

LPG shortage hits big cities hard

The supply of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) continues to remain disrupted, severely impacting businesses in urban areas.

Several hotel associations in India have reported shortage of commercial LPG cylinders. The impact of the shortage is being particularly felt in metropolises like Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru.

Hotel associations in Bengaluru and Chennai have warned that the disrupted supply of LPG could result in the closure of their operations.

The president of the India Hotels and Restaurant Association told Indian news portal Livemint that hotels in Mumbai have already been impacted as 20% of hotels have already shut down due to LPG supply issues in the city.

Strait of Hormuz, the world's most critical oil chokepoint

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

He warned that if the supply of gas is not restored, more than 50% of hotels will be forced to shut down in Mumbai.

India has around 332 million active liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumers and a major chunk of LPG imports come via the Strait of Hormuz, the passage through which has been blocked.

Oil prices relax after Trump hints end of war in Iran

Oil prices saw a significant correction after US President Donald Trump said that the war involving US, Israel and Iran could "end soon."

Prices continued to decline in early trading in Asia on Tuesday. Brent crude dropped about 8.5% to around $92.50 a barrel, while US-traded oil fell roughly 9% to about $88.60 a barrel.

The drop in oil prices offer much needed respite after surging past the $100-per-barrel mark on Monday.

Senior government officials, as reported by the Indian media, said there are no plans to increase retail prices of petrol and diesel unless the conflict prolongs in the Middle East.

Last week, government sources had indicated that India has a fuel stock that would last six-eight weeks which will be replenished by increasing supply from other regions.

However, the situation concerning the supply of LPG remains grim as the Indian government has increased the gas cylinder booking period from 21 days to 25 days.

Hello! This is Midhat from New Delhi bringing you news from India today.

The budget session opened yesterday with heated exchanges as the opposition demanded a discussion on rising crude oil prices due to the US-Israel war with Iran.

India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar gave a statement on the issue in parliament but no discussion was held, forcing the opposition to protest outside the parliament.

As of today, the Indian markets which plummeted amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East have relaxed after oil prices fell by around $30 per barrel.

However, the surge in LPG prices have battered businesses in India. Farmers' groups and trade unions have announced a nationwide strike for Tuesday.