Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a high-level review on Sunday at a time when global oil markets remain volatile, with Brent crude trading at around $109 a barrel after touching an intraday high of $119 amid West Asia conflict.. PM Narendra Modi chairs a high-level meeting to review the evolving West Asia situation. (HT Photo). The meeting came even as an LPG tanker from the United States docked along India’s western coast, offering some supply relief amid mounting concerns over energy security. Track US-Israel and Iran war live updates. Tensions in West Asia, however, showed no signs of easing. US President Donald Trump warned that Washington could target Iranian power infrastructure if Tehran does not lift its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz – a critical global oil transit route – within 48 hours.. The Iranians, on their side, are also belligerent and have attacked a nuclear facility in central Israel in response to Tel Aviv attack on the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran. On top of all this, the Houthi rebels have also threatened to join in the war with Iran with a threat to shipping in the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.. The Prime Minister, while chairing the meeting, focused on keeping essential sectors running smoothly.. HT has learnt that the discussions centred on petroleum, crude oil, gas, power and fertiliser supplies, with an emphasis on ensuring there are no disruptions on the ground.. PM Narendra Modi chairs high-level meent with focus on ensuring uninterrupted supply, stable logistics and efficient distribution across the country. (HT photo). Modi also reviewed logistics and distribution networks in detail, stressing the need to maintain steady supplies across the country and prevent any bottlenecks.. Since the onset of the war, retail petrol and diesel prices for regular consumers have largely remained unchanged, however there has been a notable uptick in other fuel categories, marking the first significant revision since March 2024.. Industrial diesel, in particular, has seen a sharp rise of around 25%, reflecting the pressure from global price movements amid the ongoing conflict.. Officials indicated that the government is closely monitoring the situation, with a clear focus on safeguarding domestic supply. While addressing a press conference earlier this week, Sujata Sharma, a joint secretary in the petroleum ministry, said that New Delhi may revisit its fuel export plans if required to ensure adequate availability in the local market.. “Domestic consumption is priority, and the government will review (the export plan),” she added. Notably, India is one of the world’s largest refining hubs. 

 New Delhi: As the Ministry of Education prepares to strengthen the open schooling framework through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), as part of a nationwide effort to bring out-of-school children back into the education system, concerns have emerged over the institution’s finances and functioning.. The findings come against the backdrop of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which aims for 100% enrolment from pre-school to secondary level by 2030. (Hindustan Times). A recent working paper by the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), a finance ministry think tank, highlights that NIOS has not received government budget support since 2012–13. Instead, it operates largely as a self-financing body, relying heavily on student fees, the paper notes.. It further mentions that while NIOS has accumulated significant surpluses, its spending pattern raises questions. “In 2021–22, the institute generated about ₹188 crore in academic receipts and recorded a surplus of over ₹127 crore, with total reserves nearing ₹800 crore. However, expenditure on staff ( ₹65.8 crore) was more than double the spending on student academic needs ( ₹30.8 crore),” the report says.. Experts argue that the concern is not the surplus itself, but how it is used, especially when student outcomes remain modest. In 2024, pass rates stood at 60.14% for Class 10 and 62.39% for Class 12, among the lowest across school boards, according to the government data.. “NIOS operates with a financial efficiency that mirrors a profit-making corporation rather than a non-profit educational board,” the paper published on February 18 states.. Titled “Strengthening State Open Schools: A Need for a Dedicated and Focused Policy for School Dropouts”, the study was authored by HK Amar Nath of NIPFP and Nikhil Rahangdale of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. It forms part of a broader study commissioned by Ramon Magsaysay Award winner NGO ‘Educate Girls’.. The findings come against the backdrop of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which aims for 100% enrolment from pre-school to secondary level by 2030. However, data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023–24 shows nearly two crore children aged 14–18 remain out of school, while over 50 lakh students fail board exams annually.. The education ministry has described open schooling as a “practical alternative” for children unable to attend regular schools due to economic or social constraints.. Yet, the NIPFP report points to deeper structural challenges. Only 9.7% of India’s 1.47 million schools offer secondary-level education, creating what researchers call a “structural break” where student enrolment drops sharply after upper primary.. NIOS currently serves around 27 lakh learners and has recorded over 41 lakh enrolments in the past five years through more than 10,800 study and exam centres. However, staffing shortages persist, with 139 vacancies out 

 The suicide of a senior government officer in Punjab has sent shockwaves across the state. On Friday, Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, district manager of the Punjab Warehousing Corporation (PWC), died by suicide after consuming a poisonous substance, but not before recording a video in which he blamed Punjab minister Laljit Singh Bhullar.. Grieving family members of Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PSWC) district manager, Gagandeep Singh Randhawa in, Amritsar on Saturday. (Sameer Sehgal/HT) (HT_PRINT). “Kha layi ‘celphos’ tuhade yaar ne, minister Laljit Bhullar de dar ton. Hun nahi main bachda,” (Your friend has consumed Celphos out of fear of minister Laljit Bhullar. I will not survive now), Randhawa said in the clip, according to a PTI report.. A day later, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann directed the chief secretary to conduct an impartial probe into the matter and asked the minister to step down to ensure a fair investigation.. An FIR has been lodged against Bhullar, his father Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, and his personal assistant Dilbagh Singh under Sections 108 (abetment of suicide), 351(3) (criminal intimidation), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.. What are the claims made by his wife in the FIR?. Randhawa’s wife, Upinder Kaur, has made serious allegations in the FIR, stating that her husband was constantly pressured by Bhullar to withdraw a tender.. In her complaint, Kaur alleged that Bhullar initially pressured Randhawa to allot a warehouse tender to his father, Sukhdev Singh Bhullar, threatening him with violent consequences if he refused.. Also Read: Punjab minister Laljit Bhullar resigns after warehousing DM ends life. Kaur further stated that her husband told her he was repeatedly pressured to award the tender to Bhullar’s father, even though doing so would have violated the rules. She claimed that he would often break down and felt helpless due to the threats.. When the tender was eventually awarded to another party, Bhullar allegedly increased the pressure on Randhawa.. According to Kaur, this was followed by further threats over WhatsApp calls, with Bhullar demanding that Randhawa cancel the tender and reissue it in his favour.. Kaur also alleged that on March 13, Bhullar summoned Randhawa to his residence in Patti, where he humiliated and assaulted him. She claimed that Bhullar held him at gunpoint and forced him to admit that he had accepted a bribe of ₹10 lakh to award the tender to another party.. A few days later, Randhawa consumed poison and died.. Opposition slams AAP government in Punjab over the suicide. Opposition parties have slammed Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, accusing it of creating a reckless law-and-order situation in the state where even government officers are no longer safe.. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the AAP government is indulging in crime and corruption in Punjab, adding that both Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann are busy protecti 

 Jammu: The pilgrimage to the Mata Vaishno Devi temple atop Trikuta hills in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district resumed on Sunday after its temporary suspension due to heavy rush, officials said.. Illuminated view of the main gate of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Temple on the first day of Chaitra Navratri, in Reasi on Thursday. (ANI Video Photo) (ANI Video Grab). Authorities on Saturday suspended the pilgrimage to the cave shrine due to a heavy rush at the Bhawan, as 39,000 devotees paid obeisance at the temple till late in the afternoon.. Chaitra Navratri started on March 19 and will end on March 27.. “The yatra has been resumed after temporary suspension due to a heavy rush at the Bhawan,” a shrine board official said. He said that registration for the yatra resumed this morning in Katra.. Nearly one lakh devotees have paid obeisance so far, with authorities ensuring smooth and safe arrangements for the pilgrimage.. On Saturday, more than 39,000 pilgrims visited the holy town of Katra and paid obeisance at the Mata Vaishno Devi temple, officials said.. Officials said that more than 5,000 more pilgrims were on their way to the cave shrine after registration. There was a huge rush of pilgrims at the registration centre.. Hundreds of devotees chanting ‘Jai Mata Di’ were trekking along the serpentine pathway to the Mata Vaishno Devi temple atop Trikuta hills on the third day of Navratri to pay obeisance and seek the deity’s blessings.. Decorated with a variety of fresh flowers filling the air with fragrance and illuminated with multi-coloured lights to provide a spectacular view to devotees, the cave shrine is witnessing a huge rush of pilgrims.. Authorities have put in place multi-tier security arrangements at the Katra base camp and en route to the shrine to ensure a safe and secure yatra.. The sacred Shat Chandi Maha Yagya commenced at the revered Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine on Thursday, heralding the auspicious beginning of Chaitra Navratri 2026. 

 Nearly two years before Ranya Rao was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at the Bengaluru airport for smuggling gold, the Kannada actor and her associate were cheated of ₹2 crore by a Ugandan gold agent, officials have revealed.. Kannada actress Ranya Rao was arrested from the Kempagowda International Airport.. In March 2025, Rao was arrested from the Bengaluru airport after she returned from Dubai allegedly with a consignment of 14-kg of gold worth ₹12.56 crore concealed on her body.. In a chargesheet filed last month, DRI officials said Rao and her associates smuggled 127.28 kg of gold valued at ₹102.55 crore into India between March 2024 and March 2025. The gold was later sold in the domestic market through a network of handlers and jewellers.. Also Read: ED files charge sheet against Ranya Rao, 2 others; says 127 kg gold worth ₹102 crore smuggled to India. Officials have now revealed that Rao and her associate, Tarun Konduru Raju, tried sourcing gold from suppliers, based in African nations, including Uganda, before resorting to smuggling the prized metal from Dubai.. A ‘Ugandan agent’ and ₹2 crore fraud. An official aware of the probe told HT that Rao and Raju tried to source gold from suppliers in African nations, including Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.. The duo also opened a company called Vira Diamonds Trading LLC in Dubai in 2023 to facilitate the transfer. Dubai was intended to be the transit and trading hub.. “They were advised that African mines were the primary source of gold for Dubai’s markets so they attempted to directly procure it from Africa,” the official said, citing the chargesheet.. Rao and her associate got in touch with a Uganda-based agent, Ben, and the two sides agreed to an initial 5 kg trial, which was to be followed by a 50 kg contract.. The duo also paid ₹25,000 (around 23.5 lakh) upfront, followed by two separate payments of around $10,000 each ( ₹9.39 lakh). However, the Uganda-based agent didn’t deliver any gold.. On January 1, 2024, Raju travelled to Uganda city Kampala to meet the agent. He was shown the gold and asked for an additional payment of ₹1.7 crore to release the consignment.. “Rao was coordinating from Dubai to arrange cash and hand it over to Ben’s associate in Dubai. Raju eventually discovered that it was a scam, resulting in a loss exceeding ₹2 crore,” the official said.. Also Read: ‘Missing simple Bengaluru life’: Resident regrets moving to Bellandur from Basavanagudi. Enforcement Directorate (ED) also claimed to have recovered the WhatsApp chats that showed the ‘proof’ of payments. However, there wasn’t enough “material evidence to substantiate the alleged scam”, a second official said.. Three strategies to smuggle gold. After getting duped of ₹2 crore, Rao and Raju resorted to a similar venture in Kenya, but that too was aborted due to similar fraud, a third official said.. The two even sought help from Kenyan officials on the fraud, but th