The Congress has come out lashing at the Narendra Modi government after it cut excise duty by ₹10 each on petrol and diesel on Friday but did not pass on the benefit to the final consumer — meaning the rates at fuel stations stay the same.. Congress lashes out at Modi government for claiming that excise duty cuts on petrol, diesel will provide relief to consumers. (PTI). BJP leaders, from home minister Amit Shah to defence minister Rajnath Singh, thanked Prime Minister Modi, meanwhile, for “providing relief to citizens” by reducing the levy.. However, Congress leaders have questioned the government’s claims, asking whether the excise duty cut will actually reduce fuel prices for consumers.. Congress leader Pawan Khera argued that the excise duty cuts are for oil marketing companies and not a relief for the common people, as they will end up paying the same amount even after the reduction. He also said that the government has raised excise duty 12 times in the last 11 and a half years, and cutting it now is no favour to the people of India.. “Look at the audacity of (oil minister) Hardeep Puri. He says they want to provide relief to the people of India so they don’t face the burden, and therefore the Government of India is taking the burden. The Government of India is the government of the people of India. The money belongs to the people of India,” Khera added.. Further, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh accused the BJP of slashing excise duty to “influence” assembly elections in four key states—Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Assam — and the UT of Puducherry in April.. In a post on X, Ramesh pointed out that when global crude oil prices fell over the past 12 years, the government did not reduce consumer fuel prices in India. He asserted that the latest move was made solely due to the impending elections.. “When global crude oil prices fell, as they did on seven different occasions in the past 12 years, consumer prices in India were not reduced. Today’s announcement was because of assembly elections. Wait till April 30,” the post read. Voting for all these elections ends on April 29, though results are scheduled for May 4.. DK Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister of Karnataka, also reiterated his party colleagues’ stance that the government is acting to influence the outcome of the upcoming elections.. “The Government of India is burdening us… they are doing it for the election. The Nayara company has already increased prices. We will highlight this issue to the people of the state,” Shivakumar told reporters, referring to private company Nayara Energy’s price-hike decision.. Asked if the state government would take any measures to bring down prices, he said, “We will talk about it later.”. Also Red: Will petrol, diesel prices go down after excise duty cut by govt amid Iran war? Big question answered. What does the government say on excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel?. The price of petrol a 

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the first phase of the Noida International Airport in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, March 28. After multiple delays, the airport is finally set for inauguration, and to become the second international airport serving the Delhi-NCR region.. A view of New Noida International Airport at Jewar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the airport on March 28, in Greater Noida, India. (HT Photos ). At 12pm on Saturday, PM will inaugurate phase 1 of the much-awaited airport and will address a public gathering on the occassion. The government termed the airport as ‘major international gateway for the National Capital Region (NCR)’ that represents a significant step in strengthening the country’s airport infrastructure and enhancing regional and international connectivity.. The airport will serve as the primary international airport for major Uttar Pradesh cities such as Noida, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Mathura and Agra. It will also act as a gateway to several pilgrimage and tourist destinations.. Also read: Married man staying in live-in relationship not a crime: Allahabad high court. Initial commencement date for the airport was December 1, 2024 which was deferred to April 2025. It was again postponed to September 1,2025 and then finally to early 2026.. Here is all you need to know about the Noida International Airport:. Noida International Airport will be the first airport in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state with a 70 million capacity, complementing the existing 110 million passenger capacity at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in neighbouring Delhi.. The two airports, IGIA and Noida International Airport, will function as an integrated aviation system that will ease congestion, expand passenger capacity, and position Delhi-NCR among leading global aviation hubs, the government said.. Phase I of the airport is developed at a total investment of around Rs.11,200 crore under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. It is among the largest greenfield airport projects in the country, the government said.. While the airport will initially have a passenger handling capacity of 12 million passengers per annum (MPPA), it can handle up to 70 MPPA once complete. As per the master plan submitted by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), initial passenger traffic is forecast at 4 MPPA.. The runway of the airport, that spans over 3,900-metres, can handle wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 777-300ER, along with modern navigation systems, including Instrument Landing System (ILS) and advanced airfield lighting.. The government said the airport also incorporates a cargo ecosystem, including a multi-modal cargo hub featuring an integrated cargo terminal and logistics zones. The cargo facility is designed to handle over 2.5 lakh metric tonnes annually, expandable to around 18 lakh metric tonnes, and includes a dedicated 40 acre Maintenance, Repair and Overh 

 A former US official is not pleased with the prospect of Pakistan becoming a negotiator in mediating peace between Iran and the US amid the ongoing war. Questioning Pakistan’s credibility former US Army combatant, Colonel Douglas Macgregor (retd) said that Israel wouldn’t view the country as neutral in the negotiations and would “laugh off” the prospect of Islamabad as the venue for talks.. US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during a joint press conference at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on February 13, 2025. (Reuters). Instead, the official proposed that India should step in and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should give US President Donald Trump a call.. “If the Israelis heard that they were supposed to show up in Islamabad for a meeting, I think they’d laugh it off. This is ridiculous. Why should we trust anything those people say? That’s not true for India. India is in a very good position that way,” he was quoted as saying in a report by news agency ANI.. ‘More comfortable with India’. Macgregor, who served as the advisor to the US Secretary of Defence in the first Donald Trump Administration, finds India much more well-positioned to offer assistance because PM Modi commands global respect and maintains working relationships with multiple international leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders in Tehran. He also cited PM Modi’s recent official visit to Israel and said: “The Israelis are comfortable with him. We are more comfortable with India.”. Also Read: ‘PM Modi and I, two people that get things done’: Trump’s surprise praise. Pakistan, on the other hand, has its own economic concerns to tend to, the US official said. “For the Pakistanis to offer help is sort of like a man who is in a burning building offering you a spare room in the building. Pakistan’s not going to be viewed in any way, shape or form as neutral by the Israelis,” Macgregor said.. “They’re going to view Pakistan as part of the problem. Why would you go to Pakistan to Islamabad to try and close a deal, if you will, on ending the war? That’s an impossibility. It strikes me as just ludicrous nonsense,” he added.. ‘Pakistan not civilisational, India is’. The geopolitical risk advisor also said that Pakistan cannot be considered a civilisational state, but that is not the case for India. “Pakistan is not what I would call a civilisational state. It’s part of a civilisational complex. But India itself is one of these core civilisational states, which is desperately needed, you know, in the world today,” Macgregor said.. He said that PM Modi should speak to his advisors and call President Trump amid the ongoing West Asia conflict. “I think we would be better off if India exerted a great deal more influence in a place like the Indian Ocean and its surroundings,” Col Macgregor said.. He said that he cannot foresee direct negotiations between Iran and US-Israel and said that if there’s anyone Trum 

 Air-conditioned cabins, business class pushback seats for VIP and VVIPs, vegan leather, hand rests with wooden finish, premium aesthetic look and more – an array of amenities were planned for two boats, worth over ₹3 crore each in Delhi. The purpose? Inspections of river Yamuna by dignitaries.. The VIP boats plan was supposed to be an effort as part of the Delhi’s government’s Yamuna cleaning plans for which the river requires frequent inspections by dignitaries. (HT file photo). Following criticism of these extravagant plans, the tender process for these boats now stands cancelled, with two senior officials involved with the procurement of these boats suspended.. A day after HT reported on the tender in its March 18 report, an enquiry was launched into the tender dated March 12, to understand “the circumstances under which they were issued”. A political controversy erupted over reports of these VIP boats, as the AAP and the Congress lashed out at the BJP-led Delhi government, and labelled the boat plan a “wastage of public funds and case of misplaced priorities.”. Rooftop marine ACs, vegan leather, ‘aesthetic’ look. As reported by HT earlier, the “luxury” boats that the previous tender aimed to procure had many amenities and features, including the capacity to accommodate 16 to 20 persons, “cassette-type rooftop marine air conditioners,” “customised business class push-back VIP seats” and “a dedicated pantry for serving food”, among others.. The customised seats for VIPs were “made of vegan leather with exquisite stitching” and a “premium aesthetic look” with concealed LED lights and ambient lighting, as reported by HT earlier.. Also Read: HT Impact: Inquiry ordered into ₹6.2 crore Yamuna VIP boat plan. To further faciliate the VIP public appearances, each boat was supposed to include an open-rear deck with three-to-four-seater sofas. Among other features were integrated hand rests with wooden finish and bottle holders on the VIP seats.. Here are some more features, according to the tender for the two boats:. Capacity to accommodate 16 to 20 persons.. 300 HP four-stroke engines with tanks capable of holding 700-1,000 litres of fuel.. Dedicated pantry for serving food.. Fresh water storage capacity of 400 litres.. Boat’s specifications were: 13 metres long, 4.3 metres wide and 2.1 metres tall.. “These boats will be equipped with all amenities to facilitate these visits. In emergency, they can also be used for rescue operations,” a senior official of the I&FC department earlier told HT on condition of anonymity.. The VIP boats plan was supposed to be an effort as part of the Delhi’s government’s Yamuna cleaning plans for which the river requires frequent inspections by dignitaries. Presently, the I&FC department hires boats whenever required, including for bathymetric surveys, rescue operations, monsoon monitoring, and inspections during festivals like Chhath, according to the annual report of the department 

 Rumours of a lockdown in India are completely false, said Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday, “clearly stating” that the government was considering no such proposal. Amid an ongoing global crisis, the government urged people to remain calm and said that spreading rumours at a time like this was “irresponsible and harmful”.. The global situation remains in flux, and we are closely monitoring developments across energy, supply chains, and essential commodities on a real-time basis, Puri said. (Pramod Thakur/File Hindustan Times photo). Puri’s clarification to widespread speculation of lockdown came shortly after the government announced a cut in excise duties on petrol and diesel amid global energy supply disruptions due to the ongoing Iran-US war.. He said in a post on X that global situation remains in flux, and “we are closely monitoring developments across energy, supply chains, and essential commodities on a real-time basis.” Under the leadership of PM Modi, all necessary steps are being taken to ensure uninterrupted availability of fuel, energy, and other critical supplies for our citizens, Puri said.. We are fully prepared to handle emerging challenges, he added. “India has consistently demonstrated resilience in the face of global uncertainties, and we will continue to act in a timely, proactive, and coordinated manner,” he said.. Lockdown rumours after PM Modi’s speech. India saw a country-wide lockdown in 2020 after the Covid-19 pandemic was declared. Speculation of a similar lockdown emerged yet again after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent speech in Parliament in which he addressed the ongoing crisis in West Asia due to the ongoing Iran-US war.. Several posts claimed that PM Modi was hinting at the possibility of a lockdown and the buzz triggered searches like “Is lockdown coming back to India” and “India lockdown news”.. However, while the Prime Minister did refer to the Covid-19 pandemic during his speech, it was only to point out to how India tackled a global crisis. He did urge people to remain “prepared and united, just as it had stood together during the COVID-19 pandemic,” but never even mentioned the term “lockdown” during his address.. The confusion seems to have spread due to the ongoing LPG supply concerns and fuel-saving measures in some countries.. On March 24, the day the government’s lockdown announcement completed six years, buzz of another such situation gained steam in India, even though the country faces no major threat from the coronavirus anymore.. Excise duty cut on petrol and diesel. In a big reprieve for Indians amid concerns of a spike in fuel prices, the government on Friday announced that the central excise duty on petrol and diesel for domestic consumption has been reduced by ₹10 per litre each.. Furthermore, export duties of ₹21.5 per litre on diesel and ₹29.5 per litre on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) have been imposed to ensure their adequate availability,