NEW DELHI: Domestic cooking gas will cost Rs 60 more per cylinder from Saturday while commercial LPG price rose by Rs 114.5, amid pressure on global energy markets and rising costs due to the West Asia conflict, reports Atul Mathur.The 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder now costs Rs 913 in the capital.Officials said there will be no revision in the retail price of petrol and diesel, as oil marketing companies (OMCs) have enough cushion to absorb the rise in global crude prices.LPG cylinder price was last hiked by Rs 50 in April 2025The price of a 19-kg commercial cylinder is Rs 1,883. Ujjwala beneficiaries, who receive a subsidy of Rs 300 per cylinder directly in their bank accounts, will now pay Rs 613 per bottle. The price was last increased by Rs 50 last April. Prices of commercial cylinders, used by hotels and restaurants, are revised monthly based on international fuel costs. They were last hiked by Rs 28 per 19-kg cylinder on March 1 and have risen by Rs 302.5 in the last three months from Rs 1,580.5 in Dec 2025. The development comes a day after the government invoked emergency powers under the Emergency Commodities Act of 1955 and directed refiners to increase production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for domestic customers due to supply constraints arising from the ongoing West Asia conflict. India imports over 60% of its LPG requirement and nearly 85-90% of shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently disrupted, curtailing energy flows from the region and triggering a spike in global oil and gas prices. India has over 33.3 crore LPG consumers, including 10.5 crore Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries who get a subsidy of Rs 300 per cylinder. In 2024-25, the country consumed 31.3 million tonne of LPG, of which only 12.8 million tonne were produced domestically.Officials said the govt has always tried to shield households from international volatility. Domestic LPG prices are linked to international benchmarks such as the Saudi Contract Price (CP). Even as the Saudi CP benchmark rose 16% between Nov 2025 and Feb 2026, domestic LPG prices remained unchanged. Despite the latest revision, domestic LPG prices remain below the market-determined price of Rs 987 for a 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi in March 2026, they said.Officials said the three state-owned OMCs — Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum — absorbed losses of around Rs 39,000 crore in 2024-25 to protect domestic LPG consumers. Govt compensated Rs 30,000 crore to them.“The impact of the hike translates to about 80 paise per day for a family of four, or just 20 paise per person, assuming an average consumption of 4-5 cylinders per household annually,” a govt official said, adding that LPG in India remains cheaper than in many countries. A cylinder costs Rs 1,207 in Kathmandu, Rs 1,241 in Sri Lanka and Rs 1,046 in Pakistan, the official said. Retail petrol and diesel prices were last revised in April 2022. OMCs absorb losses when crude prices are high and make profits when rates are low.

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar said Saturday that India’s “unstoppable” rise would be determined by India alone and not by the mistakes of others. The minister was speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, where US deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau had said earlier that Washington wouldn’t allow India to become big or powerful enough to rival the US by making the mistakes that it did with China.Jaishankar also officially confirmed India had approved the docking of an Iranian ship, IRIS LAVAN, in Kochi on humanitarian grounds days before another Iranian warship, DENA, was torpedoed and sunk by a US submarine on March 4. LAVAN had requested urgent docking in Kochi over technical issues it was facing on Feb 28, the day the war in West Asia started, and the request was acceded to by Indian authorities the next day.Jaishankar: India’s rise will be determined by India aloneThe minister said that India’s rise is going to be unstoppable. “When we speak today about the rise of countries, the rise of countries is determined by the countries. The rise of India will be determined by India,” Jaishankar said during an interactive session.“It will be determined by our strength, not by the mistakes of others,” he added, without naming any country.Speaking about the significance of India’s role in the Indian Ocean, the minister also said that those who work with India obviously will get more benefits. “I’m not saying there are no challenges to India’s rise; there are. But the direction of India’s rise is very clear. In a way, it’s unstoppable,” he said.Asked about India’s role in the region as a security provider in light of the DENA sinking, Jaishankar said that it’s important to understand the reality of the Indian Ocean and underlined the presence of other countries including the US and China in the region.“Diego Garcia has been in the Indian Ocean for the last five decades. The fact that there are foreign forces based in Djibouti happened in the early first decade of this century. Hambantota came up during this period,” said the minister.Talking about IRIS LAVAN, Jaishankar said that India had received a request from the ship that it wanted to come in at an Indian port because it said it was having problems. The ship docked in Kochi with 183 crew members who remain in India.“On March 1, we said you can come in and it took them a few days to sail in and then they docked in Kochi…there were a lot of young cadets. When the ships had set out and when they came here, the situation was totally different. They were coming in for a fleet review and then they got in a way caught on the wrong side of events,” said Jaishankar, adding India was guided by humanitarian concerns.“One obviously had a similar situation in Sri Lanka, they took the decision which they did and one of them unfortunately didn’t make it…we approached the situation from the point of view of humanity, other than whatever the legal issues were and I think we did the right thing,” added the minister.

Mumbai: A 42-year-old man with around 32 cases of cheating, forgery, impersonation, and cheque bounce registered against him in Mumbai and Bangaluru was arrested on Friday from Wadala after almost seven months of being on the run. The court, however, released him terming his arrest illegal as Bandra police failed to give grounds of his arrest before apprehending him.Accused Mehul Patel’s modus operandi was to look for divorcees/widows with strong financial backgrounds, lure them with sweet talks, honey trap them under pretext of marriage and dupe them. The latest victim is a pilot who was promised marriage and business opportunities and duped of Rs 50 lakh.

. Two victims who appeared while the accused was brought for remand were left shattered after the court ordered his release, said advocate Akshita Prajapati. “We had taken so much effort to trace him and inform police, leading to his arrest, but a small procedural lapse by police led to his release,” said one of the victims. Patel was arrested in connection with a case registered at Bandra police station following a complaint filed by a single woman. He created a profile on a marriage portal and lured a pilot with proposals. Patel allegedly befriended the complainant through social media in Sep 2023, and introduced himself as a successful businessman. Gaining her trust, he allegedly promised to marry her after her divorce and persuaded her and her father to invest money in his proposed businesses. Police said the complainant initially gave Patel Rs 50 lakh through a cheque in Jan 2024, after he claimed he urgently needed funds for his business. Patel allegedly made the complainant sign documents presented as formalities, which later turned out to be loan agreements. Patel allegedly took another Rs 3 lakh in cash on the pretext of paying a lawyer and school fees. When the complainant later demanded her money back for her father’s medical treatment, Patel allegedly returned only Rs 9 lakh and refused to repay the remaining Rs 44 lakh. “Mehul was earlier in jail for 14 months, moved to Bangaluru after his release and went absconding,” said an official. After inquiries, the complainant also learnt that Patel had allegedly befriended several other women and taken money from them with promises of marriage.

Mumbai: In a detailed order granting bail to a 17-year-old involved in a fatal car accident, the Juvenile Justice Board observed that intention and knowledge of the act, which are ingredients of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, are hardly attracted in this case. The court also noted that he was a first-time offender who remained at the scene and was not under the influence of alcohol and committed a lapse in judgment typical of adolescence rather than a premeditated act.“In this particular case, it seems that the child in conflict with law (CCL) was driving a car and caused accident…He took the vehicle which shows lack of parenting control. But at the same time, an adolescence act. He had not consumed liquor, so it is not that under the influence of alcohol he lost control over the car,” the board said.

The board also noted that while stringent charge can be determined at trial stage, the circumstances show the ingredients of accident. Addressing strong opposition from the victims’ family, the board said, “No doubt the victim suffered incomputable loss. Allegedly, the CCL is responsible for causing such a loss. Everyone has sympathies for them, but according to the law, CCL is to be treated innocent… the principle of best interest is to be considered.” The bench further concluded that “seriousness of the offence is not the ground under Juvenile Justice Act to reject bail application.”The incident occurred when a car driven by the teenager collided with a scooter on Feb 5, 2026, in Vidhyavihar, resulting in the death of Dhrumil Patel and serious injuries to his wife Minal Patel.The prosecution and an intervener had argued against bail, pointing to deletion of social media reels showing the teenager performing vehicle stunts as evidence of tampering. The order clarified that “the act of negligence or recklessness must be at the time of committing the offence and such prior stunt reels could not be the evidence in respect of the particular incident.”The teenager was released on a bond of Rs 25,000 with strict conditions to ensure he remains isolated from the investigation and the locality of the victims. Additionally, the order mandates that he “shall not drive the vehicle till he attains majority.” The mother has been ordered to submit a formal ‘After Care Plan’ and relocate the teenager to Navi Mumbai under the supervision of an NGO and a probation officer.The minor’s father was arrested on Feb 10, 2026, for allegedly allowing his minor son to drive the vehicle without a valid license. He too was granted bail by a sessions court last week.

Thane: As the city geared up for International Women’s Day on March 8, a vibrant mix of cultural events, entrepreneurship initiatives, and public programmes unfolded across Thane, celebrating women’s achievements while also highlighting economic concerns.At the headquarters of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), women employees turned corridors into canvases during a lively Rangoli and Mehndi competition inaugurated by mayor Sharmila Pimpolkar. Officials, including deputy commissioner Anagha Kadam, Dr Mitali Sancheti, chief environment officer Manisha Pradhan, and deputy information and public relations officer Prachi Dingankar, were present.

Participants from various civic departments created vibrant rangoli designs reflecting empowering themes, social awareness, and traditional art. “It was a great opportunity to showcase creativity beyond our daily work,” said a participant.At the Women Economic Development Corporation in Thane, which launched the “Navatejaswini Thane Gramotsav 2026,” the spotlight was on women entrepreneurs. “A platform was given to rural women to showcase their products and skills,” said a district official.Adding to the momentum, the upcoming “District Level and Mini Saras Sales Exhibition 2025–26” will be organised jointly by the District Rural Development Agency, Zilla Parishad Thane, and the Maharashtra State Rural Livelihood Promotion Mission, officials said. “The exhibitions will feature stalls selling handcrafted goods and food items prepared by women’s self-help groups, aimed at boosting rural livelihoods and women’s economic independence,” said a statement issued by the district administration.The Women’s Day celebrations also spilled into public spaces, with engagement activities at Korum Mall and rallies organised by several educational institutes within the city.