NEW DELHI: The price situation in the country remains comfortable and it is unlikely to see any significant surge against the backdrop of the West Asia conflict, top officials said, asserting that the Centre is keeping a close watch and working to ensure steady supplies.Key ministries are tracking the situation daily and the Prime minister’s office (PMO) is keeping a close tab and has mounted efforts at the “highest levels” with several countries to secure supplies ranging from energy to fertilisers, officials said. Review meetings are being held on a regular basis at the PMO to identify any stress points and take immediate remedial action.The assessment is that the impact on inflation due to surge in global crude oil prices for now would be within the “tolerable limits” as pump prices for diesel and petrol have not been raised. The price of Brent crude crossed the $92 a barrel mark on Friday and expectations are that it could soar higher, depending on the extent and duration of the conflict but measures announced by the US on Russian oil could help ease supplies to some extent.A latest finance ministry report said that scenario building exercises on the macroeconomic impact of higher oil prices suggest that crude oil prices must remain above $100 per barrel for a sustained period for macroeconomic aggregates to reflect the strain.

Officials said the Centre has also taken note of comments that the conflict could be “long drawn” and has charted plans accordingly to deal with the situation. “Discussions are on at the highest levels for tapping alternate sources of supplies of gas and oil,” said an official, stating that these supplies could arrive in 35-40 days.Latest data shows that retail inflation was at 2.8% in Jan, the first print under the new data series which was released in Feb, with several new additions and weightage of food being reduced. The number is within the “comfort level” of RBI.On the fertiliser stock situation, the official said that they remain “manageable” for the next sowing season, pointing out that urea stocks in March this year were higher than last March. “There are discussions to secure supplies and ensure that there is no strain,” said the official. The only worry for now is the country’s exports, with shipments affected by the ongoing conflict. Officials said the commerce ministry is taking steps to ease the pain for exporters as well as chalking out alternate markets as part of the diversification plan.

DIMAPUR/SHILLONG: Opposition to Union home ministry’s directive on singing full six-stanza version of Vande Mataram has intensified in Christian-majority Nagaland and Meghalaya, triggering student protests, political objections and appeals to state govts.Several students and research scholars at Nagaland University boycotted singing the national song during the 8th convocation Friday. Videos on social media showed many seated while Vande Mataram played at the beginning and end of the ceremony attended by Vice President C P Radhakrishnan.Naga Students’ Federation, CM Neiphiu Rio’s Naga People’s Front and church groups have opposed MHA’s directive mandating singing or playing Vande Mataram before the national anthem at official programmes and educational institutions, requiring attendees to stand at attention. NSF said the directive ignores Naga cultural sensitivities, religious beliefs and constitutional safeguards under Article 371(A).Meghalaya has also seen pushback. Voice of People Party legislator Adelbert Nongrum submitted a petition to the chief secretary, protesting the directive.

MMRC marked International Women’s Day by running two major Metro-3 (Aqua line) stations—Marol Naka and CSMT—entirely with women staffers on Sunday, underscoring its focus on women’s empowerment in public transport. Across multiple shifts, 85 women handled end-to-end station operations, including station control, ticketing, passenger assistance, security, maintenance support and housekeeping. The all-women deployment ensured seamless functioning while showcasing the growing presence of women in roles traditionally dominated by men. MMRC said it currently has 27 women train operators on the Aqua line and 1,388 women in all in different positions

NEW DELHI: Amid reports of two cheetahs from Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP) moving into Rajasthan’s Baran district, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) Sunday said this movement reinforces the strategic rationale for the proposed 17,000 sqkm Kuno–Gandhi Sagar inter-state wildlife corridor spanning seven districts of Rajasthan and eight of MP.Calling the inter-state movement a success story of India’s Project Cheetah, NTCA said it has been actively coordinating with state forest departments and the cheetahs are under 24×7 GPS and radio-collar monitoring by an inter-state team.Sharing updates on movement of cheetahs KP-2 and KP-3, the authority said KP-2 has been tracked in the Mangrol range of Baran, while KP-3 entered the Banjh Amli Conservation Reserve after travelling 60–70 km from KNP.“Both animals are positioned approximately 6 km apart on either bank of the Parvati river,” it said while noting field teams deployed from Kishanganj and Anta ranges have been tracking them continuously.“Long-distance dispersal across landscape boundaries is a well-documented, natural territorial behaviour in cheetahs. The Project Cheetah Action Plan explicitly anticipates and provides for inter-state movement within the Kuno–Gandhi Sagar metapopulation landscape,” said NTCA in its report to the environment ministry on the cheetahs’ movement.India currently has a thriving population of 48 cheetahs, including 28 India-born cubs. Nine adult cheetahs (six females and three males), received from Botswana, were released into quarantine enclosures at KNP on Feb 28. They were the third batch of cheetahs flown into India.

NEW DELHI: India’s maritime regulator, DG Shipping, has advised all Indian seafarers on vessels in Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman and neighbouring waters to “mai-ntain continuous vigilance and heighten situation awareness”, taking note of unprecedented recent incidents.Referring to two seafarers being trapped inside the accommodation area of a tanker when fire engulfed it, the advisory said the only escape ro-ute was through the front portholes, “but it appears that there may not have been adequate provision or equipment to break the glass panels”.An official said, “This is an overall interim review… The objective is to prepare seafarers to respond effectively to all kinds of emergency situations, including awareness of escape routes and other safety measures. It is not specifically related to… MT Sky Light.”MT Sky Light was attacked on March 1 and saw its chief engineer being evacuated to hospital while two crew members, captain Ashish Kumar and wiper Dalip, remained unaccounted for.

Thane: The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Thane awarded compensation of Rs 94.2 lakh to a 44-year-old woman advocate who suffered 100% functional disability following a road accident beneath Cadbury Junction bridge in 2019.The tribunal held the driver of the offending car solely responsible for the crash and directed the vehicle owner and insurer to pay the compensation jointly and severally, along with 9% annual interest from the date of filing of the petition until realisation. According to the order, the accident occurred on July 26, 2019, around 4.30 pm, when the claimant was riding her scooter on the Nashik-Mumbai Highway. A car allegedly approached from behind at high speed and rammed into her vehicle, dragging her several feet before she hit the cement barrier of the bridge. She sustained multiple grievous injuries, including spinal fractures, resulting in traumatic paraplegia.Medical records and disability certificates placed before the tribunal confirmed 100% permanent disability related to bowel and bladder functions. The court observed that the claimant is bedridden and requires attendants for daily activities.

Mumbai: A sessions court convicted and sentenced a 45-year-old labourer to life imprisonment for the brutal 2020 murder of a man and the attempted murder of an eyewitness using an iron hammer. The court found the accused Subal Choudhary, also known as Bangali, guilty of killing Javed Siddiqui Shaikh and grievously injuring Ayaz Khan following a late-night altercation in a Kurla chawl.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the accused, noting that the assault was carried out with clear lethal intent. The incident occurred in the early hours of Aug 19, 2020, at Indira Nagar. According to the prosecution, Khan heard a loud quarrel and discovered Choudhary and Shaikh engaged in a physical fight. When Khan attempted to intervene, Choudhary retrieved an iron hammer from beneath a kitchen platform and struck Shaikh repeatedly on the head. Khan was also attacked with the same weapon when he tried to stop the assault. While Khan managed to flee and seek help, Shaikh was later found unresponsive and succumbed to his injuries at Sion Hospital.During the trial, the defence argued that Choudhary had acted to save himself, claiming that Shaikh and Khan had entered his home to commit theft and initiated the assault. However, the judge rejected this plea, noting the disproportionate nature of the violence. The court observed that the medical evidence, which detailed multiple fractures and crushed brain matter, was inconsistent with a claim of self-protection. Court stated, “The nature, number and seat of injuries clearly indicate intention or knowledge that such injuries were sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death”. The judge relied on the testimony of Khan, who was both a victim and an eyewitness.