NEW DELHI: Five Indians have lost their lives and one remains missing in the ongoing conflict in Middle East, the government said on Saturday, while also confirming that two Indian-flagged LPG carriers have safely crossed the Strait of Hormuz and are now on their way to India with critical fuel supplies.Speaking at an inter-ministerial briefing in New Delhi, additional secretary (Gulf) Aseem Mahajan said India’s missions in the region are working round the clock to assist affected nationals and coordinate with local authorities.

“We have five Indians who have lost their lives and one who is missing in an earlier incident. Our missions in Oman, Iraq, UAE remain in touch with the concerned authorities regarding the missing Indian national and for early repatriation of mortal remains of the deceased after completing requisite formalities,” Mahajan said.

Missions working round the clock in conflict-hit region

Mahajan said Indian missions remain open round the clock and are actively involved in all assistance efforts as the conflict continues to disrupt travel, shipping and daily life across parts of Middle East.He said all support is being extended to Indian seafarers in the region, with the ministry of external affairs working closely with the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways.For Indian nationals in Bahrain and Kuwait, where direct flights are currently not operating, Mahajan said authorities are helping with visa extensions and transit visas to enable travel back to India via Saudi Arabia.

Update on Oman and Safesea Vishnu incidents

Providing an update on the attack in Sohar city in Oman, Mahajan said two Indians were killed and 10 others were injured, though none of the injured were reported to be in serious condition.“Our mission has been on the ground and is rendering all assistance and is in contant touch with the concerned Omani authorities, local companies, hospitals and families of the affected Indians. The Embassy is also coordinating to facilitate the early return of the mortal remains of the two deceased Indian nationals to India,” he said, according to news agency ANI.On the Safesea Vishnu incident, Mahajan said officials are working for the early return of 15 crew members who were safely evacuated and are currently staying at a hotel in Basra, Iraq.“They are also working with the concerned authorities for the early return of the mortal remains to India of the Indian national,” he added, as per ANI.

Two Indian LPG carriers clear Strait of Hormuz

At the same briefing, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, special secretary in the shipping ministry, said two Indian-flagged LPG carriers — Shivalik and Nanda Devi — have transited the Strait of Hormuz and are now headed to India carrying around 92,700 metric tonnes of LPG.The two vessels crossed the narrow and conflict-hit shipping lane early on Saturday, taking the number of Indian vessels that have safely passed through the strait to three.Shivalik is expected to reach Mundra port in Gujarat on March 16, while Nanda Devi is likely to dock at Kandla on March 17.The cargo is seen as crucial, with shipping disruptions affecting LPG supplies. India imports around 60 per cent of its LPG requirement, and 85-90 per cent of those imports come from Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE via the Strait of Hormuz.

More Indian vessels still on standby

Despite the breakthrough, 22 Indian-flagged vessels remain stranded on the western side of the strait, while three more are still on the eastern side.The 22 vessels on the west side have 611 seafarers on board, while the three vessels on the east side have 76 seafarers. These include LPG vessels, an LNG carrier, crude oil tankers, container ships, bulk carriers and other cargo vessels.“Several of our ships remain on standby in the Gulf region. We propose to continue to remain in touch and coordinate with all the concerned countries to ensure a safe and unimpeded transit for them in our effort to ensure our energy security,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at the briefing.The developments come as the war in the Middle East enters its 15th day, with continued exchanges of fire, fears over a possible closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and growing concerns over global energy supplies and regional security.

Here are the top 5 stories of the day:

Indian LPG ships cross Hormuz safely as US hits Iran’s Kharg Island

The government said all Indian crew members in the Persian Gulf are safe, as two Indian-flagged LPG vessels — Shivalik and Nandadevi, carrying 92,700 tonnes crossed the Strait of Hormuz and are set to dock at Mundra and Kandla on March 16 and 17. The update came as US forces struck over 90 military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island, while Tehran warned it could deploy more powerful ballistic and precision missiles. Follow live updates

Government says LPG supply intact, warns against panic booking amid Middle East tensions

The government said the LPG situation remains serious due to the geopolitical crisis, but stressed there is no shortage of cylinders and no stockouts have been reported. At an inter-ministerial briefing, officials said panic booking has surged sharply, with bookings rising to nearly 8.8 million from around 7.5–7.6 million. Follow live updates

Centre revokes Sonam Wangchuk’s NSA detention, activist released

The Centre revoked climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s detention under the National Security Act with immediate effect, and he was released from Jodhpur Central Jail. The home ministry said the move was aimed at promoting peace, stability and meaningful dialogue in Ladakh. Read full story

Akasa Air to add fuel surcharge from March 15 amid ATF price spike

Akasa Air will impose a fuel surcharge of Rs 199 to Rs 1,300 on domestic and international tickets booked from March 15, citing a sharp rise in aviation turbine fuel prices amid Middle East tensions. The airline said the charge will apply per sector and vary by flight duration. Read full story

TMC, BJP workers clash ahead of PM Modi’s Kolkata rally

Clashes erupted between TMC and BJP supporters near Girish Park in central Kolkata, just ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally at Brigade Parade Ground. A police officer and a BJP leader were injured in the violence, which involved stone-pelting and slogan-shouting. Read full story

NEW DELHI: American far-right activist and staunch supporter of US President Donald Trump, Laura Loomer on Saturday apologised for some of her earlier “anti-India” social media posts after it sparked backlash online for being racist and derogatory.Speaking at the India Today conclave, Loomer addressed criticism over several posts she had made on the social media platform X. When questioned about the controversy, she acknowledged “I should not have said some of the things I wrote in the tweets.” “I apologise if my remarks offended people. I am here in India this week and will be spending several days in the country, travelling across the country,” she added.

However, Loomer claimed that she would not apologise for her stance against the H-1B visa programme in the United States.“I am not going to apologise for opposing the H-1B visa programme, because my job is to stand up for American interests. Our immigration and labour laws have been exploited and abused. I will continue to fight for American workers who are struggling to find employment,” she said.The controversy erupted after Loomer arrived in India for the conclave, with several social media users highlighting her earlier posts that included crude stereotypes and derogatory remarks about Indians, including comments about hygiene and intelligence.As she posted about her arrival, the comments resurfaced and quickly went viral triggering widespread criticism.Clarifying her position, Loomer said she did not harbour hostility toward India or Hindus. “I do not have hatred in my heart for India or for Hindu people,” she said.“I do not come from a place of hatred; my comments come from a place of love for my people and my country,” she added.Loomer also criticised Pakistan, accusing it of supporting extremist networks. “Pakistan’s biggest export to the world is Islamic terrorism, and I don’t believe the US should be cosying up to the Pakistani government at all,” she said.“Pakistan operates as an openly jihadist and pro-Sharia state, and when you look at many of the Islamist terror attacks around the world, there is often some connection back to Pakistan,” she added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday criticised Congress during a public address in Silchar, Assam, saying it was acting as a puppet of forces against India’s growth.Speaking on the second day of his Assam visit, the Prime Minister said, “The forces across the globe that are unable to digest India’s rapid development, the Congress is increasingly becoming a mere puppet in the hands of these very forces,” he said.

The prime minister further accused Congress of neglecting the Barak Valley for decades after independence. PM Modi said the region once played a key role in trade but lost its strength after the country’s borders were drawn in a way that cut off its connection to the sea.

“The Congress party had left the North East to its own fate. When the country attained independence, the Congress permitted the drawing of the boundary in such a manner that the Barak Valley’s vital link to the sea was completely severed,” he said.The Prime Minister said the BJP’s double-engine government was now working to change the situation by improving infrastructure and connectivity in the region.PM Modi inaugurated projects worth around Rs 24,000 crore in Silchar, including the Shillong–Silchar high-speed corridor.“Just ask the Congress leaders about this. Hand them a pen and paper, and ask them to write down Rs 24,000 crore, and they won’t even be able to do it,” he said.The 166 km corridor, with an investment of around Rs 22,860 crore, is supposed to significantly improve connectivity between Meghalaya and Assam. Speaking at the occasion, Chief Minister of the poll-bound state, Himanta Biswa Sarma, said, “Elections in Assam are just around the corner. On behalf of the Barak Valley and the people of Assam, I wish to convey this message to the Prime Minister: The people of Assam will bring back the Modi government”. The Prime Minister is scheduled to hold a rally in Bengal in the afternoon.

NEW DELHI: In a major departure from the existing law, The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill 2026 introduced in Lok Sabha on Friday proposed to omit the clause that allowed “self-perceived gender identity” to be the basis for self-determination and identification for approval for transgender certificate by the district magistrate.“The existing vague definition of the expression “transgender person” not only makes it impossible to identify the genuine oppressed persons to whom the benefits of the Act are intended to reach,” the statement of objects and reasons of the bill introduced by social justice and empowerment minister Virendra Kumar explained.It underlines that a transgender person “shall not include, nor shall ever have been so included, persons with different sexual orientations and self-perceived sexual identities”.“The protection and benefits that are provided under the Act are vast in nature, and therefore, care has to be taken that such identification cannot be extended on the basis of any acquirable characteristics or personal choice or claimed self-perceived identity of an individual,” it added.The govt has justified the proposed changes. “The purpose of the Act was to protect a specified class of persons socially and culturally known as transgender people who face societal discrimination of an extreme and oppressive nature,” says the statement of objects of the bill. “The purpose was and is not to protect each and every class of persons with various gender identities, self perceived sex, gender identities or gender fluidities,” it added.The bill also proposes to create specific offences with graded punishments that reflect the gravity of the harm, the irreversibility of the injury, and the particular vulnerability of child victims.A medical board headed by chief medical officer has been introduced in the bill, and if passed in the current form, the district magistrate will, going forward, issue a certificate of transgender identity, after examining the recommendation of the medical board cited as “authority” to be constituted by the central or state govts.As of now a person applies for the transgender certificate on the portal of the ministry and the application where the transgender person gives an affidavit of their self perceived identity is then taken up by the district magistrate for verification of documents and approval for certification. Since the 2019 law was enacted and implemented in 2020 after the rules came in September, just about 32448 certificates have been issued as per the latest data on the National Portal For Transgender Persons.The bill defines a trans person as the one “having such socio-cultural identities as ‘kinner’, ‘hijra’, ‘aravani’ and ‘jogta’, or eunuch, or a person with intersex variations or a person who, at birth, has a congenital variation in one or more sex characteristics as compared to male or female development:- primary sexual characteristics; external genitalia, chromosomal patterns, gonadal development endogenous hormone production or response.”“Also, any person or child who has been, by force, allurement, inducement, deceit or undue influence, either with or without consent, compelled to assume, adopt, or outwardly present a transgender identity, by mutilation, emasculation, castration, amputation, or any surgical, chemical, or hormonal procedure or otherwise will be included in the definition.The bill said that the current law also prohibits discrimination and abuse against transgender persons but its penal provision addresses only general wrongs and criminal offences and prescribes a maximum of two years’ imprisonment. The proposed amendments make room for stricter penalties and punishments.For instance imprisonment ranging from six months to two years have been prescribed for crimes ranging from compelling a transgender person to indulge in the act of forced or bonded labour, denial of the right of passage to a public place to forcing a trans person to leave home or village. Similar punishment is prescribed for cases involving cases of physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse of a trans person.If a trans person is kidnaped and suffers mutilation, castration or any surgical, chemical, or hormonal procedure; or permanent or severe injury with the intent of compelling to compel the person to adopt or outwardly present a transgender identity against their will, the offence shall be punishable with 10 years to life imprisonment. In addition a fine not less than Rs 2 lakh will be levied. For the same crime involving a child the punishment will be life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5 lakh.If someone by force or threat compels any person, whether or not such person is a transgender person, to dress, present, or conduct themselves outwardly as a transgender person against the will of such person and engage them in begging or forced labour, the punishment will be between 5 to 10 years. In case of a child the punishment can range between 10 to 14 years.

NEW DELHI: A parliamentary panel has recommended to the finance ministry to allocate funds for fertiliser subsidy at the budget estimate (BE) stage to ensure that allocations are as close as possible to actual requirements.The standing committee on fertiliser, in its report submitted in Parliament on Friday, said the practice of parking subsidies in subsequent year’s liabilities also distorts the true picture of govt’s subsidy outgo. Taking note of higher subsidy outgo for imported urea and other soil nutrients, the panel has recommended ramping up domestic production.“The committee observed that the per-bag subsidy burden on imported urea, at approximately Rs 2,100 per 45-kg bag, is substantially higher than the subsidy of approximately Rs 1,397 per bag for domestically produced urea. The significant difference arises from the volatility of international urea prices, freight and insurance costs, port handling charges, and exchange rate fluctuations,” the report said.Similarly, in the case of phosphatic and potassic fertilisers (NPK), the subsidy outgo for imported varieties is higher than for domestically produced soil nutrients.On Friday, the fertiliser department informed Lok Sabha that the import of urea from Russia increased from 9.2 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 to 14 lakh tonnes till Feb while the import of China spiked from 1 lakh tonnes to 21.2 lakh tonnes. The NPK import from China also increased from less than 1 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 to 9.6 lakh tonnes in the current financial year.Seeking realistic, upfront budgetary allocation for subsidy, the panel noted that in FY24, against the BE (budget estimate) of Rs 1.8 lakh crore, the final allocation was revised upward to nearly Rs 2 lakh crore, and in FY26, the BE of Rs 1.8 lakh crore for fertiliser subsidy was revised to Rs 2.2 lakh crore.