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Barack Obama signed bipartisan budget deal and defence authorisation bill
Barack Obama signed bipartisan budget de...

Barack Obama signed bipartisan budget deal and defence authorisation bill

 U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday signed a bipartisan budget deal easing spending cuts and a defence authorisation bill that takes a step towards ultimate closure of Guantanamo. Mr. Obama put his signature on the legislation and praised the National Defence Authorization Act that allows... read more »

45 Dead in Brazil floods
45 Dead in Brazil floods

45 Dead in Brazil floods

The toll from heavy rains and flooding in Brazil’s southeast states climbed to 45, authorities said. As many as 27 people were confirmed dead in Espirito Santo and 18 in Minas Gerais, Xinhua cited from the latest Civil Defence report on Thursday. More than 60,000 people were forced to leave their... read more »

In a move that is likely to have a spiralling impact on the cost of travel for the common man, public transport and other related areas, Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) on Thursday announced a steep hike of Rs. 4.50 paise per Kg in the price of compressed natural gas (CNG), the second successive hike in three months. In a related move that could hurt the household budgets, IGL also hiked the price of cooking piped gas to kitchens by Rs. 5.15 per Kg with effect from Thursday midnight. Under the new pricing regime, CNG will cost Rs. 50.10 per Kg in Delhi and Rs. 56.70 per Kg in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad, IGL said in a statement in New Delhi. The price of piped natural gas (PNG) to the households in Delhi is being revised from Rs. 27.50 per standard cubic metre to Rs. 29.50 per scm up to consumption of 30 scm in two months. Beyond consumption of 30 scm in two months, the applicable rate in Delhi would be Rs. 52 per scm. Due to differential tax structure in Uttar Pradesh, the applicable price of domestic PNG to households in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad would be Rs. 31 per scm up to consumption of 30 scm in two months, which has been increased from existing Rs. 29 per scm. Beyond consumption of 30 scm in two months, the rate applicable in these cities would be Rs. 54 per scm. CNG price was last revised in September when it was hiked by a hefty Rs. 3.70 per kg. Price of CNG sold to automobiles in Delhi then increased from Rs. 41.90 to Rs. 45.60 per kg. Also at that time, the price of piped cooking gas, called PNG, for households has been hiked from Rs. 24.50 per scm to Rs. 27.50 per scm. The statement said the increase was primarily due to increase in input cost as a result of reallocation of domestically produced gas quantities by the government for all city gas distribution companies across the country. “There has been a reduction in allocation of APM gas to us, which is forcing us to source more quantity of market priced imported R-LNG, whose prices are currently on an upswing. This has affected our overall input cost by over 13 per cent. There has also been an increase in the operating expenses including increase in minimum wages announced by the government with effect from October 2013,” the statement added. Government reallocated domestic gas allocations to all city gas distribution companies across the country as a fall out of a recent court order. All the earlier gas allocations had been cancelled and the revised allocations now also include PMT gas, which is priced higher than APM gas. “In terms of volume, there has been nearly 5 per cent decrease in the overall quantity of domestic gas allocated to IGL for Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. The reduction in allocation as well as increase in demand is forcing IGL to source much higher priced imported R-LNG. The prices of R-LNG have been on the rise recently and therefore, new R-LNG quantities are available in the market at much higher prices than the existing ones,” the company said. However, the company said the increase would not have a major impact on the per km running cost of vehicles. For autos, the increase would be 13 paise per km, for taxi it would be 22 paisa per Km and in case of buses, the increase would be Rs. 1.30 per km, which translates to just over two paisa per passenger-kilometre.
IGL hikes CNG price by Rs. 4.50 in Delhi...

IGL hikes CNG price by Rs. 4.50 in Delhi, NCR towns

 In a move that is likely to have a spiralling impact on the cost of travel for the common man, public transport and other related areas, Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) on Thursday announced a steep hike of Rs. 4.50 paise per Kg in the price of compressed natural gas (CNG), the second successive... read more »

Arafat’s death not caused by radiation
Arafat’s death not caused by radiation

Arafat’s death not caused by radiation

 A Russian probe into the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has found no trace of radioactive poisoning, the chief of the government agency that conducted the study said on Thursday. Vladimir Uiba, the head of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency, said the agency had no plans to... read more »

India, US don't want ties to be spoilt by one incident: Khurshid

India, US don’t want ties to be spoilt by one incident: Khurshid

New Delhi – ExternalAffairs Minister Salman Khurshid said Saturday that India and the US are in talks to resolve the stand-off over the alleged mistreatment of an Indian envoy and... read more »

Obama sees possible resolution to Iran n-issue

Obama sees possible resolution to Iran n-issue

Washington – US President Barack Obama said Friday that there is the possibility of a resolution to Iran’s nuclear issue which has been a challenge to the US national security... read more »

China launches communication satellite for Bolivia

China launches communication satellite for Bolivia

Beijing – China successfully sent a Bolivian communications satellite into orbit with its Long March-3B carrier rocket from southwest Xichang Satellite Launch Centre early Saturday,... read more »

In State of the Union Address, Obama Vows to Act Alone on the Economy

Obama says not to negotiate over debt ceiling

Washington – US President Barack Obama Friday said that he would not negotiate with his Republican rivals over raising the federal government’s debt ceiling and the fiscal... read more »

China urges personnel's safety in South Sudan

China urges personnel’s safety in South Sudan

United Nations – China has called on all parties of South Sudan to take effective measures to stop violence, protect civilians, and ensure personnel’s safety, Xinhua reported. Liu Jieyi,... read more »