India taking steps to reduce crude oil, gas imports; focus on exploration, green energy: PM
Numaligarh (Assam), Sep 14 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the BJP-led central government is taking steps to reduce imports of crude oil and gas, focusing more on exploration of fossil fuels and green energy.
Addressing a rally in Assam’s Numaligarh after inaugurating and laying foundation stones for projects worth over Rs 12,000 crore, Modi said that with India emerging as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, the country is dependent on foreign nations for crude oil and gas.
“To change this, the focus has to be on meeting our energy requirements. The government is working on oil exploration and green energy generation,” the PM said.
Ethanol is a major alternative source of energy, and the newly inaugurated bioethanol refinery at Numaligarh will significantly benefit farmers and tribals, he said.
ALSO READ: PM lays foundation stones for health, infra projects worth Rs 6,300 cr in Assam's Darrang
The polypropylene plant, the foundation for which was also laid by Modi, will greatly benefit the local economy, he said.
Modi said energy and semiconductors were the two key drivers for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, underscoring that Assam has an important role to play in these sectors.
Taking a dig at the Congress, the prime minister alleged that it was responsible for insurgency and unrest in Assam.
“The Congress also ignored the heritage and icons of Assam. But, the BJP brought development and gave recognition to the state’s heritage,” he asserted.
Modi claimed that Assam was facing a demographic challenge due to Congress' backing of infiltrators for votes.
“The Assam government is evicting encroachers, and providing deprived people land rights,” he said.
“We are taking steps for the welfare of tribals, who were neglected during the Congress rule,” the PM said.
The BJP government’s commitment is to make Assam a hub of trade and tourism, he added.
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Trump says he called off dispatching envoys to Iran talks
Dubai (PTI): US President Donald Trump said he told his top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not to travel to Pakistan to negotiate with Iran, stating on Fox News that "they can call us any time they want”.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports. Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade,” to allow a new round of negotiations, according to the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies in Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan on Saturday evening, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Araghchi is expected back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday.
Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House. The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries this month. The initial 10-day ceasefire had been due to expire Monday.
The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil.
The move announced Friday is part of the administration's threat to impose secondary sanctions on entities doing business with Iran in an effort to cut off Iran's oil exports, which are a key source of its revenue.
Airlines worldwide have begun cancelling flights as the war in the Middle East strains jet fuel supplies and pushes up prices. Experts have offered information to travelers about what to do if a flight is cancelled.
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports, according to Iranian media.
Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade”, to allow a new round of negotiations, the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies reported.
The Pakistani premier described the call as a “warm and constructive discussion”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concluded a one-day trip to Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Saturday after meeting with Pakistani military and government officials.
The trip did not produce a breakthrough in efforts to relaunch negotiations after US President Donald Trump canceled a planned trip by his envoys to Islamabad.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will return to Pakistan after his current visit to Oman on his way to visiting Russia.
The report said he was expected to be back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday and would join other members of his delegation who had gone to Tehran for consultations and “instructions on the topics related to the end of the war.”
