NDA-ruled states follow Centre, cut fuel rates further by Rs 2.50 per litre
NEW DELHI: Soon after finance minister Arun Jaitley announced a cut of Rs 2.50 per litre+ in fuel prices, some of the NDA-ruled states followed suit. As many as 11 states announced to match the Centre's cut as a result of which the consumers in these states would get a relief of Rs 5 per litre on fuel prices.
The reduced rates will be effective from midnight tonight.
Maharashtra and Gujarat governments were among the first to announce a matching Rs 2.50 cut. Later Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Assam and Uttarakhand also announced a similar move.
Apart from these states, Jammu and Kashmir also reduced the fuel rates. At present, the state is under governor's rule.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted, "Maharashtra Government also decided to give additional relief of Rs 2.5/litre on petrol to give total benefit of Rs 5/litre in the State of Maharashtra."
Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani also took to Twitter to announce the cut in prices. "Finance Minister Sh @arunjaitley Ji has announced Rs 2.5 cuts in petrol & diesel prices, reciprocating positively to FM’s announcement, the Govt Of Gujarat has also decided to reduce Rs 2.50 on both petrol & diesel. Thus petrol & diesel wd be Rs. 5 cheaper in the State of Gujarat", he tweeted.
Earlier, announcing the Centre's cut in fuel prices, Jaitley had said that the central government will be writing to all state governments to reduce petrol and diesel prices by a further Rs 2.50 by cutting sales tax or value added tax (VAT).
courtesy : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
