Two very large crude carriers loaded with Iranian oil have reached Indian ports, ship tracking data from LSEG shows, as local refiners utilise a temporary waiver granted by the United States last month to resume purchases from Tehran for the first time in seven years. The current waiver is due to expire on April 19. The Iran-flagged Felicity has reached Sikka Port in western India, while the Curacao-flagged Jaya is at the eastern port of Odisha, the data shows. A VLCC carries 2 million barrels of oil. India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, has not received a cargo from Iran since May 2019 after coming under U.S. pressure not to buy the country's crude. Indian Oil Corp, the country's top refiner, has bought Iranian oil loaded on the Jaya, a vessel under U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported last week. India has also allowed Reliance Industries Ltd, the operator of the world's biggest refining complex, to buy Iranian oil loaded on the Comoros-flagged...
Of the 57 seats going to polls today, nine are from West Bengal, 13 from Uttar Pradesh, eight from Bihar, six from Odisha, four from Himachal Pradesh, three from Jharkhand, and the lone seat of Union Territory Chandigarh. All 13 seats of Punjab are also on today's list. The election is expected to be triangular, with INDIA allies Congress and Aam Aadmi Party having a "friendly" contest that is expected to split the non-BJP vote and play into BJP hands. Polling will also take place for the remaining 42 assembly seats and six Lok Sabha seats in Odisha. The BJP, which has replaced the Congress as the main Opposition party, is hoping to corner Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal. By-elections are being held on six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh, which will also have a bearing on the fortunes of the state's Congress government. All six seats were held by Congress but the MLAs had turned rebel and cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha election, resigned and joined the BJP...