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YK
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June 7, 2026
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Vol. 16
앫
No. 23
Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08
RNI No. UPENG/1986/49939
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CLASSIFIEDS
»
PAGE 6
MAGAZINE
»
8 PAGES
The Gen Z trio that
took on the CBSE
PROFILES
»
PAGE 14
CRPF chief reviews
security in Manipur
NEWS
»
PAGE 8
Praggnanandhaa
wins Norway Chess
SPORT
»
PAGE 18
R
ussia’s share in the
value of India’s oil
imports jumped
back up to an 11-month
high of nearly 38% in April
2026 as India continued to
increase its dependence
on it against the backdrop
of the ongoing West Asia
crisis.
This increasing depen-
dence was accompanied
by a 425% jump in the pre-
mium being charged by
Russia for its oil, in con-
trast to the discount it had
been offering until
recently.
Russia’s share in India’s
crude imports in April
stood at about 34% in
terms of the volume. At the
same time, India’s depen-
dence on oil from the U.S.
fell to multi-month lows in
terms of both value and
volume.
Oil imports back up
An analysis of data from
the Ministry of Commerce
and Industry shows that
India’s total oil imports
bounced back to 195.3 lakh
tonnes in April after having
dipped in March to 158.5
lakh tonnes following the
start of the West Asian
crisis.
However, while this
worked out to a 23% in-
crease over March in terms
of volume, the surging
price of oil meant that In-
dia’s total oil import bill
jumped 61.3% to $15.4 bil-
lion in April, as compared
to its level in the previous
month.
Within this, the volume
of India’s oil imports from
Russia stood at nearly 67
lakh tonnes in April, up
27% from March and mak-
ing up 34.3% of the total
amount of oil India import-
ed during the month.
The rise in prices had a
significant impact on the
amount India paid for this
oil.
The Hindu had reported
last month that the dis-
count Russia used to offer
India for its oil had turned
into a premium in March.
Higher premium
The data now shows that
India paid an even higher
premium for Russian oil in
April than it did in March.
The total value of India’s
Russian oil imports stood
at $5.8 billion in April
2026, which was 37.7% of
India’s total oil import bill
that month.
In April, India paid Rus-
sia $864.9 per tonne for its
oil, while it paid $787.1 per
tonne overall for its oil im-
ports from all countries.
This works out to a premi-
um of $77.8 per tonne as
compared to a premium of
$14.8 per tonne paid to
Russia in March 2026, a
425% increase.
On the other hand, the
U.S. accounted for just
2.9% of India’s oil bill in
April, an eight-month low.
In terms of volume, it ac-
counted for 3.8%, also an
eight-month low.
Russian oil imports, prices
jump; U.S. share goes down
While Russia’s share in India’s oil imports stood at 34% in terms of volume in April 2026, India’s
dependence on oil from the U.S. fell to 8-month low, accounting for just 3.8% in terms of volume
T.C.A. Sharad Raghavan
NEW DELHI
“courageously took a deci-
sion on separate Telanga-
na”, he said.
During the wide-ranging
conversation, the Chief Mi-
nister said that Telangana
is positioning itself as a glo-
bal investment destination
and not limiting its com-
petitiveness to neighbour-
ing States. “We are not
competing with Maharash-
tra or Andhra Pradesh. We
are competing with China,
Japan, South Korea, and
Germany,” he said, adding
that his approach follows a
‘China+1’ strategy to attract
global investments.
Mr. Reddy said he ac-
tively studies international
best practices and is open
to learning from multiple
sources, including officials
on the ground. He plans to
visit China and learn best
practices that could be im-
India’s federal balance and
governance outcomes
would determine whether
citizens, particularly in
southern States, are treat-
ed as equal stakeholders or
reduced to “second-grade
citizens”, Telangana Chief
Minister A. Revanth Reddy
said on Saturday.
In a conversation with
The Hindu Group Director
N. Ram at the two-day The
Hindu Huddle in Bengalu-
ru on “By, for, and of the
people: Good governance
for Telangana”, the Con-
gress leader said southern
States would not accept an
imbalance in political pow-
er distribution. The BJP, he
alleged, was trying hard to
widen the gap in political
power through the delimi-
tation process, while link-
ing it to women’s reserva-
tion to hide the core issue.
“The Congress is ready
even now for the imple-
mentation of the women’s
reservation Bill if it is the
primary intention,” he
said. He credited the Con-
gress with playing a histor-
ic role in women’s empo-
werment, and said women
had consistently played a
crucial part in key political
and social transformations
in the country. Former
Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi, as the “Iron La-
dy”, liberated Bangladesh
from Pakistan, and Con-
gress leader Sonia Gandhi
plemented in Telangana as
it shapes itself into a “Chi-
na+1” destination. Mr. Red-
dy said.
He also referred to his
participation in a short
course at Harvard Universi-
ty, saying exposure to glo-
bal systems helps refine
policy thinking.
Positioning himself as a
public servant rather than
a ruler, the Chief Minister
said governance must re-
main people-centric.
“Whoever gets power
thinks they are rulers. I be-
lieve I am an elected public
servant,” he said, identify-
ing youth, farmers, and
women as the key pillars of
society.
Telangana CM calls for federal
balance to safeguard citizens
Telangana CM A. Revanth Reddy with N. Ram, Director, The Hindu
Group, at The Hindu Huddle on Saturday.
K. MURALI KUMAR
R. Ravikanth Reddy
BENGALURU
DETAILED COVERAGE ON
» PAGES 16 & 17
CONTINUED ON
» PAGE 8
The exodus of prominent
regional faces from the All
India Anna Dravida Mun-
netra Kazhagam (AIADMK)
to the Tamilaga Vettri Kaz-
hagam (TVK) continued on
Saturday, with four former
Ministers — M.C. Sampath,
N.R. Sivapathi, Kadambur
C. Raju, and Udumalai K.
Radhakrishnan — crossing
over to the ruling party.
They joined the TVK at
its headquarters in Panaiy-
ur on the outskirts of Chen-
nai in the presence of party
general secretary and Mi-
nister for Rural Develop-
ment and Water Resources
N. Anand and a few other
Ministers.
Barring Mr. Sivapathi,
the other three former Mi-
nisters had contested and
lost the 2026 Assembly
elections.
Mr. Sivapathi won the
Thottiyam Assembly seg-
ment in the 1991 election
and Musiri constituency in
2011.
He also served as Educa-
tion Minister.
Four former AIADMK Ministers
cross over to TVK in Tamil Nadu
N. Sai Charan
CHENNAI
CONTINUED ON
» PAGE 8
RJD workers
guard Lalu and
Rabri’s residence
PATNA
RJD workers were seen
standing guard outside the
residence of former CM Rabri
Devi, days after Bihar
government withdrew the Z+
security cover provided to both
her and party chief Lalu
Prasad.
»
Page 4
The first in-person protest
of the online movement
Cockroach Janta Party
(CJP), demanding the resig-
nation of Union Education
Minister Dharmendra
Pradhan, attracted a crowd
of over 1,500 people at Jan-
tar Mantar here on Satur-
day.
Ladakh activist Sonam
Wangchuk joined the de-
monstration led by CJP
founder Abhijeet Dipke,
where protesters raised
slogans against the Union
government and sought ac-
countability, amid the can-
cellation of the National
Eligibility-cum-Entrance
Test-Undergraduate
(NEET-UG) and the issues
with the Central Board of
Secondary Education
(CBSE) Class 12 board ex-
aminations.
Hundreds gathered in
the first hour of the protest
and many were seen wear-
ing cockroach masks,
which were being distri-
buted at the venue. The
crowd comprised a large
number of youngsters.
Six detained
While no untoward inci-
dents were reported, some
counter-protesters raised
slogans near the protest
site and the Delhi Police
detained six people to pre-
vent a possible confronta-
tion. The detentions were
made as a precautionary
measure to maintain law
and order after receiving
inputs about the possibility
of tensions between sup-
porters and opposers of
the movement, the police
said. Earlier, Mr. Dipke,
who landed in New Delhi
after a day-long journey
from Boston in the U.S.,
told presspersons gathered
at the airport that “the
Education Minister has to
resign”. “Five students
have committed suicide,”
he added. At the Jantar
Mantar, he led chants seek-
ing Mr. Pradhan’s
resignation.
“We are not here to
protest but to appeal that
government should be ac-
countable,” Mr. Wangchuk,
who spent nearly six
months incarcerated un-
der the National Security
Act till March, said after
joining the protest.
Hundreds gather at CJP protest
seeking Pradhan’s resignation
Aroon Deep
NEW DELHI
Screen to street: CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk with supporters of
the outfit during the protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday.
SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP
STUDENTS JOIN PROTEST
» PAGE 9
CONTINUED ON
» PAGE 8
Two Lebanese officers and
one soldier were killed on
Saturday in an Israeli strike
on a military vehicle on the
Khardali-Nabatieh road in
south Lebanon, the Leba-
nese Army said.
Later, the Israeli mili-
tary said it targeted the
vehicle after identifying
what it described as a
threat to its forces and re-
ceiving indications that the
Hezbollah militant group
was preparing to fire on Is-
raeli troops from the area.
It said an initial inquiry
showed that two Lebanese
Army officers and a soldier
were inside the vehicle and
that the incident was un-
der review.
Lebanon’s President Jo-
seph Aoun called the strike
“a flagrant violation to Le-
banese sovereignty and in-
ternational law”. He said it
came in the context of “on-
going escalation that threa-
tens stability and security
in the south (of Lebanon),
despite the efforts Leba-
non is exerting in the
Washington negotiations
to put an end to the ongo-
ing Israeli attacks without
deterrent.”
The latest declared cea-
sefire came about through
U.S.-brokered talks bet-
ween Israel and Lebanon’s
government, which accus-
es Hezbollah of dragging
the country into war and
had made efforts to disarm
it before the latest hostili-
ties. The Lebanese militant
group has refused the
truce. Iran-aligned Hezbol-
lah condemned Saturday’s
strike, calling it a deliber-
ate attack and part of Is-
rael’s continued aggression
against Lebanon. The
group said the attack was
the result of what it called
the Lebanese authorities’
disregard for the country’s
sovereignty and a series of
concessions, including
what it described as ac-
quiescence to Israeli de-
mands in Washington,
which it said had embol-
dened Israel.
3 Lebanese troops
killed in Israeli strike
amid peace efforts
People inspect damage
following Israeli strikes in the
Saksakiyeh in southern
Lebanon on Saturday.
AFP
Reuters
Associated Press
BEIRUT
CONTINUED ON
» PAGE 8
U.S., IRAN TRADE STRIKES
» PAGE 15
LIQUIDITY LAUNCH
Musk’s IPO bet
to save empire
While SpaceX is going public in what could be the largest
single listing in history, analysts and investors stay sceptical
BUSINESS
»
PAGE 11
IN BRIEF
쑽
Malviya Nagar
tragedy: cook in
police custody
NEW DELHI
A Delhi court on Saturday sent
to two days’ police custody a
cook of the six-storey
bed-and-breakfast facility in
south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar,
where a massive fire claimed
21 lives. Police have claimed
that Keshav Negi’s negligence
may have contributed to the
blaze that broke out in the
Hauz Rani area.
»
Page 2
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