IMD issues ‘orange’ alert for six northern states ahead of heavy monsoon

Parts of Delhi and places nearby witnessed rainfall on Wednesday morning.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for a few northern states, including the national capital, on Wednesday. The weather bureau also predicted that the monsoon would hit the region in 48 hours. “Conditions are favourable for advancement of monsoon into the remaining parts of Uttar Pradesh, entire western Himalayan region, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan during the next 48 hours,” stated the IMD in its daily bulletin.

The bureau has four colour-coded warnings as per the intensity of any weather system — green, yellow, orange and the last one being red. Orange alert is given to prepare the authorities. The forecast during this warning is of heavy to very heavy rainfall. Parts of the capital city witnessed rainfall on Wednesday morning. The IMD has predicted “generally cloudy sky with moderate rain” for the next two days.\

The maximum and minimum temperature in Delhi will hover over 36 and 29 degree Celsius. The overall air quality index of the city is at the lower end of the satisfactory category. Heavy rainfall will also lash isolated places over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, East Rajasthan, Sub-Himalayan Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, West Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh during the day…Read More

Take note! Petrol, diesel prices to change every day from May 1

Daily price change will remove big leaps in rates that need to be effected at end of fortnight

 

Come May 1, petrol and diesel prices will change every day in sync with international rates, much like what happens in most advanced markets.

State-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), which own over 95 per cent of nearly 58,000 petrol pumps in the country, will launch a pilot for daily price revision in five select cities from May 1 and gradually extend it to all over the country.

"Ultimately, we will be driving towards market linked rates on a daily basis at all pumps across the country," IOC Chairman B Ashok told PTI.

A pilot for daily revision of petrol and diesel price will be first implemented in Puducherry, Vizag in Andhra Pradesh, Udaipur in Rajasthan, Jamshedpur in Jharkhand and Chandigarh, he said.

State fuel retailers currently revise rates on 1st and 16th of every month based on average international price of the fuel in the preceding fortnight and currency exchange rate.

Instead of using fortnightly average, pump rates will reflect daily movement in international oil prices and rupee- US dollar fluctuations.

"It is technically possible to change rates daily but we have to first do a pilot. Once pilot is done and its implications studied, we will extend it to other parts of the country," he said.

While Ashok said the pilot is to be "launched within one month" and did not give a specific date, industry sources said the pilot is planned to be launched on May 1.

Daily price change will remove the big leaps in rates that need to be effected at the end of the fortnight and consumer will be more aligned to market dynamics.

While petrol price was freed from government control in June 2010, diesel rates were deregulated in October 2014. Technically, oil companies have freedom to revise rates but often they have been guided by political considerations.

Rates differ by only a few paise between pumps of the three state fuel retailers. Unbranded petrol at IOC pumps in Delhi costs Rs 66.29 per litre, while the same at BPCL pumps in the city is priced at Rs 66.37 a litre. HPCL pumps sell for Rs 66.48 per litre.

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