editor - The Purbottar

09 Jan

Natural Gas Futures jump on High Demand and Limited Supply

editorBusiness, News

Natural gas futures rose on Wednesday due to strong demand caused by weather in the United States. This increased demand coincides with limited supply due to some production freeze-offs. Despite prices dipping in the previous session, cold forecasts for the third week of January are causing a bullish rebound, according to a note from Eli Rubin of EBW Analytics. Rubin pointed out that the market is underestimating the scale of the significant national storage draws expected to take place in January. He added that the freeze-off period could be longer than initially thought. Below-average storage draws for the prior week…

08 Jan

Paytm shares have fallen over 7% after it posted no UPI market share upgrade in December, according to NPCI data

editorBusiness, News

Shares of One97 Communications, the parent company of payment aggregator Paytm, fell as much as 7.5 percent to Rs 907 per share on January 8 after a UBS report showed Paytm did not gain any UPI market share in December, according to NPCI data. Despite getting approval to add customers in October, Paytm's UPI market share has nearly halved, falling from 10 per cent at the start of 2024 to just 5.5 percent by the end of the year. Even during the October-November period, Paytm's market share remained stable at 5.5 percent. Paytm's monthly transacting users (MTUs) have also declined…

08 Jan

Scottish hiker arrested in India for carrying GPS device

editorTechnology

Heather Mackins, a 38-year-old hiker from Scotland, was detained at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi for possessing a Garmin inReach satellite device, which is illegal in India without prior permission. Mackins was en route to a yoga retreat in the Rishikesh mountains when the incident occurred. She described the experience as "overwhelming" and cautioned others against similar mistakes. Despite contacting the embassy, she was taken to a police station, questioned, and required to sign multiple documents before being released on the condition of attending a future court hearing. This case mirrors a previous incident involving a Canadian national detained…

08 Jan

JP Nadda on one-day visit to Assam for series of programmes

editorNorth East

Union Health and Family Welfare minister Jagat Prakash Nadda on Wednesday inaugurated the new library and informatics centre at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health (LGBRIMH), Guwahati. Accompanied by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Nadda reached the hospital complex and unveiled the centre here in Sonitpur district. Nadda is on a day-long tour to Assam to take part in a series of official programmes.

08 Jan

Deboraj Upadhyay appointed Assam Public Service Commission chairman

editorAssam

Deboraj Upadhyay, a retired IPS officer and current member of the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC), has been appointed as the new chairman of the APSC. The announcement was made via an official notification issued on January 7. The notification stated, “In exercise of the powers conferred by Article 316 of the Constitution of India and the Assam Public Service Commission Regulation 1951 (as amended), the Governor of Assam is pleased to appoint Shri Deboraj Upadhyay, IPS (Retd.), Member, Assam Public Service Commission, as Chairman of the Assam Public Service Commission with effect from the date of taking over charge.”

07 Jan

Assam: Indian Army’s Engineer Task Force joins miner rescue efforts in Umrangso

editorAssam

The Indian Army's Engineer Task Force, along with specialized equipment, divers, and medical teams, has joined the ongoing rescue operation in Umrangso, Assam, following a tragic coal mine flooding incident. The Defence PRO from Guwahati confirmed the deployment of these crucial teams, tweeting, "Engineers Task Force with equipment, divers and medical teams from the Indian Army and Assam Rifles have joined rescue efforts in Umrangso, Assam. All efforts are underway in close coordination with the civil administration." Earlier, at 6:30 AM the first response team from the 32 Assam Rifles Pathfinder Unit reached the site of the incident. Their primary…

07 Jan

NTPC Green Energy shares upgrade on winning 1000 MW power project

editorBusiness, News

NTPC Green Energy share price rose over one per cent in early trade on January 6 after the company's subsidiary bagged a 1000 MW power project from Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL). At 09:27 am, NTPC Green Energy was quoting at Rs 129.95, up Rs 1.60 or 1.25 percent on the BSE. The company's arm NTPC Renewable Energy (NTPC REL) bagged a 1000 MW capacity at an impressive rate of Rs 2.56/kWh, however, the Letter of Award (LoA) from UPPCL is awaited. The wholly-owned subsidiary has emerged as a successful bidder in the e-reverse auction conducted by UPPCL for…

06 Jan

Assam: First phase of ‘Gunotsav 2025’ begins today

editorAssam

The first phase of 'Gunotsav 2025', an exercise to evaluate the performance of nearly 14.11 lakh students of Assam, is being carried out by the state government from January 6 to 9. The theme of 'Gunotsav 2025, is "Ensuring Quality Education". In the first phase, 11 districts of the state 16,056 schools and 14,11,874 students will be evaluated with the support of 6,365 external evaluators. The first phase of Gunotsav 2025 will continue till January 9.

06 Jan

India’s foreign exchange reserves continue to decline, down 10% from peak

editorBusiness, News

India's foreign exchange reserves have declined in 12 of the last 13 weeks, hitting a multi-month lowIndia's foreign exchange reserves continue to decline, continuing a three-month long decline. In the week ended December 27, the country's foreign exchange reserves fell by $4.112 billion to $640.279 billion, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.India's foreign exchange reserves have declined in 12 of the last 13 weeks, hitting a multi-month low.The reserves have been declining ever since they touched an all-time high of $704.89 billion in September. Effectively, it is now down by about 10 per cent from the peak.The…

04 Jan

Helpline number launched in Guwahati for citizens

editorAssam

In a bid to enhance public safety, Guwahati Police has launched a dedicated WhatsApp helpline number for residents. Announcing the initiative, Police Commissioner Parthasarathi Mahanta shared that the helpline- 6026900651-will be operational round the clock, providing citizens with a quick and efficient way to report issues or seek help. "This helpline is part of our continued effort to make policing more accessible and responsive to the needs of the people," said Mahanta during a media briefing.