Latest news with #Assam
The Print
3 days ago
- Business
- The Print
Iran-Israel conflict: Tea exporters anxious, orthodox prices start falling
Indian Tea Association Chairman Hemant Bangur said exporters remain cautious in terms of buying orthodox tea as they are not sure about shipments to Iran and might be worried about payments from importers of that country. They are also apprehensive that exporters may face hurdles in terms of rising freight charges and insurance costs for their shipment to Iran which is in the midst of a military conflict with Israel. Kolkata, Jun 18 (PTI) The ongoing conflict in West Asia has left tea exporters worried, as uncertainty prevailed over shipment prospects to Iran and an early sign of 'falling' prices of the orthodox tea variety, which that country usually imports from India, was noticed, according to stakeholders. 'Exporters have exercised a cautious stance to source orthodox tea through the auction route as they are facing uncertainty over shipment volume to Iran and are concerned about payment. This has pulled both the sale percentage and prices of orthodox teas downward,' Bangur told PTI. The orthodox tea is considered a premium variety and money spinner as it helps planters and traders realise better prices. 'Iran is roughly a 35 million kg market for India and is an important trading partner for us. The conflict between Iran and Israel is a matter of worry. Currently, we are waiting and watching. Exporters are in touch with Iranian importers,' Indian Tea Exporters' Association chairman Anshuman Kanoria told PTI. Due to the uncertainty looming large, exporters remain 'conservative in buying tea for Iran', and this has impacted the sale percentage and prices of the orthodox variety of tea, he said. 'In the last few days, the orthodox tea market in terms of sales and prices has been down by roughly 5-10 per cent, and this is mainly because of the uncertainty arising out of the geo-political tension between Iran and Israel. Prior to the conflict, orthodox market sentiment was optimistic. However, we are hopeful for an early solution to the conflict,' Kanoria said. Echoing him, one of the top exporters, Asian Tea Company's Director Mohit Agarwal said that the sale of the Assam orthodox has stopped since the conflict unfolded and the exporters are anxious. 'Iran is mostly an Assam orthodox market and since the conflict started, the auction sale quantity has dropped and prices of such variety in the auction are down by 5 to 10 per cent. However, it is too early to assess the situation. It is more of a wait-and-watch situation now. If the conflict prolongs, it will cast a shadow on the prospect of tea exports, but we are hoping for a quick resolution,' Agarwal told PTI. The situation could worsen if the tension escalates and the conflict spreads to other countries in the West Asia region, the exporters said. 'If this geo-political conflict persists, it is likely to disrupt the supply chain and adversely impact the overall tea shipment. This may impact the prices of the orthodox variety in the near future. During the April-May period this year, the cumulative orthodox price was Rs 20 a kg higher, while the prices of the CTC variety were flat,' rating agency ICRA Vice President and Sector Head Sumit Jhunjhunwala told PTI. The overall West Asia market, including Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE, consumes around 90 million kg of Indian tea, Jhunjhunwala said. South India Tea Exporters Association Chairman Dipak Shah said exporters are keeping their fingers crossed as freight costs and insurance expenses for shipment are likely to increase if the Iran-Israel conflict lasts for a long time. 'Iran predominantly buys orthodox tea from north India, but a certain quantity moves out to Iran from south India. There is apprehension among exporters about how the situation will pan out in the next few days. Obviously, nobody wants to venture into a country engaged in a military conflict,' Shah told PTI. Tea exports from India increased by 9.92 per cent to 254.67 million kg, from January to December 2024, as against 231.69 million kg in the previous calendar year. According to Tea Board provisional data for the period between January and March 2025, the exports during the three months stood marginally higher at 69.22 million kg as compared to 67.53 million kg in the corresponding period of the previous year. PTI BDC NN This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
CBI books ex-DGM of ONGC, owners of 8 medical stores in ₹45 lakh fraud case
New Delhi, The CBI has registered a case against a former deputy general manager of ONGC, Jorhat, Assam and nine others in a ₹45 lakh fraud case related to issuance of bogus medical bills, officials said Wednesday. Accused ex-DGM Bijoy Kumar Shaw and his colleague the then contractual medical officer Eashitva Tamuly and the proprietors of eight empanelled private medical shops have been named in the FIR registered on the basis of a complaint from the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, they said. The agency has alleged that the group operated in collusion between 2019 and 2022 a timeframe largely overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic to misappropriate funds by fabricating medical documentation, the officials said. "It was also alleged that the proprietors of eight empanelled medical shops claimed false and bogus bills of ₹45 lakh raised on the basis of fake requisition slips for issuance of medicines without the knowledge of beneficiaries of ONGC and their dependents," the CBI said in a statement. The CBI conducted searches at the residential premises of the accused which led to the recovery of incriminating documents, the agency said. The FIR registered by the agency on the complaint of ONGC Vigilance Department alleged that between 2019 and 2022, the accused medical shops supplied medicines to ONGC and CISF personnel based on slips generated by ONGC's Medical Section in Jorhat, where Shaw was posted. These slips were created without any legitimate requisition or authorisation from the purported recipients, the FIR alleged. As part of ONGC's internal vigilance inquiry, high-value medicine credit slips and requisition documents tied to 106 medical beneficiaries were scrutinised. The beneficiaries were contacted to verify the authenticity of the documents and confirm receipt of medicines. Out of the 63 individuals who responded, 29 27 retired and two active personnel categorically denied ever requesting or receiving the listed medicines and also disowned the signatures attributed to them or their dependents, the FIR said. The amount linked specifically to these 29 cases was estimated at approximately ₹5 lakh, the FIR said. With prima facie indication of a fraud, the department expanded the inquiry with 1,042 bills, of these, 905 beneficiaries responded, and 340 individuals outrightly denied initiating any requisition or receiving the medicines in question. They also disputed the authenticity of the signatures associated with their names, the statement said. Following the emergence of evidence of systemic fraud, ONGC escalated the matter to the CBI for investigation.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Players very eager to go to Namibia, says Assam men's team coach Saikia
Kolkata: It's not often in India that domestic sides embark on overseas tours to gain international exposure. Even if they do, it's mostly local teams that they play against on those tours outside the country. So, when Assam leave for their Namibia tour on Wednesday — to take on Namibia men's national side for five one-day games as part of their pre-season training — it will be one of the rarest of overseas tours for any team in India. For Assam it's first-ever, as on their previous and only foreign tour in August 2018, they played against Sri Lankan club sides. The 15-member squad, under the tutelage of Assam U19 coach Subhrajit Saikia, will be captained by young batter Denish Das on this African sojourn and was made battle ready with a six-day camp held at ACA Stadium in Barsapara, Guwahati, from June 11-16. "We have been playing those exposure matches within the country so far and now we're going to another country to play against a national team. It will be a big experience for the boys to gain confidence ahead of the domestic season. They're very eager to go to Namibia," Saikia told TOI from Guwahati on Tuesday, a rest day before they depart for the tour. "In the camp we had 24 boys, and we focused on the 15 selected for the tour. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Ayushman Malakar is a young prospect, a U19 fast bowling all-rounder, who has been promoted to the senior side for this tour. Apart from him all the boys played domestic matches last season, so we have a pretty good squad. We did match simulation and played 40-over games during the preparatory camp since it's been pretty hot in Guwahati for the last few days," added the former first-class cricketer from Assam. Expecting different conditions in the Namibian capital Windhoek, Saikia said his side has all bases covered. "It's winter in Namibia now. So we are expecting the ball to move a bit there. We have four fast bowlers and three spinners. But whatever the conditions, we have the resources to overcome different situations," Saikia sounded confident of his wards. Captain Das, meanwhile, will be one of the players to look forward to on this tour. He was the Ranji Trophy skipper last season in the absence of the most famous son of the soil Riyan Parag and the 23-year-old has led by example. Wicketkeeper-batter Sumit Ghadigaonkar will be his deputy in Namibia. "Denish (Das) came up with great knocks and I think he has a good prospect to become a very good player. But we always miss Riyan. We want him to be with us, but he is in the national set-up now. Actually, it's very good that without Riyan they are coming up with good performances for Assam and they think that they can be the next big name, like Riyan," said Saikia. On a personal front, though Saikia is elated to coach the senior side on the tour, he will be happy to nurture the U19 boys again, once he comes back home. "I went to Bangladesh with the U19 team last year. So now going with a senior team to a different country, it will be a great learning experience for me. I hope I can learn many good things from this tour which I can apply with the youngsters and help them get to the next level," Saikia signed off with a promise to impart that knowledge to the age-group cricketers. The schedule: Jun 21: 1st one-day match; Jun 23: 2nd one-day; Jun 25: 3rd one-day; Jun 27: 4th one-day; Jun 29: 5th one-day (all matches in Windhoek)
The Age
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
Ho Jiak is now open in Melbourne inside a mega three-storey venue
Previous SlideNext Slide Malaysian$$$$ Malaysian-born Junda Khoo 's Ho Jiak has four iterations across Sydney, including the hatted Town Hall restaurant. Now, Khoo has brought his thrilling brand of Malaysian cooking to Melbourne with a three-level, three-in-one venue on Rainbow Alley in the CBD. The first two venues opened in late May: fast-casual Da Bao, serving home-style Malaysian dishes on street level, and beer hall Ho Liao, doing Malaysian classics with a twist on the top floor. But the jewel in the crown, Ho Jiak – Junda's Playground, opened in mid-June on the level between them. Here, tamarind-powered Assam laska comes not in a big steaming bowl, but magicked into an icy granita with slivers of raw kingfish. The green-chilli-based sambal ijo is mashed up with the herbs of chimichurri to make a fiery accompaniment for grilled John dory. And hand-picked Northern Territory mud crab crowns the smoky char kwai teow noodles.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Ho Jiak is now open in Melbourne inside a mega three-storey venue
Previous SlideNext Slide Malaysian$$$$ Malaysian-born Junda Khoo 's Ho Jiak has four iterations across Sydney, including the hatted Town Hall restaurant. Now, Khoo has brought his thrilling brand of Malaysian cooking to Melbourne with a three-level, three-in-one venue on Rainbow Alley in the CBD. The first two venues opened in late May: fast-casual Da Bao, serving home-style Malaysian dishes on street level, and beer hall Ho Liao, doing Malaysian classics with a twist on the top floor. But the jewel in the crown, Ho Jiak – Junda's Playground, opened in mid-June on the level between them. Here, tamarind-powered Assam laska comes not in a big steaming bowl, but magicked into an icy granita with slivers of raw kingfish. The green-chilli-based sambal ijo is mashed up with the herbs of chimichurri to make a fiery accompaniment for grilled John dory. And hand-picked Northern Territory mud crab crowns the smoky char kwai teow noodles.
