Latest news with #Panipat
Hindustan Times
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Gurugram, Hansi incidents outcome of westernisation : Khattar
Days after the killing of a tennis player in Gurugram and a school principal in Hisar, Union power minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday expressed concern over the incidents and also blamed western influence on the society. The minister, also Karnal MP, was in the city to chair a brief interaction with district officials and party leaders. (HT File) The minister, also Karnal MP, was in the town to chair a brief interaction with district officials and party leaders. Speaking to reporters, Khattar said that he met the new office-bearers of the district party unit and of Panipat, a day earlier. When asked about the alleged murder of a tennis player by her father in Gurugram and a school principal by his students in Hisar, the former Haryana chief minister said that the cases are a serious cause of concern for the society. 'This (Gurugram) is a family matter, a case was registered and a probe is underway, on which I should not comment. Talking about the society, I think as the number of joint families is decreasing and individualism in families is rising; now there are no grand-parents, elder brothers or cousins to handle each other during a crisis,' he said. Khattar also blamed Western influence and said that lack of good upbringing could also have a bearing in such cases. The minister, however, did not react to media reports, predicting him as next national president of the BJP and repeated his earlier comment, 'Karmanye Vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana.'
Zawya
11-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Indian Oil to upgrade Panipat refinery's diesel unit for green jet fuel production
NEW DELHI - Indian Oil Corp plans to shut the diesel desulphuriser unit at its 300,000 barrel-per-day Panipat refinery for an upgrade aimed at producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) next year, Arvind Kumar, its head of refineries, said on Thursday. The overhaul of the diesel unit is scheduled for late this year or early next year, Kumar told an industry event in New Delhi. India aims to have 1% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in aviation fuel by 2027, doubling to 2% in 2028. The refinery's diesel output would not be hit due to the shutdown as the refiner has additional diesel hydrotreaters at the Panipat site. The upgraded unit will process used cooking oil (UCO) to produce 30,000 metric tons per year of SAF, he said. Indian Oil, the country's largest refiner, will also look at upgrading some kerosene-producing units at other refineries to make SAF, he said. He also said that Indian Oil will soon invite bids for a 70,000 tons-per-year green hydrogen plant and a sustainable aviation fuel project. Indian Oil has already awarded a bid to build a 10,000 tons-per-year green hydrogen facility at the Panipat refinery to engineering major Larsen and Toubro. L&T will build and operate the plant and sell green hydrogen to Indian Oil at 397 Indian rupees ($4.64) per kilogram. India has set a target for refiners to meet half of their hydrogen demand through green hydrogen by 2030, he said. ($1 = 85.6490 Indian rupees)
Reuters
10-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Indian Oil to upgrade Panipat diesel refinery for green jet fuel production
NEW DELHI, July 10 (Reuters) - Indian Oil Corp ( opens new tab plans to shut its 300,000 barrels-per-day diesel desulphuriser unit at its Panipat refinery for an upgrade aimed at producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) next year, Arvind Kumar, its head of refineries, said on Thursday. The overhaul of the diesel unit is scheduled for late this year or early next year, Kumar told an industry event in New Delhi. India aims to have 1% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in aviation fuel by 2027, doubling to 2% in 2028. The refinery's diesel output would not be hit due to the shutdown as the refiner has additional diesel hydrotreaters at the Panipat site. The upgraded unit will process used cooking oil (UCO) to produce 30,000 metric tons per year of SAF, he said. Indian Oil, the country's largest refiner, will also look at upgrading some kerosene-producing units at other refineries to make SAF, he said. He also said that Indian Oil will soon invite bids for a 70,000 tons-per-year green hydrogen plant and a sustainable aviation fuel project. Indian Oil has already awarded a bid to build a 10,000 tons-per-year green hydrogen facility at the Panipat refinery to engineering major Larsen and Toubro ( opens new tab. L&T will build and operate the plant and sell green hydrogen to Indian Oil at 397 Indian rupees ($4.64) per kilogram. India has set a target for refiners to meet half of their hydrogen demand through green hydrogen by 2030, he said. ($1 = 85.6490 Indian rupees)
The Print
27-06-2025
- Business
- The Print
From cotton to carbon fibre, Modi government is quietly rewriting India's textile script
This is not a revival. It is reinvention. To build a Viksit Bharat by 2047, the foundations must reach beyond concrete and steel. They must be grounded in communities, livelihoods and cultural continuity. Nowhere is this vision more vividly realised than in the textile sector. As the second-largest employer with 4.6 crore people, it is more than an industry. It is a living ecosystem of skill, identity, and opportunity. Once seen as lagging, it has quietly transformed into a modern economic engine. Traditional weaves are entering global markets, while technical textiles are making inroads into aerospace and agriculture. And at the grassroots, every loom and spindle carries a deeper story of dignity, renewal, and quiet strength. This revolution was not televised. It was woven. While the world tracked digital breakthroughs and infrastructure booms, something quieter and more profound was unfolding on Bharat's looms. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, what was once dismissed as a legacy industry has been recast into a force of resilience, innovation and pride. From Bhagalpur's shimmering silk to Panipat's recycled threads, the transformation has been slow, steady and stunning. We often speak of textiles in the language of trade. Exports and imports, deficits and surpluses. But that narrow lens misses the scale of what's truly at work. The strength of Bharat's textile sector doesn't lie only in its foreign shipments. It is anchored in something far more enduring. A rising population, a domestic engine that refuses to slow down, and an evolving taste for both heritage and innovation. It is driven by 143 crore Indians seeking comfort, identity, and aspiration in what they wear, the homes they furnish, and the traditions they uphold. Also read: Why India's critical textile sector, employing 4.5 crore people, is facing challenges A decade of growth When our government assumed office in 2014, India's textile sector stood at a crossroads, rooted in legacy but adrift in a globalising competitiveness. Once marked by stagnation, the textile sector's scale and structure have been rewoven through targeted skilling under Samarth, bold new-age investments via the Mission for Cotton productivity, PLI scheme, and world-class infrastructure through PM MITRA Parks. Employment in Bharat's textile sector has risen sharply from 3 crore in 2014 to 4.6 crore today, marking a robust expansion in both opportunity and capacity to absorb skilled and unskilled labour. Market size has surged from $112 billion to $176 billion, propelled by growing domestic demand and enhanced production depth. Garment exports, long a cornerstone of the sector, have grown from $14 billion to $18 billion, reflecting consistent gains in value-added output. The long-pending India-UK FTA has finally been sealed under the leadership of PM Modi. It promises a decisive edge for Bharat's labour-intensive textile sector by opening the door for the nation to rise as a global hub for manufacturing and exports. But these are more than numbers. They signal a strategic reset. Moving from ad-hoc interventions to long-term vision, our government has broadened the industry's horizon beyond its cotton core to embrace man-made fibres, new-age fibres and technical textiles. The areas once overlooked are now poised for global competitiveness. The vision is no longer stitched to domestic threads alone. It is about integrating Bharat's textiles into global value chains with resilience, skill, and sustainability. This transformation is not by chance. It is the result of focused governance, bold reforms, and unwavering commitment under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Cotton fields to carbon fibre Bharat's textile story today stretches far beyond traditional threads, spanning from cotton fields to carbon fibre, from handlooms to high-performance technical textiles. At the grassroots, the government has extended unprecedented support to natural fibres. With the new Mission for Cotton Productivity, India aims to increase cotton production from 5.70 to 7.70 MMT and productivity from 439 to 612 kg/hectare by 2030. At present, cotton holds 3.16 per cent and Kasturi Cotton holds just 1 per cent of the global cotton export market. Under the Mission for Cotton Productivity, our goal is to position it as 10 per cent of premium global cotton exports by 2030. Cotton procurement by the Cotton Corporation of India has risen 338 per cent in the last 11 years, while Minimum Support Prices for both medium and long staple cotton have more than doubled, delivering direct gains to farmers. Silk production is up by over 58 per cent. Even jute, once a declining segment, has seen renewed momentum. Jute exports have more than doubled from Rs 1,470 crore in 2014 to over Rs 3,000 crore in 2024, driven by a surge in demand for diversified jute products, whose exports have more than tripled over the decade. As Bharat strengthens its roots in natural fibres, it is also reaching decisively toward the future. The Production Linked Incentive Scheme, with Rs 10,683 crore in outlay and over 3 lakh jobs created, has helped position Bharat as a global producer of PPE kits. The technical textile market, once virtually non-existent in exports and modest in scale, has surged to an estimated $26 billion in 2025. From negligible exports, Bharat now records $3 billion in outbound trade. From Agrotech and Meditech, Bharat is making decisive strides across all twelve verticals of technical textiles by positioning itself as a rising global leader in this high-value, innovation-driven domain. Seven PM MITRA Parks are being developed as integrated plug and play, one stop solution textile hubs bringing together the entire value chain from fibre to fashion. Together, they are expected to draw Rs 70,000 crore in investment and generate more than 22 lakh jobs, with Rs 22,000 crore already committed. Apart from PM MITRA Parks, 50 textile parks have been developed under the Scheme for Integrated Textiles Parks, attracting Rs 15,000 crore investment and creating 1.3 lakh jobs. From the cotton farmer to the carbon fibre innovator, the Modi government is quietly rewriting the script. From agriculture to aerospace, Bharat's textile transformation is stitching together the fabric of a truly Viksit Bharat. Also read: North Indian artisans carry a photo of this textile historian — she helped revive their craft Bharat's green textile economy Research and innovation were long the blind spots of Bharat's textile sector. Under previous governments, the industry remained tethered to conventional fibres, with little effort to modernise or lead in sustainability. The Modi government has reversed this inertia by placing R&D at the core of its textile strategy and backing the exploration of next-generation fibres that blend environmental responsibility with global competitiveness. Since 2020, under National Technical Textile Mission, 168 research projects worth Rs 509 crore have been approved, signalling a decisive shift from neglect to strategic investment. With a target to double the sector's value to $350 billion by 2030, sustainability is no longer an afterthought. This comes at a critical time. As fast fashion gains momentum, it is expected to grow into a $50-$60 billion market by 2030. With that, it brings a surge in textile waste driven by quick-changing trends. In response, Bharat has moved swiftly to build a circular and sustainable economy. Panipat has emerged as the world's largest hub for pre and post-consumer textile recycling, anchoring Bharat's leadership in sustainable manufacturing. Today, it is the world's second-largest producer of recycled fibre, converting over 40 billion plastic bottles annually. Over 90 per cent of PET bottles are recycled, among the highest rates globally. To further strengthen sustainable practices, six projects have been approved under the Integrated Processing Development Scheme to promote Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) systems and Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs). This momentum is feeding into the broader bio economy, which contributes 4.25 per cent to the national GDP. It is valued at $165.7 billion and projected to nearly double in the coming years. A key pillar of this transformation is the rise of alternative fibres. Ramie, Milkweed, Flax, Sisal are natural materials that are both high-performance and climate-friendly. Milkweed, once considered agricultural weed, is now being refined into insulation-grade textile for high-end use. By fusing biotechnology with traditional wisdom and scaling research investments, the Modi government is reshaping Bharat's textile future. One that strengthens rural livelihoods, leads in sustainability, and aligns with Atmanirbhar Bharat. From local to global Heritage in Bharat is no longer a memory preserved, it is a movement in motion. It has become a source of identity, empowerment, and economic renewal. Nowhere is this transformation more visible than in the handloom sector. On Republic Day, the launch of the e-Pehchaan card marked a quiet revolution. What began as a digital registry for 35 lakh weavers has since grown into a dynamic movement, bringing 35,000 new weavers into the fold. This is more than inclusion, it is revival. The loom is returning to homes, and a new generation is taking it up with pride. While in the handicrafts sector, over 30 lakh artisans have been registered under the Pehchaan card, ensuring formal identity and access to government support. Before 2014, support through the MUDRA scheme reached just 1.25 lakh weavers. Today, over 3 lakh have benefitted. A clear shift from tokenism to meaningful empowerment. The loom is no longer just a symbol of tradition. It is a tool of aspiration, enabling small businesses and opening pathways to global markets. Handicrafts have witnessed a similar resurgence. Exports have risen from Rs 29,000 crore in 2014 to over Rs 49,000 crore, as artisans step confidently onto the world stage. With 313 GI tags, two editions of Bharat Tex, and a growing global footprint, traditional crafts have been repositioned as drivers of economic value and cultural prestige. Today, a Banarasi weaver or a Kutch embroiderer is not just preserving a legacy; she is defining contemporary luxury and powering exports. At the centre of this transformation is Samarth, the government's flagship skilling programme launched in 2017. More than 4.3 lakh individuals, predominantly women, rural youth, and traditional artisans, have been trained to meet industry standards. Since 2014, over 12.55 lakh people have been trained under the Integrated Skill Development Scheme and Samarth. With new skills and focused support, they are not just surviving, they are leading. Platforms like ONDC and India Handmade have enabled them to bypass middlemen, access global markets, and build sustainable, self-owned enterprises. This growing pool of skilled talent is fuelling a new creative economy. One where design, innovation, and tradition come together to shape Bharat's global edge. With four new campuses since 2014, NIFT is at the centre of this design revolution by blending tradition with innovation at scale. Through home-grown tools like VisioNxt for trend forecasting and India Size for indigenous sizing, Bharat is no longer following the West. It is setting its own standard. The artisan is no longer on the margins. She is a creator, a change maker, an entrepreneur of a new Bharat. This is not a return to the past, it is the shaping of a future, one skilled hand at a time. Also read: Men get all the credit for bandhani. Zakiya Khatri is on a mission to change that Aligned with Viksit Bharat 2047 Bharat's textile journey is no longer about threads and tradition alone. It is about shaping the nation's future. Under our government, the sector has evolved from a legacy industry into a strategic force with creating jobs, boosting exports, upskilling youth, and placing sustainability at its core. It honours its roots while responding to global demands with precision and purpose. Today, Bharat's textile sector is not just growing, it is leading. It is green, it is global, and it is future-ready. As the world searches for models that are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, India is not waiting for its turn. It is stepping forward to lead. The world is demanding. Bharat is delivering. And with every step, Modi Sarkar is walking beside its weavers, artisans, and entrepreneurs, turning vision into action, and tradition into triumph. Giriraj Singh is the union minister of textiles. Views are personal. (Edited by Theres Sudeep)
Express Tribune
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
The imaginary saffron past
As a ceasefire takes hold, one of the starkest takeaways from the final days of India's military aggression in Pakistan is Bollywood's resounding cheerleading for Modi's Hindutva regime. With a tightening ideological bandwidth, the range of stories the Hindi film industry is willing to tell has diminished. What has replaced them are large-scale historical dramas, nationalist spectacles, and biopics that elevate grand origin myths of Brahminism and Hindutva's raj. From medieval queens to modern exoduses, here are five films that blur fact and fiction, painting civilisational clashes in stark black-and-saffron. Be it snow-dusted plains of 1761 or the contested valleys of Kashmir, each film projects a meticulously curated past, where every stirring speech and every grand tableau sends a clear message: this is the India of today's ruling ideology – and the truth, as always, is what you're told to believe. 'Panipat' (2019) Ashutosh Gowariker's Panipat promised sweeping battle scenes and Maratha bravado but instead served up a hyper-nationalist reimagining of the 1761 clash with Ahmad Shah Durrani. In the film, Sadashiv Rao Bhau (Arjun Kapoor) is the very personification of righteous Maratha valour, clad in polished armour and delivering stirring monologues on "saving motherland's soil." On the other side, Durrani (Sanjay Dutt) is framed almost exclusively as a bloodthirsty "invader," his Afghan warriors snarling like cartoon villains. What Gowariker erases is the realpolitik of the era: alliances between Hindu and Muslim chiefs, intermarriages among royal families, and even the fact that Durrani once maintained cordial ties with some Maratha sardars. Instead, Panipat substitutes nuance with a binary narrative – Hindu heroes vs Muslim hordes – to satisfy a contemporary appetite for "us versus them." Between the flagrant distortion of history and the sheer unbelievability of Arjun as a formidable force, on or off-screen, the film marked yet another Hindutva-inspired box-office dud. Naturally, it won applause in right-wing circles for "honouring Indian history." 'Adipurush' (2023) Who thought the Ramayana could be weaponised via CGI? Adipurush resurrects the epic with militaristic punchlines and beefed-up action sequences worthy of a modern war film. Director Om Raut repaints Ravana, played by Saif Ali Khan, not as the multi-dimensional rakshasa king of lore but as a "dark-bearded tyrant" dressed in black robes, evoking orientalist tropes of medieval Muslim invaders. Opposite him stands Prabhas's Raghava: chiseled, righteous, fate-driven. Every arrow loosed is a pledge to defend Hindu dharma, and every shot celebrates mythic heroism as a blueprint for today's politics. Costume designers even gave Janaki (Kriti Sanon), avatar of goddess Lakshmi and Raghava's wife, abducted by Ravana, a warrior-queen makeover. Clearly, ancient ideals needed a modern feminist spin, however poorly backed by the original text. Critics panned the VFX and whirled at the militarisation of sacred stories, but for audiences primed by nationalist fervour, Adipurush sandwiched both a rallying cry and a holy legend repurposed as contemporary propaganda. 'Samrat Prithviraj' (2022) Akshay Kumar's swagger-filled turn as Prithviraj Chauhan was pitched as the crown jewel of medieval glory. But all the actor brings is the incredibility shaping his humour in Priyadarshan films. Samrat Prithviraj ransacks history to present the 12th-century ruler as India's final pagan sovereign, standing alone against Muhammad Ghori (Manav Vij) and his "barbaric onslaught." In truth, Prithviraj lost to Ghori in the second battle of Tarain, not to mention, the subcontinent's political map was already crisscrossed by fluid alliances, not monolithic faith blocs. Screenwriters borrow selectively from the semi-mythical Prithviraj Raso, amplifying heroic duels and noble martyrdom, while glossing over Prithviraj's own strategic errors and his partnerships with Muslim generals. Despite its noisy marketing, the film fizzled commercially – a telling reminder that jingoism alone can't replace coherent storytelling. 'Padmaavat' (2018) Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat arrived already engulfed in controversy: mobs threatened to burn down theatres; protesters demanded cuts to imaginary "love scenes." Once released, the film's strengths – luminous cinematography, opulent sets, skilled performances – couldn't mask its saffron-tinged undercurrents. Queen Padmavati (Deepika Padukone) becomes the paragon of Rajput honour, while Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh) transmogrifies into a blood-lusty caricature, prowling Delhi's marble corridors in inky robes. Bhansali leans into the legend from Malik Muhammad Jayasi's 16th-century poem without ever acknowledging its fictional basis. Khilji's character is stripped of historical context – no mention of his architectural patronage or his complex administrative reforms. Instead, he's an animalistic antagonist, reinforcing a trope of the "predatory Muslim invader." Meanwhile, the Rajputs are a monolith of virtue, united in a mass jauhar rather than divided by the internecine politics that actually plagued Chittor. The film is a tragic addition to Bhansali's many exhausted attempts at historical fiction. 'The Kashmir Files' (2022) If Panipat and Padmaavat weaponise myth, The Kashmir Files weaponises trauma. Starring Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, and Pallavi Joshi, the film centres on a young Kashmiri Hindu student raised by his exiled grandfather and kept in the dark about his parents' deaths. Vivek Agnihotri's film foregrounds the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 – an under-told horror story of death threats, bomb blasts, and mass displacement. But in compressing years of conflict into slickly edited set pieces, the film trades nuance for punchy outrage. Graphic scenes – bloodied bodies, impassioned pleas – feed a binary of "innocent Pandit victim" versus "evil Muslim militant," with hardly a nod to the insurgency's broader political context or the simultaneous suffering of Kashmiri Muslims. The film's ascension to tax-free status in BJP-ruled states, plus public endorsements from senior party figures, cemented its political status beyond cinema. Online, hashtags surged, and hardline voices trafficked in fresh Islamophobic hate speech. Real historians have pointed out factual slippages – dates conflated, characters invented, events reordered – to sculpt a narrative that fits neatly into a Hindutva playbook.
