Daily Briefing: Slick signals

On that note, let’s get to today’s edition.

Big Story

Early signs show that Indian imports of Russian oil have dropped sharply after the US announced sanctions on Moscow’s oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil. Indian refiners seem wary of the latest sanctions that will take effect from November 21.

Data: According to provisional tanker data, provided by Kpler, in the week ending October 27, crude oil exports to Indian from Russia averaged 1.19 million barrels per day (bpd). This was significantly down from the 1.95 million bpd in the previous two weeks. The crash was driven by lower dispatches from Rosneft and Lukoil, which once made up two-thirds of India’s Russian oil imports. Industry experts, however, caution that these are early days, and the picture will only become clearer in a month or so. Read Sukalp Sharma’s detailed analysis.

Dominoes fall: The Indian government has yet to announce its official position on Russian oil purchases. Earlier, it had said it would buy oil, as long as it is unsanctioned, from wherever it gets the best deal. Historically, India has avoided importing sanctioned oil from countries like Iran and Venezuela. Indian refiners such as the public sector Indian Oil and the private Reliance have signalled that they abide by the sanctions imposed on Russia.

Decision 2025

Bihar has a migration problem. The lack of employment opportunities within the state forces many youngsters to leave home and seek jobs in other states. This has been one of the key electoral issues in the lead-up to the Assembly polls. West Champaran seems to have bucked the trend. The 2011 Census listed it as one of the 14 districts that provided the “pull factor” for migration within the state, and it also saw a large number of migrants return after they lost jobs during the Covid pandemic in 2020. Here, the NDA’s “jungle raj” rhetoric finds resonance, as many credit Nitish Kumar for improving law and order in Champaran, once a hub of criminal activity. Read Liz Mathew’s ground report on what moves voters in this BJP bastion.

Also read: In our ongoing series on Bihar’s political history, today’s spotlight is on Karpoori Thakur, the 11th Chief Minister, who had two short tenures but left behind a long-lasting legacy.

From the Front Page

New details about Powai’s hostage crisis have come to light. An IPS officer told The Indian Express that former school education minister Deepak Kesarkar had refused to speak to the accused Rohit Arya. The latter had asked police to connect him with Kesarkar, whom he blamed for the alleged non-payment of dues for the work he had done for the department. Kesarkar, when contacted, told this paper that he felt the hostage-taker should instead speak to the officials “responsible” for the dues. As Arya grew more restless, the police decided to go ahead with ‘Plan B’. Read my colleague Mohamed Thaver’s exclusive report.

Sheroes: The journeys of the 16 champions of women’s cricket all have similar beginnings. Most of them played alongside boys and were among the first girls to enrol in their local cricket academy. Shafali Verma, the star of the final match, in fact, began cricket, replacing her brother in a tournament after a haircut. When they started, they had few role models to look up to, and even fewer supporters besides families and coaches. With the maiden Women’s World Cup victory, one hopes that the origin stories will look a lot different for those who follow in their footsteps. Vinayakk Mohanarangan writes.

Join Vinayakk and Mihir Vasavda as they dissect what the World Cup win means for Indian cricket in today’s ‘3 Things’ podcast episode.

Must Read

‘G2’: The US and China share complex links. Look back at 2009 — it was China that helped the US recover from its financial crisis. But soon, the tide turned, and the US pursued a “delinking” of their economies. But today, with a trade truce in tow, US President Donald Trump seems to have conceded that the US and China must indeed work together. What does this mean for India? Read Sanjaya Baru’s opinion piece.

Trouble in paradise: The Indian Heaven’s Premier League (IHPL) was supposed to bring cricket to the heart of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar. The private league began on October 25 and was scheduled to end on November 8. But things went awry pretty quickly. Turns out, the organisers have allegedly left the city, leaving players, including international stars like Chris Gayle, match officials and hotel bills unpaid.

And Finally…

A record high of 4,70,000 cars were sold in October, with nearly every major automaker recording a jump in sales. The boost in sales, 17% higher than the previous year, came in part due to the festive season. However, this much-needed revival in the small-car segment was also bolstered by the GST reforms. Read our explainer.

That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta

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