Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Friday lauded the move by his DMK-led government to release the State Education Policy (SEP) amid opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP), demanding that education must be brought back to the State list. “Education was once in the state list, then changed to the concurrent list. It should be brought back to the state list again,” Stalin said while addressing the gathering at the Anna Centenary Library Auditorium.

Targeting the central government, the Deputy CM claimed that efforts were being made to “destroy” education in the state. “I feel proud today when our CM released the state education policy. This is an educational and knowledge festival today. TN is creating history now. Our Tamils were given education in the Sangam era, but it was denied in the middle. Not only then, but now too, efforts are made to destroy our education,” Stalin said.

Recalling Periyar’s opposition to the Kula Kalvi scheme (Modified Scheme of Elementary Education), the Deputy CM stated that the centre was attempting to implement the same allegedly controversial scheme that had faced protests under NEP. “Kuka Kalvi scheme (Modified Scheme of Elementary Education) was opposed by our leader Periyar, and protests were done, and then that scheme was dropped. Now, the Union government is trying to impose the Kuka Kalvi scheme through the NEP. It’s our CM who said firmly and boldly that we will not accept NEP and we will have our own SEP,” Stalin stated.

He praised CM MK Stalin for taking a firm stand against implementing the NEP and the three-language policy in Tamil Nadu. “The Union minister said you should implement a new education policy and triple language in our education, or else no funds will be released to the state. But our CM opposed it and stood firm on double language,” Udhayanidhi added. This move comes after months of protests against the National Education Policy (NEP) promoted by the Centre.

The DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has consistently opposed the NEP, calling it “against social justice” and an attempt to impose Hindi on the state. Tamil Nadu has refused to implement the NEP.

In May, the state government filed a plea in the Supreme Court over the alleged withholding of about ₹2,200 crore in central funds, which it linked to its refusal to adopt the NEP. The plea asks the court to declare that the NEP 2020 and the PM SHRI Schools Scheme are not binding on the state unless it formally agrees to them.The government argued that its funds under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme have been unlawfully tied to these central schemes, calling the move “unconstitutional, arbitrary, and illegal”.

Published on August 8, 2025

 US Mars, Brazilian Sepia, and Nigerian grades replace discounted Russian oil in latest IOC, BPCL buys, after US pressured India to halt purchases from Russia

Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp, the country’s biggest state refiners, have bought at least 22 million barrels of non-Russian crude for delivery in September and October, trade sources said, after US pressured India to halt purchases from Russia.

Indian state refiners had been largely absent from the spot market since 2022, instead becoming one of the few purchasers of cheaper Russian crude after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They paused Russian purchases in late July after pressure from US President Donald Trump.

In its latest tender, IOC bought 2 million barrels of US Mars crude, 2 million barrels of Brazilian grades and another 1 million barrels of Libyan crude on a delivered basis, the sources said.

BP sold the high-sulphur Mars crude cargo at $1.5-$2 a barrel above September Dubai quotes, they added.

European trader Petraco sold the 1 million barrels of Libyan Sarir and Mesla crude and Totsa, the trading arm of TotalEnergies, sold the 2 million barrels of Brazilian Sepia and Sururu crude, the sources said. The prices for these cargoes were not immediately available.

Those deals follow IOC’s purchase of 8 million barrels of September delivery crude from the Middle East, United States, Canada and Nigeria via tenders in the past week.

India’s second biggest state refiner BPCL bought 9 million barrels of oil through negotiations for September arrival, a source familiar with the purchases said.

That included 1 million barrels of Angola Girassol, 1 million barrels of US Mars, 3 million barrels of Abu Dhabi Murban and 2 million barrels of Nigerian oil, he said.

Companies typically do not comment on crude deals citing confidentiality.

The arbitrage economics of sending Atlantic Basin grades to Asia have also improved for Asian refiners, supporting these purchases, the sources said.

Published on August 8, 2025

Crude oil futures traded lower on Friday morning as markets expressed concerns about the impact of US tariffs on the global economy. The tariffs came into effect on Thursday.

At 9.58 am on Friday, October Brent oil futures were at $66.36, down by 0.11 per cent, and September crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $63.79, down by 0.14 per cent. August crude oil futures were trading at ₹5,598 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹5,604, down by 0.11 per cent, and September futures were trading at ₹5,542 against the previous close of ₹5,547, down by 0.09 per cent.

US has imposed steep tariffs on imports from some of the major trading partners. Markets fear that these tariffs could impact the global economy. This, in turn, may affect the demand for commodities such as crude oil.

Some reports said that US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are likely to meet in the coming days. A positive result from the proposed meeting could help ease concerns on oil supplies to the global market.

In their Commodities Feed for Friday, Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy of ING Think, and Ewa Manthey, Commodities Strategist, said ICE Brent settled almost 0.7 per cent lower on Thursday with hopes that Trump and Putin may meet soon, possibly as soon as next week. It’s still unclear if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will take part.

“This is important because it could affect the secondary tariffs on India, depending on how discussions go,” they said. It is important to note that Trump’s deadline for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal expires on Friday, leaving open the risk that the US will still tighten sanctions against Russia, they said.

August natural gas futures were trading at ₹270.80 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹268.70, up by 0.78 per cent.

On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), September dhaniya contracts were trading at ₹7,834 in the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹7,882, down by 0.61 per cent.

August jeera futures were trading at ₹18,850 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹18,915, down by 0.34 per cent.

Published on August 8, 2025