Shivam Patel

Reuters • 31st July 2024

EU delays talks with Bangladesh on pact after Dhaka's response to protests

The European Union said it has postponed negotiations with Bangladesh on a new cooperation agreement after criticism of Dhaka's response to contain deadly protests that killed at least 150 people this month.

Reuters • 8th July 2024

'Miracles' and hope: Stampede spotlights India's craze for godmen

Just a pat on the back by preacher "Bhole Baba" and Ramkumari said a stone in her kidney vanished. The 85-year-old gave no proof but this story and countless others of similar "miracles" led to Baba's following rocketing in India's northern states. A gathering addressed by the former police head constable in a crowded field last week drew a quarter of a million people and caused one of the deadliest stampedes in the country.

Reuters • 4th July 2024

Not politics, not interest rates: India's surging economy at risk from water

India, the world's most populous nation has suffered from water shortages for decades, but crises are coming around with increasing frequency. The shortages are affecting rural and urban Indians alike, disrupting agriculture and industry, stoking food inflation and risking social unrest.

Reuters • 18th March 2024

India's 'lottery king' emerges as top political donor in opaque system

India's "lottery king", accused by the authorities of fraud and money laundering, has emerged with his company as the nation's top political donor under an opaque funding system that has just been partially opened to scrutiny.

Reuters • 29th November 2023

How 'rat miners' rescued trapped workers from India tunnel

SILKYARA, India, Nov 28 (Reuters) - When heavy machinery broke down trying to break through the debris trapping 41 workers in a tunnel in the Indian Himalayas, authorities called in a group of people whose profession is effectively banned in the country - "rat-hole mining".

While augur machines managed to horizontally drill through nearly three-quarters of the debris, it fell on half a dozen miners adept at burrowing in tight spaces to reach the trapped workers on Tuesday.

"It was a difficult

Reuters • 9th November 2023

Indian scientists hope cloud seeding can clean Delhi's toxic air

Indian scientists plan to seed clouds for the first time to trigger heavy rain in some areas of New Delhi, hoping this will be enough to tackle the smog gripping the world's most polluted capital for a week, the project's head said on Thursday.

Reuters • 6th October 2023

Exclusive: Indian glacial lake that flooded was poised to get early warning system

Scientists and government authorities were working on an early warning system for glacial floods at a Himalayan lake in northeast India when it broke its banks this week with deadly consequences.

Mountainous Sikkim state plunged into chaos on Wednesday as floods spurred by heavy rain and an avalanche killed at least 40 people. It was one of the worst disasters in the region in 50 years, and dozens remained missing on Friday.

The first part of the system, a camera t

Reuters • 22nd May 2023

Insight: Heat insurance offers climate change lifeline to poor workers

One of the world's first insurance schemes for extreme heat launched in India's Gujarat state in May aims to help about 21,000 self employed women when rising temperatures makes it difficult to work outdoors.

Reuters • 17th January 2024

India to keep diversifying oil supply, accelerate energy transition -Oil Minister

Supply cuts by OPEC+, costly shipments from some traditional Middle East suppliers and geopolitical tension is driving India, the world's third biggest oil importer, to diversify its crude sources and accelerate its energy transition, its Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.

Reuters • 8th December 2023

India's Russian oil imports seen rising on lower prices - official

Easing global oil prices would help India boost imports from Russia, a senior government official said on Friday, as a lower than $60 a barrel price of Russian oil will enable buyers to use Western services such as insurance and ships.

Reuters • 29th August 2023

India cuts prices of cooking gas as inflation bites

Workers load liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cooking cylinders onto a supply truck outside a distribution centre in Mumbai, India, February 19, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights New Tab , opens new tab

Item 1 of 2 Workers load liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cooking cylinders onto a supply truck outside a distribution centre in Mumbai, India, February 19, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/File Photo

NEW DELHI, Aug 29 (Reuters) - India cut the price of cooking gas for

Reuters • 4th January 2023

India OKs $2 bln incentive plan for green hydrogen industry

India has approved an incentive plan of $2.11 billion to promote green hydrogen in a bid to cut emissions and become a major exporter in the field, the information minister said on Wednesday

Reuters • 8th November 2022

India says Russia oil deals advantageous as Yellen visits Delhi

India will continue buying Russian oil because it benefits the country, India's foreign minister said on Tuesday after meeting his Russian counterpart for the fifth time this year, adding that the two countries were expanding their trade ties.

Reuters • 18th November 2023

Sri Lanka seeks investors for nuclear power plants

Sri Lanka will call for expressions of interest (EOI) in setting up nuclear power plants, its energy minister said on Friday, as it seeks cheap electricity to support its economic recovery.

The primary source of energy in the island nation is from imported oil and coal, and hydropower. The government aims to produce 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and it sees nuclear power as a low-carbon option for its energy mix. It aims to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Reuters • 20th July 2023

India imposes major rice export ban, triggering inflation fears

India on Thursday ordered a halt to its largest rice export category in a move that will roughly halve shipments by the world's largest exporter of the grain, triggering fears of further inflation on global food markets.

Reuters • 23rd June 2023

India to cut daytime power tariffs, raise fees for night use

India will cut tariffs for daytime power use but charge a premium when electricity demand peaks during the night, in a bid to manage surging demand and boost the use of renewable energy.

Reuters • 16th April 2024

Baba Ramdev: Indian yoga guru seeks mercy from judges in misleading ads case

Popular Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev said on Tuesday he made a mistake and apologised to a court for defying its orders to stop misleading advertisements that claim his traditional ayurvedic medicines can cure chronic diseases like diabetes.

Reuters • 4th January 2024

India's Gujarat holding talks with Japan, US firms as Modi eyes chipmaking hub

India's Gujarat state is in talks with chipmakers in Japan, South Korea and the United States for investments in the state, its top minister said on Thursday, in pursuit of India's ambitions of becoming a chipmaker for the world.

Reuters • 25th September 2023

Aviation leasing watchdog cuts India's compliance rating amid Go First tussle

The tail fins of Go First airline, formerly known as GoAir, passenger aircrafts are seen parked on the tarmac at the airport in New Delhi, India, May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights New Tab , opens new tab

NEW DELHI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - A global aviation leasing watchdog has for the second time cut India's compliance rating with international leasing laws and kept the country on a watchlist with a negative outlook amid a dispute between local airline Go First

Reuters • 11th July 2023

India demands higher manufacturing standards from small drugmakers

India is demanding higher standards from small and medium-sized drugmakers, the health minister said on Tuesday, in a bid to improve product quality after Indian-made cough syrups were linked to deaths of children overseas.

Reuters • 25th February 2023

World Bank promises 'concessionality' in debt restructuring

The World Bank will "provide as much concessionality to the debt treatment" for distressed economies as possible, its president told a meeting with the International Monetary Fund, India, China, and other creditor nations on Saturday.

Reuters • 3rd February 2023

Adani crisis ignites Indian contagion fears, credit warnings

Financial contagion fears spread in India on Friday as the Adani Group's crisis worsened, with ratings agency Moody's warning the conglomerate may struggle to raise capital and S&P cutting the outlook on two of its businesses.

Chaotic scenes in both houses of India's parliament led to their adjournment on Friday as some lawmakers demanded an inquiry after a dramatic meltdown in the stock market values of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani's companies.

The crisis was t

Reuters • 3rd February 2023

Gautam Adani, one of India's most powerful men, suffers a rare defeat

India's Gautam Adani, the school dropout who rose to become one of the world's richest men, suffered a stunning defeat when his flagship firm withdrew a blockbuster share sale after an attack by a small U.S. investment firm over his business practices.

Reuters • 19th January 2022

NY attorney general details possible fraud at Donald Trump's family business

Former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during his first post-presidency campaign rally at the Lorain County Fairgrounds in Wellington, Ohio, U.S., June 26, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton Purchase Licensing Rights New Tab , opens new tab

Item 1 of 2 Former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during his first post-presidency campaign rally at the Lorain County Fairgrounds in Wellington, Ohio, U.S., June 26, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

NEW YORK, Jan 19 (Reuters) - New York state's atto

The Indian Express • 8th June 2020

Family buries the wrong body after mix-up at Lok Nayak mortuary

Kalamuddin buried his father twice. The first time, it was a body that he thought belonged to his father and the second time, it was in fact his father.

The Indian Express • 16th May 2020

Line of migrants outside New Delhi Railway station grows: ‘No help, nowhere to go’

Story on stranded migrant workers who could not buy train tickets when railways resumed operation in May 2020.

The Indian Express • 9th May 2020

Migrant worker helps Delhi resident send medicines to mother

Delhi resident Subhash Singh sought help from migrant workers to send life-saving medicines to his mother in Bihar.

The Indian Express • 6th April 2020

‘If we stop work out of fear, how will people get water?’

A deep-dive into the lives of Delhi water department workers during the Covid-19 lockdown over March and April 2020.

The Indian Express • 14th March 2020

Relief, joy as second batch of Wuhan evacuees leave quarantine

One of the first few Covid-19 stories. Over 110 people who were quarantined for 14 days at the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) camp in Chawla, Delhi after being evacuated from China’s Wuhan on February 27, leave quarantine after testing negative.

The Indian Express • 17th September 2019

This is the elephant police and wildlife officials are looking for

A missing elephant that had police and wildlife officials on its tail for over two months in a nation-wide hunt has been kept in hiding in Delhi all along.

The Indian Express • 11th September 2019

Big tech firms had e-waste centres but only on paper, many addresses fake: Delhi probe

How multinational tech firms were found evading electronic waste norms.

The Indian Express • 4th July 2019

Expired meds, indifferent staff: Delhi zoo panel red flags

Findings of a high-powered committee probing allegations of mismanagement at the National Zoological Park.

The Indian Express • 11th January 2020

Diversity, efficiency, flexibility: The brief for redeveloping New Delhi’s Central Vista

The Union government announced the Central Vista redevelopment project, which was bagged by Gujarat-based HCP Design Planning and Management, headed by architect Dr Bimal Patel. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav)

By 2024, the Capital will wear a new look — a new Parliament, a new residence for the Prime Minister, an arboretum of rare plants, and a spruced up Rajpath. The buzz surrounding the Union government’s ambitious redevelopment project of the Central Vista is strong — just as it was in the

The Indian Express • 20th March 2021

No funds to maintain it, Nicholson Cemetery slowly falls into disrepair

A plant has come out of the cracks on James Cummins’ grave in Nicholson Cemetery at Kashmere Gate. The 26-year-old telegraph master was killed by lightning on July 28, 1874, in Delhi, leaving behind “a widow and infant daughter to bewail their loss”.

The Indian Express • 30th May 2020

Delhi: Farmers recall a locust attack which left ‘nothing but straw on ground’

Sitting on a cot in his orchard of guavas in a North Delhi village and peeling mangoes on Friday afternoon, 83-year-old Palleram recalled a memory from his youth. “The sky had turned yellow suddenly that day many years ago..."

The Indian Express • 10th March 2020

Delhi 1985 transistor blasts: 30 acquitted, but long case took heavy toll

In 1985, a young Dalvinder Singh was expecting the result of his Class XII examinations to come out soon, hopeful that a promising future lay ahead of him. The result was brought to him while he was in police custody.

The Indian Express • 25th November 2019

Source to tap: How water reaches homes in Delhi

A challenge has been thrown to the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government by the Centre just before the national capital goes to polls early next year, this time over the city’s water quality.

The Indian Express • 4th November 2019

Ground Zero Sangrur: Farmers battle gaps in govt’s subsidy cover

A dispatch from Sangrur district in Punjab, which recorded the highest number of agricultural residue burning cases in a single day in 2019.

The Indian Express • 10th October 2019

AQIS chief killed in Afghanistan: Feels like we never knew him, says family

A dispatch from Sambhal town in Uttar Pradesh, where family of Al-Qaeda leader Maulana Asim Umar lives. His brother spoke about him after security agencies confirmed his death in Afghanistan.

The Indian Express • 9th September 2019

Hardlook: Space programme

“Today, the social fabric of neighbourhoods is being torn asunder because of fights over this most petty issue of parking,” the Supreme Court observed on September 2.

The Indian Express • 6th January 2020

JNU violence: Delhi Police watch as ambulances smashed, leaders heckled

A little before 8 pm on Sunday, police gathered outside JNU’s north gate, having been called in following the violence unleashed by masked men on campus that lasted close to three hours.

The Indian Express • 21st December 2019

After daylong peaceful protests at Jama Masjid, violence erupts in Old Delhi

At least 45 people, including 13 police officers, were injured as Walled City protests that had largely remained peaceful till 5 pm turned violent on Friday evening.

The Indian Express • 14th December 2019

In Delhi, Jamia protest over Citizenship law turns violent, police use teargas

At least 42 students were detained and over 25 injured Friday after Delhi Police fired tear gas shells and resorted to lathi charge during a protest against the new citizenship law at Jamia Millia Islamia.

Press Association • 11th June 2018

Vigil for jailed Briton Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe marks daughter’s birthday

A story I reported while interning at the Press Association in London. Campaigners pushing for jailed Briton Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release held a vigil outside the Foreign Office on June 11 to mark her daughter’s fourth birthday.

The Hindu • 16th January 2017

It’s the people of Mumbai who make this marathon different

The Mumbai Marathon is more than a road race and an opportunity for charities to raise funds and awareness. It is also an exuberant celebration of the spirit of city.

The Hindu • 27th November 2016

A life more ordinary

People with learning and intellectual disabilities can find it hard to fit into society. One trust hopes to make a difference for at least a few women

The Hindu • 27th August 2016

Haji Ali Dargah entry ruling a victory for women, say petitioners

Petitioners who crusaded for women’s entry to the inner sanctum of Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai, welcomed the Bombay High Court verdict that ruled in their favour, while opponents readied for the next round of battle in the Supreme Court.

The Hindu • 2nd August 2016

Sardar Gruha, Tilak’s Mumbai home, gets Governor’s aid promise

On the way to the chaotic Crawford Market, a quaint building on your left could be easily overlooked, but for a gleaming bust of freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

The Hindu • 29th June 2016

The declining power of Babel

It is a desperate race to record languages that are going extinct in India. Nearly 300 languages have gone extinct in the country since the time of independence.