LPG price hike, Artemis launch, Left-Wing Extremism districts re-classification and more: The week in 5 charts

(1) Commercial LPG prices hiked

Commercial LPG prices (19kg cylinders) were hiked on April 1, amidst an increase in international crude oil prices due to the Iran-U.S. war in West Asia. State-owned oil marketing companies Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation revised refill costs by more than ₹200 in most cities.

The increase was attributed to a 44% upswing in the West Asian benchmark Saudi Contract Price by Reuters, quoting the government. This benchmark is set monthly by the Saudi Arabian oil company Saudi Aramco to determine export prices of propane and butane, and has an impact on global LPG prices.

The Iran-U.S. war’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has further strained tanker movement from the country. As per data from the U.S. International Energy Agency, most exports are routed through ports along the Persian Gulf. Ports along the Red Sea coast export just around 20% of total seaborne crude oil.

This region has come under attack several times since the war started, with targets being energy infrastructure, vessels in the Strait of Hormuz or crucial gas fields. The Ras tanura refinery was attacked through a drone strike on March 2 and several oil-exporting countries announced production cuts, including Saudi Arabia, which announced a production cut of 20% on March 13.

(2) Directives to shift to PNG for household consumption

The government issued orders urging domestic and commercial consumers to shift from LPG to Piped Natural Gas, even while assuring the shift was needed not because of impending LPG shortages but because PNG is a cleaner alternative. Here is a look at key numbers to understand what is at stake.

While PNG is not as import-dependent as LPG, around 50% of PNG consumed in India still continues to come from imports. Of all LNG imports, close to 60% come from West Asia countries, according to ICRA. ICRA also further notes that around half of the imports from Qatar – which in FY2025 made up between 40% to 50% of LNG imports – have to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Therefore, while PNG is a better option than LPG in terms of import dependence, a significant chunk is still at risk. However, the government has said that it has started evaluating source diversification to reduce exposure to conflict in West Asia.

Besides import dependence, the pace of new PNG connections lags, relative to pipeline infrastructure progress. Data from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) shows that while pro-rata target achievement for pipeline infrastructure is steady at around 80%, that of PNG connections has reduced from 60% to 40%. LNG terminal under-utilisation due to inadequate anchor customer demand is also an issue.

(3) Artemis mission approaches lunar loop

Four astronauts blasted off aboard a massive NASA rocket on Wednesday (April 1, 2026) on a long-anticipated journey around the Moon, the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.

They are now gearing up for their historic lunar flyby, reviewing the surface features they must analyse and photograph during their time circling the Moon.

The astronauts entered the final phase of their run-up to a lunar loop on Monday (April 6, 2026), a tipping point of sorts, as the Moon’s gravity is now exerting a stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth’s.

The Orion capsule will now whip around the Moon, setting the crew on a trajectory to travel farther from our home planet than any humans before.

The astronauts entered what NASA calls the lunar sphere of influence at about 04:42 GMT on Monday and will soon complete the first lunar flyby since 1972.

As they entered the Moon’s gravitational influence, the crew was about 39,000 miles (63,000 kilometres) from the Moon and about 232,000 miles from Earth, a NASA official said on the agency’s livestream of the event.

The historic occasion also marks a constellation of firsts for the crew of three Americans and one Canadian. Victor Glover will become the first person of colour to fly around the Moon, and Christina Koch will be the first woman.

Canadian Jeremy Hansen, meanwhile, will become the first non-American to accomplish the feat.

(4) Nalanda stampede

At least nine people were killed and 12 others were injured in a stampede at a temple in Nalanda, Bihar on Tuesday last week (March 31, 2026). An excessive crowd of around 10,000 people had come to the temple that day, which was not anticipated.

Reportage found that queues were not maintained, security was inadequate, temple authorities were allegedly taking bribes and gates were prematurely closed during the crush.

The stampede at Nalanda follows previous stampedes in similar circumstances, where excessive crowds and poor crowd management led to deadly crushes. This includes the stampede in Karur last year, which killed 41 people in a political rally of actor-politican Vijay.

(5) Left-Wing Extremism districts re-classified

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday (March 30, 2026) that barring one, the entire leadership of Maoists had been wiped out in the past two years.

He said that at the beginning of 2024, there were 21 Politburo and Central Committee members of the Communist Party of India (Maoists), but as of today, one was arrested, seven surrendered, 12 were killed, and dialogue is on with the absconding member who is expected to surrender soon.

As per the Union Home Ministry, the districts were affected with LWE in 2024 are shown in the map below:

On March 27, 2026, three days before Home Minister Amit Shah declared in Lok Sabha that the country is now “Naxal-free,” the Ministry reviewed the “categorisation of districts affected by Left Wing Extremism”. While the number of districts in the LWE category remains unchanged at 38 compared to 2024–25, the classification now reflects shifts in the severity of violence reported in these areas. The red corridor has significantly contracted – from over 200 districts in 2005 to just two (West Singhbum in Jharkhand and Bijapur in Chattisgarh) in 2026 – and its definition has also been revised. This is shown in the map below:

Deaths due to Left Wing Extremism (LWE) of civilians & security forces have come down from high of 1005 in year 2010 by 90% to 100 in year 2025, according to an answer presented in the Rajya Sabha by Mr. Nityanand Rai, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Published – April 07, 2026 01:38 pm IST