Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
The Union Minister of Steel, Shri Beni Prasad Verma, leading a delegation to Australia for strengthening ties between the two countries in areas of mining and coal supply, met with the Australian Minister of Industry and Resources, Mr. Ian Macfarlane, in Brisbane today. He also met with the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Julie Bishop during a meeting of Australia-India Business Council. Discussions were held on forging collaborative partnerships between the two countries in the areas of mining and coal trade. Interacting with Mr. Macfarlane, Shri Verma spoke about the potential for supply of coal to India. He said, “There is a huge potential for consumption of coking coal in India. Our country is looking for reliable raw material suppliers. I think Australia can consider supply of coking coal to Indian steel Industry on priority basis.” Describing the quantum of this demand he said, “We plan to increase our steel production to 300 million tonnes from the presen...