India news: Iranian warship docked in Kochi, Jaishankar says

That's a wrap for our India blog for today.

We will return with headlines from across the country tomorrow, with our cricket caps on. Meanwhile, we hope you have a lovely Saturday evening.

Indian influencer Bhagyashree Borah is challenging societal boundaries. On social media and on her motorcycle, she's a role model for many young women seeking a more independent life. Her courage is contagious. 

An Iranian warship has been docked in India's southern port city of Kochi since earlier this week, Minister of Foreign Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar confirmed. The Press Trust of India earlier reported this, citing unnamed sources.

Jaishankar was speaking at a panel on 'The future of the Indian Ocean' at the Raisina Dialogue 2026 in New Delhi. 

Jaishankar said the warship, identified as IRIS Lavan by officials, had requested to dock in India due to technical difficulties, and on March 1, the Indian government allowed it to enter Indian waters based on humanitarian grounds. 

"It took them a few days to sail in and then they docked in Kochi. The ship is there. The people on the ship were a lot of young cadets. They have disembarked and are at a nearby facility," he said. 

On March 4, a US submarine torpedoed the IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean amid the conflict in Iran, killing at least 87 on board. Within 24 hours, another Iranian vessel, the IRIS Bushehr sought assistance from Sri Lanka, whose authorities brought more than 200 sailors ashore.

The Iranian vessels had been participating in an international exercise hosted by the Indian Navy, before the war on Iran began.

"When they set out and came here, the situation was totally different. They were coming in for a fleet review and they got caught, in a way, on the wrong side of events. So for us, when this ship wanted to come in, that too in difficulties, I think that was the humane thing to do," he said at the geopolitics conference.

When asked about the implications of the sunken warship in India's "backyard," Jaishankar said that people need to realize that the Indian Ocean is not limited to Indian jurisdiction.

Cooking gas prices in India saw a substantial hike on Saturday, as oil companies factored in the rising energy costs amid the conflict in the Middle East, according to local media reports.

The price of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) will now cost ₹913 ($9.9, €8.5) after a ₹60 hike. This is the second hike in a year that affects most Indian households. 

The Press Trust of India news agency cited industry officials as saying that the price revision was due to a sharp jump in global energy prices since the US and Israel began their military campaign against Iran last week.

About 70-80% of Indian households use LPG cooking gas and the hike is likely to hurt low-income families the most.

India's opposition, led by the Indian National Congress (INC), has expressed outrage after the US "agreed" to allow India to temporarily buy Russian oil.

In an interview with Fox Business, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said that India was a "good actor" that had stopped the purchase of Russian oil at Washington's ask. 

"To ease the temporary gap of oil around the world, we have given them permission to accept Russian oil," he said. 

"This is not diplomacy, this is humiliation," the INC said in a social media post on X. "A country of 1.4 billion people, waiting for Washington’s approval. This is the cost of a compromised prime minister," the post said, referring to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi raised the matter in parliament on Friday, saying India's global standing had deteriorated to the extent that "the US will tell us who we can or cannot buy oil from...our prime minister will not decide."

"They will monitor and keep a watch... and if India buys oil from anyone they do not want, they will punish us," Gandhi said. 

Gandhi has previously criticized the Indian government for failing to condemn the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and for maintaining a neutral stance after the US sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. 

Now, the matter of India needing US "permission" has grabbed national attention, with local news channels repeatedly playing the comments of opposition politicians on TV, on Saturday morning. 

Modi is yet to comment on the criticism.

India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ordered ratings for India's top TV news channels to be suspended for four weeks, or until further notice, over their "speculative" coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran. 

In a notice, the ministry said it has observed that "amidst the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, certain News TV Channels are displaying unwarranted sensationalism and speculative content, which may potentially create panic among the general public, especially those having family and friends in the affected areas or residing in the affected areas."

Millions of Indian workers and professionals live in Bahrain, Dubai, Doha and other Gulf nations. Plus, Indian news channels have often been warned for their sensational reporting of conflicts.

In April and May of 2025, when India and Pakistan clashed over a deadly militant attack on Hindu tourists in India-administered Kashmir, some news channels aired fake newsin a bid to be the "first" and gain ratings. 

Good morning! and welcome to DW's India News blog. 

It's the weekend and a big one for cricket fans who are keenly awaiting the India vs. New Zealand T20 finals tomorrow. 

As for today, New Delhi is hosting hundreds of diplomats and geopolitical experts for the third and final day of the Raisina Dialogue 2026. The conference is billed as India's foremost geopolitics forum, and it coincides with an escalating US-Israel war on Iran. 

Iran's deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh was present at the conference for a last-minute panel. There, he likened the war to a "TV reality show," saying the US was negotiating one minute and "carpet bombing" Iran the next.

In India, conversations about the war among friends and family revolve around concerns regarding Indian nationals stranded in the Middle East. Plus, thefate of oil and cooking gas prices is also a big one.

Stick with us as we bring you the day's biggest headlines and break down what Indians are talking about.