IndiGo cuts 400-500 flights amid DGCA order

Indian low-cost airline IndiGo has decided to cut 400-500 flights to achieve “full stabilisation of schedule” to ensure passengers can fly with certainty. The airline will now operate 1,800-1,900 flights instead of 2,300 flights it used to operate daily.

IndiGo flight cuts to spike airfares in peak season, leave passengers with few options

The planned cut of 400 to 500 flights by IndiGo, India’s dominant carrier handling six in 10 air travellers, will shrink passenger options during peak season and spike airfares, with competitors lacking spare aircraft to fill the void. The last available monthly figures on the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) website for October show that IndiGo ferried 91.96 lakh passengers or 65% of the total 1.4 crore fliers. Extrapolated to daily figures, this works out to 2.96 lakh passengers per day in a month that witnessed a festive rush due to Dasara and Deepavali.

Your answers to the practical difficulties of electors are mechanical, cyclostyled: Supreme Court slams Election Commission

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) remonstrated with the Election Commission of India for giving “mechanical and cyclostyled” answers every time a human problem is presented in court by anxious voters about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant voiced the top court’s exasperation at repeatedly being witness to Election Commission (EC) trying to parry the practical difficulties raised in court with figures and statistics on the number of enumeration forms that have been submitted and digitised.

No deaths due to air pollution, Centre tells Rajya Sabha

The Union Health Ministry has informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) that there is no conclusive data available to establish a direct correlation of death or disease exclusively due to air pollution. Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav said in a written reply that air pollution is one of the triggering factors for respiratory ailments and associated diseases.

Rise in global use of Aadhaar-like IDs dangerous, say civil society groups

Fifty-four civil society groups and over 200 individual signatories have put out an open letter pushing back against the expanding use of Aadhaar-like digital identity systems in countries other than India. “We, concerned Indian citizens and organisations, are alarmed to note that efforts are being made to promote biometric identity systems similar to Aadhaar in other countries,” the letter said.

India, Brunei hold inaugural defence JWG meet

The inaugural meeting of the India-Brunei Joint Working Group (JWG) on Defence Cooperation was held in New Delhi on Tuesday (December 9, 2025), marking a significant step forward in strengthening the bilateral defence partnership between the two countries. According to the Ministry of Defence, key areas of discussion included the expansion of military-to-military exchanges and joint training, enhanced maritime security cooperation with emphasis on safety of sea lanes and Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR), capacity building, and opportunities for industry collaboration and technology cooperation.

Leh body seeks public input on fresh draft proposal for MHA on issues faced by Ladakh

The Leh Apex Body, an amalgam of socio-religious bodies in Ladakh, on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) urged locals to share their inputs to draft a fresh proposal for the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the issues faced by the Union Territory. “The LAB seeks inputs and ideas from the general public for its fresh draft proposal. The LAB has already submitted several draft proposals to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), including one on Sixth Schedule and Statehood. The thrust of the LAB is on transparency and inclusive participation, rather than just social media comments,” LAB member Mustafa Haji said in Leh.  

Cyclone impact sparks fresh calls in Sri Lanka to recast IMF deal

As Sri Lanka reels from Cyclone Ditwah’s devastation, calls to revisit the ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, which critics say imposes punishing austerity, are growing louder. At least 638 people died — 191 remain missing — and millions were affected by torrential rains, unprecedented flooding, and multiple landslides that battered Sri Lanka late November. The climate disaster, one of the worst the country has witnessed, has dealt a sharp blow to the country’s tentative recovery, three years after it declared bankruptcy amid a financial meltdown.

Zelenskyy says ready to hold Ukraine elections

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday he was ready to hold new elections in Ukraine, and that he expected to send Washington revised proposals on ending the nearly four-year war with Russia. U.S. President Donald Trump is pressuring Kyiv to accept a deal formulated by Washington, the initial version of which was criticised by Ukraine’s allies as overly favourable to Russia.

Hamas calls for more international pressure on Israel before ceasefire’s next phase

Hamas on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) called for more international pressure on Israel before the militant group moves forward with the next phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, with a Hamas leader saying it wants Israel to open a key border crossing, cease deadly strikes and allow more aid into the strip devastated by the two-year war.

SIR hearing: Inclusion of CAA-protected refugees in electoral roll dependent on whether they meet conditions of naturalisation, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) said conferment of rights associated with Indian citizenship to people claiming to be religious minorities who fled persecution from Pakistan, Afghanisation Bangladesh and protected under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, would be wholly dependent on whether their claims turn out to be true.

Trump threatens tariffs on Indian rice, but trade metrics show pain will be felt by the U.S.

Days before a U.S. team of negotiators is to visit India to discuss tariffs, U.S. President Donald Trump has hinted that he might hit India with further tariffs, this time on rice, to prevent it from “dumping” rice in the U.S.

20 killed in building fire in Indonesia’s capital: police

A fire in a building on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) in Indonesia’s capital killed at least 20 people, police said. Police said the fire started in the afternoon when a battery on the first floor of a seven-storey office building in central Jakarta exploded and the fire spread to the upper levels.

Trump’s former lawyer Alina Habba resigns as U.S. attorney for New Jersey after court ruling

President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Alina Habba, resigned on Monday (December 8, 2025) as the top federal prosecutor for New Jersey, leaving the job after an appeals court said she had been serving in the post unlawfully.

Government cancels 5,371 licences of fertiliser firms for malpractices during Apr.-Nov., says Nadda

The government has cancelled 5,371 licences of fertiliser firms for black marketing, hoarding as well as for distributing substandard material, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers Jagat Prakash Nadda said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday (December 9, 2025).

‘Vande Mataram’ debate: TMC MPs hold silent protest against ‘insult’ of Bengal icons by BJP

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) held a silent protest in the Central Hall of Parliament to protest the “insult” of Bengal icons Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee by the BJP. The MPs sat in silence in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan, holding the portraits of Tagore and Chatterjee. Later, they stood at the gate of the Samvidhan Sadan.

SC seeks EC response on plea challenging ‘special revision’, and not SIR, in Assam

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) pointed to the special protective laws in place in Assam addressing the region’s unique needs while hearing a petition alleging that the Election Commission of India (EC) has discriminated against the State by not conducting a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of its electoral rolls despite the alleged presence of “40 to 50 lakh illegal immigrants” even way back in 1997.

Bangladesh repatriates 47 Indian fishermen

Bangladesh on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) repatriated 47 Indian fishermen while India released 38 Bangladeshi fishermen. The process of reciprocal repatriation of fishermen in each other’s custody came amid frosty ties between the two countries.

India vs SA first T20I |Hardik back with a bang as India goes one up in style

Hardik Pandya’s splendid effort left both the analysts and fans wondering if he overcame difficult conditions or made the most of a surface which got better. The proof was in the Protean pudding, with them succumbing to a 101-run defeat in the first T20I at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, on Tuesday (December 9, 2025). South Africa’s collapse put extra shine on comeback man Hardik’s half-century, the all-rounder helping India recover from a spot of bother to set a 176-run target. The visitor was eventually bundled out for 74 in 12.3 overs, its lowest total in the format.