NEW DELHI: In a first-of-its-kind move, DGCA on Wednesday set up an eight-member “oversight team” of senior flight operations inspectors to oversee IndiGo’s operational aspects, including monitoring flights, crew availability and pilot shortage situation on a daily basis.

Two officials (not pilots) will oversee the cancellation and refund status; payment of compensation to passengers for deficiency in services as per norms and status of baggage return. Two senior FOIs (who are pilots) will remain at the airline’s Gurgaon office on a daily basis to keep a close vigil. Both teams will submit a daily report to DGCA. The order came as it emerged IndiGo had cancelled a fourth of 17,404 domestic flights it was to operate from Dec 1-9 (both days included), as per govt data released Wednesday.

IndiGo scrapped 25% of over 17k domestic flights from Dec 1-9

IndiGo had cancelled a fourth of 17,404 domestic flights between Dec 1 and 9, which explains the unprecedented chaos witnessed at Indian airports. On the other hand, just a shade over 2% of the 2,702 international flights it was to operate in the same time were cancelled.The scale of disruption has seen multiple steps taken by DGCA and govt with the airline’s CEO Pieter Elbers and his team again summoned to the regulator’s office at 3 pm on Thursday to submit “comprehensive” data and also state the steps being taken to steady the ship through steps like hiring of pilots to meet crew shortage. SpiceJet and Air India could operate additional 160-170 daily flights.DGCA officials will be carrying out inspections at 11 airports, including Nagpur, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vijaywada, Cochin, Lucknow, Amritsar and Dehradun to assess the operational preparedness of IndiGo at these places and also see the airline’s “responsiveness during the disruption”.Despite inducting a plane every week and increasing its flights, IndiGo has gone slow on pilot hiring leading to the current mismatch between the requirement and availability of crew members. Now the airline has to submit its entire operational details to govt and then its schedule will accordingly be approved to avoid a rerun of the disruption being seen this month.Elbers and his team on Thursday will have to tell the regulator on Thursday the status of flight restoration, how affected passengers are being accommodated and the monitoring mechanism to ensure timely completion of restoration. They will be asked about the status of refunds, baggage return, how is its improving timely communication about delays and cancellations and the policy on re-routing passengers on alternate flights.

The BCCI’s long-term leadership plans are slowly falling into place, and Shubman Gill now sits at the centre of it. With Gill recently appointed India’s T20I vice-captain, his elevation as the country’s all-format skipper is viewed as a matter of when, not if. Already leading the Test and ODI sides, Gill is expected to take over the T20I captaincy from Suryakumar Yadav after next year’s T20 World Cup, aligning with the board’s long-standing preference for a single captain across formats — a model followed by teams like Australia and England. India’s approach to captaincy stability has often been clear. When Rohit Sharma succeeded Virat Kohli as captain, his age meant his tenure would not be a long-term one. But Gill, still in his twenties and already a proven leader, fits the bill for a sustained run. His first Test series as captain showcased exactly why: he guided India to a 2-2 draw in the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy and stood tall in tough conditions.

What may surprise many, though, is that Gill’s rise to the role was planned years ago. Former BCCI selector Salil Ankola revealed that as early as 2023, the board had identified Gill as a future captaincy option. That was the year Gill exploded into world cricket, reeling off centuries and double hundreds with ease, and despite missing two World Cup matches due to dengue, piling up more than 350 runs in nine outings. According to Ankola, the selectors, senior players and team management all believed Gill would eventually take charge once Rohit stepped aside. “We always knew Gill would lead India one day. He was on our radar for the captaincy back in 2023,” Ankola said on Vicky Lalwani’s YouTube channel. “Everyone — from the coach and captain to former players — felt he was the right choice.” Once Rohit retired from Test cricket, the succession became straightforward. Gill not only took the role but excelled immediately, hammering 756 runs in England at an average of 75.40 and registering four centuries in one of the finest overseas tours by an Indian captain in years. India’s struggles in the home series against South Africa during his absence further underlined how crucial he has already become — both as a run-getter and a leader. Ankola said Gill’s performance under pressure speaks volumes. “If someone can score 750 runs in England in those conditions, that tells you all you need to know about their mental strength,” he added. He also noted that public criticism is inevitable, no matter who is chosen. “People always think they know more. Even if you do great things, they will find faults.” With Gill’s trajectory continuing upward, Indian cricket now appears to have its next long-term leader firmly in place — one the selectors had earmarked long before the rest of the world noticed.

NEW DELHI: The three-member selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that met on Wednesday to appoint the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), eight information commissioners (ICs) and a vigilance commissioner is learnt to have finalised the names. However, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is learnt to have registered his strong dissent to the choices and submitted the same in writing, sources said.Gandhi is said to have strongly objected to the absence of names from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and OBC communities. The issue raised by the Congress neta is likely to be a key talking point in the upcoming mega rally against “vote chori” being organised by Congress on Dec 14.

The details of the appointments were not known till late in the evening. The meeting that lasted for nearly one and a half hours was held at the Prime Minister’s Office. It was also attended by home minister Amit Shah. Sources said the LoP sought more details of the appointees and also questioned the criteria adopted for the selection of CIC and ICs. According to sources, Gandhi was of the view that the govt’s proposal on the names was completely “biased”. He apparently said that the absence of weaker communities from constitutional positions was unacceptable, given the need to strengthen their participation across the board, including higher positions. The LoP is learnt to have forcefully put forth his differences on the govt proposal.

CIC has been without a chief since September 13

There were three parts to the meeting: One on appointment of CIC, another on choice of eight ICs & third on vigilance commissioner. While Gandhi registered his “dissent” in writing separately on the govt’s proposal for CIC and vigilance commissioner, he gave his “observations” on the eight names for the post of ICs, sources said. The Central Information Commission has been without a chief since incumbent Heeralal Samariya demitted office on Sept 13 on attaining the age of 65 years. Besides the chief, the commission can have up to 10 commissioners. Currently, it is making do with just two – Anandi Ramalingam and Vinod Tiwari. According to commission’s website, the pending caseload stands at over 30,800. The eight posts of information commissioners have been vacant since Nov 2023. With Samariya demitting office, the chief’s post fell vacant for the seventh time since 2014.There was a total of 53 names in the panels prepared by the govt and presented before the collegium for the 10 positions. On the objection raised, the govt is said to have agreed to include a few from the marginalised communities in the panels. But there was still no clarity about their inclusion in the appointments. Under Section 12 (3) of the RTI Act, the prime minister is the chairperson of the search committee, which also comprises the LoP and a Union minister nominated by the PM. According to the procedure for the appointment of CIC, the particulars of interested candidates are invited through advertisements in newspapers and through the DoPT website.

NEW DELHI: Under government scrutiny for unprecedented flight disruptions, IndiGo chairman Vikram Singh Mehta on Wednesday denied the chaos was deliberate. Apologising multiple times in his about 8-minute video message, he said “external technical experts (will) work with the management; help determine the root causes, and ensure corrective action so that this level of disruption never occurs again”.DGCA is probing whether the airline caused the disruptions to avoid abiding by the new pilot rest rules. Mehta denied it. “Over the past week there has been a lot of criticism. Some fair. Some not. The fair criticism is that the airline let down you down. We owe answers to customers, govt, shareholders, employees. We will examine every aspect of what went wrong. We will learn from it,” he said.“However, there are some allegations that are untrue. That IndiGo engineered the crisis. That we tried to influence govt rules. That we compromised safety. That the board wasn’t involved. These claims are incorrect. IndiGo has followed pilot fatigue rules as they came into effect. We operated under new rules throughout, both in July and in Nov. We did not attempt to bypass them. Nor did we anything that impacted our unblemished track record of safety. The disruptions of last week did not happen because of any deliberate actions,” said the former chairman of Shell Group of companies in India.“On Dec 3, an unexpected chain of events led to large-scale flight cancellations. This continued into Dec 4 and 5. Thousands of our passengers were left stranded. We did not meet your expectations during those days. This happened because of a combination of of internal & external events including minor technical glitches; schedule changes linked to start of winter; adverse weather; increased congestion in aviation system and implementation of and operation under updated crew rostering rules. This is not an excuse, this is simply the truth. This combination of events pushed our systems beyond their limits,” Mehta said. He said the board was constantly involved in tackling the issue and that things were back on track much before expected. IndiGo operated 1,900 flights to 138 destinations with normal punctuality, he said. Although he admitted: “Last week’s events are a blemish on this company’s pristine record. Our compay has erred. It has to win back your trust. It will not be easy. It will depend on actions and not words. It will be a journey.”

Mumbai: A mandate in law to conduct an investigation and file a chargesheet must be respected by court but, at the same time, the investigating agency cannot be permitted to act in a manner which frustrates the mandate under Article 21 of the Constitution for right to life and liberty, said the Bombay high court on Tuesday. The HC made the observation while dismissing the state’s plea to permit the filing of a chargesheet on Dec 9, 90 days after an FIR was lodged in an alleged cheating case, against one out of several accused.The law provides usually a 60- or 90-day deadline to complete a probe and file a chargesheet which, if not filed in time, renders an accused entitled to seek default bail. The HC bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad on Tuesday said, “Quite apparently, this application has been filed to frustrate the possibility of an order granting default bail to (the accused)'” and added whether or not he gets default bail is a different issue “but his right to seek default bail cannot be frustrated by the investigating agency”.“The investigating officer has no indefeasible right to file a chargesheet against a particular accused while not even whispering a word about the stage of investigation against other seven accused persons and, that too, where the allegation against all the accused persons are largely similar, that is, of conspiracy,” said the order authored by CJ Chandrashekhar.Mangesh Kadam, a director of a company, was one among eight accused in a 2021 case of alleged multi-crore shares and corporate fraud.Kadam had filed a quashing petition before the HC which earlier passed in interim order for EOW not to file the chargesheet. He was arrested in Sept.On Tuesday, additional public prosecutor K V Saste sought permission to file the chargesheet only against Kadam, as the 90-day deadline was expiring that day.Senior counsel Ravi Kadam, representing Mangesh Kadam, opposed the state’s plea, saying the Supreme Court has deprecated such last-minute filing of chargesheets.Jatin Sehgal, counsel for the complainant, though, argued that the accused was “trying to take the benefit of statutory bail on a misconceived ground that the chargesheet against him cannot be filed while the investigation against other accused persons is pending”.The HC said the police can file its chargesheet once investigation is complete, but the probe agency has “no absolute right to file a chargesheet only for the reason that the statutory period of 60 days or 90 days shall expire in coming few days”.

Mumbai: Two months after the fully operational underground Metro 3 line began running up to Cuffe Parade, early indicators suggest that traffic conditions in key parts of south Mumbai have begun easing. Mumbai traffic police officials say areas long known for chronic congestion are finally witnessing smoother movement, thanks to a sizeable commuter shift from roads to the high-capacity Colaba–Bandra–SEEPZ corridor.Data accessed by TOI from the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) shows that of the 1.8 lakh daily commuters using Metro 3, nearly 60,000 are travelling specifically on the CSMT-Cuffe Parade section. Officials say this surge is already reducing reliance on taxis, kaali-peelis and BEST buses, which once dominated the southernmost end of the city.Joint police commissioner (traffic) Anil Kumbhare confirmed a “noticeable dip in traffic volumes” since the line became fully operational.“Mahapalika Marg, Hazarimal Somani Marg and Dr D N Road — earlier notorious for bumper-to-bumper movement — are now seeing smoother flows,” he said. According to him, the usually choked peak-hour slots of 9.30am–11am and 5pm–7.30pm around Fort and Marine Drive have eased considerably.“The daily crowds outside CSMT, with commuters scrambling for buses and share taxis, have also shrunk. Our teams on the ground are recording junctions clearing in one signal-cycle traffic, which was rare earlier,” he added.MMRCL’s R Ramana, director, planning and real-estate development/NFBR, said, “We too have observed people walking to Metro stations from railway station and business districts of Nariman Point and Cuffe Parade instead of standing in queue for buses and taxis. We will soon do a Metro impact to understand the travel patterns.”While the easing of traffic is welcomed by many, it has translated into fewer passengers for taxi drivers in the Cuffe Parade–Churchgate belt.“Earlier, outside CST, we didn’t have to wait even two minutes. Office-goers would line up for taxis,” said Sadiq Sheikh, a kaali-peeli driver for over two decades. “Now most people go straight down to the Metro station. Even those travelling short distances prefer it because it avoids traffic altogether.”Another driver, Harish Patil, said business has dipped by nearly a third.“D N Road used to be slow but profitable. Now it’s faster, but we get fewer rides,” he said.D A Salian of Mumbai Taximens’ Union said, “The ridership is down by 15 to 20% but drivers are making up with long-distance trips which are not catered by Metro.”A BEST conductor posted at Churchgate echoed the sentiment.“Many regulars who took the bus to Churchgate or Cuffe Parade have shifted to the Metro. You can see it in the empty seats during non-peak hours,” he said.Commuters who shifted say time saved is substantial.“From Cuffe Parade to CST in 9–10 minutes — nothing on the road comes close,” said Rina Ghadge, who earlier spent Rs 150-170 a day on taxi rides. “I stopped using cabs completely on this stretch.”Another commuter, Amit Kokate, said he abandoned BEST buses for the Metro.“It was unpredictable earlier. Now I know exactly when I’ll reach. The AC comfort is a bonus,” he said.However, some residents remain unconvinced about broader traffic relief.Marine Drive resident Mahendra Hemdev said congestion has merely shifted.“Traffic from Fort and Fountain now piles up at the Coastal Road entry. D Road and H Road are seeing more internal traffic. Coastal Road is convenient, so more vehicles are funnelling through our area,” he said, though he added that Metro 3 will gather more momentum over time.Churchgate resident Ashwin Nagpal pointed out accessibility issues.“There aren’t enough escalators going downward. For elderly parents, it’s difficult. I haven’t noticed major traffic improvement in our immediate neighbourhood,” he said.Meanwhile in Worli, Anirudhi Bhagwat, a local resident who uses the Metro 3 line more regularly now feels that he can clearly see the benefit of it growing. “I take the metro from Worli to reach my office in Kandivli, while I have to switch Metros, but find it very much more convenient that the local train,” said Bhagwat.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday categorically stated that he would not accept an award named after VD Savarkar, nor attend a related event, even as a senior party colleague wanted the Congress MP to not accept any honour named after the ideologue whom he claimed “bowed before the British.” Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has declined the “Veer Savarkar Award,” saying he will not attend the event where it is to be presented, citing lack of clarity about the award and the organising body.

Tharoor, representing Thiruvananthapuram, added that it was “irresponsible” for the organisers to announce his name without his consent.Earlier, Congress leader K Muraleedharan stated that no party member, including Tharoor, should accept an award in Veer Savarkar’s name, claiming Savarkar “bowed before the British.”Muraleedharan said that he does not believe that Tharoor will accept the award as doing so would insult and embarrass the Congress party.Tharoor later told reporters in the national capital that he heard about the award on Tuesday and that he was not going for the ceremony.“I heard about it yesterday only. I am not going. I am not here,” he said in response to a question on Wednesday on his participation in the award ceremony.Subsequently, in a post on social media platform ‘X’, the Congress MP said, “In the absence of clarifications about the nature of the award, the organisation presenting it or any other contextual details, the question of my attending the event today or accepting the award does not arise.” He further said that he learned from media reports that he was named as a recipient of the award when he went to Kerala to vote in the local body polls on Tuesday.He said he had clarified then that he was neither aware of, nor had accepted, such an award.“Despite that, today in Delhi, some media outlets continue to ask the same question. Therefore, I am issuing this statement to clarify the matter unequivocally,” Tharoor added.Following Tharoor’s refusal, Aji Krishnan, secretary of the Highrange Rural Development Society (HRDS) India, which is presenting the award, told a TV channel that the Congress MP had been informed well in advance.Krishnan said representatives of HRDS India and the award jury chairman had personally met Tharoor at his residence to invite him, and that the MP had requested a list of the other award recipients.“We gave him the list. He has not yet informed us that he will not come for the event. Perhaps he is scared as the Congress has made it an issue,” Krishnan claimed.Kerala law minister P. Rajeev said that it was up to Tharoor to decide whether to accept the award.Tharoor was selected as one of the recipients of the inaugural Veer Savarkar International Impact Award 2025, instituted by HRDS India, on Wednesday in New Delhi.On Tuesday, he had said that he heard about the award through the media and that he was not aware who was giving it.“I am not aware of anything related to the award. Let me find out what it is,” he had said.(With agency inputs)