NEW DELHI: With increased security threat along the western and northern frontiers, especially after last year’s conflict with Pakistan, the Indian Army has added another Pinaka regiment and is preparing to induct one more by the end of the year, it is learnt.

With the operationalisation of one more regiment, the Indian Army now has seven Pinaka rocket launcher regiments deployed along its borders with Pakistan and China. “The eighth regiment has received more than half its equipment. It should become operational before the end of 2026,” a source said.Two more regiments are likely to be operationalised next year, which will take the total number of Pinaka regiments in deployment to 10. The Army has a long-term goal of 22 regiments, equipping them with newer, longer-range guided versions. In Aug 2020, the Army signed contracts with Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML), Tata Power Company(TPCL) and Larsen & Toubrofor supply of six Pinaka regiments at an approximate cost of Rs 2,580 crore. Developed by DRDO, Pinaka is India’s premier indigenous multi-barrel rocket launcher. While early versions had a range of 40 km, newer variants such as Guided Pinaka and Long-Range Guided Rocket have extended ranges of up to 120 km, making the system a critical asset for deep-strike operations.

NEW DELHI: With airspace restrictions to the west of India increasing at a furious pace in the last 11 months, Air India is finally sending reinforcement pilots for its long haul backbone fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners that are deployed on ever-lengthening Europe and UK routes. The conversion of about 28 to 30 pilots of Boeing 777s to the Dreamliner is nearly complete and they will start on the B787s next month. Conversion training for another batch of about 15 narrow body pilots to the B787 will begin from March 23.This was conveyed to the fatigued-by-now wide body pilots of AI last Saturday by the airline management. The airline is going to convert more narrow body pilots to the B787 and Airbus A350 as the more of the latter type are expected to join the fleet later this year. The B777s’ numbers in AI fleet is falling as the legacy planes are being sent for retrofitting.In the most recent instance, Pakistan airspace for Indian carriers was closed on April 23, 2025. Since then Indian carriers’ flights to and from the west have been taking longer routes – going over Arabian Sea seeing clear of Karachi airspace and then heading to their destinations. These routes got even longer when Iran had to be avoided. The Israel-Iran war has further increased the no fly areas and this keeps increasing, pushing airlines more to the south of Saudi.“The airline seeks and gets dispensation from the DGCA from pilot flight duty time limitation (FDTL) rules, allowing it to now operate longer flights of upto 11.5 hours with just two pilots. We are completely fatigued now as the buildup has been happening for a year and instead of getting any relief, its keeps getting worse with more punishing FDTL dispensations,” said numerous pilots.

NEW DELHI: Power and road transport ministries have been asked for clarity on recovery of penalties imposed on carmakers for failing to meet the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) norms. CAFE, a mandatory regulatory standard, sets limits on average CO2 emissions or fuel consumption for the entire fleet of vehicles sold by a carmaker.It’s learnt that the PMO has asked the stakeholder ministries to address the issue considering that the next phase of CAFE (CAFE 3.0) will have stricter norms for compliance.On March 17, TOI had reported that going by the presentation made by power ministry to PMO, out of the top five carmakers (80% market share), only Tata Motors would be able to meet the target for all five years – FY28 to FY32. Officials had also said that the proposed regime would end up levying high penalty in case of non-compliance.“In such a condition, the responsibility of evaluation, approval and recovery of penalty must be defined properly. The PMO’s concern is valid considering that there has been no recovery of penalty from companies that didn’t meet CAFE 2.0 requirements,” said an official.Around Rs 8,800 crore of penalties have been levied on 10 major carmakers for failing to meet CAFE 2.0 targets up to FY23. Officials said that while Bureau of Energy Efficiency has carried out the calculation of penalty for each carmaker, they can be recovered by the adjudicating officer under State Electricity Regulatory Commission, as per the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.A person familiar with the developments said, “Ideally, the ministry or department which enforces an Act, frames norms for assessment and makes the penalty formula should implement the task of recovering the penalty.”

NEW DELHI: Effective from Jan 2024, Indian Railways has increased the rates of Kilometrage Allowance and Allowance in lieu of Kilometrage (ALK) by 25% for all running staff across its system. The updated rates will benefit over two lakh railway personnel, including loco pilots, assistant loco pilots, firemen, guards and other running staff. The decision follows the hike in Dearness Allowance to 50%.While other Indian Railway employees received an increase in travelling allowance earlier, the kilometrage allowance had remained stagnant until now, leading to discontent among affected personnel. The issue had been raised by All India Loco Running Staff Association and railway federations.“The revision will benefit running staff across Indian Railways by ensuring better compensation aligned with the current Dearness Allowance levels. It reflects Indian Railways’ continued commitment to the welfare and financial betterment of running staff, who form the backbone of its operations,” an official statement said. TNN

RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM: The death toll in the suspected milk adulteration case in East Godavari district has risen to 16, while three persons are undergoing treatment at hospitals in Rajamahendravaram, officials said on Sunday. The incident dates back to mid-February, when adulterated milk supplied in parts of Lalacheruvu allegedly caused severe health complications among consumers, including vomiting, abdominal pain, anuria and acute renal dysfunction, leading to multiple hospitalisations. The case came to light on February 22 after a cluster of patients showing symptoms of acute kidney failure was reported from Chowdeswaranagar and Swaroopanagar areas, prompting health authorities to initiate an epidemiological investigation. According to an official press release issued on Sunday, laboratory findings revealed that all 16 victims died of multi-organ failure triggered by acute renal failure after consuming milk contaminated with the toxic substance ethylene glycol.“Preliminary findings indicate that the victims suffered acute renal failure with elevated blood urea and serum creatinine levels, suggesting toxic exposure likely linked to contaminated milk consumption,” the release said. Milk supplied to over 100 families from a dairy unit in Narasapuram village under Korukonda mandal has been identified as the suspected source. Authorities said supply from the unit was immediately halted after it came under scrutiny.

NE DELHI: The March 31 deadline set by home minister Amit Shah for the elimination of Left-wing extremism (LWE) from the country may pass uneventfully, after having served its purpose of creating the right psychological mindset among all the stakeholders – security and police forces, local administration, political brass of affected states, Maoist leadership and cadre, and the common people.Sources said that even though the March 31 deadline has dominated the discourse on LWE for the past one-and-a-half years, the actual date is unlikely to see any victory processions or chest-thumping. At most, there may be references to it in political speeches and public addresses by dignitaries, especially during visits to states once affected by LWE.“The purpose of the deadline was to set a definite goal… so that all hands were on deck and the counter-Naxal machinery could work in mission mode, with time-bound planning of operations to decimate the leadership and launch of initiatives aimed at rehabilitating ex-Maoists and rebuilding villages…” said a central govt officer.The results are there for all to see: the entire CPI(Maoist) leadership – barring one politburo member, Misir Besra, and one key commander, Papa Rao – have either been neutralised or have surrendered. CPI(Maoist) is now no longer a cohesive unit but a loose bunch hiding in the forests.“Obviously, the deadline created a psychological pressure to decide between facing bullets and taking the chance to lead a normal life… As senior colleagues fell to bullets, the remaining politburo and central committee members started leaning towards the latter option,” P Sundarraj, inspector general (Bastar range), Chhattisgarh police, told TOI.

Nagpur: Datta Meghe, one of Vidarbha’s most enduring political figures and also the founder of one of the state’s largest private education networks, passed away on Sunday at the age of 89. Meghe’s younger son Sameer Meghe, a BJP MLA from Hingna, said, “My father never refused to help anyone who came to him.” He said that is how he wanted people to remember his father.Meghe’s passing marks the end of a public life that stretched across five decades, two houses of Parliament, the Maharashtra legislative council, and three national parties. Born on Nov 11, 1936, in Pawnar in Wardha district, Meghe graduated with a BA from Nagpur University in 1963 and worked briefly as a development officer with LIC before entering public life. He entered the Maharashtra legislative council in 1978 and served three consecutive terms there until 1991, a run of over 13 years. During that stretch, he served as minister of state for housing and civil supplies and technical education, and later as cabinet minister for energy and forests. He also served as leader of opposition in the legislative council.