NEW DELHI: Cooperation minister Amit Shah on Monday assured a minimum base fare to cab drivers enrolled on the Bharat Taxi platform, saying existing corporate aggregators operate on models focused on maximising profits.At a town hall with cab and auto drivers from Delhi-NCR and Gujarat, Shah said drivers would receive 80% of earnings based on kms driven, while 20% would be retained as cooperative capital. “Whatever business you do, your minimum should be fixed. And whatever is more than that has to come back to you,” he said, adding that three major aggregators had told him they had not set any minimum base rate.He announced a dedicated ‘Saarathi Didi’ feature, allowing women travelling alone to prioritise female drivers. Launched earlier this month, Bharat Taxi operates in NCR and Rajkot and aims to expand to every city with a civic body. Shah said it would follow the Amul model, with 85% of profits going back to producers. Drivers can become co-owners by purchasing a Rs 500 share, with board seats reserved for driver representatives as membership grows.

NEW DELHI: Social media giants Meta and WhatsApp on Monday told the Supreme Court that they would not insist on a stay of appellate company law tribunal (NCLAT) order prohibiting them from sharing data for non-core services and directing them to give users a transparent opt-out option for withdrawal of consent for such sharing.Two weeks after SC severely criticised them on data sharing and the complicated process for withdrawal of users’ consent, senior advocate Kapil Sibal informed a bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi that both Meta and WhatsApp will be fully compliant with the NCLAT directions on these two counts within the three month timeframe, that is by March 16.Though the bench disposed of the two applications by Meta and WhatsApp seeking stay of the NCLAT order, senior advocate Madhavi Divan, appearing for Competition Commission of India (CCI), said the main issue is the direction of the regulator imposing a five-year ban on data sharing for advertisement purposes. SC posted further hearing on Apr 19. Sibal attempted to skirt the issue by first arguing that it can be decided during the final hearing on the appeals filed by Meta, WhatsApp and CCI and later by arguing that the companies are mandated by law to be compliant with Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act by June 2027. Divan said that the NCLAT had stayed one of the crucial directions by the regulator to WhatsApp not to share user data collected on its platform with other Meta Companies or Meta Company Products for advertisement purposes for five years.This needs to be adjudicated and an interim stay of the direction of NCLAT on this issue is needed, she said, adding that this is despite NCLAT agreeing with CCI that the these two companies enjoyed dominant position in market and cross-sharing of data between them enhanced Meta’s competitive advantage in display advertising market, which created barriers for rivals that did not have comparable access to WhatsApp data.CCI said, if the five-year ban on data sharing for advertising purposes is not enforced “grave prejudice would be caused to the market for OTT messaging apps on smartphones in India and market for Online Display Advertising in India.”

NEW DELHI: The timing of installation of C Rajagopalachari’s bust replacing Edward Lutyens at Rashtrapati Bhawan gains significance as the southern state is going for polls in next few months where BJP has struggled to make major inroads. The invitees to Monday’s event also included “guests from Tamil Nadu”.The replacement of Lutyens bust with Rajaji serves a dual purpose — it strengthens the govt’s anti-colonial narrative at national level and in Tamil Nadu, it signals honouring a Tamil statesman by placing his bust in the residence of the head of state.In his address at the programme, education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Rajaji was a symbol of Indian civilisation and the sacred ‘sengol’, which has been placed in Parliament was a realisation of his vision. Rajaji was pivotal in sourcing the ‘sengol’ scepter to symbolise the 1947 transfer of power from British to Indian hands. Drawing from Chola dynasty tradition, he had suggested this golden sceptre, created by Vummidi Bangaru Chetty, to represent righteous rule and the authority handover to Jawaharlal Nehru.The sengol was placed in the Lok Sabha in the new Parliament when it was inaugurated in 2023 and it was seen as an outreach to Tamil identity. Govt has also organised the Kashi Tamil Sangamam at Varanasi, linking the temple town in Uttar Pradesh with Tamil scholars and people to highlight cultural ties.

Photo credit: Redbird website

NEW DELHI: A Delhi-bound air ambulance with seven people, including two crew members, on board crashed shortly after take off from Ranchi on Monday night. The Beechcraft C90 (VT-AJV) belonging to Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd (not the pilot training academy) had gotten airborne at 7.11 pm. It is learnt just after climbing to 6,000 feet, the pilots contacted Kolkata air traffic control to request “weather deviation” — meaning they wanted to change course to avoid bad weather. However, the 39-year-old plane crashed soon thereafter.The aircraft operating a “medical evacuation (air ambulance) flight on Ranchi-Delhi sector crashed in Kasaria Panchayat of Chatra district, in Jharkhand. There were seven persons on board including two crew members. The aircraft was airborne from Ranchi at 7.11 pm. After establishing contact with Kolkata at 7.34 pm, aircraft lost communication and RADAR contact with Kolkata at approximately 100 nautical miles south-east of Varanasi. District Administration search and rescue team is at the location and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) team is being dispatched for investigation,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA said in a preliminary statement.According to the flight manifest, the aircraft had a patient (Sanjay Kumar), doctor (Dr Vikash Kumar Gupta), paramedic (Sachin Kumar Mishra), two attendants (Archana Devi & Dhuru Kumar) and two pilots — Captains Vivek Vikas Bhagat and Savrajdeep Singh — on board. It was expected to arrive in Delhi at 10 pm.This is the second crash within a month involving small aircraft and raises serious question marks on aviation safety in India. On Jan 28, Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four others had died in a plane crash at Baramati airport.In May 2011, a Pilatus PC-12 operating as an air ambulance from Patna to Delhi had crashed in Faridabad. Seven people on board, including two pilots, and three on ground had lost their lives in that crash.

NEW DELHI: Ahead of Canadian prime minister Mark Carney’s visit to India, his government has started the process to revoke the citizenship of Tahawwur Rana, Pakistan-born businessman, currently being tried in India for helping plan the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that killed 166 people.However, the move to cancel his citizenship is not based on terrorism charges, but on alleged misrepresentation in his citizenship application. According to documents obtained by Global News, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has accused Rana of lying about his residence history. In his 2000 application, he claimed he had lived in Ottawa and Toronto for four years, with only a six-day absence from Canada. Rana moved to Canada in 1997 and became a citizen in 2001. An investigation by the Canadian police later found that he had actually spent most of that period in Chicago, where he owned properties and businesses, including an immigration firm and a grocery store.In a letter dated May 31, 2024, IRCC told Rana that he had misrepresented his time in Canada and failed to declare his absences. The department described it as a “serious and deliberate deception” and said his actions showed a lack of respect for Canada’s citizenship laws.The case has now been referred to the Federal Court, which will decide whether his citizenship was obtained through false representation or fraud.

The Indian media industry is quietly changing course, prioritising long-term relevance, rather than chasing traffic. For years, publishers prioritised reach above all, chasing traffic spikes. But the volatility of platform-driven distribution has exposed weak foundations- high numbers, but little loyalty or ownership. Publishers are now rethinking what they truly stand for and how to maintain a direct connection with their audiences. This shift is strategic, not ideological. News organisations are rediscovering the value of identity, consistency, and control. Email newsletters, apps, community spaces, and subscription models are gaining focus as publishers seek deeper, more meaningful engagement. Internal conversations increasingly measure success by engagement depth rather than sheer volume. These trends will be discussed in detail at the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) Conclave 2026 in New Delhi on 26 February. The theme this year is ‘The New World Order of News: Rewriting the Playbook for a Resilient Digital Future’, highlighting how Indian media is navigating the balance between reach, purpose, and ownership. The DNPA is a leading industry body representing digital media organisations across India. It works to strengthen credible journalism, uphold ethical standards, and support sustainable growth in the digital news ecosystem. DNPA Conclave 2026 provides a platform for policymakers, media leaders, and experts to explore emerging trends, shared challenges, and the future roadmap for India’s digital media. Curated panels and expert sessions will offer insights into building a resilient, purpose-driven media landscape in an era of rapid digital change.