India can withstand Iran war turmoil, Modi tells parliament

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IndiGo, Air India and Air India Express published updates on their upcoming services to the Gulf region on Monday amid the continued fighting in and around Iran.

Indigo suspended its operations to Doha, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dammam, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah until at least March 28. 

Air India meanwhile said that it and Air India Express would operate a total of 24 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to the West Asia region on Tuesday, March 24. 

Ten of these would service Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and four Muscat in Oman, from various Indian hubs. 

The two airlines also planned 10 non-scheduled flights to and from the United Arab Emirates, "subject to availbaility of slots and other prevailing conditions at the departure stations at the time." It noted that these flights were reliant on the approval of Indian and UAE authorities. 

Scheduled flights to Bahrain, Israel, Qatar, Kuwait, as well as other airports in Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE remained out of service. 

The airlines urged potential passengers to check their flight data online or by phone at short notice for confirmation.

At least four workers were killed and 12 others injured when a cold storage facility partially collapsed in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, local media reported.

The reports said the collapse on Monday afternoon triggered an ammonia gas leak and a major emergency response.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath sent their condolences and announced financial assistance to the injured and relatives of those who died.

The 12 wounded people were receiving treatment in hospital. There were fears more workers could be trapped under the debris.

Authorities said they had launched an investigation into the cause of the incident.

Two Indian-flagged tankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, although the waterway remains largely blocked to overall traffic.

Hundreds of ships are stuck in the Persian Gulf as a result of the US-Israel war with Iran.

Shiptracking data on the MarineTraffic platform showed that the Indian-flagged ​Pine ‌Gas tanker sailed through the Strait on Monday with ‌the Jag Vasant following close ‌behind.

The Pine Gas ​tanker broadcast a message of "India ship and crew," ⁠according ​to separate ​LSEG ship tracking data.

The ships had loaded up in the UAE and Kuwait respectively in late February and were each carrying around 45,000 metric tons of LPG when they left the waterway, according to Bloomberg and MarineTraffic.

The tankers appear to have used a route, purportedly approved by Tehran, that goes around Larak Island just off the Iranian coast. 

Before the war, around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the critically important Strait, most of which is bound for China, India and other Asian countries.

India is heavily dependent on energy imports from the region. It is the world's fourth-largest buyer of LNG and the second-largest buyer of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Earlier this month, the Indian government ordered tighter controls on natural and cooking gas to cope with dropping supplies. At the same time, New Delhi has ramped up diplomatic efforts with Iran to allow safe passage to Indian ships.

A record 72.5 million concurrent viewers in India watched their country defeat New Zealand to claim its third Men's T20 Cricket World Cup title, the International Cricket Council said Monday.

"The event was a showcase of just how much the sport is loved in cricket's most passionate market," ICC Chief Executive Officer Sanjog Gupta said, in a commentary published in WPP Media's Sporting Nation.

The March 8 final set a new global streaming record, beating the previous high set just three days prior during India's semi-final against England, which peaked at 65 million concurrent users.

The figures are based on data from ICC's streaming partner JioHotstar.

Total global viewership number is yet to be released.

Germany is a popular dream for young Indian students seeking a better life. But high tuition fees can push students into financial hardship.

What begins as hope, for some, becomes a vicious cycle of debt and exhaustion.

Follow the story of Chirag Esrani, an Indian student who went to Berlin to pursue a master's degree in International Management and now works as a delivery driver to pay off his loan.

Indian police seized over 20,000 pirated books in a major crackdown on a piracy ring, publishers said on Monday.

The raids on March 15, targeted warehouses and an illegal printing press in what Penguin Random House India called a "large-scale distribution operation,"

Along with Penguin Random House, publishers Hay House and Simon & Schuster India also collaborated with the police in the nearly 24-hour operation.

Authorities said the haul included works by Yuval Noah Harari, Daniel Kahneman, Arundhati Roy and Haruki Murakami, among others.

Penguin Random House called the raid "one of the largest recent seizures of pirated books" in the capital.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called the situation in the Middle East "worrisome," but added that the fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong and will weather the "unprecedented challenges" posed by the conflict.

Addressing the lower house of Parliament, Modi highlighted that the Iran war was affecting global markets and supply chains, noting India's heavy reliance on the region for crude oil, gas through key trade routes, including the Strait of Hormuz.

"The situation in West Asia is worrisome. This conflict has been going on for more than three weeks," the Indian PM said.

However, "the inherent strength of India's economic fundamentals has... provided significant support to the nation during this period," he said.

While the government has taken steps to secure energy supplies, including addressing LPG demand and maintaining strategic petroleum reserves, he said, it has also facilitated bringing home around 375,000 citizens since the conflict began, including around 1,000 from Iran.

During his speech, Modi said that India has trade relations with both "the warring and war-affected countries."

Modi said India was engaging diplomatically and urged for a peaceful resolution.

"War is not in the interest of humanity. India is encouraging all sides to end it peacefully" he said, adding that attacks on commercial ships and the disruption of Hormuz Strait are "not acceptable."

Mumbai’s Koli fishing community faces a turning point. Climate change and shrinking catch levels deepen the divide within this centuries‑old fishing culture.

Generations that have relied on instinct and experience, are now facing falling catches, rising prices, and long‑standing middlemen, making survival harder.

Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar posted on X that he had a "useful conversation" with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran.

The two ministers agreed to remain in touch, Jaishankar added.

Some residents of India's Kashmir launched a humanitarian drive to support people in Iran affected by the war, local media reported.

Volunteers in Shia-majority region went door-to-door collecting donations, reports said.

The Iranian Embassy in India, in a post on X, thanked the people of Kashmir "for standing with the people of Iran through their humanitarian support and heartfelt solidarity," adding that "this kindness will never be forgotten."

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of the war, was widely regarded as a religious figure among followers of Shiite Islam.

Indian equities fell sharply on Monday, with benchmark indices sliding more than 2% in early trade amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex fell about 2.6% while the National Stock Exchange's Nifty 50 fell 2.8%.

Within one hour of trading, investors lost Rs 11.78 trillion (€110 billion), NDTV reported.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the lower house of Parliament on Monday outlining New Delhi's position on the ongoing Iran war, news agency ANI reported.

On Sunday, Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security to review the fallout of the war and discuss mitigation measures, the Prime Minister's office said.

The meeting addressed coal stocks at power plants, as well as diversification of imports for key sectors including chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

During the meeting, Modi directed government agencies to minimize the impact of the war on Indians.

The domestic airfare caps imposed on flight tickets in December will be revoked on Monday, authorities said.

The ​country's ‌civil aviation ministry made the announcement on Saturday.

The temporary fare caps on domestic air tickets were introduced in December after market leader IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights.This led to a massive spike in fares as other air carriers hiked prices on popular routes amid the chaos.  

The authorities had announced that a one-way economy fare for a journey up to 500 kilometers cannot be more than 7,500 rupees ($83, €72), whereas for journeys between 1,000 and 1,500 km, such as the New Delhi-Mumbai route, should be capped at 15,000 rupees ($167).

In December, the Ministry of Civil Aviation had said that the "caps will remain in force until the situation fully stabilizes."

With the price cap being removed the ticket costs are expected to rise.

The Supreme Court of India on Monday is scheduled to hear challenges against a new privacy law that transparency activists and journalists say could curb access to information.

Four petitions are targeting amendments made through the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP) saying they will lead to "dilution" of India's Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Petitioners argue the changes would allow officials to withhold information of public interest and undermine transparency.

The government denies the allegations, saying the law balances privacy with the right to information.

Media groups have also raised concerns that the privacy law lacks clear protections for journalists and could hinder reporting by requiring consent from subjects of news reports.

The law allows fines of up to $27 million (€23.4 million) for non-compliance.