Supreme Court to hear petitions against reach of privacy law Indian government to revoke domestic airfare caps Modi to address Parliament on New Delhi’s position on Iran war
Here are the latest news and analysis from India on Monday, March 23:
India to revoke domestic airfare caps
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.
Supreme Court to hear petitions against reach of privacy law
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.
Welcome to our coverage
Hi! This is Shakeel Sobhan from DW’s studio in New Delhi, bringing you the major developments from across India on this rainy Delhi morning.
In case you are wondering, the current air quality (AQI) in New Delhi is 96, according to Swiss air quality monitor IQAir.
Today, the Supreme Court of India is scheduled to hear four lawsuits alleging that the government is diluting the Right to Information (RTI) law.
Additionally, the temporary fare caps on domestic air tickets, introduced in December after mass cancellations by IndiGo led to a spike in fares at other airlines, will be revoked today. The impact on airfares remains to be seen.
Stick around as we bring you everything that is making news in India.
