FRIDAY CAUSE FOR CONCERN AS INDIA GETS D RATING IN GLOBAL PENSION INDEX 17 The Mercer Global Pension Index 2025, built on adequacy (40%), sustainability (35%) and integrity (25%), ranked India at 43.8 points OCTOBER, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard PEACE EFFORTS TRUMP’S FOCUS ON UKRAINE WAR Donald Trump held a phone call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin Thursday, a day before Ukraine’s Zelenskyy meets the POTUS to push for Tomahawk missiles PAGE 9 DGCA Rest facility for cabin crew on flights mooted S L A L I T H A @ New Delhi IN a first major revision in many years, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has proposed changes to flight duty time rules for cabin crew and proper rest facilities during flights. The move aims to enhance both flight safety and crew health. A month ago, the DGCA had released a draft on cockpit crew, mainly on fatigue management. The new draft, released on Wednesday, extends similar steps to cabin crew. To ensure safe operations, the guidelines lay out updated duty time and flight limitations for airlines to follow. A key proposal is to provide independent rest areas on board with horizontal bunks, creating an environment conducive to sleep. The DGCA specifies that bunks or sleeping surfaces should allow a flat or near-flat position, recline to at least an 80-degree back angle, and be located separately from the passenger cabin with control over light and noise. It has also called for the provision of a basic rest seat for the crew that would recline at least 40 degrees from the vertical. SCORE OF 43.8 VERSUS GLOBAL AVG OF 64.5 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 The global average score of the pension index was 64.5. This year’s top performers included The Netherlands (85.4), Iceland (84.0), Denmark (82.3), Singapore (80.8), and Israel (80.3)—all earning an ‘A’ grade for robust and sustainable pension systems. India’s pension system continues to face structural gaps that undermine retirement security for most Govt denies Trump-Modi phone call MAD SCRAMBLE on ending Russian oil procurement FOR INDIA BLOC BIHAR DRAMA SEAT DEAL MEA says safeguarding interests of consumers in a volatile energy scenario is priority J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi INDIA on Thursday clarified that no phone call took place between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on Wednesday regarding the country’s oil imports from Russia and reiterated that its energy sourcing policy remains consistently focused on safeguarding the interests of Indian consumers, while responding to Trump’s claim that Modi had assured him of halting such purchases. “On the question of whether there was a conversation or a telephone call between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump, I am not aware of any conversation yesterday between the two leaders,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during the ministry’s weekly press briefing. The clarification came after Trump, speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, claimed that Prime Minister Modi had assured him that India would stop buying Russian oil. “I was not happy that India was buy- SUPPLIES VERY BENEFICIAL TO INDIA, SAYS RUSSIAN ENVOY Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov on Thursday stressed the importance of Russia’s oil supplies to India in the context of US pressure to stop it, describing them as “very beneficial” and aligned with India’s national interests. “The Indian government is acting, having in mind the national interests, and our cooperation is very much in tune with those interests,” Alipov said ing oil, and he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That’s a big step,” Trump said. “Now we’ve got to get China to do the same thing,” the US president said. The US president said India may not be able to cut the procurement immediately but the process has started. “It (process) has started. He can’t do it immediately It’s a little bit of a . process, but the process is going to be over soon,” he said. Last week, US Ambassadordesignate Sergio Gor met PM Modi in New Delhi. “India is a significant importer of oil and gas. It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective,” Jaiswal said in a statement earlier on Thursday. He also pointed out that India is also expanding its energy export from the US. “Where the US is concerned, we have for many years sought to expand our energy procurement. This has steadily progressed in the last decade. The current administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing,” Jaiswal said. He further outlined India’s broader energy approach, noting that stable prices and secure supplies remain the twin goals of its policy This includes . diversifying sources of supply and adapting to changing market conditions. India has increased its oil imports from Russia over the past two years, citing competitive pricing amid global volatility. The government has repeatedly said that these decisions are based on economic considerations rather than political pressure. The Trump administration had imposed 50% tariff on key Indian imports, including 25% additional penalty linked to Russian oil purchases. Trump reiterated his personal bonding with Modi. “He (Modi) is a friend of mine, we have a great relationship... we were not happy with him buying oil from Russia because that let Russia continue on with this ridiculous war where they’ve lost a million and a half people,” Trump said. Patel to form new cabinet as entire ministry resigns (organisation) general secretary Sunil Bansal got into a huddle with key state leaders. IN a dramatic political reset, all The Swar nim Complex, 16 ministers in the Gujarat cab- which houses ministerial ofinet submitted their resigna- fices, has undergone a quiet tions to Chief Minister Bhu- overnight cleanup. Six to seven pendra Patel ahead of a MLAs are likely to be elevated sweeping ministerial reshuffle as parliamentary secretaries. and expansion on Friday. The Caste and regional equations oath-taking ceremony is are at the heart of the scheduled for 11.30 am. reshuffle. While both All BJP MLAs and the CM and BJP state outgoing ministers have president Jagdish Panbeen directed to remain chal hail from Ahmedastationed in Gandhinabad, the politically sengar. A BJP legislative sitive Saurashtra that is party meeting was held increasingly being inat the CM’s residence on Bhupendra Patel fl u e n c e d by A A P ’s T h u r s d ay e ve n i n g . Gopal Italia, is expected While Union home minister to get a larger slice of power. Amit Shah arrived in Gandhina- Jayesh Radadiya and Jitu Vagar, party president J P Nadda is ghani are strong contenders for expected to fly in on Friday . berths, with Vaghani tipped to The new team may have 27 be the new home minister. ministers — the peak permitPatidar representation is ted strength since Gujarat has likely to increase as well, while a 182-member assembly A dep- Thakor leaders from North Gu. uty CM could also be named. jarat are expected to get promiEarlier in the day, national nent portfolios. R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna THE Congress released the party’s first list of 48 candidates late on Thursday night—a day before the deadline for filing nominations for the first phase of Bihar elections—even as INDIA bloc is yet to announce its seat-sharing formula. Five women and two Muslim candidates figure in the Congress’ list of candidates released by AICC general-secretary K C Venugopal. The deadlock over seatsharing among INDIA bloc partners may have been broken after senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge spoke to Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad over phone Unusual VIP demand on Thursday. However, the Mukesh Sahani-led Vikassheel final seat-sharing deal has Insaan Party initially sought not yet been made official. 60 seats but later climbed According to sources, the down to 28. “The unusual demand for higher seat allo- demand of VIP complicated cation by influential region- seat-sharing negotiations,” al parties including Mukesh said a senior RJD leader Sahani-led Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) and the pushback by the others was one of the reasons for the stalemate. While Sahani, an ex-minister, demanded 24 seats, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav was reportedly ready to give only 15 seats to VIP . Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders including AICC incharge of Bihar Krishna Allavaru, the party’s state unit chief Rajesh Kumar and Congress Legislature Party leader Shakeel Ahmed met RJD chief Lalu Prasad to reach a consensus. Later, Gandhi and Kharge spoke to Lalu. P8 Poll body raps charges on SIR deletions in SC S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA @ Ahmedabad ‘DEMOCRACY IS HARD WORK’ Sri Lankan PM Harini Amarasuriya with students & teachers at Hindu College, her alma mater, in New Delhi | PTI | MORE ON P4 EXPRESS READ Kapil Sharma’s eatery in Canada targeted again CBI probe only to be ordered in rare cases: SC 2K kg of spurious sweets seized in city Shots were fired at comedian Kapil Sharma’s restaurant on Thursday, the third time since its opening in July in Canada’s Surrey. The restaurant opened in the British Columbia city on July 4. Within a week of its inauguration, it was the target of an attack. The Surrey Police Service said the matter is being investigated. The Supreme Court said Thursday that a CBI probe is justified only under “rare circumstances,” for example, when fundamental rights are at stake or in matters of national importance. “An order directing an investigation to be carried out by CBI should be treated as a measure of last resort,” the bench observed. The Delhi Police on Thursday seized between 2,000 kg and 2,500 kg of adulterated milkbased sweets in a raid in west Delhi’s Raghubir Nagar area, an officer said. Samples of the seized sweets have been sent for laboratory testing to determine the nature and extent of adulteration, the officer said. THE Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday strongly defended the Bihar poll roll revision, terming the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) ‘accurate’, and told the Supreme Court that the petitioners—political parties, NGOs, individual persons, and others—were making “false allegations” to discredit the months-long exercise. The ECI told a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi that not a single appeal has been filed by any voter against name deletion since the publication of the final roll. Taking strong exception to the Association for Democratic Refor ms (ADR)’s charge that there was a “disproportionate exclusion of Muslims”, the poll body said the “communal approach” of the petitioner must be deprecated, adding that the poll rolls database doesn’t capture info about religion. “The petitioner’s argument is based on some namerecognition software, the accuracy of which is doubtful,” the ECI said, adding that the petitioners are trying to discredit the SIR exercise for the electoral interest of certain political parties. Appearing for the ADR, lawyer Prashant Bhushan argued that fresh deletions have happened and the final roll has not been published. The ECI said that the petitioners claim regarding time being short and exercise being conducted hastily was incorrect and misconceived. It further submitted that the non-inclusion of the 65 lakh people who did not submit forms were due to death, permanent shifting, enrolment at multiple places, and this doesn’t amount to deletion or disenfranchisement. B I G P U S H Noida all set for image makeover, to Show time! ‘Creative Capital’ likely to host Messi become global tourism destination A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi N A M I TA BA J PA I @ Lucknow THE Uttar Pradesh government has brought forth an ambitious plan to develop Gautam Buddha Nagar as a model for “Urban and Experiential Tourism” to confirm to the Centre’s ‘One State, One Global Destination’ initiative. The proposal, along with plans for two other destinations, was presented by state Tourism Minister Jaiveer Singh at the two-day Tourism Ministers’ Conference in Udaipur, Rajasthan, that concluded on Thursday . According to sources, the state’s proposal encompasses Gautam Buddha Nagar as a vibrant MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) hub, complemented by medical and hospitality tourism. The proposal also has a “Climate Change Museum” near the Okhla Bird Sanctuary . As per the detailed plan, the state government aims to develop a hospitality hub spread over nearly 100 acres near Noida’s IT City on PPP model. The proposal also includes the promotion of medical tourism by expanding high-end health and wellness facilities along with the construction of a convention centre with a capacity to host around 1,000 people at conferences, exhibitions, and awareness programmes. The proposed ‘Climate Change Museum’ would offer an immersive experience for visitors, while the Okhla Bird Sanctuary would be further developed as part of the broader urban and ecological tourism circuit. Besides Gautam Buddha Nagar, the state government is also contemplating to promote Kalinjar Fort and Siddharthnagar (for Buddhist tourism). The hub of grand events THE Delhi government is working to make the city the “creative capital” of India, with plans to host mega events that can accommodate lakhs of spectators, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Thursday . She announced that over the next 70 days, 30 renowned artists will perform in Delhi. Delhi Tourism, Arts, Culture Minister Kapil Mishra said American rapper Travis Scott and singer Akon will perform in the city soon, and talks are ongoing for Argentinian football star Lionel Messi to visit in December. Gupta said, “To make Delhi an ‘Event-Friendly City,’ rental charges of major stadiums and auditoriums have Detailed consultations with over 40 industry representatives revealed high venue rentals as a barrier. “Once tariffs were reduced, Delhi began to re-emerge as the hub of grand and largescale events,” Kapil Mishra said. been significantly reduced, and these venues are being upgraded to international standards.” She added that a Single Window System for event permissions, logistics, and security has been introduced to ensure smooth organisation. The CM added that the Single Window System, successfully used for Kanwar Yatra, Ramlila, Durga Puja, and Chhath Puja, will now simplify processes for event organisers. Over the next 80 days, a wave of music and culture will sweep Delhi, featuring artists such as Krishna Das, Zakir Khan, Papon, AP Dhillon, Armaan Malik, Jonita Gandhi, and Radhika Das. “This initiative is being undertaken jointly by the Delhi Government, EEMA, and PHDCCI to maintain high stand- ards, run events smoothly and , provide enjoyment,” she said. Calling the “Concert Economy” an important economic sector, Gupta expressed gratitude to PM Narendra Modi and Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya for their support. “There was a time when organisers hesitated to hold large concerts due to a lack of facilities and support. Now, tariffs for major stadiums like Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Indira Gandhi Stadium, National Stadium, Thyagaraj Stadium, and Chhatrasal Stadium have been reduced and facilities upgraded,” the chief minister said. India’s live entertainment industry is currently worth `150 billion, and Delhi’s share is expected to reach `2,500–3,000 crore.