TUESDAY IIP GROWTH AT 2-YR HIGH OF 6.7% IN NOV ON ROBUST MANUFACTURING 30 DECEMBER, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in Factory output, based on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), grew at 6.7% in November, driven by the manufacturing and mining sectors facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard UKRAINE US GIVES SECURITY GUARANTEE The US is offering Ukraine security guarantees for a period of 15 years as part of a proposed peace plan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says PAGE 9 STRONG GROWTH ON BACK OF GST CUTS The Goods and Services Tax rates were cut on a host of consumer items to boost demand. This led to a piling up of manufacturing orders to take advantage of the GST reduction. The data showed the manufacturing sector’s output grew by 8%, up from 5.5% in the year-ago month. Mining production rose by 5.4%. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 11.9% THE HIGHEST IIP GROWTH RECORDED IN RECENT TIMES. IT CAME IN NOV 2023 SC stays its Nov 20 fiat on Aravallis, SC stays Delhi HC to set up high-powered committee order suspending 2017 UNNAO RAPE CASE Bench says its previous order invited applications and pleas questioning the 100-metre rule S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y Interim win, say environmentalists @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Monday put its November 20 order that accepted an elevationlinked defintion of the Aravallis on hold after environmental groups raised serious concerns that the new definition could lead to unbridled mining in one of the world’s oldest mountain ranges. A vacation bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih said the court’s November 20 order had “critical ambiguities” that needed to be cleared up. The bench proposed forming a panel of experts to study the issue more carefully . “We direct that recommendations of the committee and findings of the Supreme Court shall remain in abeyance till then. The case to be taken up on January 21, 2026,” said the three-judge bench. The court had on November 20 accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges and banned fresh mining leases. The SC Security officials outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi Monday | SHEKHAR YADAV A committee of experts will be constituted to study environmental impact and assessment of the recommendations made by an earlier committee that comprised of bureaucrats — CJI-led SC bench had also accepted the recommendations of a committee of the Environment Ministry that had recommended that “Aravalli Hill” be defined as any landform with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief, and an “Aravalli Range” as a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other. In its order on Monday, the court said, “It seems prima facie that both the committee’s report and the judgment of this court have omitted to expressly clarify certain critical issues.” The court said that the ministry’s definition might create a problem where protected areas become smaller while unprotected “non-Aravalli” areas become larger. The bench issued notice in Environmentalists objecting to the new definition of Aravallis welcomed the Supreme Court’s move on Monday. Environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari said, ”This judicial intervention was much needed... the committee which is going to be formed should have ecologists, environmentalists and not just bureaucrats.” Neelam Ahluwalia, founder member of the People for Aravallis collective, termed the directive of Monday as an “interim win”. the matter and requested the Attorney General R Venkataramani to assist the Court, including in the composition of the expert panel. The problem started because Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat each had their own definitions of what counts as Aravalli Hills and Ranges, leading to loopholes that allowed P7 illegal mining. Sengar’s life term EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi STRESSING that even the “finest judges are prone to errors” and judicial scrutiny is part of the system, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed a December 23 High Court order suspending the life sentence of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case. The top court said Sengar shall not be released from custody . A vacation bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih, which was hearing the CBI’s plea challenging the high court order, said “substantial questions of law have arisen in the matter that require consideration”. The court issued notice to Sengar seeking his response in four weeks. The bench said it was conscious of the fact that ordinarily when a convict or an under, trial was released on bail after an order passed by a court, such order shall not be stayed by it without hearing that person. It noted that Sengar was also convicted and sentenced in a separate case and was still in custody in that matter. “In the peculiar circumstances of the case, we stay the operation of the impugned order dated December 23, 2025, passed by the high court,” it said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the CBI, urged the bench to stay the high court order, saying it was a “horrific rape” of a child. The Delhi HC had, in its December 23 order, held Sengar was convicted under Section 5 (C) (sexual assault by a public servant) of POCSO Act but an elected representative does not fit the definition of a “public servant” under the IPC. The bench observed it was worried that a constable or a ‘patwari’ will be a ‘public servant’ in such an offence but a MP or MLA may be exempted if this interpretation was construed to be correct. CAT REMOVES BRAHMOS CHIEF FROM POST M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi IN a rare development, the Hyderabad bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Monday directed that the sitting Director General and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BrahMos Aerospace, Jaiteerth R Joshi, be removed from the post. The CAT also asked the defence ministry to reconsider the claim of the senior-most scientist Sivasubramaniam Nambi Naidu for the top post. This newspaper was the first to report on December 2, 2024 that the appointment was challenged in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Hyderabad. CAT, in its order, directed the ministry and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to reconsider Joshi’s appointment within four weeks. And, till a decision is taken on the appointment, the CAT asked the ministry and DRDO to make an in-charge arrangement, but not to include Joshi in it. This newspaper was the first to report that the appointment was challenged The crisis stemmed from the appointment of Joshi as the CEO. The decision was contested by Sivasubramanyam Nambi Naidu, alleging he was superseded during the selection. The tribunal, referring to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), said the Secretary, DDR&D and Chairman of the DRDO can approve one of the names in the panel submitted by the selection committee for appointment to the position of director general. But, as per CAT, they cannot ignore the entire service record of the other scientists in the panel. The case was filed on November 29, and the first hear- ing took place on November 30. According to sources, the CAT has sought a detailed response from DRDO within four weeks and has scheduled the next hearing on December 30. Jaiteerth R Joshi took over the charge on December 2, 2024. Sources said Naidu, a ‘Distinguished Scientist’, is seven years senior to Joshi and has served as an ‘Outstanding Scientist’ since 2017, a position Joshi currently holds. With only three years left in service, Naidu’s plea is to consider his seniority and experience. “When the Distinguished Scientists are available, there is no question of such a post of DG being offered to Scientist H,” the tribunal said. FEATHER IN HER CAP Vice-President and Chancellor of Pondicherry University CP Radhakrishnan confers degree on a scholar at the 30th convocation ceremony of the varsity on Monday in the presence of Lt Governor K Kailashnathan and Chief Minister N Rangasamy | SRIRAM R EXPRESS READ IndiGo increases allowances for pilots INSV Kaundinya sets off for 1st voyage to Oman SGPC uses Akal Takht to protect masters: Mann A month after an operational breakdown that led to mass cancellations of flights all over the country, IndiGo has decided to increase pilot allowances across duty types. The changes are effective 1 January 2026. | P10 Indian Naval Sailing Vessel Kaundinya, Navy’s indigenously built and traditionally stitched sailing vessel, embarked Monday on its maiden overseas voyage from Gujarat’s Porbandar to Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on Monday accused the SGPC of failing to find the 328 missing saroops of Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib and accused it of “using the Akal Takht as a shield” to protect its “masters.” | P4 HALT IN FOR MISMATCH SOFT, HARD RECORDS OF BENGAL ROLLS The EC has told district electoral officers in West Bengal not to issue notices for hearings under SIR to voters who have been identified as ‘unmapped’ | P8 Two B’deshis ‘refused’ treatment by Odisha hosp EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar TWO Bangladeshi nationals reportedly travelling to Bhubaneswar for medical treatment were subjected to police verification on arrival at the Biju Patnaik International Airport on Sunday night after locals raised suspicion on their identity . Furthermore, the hospital concerned also reportedly refused admission to the patient in fearing trouble and both were forced to return to Mumbai from where they had flown to Bhubaneswar. According to police, the two brothers, aged 49 and 35, arrived from Mumbai after flying in from Dubai, where they were employed as a driver and a labourer, res p e c t i v e l y. The elder sibling, suffering from a cardiac ailment, was scheduled to undergo treatment at a private hospital. The hospital reportedly had arranged an ambulance to receive them at the airport. But it failed to arrive following a communication gap. The two then attempted to hire a taxi. When the cab driver enquired about their nationality and learnt they were Bangladeshi citizens, he alerted others present at the airport. Locals gathered and informed police raising suspicion that the two were illegal immigrants. They were taken to the Airport police station where their travel documents, including passports and visas, were checked and found to be valid. However, the private hospital later declined to admit the ailing man, citing concerns over possible backlash in the wake of tensions over killing of Hindus in Bangladesh. With no alternative, the brothers returned to Mumbai on Monday . Flights cancelled as fog blinds capital’s vision Prez says no to TN bill on VC hiring EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi DENSE fog shrouded Delhi on Monday resulting in very poor , visibility which crippled flight operations at the IGIA. The capital is likely to witness dense fog on Tuesday morning as well, the IMD said, issuing a ‘yellow’ alert. At least 123 flights were cancelled due to low visibility “A total of 62 de. parting flights and 61 arriving flights were cancelled. Additionally seven flights, including international ones, were diverted to Jaipur,” an airport spokesperson said. The Air India was the worst impacted, with cancellation of 53 flights to and from the Delhi airport. “Of the 53 cancellations, 25 were outbound ones,” the spokesperson said. Many Vehicles move amid dense fog in New Delhi early on Monday morning | SHEKHAR YADAV Air quality returns to ‘severe’ category Delhi recorded a 24-hour AQI of 401, in the ‘severe’ category. On Sunday, the AQI stood at 390, in the ‘very poor’ category. The air quality at 24 monitoring stations was ‘severe’ while it was ‘very poor’ at 13 stations. P3 people who booked Air India tickets claimed that they did not have details of the morning cancellations even at 10 pm on Sunday night. IndiGo, the largest domestic operator, had 44 cancellations to and from Delhi airport. Flights between Delhi and Dehradun, Amritsar, Patna, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Indore, and Nagpur were among those cancelled in both directions. Dehradun airport too was severely impacted due to the fog with flights to and from Lucknow and Mumbai impacted. Air India Express had seven cancellations from the Delhi airport. Two incoming flights to Delhi airport were diverted. A Spicejet spokesperson said two of its flights to Delhi we re diverted while two incoming flights were cancelled. “Our flight from Dubai to Delhi was diverted to Jaipur. A similar diversion was effected for our flight from Mumbai,” the spokesperson said. Incoming flights to Delhi from Mumbai and Bengaluru were cancelled. Akasa Air did not respond to calls. that put state govt, guv on war path B I N I TA J A I S W A L @ Chennai PRESIDENT Droupadi Murmu has returned the University of Madras (Amendment) Bill to the Tamil Nadu government, dealing a fresh blow to the DMK government’s efforts to assert greater control over the administration of state-run universities. The decision brings back into focus the long-running tussle between the state government and Governor RN Ravi over the appointment of vice-chancellors in state universities. The Bill, passed by the state Assembly in April 2022, sought to amend the University of Madras Act by transferring the power to appoint and remove the vice-chancellor, from the governor—who serves as the ex-officio chancellor of the university—to the state government. By replacing the term “chancellor” with “government” in the Act, the state aimed to make the elected government the final authority in matters of academic leadership. However, Governor Ravi reserved the Bill for the President’s consideration, citing concerns that the proposed changes could be at odds with University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations and established norms governing vice-chancellor appointments. “With the President now re- turning the Bill without granting assent, as per rules, the state will again have to reconsider the legislation,” said an official from the higher education department. Higher education department officials were tight-lipped over the details of the explanation given by the President’s office for returning the Bill. The return of the Bill comes amid an ongoing leadership vacuum in 14 state universities out of the total 22. Several institutions, including the University of Madras, one of India’s oldest universities, are currently functioning without regular vice-chancellors and are b e i n g r u n by c o nve n o r committees.