THURSDAY CENTRE BANS NIMESULIDE ORAL DOSES ABOVE 100 MG OVER SAFETY CONCERNS JANUARY, 2026 The government has banned the manufacture, sale and distribution of all oral formulations containing the popular painkiller nimesulide above 100 mg 01 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard The Morning Standard wishes its readers a Decision follows ICMR recommendation A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  The decision was taken following a recommendation by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the country’s apex health research body, and after consultation with the Drugs Technical Advisory Board. A government notification said oral formulations containing nimesulide above 100 mg involve risk to humans and safer alternatives are available | P10 PAGES 14 Jaishankar’s 4-hour condolence diplomacy in Dhaka J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi As we step into the new year, we take a deep dive into events and stories that will shape our future ROADMAP Capital braces to get new identifiers | P5 NATION Oppn leaders may emerge key force | P7 States pin fund hopes on Centre | P9 BUSINESS Equities may play 2nd fiddle to gold | P12 SPORTS 2 major events, Asiad and CWG, scheduled in 10 months | P13 EXPRESS READ Bengal gets its first woman chief secretary Nandini Chakravorty was on Wednesday appointed as the chief secretary of West Bengal, becoming the first woman to hold the post in the state. Chakravorty replaced Manoj Pant, who was scheduled to assume superannuation on June 30 but was granted a sixmonth extension from July 1 to December 31. SIT to investigate Angel’s murder The Dehradun police have set up an SIT to probe the murder of Angel Chakma, a student from Tripura reportedly killed by a group of youths after a dispute over racial slurs they allegedly hurled at him. A `1-lakh reward has also been announced for help in the arrest of the only one of the six accused who is still at large. IIT-K sets up panel to probe student suicide IIT-Kanpur has constituted a three-member panel to probe the recent suicide of a BTech student on its premises. The committee will examine the circumstances that prompted the four-year student to take the drastic step, marking the fourth case of student suicide at the institute in 2025. IN a gesture highlighting India’s political outreach amid a period of transition in Bangladesh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday handed over a personal letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman during a brief meeting in Dhaka, while conveying India’s deepest condolences on the death of former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia. Jaishankar reached Dhaka earlier in the day to represent India at the funeral of Khaleda Zia, S Jaishankar handing over PM Narendra Modi’s condolence letter to Khaleda Zia’s son Tarique Rahman in Dhaka | PTI Bangladesh’s first woman PM and one of the most influential figures in the country’s political history His tightly scheduled vis. it combined condolence diploma- cy with quiet political engagement across party lines. After the meeting, Jaishankar “expressed confidence that Begum Khaleda Zia’s vision and values will guide the development of our partnership”. The meeting with Rahman who leads the BNP was seen as politi, cally significant, coming at a time when Bangladesh’s domestic political landscape is in flux and New Delhi is keen to open channels with all major stakeholders. Khaleda’s death marks the end of an era in Bangladeshi politics, and her legacy continues to shape the BNP’s identity and outlook. Jaishankar’s visit to Dhaka lasted around four hours. As he concluded the trip, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah, highlighted the scope for recalibrating bilateral ties. The remarks point to an effort on both sides to emphasise continuity and pragmatism in bilateral relations amid strains. On the sidelines of the funeral, Jaishankar met Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will visit the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi on Thursday to pay his respects to the former PM, further underlining the importance India attaches to acknowledging her legacy P11 . Govt’s mega new year Govt to spend `17K cr in gift to Vodafone Idea 3 yrs to boost power infra 5-year moratorium on AGR payment; `87,695 cr dues frozen, to be reassessed by Dept of Telecommunications R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi IN a major relief to debt-laden Vodafone Idea, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a significant restructuring of the company’s adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, providing a five-year moratorium on a critical payment of `18,000 crore, which was to be released by March 31, 2026. Under the new schedule, the AGR dues pertaining to FY18 and FY19 will now be payable over a six-year window between FY26 and FY31. Sources said no additional charges or penalties will be levied during this extended period. The Cabinet also decided to freeze the telco’s total AGR dues at `87,695 crore. This sum has been rescheduled for payment over a 10-year period, beginning in FY32 and concluding in FY41. LEGAL REMEDY However, the telco said OCT it was yet to get an official communication. 2025 The government’s inSEPT SC allows tervention follows Su2025 the governpreme Court judgments ment to redated October 27 and NoVodafone assess the vember 3, 2025. The SC Idea company’s said there was no legal moves SC AGR dues, against which stood impediment for the CenDoT’s at `83,400 tre to reconsider the `9,450 crore as of dues, placing the matter crore March-end squarely within the govdemand 2025 ernment’s policy domain. The court highlighted the ‘larger public interest’, noting the governVodafone Idea’s total ment’s own 49% stake in debt, including AGR the telco and 20 crore and spectrum dues consumers. K2 LAKH CR The relief comes as VoIt incurred `12,132 cr dafone Idea continues to loss in 1st half of FY26 challenge the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) demand for an additional `9,450 crore, while seeking waivers on interest and penalties for disputed components of the dues. To ensure accuracy in the final payout, the frozen dues will undergo a reassessment by the DoT based on the 2020 Deduction Verification Guidelines and audit reports. A government-appointed committee will oversee this process, and its findings will be binding on both parties. According to sources, the decision is rooted in the strategic importance of the telecom sector to the Digital India mission. By ensuring Vodafone Idea remains a viable third private player, the government aims to prevent a market duopoly, protect its equity investment, and ensure orderly collection of future spectrum auction charges. Cabinet clears two highway projects worth `20,668 crore M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi THE Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved two national highway projects, one each in Maharashtra and Odisha, worth `20,668 crore. The decision will pave the way for the construction of NashikSolapur-Akkalkot Corridor and widening of NH-326 in Odisha. For Maharashtra, construction of six-lane greenfield access-controlled Nashik-SolapurAkkalkot corridor with a total outlay of `19,142 crore has been approved, while `1,562 crore has been allocated for the widening of NH- 326 in Odisha. Briefing the media, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said: “The approved projects are a significant step in the direction of providing integrated transport infrastructure under the PM Gatishakti National Master Plan principle.” The greenfield corridor from Nashik to Akkalkot is proposed to be connected to Delhi-Mumbai Expressway near Wadhawan port interchange, AgraMumbai corridor at Nashik with NH-60 (Adegaon) and Samruddhi Mahamarg at Pangri (near Nashik). According to an official statement, the proposed corridor will provide connectivity from west coast to east coast. From Chennai port end, 4-lane corridors are already in progress from Chennai to Hasapur (MH Border) via Thiruvallur, Renigunta, Kadappa and Kurnool (700 km long). A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi THE Delhi government will invest nearly `17,000 crore over the next three years to strengthen the power infrastructure in the capital, officials said. Under the capital expenditure plan, Delhi Transco Limited (DTL) and the city’s power distribution companies will upgrade transmission lines, grid sub-stations, and the distribution network. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said, “The objective of these investments is not merely to add new capacity, but to ensure uninterrupted, safe, and highquality power supply in every part of the city .” The full plan was discussed during a recent high-level review meeting, which Gupta chaired, to assess ongoing works in the power sector and finalise an action plan up to 2029. Officials told Gupta that Delhi’s peak power demand was rising steadily The . capital’s peak electricity demand reached around 8,400 MW in 2025. On average, electricity demand in the city is increasing by 4–5 per cent every year, mainly due to population growth, higher use of air conditioners, and other electrical appliances, and the gradual adoption of electric vehicles. It was also POWER PEAK 8,400 MW Annual increase in city's power demand in last few yrs Expected peak demand for a day by 2030 4-5% PEAK DEMAND FOR A DAY IN 2025 11,500-12,000 MW 19,000-20,000 MW Expected peak by 2040 noted that peak demand is usually recorded during the summer months, particularly in June and July . Delhi’s peak power demand for a day could rise to 11,500–12,000 MW by 2030 if current trends continue. In the longer term, demand is estimated to hit around 19,000–20,000 MW by 2040. Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said, “We are viewing this growing demand not as a challenge but as an opportunity and are aligning the , power system with future requirements, so that there is no pressure on electricity supply even by 2029.” The meeting reviewed the Prime Minister’s Surya Ghar Free Electricity Scheme, for which the processes of installing solar panels is being simplified. SMILING FOR A NEW YEAR A woman holds balloons as she welcomes the New Year at midnight in Connaught Place | PARVEEN NEGI LAST DAY OF ’25 Cold wave, dense fog, ‘very poor’ air; flight ops hit E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi A biting chill gripped the capital on the last day of the year with a thick layer of fog engulfing and air quality being in the “very poor” cate gory on Wednesday The India Meteoro. logical Department (IMD) said the maximum temperature settled at 14.2o Celsius, 6.2o Celsius below normal and the lowest day-time temperature recorded since 2020. A generally cloudy sky with light rain is predicted for January 1, with cold day conditions likely to continue. Station-wise data showed that Palam logged 13.6o Celsius, Lodhi Road 13.4o Celsius, the Ridge 13.8o Celsius and Ayanagar 13.1o Celsius. The minimum temperature was recorded at 6.4o Celsius, 0.4o Celsius below normal, the IMD said. Visibility dropped sharply due to dense fog. Safdarjung reported the lowest visibility of 50 metres between 6.30 am and 7.30 am, which improved to 100 metres by 8 am. Palam recorded visibility as low as 50 metres between 4 am and 7.30 am, improving to 150 metres by 8 am. At least 150 flights were cancelled and two Delhi-bound flights were diverted to Jaipur. “A total of 79 arrivals and 71 departures were cancelled due to poor visibility caused by fog,” said Delhi airport. Air India had the maximum number of cancellations. An airline source said, “We had to cancel 34 outgoing and 34 incoming flights on Wednesday. There were no international cancellations.” The air quality readings remained in the ‘very poor’ range. The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 373. A station-wise analysis showed that 23 monitoring stations recorded ‘very poor’ AQI, while 14 were in the ‘severe’ category . ITO recorded the worst AQI at 433 during the evening hours, according to CPCB. Over 70 injured in head-on collision DGCA notice to AI for flying snag-hit aircraft between ‘trains’ in Chamoli dist tunnel Vulnerable route Progress of work slow Progress of work on the project has been rather slow. Work began in 2005. Tunnel boring commenced in 2021-2022 after pacifying Hat villagers who initially opposed it N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun OVER 70 people were injured, eight of them severely, after a head-on collision between two ‘trains’ on the same track of an upcoming hydroelectric power plant tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district. A ‘loco train’ — a small rail trolley system used to transport personnel and materials — and a goods wagon collided around 8.45 pm on Tuesday . The workers were on their way from the Hat village entry Security personnel at the accident site inside a hydroelectric project tunnel in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand point to begin their night shift at the 444 MW Vishnuprayag Pippalkoti Hydro Electric Project on the Alaknanda river, when the mishap occurred about 2.5 km inside the tunnel. “The collision was so severe that it threw people off the vehicle,” stated a source close to the rescue operation. A second goods train was immediately deployed for rescue. Injured workers were evacuated and rushed to nearby hospitals. “Eight persons sustained serious injuries and are undergoing treatment at the district hospital in Gopeshwar. However, their condition is stable,” a hospital official confirmed. DGCA took note of the pilots making multiple trips on flights AI-357 from Delhi to Tokyo and AI-358 from Tokyo to Delhi despite allegedly knowing about the noncompliance of minimum equipment list requirements. S L A L I T H A @ New Delhi THE Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a show-cause notice to Air India’s cockpit crew for operating multiple flights to and from Delhi and Tokyo despite being aware of serious compliance lapses. The aviation regulator sought an explanation from them within two weeks. The notice issued on December 29 talks about multiple trips performed by flight AI-357 from Delhi to Tokyo and AI-358 from Tokyo to Delhi. An Air India source confirmed the receipt and said this was the second such notice is- sued by the regulator in connection with this route. “Due to persistent warm temperature in the cabin, one of the trips of the flight from Delhi to Tokyo had to be diverted to Kolkata on June 28. The issue came to the fore after that. The engineering division had received a notice regarding the status of the heating equipment on board the flight and they replied to it. The pilots on board the flight have received the notice a couple of days ago,” the source said. The DGCA notice states, “The minimum equipment list (MEL) on the flight was incom- patible.” A senior pilot told this newspaper that the airline needs to ensure that the parts specified in the MEL are rectified within a time-bound period. “Crucial parts need to be rectified immediately and the aircraft is generally taken to the base station to do it. In the case of minor parts, airlines play around with it by stretching the rectification period to the maximum possible limit,” he said. The heating and cooling equipment figure in the MEL List, whose malfunctioning caused the flight to be diverted to Kolkata.