FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | Saturday, 06 December 2025 SPORTS WORLD EDITORIAL A line crossed Page 6 Admiral says there was no ‘kill them all’ order in boat attack SATURDAY INTERVIEW ‘No national role for Nitish’ Page 7 Page 9 Ro-Ko carry India’s hopes as South Africa eye ODI win Page 12 Modi, Putin unveil roadmap to bolster strategic & privileged ties NIKHIL VYAS India, Russia ink key accords across diverse sectors New Delhi, 5 December P rime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded their 23rd Annual Summit on Friday, unveiling a long-term roadmap aimed at deepening economic cooperation and reinforcing a "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership" between the two nations. The summit underscored a unified approach to critical global challenges such as terrorism and energy security. Central to the discussions was enhancing bilateral trade and investment, which PM Modi described as vital for shared prosperity. The leaders formally adopted a declaration on the Development of Strategic Areas of India-Russia Economic Cooperation until STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 5 December 2030, setting up the framework for future collaboration in technology, defense, and civil nuclear energy. Addressing India’s growing energy needs, President Putin reaffirmed Russia’s commitment to providing reliable energy supplies. “Russia is ready to ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies to India,” he stated, emphasising Moscow’s role as a major fuel partner amid Western pressure over India’s increased purchases of discounted Russian crude oil. Beyond energy, the two countries agreed to expand cooperation in emerging technologies, including small modular nuclear reactors and other high-tech sectors. On the international front, the leaders addressed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine with a shared call for peace through diplomacy. Centre orders high-level inquiry into IndiGo fiasco, total normality expected in 3 days Flight passengers wait with their baggage as many IndiGo flight services stand cancelled at Indira Gandhi International Airport, in New Delhi on Friday. AGENCIES STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 5 December The Centre has taken urgent and proactive measures to address the ongoing disruption in flight schedules, particularly those of IndiGo Airlines and decided to institute a high-level inquiry into the disruptions, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Reddy announced here on Friday. In a statement, he said the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) orders of the DGCA have been placed in abeyance with immediate effect. ‘’Without compromising on air safety, this decision has been taken solely in the interest of passengers, especially senior citizens, students, patients, and others who rely on timely air travel for essential needs,’’ he added. He said the government has decided to institute a high-level inquiry into this disruption. The inquiry will examine what went wrong at IndiGo, determine accountability wherever required for appropriate actions, and recommend measures to prevent similar disruptions in the future, ensuring that passengers do not face such hardships again. The minister’s statement came in the wake of Indigo facing operational disruptions for yet another day today, with the cancellation of over 750 flights across the country. Mr Reddy said that in addition to this, several operational measures have been directed to ensure that normal airline services are restored at the earliest and that the inconvenience caused to travellers is significantly reduced. ‘’Based on the immediate implementation of these directives, we expect that flight schedules will begin to stabilise and return to normal by tomorrow. We anticipate that complete restoration of services will be achieved within the next three days,’’ he added. Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has accepted Indigo’s request for relaxation in rules related to pilot night duty. In the approval issued by the DGCA on Friday, it stated that IndiGo has been granted exemption from two provisions of the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) until 10 February 2026. For IndiGo, night duty will now be considered from 12 midnight to 5 a.m. until 10 February. Under existing rules, night duty is defined as from 12 midnight to 6 a.m. RBI cuts repo rate to 5.25 pc, by 25 basis points, on back of strong growth STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Mumbai, 5 December The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its bi-monthly monetary policy here on Friday after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) concluded its three-day review process, which began on Wednesday, with the panel led by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra unanimously voting to cut the government securities (G-Secs) repurchase (repo) rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.25 per cent. In layman-speak, a basis point (bp) is an interest rate of 0.01 per cent. The RBI’s move is expected to boost liquidity in the market through higher spending in interest rate-sensitive sectors like banking, real estate, and consumer durables. The RBI's repo rate cut is expected to provide relief to new home loan borrowers as well. A reduced repo rate would enable banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), and other financial institutions to lower their lending rates by up to 25 basis points, resulting in lower monthly home loan EMIs due to a reduced interest rate. At the press conference after the monetary policy was announced, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said: “We are at neutral today. We believe, as you also alluded to and as I mentioned in my speech earlier, that inflation is very benign. Excluding volatile food prices, inflation has remained around 3 per cent to 3.5 per cent over the last two years. Going forward, too, if gold and precious metals are excluded, our expectation is that inflation will remain very benign.” • Related reports: Page 10 India and Russia on Friday signed over a dozen agreements in diverse fields, including migration and mobility, health and food safety, maritime cooperation and media collaboration, to give further impetus to bilateral ties. The accords were signed by senior ministers and officials of the two countries at the end of the 23rd IndiaRussia annual Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Migration and Mobility Agreement provides for temporary labour activity of citizens of one country in the territory of the other nation. Another accord aims to intensify cooperation between the two sides in combating irregular migration. The agreement on health and food safety seeks cooperation between India and Russia in the field of healthcare, medical education and science. Another pact will enhance cooperation between India’s Health and Family Welfare Ministry of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being in the field of food safety. The Maritime Cooperation and Polar waters accord is aimed at training specialists operating in Polar Waters. • More reports: Pages 5, 10 Lok Sabha passes Health and National Security Cess Bill: New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Friday passed the Health and National Security Cess Bill, 2025, which introduces a cess on the production of specific goods, including pan masala, to generate dedicated funds for bolstering public health programs and national security efforts. Originally introduced in the Lok Sabha on 1 December, the Bill targets machinery and manual processes involved in manufacturing pan masala and other goods as notified by the central government.