The Editorial Page: From Licence Raj to Jan Vishwas, what we need to set our entrepreneurs free 10 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2025 JOuRNALISM of COuRAGE MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES ₹5.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , j A I P U R , KO L K ATA , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 Happening today lLIONEL MESSI begins his GOAT India Tour 2025, which will take the football legend to Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi over three days. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner will start his trip from Kolkata. TRACK THIS AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm AIRLINE CEO, TOP OffICIALS APPEAR BEfORE REGULATOR’S INqUIRY PANEL Oversight on IndiGo under scanner, DGCA sacks 4 flight ops inspectors Airline turns to former FAA advisor to review disruptions in schedule Sukalp Sharma New Delhi, December 12 INTHEwakeofthemassivedisruption in IndiGo’s flight operations last week, aviation regulatorDirectorateGeneralofCivil Aviation (DGCA) has sacked fourflightoperationsinspectors (FOIs)whowereresponsiblefor oversight on the airline and its preparation for the new pilot rest and duty duration rules. ThefourFOIs,engagedwith the DGCA on contract basis, have been relieved with immediate effect to join their respective parent organisations, according to an order by the 13/12/2025 102 130 161 90 regulator. The DGCA named the four FOIs, whose services with the regulator have been terminated, as Deputy Chief FOI Rishi Raj Chatterjee, Senior FOI Seema Jhamnani, and FOIs Anil Kumar Pokhriyal and Priyam Kaushik. Questions have been raised from different quarters on the DGCA’s oversight on IndiGo following last week’s spate of flight cancellations and delays that severely impacted tens of thousands of passengers. This could mark the beginning of government and »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 IndiGo capable... Govt to monitor them very closely, says Naidu Liz Mathew New Delhi, December 12 STEPPING IN afterdisruptions in IndiGo flight operations left thousands stranded at airports across the country last week, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said Friday that though he is satisfied with the progressmadeinrestoringnormalcy, the government will now closely monitor IndiGo operations. Acknowledgingthatthecivil aviation sector needs reforms, keeping passenger interest as priority, he said the challenge is ExPrEss interview K RAMMOHAN NAIDU CIVIL AVIATION MINISTER to bring in more aircraft fast. InaninterviewwithTheIndian Express, Naidu said, “Things are back to normal, all operations have stabilised and IndiGo is operating up to more than 1,950 flights. All the destinations are properly connected. So at the airport side and the passenger side, there is no problem. And for the passengerswhohavebeenaffected during the peak of the crisis, issues are being addressed. To a large extent, refunds and rebookings have been closed. Since the time (given) is until December 15, that process will continue for three more days.” “IndiGo has been one of the »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Deeptiman Tiwary, Alok Deshpande & Shubhangi Khapre Follow America First strategy, visiting USTR officials told US tech companies New Delhi, Mumbai, December 12 Underline the need to prioritise capex investments in America US Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer (centre) and Assistant Trade Representative Brendan Lynch (second from right) during the USIBC-USTR industry roundtable earlier this week. X/@USIBC Soumyarendra Barik & Ravi Dutta Mishra New Delhi, December 12 IN DISCUSSIONS with American companies during the course of their two-day visit to India, officials from a visiting United States Trade Representative (USTR) delegation are learnt to have nudged these companies to follow an “America First” strategy. They were also urged to direct a substantive part of their investments in sectors such as technology and artificial intelligencetotheUSandfocus on creating meaningful jobs, rather than outsourcing those to foreign workers. A US trade team led by Deputy US Trade Representative Rick Switzer and Brendan Lynch, the US chief negotiator for the trade deal with India, wasinDelhiearlierthisweekto ironoutdifferencesinthelongpending bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between the two countries. During two meetings with American tech companies and »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Business as Usual By EP UNNY THE BIG PICTURE Macaulay and a medical college PAGE 13 MLA to MP, Speaker to Minister who quit after 26/11: Shivraj Patil passes away President’s Prayer in Manipur President Droupadi Murmu at Bijoy Govindajee Temple in Imphal on Friday. On a two-day visit to Manipur, Murmu spoke at a reception programme in Senapati district and also launched various developmental projects. ANI A FORMER Union Home Minister and Lok Sabha Speaker, Shivraj Patil, who passed away in his hometown Latur on Friday at the age of 90, was one of the tallest Congress leaders from Maharashtra. Patil chose to remain active in national politics, while the late Vilasrao Deshmukh, another Congress heavyweight from Latur, handled state politics. However, in the end, Patil’s legacy may be defined to a large extent by his tenure in the Ministry of Home Affairs from May 22, 2004, till his resignation on November 30, 2008, just days after the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. Patil’s tenure as Home Ministercoveredaturbulentperiod in internal security that included several high-profile terror incidents and sharp public scrutiny of the ministry’s preparedness and response. His time in the ministry was beset by controversies that damaged his public standing. In midSeptember 2008, following the DelhiserialblastsofSeptember Patil won Latur Lok Sabha seat for seven consecutive terms 13, television cameras repeatedly showed him in different outfits during the same evening, an image his critics used to suggest a lack of gravitaswhileanationalsecuritycrisisunfolded.Patilrespondedat the time by asking critics to “criticise my policies, not my clothes”. Then, after the November 26–29,2008,attacksinMumbai that provoked nationwide outrage over security lapses, Patil resigned, accepting moral responsibility for the failure. The fallout from 26/11 continued to shadow him: US diplomatic cables later published via WikiLeaks quoted the American ambassador describing Patil as “spectacularly inept” and saying his removal was inevitable, a characterisation that fed into »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 India out of US-led coalition on critical minerals supply chain Nadella, Fadnavis launch MahaCrimeOS AI to fast-track cyber crime investigations Ravi Dutta Mishra Mumbai, December 12 New Delhi, December 12 A NEW US-led strategic initiative, Pax Silica, which aims to build a secure supply chain ranging from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing and semiconductors,doesnotincludeIndia. This comes at a time when an India-US trade deal remains elusive despite several highlevel talks and rounds of technical negotiations. Delhi has been vying for opportunities during the ongoing global supply chain realignmentasUSandEuropeancompanies are looking to diversify away from China. The West’s diversification push has gath- E. ExPlAINED Countering China’s dominance Pax Silica is a US-led initiative to counter China’s dominance in new age sectors. It aims to reduce what US calls “coercive dependencies” and protect materials and capabilities “foundational to artificial intelligence”, and “ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale”. ered pace, especially after China imposed restrictions on rare earth magnets, disrupting global supply chains. A US Department of State statement said the inaugural Pax Silica Summit convenes counterparts from Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Australia. “Together, these countries are home to the most important companies and investors powering the global AI supply chain,” the statement said. Pax Silica is a US-led strategic initiative to build a “secure, prosperous, and innovation-driven silicon supply chain”—fromcriticalminerals and energy inputs to advanced »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Express News Service MICROSOFT CHAIRPERSON and CEO Satya Nadella, along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on FridayunveiledMahaCrimeOS AI — the country’s first AIpowered platform to fast-track cybercrimeinvestigations.The platform — designed to arm officers with AI tools to resolve cases faster and more efficiently, combining human expertise with responsible innovation — has been developed by CyberEye, a partner independent software vendor (ISV) of Microsoft, with the Maharashtra government’s Special PurposeVehicleMARVEL,and Microsoft India Development CM Devendra Fadnavis with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at the launch in Mumbai on Friday. X@DEVENDRA FADNAVIS Center (IDC). It is built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and Microsoft Foundry. While Nadella showcased a video illustrating how MahaCrime AI OS helped deliver jus- tice to a cybercrime victim in Nagpur, Fadnavis, while addressing the media, said, “Our collaboration with Microsoft began with solving complex »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l SIxTEEN MONTHS AFTER SHE qUIT FOLLOWING DISqUALIFICATION FROM PARIS OLYMPICS ‘Will tell my son, I did this’: Vinesh back on wrestling mat, eyes LA Olympics Mihir Vasavda the Paris Olympics, where she was disqualified for missing weight — said Friday that she LAST YEAR in Paris, wrestler has returned to the mat. Vinesh Phogat walked away “I don’t think I am over it fromthematintears—broken, yet,” Vinesh told The Indian empty, undone. She didn’t just Express, referring to Paris, lose an Olympic medal, she whereshehadenteredthefinal came home with a ofthe50kgeventbut PAGE 1 brutal heartbreak was disqualified on and announced her the day of the bout retirement. after weighing 100 Sixteenmonthslater,India’s gramsoverthelimit.“ButIdidgutsiest athlete — who took on n’t want it to be my end.” thesystem,thentookdownthe Vinesh, 31, said she has reworld’s best wrestler in her cat- sumed training and is “stepegory and reached the final of ping back toward Los Angeles Mumbai, December 12 anchor 2028 with a heart that’s unafraid and a spirit that refuses tobow.”Butthebiggestmotivation behind her comeback, she said, is the thought of her fourmonth-old son, Kridhav, her “little cheerleader” as she calls him, one day watching her compete — and win. “It’ll be an amazing feeling if my son, who will be three by the time of the LA Olympics, canwatchmeplayatabigtournamentandwatchmewin,”Vineshsaid.“Youknow,Iimagine a scenario where, if I’m there at the 2028 Olympics, he’ll turn to Before she can again compete internationally, Vinesh Phogat, 31, will have to navigate the domestic selection trials. FILE me and say, ‘Arey mummy, kuch toh kar lo yaar!’ (Mom, come on, do something)”. While she competed in the 50kg category in Paris, Vinesh is likely to wrestle in the 53kg or 57kg weight class when she returns to competition in 2026. The year will be a busy one for India’swrestlers,withtheAsian Championships scheduled for April, the Asian Games in September and the World Championships in October. Before she can compete internationally, Vinesh will have to navigate the domestic selec- tion trials. It’s a long road ahead, but she seems unfazed. “The path to Paris wasn’t straightforwardeither,”Vinesh said, adding that her primary focus now is to get back to full fitness. When asked about Vinesh’s return, Sanjay Singh, president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), said, “She is welcome to compete again.” “I want to assure that there won’t be any discrimination against anyone. As long as the rules and selection criteria of the federation are followed, everyone is welcome,” the WFI chief told The Indian Express over phone from Naranpura, Ahmedabad, where the National Championships got underway Friday. Incidentally, the venue of the Nationals — Veer Savarkar Sports Complex — has life-size portraits of the former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a former MP facing trial in a Delhi court after some of the country's top women wrestlersaccusedhimofsexual harassment in 2023. Vinesh »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2