The government announced new guidelines for airlines on Wednesday to improve passenger experience, stating that passengers with the same PNR on their tickets will be seated together, preferably in adjacent seats. (This is a representative image). In a significant relief for passengers, the government has also instructed all airlines to make at least 60 percent of seats on every flight available for booking without additional charges, ensuring equitable access. The Ministry of Civil Aviation stated in a press release that facilitating passengers remains its top priority. It highlighted that India has become the world’s third-largest domestic aviation market, with air travel growing more accessible to people. ALSO READ | DGCA allows Air India to extend pilots’ duty time amid West Asia crisis. In keeping with its commitment to passenger facilitation, “the Ministry has launched several passenger-focused initiatives to improve travel convenience, such as UDAN Yatri Cafés for affordable meals, Flybrary for free book access, and complimentary Wi-Fi at airports,” the statement added. Centre’s directives to airlines. Here is a complete list of instructions given to the airlines by the ministry via the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA): 1. No additional fee: At least 60% of seats on every flight must be provided free of charge to guarantee equitable access. 2. Passengers booked on the same PNR and traveling together will be seated together, ideally in adjacent seats. 

 Uttam Nagar in Delhi stays tense before Eid-ul-Fitr, days after a 30-year-old man’s death in community clashes, amid locals’ reports of threats from leaders and religious groups to celebrate ‘Khoon ki Holi’. Tensions in Uttam Nagar arise from the death of a 26-year-old man in a clash between two families from different communities during the Holi festival earlier this month (PTI). As Eid draws near amid issued threats, multiple Muslim families have indicated plans to vacate the area until conditions stabilize, according to a separate HT report. The first clashes erupted on March 4 after an 11-year-old girl threw a water balloon that struck a Muslim woman, sparking an argument. Tarun Kumar, aged 26, died from injuries sustained in the clashes four days later. Police have arrested 14 individuals and detained two minors so far in relation to the case involving the ‘Khoon ki holi’ threat. Jameel Ahmad, 55, owner of Miya Ji restaurant, told HT on Tuesday that his family has resided in Uttam Nagar for over 50 years and now fears paying the price for others’ mistakes. He portrayed the matter as an ongoing feud between two families, noting that certain leaders have threatened to stage ‘khoon ki Holi,’ signaling a bloodbath. “I have three children and seven grandchildren.” Everyone is afraid after hearing leaders threaten to play ‘khoon Ki Holi’. 

 Thiruvananthapuram : The contours of the poll battle in Kerala became clear on Tuesday as the Congress released a list of 55 candidates and ally Indian Union Muslim League another 25 for the upcoming assembly polls next month.. Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala has been fielded from Haripad constituency.. With this, the ruling Left Democratic Front has announced 130candidates, its main challenger the United Democratic Front 95, and the National Democratic Alliance 75. All 140 assembly seats in Kerala go to the polls on April 9.. Key battleground seats include Nemom, Vattiyoorkavu, Peravoor and Palakkad. The LDF is hoping for a third consecutive term.. In its first list, the Congress dropped one sitting lawmaker Palakkad legislator Rahul Mamkootathil, who is embroiled in multiple sexual assault charges.. It fielded 19 sitting lawmakers including state unit chief Sunny Joseph (Peravoor), Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan (Paravur), senior leader Ramesh Chennithala (Haripad), former minister AP Anilkumar (Wandoor), former youth unit chief Roji M John (Angamaly) and AICC secretary PC Vishnunadh (Kundara).. Instead of Mamkootathil, who was accused by three women of rape and sexual assault, the Congress picked popular actor-director Ramesh Pisharody in Palakkad where a fierce three-way fight will ensue. Pisharody will take on the BJP’s Sobha Surendran. The Left is yet to finalise its candidate.. Former Vadakara MP K Muraleedharan, who lost to the BJP’s Suresh Gopi in Thrissur in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, was accommodated in Vattiyoorkavu and former Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator P Aisha Potty was fielded in Kottarakkara where she will take on CPI(M) leader and finance minister KN Balagopal.. Former Alathur MP Ramya Haridas was fielded in the SC-reserved Chirayankeezhu constituency, where a section of party leaders have publicly opposed her candidature.. The Congress picked Abdul Rasheed VP Abdul Rasheed (who was the party candidate in 2021 in Thaliparambu constituency) to take on chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Dharmadam, a Left stronghold, and state unit vice-president VT Balram will once again fight sitting minister MB Rajesh in Thrithala.. The Congress list did not name candidates for Perumbavoor and Thripunithura, both of which it holds. In Perumbavoor, the leadership appears unsure about sitting MLA Eldhose Kunnappally, who faces sexual assault allegations. In Thripunithura, the party is yet to find a replacement for MLA K Babu who announced his retirement from electoral politics.. Another question of whether incumbent Lok Sabha MPs will be allowed to contest the assembly elections is also unclear. Kannur MP K Sudhakaran and Attingal MP Adoor Prakash, both of whom have shown interest in contesting the polls, are in Delhi to make their case with the central leadership. Sudhakaran, the former state unit president, has hinted that he may turn rebel if denied a ticket.. He had said on Tuesday, “No one has held any discussi 

 Top US defence official Elbridge Colby is expected to visit India at the head of a US delegation towards the end of March to inject momentum into India-US defence relations after months of diplomatic tensions.. Elbridge Colby, under secretary of defense for policy. (Bloomberg). New Delhi and Washington will discuss speeding up pending defence acquisitions and consider reviving forums such as INDUS-X, which boosted ties between American and Indian defence companies, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named.. Colby, who serves as Undersecretary of War for Policy, is widely seen as one of the key figures behind the making of US defence policy in Trump’s second term. This will be his first visit to India and follows closely on the heels of visits by senior US military officials including Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo and US Space Command chief General Stephen Whiting. The visit is also significant as it is being planned at a time when the war in West Asia is raging, choking supply lines of key products such as crude oil, gas, and fertiliser for India and other Asian countries.. The visit comes as New Delhi and Washington continue efforts to restore bilateral ties after a prolonged period of tension caused by trade disagreements, the India-Pakistan conflict in May and India’s purchases of Russian energy. The conclusion of a framework agreement on trade in February has opened up room for a broader improvement in ties, although the agreement itself now needs to be renegotiated and finalised after the US Supreme Court ruled that the Trump tariffs were illegal.. But defence will the main focus of the visit. According to the people cited above, both sides will be looking for a political direction to emerge from the meetings that will set the course for the bilateral defence partnership. While the US delegation is expected to push for greater military sales, India will bat for more co-production and local manufacturing of defence equipment. The India-US defence partnership has continued to progress despite broader tensions that built up in the relationship over the course of 2025. In October, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a 10-year defence framework in an effort to further deepen bilateral security ties in the Indo-Pacific region. In November 2025, the US State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to India of the Javelin anti-tank missile system and related equipment for an estimated cost of $45.7 million. It also approved a possible sale of Excalibur projectiles for an estimated cost of $47.1 million.. According to news reports, India will also consider procuring six additional P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft manufactured by US defence giant Boeing. The two sides will likely push forward efforts by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and America’s General Electric for the co-production of GE F414 jet engines in India.. Exploring collaborations in mutually 

 Lok Sabha lawmakers on Tuesday committed to maintaining dignified conduct to uphold decorum in the House as Speaker Om Birla revoked the suspension of eight Opposition MPs. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, meanwhile, suggested drawing a “Lakshman Rekha” (clear boundary) between the Treasury and Opposition benches, while Congress Chief Whip K Suresh expressed regret for the “inadvertent indiscretion” by some of the members on February 3.. Opposition MPs protest in the Lok Sabha during the Budget session of Parliament, in New Delh earlier this year. (File photo) (Sansad TV). Following submissions by several opposition members, Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju moved a motion to revoke the suspension of seven Congress MPs and one CPI(M) member, which the House adopted by a voice vote.. “The House belongs to everyone. No one would want members to be suspended and remain outside… Everyone has been chosen by the public to put forward their concerns, not for tearing and throwing papers, standing on tables, and fighting,” Rijiju said.. He added: “No one here would wish to see any member of this House suspended and excluded. We are all colleagues. This is the temple of democracy. The public has elected and sent us all here to voice their concerns. We have not been sent here to tear up and throw papers, to climb onto tables, or to engage in physical altercations. We understand our responsibilities very well. Accordingly, if a ‘Lakshman Rekha’—a clear boundary—were to be drawn, it would greatly assist the Honorable Speaker in conducting the proceedings of the House in the future. Therefore, I would like to begin by noting that Mr. Suresh, in his initial remarks, used the word ‘regret.’ If someone expresses regret for their mistake, then we, too, are in agreement with that sentiment.”. Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, C Kiran Kumar Reddy, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Prashant Padole and Dean Kuriakose (all Congress) and S Ventakesan of the CPI(M) were suspended on February 3.. Addressing the House, Speaker Birla reminded that all leaders had agreed to cooperate in upholding the “dignity, prestige and glorious tradition” of the House. He cautioned that “fake and AI-generated photos, placards and banners could not be presented inside the Lok Sabha and at the Parliament complex, as written in an instruction given to all MPs.”. Rijiju announced that the suspension of the eight MPs, which was effective until the end of the ongoing Budget sessions, had now been revoked.. Earlier, during the discussion, Congress MP K. Suresh said, “For the last few weeks, eight Hon’ble members belonging to INC and CPI(M) have been suspended. Whatever indiscretion may have inadvertently happened is regretted. I request the government, through the Hon’ble Speaker, to kindly revoke their suspension.”. Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav said that it was the responsibility of all members of the Parliam