India's IndiGo on Friday estimated a payout of more than 5 billion rupees ($55.19 million) in total to customers impacted by the carrier's mass cancellations last week.

The airline had scrapped around 4,500 flights last week because of poor pilot roster planning, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded, following which it was directed by the civil aviation regulator to cut 10% of its domestic winter schedule.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday approved the nuclear energy Bill that seeks to introduce legislative amendments for opening up the civil nuclear power sector for private participation, according to sources.

The Bill is likely to pave the way for amending two existing legislations — the Atomic Energy Act 1962.

Maharashtra has not received central funds for the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme since October 2024 and is using state funds to complete the ongoing projects, the government said on Friday.

In a written reply to a question, the government also said that the lack of funds has hampered the pace of existing projects.

India’s automobile industry recorded its strongest-ever November performance across passenger vehicles, two-wheelers and three-wheelers, on the backs of sustained festive demand and the government’s ongoing GST 2.0 reforms, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Passenger vehicle (PV) dispatches rose 18.7 per cent to 4,12,405 units, marking the highest-ever November sales for the segment.

IndiGo received a tax penalty notice of ₹58.75 crore on December 11 from the Additional Commissioner of CGST, Delhi South Commissionerate, for the financial year 2020-21, the company announced on Friday.

Earlier today, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended four Flight Operations Inspectors (FOI), who are responsible for overseeing airline safety, pilot training & operational compliance.

IndiGo on Thursday announced an additional ₹10,000 travel vouchers to passengers who were “severely impacted” due to the cancellation of flights between December 3 to 5. The crisis-hit airline said the vouchers will be valid for any future IndiGo journey for the next 12 months.

The carrier further said that this payout is in addition to compensation mandated under government rules.

The Indian Rupee weakened to yet another low on Friday, hitting the 90.56 mark against the dollar, pressured by an impasse in a trade deal with the US and the selling of equities by global funds.

The domestic currency opened 6 paise lower at 90.42, but weakened further in opening deals to a record low of 90.56 against the greenback, according to Bloomberg data.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and over 30 Congress legislators, including some ministers, met for a dinner late on Thursday night, party sources said.

Ministers K H Muniyappa, Mankal Vaidya, Dr M C Sudhakar, MLAs N A Haris, Ramesh Bandisiddegowda, H C Balakrishna, Ganesh Hukkeri, Darshan Dhruvanarayana, Ashok Kumar Rai, K Y Nanjegowda were among those present in the meeting, the sources added.

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella on Thursday said the company is deepening its commitment to India's artificial intelligence ecosystem with massive infrastructure investments.

Microsoft is also strengthening its cloud footprint and focusing on skilling millions of Indians for an AI-driven future, he said.

The Expert Appraisal Committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has given its nod to the Andhra Pradesh government to prepare Terms of Reference for constructing seven water aerodromes in the state, including one in Visakhapatnam, official sources said.

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