The monsoon spelt mayhem in several parts of the country on Monday, particularly Mumbai where local train services and flight operations were hit and everyday life disrupted as well as Assam that was grappling with floods yet again.

The Exit polls for the Lok Sabha 2024 elections were way off the mark this time with the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc whose rout they had predicted touching nearly 230 seats on the counting day with good showing in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh as per the current trends.

The international cargo operations of two major carriers - IndiGo and Air India Group (Air India and Vistara) - are experiencing opposite trajectories despite both the airlines significantly expanding their international flight offerings over the past year. During the fourth quarter of 2023-24, IndiGo's international non-passenger cargo business declined to 6,848 tonnes. This is an 18.2 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decrease, according to data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)

Online travel portals are flooded with flight and train bookings, hotels teeming with requests for accommodation, and spiritual merchandise on e-commerce platforms is selling like hotcakes. As the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22 draws near, Indians across the country are putting their travelling boots on as the temple frenzy catches on. India's largest travel technology (traveltech) platform MakeMyTrip (MMT) has witnessed a substantial four-fold increase in bookings for Ayodhya compared to the previous year.

In a shocking incident at Haneda Airport, Japan Airlines Flight 516, en route from New Chitose Airport, erupted into flames just after landing on Runway C at approximately 5.47 pm (local time) on Tuesday, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.

India also went on an overdrive in expanding its military engagement with like-minded countries in its neighbourhood and beyond in the face of China's relentless attempts to become a regional hegemon and establish its primacy in South Asia.

The protesters, led by Manoj Jarange, had been staging a hunger strike demanding reservation for the Maratha community at the village since Tuesday.

The opposition strategy to corner the government on Manipur will continue in the Rajya Sabha as well, the sources said.

India's stiff labour laws were one key issue that Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed with Prime Minister Modi on his recent visit.

The avalanche hit the arterial Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, which connects Gangtok to Nathu La at the China border, around 11.30 am, trapping five-six vehicles with around 30 people under the snow, the Army said in a statement.

In a LinkedIn post on Wednesday, February 15, night, Nipun Aggarwal had said Air India, in addition to the order of 470 planes, had the option to purchase 370 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing.

Both are finding it difficult to sell one each of their plants -- Chennai Maraimalai Nagar (Ford) and Talegaon near Pune (GM) -- and are finding the road blocked by employee severance snarl-ups, report Sohini Das and Shine Jacob.

Round-up of Ranji matches played on Tuesday.

Tata Group-owned Air India has informed the Centre that aircraft lessors wish to set up their special purpose vehicles (SPVs) outside India since they aren't enthused about the Indian 'legal structure' and are loath to take risks. Indian airlines have a combined fleet of about 700 planes; over 85 per cent are on lease. A majority of lessors are based in Ireland due to its attractive tax policy, light-touch regulations, and swift legal system.

Planemakers have started pitching their latest aircraft to a privatised Air India which has been acquired by salt-to-steel conglomerate Tata Sons. European aerospace major Airbus on Monday said that it is in talks with the airline to sell its long haul aircraft Airbus A350-900. The wide-body aircraft is capable of flying non-stop between India and United States- one of the most popular and revenue generating routes.

Given the costs, you would need to be a high-value target for a government agency to spend this sort of money, points out Devangshu Datta.

The 'request for proposal' for the indigenous construction of the six submarines will be issued soon, they added.

Zee is estimated to have paid around Rs 225 crore for the complete rights of Radhe. The total revenue that it may earn could be around Rs 135 crore, implying a shortfall of Rs 90 crore.

'Even if Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech were successful in ramping up production overnight, what happens to the capacity after the demand from India is met?' asks Sanjeev Nayyar.

'Defence, development and democracy is the formula to defeat Naxalism.'

The market buzz is that the GoAir promoters are hoping for a valuation that is at least a little more than double its closest rival SpiceJet.

Britain and China have clashed over the offer of British National Overseas passports to Hong Kong residents, observes Rup Narayan Das.

The MHA had on Friday summoned Bandopadhyay and DGP Virendra asking them to present themselves on December 14 for an explanation on the law and order situation in the state, following governor Jagdeep Dhankhar's report on the attack on Nadda's convoy by alleged supporters of the ruling TMC.

Access to India's defence market must be made conditional -- available only to those who are ready to make a long-term commitment in India, argues Ajai Shukla.

Google is going ahead with a policy revision mandating 30% charge on in-app purchases across all apps on Play Store. This has left developers' community worried about tighter squeeze on their earnings, says Yuvraj Malik.

There has been a decline in foreign direct inflow from China in the last three years, with FDI coming down to USD 163.77 million in 2019-20, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. Giving details of the total foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow from Chinese companies in India, he said, it was USD 350.22 million in 2017-18, while it declined to USD 229 million in the following year.

The defence ministry has already shortlisted two Indian shipyards and five foreign defence majors for the project, being billed as one of biggest "Make in India" ventures.

The central probe agency had filed a money laundering case to probe the deal and is carrying out the action to collect evidence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials said.

The Indian Meteorological Department, meanwhile, warned of intense spell of 30 to 50 mm rainfall per hour with strong winds in Mumbai and suburban areas.

The Supreme Court had on Monday allowed the holding of the Rath Yatra in Odisha's Puri, a ground on which the Gujarat government had moved its plea.

Trump is accompanied by First Lady Melania, daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and the top brass of his administration.

"I'm going to India next week and we're talking trade. They've been hitting us very hard for many, many years," Trump said at a 'Keep America Great' rally in Colorado on Thursday. Trump told thousands of his supporters that he "really likes" Prime Minister Modi and they would be talking business.

A remarkably candid Deepak Chahar on Tuesday said he understood early in his career that switching his focus to white ball cricket and IPL was the fastest and easiest route to the Indian team. The medium pacer came into India reckoning after two seasons with IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings.

If Vodafone Idea shuts, a bulk of the high-paying ARPU customers will move to Airtel as Reliance Jio does not have a comprehensive postpaid offering like it, and have aggressively preferred to play in the prepaid market. The bulk of Vodafone Idea customers use 2G phones and only a few of them use data. It will be easier for Airtel to woo these customers as they can shift seamlessly to its 2G network without changing handsets or even SIM cards,

'Rather than encouraging transparency, the opacity of electoral bonds adds to the murkiness,' argues Amit Tandon.

A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday

Police identified the suicide bomber as Adil Ahmed, who officials said joined the Jaish in 2018.

SpiceJet, IndiGo, Jet Airways, Alliance Air, and Turbo Aviation are among the operators that have bagged the routes in the third round.

A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday

Rebuffing petroleum ministry, Siddaramaiah launches Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana-like scheme months before state polls