Mashelkar, Kamal Haasan among Padma awardees

January 25, 2014

Padma_awards

New Delhi, Jan 25: Noted scientist R A Mashelkar and Yoga Guru B.K.S. Iyengar were on Saturday chosen for this year’s Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour, while cine star Kamal Haasan, author Ruskin Bond and late former Chief Justice J.S. Verma were selected for Padma Bhushan.

National Badminton coach P Gopichand, Tennis player Leander Paes, writer Anita Desai and Tamil lyricist and writer Vairamuthu were also picked for Padma Bhushan while cricketer Yuvraj Singh and cine stars Paresh Rawal and Vidya Balan were selected for Padma Shri.

In all, the government announced 127 Padma awards which had no Bharat Ratna this time with cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and noted scientist C.N.R. Rao having been named for this top civilian honour only two months ago.

The list included 2 Padma Vibhushans, 24 Padma Bhushans and 101 Padma Shri awardees. They included 27 women and seven foreigners which included NRIs and PIOs.

Three awardees got the honour in the posthumous category and they included N A Dabholkar, an anti-superstition campaigner who was shot dead in Pune last year.

The Padma Shri awardees also included Union Minister Sharad Pawar’s brother Pratap Govindrao Pawar.

The 71-year-old Mashelkar, a former Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), had played a crucial role in evolving science and technology policies in post—liberalised India.

The 95-year-old Iyengar, who was named once by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential persons, had spread yoga across the globe including in countries like China.

List of Padma awardees

Padma Vibhushan

Dr Raghunath A Mashelkar, Science and Engineering, Maharashtra

B K S Iyengar, Yoga, Maharashtra

Padma Bhushan

Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, Art-Painting, Gujarat

Begum Parveen Sultana, Art-Classical Singing, Maharashtra

T.H. Vinayakram, Art-Ghatam Artist, Tamil Nadu

Kamal Haasan, Art-Cinema, Tamil Nadu

Justice Dalveer Bhandari, Public Affairs, Delhi

Prof Padmanabhan Balaram, Science and Engineering, Karnataka

Prof Jyeshtharaj Joshi, Science and Engineering, Maharashtra

Dr Madappa Mahadevappa, Science and Engineering, Karnataka

Dr Thirumalachari Ramasami, Science and Engineering, Delhi

Dr Vinod Prakash Sharma, Science and Engineering, Delhi

Dr Radhakrishnan Koppillil, Science and Engineering, Karnataka

Dr Mrityunjay Athreya, Literature and Education, Delhi

Anita Desai, Literature and Education, Delhi

Dr Dhirubhai Thaker, Literature and Education, Gujarat

Vairamuthu, Literature and Education, Tamil Nadu.

Ruskin Bond, Literature and Education, Uttarakhand

Pullela Gopichand, Sports-Badminton, Andhra Pradesh

Leander Paes, Sports-Tennis, Maharashtra

Vijayendra Nath Kaul, Civil Service, Delhi

Late Justice Jagdish Sharan Verma, Public Affairs, Uttar Pradesh

Late Dr Anumolu Ramakrishna, Science and Engineering, Andhra Pradesh

Prof Anisuzzaman, Literature and Education, Bangladesh

Prof Lloyd I Rudolph, Literature and Education, USA

Prof Susanne H Rudolph, Literature and Education, USA

Dr (Smt) Neelam Kler, Medicine-Neonatology, Delhi

Padma Shri

Mohammad Ali Baig, Art-Theatre, Andhra Pradesh

Nayana Apte Joshi, Art, Maharashtra

Musafir Ram Bhardwaj, Art-Instrumental Music-Pauna Manjha, Himachal Pradesh

Sabitri Chatterjee, Art-Film, West Bengal

Prof Biman Bihari Das, Art-Sculptor, Delhi

Sunil Das, Art-Painting, West Bengal

Elam Endira Devi, Art-Manipuri Dance, Manipur

Vijay Ghate, Art-Instrumental Music-Tabla, Maharashtra

Rani Karnaa, Art-Kathak, West Bengal

Bansi Kaul, Art-Theatre, Jammu and Kashmir

Ustad Moinuddin Khan, Art-Instrumental Music-Sarangi Player, Rajasthan

Geeta Mahalik, Art-Odishi Dance, Delhi

Paresh Maity, Art-Painting, Delhi

Ram Mohan, Art-Film Animation, Maharashtra

Sudarsan Pattnaik, Art-Sand artist, Odisha

Paresh Rawal, Art-Cinema and Theatre, Maharashtra

Wendell Augustine Rodricks, Art-Fashion Designing, Goa

Prof Kalamandalam Sathyabhama, Art-Mohini Attam, Kerala

Shri Anuj (Ramanuj) Sharma, Art-Performing Art. Chhattisgarh

Santosh Sivan, Art-Film, Tamil Nadu

Supriya Dev, Art-Bengali Cinema, West Bengal

Sooni Taraporevala Art-Script Writing Maharashtra

Vidya Balan, Art-Cinema, Maharashtra

Durga Jain, Social Work, Maharashtra

Dr Rama Rao Anumolu, Social Work, Andhra Pradesh

Dr Brahm Dutt, Social Work, Haryana

Mukul Chandra Goswami, Social Work, Assam

J L Kaul, Social Work, Delhi

Mathurbhai Madhabhai Savani, Social Work, Gujarat

Tashi Tondup, Public Affairs, Jammu and Kashmir

Dr Hasmukh Chamanlal Shah, Public Affairs, Gujarat

Sekhar Basu, Science and Engineering, Maharashtra

Madhavan Chandradathan, Science and Engineering, Kerala.

Sushanta Kumar Dattagupta, Science and Engineering, West Bengal

Dr Ravi Bhushan Grover, Science and Engineering, Maharashtra

Prof Eluvathingal Devassy Jemmis, Science and Engineering, Karnataka

Ramkrishna V HosuR, Science and Engineering, Maharashtra

Dr Ajay Kumar Parida, Science and Engineering, Tamil Nadu

Dr Malapaka Yajneswara Satyanarayana Prasad, Science and Engineering, Andhra Pradesh

Kiran Kumar Alur Seelin, Science and Engineering, Gujarat

Dr Brahma Singh, Science and Engineering, Delhi

Prof Vinod Kumar Singh, Science and Engineering, Madhya Pradesh

Dr Govindan Sundararajan, Science and Engineering, Andhra Pradesh

Ramaswamy R Iyer, Science and Engineering, Delhi

Dr Jayanta Kumar Ghosh, Science and Engineering, West Bengal

Ravi Kumar NarrA, Trade and Industry, Andhra Pradesh

Rajesh Saraiya, Trade and Industry, Maharashtra

Mallika Srinivasan, Trade and Industry, Tamil Nadu

Pratap Govindrao Pawar, Trade and Industry, Maharashtra

Dr Kiritkumar Mansukhlal Acharya, Medicine-Dermatology, Gujarat

Dr Balram Bhargava, Medicine-Cardiology, Uttar Pradesh

Prof (Dr) Indra Chakravarty, Medicine-Health and Hygiene, West Bengal

Dr Ramakant Krishnaji Deshpande, Medicine-Oncology, Maharashtra

Prof (Dr) Pawan Raj Goyal, Medicine-Chest Disease, Haryana

Prof Amod Gupta, Medicine-Opthalmology, Haryana

Prof (Dr) Daya Kishore Hazra, Medicine, Uttar Pradesh

Prof (Dr) Thenumgal Poulose Jacob, Medicine-Vascular Surgery, Tamil Nadu

Prof (Dr) Shashank R Joshi, Medicine-Endocrinology, Maharashtra

Prof Hakim Syed Khaleefathullah, Medicine-Unani Medicine, Tamil Nadu

Dr Milind Vasant Kirtane, Medicine-ENT Surgery, Maharashtra

Dr Lalit Kumar, Medicine-Oncology, Delhi

Dr Mohan Mishra, Medicine, Bihar

Dr M Subhadra Nair, Medicine-Gyneacology, Kerala

Dr Ashok Panagariya, Medicine-Neurology, Rajasthan

Dr Narendra Kumar Pandey, Medicine-Surgery, Haryana

Dr Sunil Pradhan, Medicine-Neurology, Uttar Pradesh

Dr Ashok Rajgopal, Medicine-Orthopaedics, Delhi

Dr Kamini A Rao, Medicine-Reproductive Medicine, Karnataka

Dr Sarbeswar Sahariah, Medicine-Surgery, Andhra Pradesh

Prof Om Prakash Upadhyaya, Medicine, Punjab

Prof (Dr) Mahesh Verma, Medicine-Dental Science, Delhi

Dr J S Titiyal, Medicine-Opthalmology, Delhi

Dr Nitish Naik, Medicine-Cardiology, Delhi

Dr Surbrat Kumar Acharya, Medicine-Gastroentrology, Delhi

Dr Rajesh Kumar Grover, Medicine-Oncology, Delhi

Dr Naheed Abidi, Literature and Education, Uttar Pradesh

Prof Ashok Chakradhar, Literature and Education, Delhi

Chhakchhuak Chhuanvawra, Literature and Education, Mizoram

Keki N Daruwalla, Literature and Education, Delhi

Prof Ganesh Narayandas Devi, Literature and Education, Gujarat

Prof Kolakaluri Enoch, Literature and Education, Andhra Pradesh

Prof (Dr) Ved Kumari Ghai, Literature and Education, Jammu and Kashmir

Smt Manorama Jafa, Literature and Education, Delhi

Prof Rehana Khatoon, Literature and Education, Delhi

Dr Waikhom Gojen Meeitei, Literature and Education, Manipur

Vishnu Narayanan Namboothiri, Literature and Education, Kerala

Prof Dinesh Singh, Literature and Education, Delhi

Dr (Mrs) P Kilemsungla, Literature and Education, Nagaland

Anjum Chopra, Sports-Cricket, Delhi

Sunil Dabas, Sports-Kabbadi, Haryana

Love Raj Singh Dharmshaktu, Sports-Mountaineering, Delhi

Dipika Rebecca Pallikal, Sports-Squash, Tamil Nadu

H Boniface Prabhu, Sports-Wheelchair Tennis, Karnataka

Yuvraj Singh, Sports-Cricket, Haryana

Mamta Sodha Sports-Mountaineering, Haryana

Parveen Talha, Civil Service, Uttar Pradesh

Late Dr Narendra Achyut Dabholkar , Social Work, Maharashtra

Ashok Kumar Mago, Trade and Industry, USA

Siddharth Mukherjee, Medicine-Oncology, USA

Dr Vamsi Mootha, Medicine-Biomedical Research, USA

Dr Sengaku Mayeda, Literature and Education, Japan.

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News Network
December 6,2025

pilot.jpg

New Delhi: IndiGo, India’s largest airline, faced major operational turbulence this week after failing to prepare for new pilot-fatigue regulations issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The stricter rules—designed to improve flight safety—took effect in phases through 2024, with the latest implementation on November 1. IndiGo has acknowledged that inadequate roster planning led to widespread cancellations and delays.

Below are the key DGCA rules that affected IndiGo’s operations:

1. Longer Mandatory Weekly Rest

Weekly rest for pilots has been increased from 36 hours to 48 hours.

The government says the extended break is essential to curb cumulative fatigue. This rule remains in force despite the current crisis.

2. Cap on Night Landings

Pilots can now perform only two night landings per week—a steep reduction from the earlier limit of six.

Night hours, defined as midnight to early morning, are considered the least alert period for pilots.

Given the disruptions, this rule has been temporarily relaxed for IndiGo until February 10.

3. Reduced Maximum Night Flight Duty

Flight duty that stretches into the night is now capped at 10 hours.

This measure has also been kept on hold for IndiGo until February 10 to stabilize operations.

4. Weekly Rest Cannot Be Replaced With Personal Leave

Airlines can no longer count a pilot’s personal leave as part of the mandatory 48-hour rest.

Pilots say this closes a loophole that previously reduced actual rest time.

Currently, all airlines are exempt from this rule to normalise travel.

5. Mandatory Fatigue Monitoring

Airlines must submit quarterly fatigue reports along with corrective actions to DGCA.

This system aims to create a transparent fatigue-tracking framework across the industry.

The DGCA has stressed that these rules were crafted to strengthen flight safety and align India with global fatigue-management standards. The temporary relaxations are expected to remain until February 2025, giving IndiGo time to stabilise its schedules and restore normal air travel.

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News Network
December 5,2025

indigoCEO.jpg

New Delhi, Dec 5: IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a public apology this evening after more than a thousand flights were cancelled today, making it the "most severely impacted day" in terms of cancellations. The biggest airline of the country cancelled "more than half" of its daily number of flights on Friday, said Elbers. He also said that even though the crisis will persist on Saturday, the airline anticipates fewer than 1,000 flight cancellations.

"Full normalisation is expected between December 10 and 15, though IndiGo cautions that recovery will take time due to the scale of operations," the IndiGo CEO said. 

IndiGo operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily.

Pieter Elbers, while apologising for the major inconvenience due to delays and cancellations, said the situation is a result of various causes.

The crisis at IndiGo stems from new regulations that boost pilots' weekly rest requirements by 12 hours to 48 and allow only two night-time landings per week, down from six. IndiGo has attributed the mass cancellations to "misjudgment and planning gaps".

Elbers also listed three lines of action that the airline will adopt to address the issue.

"Firstly, customer communication and addressing your needs, for this, messages have been sent on social media. And just now, a more detailed communication with information, refunds, cancellations and other customer support measures was sent," he said.

The airline has also stepped up its call centre capacity.

"Secondly, due to yesterday's situation, we had customers stranded mostly at the nation's largest airports. Our focus was for all of them to be able to travel today itself, which will be achieved. For this, we also ask customers whose flights are cancelled not to come to the airports as notifications are sent," the CEO said.

"Thirdly, cancellations were made for today to align our crew and planes to be where they need to start tomorrow morning afresh. Earlier measures of the last few days, regrettable, have proven not to be enough, but we have decided today to reboot all our systems and schedules, resulting in the highest numbers of cancellations so far, but imperative for progressive improvements starting from tomorrow," he added.

As airports witnessed chaotic scenes, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stepped in to grant IndiGo a temporary exemption from stricter night duty rules for pilots. It also allowed substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period. 

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said a high-level inquiry will be ordered and accountability will be fixed.

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News Network
December 16,2025

jordan.jpg

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman, during which the two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral relations, with the Prime Minister outlining an eight-point vision covering key areas of cooperation.

Describing the meeting as “productive”, PM Modi said he shared a roadmap focused on trade and economy, fertilisers and agriculture, information technology, healthcare, infrastructure, critical and strategic minerals, civil nuclear cooperation, and people-to-people ties.

In a post on social media platform X, the Prime Minister praised King Abdullah II’s personal commitment to advancing India–Jordan relations, particularly as both countries mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year.

“Held productive discussions with His Majesty King Abdullah II in Amman. His personal commitment towards vibrant India-Jordan relations is noteworthy. This year, we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of our bilateral diplomatic relations,” PM Modi said.

The meeting took place at the Al Husseiniya Palace, where the two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), both sides agreed to further deepen cooperation in areas including trade and investment, defence and security, counter-terrorism and de-radicalisation, fertilisers and agriculture, infrastructure, renewable energy, tourism, and heritage.

The MEA said both leaders reaffirmed their united stand against terrorism.

PM Modi arrived in Amman earlier on Monday and was received by Jordanian Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, who accorded him a formal welcome. Following the talks, King Abdullah II hosted a banquet dinner in honour of the Prime Minister, reflecting the warmth of bilateral ties.

Jordan is the first leg of PM Modi’s three-nation tour. From Amman, the Prime Minister will travel to Ethiopia at the invitation of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, marking his first official visit to the African nation. The tour will conclude with a visit to Oman.

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