Supreme Court will hear petitions against privacy law

Officials said the domestic airfare cap imposed on flight tickets in December will be removed on Monday.

The country’s Civil Aviation Ministry announced this on Saturday.

The temporary fare cap on domestic air tickets was imposed in December after market leader IndiGo canceled thousands of flights. This led to steep fare increases as other air carriers raised prices on popular routes amid the chaos.

Authorities had announced that one-way economy fares for journeys up to 500 kilometers cannot exceed ₹7,500 ($83, €72), while those for journeys between 1,000 and 1,500 kilometres, such as the New Delhi-Mumbai route, should not exceed ₹15,000 ($167).

In December, the Civil Aviation Ministry had said that “the restrictions will remain in place until the situation is completely stabilised.”

Ticket prices are expected to increase with the removal of the price cap.

India’s Supreme Court is scheduled to hear challenges on Monday against a new privacy law that transparency activists and journalists say could curb access to information.

Four petitions are targeting the amendments made through the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP), saying they will “weaken” India’s Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The petitioners argue that the changes would allow authorities to withhold information of public interest and undermine transparency.

The government denied the allegations, saying the law balances privacy with the right to information.

Media groups have also raised concerns that the privacy law lacks clear protections for journalists and may hinder reporting by requiring consent from the subjects of news reports.

The law allows for fines of up to $27 million (€23.4 million) for non-compliance.

hello! I’m Shakeel Shobhan from DW’s studios in New Delhi, bringing you key developments from across India on this rainy Delhi morning.

In case you’re wondering, the current air quality (AQI) in New Delhi is 96, according to Swiss air quality monitor IQAir.

Today, the Supreme Court of India is scheduled to hear four lawsuits alleging that the government is weakening the Right to Information (RTI) law.

Additionally, the temporary fare cap imposed on domestic air tickets following mass ticket cancellation by IndiGo in December following a fare hike by other airlines, will be canceled today. The impact on airfares remains to be seen.

Stay tuned as we bring you everything that’s making news in India.