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Civil servants’ role crucial in achieving Viksit Bharat, says PM Modi on Civil Services Day

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New Delhi, April 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday addressed the 17th Civil Services Day programme in the national capital, lauding the relentless efforts of India’s civil servants and underlining their key role in realising the dream of a ‘Viksit Bharat.’

Speaking at Vigyan Bhawan, PM Modi paid rich tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, recalling his iconic 1947 address in which he called civil servants the “steel frame” of India.

“This Civil Services Day is special for several reasons. We are celebrating 75 years of our Constitution and the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. On April 21, 1947, he had described you (civil servants) as the steel frame of India,” he said.

Reflecting on Patel’s vision, the Prime Minister said, “He laid out the ideals of a civil servant — one who serves the nation with honesty, discipline, democratic spirit, and dedication. These lessons of Sardar Patel become even more relevant as we move towards the resolution of Viksit Bharat.”

PM Modi said that achieving the dream of a Viksit Bharat will require every arm of progress to work in synergy.

“Our bureaucracy and policy-making cannot function with outdated methods when the world is evolving so quickly. Our young generation is growing up with rapid technological changes, new gadgets every two to three years. We must match this pace,” he stated.

Highlighting areas where India must grow — from clean energy to sports and space — the Prime Minister stressed, “Everyone is looking towards you (civil servants). You have a big responsibility to help India become the world’s third-largest economy. We must work together to ensure this goal is achieved.”

This year’s theme for Civil Services Day is ‘Holistic Development of India,’ which the Prime Minister explained as “no village left behind, no family left behind.”

He also presented the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration, recognising top-performing officials behind initiatives like PM Vishwakarma, Poshan Tracker, Siksha Setu Axom, and Sugamya Pustakalaya.

“Good governance is not defined by the number of schemes but by the impact it creates on the ground,” he said. Citing examples, he mentioned districts where solar power and improved attendance systems have shown positive results and praised the efforts of public administrators across the country.

He added that in the last decade, India has moved beyond incremental progress to transformative change.

“Today, India’s governance model focuses on next-generation reforms. Through technology and innovation, we’re bridging the gap between government and citizens. These changes are visible not only in urban and rural areas but also in remote corners of the country,” he said.

PM Modi cited Bhagalpur in Bihar, where the registration of pregnant women in Jagdishpur block rose from 25 per cent to over 90 per cent. In Marwah block of Jammu and Kashmir, institutional deliveries increased from 30 per cent to 100 per cent, reflecting improved healthcare access.

Touching upon India’s global leadership, the Prime Minister highlighted the scale of its G20 presidency. “For the first time in G20 history, more than 200 meetings took place across over 60 cities, creating a wide and inclusive footprint. This is the holistic approach of today’s India,” he said, adding, “India is not just participating — India is leading.”

He noted that while many now talk about government efficiency, India is already ahead of other countries by a decade. “We have eliminated delays and are creating new processes. Over 40,000 compliances have been removed to boost ease of doing business,” he said.

The Prime Minister recalled early opposition to reforms, including compliance reduction and decriminalisation of business errors.

He said that the foundation laid over the past decade has greatly strengthened the path towards Viksit Bharat 2047.

“We cannot evaluate our work or performance by comparing it to previous governments…We must set our own benchmarks. We need to measure how far we still are from the goal of a ‘Viksit Bharat by 2047’. The time for tallying up what we have achieved so far is over.

“India is now the most populous country in the world. Ensuring saturation of basic facilities should be our top priority,” the Prime Minister added.

“In the last ten years, we built 4 crore (40 million) permanent houses for the poor, but now we have a target of building 3 crore more. We have provided tap water connections to 12 crore homes in 5–6 years. Now, we must ensure every household has access to tap water as soon as possible. In ten years, we have built over 11 crore toilets for the poor. Now, we need to quickly achieve new targets related to waste management,” he mentioned.

He also launched two e-books — Holistic Development of Districts and Select Innovations — and honoured top-performing districts in schemes like Ayushman Bharat Yojana, PM Vishwakarma Yojana, Har Ghar Jal, and PM Awas Yojana.

Awarded districts included Rajkot in Gujarat, Gomti in Tripura, Tinsukia in Assam, Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir, and Koraput in Odisha.

Blocks recognised under the Aspirational Block Programme included Gamharia (Jharkhand), Parappa (Kerala), Narnoor (Telangana), Ganganagar (Tripura), and Rama (Madhya Pradesh).

Crime

Mumbai: Man Arrested At Airport For Derogatory Social Media Posts On Bhagavad Gita & Women

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Mumbai: Mangaluru City Police have arrested a Mumbai native accused of uploading social media posts that promoted feelings of enmity or hatred in 2024.

The accused, who was working in Saudi Arabia, was arrested at Mumbai Airport based on a Look Out Circular (LOC).

The accused, Felix Edward Mathais (aged 56), is alleged to have circulated derogatory posts about the Bhagavad Gita and women in February 2024.

A case was registered against him at the Kankanady City Police Station under sections 153(A), 504, 507, 509 of the IPC and Section 66(D) of the IT Act.

At the time the case was filed, Mathais was in Saudi Arabia for employment, which prevented his arrest. The accused, originally from Charkop, Mumbai, was the subject of an LOC issued by the police following information gathered about his overseas employment.

The accused landed at Mumbai Airport from abroad. Immigration officials detained him and informed the Mangaluru Police. Subsequently, he was arrested at the Airport on December 5, 2025.

He was brought to Mangaluru for investigation and produced before the Court. A report has been submitted to the court requesting the confiscation of his passport.

Another accused in the case, Evigin John D’Souza (aged 57), was previously arrested on August 11, 2024, and produced before the court.

The investigation into the case is ongoing.

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National News

Mumbai Weather Update For Dec 9, 2025: City Wakes Up To Sunny Skies With Thin Layer Of Smog; AQI Improves Marginally From Unhealthy To Poor At 139

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Mumbai: Mumbai woke up on Tuesday to a pleasant winter morning, complete with clear blue skies, cool breezes and a refreshing nip in the air. Yet, despite the seemingly ideal weather conditions, a thin layer of smog hovered across the city, muting visibility and reminding residents of Mumbai’s persistent air quality troubles.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast clear skies with minimum temperatures around 16°C and maximums touching 33°C, but the rising pollution levels overshadowed the winter charm.

The worsening air quality coincides with the city’s rapid construction expansion. Mumbai continues to be shaped by an array of large-scale government infrastructure projects, including metro lines, bridges and extensive road-widening works, along with numerous private real estate developments underway simultaneously.

By today morning, the air quality monitoring platform AQI.in recorded Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 139, categorising it as ‘poor’. Although this marked an improvement from the more hazardous levels logged late last month and in early December, the city’s air remained far from healthy.

Several areas stood out as pollution hotspots. The Wadala Truck Terminal topped the list with an alarming AQI of 346, falling into the ‘severe’ category and posing major health risks. Mumbai Airport also registered worrying levels, recording an AQI of 213 in the ‘unhealthy’ bracket.

Industrial and residential pockets such as Deonar and Chembur followed, with AQIs of 180 and 177 respectively, marking them as ‘poor’. Kurla matched Chembur with 177, while coastal Worli recorded 173, both remaining firmly in the poor category.

Suburban regions, though relatively better, were not entirely free from pollution concerns. Charkop reported an AQI of 73 and Jogeshwari East 78, placing them in the ‘moderate’ category. Kandivali East (82), Govandi (83) and Mulund West (100) also fell within the moderate range, staying inside acceptable limits though still noticeably polluted.

To put these numbers into perspective, an AQI of 0–50 is considered Good, 51–100 Moderate, 101–150 Poor, 151–200 Unhealthy and anything above 200 Hazardous. Despite the pleasant weather, Mumbai’s battle with smog and dust continues to shape the city’s winter mornings.

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Business

IndiGo disruptions may cause revenue loss, penalties to company: Report

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New Delhi, Dec 8: Widespread flight disruptions at IndiGo are credit negative, and refunds and compensation could cause it “significant financial damage”, credit rating agency Moody’s warned on Monday.

In a note, Moody’s said that regulatory penalties from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) remain possible as the airline failed to plan for aviation rules communicated over a year earlier.

The crisis struck as the airlines entered their peak winter schedule, with “significant lapses in planning, oversight and resource management” as the Phase 2 of the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules were introduced on November 1, 2025, after being communicated more than a year earlier, it noted.

The rules reclassified midnight–6 a.m. duties as night duty and cut permissible landings in 24 hours from six to two or three. The agency said that IndiGo’s lean operating model lacked resilience to integrate the change, forcing a system‑wide schedule reset.

Over 1,600 flights were cancelled on December 5, and over 1,200 were grounded in November, with cancellations beginning on December 2. Moody’s said IndiGo is yet to fully restore normal operations.

IndiGo said it was set to operate over 1,800 flights on Monday, up from 1,650 on Sunday, adding that more than 4,500 bags have been delivered to respective customers, and “we are on track to deliver the rest in the next 36 hours”.

The airline said it expects a return to full schedules by mid-December, adding that it is working “round the clock” to normalise operations.

It has so far refunded Rs 827 crore to affected passengers, and the rest is under process for cancellations up to December 15.

Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu said in the Parliament on Monday that the government has initiated a thorough inquiry into the matter.

“IndiGo was supposed to manage the crew and roster…We will take strict action. We will set an example for every airline. If there is any non-compliance, we will take action,” he said on the floor of the Rajya Sabha.

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